Chapter 1: Introduction and Personality Treat

Question 1

personality traits

Answer 1

reflect the basic dimensions on which people differ. there are a limited number of these dimensions, and each individual falls somewhere on each dimension. these basic dimensions reflect continuous distributions rather than individual personality types.

Question 2

3 criteria that characterize personality traits

Answer 2

• consistency: individuals must be somewhat consistent in their behavior related to that trait in all situations
• stability: Individuals with a trait are also somewhat stable over time in behaviors related to the trait
• individual differences: people differ from each other in behaviors related to the trait

Question 3

factor analysis

Answer 3

statistical technique for grouping similar things according to the degree to which they are associated with each other

Question 4

the big five (OCEAN)

Answer 4

-openness
- conscientiousness
- extraversion
- agreeableness
- neuroticism

Question 5

openness

Answer 5

the tendency to appreciate new art, ideas, values, feelings and behaviors

Question 6

conscientiousness

Answer 6

the tendency to be careful, be on time for appointments, follow rules and work hard

Question 7

extraversion

Answer 7

tends to be talkative, sociable, amusing to others: tend to have a dominant style

Question 8

friendliness (agreeableness)

Answer 8

the tendency to agree and go along with others instead of asserting one’s own opinions and choices

Question 9

neuroticism

Answer 9

tend to frequently experience negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety and sadness, and be interpersonally sensitive

Question 10

strengths of big five

Answer 10

• somewhat comprehensive descriptive model of traits
• provides structure for comparable research and application
• the broad trait domains encompass and organizes many more specific subtraits.
• good predictor of life outcomes

Question 11

limitations of big five

Answer 11

• possible omissions include: positive/negative evaluations, masculinity/femininity, religiosity/spirituality, narcissism, psychopathy, and arrogance
• not always cross-culturally replicable
• unsure why these 5 factors emerged in the first place
• purely descriptive and has no explanatory effects of its causes, mechanisms and effects

Question 12

facets

Answer 12

more specific, lower-level units of personality

Question 13

ABCD’s

Answer 13

• affect
• behavior
• cognition
• desires

Question 14

facets of the big five

Answer 14

Question 14

traits

Answer 14

deep underlying psychological and neurological entities and casually effect our ABCD’s. we cannot directly measure traits

Question 14

personality states

Answer 14

our current ABCD’s in a given moment, personality traits can be seen as the way we should typically behave (an introvert can show extraverted behaviour as well)

Question 14

Hans Eysenck’s PEN model

Answer 14

focuses on the trait domains of neuroticism, extraversion, and psychoticism. he assumed that most personality differences could be explained by combining extraversion and neuroticism. he tried to link these two dimensions to underlying differences in people’s biology

Question 14

how are extraversion and neuroticism related to reward and avoidance systems in the brain?

Answer 14

• extraverts are motivated to seek reward and exhibit assertive, reward-seeking behavior because they have a less sensitive ascending activating system, which is responsible for arousal, attention, and sleep-wake cycle
• people with high neuroticism are motivated to avoid punishment and experience anxiety due to their heightened awareness of threats in the world around them. this is caused by increased reactivity of the limbic system, which is responsible for emotional processing

Question 14

2 main neurological systems responsible for personality differences

Answer 14

• behvaioral activation: sensitivity to positive stimuli=reward
• behavioral inhibition: sensitivity to negative stimuli=punishment

anxiety and impulsivity are the product of these

Question 14

HEXACO model

Answer 14

similar to Big Five but adds Honesty-Modesty. people who score high on this trait are sincere, honest, and humble, while people who score low on this trait are manipulative, narcissistic and self-centered

Question 14

person situation debate

Answer 14

a discussion about the power of personality versus the power of situational factors as determinants of the behavior people exhibit

to best capture general trends, one must assess behavior as a whole, averaged over a period of time and across many different types of situations