final (textbook and lecture) Flashcards
what is culture?
- distinctive elements of a society or a community that are passed on from generation to generation and are the basis for everyday behaviours and practices
what is cultural identity? how is it formed?
- cultural identity: a person’s sense of belonging to a particular culture or group
- formed by internalizing the beliefs, values, norms, and social practices of one’s culture
how does sex differentiate from gender
- sex: biological categorization of people as female, male, or intersex
- gender: socially constructed, social and cultural meanings or interpretations of the different sex categories, including its commonly associated attributes
what is the difference between gender, gender identity, and gender expression
- gender: social and cultural construction of the different sex categories
- gender identity: a person’s deeply-felt inherent sense of being a certain gender that may or may not correspond with sex
- gender expression: how one presents/expresses themselves that communicate aspects of their gender or gender roles (e.g., clothing - butch/femme)
what is the difference between sexual orientation and sexual identity
-
sexual orientation: which gender(s) one is sexually attracted to
sexual identity: which sexual orientation one identifies with
what are two different ways of categorizing/measuring sexual orientation?
- as a binary construct (straight or gay?)
- on a scale, where one end has someone being exclusively straight, whereas the other end someone is exclusively gay
explain the genetic component of sexual orientation, and what this suggests?
- multiple genes play a role in determining same-sex sexual orientation
- the role of each gene on its own is relatively small, suggesting that differing sexual orientations is a natural variation of human experience
what is the “chosen lifestyle” theory
- one can “choose” to be a certain sexual orientation
- not supported by science
what are and aren’t the factors that play into gender identity
- are: environmental and biological factors
- aren’t: a matter of choice or confusion
- even transgender children showed patterns of gender cognition more consistent with their expressed than their assigned gender at birth
what is identity clarity? how might it relate to non-straight individuals?
- identity clarity: the extent that one understands their identity and the extent that it makes sense (I CANNOT FIND DEFINITION)
- among trans people, low gender identity clarity has been associated with suicidal ideation
- in gay and straight women, ambiguity about sexual identity has been associated with alcohol misuse and suicidal ideation
what is intersectionality?
- study of intersecting and overlapping social identities and labels
- related systems of discrimination and oppression
what are three problems with the historical study of sex differences
- reliance on sex/gender binaries and cisgender people
- possible exaggeration of differences, stereotype reinforcement (statistically-speaking there aren’t any significant differences in personality between sex)
- insufficient attention to intersecitonality
what is the most common way that sex differences are measured? describe the statistic used
- commonly measured using meta-analyses: where the results of multiple different studies are analyzed together
- effect size (d-statistic): the difference between groups in standard deviation units
what is the meaning of different effect sizes, and what are some nuances with interpreting these effect sizes in populations and individuals?
0.2: small
0.5: medium
0.8: large
nuances
- effect sizes don’t have implications for any one individual–they’re a population wide measure
- more differences are small, so statistics shouldn’t be used to exaggerate the differences between sexes
compare and contrast the maximalist and minimalist views toward the study of sex differences
- maximalist: SEX DIFFERENCES IMPORTANT–even if differences are small, they add up over time
- minimalist: sex differences are unimportant, and even when they do exist, the effect size is so small that it has no real impact
describe the gender similarity hypothesis
- males and females are similar on most, but not all, psychological variables
what are the sex differences on nurturance?
- sex differences show women with a higher tendency towards nurtuance
- females across cultures consistently score higher on all aspects of agreeableness
- also score higher on warmth (extraversion) and empathy
what are the sex differences on aggressiveness? what does this mean, in terms of other personality traits?
- men show higher aggression, which equates to lower agreeableness
- this is true across cultures
- men are also higher in the dark triad
what might be skewing the data on sex differences in aggression?
some outliers, where rando dudes are HYPER AGGRESSIVE
compare and contrast overt and relational aggression, with respect to the trait and its sex differences
overt aggression
- obvious
- often-physical aggressive behaviours
- more common in men
relational aggression
- less obvious
- more about exclusion and gossip, imagine mean girl in high school
- more common in women
what are the sex differences on emotionality? what might be causing these differences?
- women tend to report experiencing both more negative AND positive emotions
- at greater frequency AND intensity, even early in life
- after puberty, females show depression 2-3X more
- females also ruminate more, which contributes to depression
- might be that there’s a sex difference in the willingness to express and report emotions
what are the sex differences in self-esteem, and how does it change across a lifespan?
- before adolescence: same across sexes
- after puberty: men higher than women
- throughout adulthood: men higher than women, but the gap lessens as people grow older
how do self-esteem and cultural orientation interact, with respect to sex differences?
- collectivistic culture: less sex differences
- individualistic and egalitarian cultures: more pronounced sex differences
what were the original definitions for masculinity and feminity, along with their updated ones?
OG
- masculinity: possession of psychological and physical attributes traditionally associated with men
- femininity: possession of psychological and physical attributes traditionally associated with women
UPDATED
- masculinity: instrumentality (Agency)
- Femininity: expressiveness (communion)
compare and contrast the initial and updated conceptualizations of an ideal expression of masculinity and feminity
inital
- being androgynous was the ideal expression
- it was the most adaptive, carrying the best traits of masculinity and feminitiy
updated
- most adaptive was being gender-aschematic
how was the measure of sex differences on various personality traits reinterpreted, instead of just having people possessing a certain amount of masculine vs feminine traits?
