Chaper 11 Part 2 Flashcards
What are trait theories and what is one of the trait theory called?
Trait theories state that personality consist of broad dispositions that produce characteristic responses.(Big stable traits that guide how we act in lots of situations)
One trait theory: the Big Five factors of personality, which relate to important aspects of a person’s life:
• Openness to experience.
• Conscientiousness.
• Extroversion.
• Agreeableness.
• Neuroticism.
Big five factors of personality USE OCEAN
Openness to experience:
-you can be imaginative, like thinking outside the box or practical realistic hands on
-Interested in variety or routine
independent or conforming
Conscientiousness, which is being responsible, reliable, and how goal focus you
-organized or disorganized
-Careful, or careless
-discipline or impulsive
Extraversion
:• Sociable or retiring.
• Fun-loving or somber.
• Affectionate or reserved.
Agreeableness
• Softhearted or ruthless.
• Trusting or suspicious.
• Helpful or uncooperative.
Neuroticism (emotional stability)
• Calm or anxious.
• Secure or insecure.
• Self-satisfied or self-pitying.
What is optimism?
What do most psychologist believe? Personality is a product of…?
Another important personality characteristic is optimism: having a positive outlook on the future and minimizing problems.
• Often referred to as a style of thinking.
• In adolescents, an optimistic style of thinking is linked to lower risk of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts.
• Research suggests optimism is linked to better adjustment, better health, and increased longevity.
Most psychologists believe personality is a product of trait-situation interaction- that is, context or environment is also important.
What are the social cognitive theories of personality?
• Rotter’s Locus of Control
-Bandura social self efficacy
-Michel’s situation versus personal context
-humanistic theories of personality
-Maslow HON
Julian Rotter Social Cogntive Theory
explaining predicting behavior, depends on knowing individuals:
-reinforcement history: past experiences that were rewarded and what were being punished shaped how you act
-Expectancies: what the outcome you believe will be if you behaved in a certain way
-subjective values: how important outcome is to you
-locus of control: (external and internal)
individuals believe about how much control they have over events in their lives
Albert Bandura, social cognitive theory
What is reciprocal determinism?
reciprocal determinism is our behavior, cognitive processes and situational context, all influence, each other
in other words our actions, our thoughts, and our surroundings, all affect each other
what is self efficacy?
It is predictions of your own ability to perform task or behaviors you set out to accomplish
Walter Mischel, social cognitive theory
situational variables is external factors that encourage or discourage behavior, ( reward or punishment)
Person variables: internal qualities like thoughts, beliefs, emotions, skills, and values that influence how you act, think ,and see yourself
expectancies: beliefs about what will happen if you act (tied to confidence and past experiences)
Like studying will get me good grades
subjective values: what you prioritize or find meaningful
(Like family time over career advancement)
competencies: Your capabilities, including strategies. How do you process and categorize experiences (Seeing setback as learning opportunity or failure)
self regulatory systems and plans:
internal tools for goalsetting and self control, such as creating a study session and resisting impulses
evaluating the social cognitive perspective
advantages, and disadvantages
Advantages:
-Based on learning theory, which is highly testable
-Impetus behind behavioral therapy
(inspired therapist that help people change behaviors by adjusting their thoughts and environment)
-Shifted thinking to people as active thinkers and interpreters of information
(reflecting on their actions and environment)
Drawbacks:
-Does not attend to the influence of the unconscious and genetics
•Does not explain consistent behaviors across situations
-Focuses too little on subjective experiences(how it feels to be yourself)
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow the humanistic perspective
Maslow and the drive towards self actualization
(highest level of self growth) reaching fullest ptential and being true and living a meaningful life
The journey of self-discovery and growth is more important than the final destination
Awareness and acceptance of all parts of one’s self is essential
what consists of Maslow‘s hierarchy of needs?
-Physiological Needs (bottom of the Pyramid):
food, water, warm, rest
If these needs aren’t met (e.g., a teen lacks food), they can’t focus on school, friendships, or personal growth, stalling self-concept or identity development.
-Safety Needs:
Safety and security
Example: A teen feels safe in a supportive school and neighborhood, allowing them to explore hobbies or friendships.
Relevance: Safety supports the social references you asked about (e.g., “I’m a friend”), as kids need stability to build relationships and self-conceptions (e.g., “I’m kind”).
-Love and Belonging Needs:
Intimate relationships, friends
Example: A child feels loved by their parents and accepted by peers, boosting their confidence.
Esteem Needs:
Feeling respected by others and confident in yourself, through achievements, recognition, or self-respect.
Self-Actualization Needs (Top of the Pyramid):
achieving one’s potential including creative activities
What is Levinsons Seasons of a Mansife approach
Like Erikson’s theory, Levinson’s Seasons of a Man’s Life approach is a stage-crisis view of development.
