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PSYCH 105 > Ch. 8 - Personality > Flashcards

Ch. 8 - Personality Flashcards

1
Q

Personality

A

Enduring ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that characterize a person’s response to situations

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2
Q

What 3 behaviours are attributed to personality?

A

Components of identity
Perceived internal cause
Perceived organization and structure

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3
Q

Conscious

A

A person’s immediate awareness of their current environment

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4
Q

Preconscious

A

Available to awareness (things that aren’t always in our awareness, but they can be easily recalled)

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5
Q

Unconscious

A

Unavailable to awareness (repressed wishes and conflicts)

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6
Q

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

A

Human behaviour is influenced by unconscious memories, thoughts, and urges. Freud used techniques such as hypnosis, free association, and dream analysis to try to access people’s unconscious minds

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7
Q

Name the 3 components of the mind according to Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

A

Id
Ego
Superego

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8
Q

Id

A

Unconscious mind only
Believed to be the only structure present at birth
Operates under the pleasure principle

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9
Q

Ego

A

Primarily functions at conscious level, but also within preconscious level
A mediator between Id and Superego
Operates under the reality principle

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10
Q

Superego

A

Involved in morals of our personality
Permanently blocks gratification of the id
Typically develops by age of 5 years old

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11
Q

Pleasure Principle

A

Seeking immediate gratification/release (or avoiding pain) regardless of ethical/rational concerns, and environmental realities

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12
Q

Reality Principle

A

Assessing the reality of the external world, and acting upon it accordingly rather than acting on the pleasure principle (only give into unconscious desires when it makes sense)

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13
Q

Name the 7 common defence mechanisms

A

Displacement
Repression
Sublimation
Regression
Denial
Projection
Rationalization

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14
Q

Displacement

A

Dangerous impulse is repressed, but redirected to a less threatening target

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15
Q

Defence Mechanisms

A

Common reactions that help us cope with stressful situations. These mechanisms usually operate on an unconscious level and they distort/deny reality

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16
Q

Repression

A

Ego uses its energy to prevent anxiety-arousing thoughts from entering one’s consciousness. Thus, one has no memory of traumatic events, but the events influence their actions and behaviours

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17
Q

Sublimation

A

Transforming socially unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable actions or behaviours (a mature defence mechanism)

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18
Q

Regression

A

Person retreats to a child-like state so they do not have to deal with their anxiety

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19
Q

Denial

A

Person does not acknowledge reality or denies the consequences of their reality

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20
Q

Projection

A

Rather than acting on a socially unacceptable impulse, a person attributes their unacceptable impulse onto other people

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21
Q

Rationalization

A

Person creates false explanations for their anxiety-arousing behaviour. This protects themselves from feelings of guilt, disappointment, and anxiety

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22
Q

Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory

A

Personalities are moulded by early life experiences. At each stage of life, a key task centred around a particular erogenous zone needs to be accomplished before the next stage to avoid fixation

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23
Q

Stages of Psychosexual Development

A
  1. Oral
  2. Anal
  3. Phallic
  4. Latency
  5. Genital
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24
Q

Oral Stage of Psychosexual Development

A

Occurs at 0-2 years of age
Erogenous Zone: Mouth
Key Task: Weaning (transition from breastfeeding to other foods and fluids)