- it was reinterpreted as the extent to which one fufills sex role expectations and sees the world through a gendered lense
compare and contrast unmitigated agency and unmitigated communion
unmitigated agency
- so much focus on the self that it hurts others
- problems stem from unwillingness to attend to relationships and negative views of others
- correlated with hegemonic and toxic masculinity, as well as the dark traits
unmitigated communion
- focus on others to the exclusion of self
- problems stem from tendency to subjugate one’s own needs, dependence on others for esteem
what is the gender schema theory?
explains how individuals become gendered in society and how gender stereotypes are maintained over time
what are gender schemas?
- cognitive orientations
- leads people to process information through a sex-linked perspective
what are gender stereotypes, and what are its 3 components
-
beliefs about how men and women differ or are supposed to differ, in contrast to that the actual differences are
1. cognitive: social categories
2. affective: positive or negative feels that result from stereotypes
3. behavioural: treating people differently
compare and contrast socialization theory, social learning theory, social role theory
socialization
- people are reinforced by parents, teachers, and the media for acting according to their sex
social learning theory
- people learn by modeling their behaviours after people in their environment
- this provides a guide to what behaviours are masculine or feminine
social role theory
- males and females are distributed differently into different occupational and family roles
- over time, children learn behaviours associated with these roles
what is some evidence for socialization?
- boys and girls are treated differently across cultures
- exposure to counter-stereotypical role models can influence aspirations of young people
how does evidence from matrilineal societies give support to the importance of social factors in sex differences
- in patriarchal society, girls are found to be less competitive than boys
- but in a matriarchial society, there’s no such difference
what is the link between hormones and behaviour?
- sex differences in testosterone are linked with traditional sex differences in behaviour
- estrogen is also associated with empathy and oxytocin secretion
- but this link is BIDIRECTIONAL
- actions lead to more testosterone
why is evolution a consideration when studying sex differences?
- the sexes are predicted to differ only in domains where people are recurrently faced with different adaptive patterns
- such as in mating and sexuality
what is the integrated theoretical perspective? and what factor is the most supported?
- takes all levels of analysis into account
- all levels, whether it be socialization, hormonal, evolutionary, are compatible
- but socialization is the most supported cause for personality
what is evoked culture? how might it shape personality? give examples
- cultural differences created by differing environmental conditions activating a predictable set of responses
- food variance -> differences in egalitarianism/cooperation
- economic livelihood -> differences in honour
- pathogen prevalence -> differences in big 5 traits
how might pathogen prevalence over time be associated with different personality traits? why might this develop?
- pathogen prevalence -> decreased extraversion and openness to experience
- develops because having high levels of these traits would have increased exposure to pathogens
what is the relationship between pathogen prevalence and cultural differences? define the terms
- pathogen prevalence -> increased conformity to cultural norms -> decreased likelihood of pathogen exposure
- conformity: tendency to adapt behaviour in response to unspoken group pressure
- pathogen prevalence -> increased authoritarianism -> similar reason to above
- authoritarianism: blind allegiance to conventional ideas, respect for submission to authority, belief in aggression towards those who disagree or are differences
what is transmitted culture? how might it shape personality? give examples
- ideas, values, attitudes, and beliefs that are communicated from one person to another
- the things that are transmitted vary by culture, which contribute to cultural differences in personality
- e.g., cultural orientation (individualism vs collectivism), self-construal, self-enhancement
compare and contrast evoked and transmitted culture, as well as how they shape personality.
- evoked
- differences in the environment
- environmental and cultural
- implicitly shape behaviour and personality
- transmitted
- differences in the things that are communicated by individuals
- social
- has an explicit effect
compare and contrast the two main cultural orientations
- individualism
- focus on uniqueness, independence
- agency
- value identity and self-enhancement
- independent self-construal
- collectivism
- focus on relationships
- communion
- value unity and selflessness
- interdependent self-construal
explain and describe the expanded model of cultural orientation
- two dimensions: inequality-status/equality; individualistic/collectivistic
- vertical individualism: individualistic with inequality/status
- vertical collectivism: collectivistic with inequality/status
- horizontal individualism: individualistic with equality
- horizontal collectivism: collectivistic with equality
what happens if you’re high in both cultural orientations? what does this often result from? name the term
- you develop a bicultural orientation
- often results from acculturation: process of adapting to the ways in life in a new culture, living in 2 different cultural contexts
how might individualism and collectivism both manifest in an individual? name the two ways that they’ve been studied
- it can appear in their knowledge structures and value systems
- cultural orientations have been studied according to:
- (1) value orientation: beliefs about the importance of personal vs. collective goals
- (2) Self-concept: self-construal involving separateness vs. social imbeddedness
what is a self-construal? name and describe the 3 types. which is associated with which cultural orientation?
-
the grounds for self-definition
1. independent: based on internal attributes; individualistic cultural orientation; agency
2. interdependent: based on relationships with others and social embeddedness; collectivistic cultural orientation; communion
3. metapersonal: based on unified connection, self fundamentally interconnected with all living things and the universe
why might individualism be on the rise?
- economic advancement has led to a lesser need for collectivism
- decreased pathogen prevalence
what is the ‘optimal’ cultural orientation? how might this relate to the expanded model of cultural orientation?
- collectivistic independence
- collectivistic value orientation
- independent self-construal
- similar tp horizontal individualism from the expanded model
how do different cultures differ or stay the same in terms of personality?
- not huge variation!
- the largest difference is in extraversion
- the parts of personality that appear to be universal include beliefs about women and men, emotional expression, and the 5-factor model
how might the big five personality test be inadequate for cross-cultural examinations of personality?
