Chapter 12- Personality Flashcards by Natalie Tran-Campbell

What is personality?

The unique characteristics that account for enduring patterns of inner experience and outward behaviour
-a collection of stable states and characteristics
-various from one individual to another

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Psychodynamic model

Share the same view: personality and behaviour is shaped by interacting, or dynamic, underlying forces

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What is conscious

the thoughts and feelings that we are aware of at any given moment

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What is preconscious

Holds thoughts, memories, and ideas that we aren’t consciously thinking about, but can be brought to consciousness if attended to

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What is unconscious

Unaware of this content and cannot become aware of it except in special circumstances

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Freud and psychoanalytic theory and other psychodynamic theories?

Share the same view- personality and behaviour is shaped by interacting, dynamic, underlying forces

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Freud clinical practice (seeing patients)

He decided that people are influenced by their unconscious

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Freud- developed psychoanalysis

Type of therapy based on his theory of discovering ones unconscious

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Freud-parent child relationship

How people feel about themselves and how they handle intimacy as adults

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I’d- basic instinctual drives

-Present at birth, largely unconscious
-Pleasure principle- try to. Seek pleasure and avoid pain

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Ego-rational thoughts

-Develops due to learning
-Reality principle- logical, rational , realistic part of the personality
-Must satisfy the drives of the id while complying with the constraints of the environment

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Superego-moral limits

-Develops during childhood
-We internalize, or unconsciously adopt, the values and norms of others. Our conscience leads us to feel guilt and anxiety

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Defence mechanisms

Unconscious tactics to protect us from anxiety and internal conflict by dealing with Id impulses

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Inadequate evidence

Small, limited sample ( cannot be directly tested by scientific methods lack of predictive power)

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Neo-Freudians

Believe that human functioning is shaped by interacting, dynamic, psychological forces.
Believe that childhood shapes personality
Believe that much of mental life is unconscious
Believe that we struggle with inner conflicts

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Alfred Adler

Social not sexual needs and conscious thoughts are critical in the development of personality
Feelings of inferiority motivate a quest fro superiority

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Carl Jung

-Personal unconscious ( formed through individual experiences)
-Collective unconscious (inherited memories shared by all humankind)
Archetypes- shared memories

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Abraham Maslow

Human are basically good and have an urge to grow and fulfill his/her potential
Personality arises from striving to meet needs
Hierarchy of needs
Self-actualization-need to fulfill our potential as humans
Believed much could be learned from studying healthy, well-adjusted people
Led to study of positive psychology-positive experiences and healthy mental functioning, peak experiences

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Carl Rogers

Client-cantered therapy-put aside conditions of worth developed during childhood
1) Humans are fundamentally positive and strive for self actual inaction
2) Self concept- consistent pattern of self-perception describing how we see ourselves, can be used to characterize an individual
3) Unconditional positive regard- acceptance without terms or conditions

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Personality traits

Tendencies to behave in certain ways that remain relatively constant across situations

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Trait theories

Gordon Allport- first trait theorist, beaded work on case studies
Hans Eysenck- used factor analysis to create super factors

Five factor theory

An empirically derived trait theory that proposes five major trait categories:
-Openness to experience/ unimaginativeness
-Conscientiousness/ irresponsibility
-Extraversion/introversion
-Agreeableness/disagreeableness
-Neuroticism/ stability

Evaluating trait theories

Strengths:
-Traits become increasing stable across adult years
-Relatively stable across many situations and cultures
-Traits predict other personal attributes and often other behaviours
-Appears to be a strong genetic contribution to personality traits
Criticisms:
-Oversimplify personality
-Portray personality as fixed rather than changing

Openness scores

Low- practical, un-creative, incurious, conforming
High- imaginative, creative, curious, independent

Conscientiousness scores

Low- disorganized, careless, lazy, late High- organized, careful, disciplined, punctual

Extraversion scores

Low- retiring, passive, sober, reserved High- sociable, active, fun-long, affectionate

Agreeableness scores

Low- ruthless, suspicious, critical, uncooperative High- soft-hearted, trusting, lenient, helpful

Neuroticism scores

Low- calm, unemotional, secure, self-satisfied High- anxious, emotional, insecure, self-pitying

Projective tests ( personality assessment)

Use ambiguous stimulation to access a person’s unconscious

Rorschach inkblot test (personality assessment)

Ambiguous shapes intended to force participants to project meaning. Responses thought to indicate underlying personality characteristics of conflicts— Low validity

Thematic Apperception test TAT ( personality assessment)

Participants create stories describing ambiguous black and white drawings. Systematic scoring, but not consistently used—Low validity

Personality inventories( personality assessment)

Paper-and -pencil questionnaires designed to assess various aspects of personality

Socially desirable responding( personality assessment)

Tailoring answers on personality inventories to create a good impression

Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory 2 MMPI-2( personality assessment0

Useful in assessing abnormal personality characteristics. Validity items to account for socially desirable responding

NEO personality inventory NEO-PI-R-3 (personality assessment)

Doesn’t evaluate abnormal personality characteristics. Evaluates traits comprising three of five factors

Gillian- gender differences

Men are higher on individuality and autonomy. Women are higher on social and connectedness traits

Hyde- gender differences

There are differences in levels of aggression, motor, performance and sexuality

Collectivist cultures

i. Consider the needs of the group over that of the individual. ii. Score higher on measures of agreeableness iii. Value harmony in interpersonal relationships iv. Describe self as part of a group

Individualist cultures

i. Value individual achievement and independence ii. Score higher on measures of extraversion and openness iii. Value privacy iv. Describe self using a personal trait

Personality disorder

An inflexible patterns of inner experience and outward behaviour that causes distress or difficulty with daily functioning

Paranoid marked by odd or eccentric behaviour

Exaggerated suspicion and distrust of others; assumption that others’ motives are hostile, highly guarded and emotionally withdrawn

Schizoid marked by odd or eccentric behaviour

Detachment from social relationships, flat emotional expression, cold or indifferent to others

Schizotypal marked by odd or eccentric behaviour

Behaviour that is odd or peculiar, unusual cognitive or perceptual experiences, acute discomfort with close relationships

Antisocial in old dramatic or emotional behaviour

Extreme disregard for others; relationships are dishonest, deceitful and exploitive, typically impulsive and reckless

Borderline involve dramatic or emotional behaviour

Severe instability in emotion and self concept, impulsive and self destructive behaviour

Histrionic involve dramatic or emotional behaviour

Excessive need to be noticed and be the centre of attention, emotions shallow and changeable; engagement with others superficial

Narcissistic involve dramatic or emotional behaviour

Characterized by high degree of self-interest and self importance, callous attitude toward others

Avoidant-high levels of fear and anxiety

Extreme feelings of inadequacy, avoidance of social activities, inhibited personal relationships, hypersensitive to criticism

Dependent- high levels of fear and anxiety

Excessive need to be cared for by others, clinging and submissive behaviour, difficulty making decisions

Obsessive compulsive- high levels of fear and anxiety

Preoccupied with perfectionism and control at the expense of flexibility or enjoyment, excessive devotion to work and productivity