Chapter 13 Flashcards
What is personality?
The characteristics, emotional responses, and ways a person responds to an environment.
Differs among individuals and it changes across time
Do other animals have personalities?
Yes- other species have personalities that are also stable and reliable
What are the building blocks of personalities?
Traits
What are traits?
Characteristic and stable pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior. Based on the structural notion, traits are the building blocks of personality.
What is the trait theory
That there are 5 dimensions we use to describe person’s personality called The Big 5
What characteristics are the Big 5 made of?
OCEAN O- openness to experience C- conscientiousness E- extraversion A- Agreeableness N- Neuroticism
Explain openness to experience
imaginative v down to earth
variety v routine
independent v conforming
Explain conscientiousness
organized v disorganized
careful v careless
self-disciplined v weak-willed
Explain extraversion
social v retiring
fun-loving v sober
affectionate v reserved
Explain agreeableness
softhearted v ruthless
trusting v suspicious
helpful v uncooperative
Explain neuroticism
worried v calm
insecure v secure
self-pitying v self-satisfied
Explain the Big 5
- trait theory
- descriptive model of personality
- dimensions we use when describing others- especially when we use when we’re not close to them
- tendency to use these dimensions is found across cultures- everyone thinks these dimensions are important things to know about people
When are we more often use the Big 5?
When we’re not close to the person
What are the biological theories of personality?
- Hippocrates Theory of Temperamentum
- Eysenck- Theory about inheritability
What did Hippocrates believe in? Explain the Theory of Temperamentum.
- first person to lay out a theory of personality
- thought the balance of 4 humors/fluids in body corresponded to personality types
- Theory of Temperamentum
- black bile- melancholy/sad
- yellow bile- choleric/angry
- phlegm- phlegmatic/lethargic
- blood- sanguine/cheerful
- thought people differed in categorical ways and thought that biology caused this
Explain the specific of the Theory of Temperamentum
- biology corresponded to personality
- balance of humours/fluids
- ex- if you have more phlegm, you’re more lethargic “meh”
- black bile- melancholy/sad
- yellow bile- choleric/angry
- blood- sanguine/cheerful
- phlegm- phlegmatic/lethargic (unemotional/sluggish)
Is Hippocrates correct? What’s the modern theory of temperamentum?
- Hippocrates isn’t right
- Now, we have the modern theory of temperament, which is the study of temperament
- temperament- differences in emotional responding that vary across individuals, have a biological basis
What is temperament? When is it measured? What does it measure? What two types of temperament are there?
- differences in emotional responding across individuals
- have a biological basis
- Can be measured in womb or in infancy
- measures activity/ sociability/ emotionality
- inhibited- fear/shyness
- uninhibited- social/curious/fearless
Temperament is stable and can be measured in the womb. What is the timeline that it predicts?
- predicts if you’re going to be extroverted or introverted
- predict parent reports at 3 months (kids outgoing or interesting)
- 4 years old- predicts observations
- 8 years old- predict peer and teacher reports (Sophie talks too much in class)
- inhibited can sometimes become uninhibited
What does Eysenck believe?
- believed that differences in extraversion and introversion is due to physical arousability
- there’s a magic spot- where people are alert, but not jittery or stressed
- introverts and extroverts need to seek out more or less stimulation to get to magic spot
What are extroverts according to Eysenck?
- uninhibited temperament and low arousability (harder for them to get aroused)
- seek a lot of external stimulation to get to magic spot. It takes a lot of energy for them to get aroused.
- they have a lower heart rate in reaction to stimulation, so they seek more stimulation
What are introverts according to Eysenck?
- inhibited temperament and higher arousability (easier for them to get aroused)
- they get aroused easily, so they avoid external stimulations
- in response to a stimulus, they have a high heart rate, so they seek less to reach magic spot
What’s the difference between introverts and extroverts? (simple)
how exhausted you are by people. It’s not that extraverts like people more than introverts
What does Gray believe?
Differences between inhibited and uninhibited temperament due to behavioral inhibition system and behavioral activation system
According to Gray, explain introverts and extroverts.
Extraverts
- BAS>BIS. Activation system is greater than inhibition system
- more sensitive to rewards than punishments
- they learn faster with rewards than punishments when being conditioned
Introverts
- BAS
Explain the maze image based on Gray’s theory
Extroverts
- solve a maze easier if there’s cheese at the end
- solve maze faster because reward motivates them
Introverts
- solve a maze easier if a scary owl is present
- solve maze faster because motivated to get mouse to safety. More sensitive to punishments
Are all Big 5 traits heritable or is just one of the traits?
All 5 are heritable
What’s the relationship between the Big 5 traits and twins?
- identical twins more aligned in personality and temperament (Big 5) because they share more genetic makeup
- this correlation can change with environment or over time/adult development
What are the three developmental theories of Psychology?
- Attachment
- Freudian Theory
- Bandura’s Social learning Theory
What is attachment theory?
- one developmental theory of psychology
- bonds between infant and caregiver influence individual’s interaction with partners throughout life
- when young a “meta theory” occurs. Form idea about their place in the world
- avoidant- dismissive of intimacy in relationships, wary of vulnerability
- secure- comfortable with relationships, trust easily formed
- anxious/ambivalent- want relationships but insecure within them
- attachments only visible when under stress
Explain the meta theory in the attachment theory.
- occurs when young and forming bonds with caregiver
- Am I lovable? Is the social world trustworthy?
