Exam 1 (CH.1, CH2) Flashcards
**Describe the three goals that distinguish the activities of personality psychologists from the layperson who is also interested in people?
- Scientific Observation
-Study Diverse groups of people
- Ensure objectiveness
- Specialized levels to study thinking - Systematic Theory
- Systematic
-Testable
- Comprehensive - Applications from observations and theory to practice.
What are Units of Analysis?
A concept that refers to the basic variables of a theory; different personality theories invoke different types of variables, or different basic units of analysis, in conceptualizing personality structure.
What is a trait?
An enduring psychological characteristic of an individual; or a type of psychological construct (a “trait construct”) that refers to such characteristics.
What is a type?
A cluster of many different personality traits that may constitute a qualitatively distinct category of a person (Personality type).
What is structure?
In personality theory, the concept that refers to the more enduring and stable aspects of personality.
What are two challenges that encompass growth and development psych?
- Characterized patterns of development that are experienced by most. Individuals develop through emotional experiences and motives common to all.
- Understanding development factors that contribute to individual differences. What factors cause someone to develope differently.
What is the modern view of nature vs nurture?
They say that rather than one or the other it is both that effect the individual.
**What are three ways in which parents influence their children’s behavior? Illustrate with an example.
- Through their own behavior, parents present situations that elicit certain behaviors in children (e.g. frustration = aggression)
- Parents serve as role models for the identification
- Parents selectively reward behaviors.
**Describe four of the seven conceptual issues in personality psychology?
- Philosophical View of a person
- Internal and external determinants of behavior
- Consistency across situations over time
- The unity of experience and action and the concept of self
- Veryfiying states of awareness and the concept of the unconscious
- The influence of the past, present, and future.
- Can we have the science of personality what kind of science can it be
**Why are operational definitions important?
- Being able to replicate a study
- For evaluating CONSTRUCT VALIDITY of the study.
What is L-Data?
Information obtained from a person’s life history and life record.
What is O-Data?
Information is provided by knowledgeable observers such as parents teachers or friends.
What is T-Data?
Information obtained through experiment procedures that measure peoples performance on tasks.
What is S-Data?
Information that participants report on themselves.
What are the 5 contrasts of hard psychology and soft psychology?
- H. Modeled after the natural sciences
S. Modeled after the humanities.
- - H. Nomothetic approach
S. Idiographic approach - H. Reliance on experiments
S. Reliance on descrptive studies
4.H. Molecular approach
S. Molar Approach
- H. Objective
S. Value Oriented.
What are the three levels of personality description?
Level 1: Broad Compariive dimensions
“Psychology of the stanger”
Easily Gleaned and DECONTEXTUALIZED.
Level 2: Characteristic adaptions
More Nuanced
ways that a person adapts to developmental challenges, life goals, strivings
Contextualized (Goals, values etc.)
Level 3: Narrative Identity
Identity as life story/ unique to the individual.
persons internalized and unique life story
Centered around organizing themes.
What are the four types of data that researchers collect and use?
LOTS
L-DATA
O-DATA
T-DATA
S-DATA
What is personality psych?
An integrated network of psychological systems that contribute to an individuals enduring and distinctive patterns of experience and behavior.
**Why is it not surprising that data from self-report questionnaires might disagree with scores obtained from laboratory procedures (T-data). Illustrate with an example?
Although EEG, fMRI, and DTI provide info about biological systems, it doesn’t give insight into psychological experience. It’s important that scientists use both. For example, fMRI gives images of the active areas of the brian but not the interconnection and personal experience.
What does text suggest as the best alternative to questionnaire data? What is the problem with these alternative methods? Describe how the advantages and disadvantages of these alternatives overlap with the problem of objective knowledge and the problem of level of analysis in personality psychology?
The best alternative would be experiments, although questionnaires are good in terms of experience, they tend to be broad in judgment where as experiments are very specific in content.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of experiments (related to two questions)
Pros
1. Can exercise a high degree of control
2. Can infer causality
Cons
1. Difficult to gather random sample
2. Experimental setting often seems artificial
3. Usually limited to short durations
4. Ethical constraints
5. Some variables can’t be manipulated
6. Can’t control variables.
**Briefly compare the advantages and limitations of correlational with those of experiments?
The positives of correlation is that it has sample size, extreme reliability of indices of psychological constructs of what they’re meant to measure.
Limitations
1. Case studies difference, not rich in information just very superficial from the scores.
2. Can’t find causuaility
3. There may be biases from the individual taking the test from response styles (Saying yes or no a lot) or social desirability in answers.
Experiment pros and cons in different que.
What is reliability?
The extent to which observations are stable, dependable, and can be replicated.
What is validity?
The extent to which observations reflect the phenomena or constructs of interest to us (also “construct validity”).
