Final Exam Flashcards
Personality
An individuals unique and relatively consistent pattern of thinking, feeling and behaving
Personality theory
Describes and explains how people are similar, how they are different, and why every individual is unique
Major theoretical perspectives on personality
Psychoanalytic perspective
Trait perspective
Freud’s psychoanalysis stresses the importance of _____
Unconscious forces, sexual and aggressive instincts and early childhood experiences
Psychoanalysis is both an approach to ____ and a ______
Therapy
Theory of personality
-emphasizes unconscious motivation, the main causes of behaviour lie buried in the unconscious mind
-saw personality and behaviour as the result of a constant interplay among conflicting psychological forces
Psychological forces operate at 3 different levels of awareness:
Conscious: information in your immediate awareness (EGO)
Preconscious: information that can easily be made conscious (superego)
Unconscious: thoughts, feelings, urges and wishes that are difficult to bring to conscious awareness (Id)
Ego
Superego
Id
Rational, planful, mediating dimension of personality
- understands logic and reality
- most in touch with demands of world
- reality principle where you are able to postpone gratifications in accordance with demands of the world
Moralistic, judgemental, perfectionist dimension of personality
- formed through internalization of parental and societal rules
- at age 5-6 child develops an internal, parental voice that is partly conscious.
Irrational, illogical, impulsive dimension of personality.
- instinctive drives present at birth
- operates on pleasure principle where you obtain pleasure and avoid tension
Freuds psychosexual stages
Age-related development periods in which the child’s sexual urges are focussed on different areas of the body and are expressed by activities associated with those areas.
-oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
Ages, stages and explanation of Freuds psychosexual model
Birth to 1-Oral: feeding and putting objects in mouth
1-3-anal: developing control over elimination via toilet training
3-6-phallic: genitals are focus of pleasurable sensations through sexual curiosity, masturbation and sexual attraction to opposite sexual parent
7-11-latency: sexual impulses repressed with same-sex friendships with peers and focus is school and activities
Adolescence-genital: primary focus of pleasurable sensations which a person seeks to satisfy in heterosexual relationships
According to Freud what happens if someone gets fixated on 1 psychosexual stage
Profoundly affects personality
- if fixated on oral, develop smoking habits
- if anal, anal-retentive personalities (OCD)
Strengths and weaknesses of Freuds Psychosexual model
- unconscious nature of mental life
- critical influence of early experiences
- differences in ability to regulate impulses, emotions and thoughts
- inadequacy of evidence
- problems with testability
- sexist
Trait perspective of personality
Focuses on identifying, describing and measuring individual differences
Trait
Relatively stable, enduring predisposition to behave in a certain way
Surface traits
Source traits
Characteristics or attributes that can be inferred from observable behaviour. Over 4000 English words to describe personality
Most fundamental dimensions of personality. Basic traits that are hypothesized to be universal and relatively few in number.
Raymond cattell trait theory
- proposed 16 personality factor
- used statistical technique to identify them
- developed the 16 personality factor questionnaire
- sixteen is generally considered by others as too many traits
Ex: reserved, unsocialable or outgoing and social
Affected by feelings or emotionally stable
Practical or imaginative
Hans Eysenck trait theory
- proposed similar model of universal source traits with 3 different source traits: introversion or extra version, neuroticism or emotional stability, psychoticism
- believed that individual differences in personality are due to biological differences making people
Eysencks Personality chart
Poles are N=Emotionally unstable (neurotic) S=Emotionally Stable E=Extraverted W=Introverted
NE=Extraverted-Neurotic: touchy, excitable, aggressive, optimistic
SE=Extraverted-stable: leadership, sociable, responsive, easygoing
SW=Introverted-stable: passive, Peacful, reliable
NW=Introverted-Neurotic: Moody, reserved, anxious, unsociable
McCrae and Costa: Five factor model
- essential building blocks of personality can be described in terms of 5 basic personality dimensions
- tested in 50 cultures
- traits seem stable over lifespan
- seem consistent over different situations and related to specific brain activity and structures
5 blocks are:
- openness and experience: routine or variety
- conscientiousness: lazy or hardworking
- extra version: quiet or talkative
- agreeableness: trusting or suspicious
- neuroticism: calm or worrying
Brain imaging and extroversion/ neuroticism
People who are high in extroversion shower higher levels of brain activation in response to positive images
People who score high in neuroticism show more activation in response to negative images
Strengths and limitations of five-factor personality model
-psychologists generally agree that people can be described and compared in terms of basic personality
- human personality not really explained
- no explanation of how or why we have individual differences
- failure to address other important personality issues
2 types of personality tests
Projective tests: involves a persons interpretation of an ambiguous image. Used to assess unconscious motives, conflicts, psychological defended and personality traits. Ex: Rorschach Inkblot Test
Self-report inventories
Thematic apperception test (TAT)
A projective personality test, developed by Henry Murray and colleagues, that involves creating stories about ambiguous scenes.
