Chapter 12: Personality Flashcards
antisocial personality disorder
a personality disorder characterized by extreme and callous disregard for the feelings and rights of others.
borderline personality disorder
a personality disorder characterized by severe instability in emotions and self-concept and high levels of volatility.
defence mechanisms
unconscious tactics employed by the ego to protect the individual from anxiety.
ego
according to psychoanalytic theory, the personality element that works to help satisfy the drives of the id while complying with the constraints placed on behaviour by the environment.
-unconscious
five-factor theory
personality inventory-NEO-PI-RI - Costa & McCrae
an empirically derived trait theory that proposes five major trait categories: agreeableness/disagreeableness, extroversion/introversion, neuroticism/stability, conscientiousness/irresponsibility, and openness to experience/unimaginativeness.
id
according to psychoanalytic theory, the personality element representing basic instinctual drives, such as those related to eating, sleeping, sex, and comfort.
-unconscious
interactionism
a view emphasizing the relationship between a person’s underlying personality traits and the reinforcing aspects of the situations in which they choose to put themselves.
neurosis
an abnormal behaviour pattern caused by unresolved conflicts between the id, ego, and superego.
personality
the unique characteristics that account for enduring patterns of inner experience and outward behaviour.
personality disorder
an inflexible pattern of inner experience and outward behaviour that causes distress or difficulty with daily functioning.
personality inventory
a questionnaire designed to assess various aspects of personality.
personality traits
tendencies to behave in certain ways that remain relatively constant across situations.
phrenology
a method of assessing a person’s mental and moral qualities by studying the shape of the person’s skull.
positive psychology
an area of psychology focusing on positive experiences and healthy mental functioning.
projective test
a personality assessment device intended to tap a person’s unconscious by presenting the person with an ambiguous stimulus and asking the person to interpret what the stimulus means.
-out dated
psychosexual stages
according to psychoanalytic theory, stages in the development of personality; the stages—labelled
- oral
- anal
- phallic, latency, and genital—are primarily influenced by sexuality and aggression.
repression
the most basic defence mechanism; the process of keeping unpleasant memories or thoughts buried deep within the unconscious mind.
self-actualization
the need of humans to fulfill their full and special potential; the highest level of need in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
self-concept
a pattern of self-perception that remains consistent over time and can be used to characterize an individual.
situationism
the view that behaviour is governed primarily by the variables in a given situation rather than by internal traits.
socially desirable responding
tailoring answers on personality inventories to try to create a good impression.
social role theory
theory that gender differences occur because girls and boys develop different behaviours and skills based largely on differences in gender role expectations.
superego
the personality element in charge of determining which impulses are acceptable to express openly and which are unacceptable; develops as we observe and internalize the behaviours of others in our culture.
-subconscious and conscious
superfactor
a fundamental dimension of personality made up of a related cluster of personality traits.
unconditional positive regard
acceptance without terms or conditions.
Some common defence mechanisms
- Repression
- Denial
- rationalization
- reaction formation
- sublimation
- regression
- identification
- intellectualization
neo-Freudians
some of Freud’s followers (Alfred Adler, Carl G. Jung, and Karen Horney) split away to form their own schools of though
Alfred Adler
believed that social needs and conscious thoughts are more important to human behaviour than sexual needs and other unconscious motivations
Carl G. Jung
- added a new dimension: the collective unconscious
- Jung’s system, the unconscious has two parts. The personal unconscious, formed from individual experiences, is similar to the unconscious as seen by Freud. The collective unconscious, however, is not a private entity like the personal unconscious. Instead, it is a cumulative storehouse of inherited memories shared by all humankind
Extroversion
the degree to which a person is outgoing and enjoys interacting with others. An extrovert has personality traits such as impulsiveness, sociability, and assertiveness. At the other end of the spectrum, an introvert displays traits such as thoughtfulness, reliability, and passivity.
Neuroticism
the degree to which a person tends to experience negative emotions, also known as mental instability.
Psychoticism
the degree to which a person is vulnerable to developing the serious disorders known as psychoses, in which contact with reality is lost in key ways.
Eysenck identified what 3 basic superfactors/trait clusters?
extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.
Eysenck identified what 3 basic superfactors/trait clusters?
extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.
what did Hans Eysenck hope for in regards to the Factor Analysis?
He hoped that eventually theorists would be able to identify clear correlations between traits and behaviours and underlying biological systems.
Theophrastus
- wrote about different “characters” to try to describe individual differences
- attempting to characterize people—their personalities
State versus trait
- fundamental attribution error
- my behavior is situational
- the behaviour of others is driven by traits
objective measures (personality assessment)
-use standard questions & agreed upon scoring key
advantage (personality assessment)
-collect large amount of data
disadvantage (personality assessment)
- validity of answers (truthfully answered)
- validity scales
Need for objectivity (personality assessment)
-explicit coding system
-aim is not solely to ‘describe’ behaviour
(specific behaviour, frequency, specific situations, under what conditions
-interjudge reliability (high level of agreement among observers)
Personality Assessment
- personality scale items
- trait theories
- based on theoretical conception of trait
- concern–have to identify what are the underlying traits that describe people
NEO-PI-R (Costa & McCrae)
- big 5 personality traits
- extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness
Summing trait ideas
- Stable (maybe)
- observable
- may be genetic
- interact with situation
- come from within
Psychodynamic
- what people do or say are the tip of the iceberg
- motives and desires that lie buried beneath the surface
- dynamic because the forces are pitted against each other
Freud’s theory proposed what?
