Chapter 14 - Personality Flashcards
Personality
people’s typical ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving
Traits
relatively enduring predisposition that influences our behaviour across many situations
What 3 influences on personality to behaviour-genetic methods help psychologists disentangle?
- Genetic factors
- Shared environmental factors
- Non-shared environmental factors
Genetic Factors on Personality
regardless how how and by whom we are raised, our personalities are linked to our biological parents genes
Shared Environmental Factors on Personality
some experiences make individuals in the same family more alike ie. both children showered in affection
Non-Shared Environmental Factors on Personality
some experiences in a family make individuals less alike ie. one child showered in affection over the other
Birth order influence on personality: First-borns tend toward ___________, Middle-borns toward ________, Later-borns toward _____ ______
achievement, diplomacy, risk-taking
Later-borns are more likely to _________ revolutionary ideas
favour
Nomothetic Approach
scientific approach that seeks out general principles in nature, rather than principles specific to an individual
Idiographic Approach
scientific approach that focuses on identifying the unique configuration of characteristics and life history experience within a person
All the identical twin personality correlations are less than 1.0, meaning __________ environment plays an important role in personality.
non-shared
____________ twins reared apart are far more similar in personality that _________ twins
identical; fraternal
Identical twins reared apart are very _________ in personality with identical twins together
similar
Shared environment plays ______ or ___ role in adult personality
little or no
Molecular Genetic Studies
investigation that allows researchers to pinpoint genes associated with specific personality traits
Molecular Genetic Studies Rest on the Two Premises that:
- Genes code for proteins and influence NT functioning (ie. dopamine and serotonin)
- The functioning of NTs is influences by many personality traits
Freud believed mental disorders were caused by ______________ rather than physiological factors
psychological
Sigmund Freud created the ______________ Theory
Psychoanalytic
What did the psychoanalytic theory explain?
what caused mental disorders
Psychoanalysis was the treatment Freud developed for…
mental disorders
Psychoanalytic Theory rests on 3 assumptions:
- Psychic determinism
- Symbolic meaning
- Unconscious motivation
Psychic Determinism
the assumption that all psychological events have a cause (ie. dreams, neurotic symptoms, slips of the tongue)
Symbolic Meaning
Freudian belief that no action is meaningless
Unconscious Motivation
Freudian belief that we rarely understand why we do what we do, even though we generally have an explanation after the fact
The Freudian View of the Mind is linked to an _______
iceberg (tip is our conscious contact with the world, underneath lies the unconscious brain)
What 3 components make up the Freudian human psyche?
ID, ego, subego
ID
reservoir of our most primitive impulses, including sex and aggression
The ID operates via the pleasure principle which is…
the tendency of the ID to strive for immediate gratification
Superego
our sense or morality
Ego
psyche’s executive and principal decision maker
The tasks of the ego are to find ways to resolve the competing demands of the ____ and superego
ID
Reality Principle (governs the ego)
tendency of the ego to postpone gratification until it can find an appropriate outlet
Your psyche interacts harmoniously but agendas may __________
collide = psychological distress
Freud believed dreams are wish fulfillments meaning…
they are expressions of the ID’s impulses
Day Residue
accumulation of events we experiences on the day of the dream
__________ is experienced by the ego when danger arises
anxiety
Defence Mechanisms
unconscious manoeuvres of the ego intended to minimize anxiety
Repression
motivated forgetting of emotionally threatening memories or impulses
Denial
motivated forgetting of distressing external experiences
Reaction-Formation
transformation of an anxiety-provoking emotion into its opposite
Projection
unconscious attribution of our negative characteristics to others
Displacement
directing an impulse from a socially unacceptable target onto a safer and more socially acceptable target
Intellectualization
defence mechanism that allows us to avoid anxiety by thinking about abstract and interpersonal thoughts
Why did Freud call his stages “psychosexual” development?