-person thought to project their own motives, conflicts and personality characteristics into the story they create.
Strengths and weaknesses of projective tests
- provision of qualitative information about individuals psychological functioning
- information can facilitate psychotherapy
- influence of testing situation or examiners behaviour
- highly subjective
- failure to produce consistent results
- poor at predicting future behaviour
Self-report inventory examples
Minnesota Multiphasic Personalitiy Inventory (MMPI): used to assess both normal and disturbed populations to assess personality and psychological disorders
California Psychological Inventory (CPI): assess personality in normal populations
Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire
What are the challenges of defining culture
- culture boundaries are not distinct and often unclear
- cultures are dynamic and change over time
- many variations within cultures and between cultures
- individual differences>cultural differences
General psychology Vs cultural psychology
General:
-focuses on universals
Cultural:
- Studies between and within cultural variation
- focus on replication and generalization
The neglected 95%: why American psychology needs to become less American facts
- 68% of psychology participants are Americans
- 96% of psychology participants are from western, industrialized countries
- 70% of participants are psychology undergraduates
- most research from WEIRD societies (wealthy, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic)
- but weird countries only make up 16% of the worlds population
- APA focuses on Americans who only make up 5% of global population
- most people don’t live in American conditions
- ethnicity of samples unreported in 7-24%
Cultural variation in terms of emotions based on language
- English has over 2000 words, while chewong of Malaysia have 8
- emotion words from one language do not always map onto basic emotions of other languages
Cultural differences with attention to Center figure with people behind mad or happy
Americans focused more on Center figure
Japanese focus more on center figure as a function of time and culture (took in context of peoples behind more)
Absolute and relative task cultural differences
Absolute: draw a line that is as close to length in first box
Relative: draw a line that is 1/3 height of first box
- absolute tasks easier for Americans
- relative task easier for East Asians
Degrees of universality
Non universal (cultural invention)
- cognitive tool not found in all cultures
- example: abacus
Existential universal (variation in function)
- cognitive tool found in all/ most/ some cultures that serve different functions in different cultures
- example: increased persistence in the face of failure
Functional universal (variation in accessibility)
- cognitive tool in all cultures that serves the same function but is used to different degrees
- example: individualism and collectivism
Accessibility universal (no variation)
- found in all cultures that serves the same functions and is accessible to the same degree
- example: social facilitation
One big source of differences in socialization comes from ________
Socialization with parents
- mothers from some cultures spend more time face to face with their children (German)
- some more time with bodily contact (NSO)
Authoritative and authoritarian
Child-centred approach, high expectations of children’s autonomy, maintains limits and controls
-better yields in terms of perceived parental warmth
High demands on children, restrict rules and little open dialogue between parent and child
Consequences of authoritarian style in non-western countries
- better educational outcomes
- imposed grades
- increased psychological maladjustment behaviours (low self esteem, emotional instability)
- less happy with strong controlling parenting
Stevenson and stigler proposed explanations of why East Asian schools were more similar in grades and better than American schools
Teaching methods
-more time and homework
Value of education from parents and children
- home environment usually has desk in Asian homes but not as much American
- plans of future in 70% of Chinese children and 10% American
Expectations that mothers have for their children
Numbering system
Understanding psychological disorders includes considerations of their ______
Origins, symptoms, and development, as well as how behaviour related to cultural and social norms
Psychological disorder/mental disorder/ abnormality patterns of behaviour
