***Chapter 13: Personality Flashcards
personality
typical ways of thinking, feeling, + behaving
trait
relatively enduring predisposition that influences our behavior across many situations
nomothetic approach
understand personality by identifying general laws that govern the behavior of all individuals
variable or person oriented?
nomothetic approach
variable-oriented
idiographic approach
understand personality by identifying the unique configuration of characteristics + life history experiences within a person
variable or person oriented?
idiographic approach
person-oriented
example of idiographic approach
case study
behavior-genetic approach
conudcted via twin + adopted studies
behavior-genetic approach has weak/strong genetic influence
strong
-reared-together identical twins show higher correlation on personality traits than reared-together fraternal twins
behavior-genetic approach has little/many shared environmental influences
little
-reared-apart identical twins are strinkingly similar (much higher correlation) in their personality traits + far more similar than reared-apart fraternal twins
behavior-genetic approach has further confirmation from what
adoption study
-r between biological parents + adopted-away children have slightly higher r than between adoptive parent + adopted children
behavior-genetic approach has important shared/nonshared environmental influences
nonshared
-all reared-together twin correlations on personality traits are substantially less than 1
molecular genetic study
investigation that allows researchers to pinpoint genes associated with specific characteristics, including personality traits
why is molecular genetic study used
because twin + adoption studies don’t provide remarkably useful information about which genes are related to personality
psychoanalytic theory core assumptions
-psychic determinism
-symbolic meaning
-unconscious motivation
psychoanalytic theory
psychic determinism
the assumption that all psychological events have a cause, those outside our awarenesses many stemming from early childhood experiences
psychoanalytic theory
symbolic meaning
any action can be attributable to preceding mental causes even if we can’t figure out what they are
psychoanalytic theory
unconscious motivation
-the mind as an iceberg
-the unconscious is of immensely greater importance in the causes of our personality than the conscious
structure of personality
interaaction of id, ego, + superego
id-primary process
mindless, irrational, lacking morality, unable to distinguish between fantasy + reality
what does id-primary process operate by
pleasure principle
pleasure principle
tendency of the id to strive for immediate gratification
ego-secondary process
-rational, concerned with safety, organizes information + makes decisions
-mediates between id + superego
what process does ego-secondary process operate by
reality principle
reality principle
tendency of the ego to postpone gratification until it can find an appropriate outlet
superego
the well-being of conscious + morality, passes judgement on actions guided by ego
Freud belief
we go through the defense mechanism to resolve anxiety/stressful situations
defense mechanisms
unconscious maneuvers intended to minimize anxiety
defense mechanisms
repression
motivated forgetting of past emotionally threatening memories or impulses
repression example
a person who witnesses a traumatic combat scene finds himself unable to remember it
defense mechanisms
denial
motivated forgetting of current distressing experiences
denial example
a mother who loses a child in a car accident insists her child is alive
defense mechanisms
regression
returning psychologically to a younger + safer time
regression example
a college student starts sucking his thumb during a difficult exam
defense mechanisms
reaction-formation
transforming an anxiety-producing experience into its opposite
reaction-formation example
a married woman who’s sexually attracted to a coworker experiences hatred + revulsion toward him
defense mechanisms
projection
unconscious attribution of our negative qualities onto others
projection example
a married man with powerful unconscious sexual impulses toward females complains that other women are always “after him”
defense mechanisms
displacement
directing an impulse from a socially unacceptable target onto a more acceptable one
displacement example
a golfer angrily throws his club into the woods after missing an easy putt
defense mechanisms
rationalization
providing reasonable-sounding explanations for unreasonable behavior/failures
rationalization example
a political candidate who loses an election convinces herself that she didn’t really want the position after all
defense mechanisms
intellectualization
avoiding the emotions associated with anxiety-provoking experiences by focusing on abstract + impersonal thoughts
intellectualization example
a woman whose husband cheats on her reassures herself that “according to evolutionary psychologists, men are naturally sexually promiscuous, so there’s nothing to worry about”
defense mechanisms
identification with the aggressor
adopting the psychological characteristics of people we find threatening
identification with the aggressor example
a college basketball player who initially fears his tyrannical coach comes to admire him + adopts his dictatorial qualities
defense mechanisms
sublimation
transforming a socially unacceptable impulse into an admired + socially valued goal
sublimation example
a boy who enjoys beating up other children grows up to become a successful professional boxer
Freud’s stages of psychosexual development
-not supported by research
-oral stage, anal stage, phallic/oedipal stage, latency stage, genital stage
Freud’s stages of psychosexual development
oral stage
-birth-18 months
-erogenous zone: lips, tongue, gums
oral incorporative
dependent, likes to eat, drink, + smoke, good listener but tends toward gullibility
oral sadistic
sarcastic, cynical, “biting” with words
Freud’s stages of psychosexual development
