Exam 4 Flashcards
Personality definition
An individual’s unique patter of: thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that persist over time across situations
Personality definition focuses on:
Unique differences (diversity)
Stable, enduring differences (although change in stability-change)
Biological/genetic influences
Temperament, traits influenced by genes (nature)
Environmental (experience) influences
Learning, parents, peers, situation, chance events influence traits (nurture)
Sociocultural influences
Norms influence what traits are valued, notion of “self/personality”, shape behaviors (diversity)
Psychodynamic influences
Unconscious dynamics influence motives, guilts, conflicts, and defenses
Humanist approaches influence
People can exercise free will to determine who they will be (change)
Objective personality tests
Standardized tests
Minnesota Multiphasic personality inventory-2 (over 550 questions)
Measures such things as social introversion, depression, schizophrenia, etc.
Strength: relatively easy to administer and score/analyze results
Limitations: rely entirely on self-report; familiarity with the test affects responses
Projective personality tests
Use of ambiguous stimuli
Rorschach test (inkblots)
Thematic apperception test (TAT; pictures)
Strengths: difficult to fake “correct” response . Responses are not random. Believe responses uncover unconscious aspects of personality, which are “projected” onto the ambiguous stimuli, that cannot be detected by objective tests
Limitations: difficult to score/analyze responses; greater subjectivity in interpretation- who decides what the person’s reports mean?
Personality theories attempt to explain: personality development
How personality is formed (e.g., born with OR learned is acquired? if acquired, how so?)
Personality theories attempt to explain: Personality structure
What personality is made up of (e.g., id, ego, and superego OR traits?)
Personality theories attempt to explain: motivation
“Why” people behave the way they do (e.g., conscious causes OR unconscious causes of behavior?)
Personality theories attempt to explain: personality change
Is change possible? As a function of time (growing older)? Or through therapy? (stability-change)
Psychopathology and psychological health
Unhealthy, maladaptive personality
Healthy, adaptive personality
Freud’s theory
See behavior as the result of psychological dynamics within the individual: much of mental life is unconscious. Mental processes can be in conflict. Personality patterns start in childhood experiences. Personality involves learning to self-regulate
Freud’s psychosexual stages
Oral stage: first year; mouth-oral gratification; weaning
Anal stage:2-3 years; anus; toilet training
Phallic stage: 3-5/6 years; genitals; oedipus (in boys) and electra (in girls) complexes-successful resolution is the child’s identification with the same sex parent
Latency stage:5/6-adolescence; sexual interests repressed; focused on other things
Genital stage: adolescence to adulthood; genitals; reawakening of sexual desires
Erogenous zones (Freud)
Pleasure regions of the body
Overcoming fixation at each stage
Developmentally stalling at a particular stage, which influences adult personality later in life (e.g., anal retentive personality type).
Personality structure
Conscious: ideas, thoughts, and feelings of which we are aware
Preconscious: material that can be easily recalled
Unconscious: well below the surface of awareness
Ego
self reality principle
Superego
Ego ideal
moral guardian
ID
Pleasure principle
unconscious urges and desires
Motivation psychic determinism
Belief that there are causes for our behaviors, thoughts, feelings- they do not occur randomly or by chance
Causes- early childhood experiences, often of a mind sexual sort, hidden within the unconscious mind
Freudian slips
Say or do one thing when meant to say or do another. Unconscious desires are being expressed causing the slip/mistake
Motivation opposing instincts
Life (Eros; libido; sexual) and death (Thanatos; aggressive) instincts
Psychopathology
Result primarily from early, unconscious childhood sexual conflicts that are real or imagined
Personality change
Psychoanalysis: dream interpretation and free association- the “talking cure”- to get at deep, hidden, and emotionally troubling unconscious conflicts, memories, wishes, and urges
Jung Collective Unconscious
The part of the unconscious that is inherited and common to all members of a species. Experiences we have in the world are the result of these inherited, inner predispositions to experience that world in particular ways
Jung archetypes
Structural components of the collective unconcious. They are universal thought forms, associated with emotion, that create images or visions. Examples: ideas of hero and villain, supreme deity, wise seer, mother. Thus, see reference to these throughout the history of the human race, including today in our culture
Jungs personality types
Extravert: focuses on external world; very social; energized by social situations and activities, being around many other people
Introvert: focuses more on own thoughts, feelings, not very social; energized by solitary pursuits, time spent alone or perhaps with a good friend
Cain
Introverts… celebrate your introversion and recognized all you have to offer in the world/ Sometimes, the strongest voices are the quietest
ambiverts
people who are in the middle of intraverts and extraverts
Adler
Feelings of inferiority: natural for people to have such feelings. Consider how vulnerable and dependent on others we are as infants/children. Can be positive and lead to positive growth and development, but can also lead to negative, maladaptive complexes
Superiority complex: believe you are better than others
Inferiority complex: fixation on feelings of personal inferiority that results in emotional and social paralysis
Horney
Proposed that nonsexual factors play a larger role than sexual ones (contrary to Freud)
Womb envy: men envious of women-can bear/nurse offspring
Neurotic trends: negative coping strategies that help people deal with emotional problems but result in loss of independence and the following negative personality types- submissive, aggressive, detached
Erikson’s 8 stage theory
Life span approach: personality develops across all stages of life
Each stage is associated with its own crisis that must be resolved
Five factor model
Openness: to experience/culture/intellect
Conscientiousness: reliable, dependable, ethical
Extroversion: outgoing, talkative, assertive
Agreeableness: kind, trusting, compassionate
Neuroticism: anxious, tense, unstable
Our behavior is a result of the interaction of:
Our cognitions (thoughts), learning, and environment, especially the social environment
Humanistic theories
Emphasizes the potential for growth and positive change
Maslow
Hierarchy of needs:
Lowest: physiological (food, water, sex)
safety (security/stability)
belonginess/love
esteem
highest: need for self actualization
Self actualization
Achieving the highest human potential
Rogers
Fully functioning person
Helped along with unconditional positive regard, which is good for children
Conditional positive regard-will love one’s child only if he or she behaves in a certain way.
