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Psychology > Chapter 13: Personality > Flashcards

Chapter 13: Personality Flashcards

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1
Q

Personality

A

The characteristics thoughts, emotional responses, and behaviors that are relatively stable in an individual over time and across circumstances

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2
Q

Personality Trait

A

A characteristic; a dispositional tendency to act in a certain way over time and across circumstances

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3
Q

Psychodynamic Theory of Personality

A

Freud’s theory that unconscious forces–such as wishes, desires, and hidden memories–determine behavior.

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4
Q

Freudian Conscious Level

A

consists of thoughts that we are aware of

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5
Q

Freudian Preconscious Level

A

consists of content that is not currently in awareness but could be brought to awareness

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6
Q

Freudian Unconscious Level

A

contains material that the mind cannot easily retrieve

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7
Q

id

A

In psychodynamic theory, the component of personality that is completely submerged in the unconscious and operates according to the pleasure principal

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8
Q

Superego

A

In psychodynamic theory, the internalization of societal and parental standards of conduct. Acts as a break on the id, and is largely unconscious. Is a rigid structure of morality or conscience

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9
Q

Ego

A

In psychodynamic theory, the component of personality that tries to satisfy the wishes of the id while being responsive to the dictates of the superego. Operates according to the reality principle, which involves rational thought and problem solving.

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10
Q

Defense mechanisms

A

In Freudian theory, unconscious mental strategies that the mind uses to protect itself from distress, which might be caused by conflicts between the id and superego. Include denial, repression, projection. Now believed to protect self-esteem.

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11
Q

Psychosexual Stages

A

According to Freud, developmental stages that correspond to distinct libidinal urges. Each stages is focused on one of the erogenous zones. Progression through these stages profoundly affects personality (research stages if this is important in class!)

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12
Q

Object Relations Theory

A

Theory by neo-Freudians that a person’s mind and sense of self develop in relation to others in the particular environment.

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13
Q

Humanistic Approaches

A

Approaches to studying personality that emphasize how people seek to fulfill their potential through greater self-understanding (called self-actualization). Emphasizes personal experience, belief systems, and uniqueness of human condition .

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14
Q

Unconditional Positive Regard

A

View that parents should accept and prize their children no matter how the children behave. This prevents them from not being true to themselves in order to gain parents’ regard

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15
Q

Personal Constructs

A

Personal theories of how the world works. Idea developed by cognitive theorist George Kelly, who believed that we view the world as if we are scientists

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16
Q

Internal locus of control

A

People with an internal locus of control feel they bring about their own rewards

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17
Q

External locus of control

A

People with an external locus of control believe rewards–and their personal fates–result from forces beyond their control

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18
Q

Cognitive-social theories of personality

A

Theories that emphasize how personal beliefs, expectancies and interpretations of social situations shape behavior and personality

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19
Q

Cognitive-Affective Personality System (CAPS)

A

Says that our personalities often fail to predict our behavior across different circumstances. Instead, responses are influenced by how we perceive a given situation, our affective (emotional) responses to the situation, or skills in dealing with challenges, and our anticipation of the outcomes of our behavior

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20
Q

Defensive Pessimism

A

Defensive pessimists expect to fail, and therefore enter test situations with dread

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21
Q

Self-Regulatory Capacities

A

Our relative ability to set personal goals, evaluate our progress, and adjust our behavior accordingly

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22
Q

Personality Types

A

Discrete categories of people based on personality characteristics.

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23
Q

Implicit Personality Theory

A

The study of two tendencies related to personality types: we tend to assume that certain personality characteristics go together, and as a result we tend to make predictions about people based on minimal evidence.

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24
Q

Trait Approach

A

An approach to studying personality that focuses on how individuals differ in personality dispositions, such as sociability, cheerfulness, and aggressiveness

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25
Q

Emotional Stability

A

Refers to how much a person’s moods and emotions change

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26
Q

Neurotic

A

Describes a person with low emotional stability. Experiences frequent and dramatic mood swings, often feels anxious, moody and depressed, and generally holds a low opinion of self

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27
Q

Psychoticism

A

A mix of aggression, impulse control and empathy. Person with high psychoticism is more aggressive, impulsive and self-centered

28
Q

Five-Factor Theory

A

The idea that personality can be described using five factors: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism

29
Q

Ideographic Approaches

A

Person-centered approaches to studying personality; they focus on individual lives and how various characteristics are integrated into unique persons. Use different metric for each person, while nomothetic approaches use same metric.

30
Q

Nomothetic Approaches

A

Approaches to studying personality that focus on how common characteristics vary from person to person. Use same metric for every person, while ideographic approaches use different metric.

