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Theories of Personality > exam 1 material > Flashcards

exam 1 material Flashcards

1
Q

Case Study (Strenghts and Weaknesses)

A

Strengths
o Provide excellent description of an individual
o One can find commonalities and form a hypothesis (kids who watch violent movies act violent)
o Disconfirm beliefs?????
WEAKNESSES
o Cannot be replicated at a later time
o Cannot prove anything
o Could be based on retrospective reporting (memory) which is not reliable
o Cannot generalize the results to others (because people are different results of one case study does not apply to everyone)

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2
Q

Correlational study

A

o Answers questions about the relationship between two variables aka how is a related to b
o Pearson correlation ranges from -1 to 1 with 1 being the highest Positive correlation and 0 meaning no correlation
o Positive correlation occurs when both variables move in the same direction (as x increases so does y)
o Negative correlation occurs when the variables move in different directions (as x decreases y increases
Strenths
o Simple
o Inexpensive
o Can be used to circumvent ethical issues
Weakness
o Correlations does not equal causation
o A extraneous variable could be the cause of the issue (bananas are not related to divorce but there is a strong correlation between the two)

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3
Q

EXPERIMENT

A

o Internal validity (the reason for an outcome HAS to be due to the ID
o Use matching and random assignment to increase internal validity
o External validity (the ability to generalize to other groups based on the results of your experimental group.
o One must balance between control and the ability to generalize and experiment

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4
Q

MMPI 2

A

• Strength
o Communicate degree of overall disturbance (in contrast the mmpi cannot determine the source of the disturbance)

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5
Q

Validty Scales of MMPI 2

A

o Cannot say scale- ( counts the # of times someone does not answer a question this is significant because there is a predetermined relationship between questions and answers so a blank says something about the subject)
o Lie Scale-(Asses how hard a person is trying to look normal
o Frequency Scale (uses repeat questions to measure carelessness)
o Correlation Scale (measure the extent to which a person will not answer questions that make them seem as if they have something wrong with them ex. Do you have a headache answer. No I never have headaches ever. The subject makes it seem as if nothing is wrong ever.
Supplimentary Scales (Scales created using more than one factor ex. Anxiety + depression= some other psychological thing)
o Repression
o Ego Strenght
o Dominance

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6
Q

Biases in self report data (by self report we mean the mmpi 2 or similar things)

A
  1. ) ATTITUDES don’t correlate with behavior (aka they are faking the test)
    a. People don’t want to look good or bad
    b. False positives (people want to look bad?)
  2. ) Social desirability
    a. People will answer test items in a socialy desirable way
    i. One can test for this by using neutral questions such as asking the subject if they are easily awakened by noise. There is no right answer to this question
    b. Use a forced choice inventory in which social desirability cannot be found in the answers (some argue that social desirability is a large part of psychology and should not be removed from self report data.)
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7
Q

Alternatives to self report data

A
  1. ) Ratings (have people close to the subject fill out the questionnaire)
    a. Problems with ratings
    i. Ex. A mother will answer positively about her daughter
    ii. The rater thinks certain traits go together
    iii. The contrast error
  2. The rater does not use an objective (fair) scale
  3. ) Nominations
    a. Group of peers or involved people fill out a questionnaire concerning the subject
    i. Ex. Classmates fill out a questionnaire concerning the way Johnny acts in class. 60% say he fidgets and gets up in class. He might have adhd
  4. ) Direct Observation
    a. Watch the subject directly and record how they behave
    i. Strenghts
  5. doesnt rely on self reports
  6. more realistic
    ii. Weaknessess
  7. Large time investment
  8. Reactivity
    a. The presence of a watcher or camera or two way mirror could change the way that people behave.
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8
Q

PYSCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVE
Assumptions

A
  1. Personality is dynamic
    a. Behavior is caused by something eg. An unconscious force we cannot control
  2. Personality is dynamic
    a. Excahgne of energy between different forces of the mind (this energy is not unlimted.
  3. Personality is Organized
    a. There are different functions of different emotions
  4. Development
    a. Personality is developed by age 5 so these years are very important
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9
Q