anal stage
-18 months-age 3
-ergenous zone: anus
anal expulsive
generous, disregard for rules or order, may be sloppy + slovenly
anal retentive
orderly, stingy, stubborn, preoccupied with rules
Freud’s stages of psychosexual development
phallic/oedipal stage
-age 3-5/6
-erogenous zone: genitals
fixated phallic/oedipal stage personality
failure to resolve Oedipus complex results in various neuroses
oedipus complex
conflict during phallic stage in which boys supposedly love their mothers romantically + want to eliminate their fathers as rivals
Freud’s stages of psychosexual development
latency stage
-age 6-puberty
-erogenous zone: reduced interest in sex
-personality type not applicable
Freud’s stages of psychosexual development
genital stage
-puberty
-erogenous zone: genitals
-personality type not applicable
Neo-Freudians
-emphasize unconscious influences + importance of early experience in shaping personality
-unfalsifiability being a serious concern, scientifically as controversial as that of Freudian theory
-places less emphasis on sexuality as a driving force in personality + emphasize more on social drives such as the need for approval
-more optimistic concerning the prospects for personality growth throughout the life span
how is Neo-Freudian similar to Freduain theory
-emphasize unconscious influences + importance of early experience in shaping personality
-unfalsifiability being a serious concern, scientifically as controversial as that of Freudian theory
3 Neo-Freudian theories
-Alfred Adler
-Carl Jung
-Karen Horney
Alfred Adler
-the striving for superiority as the principal motive in human personality rather than sex/aggression
-distinctive style of life; long-standing pattern of achieving superiority over our peers
-individuals with inferiority complex are prone to low self-esteem + tend to overcompensate for this feeling
style of life
each person’s distinctive way of achieving superiority according to Alfred Adler
inferiority complex
feelings of low self-esteem that can lead to overcompensation for such feelings
Carl Jung
-the collective unconscious contains numerous archetypes
-the Jungian sandplay therapy to infer children’s archetypes on the basis of shapes drawn in sand + as a springboard for therapy
collective unconscious
our shared storehouse of the memories that ancestors have passed down to us across the generations
archetype
cross-culturally universal symbols
-ex: the mandala that symbolizes a desire for wholeness/unity
Karen Horney
-feminist psychology, against gender bias
-women’s sense of inferiority stems from their excessive dependency on men which is socially ingrained in them from an early age
-oedipus complex neither inevitable nor universal- a symptom rather than a cause of psychological problems, arising only when the opposite-sex parent is overprotective + the same-sex parent is overly critical
behavioral theory of personality
-differences in our personalities stem largely from differences in our learning histories which is not just early childhood
-our personalities are bundles of habits + behaviors (overt or covert) acquired by classical + operant conditioning
behavioral views of determinism
consistent with psychoanalysts, all of our actions are products of preexisting casual influences; free will is an illusion
behavioral views of unconscious processing
we are “unconscious” of many things because we’re often unaware of immediate situational influences on our behavior
social learning theorists
emphasize thinking + observational learning as a central cause of personality
social learning theory of personality
-Skinner has gone too far!
-thinking as a cause of personality
-classical + operant conditioning are the products of cognition
social learning of personality views of determinism
reciprocal determinism, a form of causation where personality + cognitive factors, behavior, + environmental variables mutually influence one another
reciprocal determinism
tendency for people to mutually influence each other’s behavior
social learning of personality: observational learning + personality
we acquire both good + bad habits by watching + later emulating them
locus of control
the extent to which people believe that reinforcers + punishers lie inside or outside their control
internal locus of control
believes that life events are due largely to their own efforts + personal characteristics
external locus of control
believes that life events are largely a product of chance + fate
critiques of behavioral + social learning theories of personality
-radical behaviorism considers free will an illusion + the primary causes of our behavior-contingencies lying outside rather than inside us
-but it is plausible considering our thoughts as no role in our behavior even from an evolutionary perspective
-the claim that observational learning exerts powerful influence on our personality implies an important role of shared environment
-but behavior-genetic studies suggest weak or no effects of shared environment
-learning occurs in animals with quite simple nervous systems
humanistic models of personality
-reject determinism, embrace free will- we are free to choose either socially constructive or destructive paths in life
-human nature as inherently constructive, + the core motive in personality is self-actualization
self-actualization
the drive to develop our innate potential to the fullest possible extent
Rogers’ model of personality
-our personality consists of: the self, the organism, + conditions of worth
-individual differences in personality stem largely from differences in the conditions of worth that others impose on us
-conditions of worth result in incongruence between self + organism
-focus on individuals whose tendencies toward self-actualization were thwarted + ended up with psychological problems
Rogers’ model of personality
the self
our self-concept, the set of beliefs about who we are
Rogers’ model of personality
the organism
our innate, + substantially genetically influenced blueprint, inherently positive + helpful toward others
