Chapter 12: Cognitive Topics in Personality Flashcards
describe the cognitive approaches to personality
how people differ from each other in processing information (e.g. different styles of perceiving and thinking and problem-solving)
what is thought sampling
people are asked what they thought about when they looked at a slide (usually an emotion-provoking scene)
personalizing cognition
scene prompts person to recall a similar life event from their own life
objectifying cognition
scene prompts person to recall objective facts
cognition
awareness and thinking, specific mental acts (perceiving, attending, interpreting, remembering, believing, judging, deciding, etc.) –> these mental behaviours add up to “information processing”
information processing
transformation of sensory input into mental representations, manipulation of such representations –> humans are not always accurate or unbiased when doing this (unlike computers)
what are three levels of cognition that are of interest to personality psychologists
perception, interpretation, and conscious goals
perception
- process of imposing order on the information our sense organs take in
- two people can look at the same situation and see very different things (e.g. the necker cube, Rorschach inkblots)
interpretation
- making sense of (or explaining) various events in the world
- giving meaning to events
- e.g. thematic apperception test (TAT)
conscious goals
- standards people develop for evaluating themselves and others
- based on developed beliefs on what is important in life and which tasks are appropriate to pursue
- might be age or culture specific
describe Witkin’s study of field dependence versus field independence
- personality can be revealed through differences in how people perceive the environment
- e.g. some people cannot look beyond details to get the big picture
Rod and Frame Test (RFT; Witkin)
- some people rely on cues from environment surrounding the object, while others rely on bodily cues that tell them how they are oriented
- participants sit in darkened room and watch glowing rod surrounded by a tilted square frame –> have to adjust the rod by turning the dial to rod is upright (have to ignore the tilt of the frame)
field dependent vs independent via the rod & frame test (Witkin)
- field dependent = participant adjusts rod so it is leaning in the direction of the tilted frame (dependent on the visual field)
- field independent = participant disregards external cues and uses information from body to adjust the rod to upright
what is a more efficient way to measure field dependence/independence (rather than the rod & frame test)
- create a complex figure with many simple figures/shapes
- ask people to find as many hidden figures within the larger drawing
- e.g. Embedded Figures Test (EFT)
- difficulty findings hidden figures = field dependent
what are differences in perception related to in personality functioning
- consequences in education and interpersonal relations
- field-independent students favour the natural sciences, math & engineering, while field-dependent favour social sciences and education
- field dependent = rely on social information and frequently ask others their opinion (attentive to social cues, oriented towards others)
- field independent = function autonomously, impersonal orientation towards others, prefer non-social situations
how do field dependent vs independent people respond in stimulus-rich environments
- field independent = ignore distracting information and focus on important details (e.g. more accurately deciding when to shoot as a police officer, better at noticing and decoding facial expressions)
describe how field dependent vs independent students learn in a hypermedia-based environment
- field-independent = learn more effectively in hypermedia based instructional environment
- able to get points embedded within various sources of media faster
- good at selective attention in stimulus-rich environments
how do field dependent vs independent people read emotional facial expressions
field-dependent people tend to be more socially oriented, but are actually not as good at interpreting facial expression as field-independent people are (but ONLY when the task was difficult e.g. only showed the eyes)
how do field dependent vs independent people learn languages
field independent people make better progress when learning a second language –> better at perceiving patterns within a complex stream of information
what are the pros and cons of being field dependent and independent
- independent = analyze complex situations, extract information from background distractions, creative, BUT low on social skills
- dependent = social skills, attentive to social contexts
How might people differ in their interpretations of different events (e.g. in trials)
- did person intend to harm someone
- did they plan the crime
- do they appreciate the consequences of their behaviour
what was the core belief of Kelly’s theory
- people are motivated to understand their circumstances and predict what will happen to them in the near future
- psychoanalysis provides people with a system for explaining psychological problems
- people want to find explanations and meanings for their life circumstances –> help them predict the future and anticipate what will happen next
how did Kelly view human nature
- humans as scientists
- engage in efforts to understand, predict and control events in their lives
- people experience distress when they do not know why some event happened
- employ constructs to interpret observations
define constructs (Kelly)
- does not exist in itself, but instead summarizes a set of observations and conveys the meaning of those observations
- e.g. gravity –> cannot show it, but can demonstrate its effects
- humans have personal constructs –> those people use to interpret and predict events
personal constructs (Kelly)
- people have a few key constructs they habitually apply in interpreting their world (especially the social world)
- each person has their own unique interpretation of the world
- personality = differences in personal contructs
- similar to cognitive schemas (mental concepts that help people process/organize/interpret incoming information)