Frueds Dream theory

A
  1. Dreams are the best source about what is happening in ones unconscious mind Dreams are significant and have meaning
  2. Two Types of dream content
    a. Latent
    i. THe actual underlying meaning ex. My teeth fall out because im nervous
    b. Manifest
    i. What you remember from a dream
  3. This is not always true
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10
Q

Dreamwork

A
  1. The process of modifying a dream
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11
Q

Condensation

A
  1. The ego combines and compresses dreams into one
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12
Q

Displacement

A
  1. Shifting the emphasis in a dream
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13
Q

Censorship

A
  1. It is what it is
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14
Q

Symbolic substitution

A
  1. The use for a symbol that substitutes for something less threatening
    a. A silo is a penis… anything taller than wide is a penis… everything is a penis
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15
Q

Process of dream Interpretation

A
  1. Person reports manifest content
  2. Person makes associations
  3. Analyst interprets latent content
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16
Q

Projective

A

• Standard set of vague stimuli in which the subject is supposed to project themselves

  1. Response reveals something about personality
    a. Ink Blot –if the person sees his father murder his mother in an ink blot something is probably wrong
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17
Q

4 categories of projectives

A
  1. Associative
    a. What do you think of when you see this ink blot?
  2. Construction
  3. Completion
  4. Expression
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18
Q

Validity of Projectives

A

• Today they are used in a secondary fashion becase they are not vary reliable

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19
Q

b. Regression

A

i. A person will return to earlier more succesfull mechanism to cope with difficult times. Behaviors are often less mature

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20
Q

c. Undoing

A

i. Individual tries to compensate for unacceptable behaviors

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21
Q

d. Reaction Formation

A

i. Mante Teo denying that he is gay on public television

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22
Q

e. Defense projection

A

i. Attributes ones own unacceptable impulses on someone else
1. 3 step process
a. Repress impulse
b. Project impules one someone else
c. Distance yourself from the person you are projection on to.

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23
Q

f. Displacement

A

i. Yell at your wife because your boss was a dick
1. The ego shifts the expression of an impulse from an unacceptable target to an easy safe target

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24
Q

g. Rationalization

A

i. Trying to find logic in what you are doing
1. Saving face
2. Everyone does this

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25
Q

Anal Stage

A

2 parts
Actvivities associated with fixation in Anal repulsive

  • • Messy
  • • Wasteful
  • • Temper tantrums
  • • Defiant aggression

Fixation asscociated with anal retentive

  • • Neat/scheduled
  • • Good at financially saving/delayed gratification
26
Q

Phalic Stage (ages 4-5)

A

• Oedipal and Electra Complexes
o Oedipal complex
• Strong sexual feelings for mother/resents and fears father
• Boys conclude penis taken by father for oedipal reasons
• Castration ANXIETY
• THIS CONFLICT IS RESOLVED BY BECOMING MORE LIKE ONES FATHER
• THIS PROCESS DEVELOPS THE SUPER EGO

27
Q

• HOMOSEXUALITY

A

o People are homosexual because their oedipal complex is soo strong

28
Q

o Genital stage

A

• Begins at puberty
• First 5 year are most important for determining personality
• Least important of the stages, conflict is less intense then the other three stage
• Mature sexual love
• Both feelings of lust, respect, and affection
• There is no end point necessarily
• Attained, not passed through
• Signals maturity about sexuality and adulthood
• Psychological theme = creation and enhancement of life
• True maturity is the ability to bring new life into this world and contributing/nurturing growth
o Can be intellectually constructive, scientifically, etc…
o Just be constructive to society

29
Q

• What is mental health?

