fuck this shit Flashcards by Keith Tan | Brainscape

Q

Two Indicators of Personality Stability

A

Absolute stability/ mean-level stability:
Consistency in the level or amount of a personality attribute over time
- Mean-level change: standardized mean-level difference across time or age groups

Differential stability/ rank-order stability:
Consistency in the rank-ordering of personality traits across two or more measurement occasions
- Rank-order stability: test-retest correlation between two assessments over time
- Ranges from .4 to .6 over 10-year time lags
- Personality trait rank-order stability rises throughout young and middle adulthood, peaks around age 60 and decreases after
- Personality traits can and do change at any age

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Personality change/Expression Change

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Homotypic stability: a trait manifests the same way across the lifespan

Heterotypic stability: the trait is the same but it manifests differently across different life stages

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Q

The Disruption Hypothesis

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Empirical pattern in adolescence
- Temporary dip in socially relevant traits
- Temporary increase in more resistant, neurotic and impulsive traits

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Q

The Maturity Principle

A

Recurrent empirical pattern in emerging and early adulthood:
- Increase in trait levels that reflect greater psychological maturity
- Tends to peak and consolidate in middle adulthood

Social Investment Theory: personality maturation as a response to requirements of age-graded social roles

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Old Age

A

Personality continues to change even in old age

Around transition to retirement, possible reversal of psychological maturation

Resource perspective: no longer sufficient self-regulation resources to play nice

Personality adaptiveness perspective: no longer necessary to meet certain social demands

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Q

Evidence for personality stability and change

A

Considerable, but imperfect rank-order consistency
Substantial mean-level changes across all life stages, most pronounced in adolescence and young adulthood

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Q

Mechanisms of Stability

A

Biology: genetics

Physical and environmental factors
- Illustration: one’s height/ physical attractiveness affects personal experiences and in turn personality (tend to stay consistent)

Early experiences can lastingly shape personality
- Attachment (style) with parents can affect relationship style for life

Person-environment-transactions:
- People will select, react to, and modify situations in ways that are aligned with their personality
- This reinforces their existing personality

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Q

Mechanisms of Change

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Biology: hormones

Formative experiences, life events
- First romantic relationship usually accompanied by increases in extraversion and emotional stability

Social and cultural norms

Social role demands

Physical development

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Q

Individual Differences in Personality Change

A

People differ in rate, timing, and direction of trait change
Individual differences in personality change are small but significant across all life stages
The biggest interindividual differences in personality change occur in emerging adulthood and decrease after that

Reasons:
- Everybody has different experiences
- The same experience may have different effects in different people

Cultural norms and expectations can differ
- Earlier normative onset of job-role responsibilities people tend to undergo psychological maturation earlier
- Later normative onset of job- and family-role responsibilities people continue to show increases in openness

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Q

Personality Development Beyond the Big Five

A

Machiavellianism
- Peaks in adolescence (disruption hypothesis)
- Decreases throughout adulthood (maturity principle)
- Slight uptick after retirement (reversal of maturity principle)

Goals across lifespan:
- Young adults: goals are focused on preparation for the future; personal growth
- Older adults: goals are focused on preservation; communal connections

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Q

Cross-Sectional Data

A

Different people of various ages are surveyed at the same time

Pros: cheap & fast
Cons: potentially biased by cohort effects

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Longitudinal Data

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The same people are surveyed at different times over the years

Pros: tracks real within-person change, unaffected by cohort effects
Cons: expensive & slow

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Q

Model for Intentional Personality Change

A

Precondition 1: changing trait-related behaviors is considered desirable or necessary

Precondition 2: changing trait-related behaviors is considered feasible

Precondition 3: self-regulated changes become habitual

Precondition 1/precondition 2 -> self-regulated behavioral changes -> Precondition 3 -> trait change

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Q

Personality Change Intervention Effectiveness

A

Meta-analysis of 200 studies: marked, long-lasting decrease in neuroticism as by-product of psychotherapy