• Developmental tasks must be mastered at each stage.
• End of teens should see atransition from dependence to independence, marked by formation of a dream.
• Twenties, a novice phase of adult development; then another transition with the determination of goals.
• Thirties, a focus on family and career, near the end of which,
BOOM: Becoming One’s Own Man.
• By age 40, a stable career; and a midlife transition.
Views on Adult Personality Development:
The Stage-Crisis View
According to levinson the midlife transition last about….
According to Levinson, the midlife transition lasts about 5 years (age 40-45) and involves coming to grips with key conflicts:
• Being young versus being old.
• Being destructive versus being constructive.
• Being masculine versus being feminine.
•Being attached to others versus being separated from them.
Levinson maintains the stages, transitions, and crises also hold for females.
Levinson views midlife as a…
What does Vailllant believe on the other hand?
Levinson views midlife as a crisis.
• Middle-aged adult is suspended between past and future, trying to cope with the gap to ensure life’s continuity.
Vaillant concludes that the forties are instead a decade of reassessing and recording the truth about the adolescent and adulthood years.
• Only a minority of adults experience a crisis.
Emotional well-being does not decrease significantly.
• Some psychological gains are experienced.
Views on Adult Personality Development:
The Life-Events Approach
What is contemporary life events approach?
What are the drawbacks
Contemporary life-events approach emphasizes that how life events influence development depends not only on the event but also on:
Mediatir&g factors (e.g., physical health).
Individual’s adaptation to the life event.
Life stage context.
Sociohistorical context.
Drawbacks to this approach:
Too much emphasis on change, not enough on stability.
Daily experiences, rather than major life events, can be the primary sources of stress.
Views on Adult Personality Development:
Do stage theories address Individual Variations
And what age adults shape, alter or give meanings to their life
• Stage theories focus on the universals and do not adequately address individual variations.
• Research suggests middle-aged adults individually interpret, shape, alter, and give meaning to their lives.
• Some individuals experience a crisis in some contexts but not in others.
• Turmoil and stress may characterize one area of a person’s life while things are going smoothly in another.
Whats generativity and what aged people are concerned with it and how can it be developed
Erikson argues middle-aged adults face the issue of generativity versus stagnation.
• Generativity is an adult’s desire to leave a legacy.
• Stagnation develops when an individual senses he or she has done nothing for the next generation.
Studies confirm middle-aged adults are especially concerned about generativity.
Generativity can be developed in a number of ways.
•May take the form of biological generativity, parental generativity, work generativity, and cultural generativity.
Ongoing study of the Big Five personality factors has found in the adult years
Most research suggests the greatest change occurs
a great deal of stability across the adult years.
Other research indicates greater developmental changes.
• Emotional stability, extroversion, openness, and agreeableness are lower in early adulthood, peak at 40-60 years, and decrease in late adulthood.
• Conscientiousness shows a continuous increase from early adulthood to late adulthood.
Most research suggests the greatest change occurs in early adulthood.
Personality: Stability and Change
According to the Berkeley Longitudinal Studies: Most stable characteristics are
Characteristics that change the most…
• Most stable characteristics are the degree to which individuals are intellectually oriented, self-confident, or open to new experiences.
• Characteristics that change the most include the extent to which they are nurturant or hostile and whether they have good self-control.
-Some people experience recurrent crises and change a great deal, while others lead more stable, continuous lives and change far less.
Helson’s Mills College Studies was a longitudinal study of 132 women.
Distinguished three main groups: family-oriented, career-oriented, and those who followed neither path.
•Women in all three groups experienced similar psychological changes over their adult years.
• Although concerns were much like those found by Levinson in men, the Mills women experienced a midlife consciousness rather than crisis.
Commitment to tasks in early adulthood appeared to help to control impulses gain skills and become independent
Vailliant conducted a set of three longitudinal studies of adult development and aging.
Data from 50-year olds were used to predict the course of their development to old age, placing them into the categories of
“happy-well,* “Sad sick,” or “dead.”
Predictors of “happy-well’* at age 75-80: regular exercise, avoiding being overweight, well educated, stable marriage, future oriented, thankful and forgiving, empathizing with others, good coping skills.
Alcohol abuse and smoking were the best predictors of “dead” at 75-80 years.
Conclusions of personality traits..
When do most change occurs..
and what is cumulative personality model…
Personality changes that occur across adulthood move in a what direction,
Conclusions:
Personality traits continue to change during the adult years, even into late adulthood.
• Most change occurs during early adulthood.
• More stability is shown in personality traits after midlife.
Cumulative personality model: with time and age, people become more adept at interacting with their environment in ways that promote increased stability in personality.
Personality changes that occur across adulthood move in a positive direction, toward social maturity-“more confident, warm, responsible, and calm.”