A

o Between work and home life
o Now men are struggling with it b/c women are working more and men are doing more w/ the family

30
Q
  • Psychoanalytic treatment
A
  • About 15-20% of psychiatrists
  • to make what is unconscious, conscious
  • “todays emotional disorder is the result of yesterdays problem”
31
Q

o Goal of Therapy

A
  • Uncover past traumas
  • Resolve those conflicts
  • Resume interpersonal development
32
Q

• Resistance

A

• Anything that gets in the way of progress during therapy
• Conscious or Unconscious
o Conscious → says doesn’t want to talk about it
o Unconscious → no show, makes excuses to not go to therapy
• Very difficult to deal with b/c the client doesn’t realize they are doing it and they get very defensive when you bring it up

33
Q

• Transference

A
  • Allowing the client to project attitudes and feelings onto the therapist as if the therapist is an important person in the clients life
  • Can be positive or negative
  • Freud thought transference was necessary for successful therapy
34
Q

• Counter-transference

A

• Feelings the analyst has towards the client
• Very important for the analyst to be aware of
o If the client reminds the analyst of their dad who they hate, there may be a problem
o Analysts meet with a supervisor to see if there is any transference
• Keeps ya honest

35
Q

• Free Association

A
  • Patient says whatever comes to mind, regardless of whether it appears to be important or not
  • Freud thought this may be an illustration of the subconscious
36
Q

• Interpretation of Dreams

A

• Reporting manifest content and interpreting the latent content

37
Q

• Catharsis

A
  • Reliving of past, depressed feelings, reliving feelings from the past
  • Having a breakdown over something that wasn’t dealt with earlier and it all gets experienced at once
38
Q

• Interpretation

A
  • Analyst uncovers hidden meanings in what the patient talks about and does
  • Very important that a patient is ready to hear an interpretation, otherwise it may not be helpful
39
Q

• Insight

A
  • Patients emotional acceptance of themselves
  • Process of gaining insight cannot be rushed or imposed on the client
  • Better if it comes from the client themself
40
Q
  • Psyche according to Carl Jung
A

o Total of all the conscious and unconscious contents of the mind
o What it includes
• Conscious Ego
• All thoughts and feelings
• Memories
• Both personal unconscious as well as collective unconscious
• Multitude of architypes

41
Q

o Collective unconscious

A

• Refers to collective experiences that humans have had in their evolutionary past
• Common experiences that all humans have
• Contents of collective unconscious are the same for everyone
• Contains archetypes
• Inherited predisposition to respond to certain aspects in the environment in a certain way
• We have an archetype about what a mother is, what a wise old man is, what a god is, etc..
• Owes its existence to heredity, but the memory itself is not inherited
o You inherit predisposition to act in a certain way based on your ancestor

42
Q

o Common archetypes

A

• Shadow
• Dark side of the personality, inferiorities of the person
• The little devil on the left
• Anima
• Representation of woman, in man
• The feminine side of man
o Men are unaware that they have an anima
• Serves 2 purposes
o 1. Causes men to demonstrate feminine traits
• Tenderness, sentimentality, gregariousness
o 2. Provides framework within which men interact with women
• Mens collective interactions with women throughout history helps shape interactions with women present day
• Animus
• Opposite of Anima, representation of Man in Woman
• Masculine side of woman
• Serves 2 purposes:
o 1. Gives the woman masculine traits
• Behaving in a competitive, aggressive, or independently way, has sense of adventure
o 2. Provides framework that guides relationship with men
• Best when both genders recognize and respect both sides of the partners Anima/Animus
o Show on occasion
o Do not want to have too much, don’t want to repress own sexuality

• Persona
• The different identities we assume b/c of the socially prescribed roles that we play
• Public personality
o Ex: (norden) Professor persona, mother persona, friend persona, daughter persona, wife persona, etc…
• Hero
• Very common cross culture
• Defeats evil, slays the dragon/monster, suffers punishment for somebody else, rescue people, etc…

43
Q

Psychoanalytic-Social Perspective
Major Assumptions

A
  • Emphasis on Ego and how people adapt to the culture or environmental stressors
  • Individual sense of self is fully described
  • Importance of interpersonal relationships
    o How you get along w/ other people, friends, romantic partners
    o Parents are not the only important people (contrary to Freud’s beliefs)
  • Importance of social and cultural factors
    o How society influences the way that women are perceived
44
Q
  • Inferiority and superiority
A

o To be human means to feel inferior/helpless, which generates the struggle for perfection
• All personality develops from feelings of inferiority, so all movements in life go from (-) to (+)
o Described this struggle as “masculine protest”
• To feel superior is masculine
• All children feel inferior, masculine protest is the striving to get rid of feelings of dependency (not just boys)
• Neither boys nor girls want to be locked in the inferior role
• Should be called “protest to be superior” nothing to do w/ masculinity
o This is where “inferiority complex” came from
• When striving for superiority, this is guided by social interest
• The way to feel more powerful is to get along w/ other people and to use connections in order to further your goals
o “Superiority complex”
• Overcompensating and starting to feel way better than everybody else

