Final Exam Flashcards
Give an example of a personality feature at each level; that is, where everyone is the same, where some people differ, and where everyone differs
First level: commonalities across all people (basic language, emotions, needs - competence, autonomy, relatedness)
Second level: individual differences (trait differences, demographic differences, and other individual differences (values, interests, etc)
Third level: individual characteristics/quirks such as your facial expressions, the way you mispronounce words, the way your eye twitches when you’re focused, etc.
Name the big 5 traits. Can you also list one facet of each trait?
Conscientiousness
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
Openness
Extraversion
(CANOE)
Describe 3 kinds of personality units that are not traits (aka middle level units)
Needs - produces motivation and behaviour towards their satisfaction
Goals - the things people want to accomplish
Self-concept - the understanding/beliefs about ones own characteristics
Others: goals, interests, values, character strengths, attitudes, attachment styles, abilities
Describe two ways character strengths are like traits and one way they are different
Strengths are similar to traits because:
- they are relatively stable over the course of months
- they are intended as a broad map of individual differences
- they are widely relevant across cultures
Strengths are different because:
- they are not empirically decided
- they are valued characteristics that are more prone to development through education, effort, etc.
Name the six virtues, and one related strength for each. How do they relate to strengths?
Wisdom and knowledge - creativity
Courage - Bravery
Humanity - Kindness
Justice - Fairness
Temperance - Modesty
Transcendence - Hope
The virtues are are hierarchical system that are categorical and have several strengths under each
Wayne caressed hilary’s jacket tonight too
What is ‘big’ about the big 5 traits?
They are broad. They are umbrella terms for smaller facets
Two people can score similarly on traits and be quite different (ex. people with high need for achievement may have completely different motivations)
Contrast jingle and jangle fallacy
Jingle fallacy is when the same word is used to describe two different things (i.e., different forms of optimism are grouped together)
Jangle fallacy is when different words are used to describe the same thing (i.e., conscientiousness and grit)
How are strengths useful, given their overlap with traits?
Strengths are more specific and offer a closer look on specific areas within traits
They also cover things that don’t ‘fit’ into the Big 5 such as spirtuality
Describe the three levels of personality
The first level focuses on commonalities across all people (basic language, emotions, etc.)
The middle level focuses on differences between people, such as trait differences, demographic differences, and other individual differences
The third level are the quirks or unique individual characteristics such as the way you smile when you’re focused, etc.
Is personality genetic?
Yes, but only to an extent. People are unique in their combinations of gene variants (except MZ twins) however, personality is the result of genes interacting with the environment
Our genes do not change and are relatively stable but they may be expressed or blocked in response to experience
What does it mean when traits are normally distributed?
It means that most people score in the middle of the trait meaning they express both dimensions of the trait
It is better to think of traits as a spectrum rather then black and white categories
Which two Big 5 traits are the best predictors of SWB?
Conscientiousness and emotional stability
What are two reasons why it can be hard to decide whether you are an introvert or an extravert?
- Traits are typically normally distributed meaning people express both dimensions of traits
- People don’t always act in accordance with their disposition and it is difficult to think about ones average tendencies over time
T/F When provided with a list of homophones and asked to spell them extraverted individuals are more likely to write the positive homophone (peace vs. piece)
True
What is the VIA?
Values in action - a list of 24 strengths
This was the attempt to make a ‘manual of sanities’. However, it is criticized for the jangle fallacy and outpacing empirical support
How is the ‘I’ part of the self different from the ‘me’ part of the self, and how are they linked?
The ‘I’ is the doer, the self-aware knower, decider
The ‘me’ is the self-concept which is subjective and includes the mental representation of who you are (knowledge, beliefs, personality, etc.)
How does self-determination theory describe authentic behaviours?
Self-determination argues that if we are accomplishing our needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) then we are behaving authentically
Note one similarity and one difference in the correlates of dispositional authenticity and state authenticity
Dispositional authenticity assess characteristics that reflect or seem conductive to authentic experiences; assess perceptional averages over time
State authenticity is the perception/feeling that one is currently behaving in accordance with the true self; differs from moment to moment
Dispositional authenticity finds a negative correlation between authenticity and accepting influence from others, whereas state authenticity finds that authenticity positively correlates with influence from others
*It feels different to accept influence in the moment vs over a lifetime (lack of control)
Peoples dispositional traits have been found not to matter - people feel more authentic engaging in positive traits regardless of disposition
Give one good reason for, and one good reason against, efforts aimed at increasing self-esteem
SE is positively correlated with SWB, persistence, occupational status, income, health and negatively correlated with depression, aggression and criminality
However, interventions seem to backfire - Striving for SE can make people act defensively (putting people down to feel better, ignoring constructive feedback to feel better), increase narcissism, or create unstable SE
Describe the key differences between the independent aspect and the interdependent aspect of the self-concept
Independence is about seeing the self as unique and pursing personal goals autonomously (western societies), behaviour is more consistent across situations
Interdependence is about social bonds, fitting into groups and considering others wishes/norms before acting (eastern societies), modifying their behaviour depending on the context/environment
Independence is associated with a more consistent send of self which leads to more happiness and higher SE
T/F People tend to be happier when their traits fits the social norms of their culture
True
List the 10 criteria to be considered a ‘strength’
- contributes to fulfillment
- Strengths valued themselves
- Using it does not diminish others
- No obvious positive opposite
- Trait-like (stable, consistent)
- Distinctive from other strengths
- Has paragons - cardinal traits
- Has prodigies- some people just have it
- Selective absences
- Cultivated by institutions and rituals
How are character strengths measured?
Self-reports
Structured interview
Content analysis
What can cause an increase in character strengths?
A crisis - coping with crisis has been found to increase strengths
Strength scores typically increase with age
How is the essentialism view of true self different from how self-determination theory views authenticity?
Self-determination theory argues that we are being authentic when we are fulfilling our needs.
Whereas essentialism view sees the true self as something that is hidden and in need of discovery. It takes work and effort to be actualized
What is the relationship between reports of trait authenticity and well-being?
High trait authenticity is associated with high well-being and PWB
How are traits and values different when considering momentary reports of authenticity?
When you behave against your values you report less authenticity.
However, when you behave in positive traits (even when they are against your disposition) you feel more authentic.
Ex. People feel more authentic when they are are acting extraverted even if they are introverted
What are the main sources of self-efficacy?
Personal success experience, vicarious experience, persuasion, physiological traits
What are some of the desirable things that correlate with self-esteem?
Happiness, academic success, and persistence after failure
What are the three components of self-compassion?
Treats self with kindness, common humanity, mindfulness to negative aspects of self
How is self-compassion different from self-esteem
Self-esteem is an evaluation of the self and is good when things are going well but not so good when things are going bad
Self-compassion is less an evaluation and more how you process things and is good when people are going through rough times
Define the self-reference effect
A persons ability to remember things better when they are associated with the self-concept
It doesn’t have to be true; simply considering things in relation to the self improves memory
Name the 3 components in self-concept
Self-efficacy - the belief that one can successful enact behaviours that will lead to desirable outcomes (judgement about abilities)
Self-esteem - subjective evaluation of the self
Self-compassion - kindness towards self, awareness of common humanity, mindfulness approach to negative aspects of self
What are the 4 sources of self-efficacy?
Personal experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states/moods
T/F: Self-compassion offers a better goal for intervention than self-esteem
True - Self-compassion has been found to be increased with workshops whereas SE interventions backfire and increase defensive behaviours