each focuses on an erogenous zone
Rationalization
providing a reasonable sounding explanation for unreasonable behaviours or for failures
Sublimation
transforming a socially unacceptable impulse into an admired goal
Erogenous Zone
sexually arousing zone of the body
Freud insisted sexuality begins in ________
infancy
Stage 1 of Psychosexual Development: The Oral Stage
psychosexual stage that focuses on the mouth, sexual pleasure obtained by sucking and drinking
How long does the oral stage last?
birth to 12-18 months
Oral Stage Regression
adults who depend on unhealthy oral behaviours - smoking, overeating, drinking
Stage 2 of Psychosexual Development: The Anal Stage
psychosexual stage that focuses on toilet training, children want to alleviate tension and experience pleasure by moving their bowels
How long does the anal stage last?
18 months to 3 years
Anal Stage Regression - Anal Personalities
too harsh or lenient toilet training leads to anxiety and in adult years is shown as excessive neatness, rules and regulations, stinginess, stubbornness OR towards messiness, aggression, loathing
Stage 3 of Psychosexual Development: The Phallic Stage
psychosexual stage that focuses on the genitals, penis and clitoris become primary erogenous zones for pleasure
Oedipus Complex
conflict during phallic stage in which boys supposedly love their mothers romantically and want to eliminate their fathers as rivals
How long does the phallic stage last?
Age 3-6
How does the oedipus complex present in girls?
penis envy - desire to possess a penis
Stage 4 of Psychosexual Development: The Latency Stage
psychosexual stage in which sexual impulses are submerged into the unconscious
How long does the latency stage last?
Age 6-12
Stage 5 of Psychosexual Development: The Genital Stage
psychosexual stage in which sexual impulses awaken and typically begin to mature into romantic attraction between others
What age does the genital stage begin?
Age 12
Many hypotheses derived from Freudian theory are impossible to _______
refute (falsify/disprove)
Freud often used ___ ____ manoeuvres
ad hoc - hypothesis added to a theory to protect it from being falsified
Freudian theories that can be falsified _____ been
have
Freud’s theories possess limited ________ validity
external (generalizability)
Freud studied a small group of individuals but applied it to all of humanity, making his studies _________
nomothetic
neo-Freudian Theories
theories derived from Freud’s model, but that placed less emphasis on sexuality as a driving force in personality and were more optimistic regarding the prospects for long-term personality growth
neo-Freudian theories place less emphasis on __________ as a driving force on personality, and more emphasis on social drive (ie. culture and need for approval)
sexuality
neo-Freudian theories are more _________ concerning personality growth throughout life
optimistic
Alfred Adler believed the principal motive in human personality was striving for __________ rather than sex or aggression
superiority
Style of Life
according to Adler, each person’s distinctive way of achieving superiority
Inferiority Complex
feelings of low self-esteem that can lead to overcompensation for such feelings
Adler and Jung’s hypotheses are also difficult to _______
falsify
Collective Unconscious
according to Jung, our shared storehouse of memories that ancestors have passed down to us across generation
Archetypes (Jung)
cross-culturally universal symbols
Karen Horney said the Oedipus complex was a _______ rather than a cause of psychological problems
symptom (of the opposite-sex parent being over protective and the other overly critical)
Horney’s work influenced many therapists ti look at _________ thinking at the root of psychological problems
disordered
Behaviourism is a theory of ________ and personality
learning
B.F. Skinner believed…
differences in our personality stem from differences in our learning history
Radical behaviourists (unlike Freudians) reject the notion that the first few years of life are crucial in…
personality development
Radical behaviourists don’t believe personality causes ________ but rather personality _______ of behaviours.