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25
Anal Stage of Psychosexual Development
Occurs at 2-3 years old Erogenous Zone: Anus Key Task: Toilet training
26
Phallic Stage of Psychosexual Development
Occurs at 4-6 years of age Erogenous Zone: Genitals Key Task: Resolving Oedipus complex
27
Oedipus Complex
Desire for sexual involvement with parent of the opposite gender and jealousy towards parent of the same sex
28
Latency Stage of Psychosexual Development
Occurs starting at age of 7 up to puberty No erogenous zone Key Task: Developing social relationships
29
Genital Stage of Psychosexual Development
Starts when a child hits puberty Erogenous Zone: Genitals Key Task: Developing mature social and sexual relationships
30
Neoanalytic Approaches (Psychodynamic Perspective on Personality)
Emphasized social-cultural influences on personality
31
According to Adler, what motivates humans?
Humans are social creatures that are motivated by social interest. We have the desire to improve other people’s well-being. People also strive for superiority
32
Striving for superiority
An inferiority complex leads to people attempting to compensate for real or imagined deficits
33
Humanistic Approach to Personality
Emphasize the good in humans and the human spirit Belief that the consciousness plays a role in changing things we are aware of
34
Self-actualization
The ultimate human need; the realization of a person’s full potential
35
George Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory
Primary goal of life is to make sense out of the world. We do this by finding personal meaning in the world.
36
Personal Constructs
Cognitive categories which sort the people and events in one’s life. Can be used to predict a person’s behaviour to understand their personality
37
Fixed-role Therapy
Therapist writes role descriptions that challenge a client’s personal constructs to get clients to adopt a new construct in their lives
38
Carl Rogers Self Theory
Behaviour is a response to our immediate conscious experience of self and environment. Forces that direct our behaviours are within us
39
Self Concept
An organized, consistent set of perceptions and beliefs about oneself. Self-concept then guides one’s perceptions and directs behaviour
40
Self-consistency
Consistency among self perceptions
41
Congruence
Consistency between self perceptions and experiences
42
What happens when an experience does not match one’s self-concept?
Anxiety
43
How do healthy individuals respond to a mismatch between their experiences and their self-concept?
Healthy individuals modify their self-concept so that their experiences are congruent with themselves
44
How do unhealthy individuals respond to a mismatch between their experiences and their self-concept?
Unhealthy individuals tend to distort their experiences to try to remove the incongruence between their experiences and themselves ("a problem in living”)
45
Self-esteem
How positively or negatively we feel about ourselves (an evaluation of our self-concept)
46
Characteristics of People with High Self-Esteem
Fewer interpersonal problems (less likely to be influenced by social pressures) Higher achievement (happier, more successful, capable of forming relationships)
47
What are the consequences of unrealistically high self esteem?
Unrealistically high self-esteem can lead to people acting aggressively when their self-esteem is being threatened
48
How can high self-esteem be developed?
Positive thoughts High self-worth Unconditional acceptance/love from caregivers
49
Characteristics of People with Poor Self-Esteem
Anxiety/depression Poor achievement Poor relationships
50
Need for Positive Regard
Humans are born with an innate need for acceptance, sympathy, and love from others (ideally provided unconditionally by caregivers)
51
Unconditional Positive Regard
Positive regard is provided independently of behaviour. Note that there are repercussions for poor behaviours
52
Conditional Positive Regard
Positive regard is provided only when a person is well-behaved
53
Positive self-regard
Experience of being understood and valued; gives us freedom to grow. Lack of positive self-regard creates conditions of worth
54
Conditions of Worth
Only get acceptance, sympathy, and love when one meets certain standards. Dictates when we approve/disapprove of ourselves
55
What are some concerns with the humanistic theories?
Too much reliance on self-reports Not “scientific” enough (accepting a person’s self-reports can lead to errors in conclusions due to unconscious forces or a lack of honesty)
56
Trait Theorists
Aim to describe the basic classes of behaviour that define our personalities. They measure individual differences in personality traits and use them to understand and predict people’s behaviours
57
Factor Analysis
Group related traits together by similarity. Each dimension (factor) reflects a continuum of behaviour
58
Cattell’s Sixteen Personality Factors
”Splitter”: Split personality into 16 different factors Each factor is non-orthogonal (factors are related)
59
Eysenck’s Extraversion-Stability Model
“Lumper”: Lump traits together under one dimension Classified personality under 3 dimensions (orthogonal -> independent): Extraversion/Introversion Neuroticism/Stability Psychoticism/Socialized
