Exam 3 -- Chapter 11 -- Personality Flashcards
define personality
the long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways.
what is a trait?
a unit of personality
a characteristic that describes a habitual way of behaving, thinking, and feelign
personality is ___ and relatively ___
distinctive
stable
explain personality and first impressions
because we assume personality is distinctive and relatively stale, we often rely too much on 1st impressions –> leads to difficulties in making attributions about motives for behavior
(whether behavior is situational or dispositional)
situational vs dispositional attributions
dispositional –> internal –> this person is acting like this because they are always this way
situation –> external –> this person is acting this way because of situational factors
what is fundamental attribution error?
tendency to attribute motivations of others more to personality factors than to situational factors
however, when it comes to making attributions about ourselves, we are more likely to engage a ___ bias
self-serving
explain successes and failures with the lens of self-serving bias
personality drives our successes
situations drive our failures
projective tests
a test to measure personality
based on assumption that the test taker will project unconscious conflicts and motives onto an ambiguous stimulus
- ex. show a picture of the duck/rabbit picture –> whatever you see first tells something about your personality
personality inventories
answer a series of questions about self
there are no right or wrong answers
from responses, develop a personality profile
what are the 2 types of projective tests?
thematic apperception test
Rorschach inkblot test
describe a thematic apperception test
what kind of test is it?
a type of projective test
person is asked to tell a story about the “hero” in the picture
psychologist interprets the needs and motives that are projected via the story
what are 2 ways to measure personality?
projective tests
personality inventories
describe a Rorschach Inkblot test
what kind of test is it?
a type of projective test
show the person an ambiguous stimulus, ask them to explain what they see
what is a type of personality inventory?
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
what is a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)?
what does it measure?
who created it?
what is it used for?
measures personality across several personality “types” identified by Carl Jung
often used for employment/personnel management purposes
what are the personality “types” in the MBTI?
extroversion vs. introversion
sensing vs. intuition
thinking vs. feeling
judging vs. perceiving
what is factor analysis?
used to identify how personality traits cluster together across the population
studies suggest personality is more strongly based on ___ than most people might expect
genetics
Costa and McRae proposed a ___ model.
what are the ___ factors?
5
neuroticism – prone to worry?
extroversion – outgoing?
openness to experience – like trying new things?
agreeableness – say to get along with?
conscientiousness – responsible?
how do 5 factors of personality change over time?
mostly stable over the lifespan, though a few have consistent variations
ex. introversion increases and oppress decreases w/ age
what is the Five Factor Model?
theory that personality is composed of 5 factors, including openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neurotocism
explain heritability of the 5 factors:
proportion of difference among people that is attributed to genetics
environmental vs. genetic factors:
how does parenting affect personality?
parental influence depends on genetics –> parenting varies according to child’s personality
what does Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory look at?
looks at how children may learn personality thru imitation and cognitive processes
what does reciprocal determinism in Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory address?
addresses how cognitive processes, behaviors, and situational factors all interact to reinforce or punish personality traits
how were historical theories of personality developed?
not developed scientifically but thru practice
what is Freud’s psychodynamic theory?
emphasizes interactions b/n different components of personality
emphasizes psychosexual development of the Id, Ego, and Superego
what is the Id of the psychosexual theory?
aspect of personality that consists of our most primitive drives or urges, including impulses for hunger, thirst, and sex
what is the Ego of the psychosexual theory?
aspect of personality that represents the self, or the part of one’s personality that is visible to others
what is the Superego of the psychosexual theory?
aspect of personality that serves as one’s moral compass, or conscience
Freud’s theory of personality:
personality develops thru ___ ___
developmental stages
Freud’s theory of personality:
developmental stages are focused on how we use and respond to the…
libido
drive how we employ defense mechanisms to protect the ego
Freud’s theory of personality:
describe what stages and fixation are
there are 5 childhood stages
when stages are resolved properly during childhood, they may become stuck, or fixated, in that stage, even as adults
Freud’s theory of personality:
list the 5 childhood stages
(1) oral
(2) anal
(3) phallic
(4) latency period
(5) genital
Freud’s theory of personality:
oral – describe stage and fixation
baby wants to suck nipple
if weaned too early or too late –> fixation to ease anxiety includes smoking or biting nails as adults
Freud’s theory of personality:
anal – describe stage and fixation
pleasure in pooping
if not allowed to poop –> very over-controlling
if allowed to poop whenever –> very careless and disorganized
Freud’s theory of personality:
phallic – describe stage and fixation
boy is attracted to mother
girl is attracted to father
afraid of penis castration so become more like father to win mother
girl is envy of boy’s penis
Freud’s theory of personality:
latency period – describe stage and fixation
sexual feelings are dormant while children focus on other pursuits w/ other children of same sex
Freud’s theory of personality:
genital – describe stage and fixation
sexual reawakening and incestuous urges resurface
young person finds partners that remember their parents
why do Freud’s theories have little empirical support?
- results are unfalsifiable
- based on study of dubiously useful population
- based on patients’ fallible memories
why is Freud’s theory of personality useful?
set up personality as a domain of study
set forth the idea of a stage theory
emphasized impact of childhood experiences on adult personality
emphasized unconscious motivations
what is the humanistic theory?
focus on personality development as part of our question for growth and achievement of potential
what did Abraham Maslow do with Humanistic theory?
emphasized pursuit of self-actualization
what did Carl Rogers do with Humanistic theory?
importance of unconditional positive regard, and congruence b/n real self and ideal self
why was humanistic theory criticized for little empirical support?
terms often vague (e.g. self actualization)
little scientific testability
why is humanistic theory of personality useful?
returned to human side of psychology
very influential in domain of therapy
has led to development of positive psychology –> subfield that emphasizes studying positive aspects of personhood
what is unconditional positive regard according to Carl Rogers’s Humanistic theory?
we flourish when we’re in an environment with unconditional positive regard
when positive regard is conditional –> maladaptive personality development and emotional neediness
what is congruence according to Carl Rogers’s Humanistic theory?
extent to which your perceived self matches your ideal self
what is reciprocal determinism according to Albert Bandura?
person’s behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and environment
