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Psychology 2035 > Chapter 2 - Theories of Personality > Flashcards

Chapter 2 - Theories of Personality Flashcards

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1
Q

What is personality?

A

An Individual’s unique constellation of consistent behavioural traits

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2
Q

What is a personality trait?

A

A durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations

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3
Q

What are some common personality traits?

A

Honest, moody, impulsive, friendly

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4
Q

Who stated that there are five higher order traits that are known as the Big Five that enable an adequate description of personality?

A

Robert McCrae and Paul Costa (1987, 1997, 1999)

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5
Q

What are the Big Five?

A

Extraversion (or positive emotionality), neuroticism (or negative emotionality), openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness

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6
Q

What are psychodynamic theories?

A

Theories that include a variety of theoretical models derived from the work of Sigmund Freud, they all focus on unconscious mental forces that shape our personalities

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7
Q

What are four well known psychodynamic theorists?

A

Freud, Jung, Adler, Erikson

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8
Q

What three main assumptions is Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory of personality based on (1)?

A

Personality is governed by unconscious forces that we cannot control

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9
Q

(2)

A

Childhood experiences play a significant role in determining adult personality

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10
Q

(3)

A

Personality is shaped by the manner in which individuals cope with sexual urges

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11
Q

What three structures did Freud argue that personality is divided into (1)?

A

The id is the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle

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12
Q

(2)

A

The ego is the decision making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle

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13
Q

(3)

A

The superego is the moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what represents right and wrong

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14
Q

What three layers of awareness are the id, ego and superego distributed across (1)?

A

The conscious - material we are fully aware of at a particular point in time

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15
Q

(2)

A

The preconscious - material just below the surface of awareness - can be easily retrieved

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16
Q

(3)

A

The unconscious - material well below the surface of conscious awareness but that greatly influences behaviour

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17
Q

What did Freud believe that behaviour was a result of?

A

An ongoing internal conflict among the id, ego and superego

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18
Q

What type of conflicts were especially significant?

A

Conflicts stemming from sexual and aggressive urges

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19
Q

What are defence mechanisms?

A

Largely unconscious reactions that protect a person from painful emotions such as anxiety and guilt

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20
Q

Why are defence mechanisms used in this context?

A

To protect from anxiety that arises from such conflicts

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21
Q

What are examples of key defence mechanisms (1)?

A

Repression - involves keeping distressing thoughts and feeling buried in the unconscious

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22
Q

(2)

A

Projection - involves attributing one’s own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another person

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23
Q

(3)

A

Displacement - involves diverting emotional feelings (usually anger) from their original source to a substitute target

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24
Q

(4)

A

Reaction formation - involves being in a way that is exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings

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25
Q

(5)

A

Regression - involves a reversion to immature patterns of behaviour

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26
Q

(6)

A

Rationalization - involves the creation of false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behaviour

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27
Q

(7)

A

Identification - involves bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person or group

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28
Q

What have studies focused on recently regarding defence mechanisms (1)?

A

Correlations between a repressive coping style and heart disease

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29
Q

(2)

A

The hypothesis that reaction formation underlies homophobia - some heterosexuals with unconscious same-sex attractions are more likely to exhibit elevated hostility toward gays and endorse anti-gay policies

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30
Q

How does Freud believe personality develops?

A

The basic elements of adult personality are in place by age five and result from the outcome of five psychosexual stages

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31
Q

What occurs in each psychosexual stage?

A

Children must cope with distinct immature sexual urges that influence adult personality

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32
Q

What is fixation?

A

It results if the child fails to move forward from one stage to another and is usually caused by excessive gratification or frustration of needs at a particular stage

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33
Q

What are the five stages of psychosexual development?

A

Oral (0-1), Anal (2-3), Phallic (4-5), Latency (6-12), Genital (Puberty onward)

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34
Q

How did Jung’s Analytical Psychology argument differ from Freud’s?

A

He also focused on the role of the unconscious, but argued that the unconscious is comprised of two layers

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35
Q

What two layers is the unconscious comprised of according to Jung (1)?