60
Psychoticism
Not sympathetic Impulsive Socially deviant Creative
61
The Big Five (OCEAN)
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
62
What are the biological differences between introverts and extroverts
Introverts and extroverts have different arousal patterns in their brains. Introverts tend to be over-aroused, while extroverts tend to be under-aroused
63
What are the biological differences between stable and neurotic people?
There are differences in autonomic nervous system arousal. Neurotic people have large shifts in arousal (hair trigger nervous systems). Stable people have smaller/more gradual shifts in arousal
64
What neurotransmitters affect impulsivity?
Dopamine and serotonin
65
According to Julian Rotter, what 2 factors govern behaviour?
Expectancy Reinforcement
66
Social Cognitive Theories
Combine behavioural and cognitive perspectives to try to explain personality. Attributes behaviours to internal and external factors
67
Expectancy
Likelihood of consequences given behaviour
68
Reinforcement
How much we desire or dread the consequences of a behaviour
69
Locus of Control
The expectancy concerning personal control in our lives. People may have a predominantly internal or external locus of control
70
What are the pros and cons of using the trait approach to analyzing personality?
Pro: Focused on identifying and measuring personality dispositions, can be useful for predicting behaviours Con: Cannot explain underlying psychological mechanisms (describes behaviours using traits but not the inner workings of how someone operates)
71
Human Agency
Idea proposed by Albert Bandura. Humans are active agents in their own lives (not at the mercy of our environment). Composed of 4 aspects: Intentionality Forethought Self-reactiveness Self-reflectiveness
72
Intentionality
We make or modify plans with intention
73
Forethought
Choosing behaviours that are relevant to our goals since we can anticipate outcomes
74
Self-reactiveness
Motivating/regulating our actions Modifying goals Monitoring progress
75
Self-reflectiveness
Evaluating our motivations, values, and goals
76
Self-efficacy
A person’s beliefs concerning their ability to perform behaviours needed to achieve outcomes
77
What factors influence a person’s self efficacy?
Performance experiences Observational learning Verbal persuasion Emotional arousal
78
Performance experiences
Previous success and failure experiences on similar tasks
79
Observational learning
Observation of the behaviours and consequences to similar models in similar situations ("if they can do it, so can I”)
80
Emotional arousal
Arousal that can be interpreted as enthusiasm or anxiety (can be mediated by learning to control negative emotions)
81
Verbal persuasion
Encouraging or discouraging messages received from others
82
Personality Assessment
How we measure a person’s personality. Different approaches include: Personality scales & self-ratings Projective tests Physiological measures Behavioural assessment Reports/ratings from others Interviews
83
Interviews
A structured set of questions that notes behaviours, appearances, and speech patterns
84
What are the drawbacks of using interviews to measure a person’s personality
Interviewee’s responses could be impacted by interviewer’s personality Co-operation and honesty is not guaranteed
85
Behavioural Assessments
Observing behaviours in specific situations under certain conditions. In particular, measure the frequency of behaviours under specific conditions
86
Remote Behavioural Sampling
Collect samples of behaviours from respondents as they live their daily lives. Works well for finding patterns in behaviour (can obtain a large, detailed dataset easily)
87
Personality Scales
Use standard questions and agreed upon scoring key. They are objective assessments and they can collect data from many people at the same time
88
What are the disadvantages of using personality scales?
The validity of answers is questionable since people can lie. Need to frame questions in a way that avoids social desirability bias
89
Projective Tests
People are presented with an ambiguous stimulus. Provides a "projection" of a person’s inner workings since people need to interpret from within themselves. Two main tests: Rorschach Inkblots Thematic Apperception Test
90
Thematic Apperception Test
Person is given a series of illustrations and photos. They are asked to tell a story using the provided illustrations. Responses analyze the types of relationships, motives, feelings, and outcome of the person’s "story”
91
What personality assessment do psychodynamic theorists most likely use?
Projective Tests
92
Which personality assessment do humanistic theorists most likely use?
Self-report measures
93
Which personality assessment do social-cognitive theorists most likely use?
Behavioural assessments
94
Which personality assessment do biological theorists most likely use?
Physiological measurements
95
Which personality assessment do trait theorists most likely use?
Inventories
96
Reciprocal Determinism
A person’s behaviour both influences and is influenced by personal and environmental factors

PSYCH 105 (11 decks)

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