14. Personality

Question 1

personality

Answer 1

The relatively consistent patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior that characterize each person as a unique individual

Question 2

trait

Answer 2

A hypothetical, relatively stable, inner characteristic that influences the way a person responds to various environmental situations

Question 3

trait theories of personality

Answer 3

Theories of personality that are based on the idea that people can be described and differentiated in terms of hypothetical underlying personality dimensions, called traits, which can be measured by questionnaires or other quantitative means

Question 4

factor analysis

Answer 4

A statistical procedure for analyzing the correlations among various measurements (such as test scores) taken from a given set of individuals; it identifies hypothetical, underlying variables called factors that could account for the observed pattern of correlations and assesses the degree to which each factor is adequately measured by each of the measurements that was used in the analysis.

Question 5

five-factor model

Answer 5

Model holding that a person’s personality is most efficiently described in terms of his or her score on each of five relatively independent global trait dimensions: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Question 6

Grit

Answer 6

A personality trait defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals, composed of two lower-order factors, perseverance of effort and consistency of interest

Question 7

dark triad

Answer 7

Three related socially aversive personality traits—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—describing people with “dark personalities.”

Question 8

narcissism

Answer 8

An extreme selfishness in which a person has a grandiose view of his or her own abilities and a need for admiration

Question 9

Machiavellianism

Answer 9

A personality type in which the person is predisposed to manipulate other people, often through deception.

Question 10

psychopathy

Answer 10

A personality trait involving amoral or antisocial behavior, coupled with a lack of empathy and an inability to form meaningful personal relationships. At its extreme, psychopathy is a personality disorder, but it can also be expressed at preclinical levels.

Question 11

differential susceptibility to environmental influence

Answer 11

The idea that people are differentially susceptible to being influenced by their environment. Highly susceptible children (sometimes referred to as orchid children) will flourish in good environments and do especially poorly in adverse environments. Less-susceptible children (sometimes referred to as dandelion children) are less affected by their rearing conditions so that extreme environments (both good and bad) will have less of an impact on their psychological outcomes.

Question 12

sibling contrast

Answer 12

Tendency to emphasize and exaggerate the differences between siblings.

Question 13

split-parent identification

Answer 13

Tendency for each of two siblings to identify with a different one of their two parents

Question 14

psychoanalysis

Answer 14

1. The theory of the mind developed by Freud, which emphasizes the roles of unconscious mental processes, early childhood experiences, and the drives of sex and aggression in personality formation; also called psychoanalytic theory. (p. 556) 2. Freud’s therapy technique in which such methods as free association, dream analysis, and analysis of transference are used to learn about the person’s unconscious mind; the goal is to make the unconscious conscious.

Question 15

psychodynamic theories

Answer 15

Any theory that describes personality and its development in terms of inner mental forces that are often in conflict with one another and are shaped by experiences in early childhood.

Question 16

defense mechanisms

Answer 16

In psychoanalytic theory, self-deceptive means by which the mind defends itself against anxiety.

Question 17

repression

Answer 17

The defense mechanism by which the mind prevents anxiety-provoking ideas from becoming conscious

Question 18

displacement

Answer 18

The defense mechanism by which a drive is diverted from one goal to another that is more realistic or acceptable. Also called sublimation in cases where the goal toward which the drive is diverted is highly valued by society.

Question 19

sublimation

Answer 19

A form of displacement in which one directs his or her energies toward activities that are particularly valued by society, such as artistic, scientific, or humanitarian endeavors

Question 20

reaction formation

Answer 20

The defense mechanism by which the mind turns a frightening wish into its safer opposite

Question 21

projection

Answer 21

The defense mechanism by which a person consciously experiences his or her own unconscious emotion or wish as though it belongs to someone else or to some part of the environment

Question 22

rationalization

Answer 22

The defense mechanism by which a person uses conscious reasoning to justify or explain away his or her harmful or irrational behaviors or thoughts

Question 23

humanistic theories

Answer 23

Personality theories that attempt to focus attention on the whole, unique person, especially on the person’s conscious understanding of his or her self and the world

Question 24

Phenomenological reality

Answer 24

Humanistic theorists’ term for each person’s conscious understanding of his or her world

Question 25

self-actualization

Answer 25

In humanistic psychology, the fulfillment of drives that go beyond one’s survival needs and pertain to psychological growth, creativity, and self-expression

Question 26

social-cognitive theories of personality

Answer 26

Theories of personality that emphasize the roles of beliefs and habits of thought that are acquired through one’s unique experiences in the social environment, sometimes called social-learning or social-cognitive-learning theories

Question 27

locus of control

Answer 27

According to Rotter, a person’s perception of the typical source of control over rewards. Internal locus of control refers to the perception that people control their own rewards through their own behavior, and external locus of control refers to the perception that rewards are controlled by external circumstances or fate.

Question 28

self-efficacy

Answer 28

A person’s subjective sense of his or her own ability to perform a particular task or set of tasks.