A

The personal unconscious which is similar to Freud’s unconscious layer

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36
Q

(2)

A

The collective unconscious which is a storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from people’s ancestral past that is shared with the entire human race

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37
Q

What does the collective unconscious not contain?

A

Memories of distinct, personal experiences

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38
Q

What does the collective unconscious contain instead?

A

Archetypes - emotionally charged images and thought forms that have universal meaning

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39
Q

What was Jung the first to describe?

A

Introverted (inner-directed) and extroverted (outer-directed) personality types

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40
Q

What did Adler believe the most important human drive is?

A

Not sexuality, but striving for superiority

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41
Q

What is compensation, as stated by Adler?

A

Efforts to overcome imagined or real inferiorities by developing one’s abilities

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42
Q

What happens according to Adler if we are unsuccessful in using compensation?

A

We may develop an inferiority complex which is exaggerated feelings of weakness and inadequacy

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43
Q

What may some people do in response to perceived inferiorities?

A

They may overcompensate

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44
Q

What actress was Adler’s theory used to analyze?

A

Marilyn Monroe

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45
Q

What four important ideas has psychodynamic theory contributed to (1)?

A

Unconscious forces may contribute to personality

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46
Q

(2)

A

Internal conflict may play a key role in psychological distress

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47
Q

(3)

A

Early childhood experiences can influence adult personality

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48
Q

(4)

A

People do rely on defence mechanisms to reduce unpleasant emotions

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49
Q

In what four ways was the psychodynamic theory criticized (1)?

A

Poor testability - it is too vague to subject to scientific tests

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50
Q

(2)

A

Unrepresentative samples - Freud’s theories were based on a sample of women with unique experiences

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51
Q

(3)

A

Inadequate evidence - the theories depend too much on case studies of clients whose recollections may have been distorted to fit the theory

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52
Q

(4)

A

Sexism - the theories have male-oriented bias and do not adequately address women’s issues

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53
Q

What is behaviourism?

A

A theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study observable behaviour

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54
Q

What do behavioural theories view personality as?

A

A collection of response tendencies that are tied to various stimulus situations

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55
Q

What do behavioural theories focus on?

A

Personality development and how children’s response tendencies are shaped by classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning

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56
Q

What is Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning?

A

A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus

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57
Q

What may classical conditioning help to explain?

A

How people acquire particular emotional responses such as anxiety or phobias

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58
Q

What happens before classical conditioning?

A

The unconditioned stimulus elicits an unconditioned repose but the neutral stimulus does not

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59
Q

What happens during classical conditioning?

A

The neutral stimulus is parked with the unconditioned stimulus

60
Q

What happens after classical conditioning?

A

The neutral stimulus alone elicits the response, the neutral stimulus is now a conditioned stimulus, and the response to it is a conditioned response

61
Q

What is Skinner’s Operant conditioning?

A

A form of learning in which voluntary responses come to controlled by their consequences

62
Q

What do favourable consequences, or “reinforcers” do?

A

They tend to cause organisms to repeat the behaviours that precede them

63
Q

What do unfavourable consequences, or “punishers”?

A

They tend to discourage behaviours

64
Q

What is positive reinforcement?

A

When a response is strengthened because it is followed by a pleasant stimulus

65
Q

What is negative reinforcement?

A

When a response is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus

66
Q

What is punishment?

A

When a response is weakened (decreases in frequency) because it is followed by an unpleasant stimulus

67
Q

What learning does Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory involve?

A

Observational learning

68
Q

What is observational learning?

A

When an organism’s response is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models

69
Q

In what ways is this theory unique?

A

It requires that we pay attention to others’ behaviour, understand the consequences that follow other’s behaviour and store this information in memory

70
Q

What did Bandura stress the importance of?

A

Self-efficacy

71
Q

What is self-efficacy?

A

One’s belief about one’s ability to perform behaviours that should lead to expected outcomes

72
Q

What is high self-efficacy associated with?

A

Confidence

73
Q

What is low self-efficacy associated with?

A

Doubt in one’s abilities

74
Q

Why does Bandura believe that self-efficacy is one of the most important personality traits?

A

Because it is tied to success in many endeavours and resistance to stress

75
Q

What has behavioural theory been credited for?