45
Q

• 1. Ruling Type

A

• Seek to dominate other people
• Overly competitive, selfish, vain, want to dominate other people
• Deprecation complex
o Make yourself feel good by putting other people down (maybe parental overindulgence turns into ruling type?)

46
Q

• 2. Getting Type

A
  • Very dependent, passive, no initiative, sit around and wait for things to happen to them
  • May actually be depressed
47
Q

• 3. Avoiding Type

A
  • Avoid interactions w/ other, avoiding conflict
  • You won’t have very strong social interest
  • Not good way of going from inferior to superior sense
48
Q
  • Identity achievement
A

o When exploration and commitment is present
• Have tried out various things and made a decision
• Tend to be the most psychologically healthy
• Higher in achievement motivation
• Higher in moral reasoning

49
Q
  • Identity foreclosure
A

o Exploration is absent but commitment is present
o Committed to an identity but didn’t look at all choices
• Accept other peoples decisions about what is best for them
• Dad runs business and tells kid that he will run the business when he retires, kid accepts without really thinking about other options
• Not necessarily unhappy people, have higher need for social approval

50
Q
  • Identity diffusion
A

o Exploration is absent and commitment is absent
o Adolescence tend to be flighty, not really exploring just flipping around
o Not giving anything a real chance
o Seem very carefree but lack of commitment prevents the formation of close relationships
o More socially withdrawn

51
Q
  • Identity moratorium
A

o Lot of exploration but no commitment
• Junior in college who hasn’t figured out a major yet
• Show relatively high anxiety, psychologically conflicted, not socially withdrawn (lively, appealing, etc)
• Often do get into achievement, just takes longer and is more difficult

52
Q

o 1. Affection and Approval

A
  • Neurotic need: Want to please other people, be polite. You want people to just be happy with you, all interactions are dictated by if the person accepts you/ likes you
  • Dread is anger and assertiveness, your friends may not invite you to movies in the future
53
Q

o 2. Having a Partner

A
  • Someone who overvalues love, want to be with someone, in a relationship at all times
  • Dread: Being alone
54
Q

o 3. Narrowly restricting one’s life

A
  • Tries to be undemanding, content with very little, inconspicuous, value modesty
  • Ex: never have the last piece of pie b/c someone else may want it
  • Dread: Being a burden, or a bother, doesn’t spend as much time with family members, lack good relationships connections, etc…
55
Q

o 4. Need for Power

A
  • Seeking domination/control over other people, be in charge
  • Dread: Weakness
56
Q

o 5. Exploiting others

A
  • Taking advantage of others, using others
  • Ex: girlfriend steals $$$ from boyfriend…
  • Dread: Being seen as gullible, someone take advantage of you, being perceived as stupid
57
Q

o 6. Social Recognition or Prestige

A
  • Seeking public acceptance
  • Want to be employee of the year, salesman of the area, etc…
  • Can be bad if it drives you all the time, always competing, damaging relationships, etc…
  • Dread: humiliation
58
Q

o 7. Personal Achievement

A
  • Striving to be best
  • Enjoying defeating other people, personal, ambitious
  • Dread: Failure: don’t see it as a part of life and required to grow
59
Q

o 8. Personal Admiration

A
  • Want admiration for an idealized self-image, want people to think you are better than you really are
  • Dread: Be seen as human, have strengths and weaknesses
60
Q

o 9. Self-sufficiency or independence

A
  • Trying to not need other people
  • b/c of this you keep people at arm’s length, loaners
  • Dread: Closeness
61
Q

o 10. Perfection

A
  • Driven towards superiority, fearful of making mistakes, constantly searching for flaws to cover them up so other people don’t notice
  • Dread: Flaws or criticism

Theories of Personality (10 decks)

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