Chapter 11 Flashcards
reliability
consistency of a measure
test-retest reliability
consistency of a test over time
validity
accuracy of a measure
to be valid, a measure must also be reliable
personality
an individual’s characteristic style of behaving, thinking, and feeling
set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that are organized and relatively enduring and that influence the individual’s interactions with the environment
types of tests
self-report tests
individuals provide subjective information about their own thoughts, feelings, or behaviors via questionnaire/interveiw
examples: MMPI
issue: we don’t know ourselves as well as we think we do…
Also, social desirability is an issue. Meaning, when you take a test, you present yourself in a more socially desirable way than the way you really are
types of tests
projective tests
designed to reveeal inner aspects of individuals’ personalities by analysis of their responses to an standard serious of ambiguous stimuli
Example: rorschach inkblot test
are projective tests valid?
no, they are too subjective. But, they can be useful reflective tools for a therapist-patient relationship
psychodynamic approach to personality
personality is formed by
* needs
* strivings
* desires
largely operating outside of awareness
sigmund freud said that the mind is composed of the unconscious, the preconscious, and the conscious. Also, conflicts between biological aggressive urges + pleasure seeking drivers vs. internal control over these drives = personalities
Freud - layers of personality
id
contains the drives present at birth, source of bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses
the pleasure principle
Freud - layers of personality
superego
reflects the internalization of cultural rules
tells you about right and wrong (your moral compass)
Freud - layers of personality
ego
acts as the mediator between the id and the superego
enables us to deal with practical demands of life
it’s the reality principle
managing the id, superego, and ego
freud said that dynamics among the systems are goverened by anxiety
an unpleasant feeling that arises when unwanted thoughts or feelings occur
repression
removing painful experiences and unacceptable impulses from unconsciousness
projection
attributing unacceptable impulses and desires to others
regression
reverting to an immature behvaior or earlier state of development after a threat
displacement
shifting unacceptable drives to a neutral or less threatening altenrative
directing your emotion from one person to an underserving “other.”
neo-Freudian approaches
carl jung (1923)
proposed the ideas introversion and extraversion
introversion tendencies
- energized by being along
- prefers written communication
- speaks slowly and softly
- avoids attention
extraversion tendencies
- energized by being with others
- prefers verbal communication
- speaks quickly and loudly
- seeks attention
the trait approach
realtively stable disposition to behave in a particular and consistnet way (over time, and across situations)
this is a description, not an explanation. You could say someone is organized, but you don’t know why. That’s a weakness of this approach
lexical approach
refers to language and vocabulary
determining fundamental personality traits by analyzing language
there are 18,000 andjectives that describe personality
the big 5 factor model
based on research from the lexical approach
most valid and comprehensive measure of personality
* O: openness
* C: conscientiousness
* E: extraversion
* A: agreeableness
* N: neuroticism
biological approach to personality
inherited predispositions and physiological processes can be used to explain individual differences in our personality
changes in personality can be traced back to genetics
personality is due to both nature and nurture
what is the best way to study biology and cultural influences on personality?
studying fraternal and identical twins, especially studying identical twins raised in different households.
There will be differences in the traits expressed
Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart
illustrated that certaint raits are strongly incluenced by **genetics **
genetics explain 50-70% of personality variance
cultural influences can make up 30% of the variance
humanistic approach to personality
emphasizes a positive, optimisitic view of human nature that highlights peoples’ inherent goodness and potential for perosnal growth
Humanistic Approach
Abraham Maslow
created the hierarchy of needs
came up with self-actualizing tendency, or the human motive towards realizing inner potential
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Humanistic Approach
Carl Rogers
stated there is a self-concept. A person’s explicit knowledge of their own behaviors, traits, and other personal characteristics
your self-esteem results from the different between the ideal and actual self. The further they are apart, the lower the self-esteem
self-esteem
the extent to which an individual likes, values, and accepts the self
how you think about your self-concept
high - positive self-view, view the self as worthy and competent
low - absence of positive self-view, view the self as nothing special and just okay
conditional vs unconditional positive regard
conditional - conditions to whether you’re given postiive regards (if you score enough points on this test, you’ll be given positive regard)
unconditional - no conditions, given no matter what, acceptance along all dimensions (I’ll love you no matter how highly you score on this exam)
the best way to have healthy personality development is unconditional positive regard
dark triad of personality traits
narcissism
dark triad
narcissism
associated with a sense of gradiosity, entitlment, superiority, and self-orientation
there is a difference between narcistic traits and narcistic personality disorder
dark triad
machiavelianism
associated with manipulativeness, self-interest, exploitation of others and a-morality (lack of morality)
characterized by manipulation
dark triad
psychopathy
associated with impulsivity, antisocial actions and a lack of empathy/remorse
anti-social personality disorder
make impulse decisions, lack social nature, do things for themselves
social-cognitive approach
personality viewed in terms of how a person thinks about the situations encountered in daily life behaves in response to them
focuses on the person-situation controversy
states that cognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors interact
outcome expectancies
person’s assumptions about the likely consequences of a future behavior
locus of control
a person’s tendency to perceive the control of rewards as internal to the self or external in the environment
internal locus of control - you make things happen
external locus of control - things happen to you
learned helplessness
mental state where a person beleives they are unable to control situations, even when they could do so
self-serving bias
people tend to take credit for their successes but downplay responsibility for their failures