Non-clinical populations
- Mindfulness intervention for students led to increases in conscientiousness, agreeableness, empathy, and emotional stability
- Cognitive training intervention for older adults raised Openness
- 2-week high intensity digital coaching intervention boosted self-discipline and openness to action

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Q

Neuroscientific Approaches to Personality

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Anatomy: functions of specific parts of the brain
Biochemistry: effects of neurotransmitters and hormones on brain processes

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Q

Brain Damage

A

Observations of accidents that damage different parts of the brain, tracking of subsequent behavior and personality changes

Deliberate damage through targeted brain surgery
- Almost all are conducted on animals with human-similar brain functions

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Q

Brain Stimulation

A

Transcranial magnetic stimulation & transcranial direct current stimulation
- Uses rapidly changing magnetic fields/ direct electoral currents to temporarily turn off activity in specific brain areas and observe consequences
- Non-invasive and painless
- “Virtual lesion” without actual damage

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Q

Brain Activity and Imaging

A

Activity
- Observe brain functions directly - in real-time as it is doing them

Techniques to measure WHEN the brain is working
- Electroencephalography (EEG)
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Imaging

Techniques to measure WHICH AREAS in the brain are working; use computed tomography (CT) scans with different data sources:
- Position emission tomography (PET): Maps brain activity based on blood flow (more blood = more activity)
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): Maps brain activity based on magnetic impulses generated by oxygen in the blood (more oxygen = more activity)

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Q

Brain Anatomy: Frontal Lobes (Neural Roots of Personality)

A

Houses the neocortex (outer layer of the brain)
Social and emotional understanding
Self-control and regulation of impulses and feelings

Right side of frontal lobe: withdrawal from unpleasant, frightening things

Left side of frontal lobe: inhibition of responses to unpleasant stimuli
- Upregulation of good and downregulation of negative feelings

Associated personality traits: neuroticism, anger

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Q

Brain Anatomy: Amygdala (Neural Roots of Personality)

A

Links perceptions and thoughts with emotional meaning
Role in negative and positive emotions
Relevant for motivation
Role in assessing whether a stimulus is threatening or rewarding

Associated personality traits: anxiety, fearfulness, sociability
- Common element: all of these traits relate to whether people are seen as threatening or rewarding

Important takeaway: the physical structure of the brain and the chemicals that flow through it are both important for psychology

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Q

The Big 5 and the Brain

A

Plasticity: dopamine
Stability: serotonin

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Q

Behavioral Genetics

A

Science of how genes and environments influence behavior

Research challenge: in most families, children are being raised by their biological parents (difficult to separate nature from nurture)

Solution: Adoption studies
- Shared genes with biological parents
- Shared environment with adoptive parents

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Q

Twin Studies

A

Monozygotic (MZ), identical twins — shares 100% DNA
Dizygotic (DZ), fraternal twins — share 50% of DNA
Address nature-nurture quesiton by comparing similarity of MZ and DZ pairs
Nature — MZ twins are more similar in behavior/personality than DZ twins
Nurture — Similarity in behavior within MZ twins and DZ twins respectively

Q

The Heritability Coefficient

A

Examines how phenotypes may be attributed to variation in genotypes
Ranges from 0 to 1; measures how strongly differences among individuals are related to differences among their genes
Research shows: everything is at least somewhat heritable, yet nothing is completely heritable
Genes usually seem to trump shared family environments in importance

Caveats
- Heritability coefficients do not capture a nature-nurture-ratio
- Says nothing about how genes affect personality
- Definition of environment is often vague or overly restrictive
- Tries to partition variance into genes versus environments and completely negate gene-environment-interactions

Q

Gene-Environment-Interactions

A

Genetic differences affect behavior under some environmental circumstances but not (or differently) under others

Without genes the environment would have nothing to work on
Genes cannot develop in a vacuum