- it be solid for cross-cultural replicability, but…
- HEXACO model offers an additional dimension that holds across cultures
- the Chinese personality assessment has an additional dimension (interpersonal relatedness) that isn’t associated with any of the big 5
- some small-scale societies only have 2 factors
what are 3 different measures of personality across cultures
- HEXACO model
- Chinese personality measurement
- prosociality/industriousness in small-scale societies
describe the chinese personality assessment
- used lexical method to identify traits in Chinese
1. dependability (emotional stability)
2. social potency (extraversion)
3. individualism/accomodation (agreeableness)
4. interpersonal relatedness (harmony, reciprocity in relationships… none of the big 5)
what are the 2 principle factors in personality that’s common in small-scale societies? Why?
- prosociality (socially-beneficial behaviour)
- industriousness
- due to less social complexity, so there’s less diversity of traits that matter in smaller-scale societies
what are the 2 dimensions used to describe/evaluate personality traits of OTHERS across culture? which evaluation is made first? what might be the function of these traits?
- warmth/trustworthiness: approach/avoid: intent to harm; “can I trust this person?”
- competence/dominance: strengths, weakness, their ability to harm us; “Can I respect this person?”
what is the history of the study of sex differences?
- mostly men were participants
- used to further social hierarchies
why is studying temperament important in the examination of sex differences?
- helps determine which behaviours may have a biological basiss
what are the sex differences they discovered in temperament? name and define the terms
- inhibitory control: degree to which someone can inhibit a behaviour, like self control
- perceptual sensitivity: ability to detect subtle stimuli from the environment
- surgency: approach behaviour, high activity, impulsivity
what is inhibitory control?
- degree to which someone can inhibit a behaviour, like self control
what is perceptual sensitivity?
ability to detect subtle stimuli from the environment
what is surgency?
approach behaviour, high activity, impulsivity
what are some sex differences amongst the big 5 traits
- neuroticism: F>M
- agreeableness: F>M
what is the people-things dimensions? how does this compare to the empathizing-systemizing distinction?
- refers to vocational interests
- people: social occupations, thinking about others, caring for others, directing others
- things: careers impersonal obeject
- empathizing: tuning into other ppls thoughts and feelings
- systemizing: comprehend how things work
what is empathizing vs systemizing?
- empathizing: tuning into other people’s thoughts and feelings
- systemizing: drive to comprehend how things work, how systems are built, how inputs into systems produce outputs
when would someone be labelled androgynous? according to the original questionnaire, what does this signify?
- possessing high levels of both masculine AND feminine traits
- signifies adaptive??
what are 3 criticisms of the concept of androgyny
- items in the inventory were iffy and not correlated with each other
- no support for the idea that androgynous people are more highly developed
- overlooked the mutidimensional construct of feminity/masculinity
What is instrumentality and expressiveness?
- instrumentality: working with objects, tasks completed in a direction fashion, independence, self sufficiency
- expressiveness: ease with which one can express emotions
what is instrumentality vs expressiveness? why is this categorization significant?
- femininity: expressiveness—ease with which one can express emotions, showing empathy, showing nurturance
- masculinity: instrumentality—working w objects, getting tasks done in a direct fashion, independence from others, self sufficiency
- significant because it takes the associations away from gender
compare instrumentality/expressiveness with agency/communion and empathizing/systematizing
- associated with femininity
- expressiveness
- communion
- empathizing
- associated with masculinity
- instrumentality
- agency
- systematizing
what is hegemonic masculinity? how is this believed to develop?
- masculinity that involves traditional and culturally idealized notions of men
- results from early socialization and exposure to healthy and often unattainable notions of what it means to be a man
what often results from deviations from social stereotypes?
- social exclusion, sigma, discrimination
what is hostile sexism and what is associated with?
- discrimination based on overtly negative stereotypes of women as inferior to men
- negative evaluations of men and women who violate traditional gender role expectations
what is gender dysphoria?
- when one’s interactions with the world does not align with their gender identity
- results in extreme distress
what is the daughter-guarding hypothesis?
- daughters will continue their bloodline, so must protect to save the genes
why is considering bidirectionally significant in the study of sex differences? what are two theories where this is important to consider?
- hormonal theories of sex differences: you cannot attribute sex differences to hormones
what are hormonal theories of sex differences? explain how sex differences can begin in utero
- women and men differ bc of their differing hormones
- more testosterone = more aggression, “masculine” behaviours
- sexual desire is also associated with levels of circulating testosterone
what are 2 limitations of hormonal theories of sex differences?
- bidirectional effect of hormones and behaviour
- does not prove that sex difference RESULT from hormones… correlations and causation
what are some definitions of mental health?
- a dynamic state of internal equilibrium which enables individuals to use their abilities in harmony with universal values of society
what is psychological adjustment? how does this relate to the definition of mental health?
- process of altering behaviour to reach a harmonious relationship with one’s environment
- definition of mental health refers to using their abilities in harmony with universal values of society
what are the 3 different ways of defining stress? explain each one
- stimulus (THE BEAR CHASING YOU)
- response (THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYTEM AROUSAL)
- transaction (APPRAISAL OF STRESS IMPORTANT)
what is the transactional model of stress? what does it emphasize? explain its 2-step process
- emphasizes appraisal
1. primary appraisal: is it relevant? threatening or demanding? or a challenge?
2. secondary appraisal: do I have the coping resources to deal with the event? what is the best course of action?
what is coping?
- the behavioural responses that one engages in with the effort to manage both internal and external demands of a situation
- regardless of whether It is successful or not
what is the connection between personality and coping? name and describe this model
- transactional model of personality-illness connection
- personality affects coping, how a personal appraises events, and the events themselves
how do the big 5 personality traits affect stress appraisal?
