fei75766_glo_G1-G15.indd G-12  02/19/20 09:26 AM
GlossaryG-12
primary process (Freud)  Areference totheid,which 
houses theprimary motivators ofbehavior, called instincts.
proactive (Allport)  Concept thatpresupposes thatpeople 
arecapable ofconsciously acting upon theirenvironment 
innewandinnovative ways, which thenfeednewelements 
intothesystem andstimulate psychological growth.
procreativity (Erikson)  Thedrive tohavechildren andto
careforthem.
progression (Jung)  Theforward flowofpsychic energy; 
involves theextraverted attitude andmovement toward 
adaptation totheexternal world.
projection  Adefense mechanism whereby theego
reduces anxiety byattributing anunwanted impulse to
another person.
projective identification (Klein)  Apsychic defense 
mechanism inwhich infants splitoffunacceptable parts 
ofthemselves, project them ontoanother object, andthen
introject them inadistorted form.
propriate functional autonomy (Allport)  Allport’s 
concept ofamaster system ofmotivation thatconfers 
unity onpersonality byrelating self-sustaining motives to
theproprium.
propriate strivings (Allport)  Motivation toward goals 
thatareconsistent withanestablished proprium andthat
areuniquely one’s own.
proprium (Allport)  Allthose characteristics thatpeople 
seeaspeculiarly theirownandthatareregarded aswarm, 
central, andimportant.
proxy (Bandura)  Oneofthree modes ofhuman agency, 
proxy involves self-regulation through other people.
pseudospecies (Erikson)  Theillusion heldbyaparticular 
society thatitissomehow chosen tobemore important 
thanother societies.
psychoanalysis  Theory ofpersonality, approach to
psychotherapy, andmethod ofinvestigation founded by
Freud.
psychoanalytic social theory  Horney’s theory of
personality thatemphasizes cultural influence inshaping 
bothnormal andneurotic development.
psychodynamic  Loosely defined termusually referring to
those psychological theories thatheavily emphasize 
unconscious motivation. Thetheories ofFreud, Jung, 
Adler, Horney, Klein, Erikson, andperhaps Fromm are
usually considered tobepsychodynamic.
psychohistory  Afieldofstudy thatcombines 
psychoanalytic concepts withhistorical methods.
psychological mechanisms (Buss)  Internal andspecific 
cognitive, motivational, andpersonality systems thatsolve 
specific survival andreproductive problems.
psychological situation (Rotter)  Thatpartoftheexternal 
andinternal world towhich anindividual isresponding.psychology of science  Asubdiscipline ofpsychology that
studies bothscience andthebehavior ofscientists.
psychoses  Severe personality disorders, asopposed to
themore mildneurotic reactions. Psychoses interfere 
seriously withtheusual functions oflifeandinclude both
organic brain disorders andfunctional (learned) 
conditions.
psychoticism (P) (Eysenck)  Oneofthree superfactors 
ortypes identified byEysenck. Psychoticism isabipolar 
factor consisting ofpsychoticism atonepoleand
superego function attheother. High Pscores indicate 
hostility, self-centeredness, suspicion, and
nonconformity.
punishment  Thepresentation ofanaversive stimulus or
theremoval ofapositive one.Punishment sometimes, but
notalways, weakens aresponse.
Q
Q sort  Inventory technique originated byWilliam 
Stephenson inwhich thesubject isasked tosortaseries 
ofself-referent statements intoseveral piles, thesizeof
which approximates anormal curve.
quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach (Buss)  Atechnique 
touncover genetic markers byfinding thelocation of
specific bitsofDNA ongenes thatareassociated with
particular behaviors.
R
radical behaviorism  Skinner’s viewthatpsychology asa
science canadvance onlywhen psychologists stop
attributing behavior tohypothetical constructs andbegin 
writing andtalking strictly interms ofobservable 
behavior.
range corollary  Kelly’s assumption thatpersonal 
constructs arelimited toafinite range ofconvenience.
reaction formation  Adefense mechanism inwhich a
person represses oneimpulse andadopts theexact 
opposite form ofbehavior, which ordinarily is
exaggerated andostentatious.
reactive (Allport)  Term forthose theories thatview
people asbeing motivated bytension reduction andby
thedesire toreturn toastateofequilibrium.
realistic anxiety (Freud)  Anunpleasant, nonspecific 
feeling resulting from theego’s relationship withthe
external world.
reality principle (Freud)  Areference totheego,which 
must realistically arbitrate theconflicting demands ofthe
id,thesuperego, andtheexternal world.
receptive characters (Fromm)  People whorelate tothe
world through receiving love,knowledge, andmaterial 
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