Chapter One - Personality Theory Flashcards
Define
Personality
Those characteristics of the person that account for the consistent patterns of experience and action.
Define:
Process
In persnality theory, the concept that refers to the motivational aspects of personality.
Define:
Structure:
In personality theory, the concept that refers to the more enduring and stable aspcts of personality.
- Stable, enduring aspects of personality.
- Qualities that endure from day to day and from year to year.
- Comparable to concepts such as atoms and molecules in physics.
Define:
System:
A collection of highly interconnected parts that function together; in the study of personality, distinct psychological mechanism may function together as a system that produced the psychological phenomena of personality
Define:
Temperature:
Biologically based emotional and behavioral tendencies that are evident in early childhood.
Define:
Trait:
An enduring psychoogical characteristic of an individual; or a type of psychological construct that refers to such characteristics.
Define:
Type
A cluster of personality traits that may constitute a qualitively distinct category of persons [ie. a personality trait].
Define:
Units of Analysis:
A concept that refers to the basic variables of a theory; different personality theories invoke different types of variables ,or diffeent basic units of analysis, in conceptualizing personality structure.
Defing Personality: Three Issues that are Difficult to Reconcile?
- Human universals.
- Individual Differences.
- Individual Uniqueness.
Psychological Quality:
Enduring?
- Consistent across time and across different situations.
Psychological Quality:
Distinctive?
- Features that differentiate people from one another.
Psychological Quality:
Contributes to?
- Factors that casually influence, and thus at least partly explain, an individual’s tendencies.
Systematic Theory?
- Systematic [if/then statements].
- Testable.
- Comprehensive.
**How do we take out observations and put them into practice? **
Compete Theory of Personality Answers:
What, How, and Why?
- What = characteristics of a person and how they are organized in relation to one another.
- How = determinants of someone’s personality.
- Why = causes of and reasons behind an individual’s behaviour.
Personality as a Hierarchy?
- Different theories differ in the way in which they view the structures of personality hierarchically.
- Trait focus = a small set of basic traits organises the lower level.
- Other approaches = personality is fluid, with little to none fixed hierarchically structure.
Process?
- Psychoogical reactions that change dynamically; over relatively brief periods of time.
- Rapid, dynamic flow of motivation, emotion, and action.
Growth and Development Challenges?
Two challenges:
1. To characterize patterns of development that are experienced by most people.
2. To understand developmental factors that contribute to individual differences.
Genetic Determinants?
- Genetic factors contribute strongly to personality and individual differences.
- ie. IQ.
Steven Pinker?
- He brought many issues to large.
- Argues that there might be features of human psychology that are difficult to change because they are products of our evolution.
Environmental Determinants?
- Culture = individualism vs. collectivism.
- Social Class = upper vs. lower.
- Family = emphasis on parenting, reward & punishment.
- Peers = peer pressure.
Nature vs. Nurture?
- It should be nature x nurture, not vs.
- Cannot say one or the other influened personality, it is a combo.
The Concept of ‘Self’?
- There is unity to our experience and action.
- Patterns of interconnections enable the system to function in a smooth coherent manner.
- So, despite that we share experiences and life events the same as others, we have a consistent perspective, being our sense of self.
States of Awareness?
- There are varying states of awareness and the concept of the unconscious.
Psychoanalytical Theory?
- Suggests that we are primarily prisoners of our past.
- Freud suggested personality is pretty much set in stone by the time we are five.
3 Key Functions of Peronality Theories?
- Organize existing information.
- Generate new knowledge about important issues.
- Identify entirely new issues that are deserving of study.
Key Function of Peronality Theory?
Organize Existing Information?
- A logical, systematic ordering of facts would enable one to keep track of what scientists know about personality.
- Easier to put knowledge to use, and build upon past work and such.
Key Function of Peronality Theory?
Generate New Knowledge about Important Issues?
- A good theory is generative.
- Helps to generate new knowledge about important topics to the field.
Key Function of Peronality Theory?
Identify Entirely New Issues that are Deserving of Study?
- A theory may identify areas of study that might have never have been known.
Define:
Psychodynamic Theory?
- Freud.
- Views the mind as an energy system.
- Mental energies.
- Id, ego, and superego.
3 Indications of the Influence of Personality Psychology?
- End of 20th century, scholars identifies the most influential psychologists of 20th century.
- The end of the century was also end of millennium, and Freud was annouced on a list of most influential people of the past 1000 years.
- In 2007, stat analysis identiied the highest impact book in social sciences and Albert Bandura was the most cited.
Scientific Observation?
- Study diverse groups of people.
- Ensure that observations of people are object.
- Use specialized tools to study thinking, emotion, and neurobilogical systems.
Scientific Theory?
- Systematic.
- Testable.
- Comprehensive.
Application [Theories to Practice]?
- Aims are to (1) observe people scientifically, (2) develop theories that are systematic, testable, & comphrensive, and (3) to turn the research findings and theoretical concepts into practical applications.
Dynamics?
- Refers to psychological processes that change over time.
3 Ways in Which Parent’s Influence Their Children?
- Through their own behaviour.
- Role models for identification.
- Selectively rewarding certain behaviours.
Internal vs. External Determinants of Behavior?
- According to Freud we are controlled by internal forces, impulses and emotions in our unconscious mind.
- Skinner said we are controlled by our external forces, environmental rewards and punishments that govern actions.
How do people develop a consist, unified sense of self?
- Multiple components of the mind function as a complex system, the parts that are interconnected, and the patterns of interconnection enable the multipart system to function smoothly.
- The concept of self. Although we may experience a potentially bewildering diverstiy of life events, we do expereinece them from a consistent perspective, being our own.
