Chapter 14 - Personality Flashcards
What is personality? What are traits?
Personality is a person’s typical way of thinking, feeling, and behaving
Personality is defined by traits, which are enduring predispositions that remain stable across situations
What are the two major approaches to analyzing personality?
- In an nomothetic approach, we find general rules, or generalizations, that govern all others’ personalities
- In an idiographic approach, we find unique characteristics in individuals; this approach can help us generate new ideas to explore in nomothetic research
Through behavioral-genetics research, which three broad influences to our personalities are examined?
- Genetics
- Shared environmental factors (Ex. Parents put both kids in hockey)
- Non-shared environmental factors (Ex. Parents put one kid in hockey and another in volleyball)
T or F: in studying twins reared together, we know identical twins are more alike than fraternal twins.
True; supporting genetic influence
T or F: in studying adoption studies, we know adopted children are more like their adoptive parents.
False. Adopted children are more like their biological parents; supporting genetic influence
T or F: in studying monozygotic twins reared apart, we know monozygotic twins reared together are more similar than monozygotic twins reared apart.
False. Monozygotic twins reared together are about as similar as monozygotic twins reared apart; supporting genetic influence
T or F: genetics play a complete role in personality development.
False. Shared environmental factors play a slight role in personality. Non-shared environmental factors play virtually no role in personality.
Who had the first theory of personality?
Mr. Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory was the first theory of personality
What are hypnosis and free association? Which theorist used these to “access the unconscious mind”?
Hypnosis is a ”mind-controlling” technique to access the “unconscious cognition”
Free-association is psychoanalysis of instinctual thoughts; the psychiatrist says a word and the patient says the first word that came to mind upon hearing the word
Sigmund Freud used these techniques in his practice
What are the three core assumptions of the psychoanalytical theory?
- Psychic determinism - all actions are due to inner forces and conflicts happening at an unconscious level
- Symbolic meaning - our actions represent our inner forces/ conflicts
- Unconscious motivation - the reasons for our actions are outside our awareness
What is an id, ego, and superego?
Freud believed that we our personality was composed of an id, ego, and superego; each of which level being on different states of subconsciousness
The id includes our primitive impulses, such as libido (sex drive) and thanatos (aggression drive); the evil angel
The ego is the decision-maker/ mediator between the id and superego forces; works on the reality principle - working out realistic ways of satisfying the id’s demands, often compromising or postponing satisfaction to avoid negative consequences of society
The superego includes our set of morals; forces us to feel guilt and develops later in life; the good angel
Freud; when does intra-psychic conflict occur?
When competing demands rise between the id, ego, and superego
What did Freud believe about dreams?
Our id pushes us into dreams for wish fulfillment
The superego commands the ego to hide the desires
According to Freud, why do we need defense mechanisms?
Defense mechanisms occur when the ego tries to minimize anxiety from conflict between the id and superego
What is repression?
The motivated forgetting of threatening memories or impulses
What is regression?
Returning to a psychologically younger stage
Ex. Chewing nails, sucking on thumb
What is reaction-formation?
Doing the opposite of what triggers the anxiety
Ex. Picking on your crush to hide your feelings
What is projection?
Attribution your feelings onto others
Ex. “They don’t like me” when in reality, you just don’t like them
What is displacement?
Transferring your feelings onto a safer object
Ex. Hitting your partner to deal with stress towards your boss
What is rationalization?
Explaining-away behavior; rationalizing behavior instead of dealing with emotions
What is intellectualization?
Explaining emotions with high-concept ideas; focusing on facts to avoid emotion
What is sublimation?
Changing a negative impulse into a socially-valued goal
Ex. Taking your urge to fight someone and boxing to fulfill the urge
What are the stages/ order of stages of Freud’s psychosexual stages of development?
- Oral stage (birth to 18 months)
- Anal stage (18 months to 3 years)
- Phallic stage (3 years to 6 years)
- Latency stage (6 years to 12 years)
- Genital stage (12+ years)
What is denial?
Motivated forgetting of current experiences
What is Freud’s psychosexual stages theory of development?
A pseudoscientific theory that personality develops through a series of childhood stages in which the pleasure-seeking energies of the id become focused on certain erogenous areas.
Fixations at each stage are due to over/ under homoerotic stimulation in certain “sexual body parts”; fixations lead to certain personality traits
What is the oral stage of Freud’s psychosexual stages of development?
From birth to 18 months, everything is about the mouth and ”sucking pleasures”
Ex. Objects, mother’s breast, and thumbs
People that remain fixated at this stage become dependent on others for reassurance and continue to seek oral fixation (smoking, eating, etc.)
What is the anal stage of Freud’s psychosexual stages of development?
From 18 months to 3 years, children learn bowel and bladder control; a child has to learn how to control their bodily needs
Parents that inappropriately react to their children’s failures in this stage cause their children to remain fixated at this stage
People that remain fixated at this stage become excessively orderly/ perfectionistic or excessively lazy/ aggressive
What is the phallic stage of Freud’s psychosexual stages of development?