- secure attachment- caregiver warm and responsive when in distress
- anxious attachment- caregiver doesn’t always respond when crying. You have abandonment issues and ask How stable are these relationships?
- Avoidant attachment- caregiver doesn’t attend to you and you’re forced to cry it out and become emotionally reliant
Freud’s Personality Development theory
- developmental focus- personality will be determined by how child passes through early psychosexual stages
- 3 stages: oral, anal, phallic
Explain the Oral Psychosexual stage of Freud’s personality development theory
- gains sexual gratification through mouth
- problems in the oral stage leads to adult with oral fixation prone to excess eating/ drinking
- may have had problems with weaning
Explain the Anal Psychosexual stage of Freud’s personality development theory
- issues with toilet training or something to do with the anus leads adult to need control over environment
- compulsively neat and precise
Explain the Phallic Psychosexual stage of Freud’s personality development theory
- between 3-6 years old, go through oedipal or Electra complex- fixation on opposite sex parent. Gives way to identification with same sex parent
- If they have problems with this stage and don’t travel through this complex, adults won’t be comfortable in sex role. This is how gay people come to be
What is the Oedipal or Electra complex?
- Between 3-6 years old
- fixation on opposite sex parent
- problems with this lead to gay people
- leads to identification with same sex parent
What is Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory: 1?
- Our behavior is driven by unconscious drives
- id- primitive component, pleasure principle. Largely unconscious
- Ego- decision making, reality principle, largely conscious. Satisfy wishes of id, while responding to dictates of superego. Settles conflicts between id and superego
- superego- moral, social standards, somewhat conscious. Judge.
- ego settles conflicts between id and superego. Conflicts settled easily and non-consciously. Ego constantly controls id to avoid judgement from superego.
- Realistic ego is the middleman and weighs between what you want (id) and what you should do morally/ ideallistically (superego)
Explain the conflicts in Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory 1.
- ego settles conflicts between id and superego. Conflicts settled easily and non-consciously. Ego constantly controls id to avoid judgement from superego.
Match: id, ego superego to pleasure principle, reality principle, social standards
id- pleasure principal
ego- reality principle
superego- social standards
What is Freud’s psychoanalytic Theory: 2?
When conflicts aren’t settled, people use defensive mechanisms to deal with anxiety or guilt.
Defense mechanisms and developmental fixations (oral, anal, phallic) result in personality change/behavioral differences
State all of the defense mechanisms
repression rationalization projection displacement reaction formation sublimation
What’s the way to remember the defense mechanisms?
Triple R PDS
What is repression?
- ego keeps distracting thoughts or feelings buried in unconscious. Can lead to Freudian slips
- defense mechanism
What are Freudian slips?
- something that doesn’t mean to come out, but comes out in ways you don’t expect
- occur during repression defense mechanism
- Women paint trees and end up being phallic- revealing their penis envy
What is rationalization?
- creating plausible but false excuses to justify behavior
- defense mechanism
- taking classes together and study buddies
What is projection?
- attributing one’s own state to another
- defense mechanism
- warning friend that Jessy is trying to steal boyfriend
What is displacement?
- diversion of state to another substitute
- falling in love with roommate
defense mechanism
What is reaction formation?
- behaving in opposite fashion in exaggerated way
- defense mechanism
- hating guy
What is sublimation?
- redirecting motive toward more desirable social ends
- write love songs, paint
- defense mechanism
What do psychologists think of Freud now? Is he right?
- no evidence for psychosexual stages
- notion that behavior arises from unconscious processes is correct
- but- unconscious isn’t as lusty/motivated as he thought
- personality theories and defense mechanisms are hard to test
- called psychoanalysis- study of unconscious mind- taught as therapeutic approach
What is Bandura’s Social Learning Theory?
Personality dispositions are shaped though development by learning and experience
- environmental influences/ observational learning
- early experiences shape cognitive expectancies about our place in world and ability to change things
How does observational learning/environmental influences shape learning?
modeling- children imitate behaviors of adults or peers they like or that they see rewarded
How do our early experiences shape cognitive expectancies about our place in the world?
- Locus of control- the extent to which we believe influential forces lie within (internal locus of control) or outside (external locus of control) us
- external locus of control- it’s Tuesday so parents say I’ll wear red and eat fish sticks. Learn to believe that things happen to you.
- internal locus of control- I choose to eat fish sticks and wear red.
- self-efficacy- beliefs about my ability and competence. Can be domain specific (athletics or academics)
- low self-efficacy in one domain- ex softball
- high self-efficacy in general- learn anything and conquer everything. leads to greater persistence on challenging tasks
What is the locus of control?
- relates to Bandura’s social learning theory that Early experiences shape cognitive expectancies about our place in world
- Locus of control- the extent to which we believe influential forces lie within (internal locus of control) or outside (external locus of control) us
What is self-efficacy?
- self-efficacy- beliefs about my ability and competence. Can be domain specific (athletics or academics)
- low self-efficacy in one domain- ex softball
- high self-efficacy in general- learn anything and conquer everything. leads to greater persistence on challenging tasks
What is low arousability? Eysenck
- harder for them to get aroused
- extroverts
- seek more external stimulations
What is high arousability? Eysenck
- easier for them to get aroused
- introverts
- seek less/ avoid external stimulations
What is the relationship between Freud’s psychosexual stage and later in life?
if you didn’t fully resolve early psychosexual stage, you had a fixation later in life