A

Suggesting that both personality and situational factors work together to shape behaviour

76
Q

How has the behavioural theory been criticized?

A

Behaviourism has given too much credence to the presence of cognitive influences, and it relies too heavily on animal models

77
Q

What is humanism?

A

A theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their free will and their potential for personal growth

78
Q

What three ideas is the humanistic perspective based on (1)?

A

Humans have an innate drive toward personal growth

79
Q

(2)

A

Humans exercise free will over their actions

80
Q

(3)

A

Humans are largely rational beings driven by conscious, not unconscious needs

81
Q

What does Rogers’ person-centered theory state?

A

Personality contains only one construct, the self, or self-concept

82
Q

What is the self-concept?

A

A collection of beliefs about own’s own nature, unique qualities, and typical behaviour

83
Q

What needs to happen so our self-concept is congruent with reality?

A

Our ideas about ourselves need to match our actual experiences

84
Q

What happens when our ideas about ourselves do not match reality?

A

Incongruence

85
Q

What can incongruence do?

A

Undermine our well being

86
Q

What is important in terms of self-concept and development?

A

All humans have a need for affection, and experiences early in life are key

87
Q

What does it mean if parents make affection conditional and what does this do to a child?

A

The affection is given only if the child’s behaviour meets their expectations and children do not feel worth of love and develop and incongruent self concept

88
Q

What does it do to children if parents give affection unconditionally?

A

Children feel worthy of love and develop congruent self concepts

89
Q

What happens when your self concept is threatened, according to Rogers?

A

It creates anxiety

90
Q

Based on this idea what can be said about individuals who have incongruent self concepts?

A

They experience more recurrent anxiety

91
Q

What does Maslow’s theory of self-actualization state?

A

Human motives are organized into a hierarchy of needs

92
Q

What is a hierarchy of needs?

A

A systematic arrangement of needs, according to priority, in which basic needs must be met before less basic needs are aroused

93
Q

What do humans have an innate drive toward?

A

Personal growth and the a need for self-actualization

94
Q

What is self-actualization?

A

The fulfillment of one’s potential

95
Q

What is involved in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

A

Physiological needs, safety and security needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, cognitive needs, aesthetic needs, and at the top need for self-actualization

96
Q

When does progression occur in the hierarchy?

A

If lower needs are satisfied

97
Q

When does regression occur in the hierarchy?

A

If lower needs are not being satisfied

98
Q

What did Maslow identify individuals with extremely healthy personalities as?

A

Self-actualizing persons

99
Q

What is an alternative model of Maslow’s hierarchy?

A

Physiological needs, Self-protection needs, Affiliation needs, Status/esteem needs, mate acquisition, mate retention, parenting

100
Q

What two things is the humanistic theory credited with (1)?

A

Identifying the self-concept as a key element of personality

101
Q

(2)

A

Placing an emphasis on a more positive outlook on human behaviour and personality

102
Q

In what three ways has the humanistic theory been criticized (1)?

A

Poor testability

103
Q

(2)

A

An unrealistic view of human nature

104
Q

(3)

A

Inadequate evidence

105
Q

What is Eysenck’s Theory?

A

That personality is a hierarchy of traits - biological differences occur along the extraversion-introversion dimension

106
Q

What does the hierarchy of traits in Eysenck’s theory consist of?

A

Higher order traits determines a host of lower order traits, which determine one’s habitual responses

107
Q

What is a heritability ratio?

A

An estimate of the proportion of trait variability in a population that is determined by variations in genetic inheritance

108
Q

What do results from recent research in behavioural genetics on twins suggest?

A

That the heritability of personality is close to 50%

109
Q

What have recent studies linked specific genes to?

A

Specific personality traits

110
Q

What do these results suggest?

A

That biology may have a powerful influence on personality traits

111
Q

What have neuroscientists begun examining?

A

The link between variations on the Big Five traits and variations in the relative size of various areas of the brain

112
Q

What three findings have resulted from studies conducted by neuroscientists (1)?