- deviation from the average
- deviation from the ideal
- sense of personal discomfort
- inability to function effectively
- legal concept
What is a psychological disorder perspectives
Medical-hormonal imbalance, brain injury
Psychoanalytic- childhood conflicts
Behavioural- unable to learn
Cognitive- thought and belief
Humanistic- responsibility people have
Sociocultural- poverty, norm
Dividing line between normal and abnormal behaviour is often determined by ____ or ____ context
Social
Cultural
- strong social stigma attached to suffering from a psychological disorder
- pattern of behavioural or psychological symptoms must represent a serious departure from the prevailing social and cultural norms
- standard descriptions of disorders from the DSM-5 must be used
DSM-5
Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition; published by the American psychiatric association
- describes the specific symptoms and diagnostic guidelines for different psychological disorders
- includes symptoms, criteria that must be met to make a diagnosis, and typical course for each mental disorder
- has increased in number of disorders classified over the years
Categories of disorders in DSM-5
- Anxiety
- somatic symptom and related disorders (Illness anxiety disorder)
- dissociative (multiple personality)
- mood (Depression, bipolar)
- Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders (delusional disorder)
Benefits of DSM-5
- provides a descriptive system
- allows communication between mental health and professionals
- enables researchers to explore the causes
- provides shorthand through which professionals can describe the behaviours that tend to occur together in an individual
Short-comings of DSM-5
David Rodenhans classic study
- sought admission to mental hospital based on statement that they were hearing voices
- pseudo-patients acted normal after that and the hospitals still diagnosed them as severely abnormal
- most “patients” were labelled as schizophrenic-in remission
- no on identified any of the pseudo patients as imposters
- after initial diagnosis, mental health professionals overlook other diagnostic possibilities
ICD
International Classification of Diseases
- world health organizations diagnostic classification
- diagnostic codes required for insurance reimbursements
Should social media help diagnose disorders?
- differences were found in Instagram photos posted by depressed and non depressed people
- good searches (how to kill self) are higher in suicidal people
- information about online behaviour should be harnessed
- confidentiality of information
- ethical guidelines should be developed
Psychological disorders are much more prevalent than many believe. Approximately ______ of a representative of 9000 Americans experiences symptoms of a psychological disorder during the previous year
26%
Anxiety disorders
Intense anxiety that disrupts normal functioning is an essential feature of the anxiety disorders, PTSD, and obsessive-compulsive disorder
Anxiety
Anxiety disorders
Unpleasant emotional state characterized by physical arousal and feelings of tension, apprehension and worry
-physically alert; mentally alert
Category of psychological disorders in which extreme anxiety is the main diagnostic feature and causes significant disruptions in the persons cognitive, behavioural or interpersonal functions
-irrational, uncontrollable, disruptive
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
An anxiety disorder characterized by excessive, global, and persistent symptoms of anxiety; also called free-floating anxiety
-when one source of worry is removed, another takes it’s place
Caused by:
- environmental, psychological, genetic, and other biological factors
- problematic anxiety can be evident from early age
- early stressful experiences may contribute
Panic attack
Panic disorder
Sudden episode of extreme anxiety that rapidly accelerated in intensity
Anxiety disorder in which person experienced frequent and unexpected panic attacks
Triple vulnerabilities model of panic
- biological predisposition toward anxiety
- low sense of control over potentially life threatening events
- over sensitivity to physical sensations
Catastrophic cognitions theory
Over sensitive to physical sensations and all tend to catastrophize meaning of their experience
Phobia
Persistent and irrational fear of a specific object, situation or activity
Specific phobia
Excessive, intense and irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity that is actively avoided or endured with marked anxiety
