chapter 12 - personality Flashcards
define personality
unique characteristics that account for patters of inner experience and outward behaviour - a collection of stable states and characteristics
what is the psychodynamic perspective that Freud had?
it emphasizes the unconscious influence on behaviour, and states that we often don’t know why we feel/act the way we do
what are the three levels of consciousness suggested by Freud?
unconscious: content we are unaware of / cant become aware of (majority of mind content, important to development of personality)
preconscious: thoughts, memories, and ideas that can be brought into conscious mind with some effort (birthday, middle name, etc.)
conscious: thoughts and feelings we are currently aware of
what are the three central forces of personality according to Freud?
the id, the ego, and the superego
what is the id?
represents innate basic drives, has no regard for consequence or reason (“immature” “mindless”), based on the pleasure principle (UNCONSCIOUS) - e.g. sex, food, comfort
what is the ego?
helps satisfy drives while also complying with environmental constraints placed on behaviour, has the reality principle (develops with age) (CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS) - the mediator
what is the superego?
determines which drives are acceptable and which aren’t, essentially a conscience, wants you to be perfect all the time despite drives and urges (“perfectionist”) - (CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS)
what are Freud’s psychosexual stages influenced by?
sexuality and aggression, and they focus on pleasure producing areas
what are the 5 psychosexual stages?
oral: places focus on oral satisfaction (weaning)
anal: focuses on anal satisfaction (toilet training)
phallic: attraction to opposite sex parent, penis envy, castration anxiety, hatred towards same sex parent out of jealousy
latency: repress of sexual impulses, identifying with the same sex parent
genital: mature sexual relations, social maturity
what is neurosis?
an abnormal behaviour pattern caused by unresolved conflict among the id, ego, and superego
what are defense mechanisms?
unconscious tactics employed by the ego to protect an individual from anxiety (self-deception)
what is repression?
keeping unpleasant memories/thoughts buried deep within the unconscious mind (“it didn’t happen”)
what is denial?
refusing to acknowledge an existing situation (“it might be happening but i want to ignore it”)
what is rationalization?
coming up with justifications for an unacceptable behaviour (“everyone else does it”)
what is reaction formation?
not acknowledging unacceptable urges and overemphasizing the opposite (overpraising when in reality you dislike them)
what is projection?
transferring unacceptable qualities onto someone else (you believe no one trusts you, but you don’t trust anyone else)
what is displacement?
diverting impulses to a more acceptable target (mad at your boss but you take it out on your family)
what is regression?
reverting to immature ways of responding (pouting, slamming the door)
what is sublimation?
channeling unacceptable impulses to other activities (aggression -> sports)
what is identification?
enhancing self-esteem by forming alliances or imagining relationships (relating to celebrities, joining gangs)
what are some criticisms of Freud’s theory?
they are untestable, he only focused on a select population, not often generalized as he focused on special case studies
what was Alfred Adler’s psychodynamic theory?
he believed that conscious thoughts are more important than unconscious desires and sexual needs (disagreed with Freud), and that feelings of inferiority drive behaviour towards a strive for superiority
what is Carl Jung’s psychodynamic theory?
he believed in the idea of personal / collective consciousness, and that there are things called archetypes that are inherited memories shared by all of humanity, and that unconsciousness has drives towards joy, harmony and creativity
what was Karen Horney’s psychodynamic theory?
she believed that basic anxiety developed in children who experience helplessness and isolation, and this sets the stage for neurosis, she disagreed with Freud in that he was wrong in his theory about penis envy and its interpretation
what was Maslow’s idea of self-actualization?
it is the need to fulfill potential, and achieve full use of talents and abilities
what are some characteristics of self-actualized people?
able to recognize the needs of others, willingness to respond to uniqueness in a non-rigid way, forms deep emotional connections to a few people, resist the urge to conform while remaining in touch with reality
what are “peak experiences”?
intense moments of clarity, feelings of joy, excitement, feelings of suspended time/reality - more common in self-actualized people
what is positive psychology?
it has focus on positive experiences and healthy mental functioning (based on humanism)
what is a self-concept?
pattern of self-perception that remains consistent over time, used to characterize an individual, who we think we are
what is the idea of unconditional positive regard?
acceptance without any terms or conditions, important for developing a healthy self-concept
what was Carl Roger’s client-centered therapy approach?
creation of an atmosphere of no judgement, honesty, and openness, the person is seen as worthwhile despite what issues they may have
what are personality traits?
tendencies to behave in a certain way that remains relatively consistent across situations
what is the fundamental attribution error?
the tendencies we have to explain other people’s behaviour in terms of traits, and explain our behaviour in terms of the situation
what is the lexical hypothesis?
the idea that our language contains all of the possible ways in which individuals may differ
how many traits did Allport initially begin with?