31
Q

Projective Measures

A

Personality tests that examine unconscious processes by having people interpret ambiguous stimuli

32
Q

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A

Test developed to study achievement motivation. Subjects are asked to tell a story about an ambiguous picture. Useful for measuring motivational traits, and can predict how interpersonally dependent people are

33
Q

Objective Measures

A

Relatively direct assessments of personality, usually based on information gathered through self-report questionnaires or observer ratings

34
Q

California Q-Sort

A

Objective measure of personality in which participants sort cards into nine piles depending on how well the statements on them match their personalities. Reflects traits people feel are most central. Can also be performed by observer

35
Q

Situationalism

A

The theory that behavior is determined more by situations than by personality traits

36
Q

The Person/Situation Debate

A

Debate over the stability of personality traits across circumstances

37
Q

Strong vs. Weak Situations

A

Strong situations (elevators, religious services, job interviews) tend to mask differences in personality. Weak situations (home) tend to reveal differences in personality

38
Q

Interactionalists

A

Theorists who believe that behavior is determined jointly by situations and underlying dispositions

39
Q

Temperaments

A

Biologically based tendencies to feel or act in certain ways. Broader than personality traits because life experiences may alter personality traits, but temperaments represent innate biological structures of personality

40
Q

Activity Level

A

Temperament that is defined as the overall amount of energy and of behavior a person exhibits

41
Q

Emotionality

A

Temperament defined as the intensity of emotional reactions

42
Q

Sociability

A

Temperament defined as the general tendency to affiliate with others

43
Q

Relationship between genes, temperaments and personality

A

Genes produce temperaments, temperaments affect how people respond to and shape their environment, environment and temperament interact to shape personality

44
Q

Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS)

A

Regulates cortical arousal, or alertness. Eysenck proposed that differences in system of reticular activation cause introversion or extroversion. Proposed that resting levels of ARAS higher for introverts than extroverts.

45
Q

Behavioral Approach System (BAS)

A

The brain system involved in the pursuit of incentives or rewards (the “go” system) Extroverts have stronger BAS than BIS

46
Q

Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)

A

The brain system that is more sensitive to punishment and therefore inhibits behavior that might lead to danger or pain (the “stop” system) Introverts have stronger BIS than BAS

47
Q

Basic Tendencies

A

Dispositional traits determined largely by biological processes, and are therefore very stable

48
Q

Characteristic Adaptations

A

Adjustments to situational demands

49
Q

Self-Concept

A

Everything you know about yourself

50
Q

Objectified Self

A

The knowledge the subject holds about itself, such as its best and worst qualities

51
Q

Self-Awareness

A

The sense of self as the object of attention

52
Q

Self-Discrepancy Theory

A

Tory Higgins’ theory that an individual’s awareness of differences between personal standards and goals leads to strong emotions

53
Q

Self-Schema

A

The cognitive aspect of the self-concept, or an integrated set of memories, beliefs and generalizations about the self

54
Q

Working Self-Concept

A

The immediate experience of the self, which is limited to the amount of personal information that can be processed cognitively at any given time. Because it includes only a portion of a larger body of knowledge, sense of self varies from situation to situation

55
Q

Self-Esteem

A

The evaluative aspect of the self-concept, or a person’s emotional response to contemplating personal characteristics

56
Q

Reflected Appraisal

A

The belief that self-esteem is based on how people believe others perceive them

57
Q

Sociometer

A

An internal monitor of social acceptance or rejection. Self-esteem is a sociometer. This means when a person’s sociometer indicates a low probability of rejection, the person will tend to experience high self-esteem

58
Q

Terror Management Theory

A

Says that self-esteem gives meaning to people’s lives, protecting them from the horror associated with knowing they will die. People counter fears of mortality by creating sense of symbolic immortality through contributing to culture and upholding its values

59
Q

Narcissism

A

Personality trait associated with inflated self-esteem. Narcissists view themselves in grandiose terms, feel entitled to special treatment, and are manipulative.

60
Q

Better-Than-Average Effect

A

Most people describe themselves as above average in nearly every way

61
Q

Self-Evaluative Maintenance

A

Theory that people can feel threatened when someone close to them outperforms them on a task that is personally relevant. Causes people to exaggerate connection to winners and minimize relations to losers

62
Q

Social Comparison

A

Occurs when people evaluate their own actions, abilities and beliefs by contrasting them with other people’s. Means people compare themselves with others to see where they stand. People with high self-esteem tend to make downward comparisons, and people with low self-esteem tend to make upward comparisons

63
Q

Self-Serving Bias

A

The tendency for people to take personal credit for success but blame failure on external factors

64
Q

Interdependent Self-Construals

A

When people’s self-concepts are determined to a large extent by their social roles and personal relationships

65
Q

Independent Self-Construals

A

When people’s sense of self are based on their feelings of being distinct from others

Psychology (11 decks)

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