Q

The Four Laws of Behavioral Genetics

A

All human behavioral traits are heritable
The effect of being raised in the same family is smaller than the effect of genes
A substantial portion of the variation in complex human behavioral traits is not accounted for by the effects of genes or families
A typical human behavioral trait is associated with very many genetic variants, each of which accounts for a very small percentage of behavioral variability

Q

Psychodynamic Approach to Personality: 3 Core Assumptions

A

Primary of the unconscious: the majority of psychological processes happen outside conscious awareness
Psychic determinism: every action, every thought, every emotion that happens has a specific cause (rooted in the unconscious)
Critical importance of early experiences: personality development is centrally shaped by childhood event

Q

Psychodynamic Approach to Personality: 3 Core Models

A

Structural Model
- Human behavior and personality = outcome of dynamics between three mental structures that function independently and can conflict with each other
- Id
- Ego
- Superego

Topographic Model
- Conscious
- Preconscious
- Unconscious
- Psychic Conflict: different parts of the mind want different things
- Compromise formation: finding a compromise between conflicting goals (ego’s main job)

Psychosexual Model
- Freudian Theory: Personality is developed across 5 psychosexual stages (Orange Ant Paints Google)
- Fixation: developmental conflict does not get resolved, affects personality style
- Regression: when under stress, people retreat to that earlier stage

Q

Oral Stage

A

Only id
Birth to 18 months
Physical focus: mouth, lips, tongue
Source of pleasure: Sucking, drinking
Psychological theme: dependency vs passivity
Ways things can go wrong: frustration of needs or over-gratification of needs
Adults personality manifestation: overly independent vs helpless, passive, needy

Q

Anal Stage

A

Development of the ego
Timing: 18months to 3 years
Physical focus: anus
Source of pleasure: bowel movements
Psychological theme: self-control and obedience
Ways things can go wrong: toilet training too hard or too lenient

Adult personality manifestation:
- Anal retentive personality: stingy, compulsively tidy and orderly
- Anal expulsive personality: lack of self-control, messy, chaotic, careless

Q

Phallic Stage

A

Development of morality, conscience, the superego
3.5 years to 7 years
Physical focus: sex organs
Source of pleasure: genitals as primary erogenous zones
Psychological theme: gender identity and sexuality; love, fear, and jealousy
Adult personality manifestation: rigid moral code vs lack of moral code; asexual vs promiscuous

Q

Genital Stage

A

Ego and superego are well-balanced
Puberty onwards
Psychological theme: maturity
Adult personality manifestation: psychologically well adjusted and balanced, high mental health

Q

The Latency Period

A

Not a stage of development, a break from development
7 years to puberty
Sexual feelings are pressed; boys and girls have little or no interest in members of the opposite sex
Instead, focus on productive, rewarding activities

Q

Parapraxes - Freudian Slip

A

Unintended actions caused by suppressed thoughts or impulses
Leakage from the unconscious mind that manifests as mistake, accident, omission, or memory lapse

Psychic determinism
- Freud: there are no accidetns
- All slips are revealing, none happen at random

Q

Psychodynamic theory

A

Personality is a reflection of the interplay of the id, ego, and superego

Criticism:
- Excessive complexity
- Case study method
- Vague definitions/ frequent revisions
- Unfalsifiability (especially defense mechanisms)
- Sexism

Reason to study:
- High popularity and some evidence for effectiveness in psychotherapy
- Introducing talking about problems as therapy was a huge contribution
- Most complete theory of personality
- Many ideas about mental life have been influenced by psychoanalytic approaches
- Having knowledge & informed opinion
- Strong influence on popular culture

Q

Empirical Evaluation

A

Unconscious: everyday behaviors are at least partly driven by processes outside of our awareness
- Mental representations of self and others serve as blueprints for future relationships

Q

Psychodynamic Theory after Freud

A

Less emphasis on sex drive
Less emphasis on unconscious mental processes and more on conscious thought
Less emphasis on instinctual drives and mental life; more on interpersonal relationships

Q

Psychosocial Development: Erik Erikson

A

Psychosocial (vs psychosexual) development
Many conflicts are conscious (vs unconscious)
Basic conflicts arise at various stages of life (vs up to adolescence)