From 3 to 6 years, boys develop an “oedipus complex” and girls develop an “electra complex”
Boys…
- Develop an urge to kill their father and have sex with their mother
- Develop castration anxiety - fear that dad is going to cut off their penis
- Fixated at this stage, become vain/ overly ambitious
Girls…
- Develop penis envy - a desire to have a penis to feel superior
- Develop an urge to kill their mothers and have sex with their fathers
- Fixated at this stage, become seductive/ overly ambitious
What is the latency stage of Freud’s psychosexual stages of development?
From 6 years to 12 years, sexual impulses are held in the unconscious; members of the opposite sex are unappealing; libido is going off, but not sexual yet
Fixation at this stage leads to nothing
What is the genital stage of Freud’s psychosexual stages of development?
From 12 years onwards, sexual impulses renew with puberty and romantic relationships develop
Fixation at this stage can lead to unhealthy relationships
What are the five criticisms of Freud’s psychoanalytical theory of development?
- Unfalsiability because he had a reason for everything
- Failed predictions such as the reppresion of memories
- Poor support for the significant role of the unconscious (most things are conscious)
- Unrepresentative/ small samples consisting of mostly rich people
- Overemphasized role of shared environment in personality development
What did radical behaviorists emphasize in personality development?
They emphasized classical and operant conditioning as the driving forces for personality development; personality is developed through reinforcement
Ex. If your parents always argue in social environments, you might avoid those environments in the future
What is a strength of behavioral theories of personality?
They are scientific and testable
What are three criticisms of behavioral theories of personality?
- The radical behavioral theory discounts the role of cognition in personality development
- They are too simplistic
- Over-emphasized the impact of shared environment and underestimated the significant role of genetics
What are three core assumptions of the humanistic models of personality? What two theories fall under this category?
- Reject the determination for free will - emphasize that we can make most choice independently
- People want to self-actualize - be the best versions of themselves
- People have an innate, conscious desire to be good
Roger’s and Maslow’s models of personality are humanistic theories
According to Carl Roger, what are the three components of one’s personality?
- The organism is what we are born with, it is our genetic blueprint and it is inherently positive
- The self is who we feel we are; it includes our self-concepts and beliefs about ourselves
- The conditions of worth are expectations we place on ourselves regarding appropriate vs. inappropriate behavior; these conditions come from society and our parents
What did Abraham Maslow emphasize in his theory of personality?
Maslow focused on people who had achieved self-actualization; he focused on figures such as Helen Keller, Gandhi, MLK, and Abraham Lincoln
He stated that these figures had common features…
1. Creative, spontaneous, accepting, and self-confident
2. Focus on real-world issues, intellectual issues, and privacy
3. Express controversial ideas
What is a major strength of humanistic theories of personality development?
They paved the way for positive psychology
What are four criticisms of humanistic theories of personality development?
- Humans are not inherently “good” or “bad
- Narrowing the gap between the “actual” and “ideal” self does not improve well-being
- Maslow studied only self-actualized people (confirmation bias)
- The theories are unfalsifiable
A proponent of which theory would state: “we humans are products of evolutionary forces that have preserved selfishness, pleasure-seeking, and a tendency to deceive ourselves”?
A proponent of the psychoanalysis theory
A proponent of which theory would state: “it doesn’t seem that you need to dig into a person’s past to understand their current problems and concerns”?
A proponent of the humanist theory
A proponent of which theory would state: “if we wanted to improve the character of people in our society, we would need to start when they are very young. By the time a kid is five years old, it’s probably too late”?
A proponent of the psychoanalysis theory
A proponent of which theory would state: “there aren’t any values inherent in human nature. Values are acquired in the same way we learn to say “please” and “thank you””?
A proponent of the behaviorist theory
What did the social learning theories emphasize about environment and behavior? What were three core assumptions of the theory?
How we perceive our environment drives our behavior
behavior - environment - cognition
Core assumptions:
1. Reciprocal determinism - all three factors interact with one another
2. Observational learning - we learn by watching others
3. Locus of control - belief in our control in life events (external and internal)
People with a high external locus of control advocate for external factors on life events; these individuals are more likely to have anxiety
People with a high internal locus of control advocate for internal factors on life events
What are two criticisms of social learning theories?
- It relies on the influence of the shared environment; therefore, not a great application to personality
- Classical/ operant conditioning may not require thinking
How do trait models of personality different from other theories?
They are focused on the structure rather than the cause of personality; question whether personality boils down to a few general traits
What are the steps to factor analysis of personality traits? What type of research does it rely on?
- Come up with ways to describe people
- Test people by asking them to rate themselves on each trait
- See which descriptors tend to go together (are highly correlated)
- Name the traits you come up with
This method relies on empirical research
What are the big five personality traits? What is the acronym to remember for these?