- neuroticism: anxiety levels, appraisal, stress reactivity
- extraversion: appraisal of events as challenges instead of stressors
- conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness: associated with lower appraisals of threat
which personality traits result in maladaptive coping strategy? which result in adaptive coping strategies?
- maladaptive:
- neuroticism
- lesser stress response
- openness to experience
- agreeableness
- conscientiousness
- extraversion
what is a hardy personality? list and explain the 3 main characteristics. what other concept is this similar to?
-
a personality that tends to be protected from negative effects of stress
1. control: perceived control, internal locus
2. commitment: involvement in life and sense of purpose
3. challenge: appraise events as challenges - this is similar to resilience
what is psychological resilience? what personality is this concept similar to?
- recovery from stress/adversity without a lasting impact
- positive adaptation/successful coping
- similar to a hardy personality
if there are high levels of 3 positive aspects of personality, what is this called? which 3 aspects?
-
trait resilience
1. self-esteem
2. personal control
3. optimism
what is ego-resiliency?
- an individual’s adaptive reserve
- dynamic ability to temporarily change reactions and perceptions to meet the situational demands of life
- ability to adjust ego control across situations
what is ego-control? how does it relate to ego-resiliency?
- self-control
- person’s ability to control their behaviour and impulses in a situation
- will result in higher amounts of ego-resiliency
compare and contrast ego-resiliency, ego control, trait resiliency, and psychological resilience
- ego-resiliency
- adjust themselves to meet the situational demands of life across situations
- ego-control
- self-control in that one situation
- if this can be done across-situations, then it is ego-resiliency
- trait resilience
- high levels of 3 positive aspects of personality, personal control (related to ego-resiliency) included
- psychological resilience
- successful coping resulting in recovery from stress/adversity without a lasting impact
- ego-resiliency and trait resilience probably play a role in this
how does personality play into health behaviours and outcomes?
- **conscientiousness* is associated with more health behaviours, and less unhealthy/harmful ones
- neuroticism and extraversion are correlated with more harmful behaviour
why might a third variable be significant when studying personality and illness? what is this model called? give an example
- predisposition model of personality-illness
- associations may exist between personality and illness because of a third variable that is causing them both
- this is called a predisposition
what are the 3 key components of emotion?
- distinct subjective feeling/affect
- bodily changes/symptoms
- action tendencies
what are the 3 criteria that categorize an emotion as being universal?
- appears and is recognized cross-culturally
- be universal
- have a distinct facial expression
what are the two factors that seem to underlie emotions? what model uses these factors? what are its strengths and weaknesses?
- circumplex model of emotions
- valence (pleasure/displeasure)
- arousal (low/high activation)
- strengths: allows us to fill in blanks about emotions and gives a better image
- weaknesses: can oversimplify emotions, missing some details
describe emotional style vs emotional content
- emotional style: how the emotion is experienced (variability, intensity)
- emotional content: what emotions the person frequently experiences
what are the two types of emotional style?
-
high affect intensity/variability
- experience emotions strongly
- emotionally reactive
- is so b/c it’s hard to maintain stronger emotions -
low affect intensity/variability
- experience emotions mildly
- gradual fluctuations over time
- minor emotional reactions
in terms of emotional content, what are the 2 primary emotions that are highly associated with personality? what personalities are they associated with?
- unpleasant emotions (neuroticism)
- depressive style: anxiety, depression
- type A personality: anger, hostility
- pleasant emotions (extraversion)
- subjective well-being
what is a depressive style? name and describe the 4 cognitive distortions are these associated with?
- tendency to engage in Beck’s Cognitive Triad
- depressing/negative schemas of (1) self, (2) world, (3) future.
- cognitive distortions
- overgeneralizing: blowing things out of proportion
- arbitrary inferences: jumping to negative conclusions
- personalizing: assuming that everything is your fault
- catastrophizing: thinking that the worse will always happen
compare and contrast a Type A and type B personality. how might this affect health?
- Type A:
- hostility (anger)
- competitive, achievement-striving
- time urgency
- more common amongst coronary heart disease patients
- Type B:
- less competitive,
- more emotionally stable,
- creative, reflective
describe the ways that personality can affect health
- can affect risk for coronary heart disease (Type A personality)
- can affect health behaviours (N + C)
what is dispositional happiness and its 3 components? what is the other term often used to describe it? what accounts for most of its variance?
-
Dispositional happiness: degree to which someone is just a happy person
1. cognitive appraisal of satisfaction with life
2. presence of positive emotions
3. absence of negative emotions - AKA subjective well-being
- personality traits account for most of the variance
what are 4 factors in dispositional empathy? what are 4 social benefits?
-
empathy factors
1. perspective taking
2. identifying with fictional characters
3. empathic concern
4. personal distress in response to negative experiences of others -
social benefits
1. reduces prejudice
2. reduces stereotype expression
3. reduces interpersonal aggression
4. improve health precautions during disease outbreaks/pandemics
what is the relationship between money/power and empathy?
- more money and power…
- …is correlated with lowered empathy
what is a psychological disorder? what is it associated with?
- pattern of behaviour or experience that is distressing and painful to the person
- leads to disability/impairment in important life domains
- associated with increased risk of further suffering, loss of function, death, or confinement
what are 3 criticisms of labelling something as a disorder?
- pathologizing language
- labelling can be helpful in some setting, but also stigmatizing
what defines something as “abnormal”?
- statistical infrequency (2+ SD above/below the mean)
- failure to function adequately or successfully
- violation of social norms and standards (culture, laws, etc.)
How does the DSM-5TR define a personality disorder? in which domains might a personality disorder be maladaptive? how does it relate to self-image?