- much is due to unconscious processes
- sexuality is the primary drive
- children have sexual feelings
conscious
whatever you are aware of at any given moment
preconscious
events out of awareness but that can be recalled (like long term memory)
unconscious
primary motivating force of behaviour- contains repressed memories, instincts and wishes that have never been allowed into consciousness
Fixation
when adult personality traits can result from a failure to resolve problems or conflicts at one of the psychosexual stages
Erogenous zones for: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital
mouth, anus, genitals, none, genitals
Biology of personality
- Positive emotionality
- Negative emotionality
- Disinhibition versus restraint
Applications of the Biology of personality
- forensic psychology
2. treatment of personality disorders
common features of personality disorders
- rigid, extreme, distorted thinking patterns
- problematic emotional responses
- impulse control problems
- significant interpersonal problems
Trephining/trepanning
a hole made in the skull that was believed to relieve pressure in the brain
The four D’s for judging Abnormality
- Distress
- Dysfunctionm
- Deviance- how common
- Dangerousness
Allan Turing
The “turing test”
-is a method of determining whether or not a computer is capable of thinking like a human being
skinner saw personality as what?
simply certain consistencies of what he called response tendency
bandura’s theory of reciprocal determinism
personality is determined by the interaction of the external environment, internal mental events, and behaviour
two most popular types of personality assessments
projective tests and personality inventories
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).
- Henry Murray (1943), is made up of ambiguous black-and-white drawings of people in various situations.
- describe and make up a story about each drawing.
Minissota study of Twins Reared Apart (MISTRA)
- focused on 59 pairs of identi-cal twins who had been raised in different families and 47 pairs of fraternal twins raised in the same household.
- These results sug-gest that shared environments are less important than genetic factors to the development of temperament and many personality traits,
Jerome Kagan conducted a famous study of inhibited children in 1994
He measured the blood cortisol levels of children as they were reacting to stressful situations. cortisol helps regulate reactions to threaten-ing experiences.
3 broad categories of temperament of personality types
- Negative emotionality
- Positive emotionality
- Disinhibition versus constraint
Negative emotionality
Individuals who have high levels of negative emotionality are thought to experience more negative emotions and see the world as distressing, whereas those low on this dimension are relatively peaceful and have higher levels of satisfaction.
Positive emotionality
Measures of positive emotionality are thought to represent a per-son’s engagement with their environment. High scorers are social individuals who lead active lives and exhibit enthusiasm, while low scorers are shyer and have less energy and self-confidence.
Disinhibition versus constraint
The disinhibition/constraint dimension reflects how we regulate our various emotions. People high in disinhibition have difficulty controlling their emotional responses and tend to be impulsive, living for the moment. People high in constraint live more careful and controlled lives
example of collectivist countries
Collectivist values are particularly found in African, Latin American, Asian, and Middle Eastern cultures
-big 5 limited use here
examples of individualist countries
Countries known for this type of structure are Canada, Great Britain, the United States, and Australia.
origin of personality disorder
roles of biological predispositions, early experiences of abuse and neglect, and the pressures of poverty or otherwise harsh social environments
10 most popular personality disorders
paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, borderline, histrionic, avoidant, narcissistic, dependant, obsessive compuslive
repression
direct one’s own desires and impulses toward pleasurable instincts by excluding them from one’s consciousness and holding or subduing them in the unconscious
intellectualization
reasoning is used to block confrontation with an unconscious conflict and its associated emotional stress – where thinking is used to avoid feeling
sublimation
socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are transformed into socially acceptable actions or behavior, possibly resulting in a long-term conversion of the initial impulse.
identification
the individual assimilates an aspect, property, or attribute of the other and is transformed wholly or partially by the model that other provides.
regression
leading to the temporary or long-term reversion of the ego to an earlier stage of development rather than handling unacceptable impulses in a more adaptive way.
rationalization
controversial behaviors or feelings are justified and explained in a seemingly rational or logical manner to avoid the true explanation, and are made consciously tolerable—or even admirable and superior—by plausible means
denial
confrontation with a personal problem or with reality is avoided by denying the existence of the problem or reality.
reaction formation
defense mechanism in which a person perceives their true feelings or desires to be socially or, in some cases, legally unacceptable, and so they attempt to convince themselves or others that the opposite is true–often in a very exaggerated performance.
schizoid
lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary or sheltered lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, detachment and apathy.
histrionic
a pattern of excessive attention-seeking emotions, usually beginning in early adulthood, including inappropriately seductive behavior and an excessive need for approval.
schizotypal
severe social anxiety, thought disorder, paranoid ideation, derealization, transient psychosis and often unconventional beliefs.
