Behavioural and social learning theories

Question 1

Behavioural views of determinism

Answer 1

Radical behaviourists are strict determinists: they believe all of our actions are products of pre-existing causal influences. Free will is an illusion

Question 2

Behavioural views of unconscious processing

Answer 2

Unconscious variables that play a role in causing behaviour lie outside, not inside, us

Question 3

Social learning theorists

Answer 3

Theorists who emphasised thinking as a cause of personality

Question 4

Reciprocal determinism

Answer 4

A form of causation whereby personality and cognitive factors, behaviour and environmental variables mutually influence one another

Question 5

Observational learning and personality

Answer 5

Social learning theorists proposed that much of learning occurs by watching others

Question 6

Locus of control

Answer 6

Extent to which people believe that reinforcers and punishers lie inside or outside of their control

Question 7

Self-actualisation

Answer 7

Drive to develop our innate potential to the fullest possible extent

Question 8

Conditions of worth

Answer 8

According to Rogers, expectations we place on ourselves for appropriate and inappropriate behaviour

Question 9

Incongruence

Answer 9

Inconsistency between our personalities and innate dispositions

Question 10

Carl Rogers (1902-1987) model of personality

Answer 10

1. The organism is our innate genetic blueprint.
2. The self is our self-concept, the set of beliefs about who we are.
3. Conditions of worth are the expectations we place on ourselves for appropriate and inappropriate behaviour.

Question 11

Peak experiences

Answer 11

Transcendent moments of intense excitement and tranquillity marked by a profound sense of connection to the world

Question 12

Factor analysis

Answer 12

Statistical technique that analyses the correlations among responses on personality inventories and other measures

Question 13

The big five

Answer 13

1. Extraversion—extraverted people tend to be social and lively.
2. Neuroticism—neurotic people tend to be tense and moody.
3. Conscientiousness—conscientious people tend to be careful and responsible.
4. Agreeableness—agreeable people tend to be friendly and easy to get along with.
5. Openness to experience (sometimes just called ‘Openness’)—open people tend to be intellectually curious and unconventional

Question 14

Lexical approach

Answer 14

Approach proposing that the most crucial features of personality are embedded in our language

Question 15

Basic tendencies

Answer 15

Underlying personality traits

Question 16

Characteristic adaptations

Answer 16

Behavioural manifestations of personality traits

Question 17

Sensation-seeking

Answer 17

Tendency to seek out new and exciting stimuli

Question 18

Walter Mischel

Answer 18

Low correlations among different behaviours presumed to reflect the same trait.
Measures of personality aren’t especially helpful for what they were designed to do—forecast behaviour

Question 19

Trait models

Answer 19

Primarily efforts to describe individual differences in personality rather than to explain their causes

Question 20

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Answer 20

Structured personality tests. Consists of 10 basic scales, most of which assess mental disorders, such as paranoia, depression and schizophrenia.