Ch 11 (EXAM 4)

Question 1

Personality

Answer 1

Individual’s UNIQUE collection of CONSISTENT behavioral traits that are long-term and stable

UNIQUE: Personality can explain differences between people (continuum)

CONSISTENT: People’s similarities from one situation to the next (debated)

Question 2

Trait Theories

Answer 2

Theories that help to explain personalities by measuring, identifying, and classifying personality characteristics/traits

Usually believed that everybody had the same traits to differing degrees on a continuum

Question 3

Personality trait

Answer 3

Relatively stable and enduring tendency to behave in particular ways in variety of settings (regardless of setting)

Traits that make up personality highly debated

Many believe that there are a few essential traits that combine to create personality

Question 4

Allport

Answer 4

Cardinal traits: Dominates entire personality and extremely uncommon

Central traits: Makes up core of our personalities

Secondary traits: Not as obvious/consistent, mostly circumstantial

Question 5

Hans and Sybil Eysenck

Answer 5

Extroversion/Introversion
Neuroticism/stability

Later: Psychoticism/superego

Research that extroversion/introversion dependent on biological sensitivity differences

Question 6

Costa and McCrae’s 5 Factor Model (OCEAN)

Answer 6

O: Openness to experience
(curiosity, imagination, flexibility, adaptiveness, openness to new experiences)

C: Conscientiousness
(Responsibility, discipline, dependability and punctuality)

E: Extroversion
(Outgoing, assertive, friendly, sociable, gains energy from people)

A: Agreeableness
(Sympathetic, trusting, cooperative, modest)

N: Neuroticism
(Nervous, emotionally unstable, gets easily emotional, insecure, upset)

Question 7

HEXACO model

Answer 7

OCEAN + humility/honesty
(moral character, fairness, sincerity, modesty)

Debate since it’s similar to agreeableness

Question 8

Personality Tests

Answer 8

Tests that attempt to analyze and identify a person’s traits
Reason: jobs, clinics, surveys, knowledge

2 different ways:
1. Self report personality inventories
2. Projective Testing

Question 9

Self report personality inventories

Answer 9

Ask people to answer a series of questions (mc, scales) about their characteristics and behaviors (nobody knows you better than you)

i.e.
16 PF, MBTI, HEXACO, NEO

Problems:
Do you really know yourself?
Trying to appear socially acceptable, easier to distort and lie

Question 10

MBTI tests

Answer 10

are crap
Not accurate or reliable, changes every time and is not a continuum

Question 11

Projective testing

Answer 11

Asking people to respond to vague, ambiguous stimuli in ways that reveal inner needs/feelings/thoughts

I.e.
Rorschach Inkblot test: what test taker sees from the inkblot glimpse into unconscious

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): Pictures, tell a story and show insight into unconscious
Slightly better reliability and validity

Problem: Although much less easier to lie or distort the answer, it is still possible

EXTREMELY SUBJECTIVE, no standardization so the interpretation lies solely on the psychologist
Low levels of reliabilty or validity

Question 12

Person-situation debate

Answer 12

Mischel: argued that behavior is inconsistent across different situations (situationalism), and challenged that personality is consistent
Personality is not cross-situational (enduring of all situations)

Personality theorist response:
People are consistent in some traits and not in others, which traits are consistent or not varies
Traits become more consistent when situational forces/rules are weak

Situation no rules: show true self
Situation strict rules: Button up yourself temporarily

Argued that individuals select their situations based off of their personality anyways

Conclusion: Agreed that there is consistency with personality and that if situation is _____, behavior is _____ is consistent

Question 13

Mischel’s Marshmallow study

Answer 13

Question: how well can young kids delay gratification and what does it have to do for their future outcome?

Study: gave them a marshmallow and left, saying if they wait, they’ll get another one

Result: 2/3 ate the marshmallow
Delaying gratification: not taking immediate reward but waiting for more desired reward

Longer delayed: more socially competent, better SAT, grades, health and finance

Question 14

Marshmallow Study situational

Answer 14

Imagination:
-kids could wait longer if they imagined a marshmallow or imagined it as something else

Reliability: kids less likely to eat in more reliable situations than unreliable situations: Art supplies, if adult reliably brought good art supplies, reliable, waited longer

SES: Higher SES perform better, most likely related to SES

Question 15

Freud’s ID, Superego, and Ego

Answer 15

ID: unconscious, primitive desires/urges from birth
Pleasure-principle: only seeks out pleasure

Superego: develops with social interactions; consciences and moral compass

Ego: Strikes balance between ID and Superego and relies on the reality-principle: helps ID achieve goals in acceptable ways

BALANCE IS HEALTHY

Question 16

Neurosis

Answer 16

Tendency to experience negative/unhealthy emotions caused by imbalances in systems

Question 17

Defense Mechanisms

Answer 17

Anxiety caused by imbalance, ego seeks to balance it through defense mechanisms

Unconscious, protective behaviors that reduce anxiety often by distorting reality, Overuse is BAD

Denial
Displacement
Projection
Rationalization
Reaction formation
Regression
Repression
Sublimation

Question 18

Denial

Answer 18

Refusing to accept reality because it’s unpleasant

Question 19

Displacement

Answer 19

Transferring inappropriate behaviors onto a less threatening target

i.e. taking it out on someone

Question 20

Projection

Answer 20

Attributing unacceptable desires onto another person

i.e. thinking someone is always cheating because you want to cheat

Question 21

Rationalization

Answer 21

Justifying behaviors with acceptable excuses

Question 22

Reaction formation

Answer 22

Reduce anxiety by adopting beliefs contrary to your own

Question 23

Regression

Answer 23

Returning to less mature stages of development to cope

Question 24

Repression

Answer 24

Suppressing painful memories and thoughts

Question 25

Sublimation

Answer 25

Redirecting unacceptable desires through socially acceptable channels

Question 26

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development

Answer 26

Believed that personality solely develops in early childhood during which child must pass 5 stages.

If not pass, they are stuck in it as an adult

No mention of same sex attraction

Each stage has a conflict, where pleasure-seeking ID conflicts with Superego

Oral stage
Anal stage
Phallic stage
Latency stage
Genital stage

Question 27

Oral stage

Answer 27

Birth to 1 year
Mouthly pleasures such as sucking and eating

Conflict: weaning of bottle/nipple

Unresolved: smoking, drinking, overeating, and biting nails

Question 28

Anal stage

Answer 28

1-3 years
Pleasure in bowel and bladder

Conflict: Toilet training

Unresolved/Outcomes:

Praise/reward: Competent

Harsh/Punishment: Fear of soiling and overcontrol (anal-retentive personality: stingy, stubborn, compulsively neat and perfectionist)

Lax/lenient: No self control (Anal-expulsive personality: messy, careless, and disorganized)

Question 29

Phallic stage

Answer 29

3-6 years
Desire for opposite sex parent, jealousy of same sex parent

Boys: Oedipus complex
desire for mom, desire to replace father but also fear
resolved by ID with father

Girls: Electra complex
Desire for father, jealousy of male’s penis

Question 30

Latency Period

Answer 30

6 years - puberty
HIATUS
Dormant as child focuses on other pursuits

Question 31

Genital stage

Answer 31

Puberty onward
Sexual reawakening of incest urges resurface

Redirected to more socially acceptable partner

if resolved: forms healthy relationships with those of opposite sex