Conditions of worth on the child-> not good for children
Trait theories
Traits: dimensions or characteristics on which people differ in distinctive ways that guide their behavior in various situations
Bandura
Expectancies guide our evaluation of a situation
Self efficacy
an attitude that our effort will be successful- we can do what needs to be done, accomplish what needs to be accomplished
Rotter
Locus of control: an expectancy about whether reinforcement, good or bad experiences, success or failure in life are under internal or external control
Internal: one can control his or her own fate
External: one’s fate is determined by chance, luck, or the behaviors of others
Know this general point
Each of the above theoretical perspectives has made its contributions to our understanding of personality, but each has its limitations
Optimistic
Appear to be more careful in their choices
serves as a protective factor-being optimistic has positive effects on physical and mental health
Pessimistic
Higher risk taking behavior
negative effects on physical and mental health
Social psychology
Scientific study of how people think about (ex. stereotypes), influence (ex. persuasion), and relate to (ex. aggression/loving) one another
Norms
A culturally shared idea or expectation about how to behave
An example of social influence
powerful examples for social influence
Jonestown massacre and Heaven’s Gate cult
4 major points of emphasis within social psychology
- Power of the situation: to influence behavior (external factors)
- Power of the person: to influence behavior (internal factors)
- Power of cognition: to influence behavior (our attitudes and beliefs)
- Power of application: apply our understanding of social psychology to address prejudice, racism, etc. to improve social relations
Milgram’s obedience to authority studies
the four major points are represented
Lewin’s study of leadership styles
Lewin’s view that behavior= F(person, situation), which is read as “behavior is a function of the person and the situation.” Both influence behavior
Conformity and Asch’s line-length study of conformity
People conform to be liked by others and to be “right or correct” in their behavior
The results of Lewin’s study of leadership-Which style is best?
Democratic
What did Milgram’s shock study demonstrate?
Blind obedience is not limited to the fascists mentality. It is part of the basic human condition brought out by situational forces
What is the fundamental attribution error?
The tendency people have to overemphasize personal characteristics and ignore situational factors in judging others behavior
What did Zimbardo’s Standford Prison study demonstrate?
We all have the capacity to be good or bad. Waiting for the right or wrong situation to bring it out.
What did Jane Elliot’s brown eyed/blue eyed classroom demonstrate?
Prejudice and discrimination
Generalized anxiety disorder
Prolonged vague but intense fears that are not attached to any specific object or circumstance
Social anxiety disorder
Social phobia-excessive, inappropriate fears connected with social situations or performances in front of other people. So called “performance only” type for people who fear only performance situations
Agoraphobia
The anxiety is out of proportion to the actual danger or threat in the situation, which lasts for a minimum of 6 months (rules out temporary fears)
PTSD
Traumatic, life-threatening event, leading to reexperiencing of the trauma, increased psychological arousal/anxiety, avoidance, and persistent negative alterations in cognitions and mood
Major depressive disorder
Disturbances in emotion, behavior, cognition, and body function. Marked loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities. Can lead to suicide
Diathesis (vulnerability)- stress model of depression
Individual vulnerabilities (biological/genetic factors-nature) interact with external stresses or circumstances (environmental factors-nurture) to produce mental disorders
Bipolar disorder
Episodes of both depression and mania, which is excessive euphoria-extremely talkative, easily distracted, make bad decisions (e.g., spends money excessively, gets into financial trouble)
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial behavior (lying, stealing, manipulating others, violence); lack of guilt, shame, empathy
Borderline personality disorder
Marked instability in self-image, mood, and interpersonal relationships
Narcissistic personality disorder
Grandiose sense of self-importance. Believe they are extraordinary, need constant attention and admiration, display a sense of entitlement, and tend to exploit others. Given to envy and arrogance, lack the ability to really care for anyone else
Dissociative identity disorder (multiple personalities)
Controversial disorder; two or more distinct personalities, each with its own name and traits, either self-reported or reported by others. Includes recurrent gaps in recall for traumatic and everyday events
Schizophrenia
Severe disorders in which there are disturbances of thoughts (delusions), communications (disorganized speech), emotions, and/or presence of hallucinations. No longer identify different types, but rather uses the “dimensional approach to rating severity for core symptoms.”