This will be on the midterm 100%.
Openness to experience - like to try new things, intellectually curious
Conscientiousness - diligent, self-disciplined, like planned activities
Extraversion - outgoing, friendly
Aggreableness - considerate of others, trusting
Neuroticism/ Emotional Stability - instable, experience many negative emotions
Which three big five personality traits predict good job performance and higher school grades?
Low neuroticism, high **conscientiousness*, and high agreeableness
Which two big five personality traits predict likeliness to experience an emotional disorder?
High neuroticism and low extroversion
T or F: openness to experience may not be cross cultural.
True. This is exemplified by “group harmony” vs. “honestly/ humility” cultural differences
T or F: the big five personality trait theory has little cross-cultural support.
False.
What are two ways personality traits differ across cultures, in regard to individualism vs. collectivism?
People in individualist cultures tend to have higher self-esteem
Personality tends to be less of an indicator of behavior in collectivist cultures
Medication and psychotherapy may be able to change big five personality traits … and … ?
May be able to change neuroticism and extroversion
T or F: personality traits slightly change until the age of 30, but are significantly less likely to change after the age of 50.
True.
What three big five personality traits tend to decrease from late teens to early 30s?
- Openness to experience
- Extroversion
- Neuroticism
What two big five personality traits tend to increase from late teens to early 30s?
- Agreeableness
- Conscienciousness
T or F: personality strongly predicts isolated behaviors and can also predict more broad trends in behavior across environments.
False. Personality only weakly predicts isolated behaviors (specific behaviors/ environments) but can predict more broad trends in behavior across environments
T or F: personality traits predict aggregated behaviors.
True.
What is the pseudoscientific personality assessment method of physiognomy?
Detecting personality from facial features
Ex. Forehead lines associated with aggression
What is the pseudoscientific personality assessment method of “Sheldon’s body types”?
The attribution of body types to personality traits; body types being classified as mesomorphs, ectomorphs, and endomorphs
Mesomophs are super muscular people; these people are assertive and bold
Ectomorphs are skinny people; these people are introverted and intelligent
Endomorphs are round people; they are funny, relaxed, and jolly
T or F: in Japanese culture, blood types were used to assess personality.
True. This was one of the pseudoscientific methods of personality assessment we discussed.
What is the pseudoscientific personality assessment method of phrenology?
Examination of head bumps/ where they are to determine personality traits of the individual
What are projective tests for personality assessment? What are three examples of these tests? Are they still used?
Very subjective and unreliable personality assessment tests that function under the assumption that “people will project their personalities/ thoughts and desires by what they see in pictures”
Ex. Ink blot test, thematic appreciation test (TAT), and draw-a-person test
In the ink-blot test, participants are asked to examine ink blots; their interpretations are then examined
In the thematic apperception test (TAT), participants are shown a series of ambiguous cards and asked to tell a story based on what they see; their interpretations are then examined
In the draw-a-person test, participants are asked to draw their families; their drawings are examined for “truths;” ineffective for personality assessment but can be effective in stimulating conversation with a child
These tests continue to be used, despite poor theoretical and psychometric support
What are the three methods that personality assessments may rely on?
A rational method is theory-driven; it is not backed up by science
An empirical method is science-driven
A rational empirical method is a combination of the two
What method does the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) use?
This test is not very reliable, valid, or scientific; it is too rational and very theory-driven
It uses the rational/ theoretical method
What are multidimensional instruments to personality assessment? What are the three validity scales?
These instruments include many (hundreds) of symptoms, validity scales, and comparison to norms
Validity scales:
- Positive impression management - an individual tries to appear more well/ better
- Negative impression management - an individual tries to appear less well/ unhealthy
- Random responding
The MMPI-2 personality assessment tool uses the … method, has … (#) symptom scales, … (#) validity scales, … (low or high) face validity, and is not a diagnostic tool.
The MMPI-2 personality assessment tool uses the [empirical] method, has [10] symptom scales, [9] validity scales, [low] face validity, and is not a diagnostic tool.
What does face validity mean?
The extent to which a study participant can grasp what is being measured by the questions they are asked
The NEO-PI-R personality assessment tool uses a … method and measures … traits.
The NEO-PI-R personality assessment tool uses a rational empirical method and measures big 5 traits.
It was developed based on the lexical and factor analysis approach
What is the P.T. Barnum Effect and what are some examples?
Believing that a vague description of your future or personality is highly accurate
Ex. Tarot cards, horoscopes, astrology, and psychics
What are three reasons psychologists use poor psychology assessment measures?
- Illusory-correlations - the tendency to see correlations between things that are not correlated
- Representativeness heuristic - items that look similar on the surface may not actually be similar
- Availability heuristic - the tendency to remember the times it worked easier than the times it did not
