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Psychology 1001 > 12b - Personality > Flashcards

12b - Personality Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the Trait Perspective?

A

General dispositions that lead us to behave in predictable ways.

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2
Q

Describe trait and personality

A

Trait: Tendencies to behave in certain ways that remain relatively constant across situations.
Personality: Amounts to an individual’s unique constellation of traits.

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3
Q

How many traits are possible (Allport & Odbert 1936)?

A

About 4,500 words in the English language to describe the characteristics of people.

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4
Q

Who was the first trait theorist?

A

Gordon Allport

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5
Q

What did Allport believe about humans?

A
  • People are generally healthy and organized.
  • The present is more important than the past in defining one’s personality.
  • Personality is a composite of individual traits (first to suggest this).
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6
Q

What was Allport’s big insight?

A

Certain traits seem to be tied together.

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7
Q

What are central traits?

A

Collections of related traits which predict behaviour across an even larger range of situations.

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8
Q

What type of studies what Allport’s work based on?

A

Case studies

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9
Q

What did Hans Eysneck do?

A
  • Advocated for statistical measures.
  • Devised tests to measure a large number of specific traits in large groups of people.
  • Used factor analysis to determine which specific traits seemed to cluster together.
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10
Q

What did Eysneck call a cluster of traits?

A

Superfactor (similar to ‘s’ factor for intelligence)

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11
Q

What is the correlation between superfactors?

A

Trick question. There isn’t one.

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12
Q

How are superfactors described?

A

As a continuum (each person sits somewhere along each superfactor dimension)

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13
Q

What are the three superfactors?

A
  1. Extroversion/Introversion
  2. Neuroticism/Emotional Stability
  3. Psychoticism (Trusting)
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14
Q

Describe the Extroversion/Introversion superfactor.

A

Impulsive, sociable, assertive on the one extreme and shy, socially withdrawn, passive on the other.

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15
Q

Describe the Neuroticism/Emotional Stability superfactor.

A

The extent to which a person experiences negative emotions (temperamental, defensive, moody) on the one hand or is emotionally stable on the other (calm, eve-tempered).

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16
Q

Describe the Psychoticism (Trusting) superfactor.

A

The extent to which someone is vulnerable to psychosis (loss of contact with reality, paranoid, delusional). Related to anti-social or non-conformist behaviour on the one extreme, conforming on the other.

17
Q

What is the Five-Factor Model?

A

The (newer) theory that personality is based on 5 superfactors rather than 3.

18
Q

What are the 5 superfactors according to the Five-Factor theory (Big 5)?

A

1.Agreeableness/Disagreeableness
2. Extraversion/Introversion
3. Neuroticism/Stability
4.Conscientiousness/Irresponsibility
5. Openness to experience/unimaginativeness

19
Q

Whats the acronym to remember the Big 5?

A

O.C.E.A.N.
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism

20
Q

What are some characteristics of scoring high & low on the openness to experience/unimaginativeness factor?

A

Low: Practical, uncreative, incurious, conforming.
High: Imaginative, creative, curious, independent.

21
Q

What are some characteristics of scoring high & low on the conscientiousness/irresponsibility factor?

A

Low: Disorganised, careless, lazy, late.
High: Organised, careful, disciplined, punctual.

22
Q

What are some characteristics of scoring high & low on the extraversion/introversion factor?

A

Low: Retiring, passive, sober, reserved.
High: Sociable, active, fun-loving, affectionate.

23
Q

What are some characteristics of scoring high & low on the agreeableness/disagreeableness factor?

A

Low: Ruthless, suspicious, critical, uncooperative.
High: Soft-hearted, trusting, lenient, helpful.

24
Q

What are some characteristics of scoring high & low on the neuroticism/stability factor?

A

Low: Calm, unemotional, secure, self-satisfied.
High: Anxious, emotional, insecure, self-pitying.

25
Q

What are some strengths of trait perspective? (6)

A
  • Traits become increasingly stable, especially across the adult years.
  • Relatively stable across many situations.
  • Certain traits have high predictive validity.
  • Conscientiousness predicts success in work and longevity.
  • High agreeableness and low
    neuroticism predicts success in interpersonal relationships.
  • There appears to be a strong genetic contribution to personality traits.
26
Q

What are some criticisms of trait perspective?

A
  • Oversimplifies personality (reduce to a few dimensions).
  • Traits that are expressed can depend on the situation.
  • People may be punctual (conscientious) when it comes to school, but not with friends for an informal gathering.
  • Portray personality as fixed rather than changeable.
  • Certain traits change over the lifespan (openness to experience is generally higher in teens than in persons in their 50s)… could reflect maturational (developmental) changes.
27
Q

Explain the Person-Situation debate.

A
  • What is the relative importance of personality traits (internal characteristics) and situations (external factors) in determining how we behave?
  • Trait theorists argue in favor of personality dominating.
  • Others argue that the situations we are in determine our behavior.
  • If personality is important, it should persist over time and situations.
28
Q

What is the situationist perspective?

A

Characteristics of individuals are not
important. Ultimately all behaviour results from environmental factors.

29
Q

What is the interactionist perspective?

A
  • Both personality and situations
    are important in determining behaviour.
  • Acknowledges the importance of situations, but suggests the situationist position is too extreme.
30
Q

What is reciprocal determinism?

A

3-way interaction between internal factors (thoughts and feelings), behavior, and environmental factors (social situations).

31
Q

Give 3 ways individuals and environments interact.

A
  1. Different people choose different environments.
  2. Our personality determines how we perceive and react to situations.
  3. .Our personalities shape situations.

Psychology 1001 (8 decks)

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