describe how Kelly theorized that personal constructs are “bipolar”
- consist of some characteristic understood against its opposite (or when person takes it to be its opposite)
- this is what makes personal constructs different from schemas
- e.g. smart vs not smart –> parse the world into social groupings based on this
postmodernism
- intellectual position grounded in notion that reality is constructed, every person/culture has a unique version of reality, and no single version is more privileged than another
- E.g. Kelly’s theory –> personal constructs serve to create each person’s psychological reality
what was Kelly’s most basic idea
- the fundamental postulate
- person’s processes are psychologically channelized by ways in which they anticipate events
- each had number of collaries –> two people with psychologically similar construct systems interpret the world similiarly
describe Kelly’s notion of anxiety
- anxiety is the result of our personal constructs failing to make sense of our circumstances
- e.g. when events are felt to be unpredictable and outside of control
- sometimes constructs are too rigid, or sometimes they are too flexible –> can cause people to experience things they “can’t understand”
locus of control
- person’s perception of responsibility for life events
- locating responsibility internally or externally (luck, fate)
describe Rotter’s social learning theory
- learning depends on degree to which people value the reinforcement value
- not all reinforcements are equal
- people differ in terms of their expectations for reinforcement
- includes expectancy of reinforcement model –> some people think certain behaviours result in reinforcement (i.e. they think they are in control of receiving reinforcement) while others think that their behaviour will not result in change
generalized expectancies
- person’s expectations for reinforcement are held across a variety of situations
- in new situations, people base expectancies on generalized expectancies about whether they have the ability to influence events
- external and internal locus of control
describe the outcomes of having an internal locus of control
- in general it is conducive to wellbeing
- tendency toward being more in charge of one’s life
- problems can arise when confronted with circumstances that are truly outside of their control (e.g. “survivor syndrome” where you think “if only” I had done something differently)
- e.g. completing degrees in more timely manner, higher credit ratings
- less likely to give up control (e.g. automated cars)
specific expectancies
- emphasis on locus of control in discrete areas of life
- might be internal in one area but external in another
- e.g. health outcomes vs academic outcomes
learned helplessness
- e.g. study on subjecting dogs to foot shocks –> eventually stop trying to escape, even when it is easy for them to, until they are coached on how to escape
- people have been found to generalize learned helplessness across situations
- can result from many difficult situations (e.g. trauma)
intergenerational trauma
historical trauma experienced by earlier generations has had lasting effects that are still felt by members of these communities today –> collective experience making some members of these communities more vulnerable to stress
describe how locus of control and learned helplessness applies to intergenerational trauma experienced by indigenous communities
- passing of learned behavioural patterns between generations (e.g. violence)
- lack of support services, ongoing discrimination
- learned helplessness: failure in past = expectations of failure in future –> lowered self esteem & heightened depression
- locus of control: internal locus is diminished, lack of intrinsic motivation for achievement & success, suicidal thoughts
when can learned helplessness result
- when people are stuck in an unpleasant situation that is apparently outside of control (e.g. experiencing abuse)
- nothing you do seems to solve the problem
what is learned helpless understood as
in terms of explanatory style –> involves different ways of interpreting & explaining the causes of events
causal attribution
person’s explanation of the cause of an event
explanatory style
tendencies some people have to frequently use certain explanations for the causes of events (internal vs external, stable vs unstable, global vs specific)
what are the three dimensions of explanatory style
- internal/external
- stable/unstable
- global/specific (does it apply to all areas of your life)
describe the two types of explanatory styles
- pessimistic: internal, stable & global causes
- optimistic: external, temporary & specific causes
what are some benefits of having an optimistic explanatory style
- better grades
- more resilience, optimism in college
- better response to trauma, lower symptoms of PTSD
describe determining differences in personality revealed through goals (and share some methods)
- general focus of these approaches is on intention –> what do people want to happen, what do they want to achieve
- personal strivings, current concerns, personal projects, and life tasks
personal project
- set of relevant actions intended to achieve a goal that a person has selected
- make natural units for understanding the workings of personality
- most people can list important projects they work on in their everyday lives
describe how people high in neuroticism describe their personal projects
stressful, difficult, likely to end in failure, outside of their control, feel like they’ve made little progress –> difficulty and dissatisfaction in achieving goals
what specific aspects of personal projects are most closely related to overall reports of life satisfaction and happiness
- feeling in control of personal projects
- feeling unstressed about those projects
- feeling optimistic that projects will end successfully
–> low stress, high control, high optimism
cognitive social learning approach
emphasizes the cognitive and social processes whereby people learn to value and strive for certain goals over others (Bandura)
describe Bandura’s research focus