- encountering fear can provoke a full panic attack
- 13% of general population has this
- 2x more women than men
Generally the objects or situations that produce specific phobias tend to fall into 4 categories:
- fear of particular situations
- fear of features of the natural environment
- fear of injury or blood
- fear of animals and insects
Social anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorder involving the extreme and irrational fear of being embarrassed, judged, or scrutinized by others in social situations
- one of the most common psychological disorders
- more prevalent in women
Explaining phobias
- basic learning principles
- biological preparation
Some phobias can be explained in terms of classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning
Certain fears, such as spiders or heights have evolutionary history and may represent a fear of contamination
Extreme anxiety and intrusive thoughts are symptoms of both
PTSD and OCD
PTSD
Post traumatic stress disorder
- caused by exposure to a highly traumatic event
- results in recurrent, involuntary and intrusive memories
- avoidance of stimuli and situations associated with event
- negative changes in thoughts, moods and emotions
- persistent state of heighten physical arousal
OCD
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- presence of intrusive, repetitive, and unwanted thoughts (obsessions)
- fear of dirt, germs, doubt of completing task
repetitive behaviours or mental acts that an individual feels driven to perform to reduce anxiety (compulsions)
-may be overt or covert
Examples of obsessions and compulsions
- contamination
- pathological doubt
- violent or sexual thoughts
- washing
- checking
- counting
- symmetry and precision
Causes of OCD
- deficiency in serotonin, norepinephrine
- dysfunction in specific bran areas involved in fight or flight response, frontal lobes for thinking and planning, and heighten neural activity in caudate nucleus involved in regulating movements
Disorders involving intense anxiety
Generalized anxiety disorder Panic disorder Phobias PTSD OCD
Both depressive and bipolar disorders are sometimes called _____ or ____
Mood disorders
Affective disorders
Major Depressive Disorder
- a mood disorder that is characterized by extreme and persistent feelings of despondency, worthlessness and hopelessness
- causes impaired emotional, cognitive, behavioural and physical functioning
- loss of interest or pleasure in activities
- difficulty sleeping or excessive sleeping
- diminished appetite and eight loss
Prevalence of major depressive disorder
6-7% of Americans
15% of Americans at some point in life
Women 2x more likely (experience more chronic stress, have lesser sense of personal control, more prone to dwell on issues)
More than half of all people who have been through one episode of major depression can expect to
Relapse, usually within 2 years
- symptoms tend to increase in severity and time between episodes decreases
- left untreated, major depression can daily last 6 months or longer
Bipolar disorder
Manic episode
A sudden, rapidly escalating emotional state characterized by extreme euphoria, excitement, physical energy and rapid thoughts and speech
Bipolar disorder
A mood disorder invoking periods of incapacitating depression alternating with periods of extreme up hours and excitement; formerly called manic depression
Symptoms of Biploar
- person experiences extreme mood swings
- episodes of incapacitating depression and shorter euphoria (manic episodes)
- small percentage only experience manic episodes
- involves abnormal moods at both ends of emotional spectrum
Prevalence of Bipolar
- typically occurs in early 20’s and lasts from a few days to a couple of mouths
- commonly recurs every few years; small percentage display rapid cycling
- 1% lifetime risk
- no gender differences in prevalence
- can often be controlled by medication (lithium)
Causes of Bipolar
- genetic predisposition
- activation of brain structure differences
- brain chemistry
- stress
Lasser found that people with mental illness are ____ as likely to smoke
2x
Cyclothymic disorder
Moderate, reoccurring mood swings that are not severe enough to qualify as major depressive disorder or bipolar
SAD
Seasonal affective disorder
-reoccurring episodes of depression following a seasonal pattern. More in winter and fall
Persistent depressive disorder
Chronic depressed feelings that are often less severe than those that accompany major depressive disorder