305 Lecture 1 & 2 Flashcards
(162 cards)
What is personality
the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that is organized and relatively enduring, and that influences interaction with, and adaptations to, the environment (intrapsychic, physical, and social environment)
What is a trait
how people are alike or unalike along a spectrum
what is a mechanism
and information processing system and interaction with the world (e.g. reactivity to adversity)
describe the interaction between personality and situations
personality is within an individual and separate from situations, but gets carried into situations
describe how personality is “organized”
traits work and function together to allow you to function as a person
describe what disorganization in personality looks like
personality disorders, which disrupt daily functioning and interactions with others
describe how personality is enduring
it is stable through time, which is why it matters –> if we didn’t have an enduring personality, we will always be guided by the situations we are in
why is personality important
it can predict life outcomes, emotions, needs, cognitions, and behaviours in social environments –> influences interactions with (and adaptations to) the environment, especially the social environment
describe some things that are not synonymous with personality
attitudes, morals/values/beliefs, abilities, physical characteristics, social categories –> these things can change and thus aren’t enduring –> however, personality does interact with these things and can even be the underlying cause of these things (e.g. if you have higher openness, you are more likely to be liberal)
what are the three levels of analysis of personality
human nature, individual and group differences, and individual uniqueness
what does the human nature analysis of personality investigate
how we are like ALL others –> traits and mechanisms of personality that are typical of our species and possessed by nearly everyone (e.g. we are motivated to engage in and maintain social relationships, we might all have some degree of narcissism and egocentrism)
what does the individual and group differences analysis of personality investigate
how we are like SOME others –> individual differences looks at some we are like some others, while group differences looks at home people in one group differ from people in another group
what are individual differences
the ways in which each person is like some other people (e.g. extraverts, sensation-seekers, high self-esteem people) –> examined using the big 5 traits
what are group differences
the ways in which people of one group differ from people in another group (e.g. cultural differences, age differences, gender differences) –> how groups are comparable along average traits (this loses individual differences within a group)
when might an attitude be considered a personality trait
if it is a stable attitude over time (e.g. I love animals)
describe some group differences in individualism and collectivism
- Canada and the US are very individualist cultures –> describe themselves in positive terms only (“self-enhancement”)
- Japan is collectivist and they describe themselves with a balance of positive and negative terms
what does the individual uniqueness analysis of personality investigate
how we are like NO others –> every individual has personal and unique qualities not shared by any other person in the world
how does uniqueness exist in individuals
in the sum of our traits and mechanisms, in their combination and interactions (no one has these same combinations/interactions) and in our stories
how does personality affect others
some expressions of uniqueness can have consequences to others and the world (e.g. Putin)
what does the study of personality tell us
who is more likely to experience certain life outcomes
what is the Rorschach inkblot test
projective test that shows participants ambiguous stimuli and asks them to describe what they see –> thought that this stimuli would reveal more of an individual’s personality because the situation does not act as a force
what are the two types of personality assessment methods
- descriptive research –> describing personality (can be done even with one person)
- explanatory research –> discovering relationships between traits of between personality and other phenomena (done in a sample)
what are the four types of descriptive research
- self-reports (surveys; S-data)
- observer-reports (O-data)
- test-data (T-data)
- life history/life-outcome data (L-data)
what are the three common concerns in descriptive research
reliability, validity, and generalizability