fei75766_glo_G1-G15.indd G-10  02/19/20 09:26 AM
GlossaryG-10
stability attheother. High scores onNmayindicate 
anxiety, hysteria, obsessive-compulsive disorders, or
criminality. Lowscores indicate emotional stability.
noise (Buss)  Alsoknown as“random effects,” occurs 
when evolution produces random changes indesign that
donotaffect function. Noise tends tobeproduced by
chance andnotselected for.
nomothetic  Anapproach tothestudy ofpersonality that
isbased ongeneral lawsorprinciples.
nonbeing  Theawareness ofthepossibility ofone’s not
being, through death orlossofawareness.
normal anxiety (May)  Theexperience ofthreat that
accompanies growth orchange inone’s values.
normal autism (Mahler)  Thestage inaninfant’s 
development when allhisorherneeds aresatisfied 
automatically, thatis,without theinfant having todeal
withtheexternal world.
normal symbiosis (Mahler)  Thesecond developmental 
stage marked byadualunity ofinfant andmother.
nothingness  (Seenonbeing )
O
object  Psychoanalytic termreferring totheperson or
partofaperson thatcansatisfy aninstinct ordrive.
object relations theory  Areference tothework of
Melanie Klein andothers whohaveextended Freudian 
psychoanalysis withtheiremphasis onearly relations to
parents (objects) thatinfluence laterinterpersonal 
relationships.
objective biography (McCrae and Costa)  Allexperiences 
ofaperson across thelifespan.
oblique method  Amethod ofrotating theaxesinfactor 
analysis thatassumes some intercorrelation among 
primary factors.
obsession  Apersistent orrecurrent idea,usually 
involving anurgetoward some action.
Oedipus complex  Term usedbyFreud toindicate 
thesituation inwhich thechild ofeither sexdevelops 
feelings ofloveand/or hostility fortheparent. Inthe
simple male Oedipus complex, theboyhasincestuous 
feelings ofloveforthemother andhostility toward 
thefather. Thesimple female Oedipus complex exists 
when thegirlfeelshostility forthemother andsexual 
loveforthefather.
old age (Erikson)  Theeighth andfinalstage ofthelife
cycle, marked bythepsychosocial crisis ofintegrity 
versus despair andthebasic strength ofwisdom.
openness (Buss)  Involves one’s propensity for
innovation andability tosolve problems.
operant conditioning (Skinner)  Atypeoflearning in
which reinforcement, which iscontingent upon theoccurrence ofaparticular response, increases the
probability thatthesame response willoccur again.
operant discrimination  Skinner’s observation thatan
organism, asaconsequence ofitsreinforcement history, 
learns torespond tosome elements intheenvironment 
butnottoothers. Operant discrimination doesnotexist
within theorganism butisafunction ofenvironmental 
variables andtheorganism’s previous history of
reinforcement.
operant extinction (Skinner)  Thelossofanoperantly 
conditioned response duetothesystematic withholding 
ofreinforcement.
operational definition  Adefinition ofaconcept interms 
ofobservable events orbehaviors thatcanbemeasured.
oral phase (Freud)  Theearliest stage oftheinfantile 
period characterized byattempts togainpleasure 
through theactivity ofthemouth, especially sucking, 
eating, andbiting; corresponds roughly tothefirst
12–18months oflife.
oral-sensory  Erikson’s termfortheinfant’s first
psychosexual mode ofadapting.
organ dialect (Adler)  Theexpression ofaperson’s 
underlying intentions orstyleoflifethrough adiseased or
dysfunctional bodily organ.
organismic self (Rogers)  Amore general termthanself-
concept; refers totheentire person, including those 
aspects ofexistence beyond awareness.
organismic valuing process (OVP)  Process bywhich 
experiences arevalued according tooptimal enhancement 
oforganism andself.
organization corollary  Kelly’s notion thatpeople arrange 
theirpersonal constructs inahierarchical system.
orthogonal rotation  Amethod ofrotating theaxesin
factor analysis thatassumes theindependence ofprimary 
factors.
P
paranoia  Mental disorder characterized byunrealistic 
feelings ofpersecution, grandiosity, andasuspicious 
attitude toward others.
paranoid-schizoid position (Klein)  Atendency ofthe
infant toseetheworld ashaving thesame destructive and
omnipotent qualities thatitpossesses.
parapraxes  Freudian slipssuchasslipsofthetongue or
pen,misreading, incorrect hearing, temporary forgetting 
ofnames andintentions, andthemisplacing ofobjects, 
allofwhich arecaused byunconscious wishes.
parsimony  Criterion ofauseful theory thatstates that
when twotheories areequal onother criteria, thesimpler 
oneispreferred.Final PDF to printer