Rogers’ model of personality
conditions of worth
the expectations for our own (in)appropriate behavior emanated from our parents + society, internalizing in us, arising typically in childhood when acceptance of us is conditional on certain behaviors but not others
Maslow characteristics of self-actualized people
-focus on individuals who are self-actualized, especially historical figures
-self-actualized people: creative, spontaneous, accepting, self-confident, having a few deep friendships, craving privacy, not afraid to “rock the boat”
-self-actualized people are prone to peak experiences
peak experiences
transcendent moments of intense excitement + tranquility marked by a profound sense of connection to the world
critic view of humanistic models
-are naïve about human nature
-advance theories that are difficult to falsify
trait models of personality
-focus on the structure of personality + individual differences in personality
-use factor analysis to analyze the correlations among responses on personality measures to identify the underlying “factors” that give rise to these correlations
-BIG 5 MODEL based on a lexical approach to personality
what is the big 5 model based on
lexical approach to personality
lexical approach
the most crucial features of human personality that are embedded in our language
big 5 model
OCEAN
-openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism
big 5 model
openness
-imaginative or practical
-interested in variety or routine
-independent or conforming
big 5 model
conscientiousness
-organized or disorganized
-careful or careless
-disciplined or impulsive
big 5 model
extraversion
-sociable or retiring
-fun-loving or somber
-affectionate or reserved
big 5 model
agreeableness
-softhearted or ruthless
-trusting or suspicious
-helpful or uncooperative
big 5 model
neuroticism (emotional stability)
-calm or anxious
-secure or insecure
-self-satisfied or self-pitying
big 5 model
what yields successful job performance/good grades
-high C
-low N
-high A
big 5 model
what leads to salespersons’ successful performance
E
big 5 model
what leads to physical health + longer life span
C
basic tendencies
underlying personality traits
characteristic adaptations
behavioral manifestations of basic tendencies
critique of big 5 model
-might not be universal
-some cultures might not have all elements
can personality traits change
yes- before 30
-must not change after 30
big 5 model
what declines/increases from late teens to early 30s
decline: O, E, N
increase: C, A
what are Paxil + Zoloft related to
-increased E
-decreased N
are personality traits highly predictive of isolated behavior
no
-personality traits are highly predictive of behavioral trends but not isolated behavior
do trait models explain the causes of the individual differences in personality
no
-trait models describe individual differences in personality rather than explain their causes
trait perspective
the starting point for the first attempts to build truly empirical, research-based theories of personality
Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI) + MMPI-2
-detects abnormal personality
-empirical method of test construction
MMPI-2
-567 T/F items
-10 basic scales
-8 designed to detect symptoms of major mental disorder
MMPI-2
3 major validity scales (lie, frequency, correlation scales) that detech various response sets
response sets
the tendencies to distort response to items
impression management
making ourselves look better than we really are
impression management example
“I occasionally become angry”
malingering
making ourselves appear psychologically disturbed even when we’re not
malingering example
“I have a cough most of the time”
face validity
extent to which respondents can tell what the items are measuring
MMPI has low/high face validity
low face validity
low face validity example
“I think newborn babies look very much like little monkeys. Yes or no”
California psychological inventory (CPI)
-assess personality traits in the normal range (dominance, flexibility, sociability, popular in college counseling centers + industry)
-empirical method of test construction
CPI
empirical method of test construction
approach to building tests in which researchers begin with 2 or more criterion groups + examine which items best differentiate them
Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI)
-constructed theoretically
-questionable validity + reliability
-sort respondents into 4 categories:
* introversion-extraversion
* sensing-intuiting
* thinking-feeling
* judging-perceiving
NEO personality inventory-revised (NEO-PI-R)
-constructed theoretically
-measures big 5
-impressive validity
projective tests
ask examinees to interpret or make sense of ambiguous stimuli such as inkblots, incomplete sentences
what are projective tests influenced by
psychoanalytic views of personality
projective hypothesis
assumes people inevitably project aspects of their personality onto the ambiguous stimuli while interpreting them
incremental validity
extent to which a test contributes information beyond other more easily collected measures
Rorschach inkblot test
-low validity + reliability
-low incremental validity
thematic apperception test (TAT)
projective test requiring examinees to tell a story in response to ambiguous pictures
-tell a tale, 31 cards depicting ambiguous situatinos
-questionable reliability + validity
human figure drawing
-draw-a-person test (DAP)
-questionable reliability + validity
graphology
-psychological interpretation of handwriting
-low reliability + validity
what does graphology rely on
representativeness heuristic
common pitfalls in personality assessment
-P.T. Barnum effect
-illusory correlation
common pitfalls in personality assessment
P.T. Barnum effect
the tendency of people to accept descriptions that apply to almost everyone as applying specifically to them, or personal validation
common pitfalls in personality assessment
illusory correlation
the perception of nonexistent statistical associations between variables