- enduring pattern of inner experience and behaviour that deviates markedly from the norms and expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, and is stable over time
- maladaptive variations within the domains of traits, emotions, cognitions, motives, and self-concept
- PD are often egosyntonic, which means it becomes a part of their self-image
what does it mean for something to be ego-syntonic?
- it has been incorporated into someone’s self-concept
if bob is has frequent mood swings, a black-and-white way of seeing relationships, but views this as just being a part of his personality, what would this be called?
- ego-syntonic
for something to be labelled a personality disorder, what other factor must be ruled out?
- the symptoms must not be due to drug abuse, medication, or some other medical condition
what is cluster A of personality disorders? which personality disorders does it include?
- “eccentric” cluster
- persons with these disorders appear odd and eccentric, and do not get along well with others
- paranoid PD
- schizotypal PD
- schizoid PD
describe paranoid personality disorder
- pattern of distrust and suspiciousness such that others’ motives are interpreted as malevolent
- reads hidden negative meanings into benign remarks
- persistently bears grudges, unforgiving
- perceives attacks on character or reputation unobserved by others
how does paranoia in paranoid personality disorder differ from delusions?
- the paranoia is realistic, and could actually happen
- e.g., delusions->alien kidnapping, paranoia->being kidnapped by stranger across the street
describe schizoid personality disorder
- pattern of detachment from social relations and a restricted range of emotional expression
- doesn’t desire nor enjoy close relationships
- prefers solitary activities; takes pleasure in few, if any, activities
- emotional coldness, detachment, flattened affect
compare and contrast schizoid personality disorder and schizotypal personality disorder?
- both don’t like social interactions
- but schizoid PD is detached from social relationships, whereas schizotypal PD has anxiety over them
How might schizoid PD relate to autism spectrum disorder?
- some people have said that schizoid PD lies on the autism spectrum
- others say that this isn’t supported by science
describe schizotypal personality disorder
- pattern of acute discomfort in close relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentricities of behaviour
- excessive social anxiety that doesn’t diminish
- odd beliefs, magical thinking, meaning in usual things
- odd thinking, speech, odd/eccentric behaviour, appearance
- suspiciousness or paranoid ideation
- inappropriate/constricted emotion
what is the cluster B of personality disorders? what’s included in this cluster?
- “erratic” cluster
- appear erratic and emotional
- difficulties getting along with others
1. Antisocial PD
2. borderline PD
3. Histrionic PD
4. Narcissistic PD
how might the suggested removal of paranoid PD be related to schizotypal PD?
- paranoid PD is said to fall under the umbrella of schizotypal PD
describe antisocial personality disorder
- pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others, criminality, impulsivity, and failure to learn from experience
- failure to conform to social norms and laws
- deceitfulness, impulsivity, aggressiveness, irresponsibility
- reckless disregard for the safety of oneself
- lack of remorse
- must be 18, must be evidence of conduct disorder age < 15
what is conduct disorder? how does it relate to the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder
- violence and behaviours that violate social norms that appear and is diagnosed before age 15
- antisocial tendencies in childhood
- ASPD can only be diagnosed if the person has previously been diagnosed with conduct disorder
what is a criticism of the diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality disorder
- the criteria are based mostly on observable behaviour
- doesn’t examine the internal factors and manifestations
compare and contrast psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder
- psychopathy emphasizes more subjective traits than APD, such as incapability to experience guilt, superficial charm, and callous social attitudes
- psychopathy is not a diagnosis
- psychopathy is more relevant in a criminal or forensic environment (results in more violent crimes and repeated felonies)
- psychopathy is similar to, but more severe than APD
what is the triarchic model of psychopathy?
- boldness (social dominance)
- meanness
- disinhibition (lack of impulse control–psychopathy is organized disorganization)
how do psychopathy and sociopathy differ?
- sociopaths are less organized and more obvious in behaviour
- less violent
- maintain some emotions
nature vs nurture: which explains antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy? give both sides of the argument
- nature
- decreased fear response
- brains show functional and structural differences
- evidence of heritability
- nurture
- more likely to have been abused early in life
how is antisocial personality disorder and arrest/confinement associated with each other?
- majority of people in confinement have APD
- ~50% of people with APD have arrest records
- but only ~25% of men in prison would be described as psychopaths
- those with psychopaths are more likely to reoffend after release
how might we defne ‘successful psychopathy’? what makes it more successful?
- absence of negative consequences or presence of positive outcomes/successes
- having intelligence, higher executive functioning, and charisma might make some more successful
what is borderline personality disorder?
- pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity
- unstable, intense relationships; frantic efforts to avoid abandonment
- self-damaging impulsivity
- recurrent suicidal or self-harming behaviour
- emotional instability/reactivity; inappropriate anger
- stress-related paranoia and dissociative symptoms
how does borderline personality disorder differ from bipolar disorder?
- BPD: more frequent, quicker mood swings
- bipolar: mood changes happen gradually over time
what is histrionic personality disorder?
- pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking
- inappropriate, sexually seductive/provocative behaviour
- self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated emotions
- uncomfortable when not centre of attention
- rapidly shifting and shallow emotions; suggestible
what are the criticisms of the diagnostic criteria for histrionic personality disorder?
- frequently diagnosed for women
what is narcissistic personality disorder?
- pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, lack of empathy
- fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty
- believes they are special, unique, sense of entitlement, arrogance
- requires excessive admiration, envious of others
- interpersonally exploitative, lacks empathy
how does narcissistic personality disorder differ from narcissism?