- classic behavioural psychology viewed humans as passive responders to the external environment –> completely determined by external reinforcements
- Bandura argued instead that people have intentions and forethought –> active responders to environment
- added cognitive and social variables to classical learning theory –> cognitive social learning theory
self-efficacy (Bandura)
- self-efficacy is one of most important concepts of cognitive social learning theory
- belief that one can execute a specific course of action to achieve a goal
describe how self-efficacy and performance influence one another
- self efficacy leads to better performance
- better performance then leads to better self-efficacy
- note: can be influenced by modelling (seeing others engage in performance with positive results)
describe Dweck’s research
- helpless and master-oriented behaviours in schoolchildren
- some students persist in the face of failure, while others quit upon encountering difficulties
- e.g. implicit beliefs about nature of intelligence impacts their approach to challenging tasks
entity theory of intelligence (Dweck)
- implicit belief that intelligence is unchangeable and fixed internal characteristic
- leads to avoidance of academic challenges
incremental theory of intelligence (Dweck)
- implicit belief that intelligence can be increased through effort and persistence
- leads to seeking out academic challenges
describe the implications Dweck’s theory has for giving praise to students
- praising children for intelligence may reinforce notion that success and failure depend on something out of their control
- children admired for effort are more likely to view intelligence as changeable –> stable self-esteem, work through frustrations & setbacks
regulatory focus theory (Higgins)
- people regulate their goal-directed behaviours in 2 distinct ways that serve 2 different needs
- promotion focus & prevention focus
- more focused on motivation and goal behaviours
promotion focus
- person is concerned with advancement, growth & accomplishments
- eagerness, approach, going for gold
prevention focus
- concerned with protection, safety & prevention of negative outcomes/failure
- vigilance, caution
what traits are promotion focus associated with
- extraversion
- behavioural activation
what traits are prevention focus associated with
- neuroticism
- harm avoidance
- negatively associated with impulsivity
what types of errors are discussed in regulatory focus theory
- commission errors (making incorrect choice) –> people high in prevention focus less likely to make these (don’t want to make incorrect choice)
- omission errors (not making a correct choice) –> people high in promotion focus are less likely to make these errors (don’t want to miss opportunity of being correct)
cognitive-affective personality system (CAPS)
- personality is not a collection of traits, but an organization of cognitive and affective activities that influence how people respond to certain kinds of situations
- emphasis on personality processes rather than static traits (in relation to situations)
- e.g. goals, expectations, beliefs, feelings, standards, abilities, plans, strategies
describe how CAPS theory argues people differ from each other
- people differ in the distinct organization of their cognitive and affective processes
- different processes are activated at different times –> different mediation of impact of specific situations
- e.g. people may not be aggressive in all situations
- if…then… propositions
- people engage in internal processes to regulate their behaviours
achievement view of intelligence
- educational attainment
- how much knowledge a person has acquired relative to others
aptitude view of intelligence
- ability to become educated
- ability or aptitude to learn
- traditional measures of IQ use this approach
general intelligence (g) and what did research find about this
- intelligence was thought of as a single broad factor
- later, researchers began to identify separate abilities (verbal ability, memory ability, perceptual ability, arithmetic ability)
what types of scores are given by intelligence tests
- some give 2 scores (verbal score and mathematical score)
- WISC has 11 subtest scores (6 verbal, 5 nonverbal) –> still in 2 categories of verbal and performance intelligence
what was found in people higher in numeracy
- higher ability to reason and use numbers = more accurate judgements about scientific data
- BUT more likely to support side of debate they were already on in a political issue –> confirm pre-existing beliefs by dismissing information
multiple intelligences
- sever forms total
- interpersonal (social skills), intrapersonal (insight into oneself), kinesthetic, musical intelligence, emotional intelligence, etc.
why is Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences controversial
- some feel that these separated abilities are correlated enough with each other –> can think of intelligence as a general factor
- others acknowledge a few broad distinctions (verbal and math)
- others support using non-cognitive measures of personality characteristics (persistence, initiative, etc.) or emotional intelligence
cultural context of intelligence
- “intelligent behaviour” differs across cultures
- e.g. Western cultures emphasize verbal skills (written and oral)
- others value problem-solving
what is the Flynn effect
rise in population IQ over the last half of the 20th century
why might the Flynn effect be occurring
- better nutrition
- better access to quality education
what is the reverse Flynn effect
- decline in IQ scores over the past decade
- worrisome because IQ is associated with many indicators of national wellbeing (domestic product, education, etc.)
why might the reverse Flynn effect be occurring
increasing fertility rates (fertility and IQ negatively correlated)
inspection time
- new variable in intelligence research
- time it takes a person to make a simple discrimination between 2 objects
- highly related to standard measures of general intelligence and other measures of perceptual speed/reaction time
- leading indicator in cognitive decline in old age
- note: also measures of discriminating between auditory intervals –> overall measures of processing efficiency
