Developmental chapter 11 (personality) Flashcards
Erikson’s theory
suggested that personal growth and change could occur despite harmful early experiences
Freud theory
personality is formed in the stages of psychosexual development ( in the first 5 years of life) and then remains the same
trait theory based on the psychometric approach
defines personality as a set of consistent and enduring traits that people differ in
↳ The Big 5:
openness to experience → curiosity vs. preference for the same things
conscientiousness → discipline and organization vs. lack of seriousness
extraversion → sociability and outgoingness vs. introversion
agreeableness → compliance and cooperativeness vs. suspiciousness
neuroticism → emotional stability vs. instability
social learning theory
- it don’t believe in stages or traits of personality
- suggests people’s behavior is influenced by situations and changes in the environment
dispositional traits
features that describe an individual’s patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior over time and across situations
The Emerging Self
2-3 months → agency → a sense that one can cause things to happen
6 months → realize other people are separate beings with different perspectives
18 months → self-recognition → infants recognize themselves as distinct individuals
18-24 months → categorical self → classify themselves by age, sex, and other characteristics
- self-awareness develops through cognitive development and social interaction
↳ develops quicker in individualistic cultures
self-concept →
one’s perception of their traits
characteristic adaptations
situation-specific and changeable ways in which people adapt
to their environment and roles
The 3 temperament categories
- easy temperament:
- typically content
- open to new experiences
- regular habits
- tolerate discomfort - difficult temperament:
- active
- irritable
- irregular habits
- adapt slowly to new situations - slow-to-warm-up temperament:
- relatively inactive
- moody
- slow in adapting but respond mildly
Temperament grows into a predictable personality in childhood and predicts later personality
temperament
tendencies to respond to events in predictable ways, the basis for later
personality (research shows infants are born with certain temperaments)
- 3 dimensions for defining temperament:
- surgency/extraversion → tendency to approach new experiences
- negative affectivity → tendency to be sad, fearful, and difficult to comfort
- effortful control → ability to focus and shift attention
Self-Esteem
becomes more multidimensional with age
{5 aspects of self-esteem}
1. scholastic competence
2. social acceptance → being popular or feeling liked
3. behavioral conduct → staying out of trouble
4. athletic competence
5. physical appearance
The Adolescent and Self-Concept
self-descriptions change:
- less physical, more psychological
- more abstract, differentiated, integrated, and coherent
- as adolescents get really self-conscious, self-esteem decreases
moratorium period
period the society allows for the youth, where they are relatively
responsibility-free and can experiment and find themselves
- the status of identity can be viewed in terms of
crisis → struggling with identity and exploring
commitment → resolving the questions and settling on an identity
whar are the 4 identity statuses?
- diffusion → no crisis experienced and no commitment is made
- foreclosure → no crisis yet, commitment is made, but based on parents or others
- moratorium → identity crisis is experienced and commitment is not made
- identity achievement → after crisis, answers are found and identity is established
constructing narrative identitie
- the creation of a life story, or narrative identity is important in adolescence
↳ in older age, a life review happens which helps people come to terms with dying
maintaining good self-esteem implies:
→ reducing the gap between the actual and ideal self
→ adjusting the goals and standards of evaluation
→ making social comparisons to others of similar ages
→ avoiding negative self-stereotyping
moratorium period
period the society allows for the youth, where they are relatively
responsibility-free and can experiment and find themselves
↳ makes finding an identity harder because of the multitude of possibilities
ethnic identity
- developing an ethnic identity is most important for minorities and multiracial youth
- a positive ethnic identity leads to good self-esteem and adjustment
vocational identity
- as more realistic self-concept emerge, more realistic career paths are desired
the search for the best fit between personality and occupation - 6 personality types that fit different occupations:
1. investigative → enjoy learning, solving problems, and working with ideas
2. social → enjoy interacting and helping others
3. realistic → enjoy practical work with objects
4. artistic → enjoy expressing themselves creatively
5. conventional → enjoy order and structure
6. enterprising → enjoy influencing others and attaining status
Self-Concept and Self-Esteem (Adults)
- maintaining good self-esteem implies:
→ reducing the gap between the actual and ideal self
→ adjusting the goals and standards of evaluation
→ making social comparisons to others of similar ages
→ avoiding negative self-stereotyping
maturity principle
shift toward greater emotional stability, agreeableness, and
conscientiousness with age
**
cultural influences
in individualistic people:
- feel like they have a consistent inner self across situations
- emphasis on uniqueness
- self-enhancing → seeing the self as above average
in collectivist people:
- see situational influences as influencing their sense of self
- are more modest and less self-absorbed
- self-effacing → self-critical and aware of inadequacies
Midlife Crisis
- transition period from age 40-45 that is especially significant for adults
- adults go through a repeated process of building a life structure (pattern of living), and then question and alter it every 7 years
midlife questioning
a non-universal psychological crisis that can occur in response to life
events, and can happen at any age
Vocational Development and Adjustment
- around the age of 40, most adults have settled and are at their peak
- personality and environment are important influences on how successful someone is
- gender is influential on vocational choices due to gender discrimination and gender-role
norms