A

Degree of extraversion is correlated with volume in the area of the brain which processes reward

113
Q

(2)

A

Neuroticism scores correlated with volume of brain areas activated by threat, punishment, and negative emotions

114
Q

(3)

A

Degree of conscientiousness positively correlated with size of area or brain responsible for planning and self-control

115
Q

What is evolutionary Psychology?

A

A branch of psychology that examines behavioural processes in terms of their adaptive value for members of a species over the course of many generations

116
Q

What does David Buss maintain?

A

The Big Five traits are present across a variety of cultures because they had significant adaptive value for humans

117
Q

Despite the fact that recent research has generally supported many of the assumptions of the biological perspective, how has it been criticized?

A

There are statistical problems with the estimation of hereditary influence and “hindsight bias” may be present

118
Q

What is sensation-seeking?

A

A generalized preference for high or low levels of sensory stimulation

119
Q

Zuckerman believes that sensation seeking is a biologically based trait, with what four components?

A

Thrill and adventure seeking, attraction to unusual experiences, lack of inhibitions, easy susceptibility to boredom

120
Q

What is a pro of sensation seeking?

A

Individuals who score high on the sensation seeking trait have a higher tolerance for stress

121
Q

What is a con of sensation seeking?

A

Individuals who score high on the sensation seeking trait are also more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour that may be harmful to their health

122
Q

What is narcissism?

A

A personality trait marked by an inflated sense of importance, a need for attention and admiration, a sense of entitlement, and a tendency to exploit others

123
Q

Why is there a renewed interest in narcissistic traits?

A

The APA revised the DSM, which included Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)

124
Q

What are the key symptoms of NPD?

A

A grandiose sense of importance, pre-occupation with fantasies of unlimited power and success, a constant need for attention, difficulty dealing with criticism, a sense of entitlement, interpersonal exploitativeness

125
Q

What four assumptions is the terror management theory based on (1)?

A

Human cognition is unique in that it allows us to be aware of our own mortality

126
Q

(2)

A

This creates great anxiety, which can be reduced by cultural world views that promote self-esteem and faith

127
Q

(3)

A

These constructs give people a sense of order, context, and meaning

128
Q

(4)

A

These, along with self-esteem, serve as buffers against the anxiety that death awareness creates

129
Q

What is national character?

A

Links between culture and personality

130
Q

Why has national character been studied for decades?

A

In order to determine if certain traits are more prevalent in particular cultures

131
Q

What is the result of this study?

A

Little or no support of this view, people’s perceptions of national character seem to be rooted in inaccurate stereotypes

132
Q

What is a psychological test?

A

A standardized measure of a sample of a person’s behaviour

133
Q

What does standardization refer to?

A

The uniform procedures used to administer and score a test

134
Q

What do test norms provide information about?

A

Where a score on a psychological test ranks in relation to other scores on that test

135
Q

What does reliability refer to?

A

The measurement consistency of a test

136
Q

What does validity refer to?

A

The ability of the test to measure what it was designed to measure

137
Q

When is high reliability seen in studies?

A

When subjects obtain similar scores on more than one administration of a test - the measurement is consistent

138
Q

What are the two main types of personality tests?

A

Self-report inventories and projective tests

139
Q

What are self-report inventories?

A

Personality scales that ask individuals to answer a series of questions about their characteristic behaviour

140
Q

What can be a problem with self-report inventories despite the fact that a vast range of traits can be measured?

A

Responses can be inaccurate

141
Q

What are two common self-report inventories?

A

The 16 personality factor questionnaire - measures 16 basic “source traits” and the NEO inventory - designed to measure the Big Five in research and clinical settings

142
Q

What are projective tests?

A

Individuals respond to ambiguous stimuli in ways that may reveal aspects of their personalities

143
Q

What are shortcomings of projective tests despite the fact that it is more difficult for the respondent to deceive the tester?

A

Reliability and validity are lower

144
Q

What are two common projective tests?

A

The Rorschach test and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

145
Q

What does the Rorschach test comprise?

A

A series of inkblot pictures - respondents are asked what they see in the inkblots

146
Q

What does the TAT consist of?

A

A series of pictures of various scenes - respondents must tell a story that explains what is happening in the picture

Psychology 2035 (8 decks)

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