CHAPTER 12 Flashcards
personality
an individual’s characteristic style of behaving, thinking, and feeling.
many psychologists attempt to study and explain personality by…
prior events or anticipated events
measuring personality
personality inventories and projective techniques
self report
a method in which people provide subjective information about their own thoughts, feelings, or behaviours, typically via questionnaire or interview.
Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI)
a well-researched clinical questionnaire used to assess personality and psychological problems
includes validity scales
338 self descriptive statements to which people answer true or false
projective tests
designed to reveal inner aspects of individuals’ personalities by analysis of their responses to a standard series of ambiguous stimuli.
designed to circumvent limitations of self reports
Rorschach inkblot tests
a projective technique in which respondents’ inner thoughts and feelings are believed to be revealed by analysis of their responses to a set of unstructured inkblots.
thematic apperception tests (TAT)
projective technique in which respondents’ underlying motives and concerns and the way they see the social world are believed to be revealed through analysis of the stories they make up about ambiguous pictures of people.
trait
a relatively stable disposition to behave in a particular and consistent way
doesn’t describe behaviour
Hierarchical Structure of Traits
Traits may be organized in a hierarchy in which many specific behavioural tendencies are associated with a higher-order trait
the big five
openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism
openness to experience
high- imaginative, variety, independent
low- down to earth, routine, conforming
conscientiousness
high- organized, careful, self deisiplines
low- disorganized, careless, weak-willed
extraversion
high- social, fun loving, affectionate
low- retiring, sober, reserved
agreeableness
high- softhearted, trusting, helpful
low- ruthless, suspicious, uncooperative
neuroticism
high- worries, insecure, self pitying
low- calm, secure, self- satisfied
heritability of Big 5
O- .41
C- .31
E- .36
A- .35
N- .37
personality gender categorization
masc- self reliant, defends own beliefs, independent, assertive, forceful
fem- yielding, affectionate, flatterable, sympathetic, sensitive to the needs of others
psychodynamic approach
regards personality as formed by needs, strivings, and desires largely operating outside of awareness—motives that can produce emotional disorders
ID
the part of the mind containing the drives present at birth; it is the source of our bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses, particularly our sexual and aggressive drives.
superego
the mental system that reflects the internalization of cultural rules, mainly learned as parents exercise their authority.
ego
the component of personality, developed through contact with the external world, that enables us to deal with life’s practical demands.
defence mechanisms term
unconscious coping mechanisms that reduce the anxiety generated by threats from unacceptable impulses
defence mechanisms
repression
rationalization
reaction formation
projection
regression
displacement
identification
sublimation
sublimation
unacceptable sexual or aggressive drives into socially acceptable activities- sports
identification
dealing with threats by copying the stong ones- a bullied kid becoming a bully
displacement
unacceptable ishes/drives into neutral/less threatening alternative - slamming a door
regression
reverting to an earlier stage of developemnt- baby talk
projection
judging others as liars when you yourself are dishonest
reaction formation
inner fantasies replaces with exaggerated opposite version- being mean to crush
rationalization
dropping a class for an alleged reason
repression
motivated forgetting
freud’s psychosexual stages
oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
self actualizing tendency
the human motive towards realizing our inner potential,
existential approach
a school of thought that regards personality as governed by an individual’s ongoing choices and decisions in the context of the realities of life and death.
social cognitive approach
views personality in terms of how a person thinks about the situations encountered in daily life and behaves in response to them.
person situation controversy
the question of whether behaviour is caused more by personality or by situational factors.
personal constructs
dimension people use in making sense of their experiences
outcome expectancies
a person’s assumptions about the likely consequences of a future behaviour
locus of control
a person’s tendency to perceive the control of rewards as internal to the self or external in the environment,
self concept
a person’s explicit knowledge of his or her own behaviours, traits, and other personal characteristics.
self schemas
sets of traits we use to define ourselves
self-verification
the tendency to seek evidence to confirm the self-concept,
self- esteem
the extent to which an individual likes, values, and accepts the self.
self-serving bias
people tend to take credit for their successes but downplay responsibility for their failures.
narcissism
a grandiose view of the self, combined with a tendency to seek admiration from and exploit others
extreme is considered a personality disorder