behaviour; consists
Radical behaviourists believe personality is under the control of _______ factors and ________ in the environment
genetic; contingencies (reinforcers and punishers)
Determinist
believe that all our actions are products of preexisting causal influences
Radical behaviourists believe free will is an ________
illusion
Radical behaviourists believe unconscious variables lie ____ of us rather than ______ (Freudian belief)
outside; inside
Social Learning (aka cognitive) Theorists
theorists who emphasize thinking as a cause of personality
Reciprocal Determinism
tendency for people to mutually influence each other’s behaviour
Social learning theorists say much of learning occurs by…
watching others
Theory of Observational Learning
learning by watching and imitating role models
Humanistic psychologists embrace ____ ___
free will
Self-actualization
drive to develop our innate potential to the fullest possible extent
Roger’s Model of Personality consists of _________, self, and conditions of ________
organism; worth
Organism
our innate and genetically influenced blueprint
Self
self-concept - the set of beliefs about who we are
Conditions of Worth
according to Rogers, expectations we place on ourselves for appropriate and inappropriate behaviour
Maslow focused on individuals who were self-________
actualized
Maslow believed self-actualized people were…
creative, spontaneous, and accepting of themselves - confident but not self-centered
Peak Experiences
transcendent moment of intense excitement and tranquility marked by a profound sense of connection to the world
Comparative Psychology
branch of psychology that compares behaviour across species
Comparative psychologists suggest our capacity for aggression is inherit in our closest cousins, ___________
chimpanzees
Maslow’s research paved the way for todays “_________ psychology” movement
positive
Rather than structure of personality, trait theorists aim to pinpoint the major _________ of personality
traits
Circular Reasoning Fallacy
argument that instead of offering evidence repeats the conclusion
Factor Analysis
statistical technique that analyzes the correlations among responses on personality inventories and other measures
Big Five
five traits that have surfaced repeatedly in factor analyses of personality measures
Lexical Approach
approach proposing that the most crucial features of personality are embedded in our language
What are the Big Five? (hint: OCEAN)
- openness to experience
- conscientiousness
- extroversion
- agreeableness
- neuroticism
Openness to Experience
people tend to be intellectually curious and unconventional
Conscientiousness
people tend to be careful and responsible
Extroversion
extroverted people tend to be social and lively
Agreeableness
agreeable people tend to be sociable and easy to get along with
Neuroticism
people tend to be tense and moody
Implicit Personality Theories
intuitive ideas concerning personality traits and their associations with behaviour
Prior to age ____ personality traits can change over time
30
Openness, extroversion, and neuroticism _______ from late teens to early 30s where conscientiousness and agreeableness __________
decline; increase
Cosmetic Psychopharmcology
describes the use of medications to produce long-term alterations in personality
Mischel said that measures of personality aren’t helpful to forecast ________
behaviour
Epstein showed that personality traits were predictive of aggregated behaviour meaning…
composite if behaviour average across many situations
Phrenology
attempted to detect personality traits by measuring patterns of bumps on their heads
Physiognomy
claimed to detect personality via facial characteristics
Structured Personality Tests
paper-and-pencil test consisting of questions that respondents answer in one of a few fixed ways
Structures tests are:
-easy to score
-allow for mass collections of data
Rational/Theoretical Method of Test
approach to building tests that requires test developers to begin with a clear cut conceptualization of a trait and then write items to assess that conceptualization
NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R)
personality test developed by Costa and McCrae utilizing the rational/theoretical method of test and a widely used measure of the Big Five
What is the most widely administered personality test in the world?
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The MBTI has ____ personality types and sorts respondents into 4 categories (introversion-extroversion, sensing-intuiting, thinking-feeling, judging-perceiving)
16
Projective Tests
test consisting of ambiguous stimuli that examinees must interpret or make sense of (ie. making shapes of clouds in the sky)
Projective Hypothesis
hypothesis that in the process of interpreting ambiguous stimuli, examinees project aspects of their personality onto the stimulus
Rorschach Inkblot Test
projective test consisting of 10 symmetrical inkblots
Thematic Apperception Test “Tell a Tale”
(TAT) projective test requiring examinees to tell a story in response to ambiguous pictures
Draw-A-Person Test
requires participants to draw a person in a way they wish
P.T. Barnum Effect
tendency of people to accept high base rate descriptions as accurate
Illusory Correlation
the perception of non-existent statistical associations between variables