Anorexia nervosa
Intense fear of weight gain (and persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain) and a distorted body image
Bulimia Nervosa
Binges of eating followed by self-induced vomiting at least once weekly
Binge-eating disorder
Binges of eating without the self-induced vomiting (at least once weekly over the last three months)
Biopsychological perspective
Causes of psychological disorders are biological (bio), cognitive (psycho), and environmental (social). Thus, approaches to treatment/therapy are likely to be of various types and with more than one approach used for a particular disorder
Biological treatments
Drug therapies, shock therapy, and neurosurgery
Behavioral therapies
Using classical and operant conditioning principles/procedures to treat disorders. Examples include systematic desensitization/exposure therapy, aversion therapy, token economy, and modeling
Cognitive therapies
Change irrational, unproductive ways of thinking to produce a change in behavior and treat disorders. Examples include stress-inoculation therapy, Ellis’ rational-emotive behavior therapy, Beck’s cognitive therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy
Family therapy
Each member forms part of a larger, interacting system, thus, treatment involves the family, not just the individual with the disorder. Changing family behavior can benefit all individuals
Couples therapy
Focus on resolving conflicts, improve problems of communication and interaction
Self-help groups
People with a common problem meet and provide mutual support to one another. Can be effective, as well as inexpensive
Theraputic alliance
The bond of confidence and mutual understanding established between therapist and client that allows them to work together to solve the clients problem
Attitudes
important because they often influence our behavior
Dissonance
Experienced as unpleasant psychological tension in such situations
Change one’s attitude to reduce dissonance
Interpersonal attraction
Is influenced by proximity, physical attractiveness, and similarity
Strategies for reducing prejudice and discrimination
Improving group contact-one on one contact with members of other groups that cooperate to achieve shared goals, provided there is equal status between the groups
Mob behaviors
Influenced by deindividuation-people can feel anonymous in a group, leading them to feel less responsible as individuals
Altruistic behavior
Helping others without personal gain and the bystander effect-less likely to offer help to someone when the others than when alone
Group polarization
Group discussion on a topic that people disagree on leads people to become more extreme in their attitudes-greater disagreement because of the discussion
Social loafing
When people do not work as hard, they “loaf” when working as part of a group
Groupthink
Ignore alternatives, do not criticize group consensus, do not want to speak up and go against the group
Definition of mental illness
is relative not absolute
Historical views
Late 18th century, disturbances were due to demonic possession, “treatment” was often imprisonment, not real treatment; Pinel and Dix established humane treatments
Prevalence
Frequency of disorders over a period of time, for example, a year
Insanity
a legal term not a psychiatric term
Stigma
collection of adverse and unfair beliefs about people with mental illness that leads them to feel shame, become isolated, and keeps them from reaching out for help that is available
Define psychological disorders
Society- does behavior violate social norms (unusual, rare)?
Individual- does behavior make me happy/unhappy (emotional distress/discomfort)?
Mental health professional- is behavior maladaptive (self-defeating, dangerous) or functional (good, beneficial)?
Definition of abnormal behavior
relative not absolute
behavior that is rare or dysfunctional, causes personal distress, or deviates from social norms
Late 18th century perspective
Unusual behaviors were attributed to supernatural powers. Emotional disturbances were sign of demonic possession
Biological model cause of disorders
Biochemical/physiological imbalances stemming from hereditary/genetic factors (psychiatry and the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience)
Psychoanalytic model cause of disorders
Unconscious internal conflicts
Cognitive-behavior model cause of disorders
Faulty/maladaptive/irrational/negative cognitions (beliefs) about self, world, and future, along with maladaptive ways of behaving, resulting from learning experiences
Diathesis-stress model cause of disorder
Also known as the vulnerability-stress model
Combination of biological predisposition to develop a mental illness (nature) and negative life experiences and psychological stresses (nurture)
Systems model (biopsychosocial model)
Same as diathesis-stress model but also considers social factors that contribute to psychological disorders. Emotional problems as “lifestyle diseases” as heart disease is viewed today
Prevalence of disorders
approx.= 18% (1 in 5 people) of the population
Serious mental illness approx.=4 %
