8-Personality Flashcards
Personality
Characteristic patterns of thought, emotion and behaviour in a person. Includes psychological mechanisms behind these patterns whether they are hidden or not.
definition is very broad
Approaches to studying personality
list 5
- Psychoanalytical
- Behavioural
- Cognitive
- Trait
- Biological
Who coined the psychoanalytic theory?
Sigmund Freud
Psychoanalytical theory
The mind is composed of three parts:
Id:
- drive: basic instincts, wants pleasureno morality
- where: unconscious
- develops: first, from birth
Superego: need to be/do good
- drive: conscience, do the right thing, your morals
- where: unconscious, small amount is conscious
- develops: formative years, starting age 4
Ego:
- drive: satisfy both the id and ego
- where: most conscious of the three
- develops: throughout life
The balance between these 3 dictates personality
Psychosexual stages theory
basic idea
- childhood has a major influence on personality
- 5 stages total, with specific challenges and awareness gained
- Fixations: Unconscious mind can get stuck in a stage, which will change personality, these changes lead to fixations that are characteristic to the stage they were stuck in
- most people have a fixation
Defense mechanisms
definition + list
Freud believed that the desire to avoid anxiety drives behaviour.
Definition: Automatic mental strategies which help relieve anxiety by disguising or distracting from stressors.
- Denial
- Repression
- Rationalization
- Projection
- Sublimation
there are more but these have held up the best
defense mechanism
Denial
define + example
Denying the validity of thoughts or information presented.
eg: believing that your bad mark on the test was just a glitch in avenue
defense mechanism
Repression
define + example
Pushing thoughts or experiences to the unconscious mind.
eg: forgetting a traumatic experience
defense mechanism
Rationalization
define + example
Using “logical” arguments to rationalize past behaviour, avoiding more beneficial arguments. Thought occurs AFTER the behaviour.
eg: you ate 6 cookie dough mochi’s, “I just really needed something sweet after all this studying and I must’ve been super hungry”
defense mechanism
Projection
define + example
Believing others are the root cause of your feelings instead of acknowledging a different source and using this to rationalize your behaviour.
eg: I don’t like that person, they must be a bad person therefore it’s not my fault I’m rude to them.
defense mechanism
Sublimation
define + example
Considered the one healthy/mature coping mechanism
Finding outlets for unconscious impulses that are more socially acceptable.
eg: going for a run to relieve stress instead of yelling at others
What is the biggest problem with psychoanalytic theory?
It is immeasurable and therefore unfalsifiable
Behavioural theory
- Believe we start as blank slates
- Learning processes shape our personalities (rewards and punishments throughout life can shape our future behaviours)
Cognitive theory
- individuals also learn through observation and change their behaviour based on a model
- our behaviour is also influenced by the rewards and punishments we see others recieving
Trait Theory
definition of trait + basics of trait theory
Trait: a personality characteristic that is stable and consistant for one person but varies between people
- Personality is the combination and interaction between multiple traits
Big 5 theory
explain theory + list 5
each trait has a high and low score
- openness: creativity and adventure
- conscientiousness: thoughtfulness and diligence
- extraversion: sociability, assertiveness, excitement seeking
- agreeableness: ability to put other’s needs above their own
- neuroticism: emotional stability and resilience (low score)
high scores are typically good, but extreme scores can be problematic
Why is the big 5 theory so widely accepted?
can accurately describe people across many cultures and backgrounds
How do the big 5 traits vary with time?
- extraversion: higher in kids, stable difference relative to peers
- conscientiousness: low in kids, lower in teens, climbs across lifespan
Flaws with the trait approach
- ignores how traits vary with situation (eg: school vs home)
- does not adress HOW differences in traits emerge
Biological theory
describe
Considering how neuroanatomy, genetics and evolutionary theories influence and contribute to personality.
What role does the amygdala play in personality?
Shy and pessimistic individuals have especially active amygdala’s
What is one aspect of the frontal lobe that influences personality and how?
lateralization of the frontal lobe
a more active left brain is linked to higher emotional stability, optimism and anger
a more active right brain is linked to higher neuroticism
How does dopamine influence personality?
higher levels indicate higher plasticity
higher plasticity –> extraversion and openness
How does serotonin influence personality?
higher levels relate to higher stability
higher stability –> conscientiousness and agreeableness
lower stability –> neuroticism
What to be wary of with the correlative biological findings
do not assume these are causative relationships
eg: left brained individuals behave like x vs a person behaves like x which leads to higher activity in the left hemisphere
high dopamine leads to extraversion vs extroverts enjoy activities that increase dopamine
How does the biological approach relate to the big 5?
- Research suggests that the big 5 all have a strong genetic component
- ## openness is the most heritable and agreeableness is the least
does not exactly mean there are genes for the big 5
assessing personality
Self report
description + pros and cons
asking an individual questions do determine their traits
pros: easy to administer, fun
cons: purpose behind questions can be obvious, people want to be percieved as good and may be unaware of their own traits
assessing personality
Behavioural assessments
description + pros and cons
Use a person’s behaviour to determine their traits
pros: can be more accurate
cons: can ignore situational factors (eg: person was very tired the day of the assessment)
assessing personality
Myers Briggs test
description + pros and cons
4 traits form a four letter code resulting in 16 personalities that are thought to have unique outlooks on life
pros: fun
cons: low reliability and validity
assessing personality
MMPI (Multiphasic Minnesota Personality Inventory)
description
True-false self report tool, questions not written to find specific traits, instead they were created using statistical predictors of traits