- the personality disorder lacks empathy, but narcissism as a trait still retains empathy
when one externalizes a disorder, what is this related with? give examples of personality disorders that this happens
- agency: related to heightened status, dominance, power
- Antisocial PD
- conduct disorder
- narccisstic PD
when one internalizes a disorder, what traits is this related with? give examples of disorders where this happens
- communion: related to subordination and submissiveness
- anxiety
- depression
- more likely as they worry about their place in the hierarchy
what is cluster c of personality disorders? which personality disorders does this include?
- the “anxious” cluster
- appear anxious, fearful, apprehensive, have trouble with social relationships
- avoidant PD
- dependent PD
- Obsessive-compulsive PD
what is avoidant personality disorder?
- pattern of social inhibition, feels of inadequacy, hypersensitivity to negative evaluation
- avoids activities over fears of criticism, rejection, embarrassment
- preoccupied with criticism and rejection
- inhibited in new relationships over fear of inadequacy
what is dependent personality disorder?
- pattern of submissive and clinging behaviour related to an excessive need to be taken care of
- difficulty making decisions on one’s own, uncomfortable when alone
- needs others to assume responsibilities; difficulty working along
- urgently seeks another relationship when one ends
- preoccupied with fears of being left to care for oneself
what is a shared feature between dependent personality disorder and borderline personality disorder
- both are associated with relationships
- both tend to jump from one relationship to the next
what is obsessive-compulsive personality disorder?
- pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control
- preoccupied with details, rules, lists, order, schedules etc., to the extent that the point of of the activity is lost
- rigidity, stubbornness, perfectionism that interferes with task completion
- excessively devoted to work and productivity
- overly conscientious and inflexible in moral and ethical matters
how does obsessive-compulsive personality disorder compare to OCD
- OCD: more severe; the obsession-compulsion cycle is fuelled by thoughts/beliefs causing anxiety, and actions reducing anxiety
- OCPD: about tidiness and cleaniness
when it comes to the causes of personality disorders, what does most research emphasize? and what are their findings?
- most emphasize biological or social causes
- heritability of PDs range from 24% to 77%
- childhood abuse, trauma, and neglect are common
how are personality disorders treated? how successful does it tend to be? which personality disorder tends to respond the best to treatment?
- some combination of psychotherapeutic and pharmacological interventions are common
- therapy: gain awareness of and manage symptoms
- medications: control more difficult symptoms
- success varies considerably, and PD are defined as chronic, though there’s evidence that certain PDs respond well to treatment
explain the categorical approach vs the dimensional approach with reference to personality disorders.
- categorical approach: things are in boxes, and people are put into them
- dimensional: different PD are on a spectrum, with high and low expressions of certain personality traits (e.g., neuroticism) at each end
how does the alternative model to the DSM-5 characterize personality disorders? what does a diagnosis involve in this approach?
- want to remove clusters and schizoid, histrionic, dependent, and paranoid PD
- characterize PD by impairments in personality functioning and pathological personality traits
-
new diagnosis involves…
1. assessment of level of impairment in personality
2. assessment of whether 1 out of 6 personality types is present
3. evaluation of pathological personality traits (negative affectivity, detachment, antagonism, disinhibition, psychotics)
what are the 5 pathological personality traits that are evaluated in the alternative model to the DSM-5?
- negative affectivity: feeling negative emotions (high neuroticism)
- detachment: emotional withdrawal/avoidance (low extraversion)
- antagonism: deceitfulness, manipulativeness (low agreeableness)
- disinhibition: carelessness, impulsiveness (low conscientiousness)
- psychoticsm: bizzare thoughts to experience (high openness)
what is positive psychology? what is its version of the DSM-5?
- complementary field of psychology that moves beyond simply treating mental illness and dysfunction
- focus on the good parts of human behaviour! character strengths and virtues, flourishing and thriving, genius and talent
- instead we got “Character strengths and virtues: a handbook and classification”
what is dispositional forgiveness?
- tendency to forgive self, others, situations, and receive forgiveness
what is mindfulness? what personality traits is it correlated with?
- purposeful attention to and awareness of the present moment, approach with an attitude of openness, acceptance, and nonjudgment
- correlated with resilience, and consistently with low neuroticism
what is flow? (GOD I SEE THIS MAN EVERYWHERE WHY)
- state of complete absorption in work, play, creative expression
- intense concentration, loss of self-awareness, loss of time awareness, loss of environmental awareness
- feeling perfectly challenged
- the activity becomes in an in itself
what is an autotelic personality? how does it relate to flow?
- disposition to actively seek challenges and flow experiences
which 3 personality factors/strengths do business leaders value the most?
- drive
- open-mindedness
- creativity
what is the most desirable personality trait in a workplace?
- high agreeableness
what is a culture of honour? why does it develop? why might this be advantageous?
- insults are viewed as highly offensive public challenges
- develops due to how food is obtained (e.g., herding vs agriculture)
- advantageous because it solidifies yourself as someone that you should not steal food from with because you WILL fuck em up if need be
how might conformity be an example of evoked culture? in which conditions would this be advantageous?
- advantageous in a plague
what is Chinese fatalism? explain it with reference to transmitted culture and moral judgments
- things should be left as they were, let fate carry on
- reflects beliefs about destiny and fate that is handed down generations
- cultural difference that affects people’s moral judgments of events
what are the two “cultural tasks” that need to be confronted to determine a self-construal?
- interdependence (communion): how you are affiliated with, attached to, or engaged in the larger group of which you’re a member
- independence (agency) how you differentiate yourself from the group.
what is a collective self-esteem?
- how positive evaluations of one’s group affect their self-esteem
how do Japanese people explain events, compared to north American people? how does this relate to self-construals?