10 000 traits
what was Cattel’s factor analysis? how did he narrow down traits?
he used factor analysis to determine which traits had high correlation with one another and could ultimately be combined to form more general traits, he came up with 16 traits
what are the three “super factors” identified by Eysenck?
extraversion: degree to which a person is outgoing (either extroverted: impulsive, sociable, or introverted: reliable, thoughtful, passive )
neuroticism: degree to which a person experiences negative emotions
psychoticism: involves nasty, antisocial behaviour
they supposedly all mix to some degree to form personality
describe Timothy Leary’s interpersonal circle
a two-dimensional model based on blends of dominance and nurturance (puts traits on a spectrum)
what is a personality inventory?
a questionnaire designed to assess aspects of personality
what are the 5 major trait categories in the 5 factor model?
OCEAN
1. openness vs unimaginativeness
- conscientiousness vs irresponsibility
- extroversion vs introversion
- agreeableness vs disagreeableness
- neuroticism vs stability
what are the two common personality inventories?
NEO - (general)
MMPI-2 - (clinical vs typical)
what is wrong with the NEO and MMPI-2?
they may be subject to reporting bias (socially acceptable responding), and a lack of self-awareness
what are projective tests?
they tap into a persons unconscious and presenting them with ambiguous (more than one interpretation) stimuli to see how they respond
what are the two most commonly used projective tests?
the TAT (thematic apperception test) - people create stories based on stimuli presented
the Rorschach test (inkblot test)
what is situationism?
behaviour is generated by variables in a given situation rather than internal traits
what was Skinner’s theory about situationism and behaviour?
that behaviour is entirely determined by what was reinforced/punished in the past situations
what is interactionism?
relationship between underlying traits and reinforcing aspects of the situations they are in
what was Bandura’s idea of reciprocal determinism?
the idea that the environment, mental events and behaviour all influence one another
what is phrenology? who came up with it?
the assessment of moral and mental qualities by studying the skull shape and bumps on head of an individual - Franz Gall
what is the amygdala’s function?
influences emotionality and motivation, processes negative stimuli, associated with fear and avoidance
what will you observe in individuals with right hemisphere dominance?
they will experience more negative emotions than left hemisphere brains
what does high dopamine activity cause?
more positive emotions, more energy, lack of inhibition
what does low dopamine activity cause?
heightened anxiety, low energy, inhibition is present
what does low serotonin cause?
depression, violence, impulsivity
in what scenario might you see high cortisol in children?
when they are inhibited in nature and presented with new environments
what are Clark and Watson’s 3 categories of temperament?
negative emotionality: more negative emotions
positive emotionality: more enthusiastic
disinhibition (lack of emotional control) vs inhibition (careful and controlled lives)
what is the social role theory in terms of differences between men and women?
the idea that differences are due to gender role expectations that have been influenced by society
what does it mean that male brains tend to be more lateralized?
male brains tend to focus on one hemisphere rather than both
what is the definition of a personality disorder?
an inflexible pattern of inner experience and outward behaviour that can cause distress with daily functioning
- usually evident in adolescence and early adulthood
- 9-13% of the population
what are the 4 core features of personality disorders?
- rigid, extreme, distorted thinking patterns (exaggerated traits)
- problematic emotional response patterns (feelings)
- impulse control problems
- interpersonal behavioural problems
what is borderline personality disorder? what does it look like?
severe instability in emotions and self concept, volatile behaviors (high levels of suicide, extreme mood swings)
what is antisocial personality disorder? what does it look like?
extreme, callous disregard for the feelings and rights of others (impulsive, egocentric, fake charm, reckless, dishonest, “sociopaths”)
what is the alternative model of personality disorders (AMPD)?
a dimensional approach to personality disorders, puts them on a spectrum and not into specific categories, as some people don’t fit into those categories