- cultural differences in interdependence may be linked to cognition
- japanese
- explains things holistically
- with attention to relationships, contexts
- North American
- analytically
- object detaches from its context
- reliance on rules about categories to explain behaviour
what is the main criticism of the black-and-white stance of the north American vs asian self-contruals?
- is too general, ignores the nuance in different social contexts
- people can have traits relating to collectivism AND individualism! bicultural orientation
how might evolution and fitness affect a cultural self-concept?
- collectivistic and interdependent:
- low in mobility
- limited in resources
- many relatives in close proximity
- individualistic and independent
- high mobility
- frequent movement
- few genetic relatives close by
what is a metapersonal self-construal? what value orientation does this relate in?
- one is a HUMAN, before anything else
- sees themselves as a part of something larger
- related to the biopheric value orientation
what self-construal is associated with a biospheric value orientation? name and describe each term
- metapersonal self-construal: sees self within a very broad context, such as humankind
- biospheric value orientation: focuses on the inherent value of the environment beyond the rights of any one species
America is often called a “melting pot’ for cultures. similarly, what is Canada called? what does it mean?
- the cultural mosaic
- policy of multiculturalism
- maintain diversity in cultures in canada
what cultural orientation is common amongst indigienous groups?
- collectivism
- despite living in a broader individualistic cultural context
what is a cultural identity?
- a person’s sense of belonging to a particular culture or group
what caused a lack of clarity of indigenous self-concept and cultural identity? what has this resulted in?
- direct and pervasive attack on indigenous identity
- resulted in lack of clearly defined values, difficulties setting goals, sense of hopelessness about the future
what is self-continuity? how does this relate to how Indigenous people share identity?
- understanding of ourselves as individuals persisting through time
- for indigenous people, they often prescribe culture and identity through the sharing of stories
what is self-enhancement? what is important when interpreting cultural differences in self-enhancement?
- tendency to describe and present oneself using positive/socially-valued attributes
- everyone has a self-enhancement bias, but the degree is what varies
what are 2 explanations for cultural differences in self-enhancement?
- people surveyed are managing impressions, saying things that are more socially acceptable
- differences in values, or perception and cognition associated with differences in self-construals result in an actual different experience of self-enhancement
how does socioeconomic status explain some within-culture variances in personality?
- lower SES: more collective, obedience to authority
- higher SES: individualism! self-direction, non-confomity
which sex differences are consistently large?
- aggression (M>F)
- sexual behaviours (M>F, though reporting bias may exist)
what is Sandra Bem’s Legacy?
- she wanted people to see how the male/female dichotomy is often unnecessary and sometimes harmful
- showed that society should decrease the use of the gender dichotomy as a functional unit, and try to be gender-aschematic
why might it be difficult to attribute personality-related sex differences to hormones
- there is a bidirectional relationship
- hormones affect behaviours, but behaviours can also affect hormones
- e.g., certain behaviours can affect testosterone levels
explain the relationship between food variance and egalitarian/cooperation
- more food variance -> sharing food (e.g., meat) when you find food means that others will share when they find food -> better fitness
- equal access to food -> no sharing food, more food for you! -> better fitness
explain the relationship between economic livelihood and differences and honour
variable food source -> more likely for your food to be stolen -> being able to respond to insults with actual attacks will spur away thieves
how does the agency/communion dichotomy appear in:
1. personality traits in small-scale societies
2. cultural orientation
3. masculine/feminine dichotomy
4. traits used to evaluate others
what are the effects of neurotism on health, good and bad?
- positive
- healthy neuroticism: high neuroticism and high conscientiousness results in hyper-vigilance about health, whilst having the discipline and planning needed to take adaptive action
- negative
- overall associate with higher rates of morbidity/mortality and lower life expectancy
Bob has heart problems and is angry a lot, but Jill is chill and likes to paint. what might their personalities be? why?
Bob: Type A (higher risk for CHD, anger issues, competitively)
Jill: Type B (creative, chill)
what are the 3 key goals of cultural personality psychology
- discover the principles underlying cultural diversity
- discover how human psychology shapes culture
- discover how cultural understandings shape our psychology
what two factors are necessary to explain cultural variations?
how might early home life affect adult sex life?
-
what is a common factor among schizoid PD, schizotypal PD, and avoidant PD?
- all involve a withdrawal from social situations
what is the difference between emotional states and emotional traits?
- states: transient
- traits: patterns of emotional reactions
while defining culturally universal emotions, what are the 2 facets of pride? compare and contrast them.
- both have the same facial and bodily expressions
1. authentic - based on achievement
- contributes to genuine sense of self-esteem
- more likely to lead to prosocial behaviour
- associated with appreciated humility
- enables individuals to achieve social prestige
2. hubristic - associated with the grandiose qualities of narcissism
- contributes to aggression and hostility
- associated with low agreeableness
- enables achievement of social dominance
name and define the two complementary components of happiness?
- life satisfaction
- judgments that one’s life has purpose and meaning
- cognitive
- hedonic balance:
- the balance of pleasant and unpleasant events and things in one’s life
- affective
Name and describe the 3 main routes to happiness? what theory does this fall under?
-
authentic happiness theory
1. pleasant life: maximizing pleasure, minimizing pain
2. engaged life: experience of flow
3. meaningful life: cultivating their character strengths and virtues and using them to benefit others
what are positive illusions? what emotion is this a part of?
- self-inflated views of one’s own characteristics as a good, able, and desirable person
- part of being happy
what are the nuances to the statement that money makes people happy? DOES it make people happy?
- it makes people happy up until a threshold, after which, it has no real affect on happiness
- it make happy until people can afford life’s basic necessities
how does income inequality relate to happiness?
- the more income inequality a nation has, the less happy that nation is as a whole
what are the 2 personality traits that have a large influence on happiness? why?
- extraversion: influences positive emotions
- neuroticism: influences negative emotions
what is a theorized biological basis for neuroticism? what are 3 arguments that support the presence of a biological basis?
- neuroticism is due to an easily active limbic system
1. stability in neuroticism
2. dimension of personality found in many differentkinds of data sets, cross culture and envionment
what are 2 arguments that support the idea that neuroticism is a cognitive phenomenon?
- caused by certain styles of information processing – preferential processing of negative info about the self
- richer networks of association surrounding memories of negative emotion
what is emotional regulation? how does it relate to hostility?
- ability to monitor, evaluate, modify emotiona reactions to accomplish one’s goals
- people high in hostility have lower emotion regulation
what is the interactional model of personality-stress? what was the key criticism of this model?
- personality moderates the relationship between stress and ilness
- objective events happen to people
- personality factors determine the impact of these events by influencing people’s ability to cope
- criticism: research couldn’t identify a stable coping responses that were consistently adaptive or maladaptive for any single person
what is the hedonic balance? how does it relate to emotional content?
what is the difference between calling a variable a moderator vs a mediator?
- both describe ways that a third variable influences the effects of 2 other variables
- moderator: influences the direction/degree of relationship between two other variables; risk multiplier
- mediator: the effect of one variable on another goes through a third variable
what is the health behaviour model for personality-stress?
- personality affects the health behaviours that one goes through
compare and contrast the 5 models used to explain the link between personality and stress
personality directly moderates the effects of stress on illness:
1. transactional: personality affects one’s appraisal of the situation, the situation itself, and the coping mechanisms in response
2. interactional: personality determines the impact of objective events by influencing their ability to cope
personality indirectly moderates the effects of stress on illness
3. health behaviour model: personality affects the health behaviours one attends to
4. illness behaviour: personality influences the degree that one attends to and appraises bodily sensations, which then affect illness behaviours
personality and illness are a result of a 3rd factor
5. predisposition: a 3rd variable creates the personality trait AND the illness, creating the association between them
what is the illness behaviour model?
- personality influences the degree to which a person perceives and pays attention to bodily sensations and labels them as an illness
- this influences the person’s illness behaviours
what is a similarity between the illness behaviour model and the health behaviour model?
- both describe instances where personality has an indirect influence on stress behaviours
what is the difference between acute, traumatic, and chronic stress? what does it mean when psychologists say that stress has additive effects?
- acute: transient, sudden onset of demands
- traumatic: massive instance of acute stress
- chronic: stress doesn’t end and continues for months
- the effects of stress accumulate over time
what are the 3 dimensions of explanatory style?
- internal/external
- global/specific
- stable/unstable
define dispositional optimism and optimistic bias
- dispositional optimism: expectation that good events will be plentiful in the future while bad events will be rare
- optimistic bias: optimists perceive that they’re at lower risk for negative events than an average person
what are 3 roles that positive emotions play in the stress process?
- sustain coping efforts
- provide a break from stress
- give people time and opportunity to restore depleted resources (include social relationships)
compare the broaden and build model of positive emotions with the 3 important roles that positive emotions play in the stress process
- model expands on the roles
- broaden and build model
- positive emotions broaden the scope of attention, cognition, action
- positive emotions help a person build up reserves of energy, social resources
-
3 important roles
1. sustain coping efforts
2. provide a break from stress
3. give people time and opportunity to restore depleted resources (include social relationships)
what are 3 coping mechanisms that generate positive emotions during stress, rather than just providing relief from negative ones?
- positive reappraisal
- problem-focused coping
- creating positive events
what is emotional inhibition? what are its physiological effects?
- suppressing emtoions
- results in greater physiological effort and costs
what is disclosure? what are 2 reasons that it’s helpful in talking therapy?
-
telling someone about a private part of ourselves
1. keeping information takes effort and is stressful, so disclosing the info reduces the cost
2. allows person to reinterpret and reframe the meaning of that event
similarities between self-enhancement, positive illusions, optimistic bias
what is the link between fear and political orientation?
- increased threat perception can lead to more conservative thinking
- increased feelings of safety result in conservatives becoming more likely to adopt liberal attitudes and be more open to social change as liberals
what is an incel?
- involuntarily celibate
- seek make peers where they can honestly talk about the increasing fragmentation, disconnection, alienation, ostracization they feel in an always-online world in which, as far as they can see, they are not welcome nor wanted
what is the problem with overpopulation?
- too many individuals for meaningful social roles
- stress caused by degrees of separation and levels of interaction
what is trait self-awareness
- capacity to access knowledge, insight, and understanding of internal self-related experiences
what is terror management theory? how does it relate to pandemics
- reminders of their mortality result in:
- more strongly defending those who share their views and act out aggressively against those who don’t
- increased feelings of nationalism
- increased number of people endorsing conservative political values
since fear reduces our sense of agency and control, what 2 effects does it have?
- cling to our worldviews and assert our agency
- vulnerable to maniulation and misinformation
what are 2 personality traits are important in social activism?
- openness
- extraversion
what is citizenship?
- engagement in socially positive behaviours
- contributing meaningfully to one’s community or society
what is the kinship worldview
- seeing all life forms as sacred and sentient
- prioritizing equally our rights and responsibilities as individuals
what is temperance
- self-restraint
- control over excess
- seen in modesty
what is biocentrism
inclination to value and protect non-human organisms and nature as a whole