Q

8 Stages of Psychosocial Development

A

Basic Trust vs Mistrust (birth - 2yr)
Autonomy vs shame and doubt (2y -4y)
Initiative vs guilt (4y - 7y)
Industry vs inferiority (7y - 12y)
Identity vs Identity confusion (12 - 18y)
Intimacy vs isolation (18y - 40y)
Generativity vs stagnation (40y - 65y)
Integrity vs despair (65y and up)

Q

Object Relations Theory: Melanie Klein

A

In psychoanalytic parlance: “object” refers to a person; so object relations theory is more like an “interpersonal relations theory”

Basic assumption: personality reflect mental images of significant figures that we form early in life based on experience

These mental images serve as templates for later interpersonal relationships
If someone internalizes positive introjects they may become warm, trusting, and hopeful
If someone internalizes harsh introjects they may become self-critical, anxious and insecure

Q

Psychodynamic effects on Personality

A

Dominant id: impulsive
Dominant ego: balanced personality
Dominant superego: restrained, overcontrolled personality

Q

Anxiety & Defense

A

Anxiety is unpleasant and people are motivated to avoid it
- Can be induced by stressors from the outside world, or inner, psychic conflict
- Ego’s other main job: manage that anxiety/threat

Use of diverse defense mechanisms
- Short-term gains: relieve from anxiety/threat
- Long-term risk: disengagement from reality

Personality differences: different people may resort to different defense mechanisms

Q

Prominent Defense Mechanisms

A

Denial = failing to appreciate the negative implications of an event or experience
Displacement = redirect forbidden impulse onto a safer target
Rationalization = coming up with seemingly logical justifications for engaging in unacceptable acts
Reaction Formation = expressing outwardly the exact opposite of what one is feeling inwardly
Repression = moving upsetting information from conscious to unconscious part of the mind
Sublimation = expressing unacceptable impulses in a way that actually brings rewards rather than punishment

Q

Humanistic Psychology

A

Humanist position: the study of the mind and humans’ subjective world should not and cannot be approached the same way as physics or chemistry

Fundamental Difference: Awareness/ Consciousness

Q

Phenomenology

A

A person’s conscious experience of the world
- One’s conscious experience of the world is probably psychologically more important than the world itself

Q

Construal

A

The unique way in which an individual human sees and experience the world
- Forms the basis of how we live our lives, who we aspire to be, how we perceive world
- Humanistic psychology: it is psychology’s job to study how people perceive, understand, and experience reality

Q

Wilhelm Wundt

A

Pioneered introspection as research method: observing one’s own perceptions and thought processes

Q

Personal Construct Theory (George Kelly)

A

One’s cognitive system integrate various construals into an individually held theory of how the world works

Personal construct is informed by chosen interpretations of past experiences

Personal construct system helps to determine how new experiences are construed

Constructive alternativism: the same lived experience can be constructed very differently

Q

Maximizers vs Satisfiers

A

Maximizers: people who believe that one should always seek to get as much as one possible can
- Prone to perfectionism, depression, and regret

Satisfiers: people who believe that one should seek to achieve an outcome that is good enough
- Happier, more optimistic, and have higher life satisfaction

Q

Optimistic Humanism

A

Basic assumptions borrowed from existential philosophy:
- Phenomenology is central
- People have free will
- In their nature, humans are good

Q

Self-Actualization: Rogers

A

Humans have a basic striving towards self-actualization
- Maintaining and enhancing one’s experience of life; achieving the full realization of one’s creative, intellectual and social potential
- The goal of human existence is to satisfy the need for self-actualization

Q

Hierarchy of Needs: Maslow

A

Human ultimate motive in life is to self-actualize

Hierarchy of needs: structure of human motivation
- Lower-level needs must be met first
- Need for self-actualization is only active when other needs are met

Q

Fully Functioning Person

A

Being clearly aware of reality and yourself
Perceiving the world accurately, without fear, self-doubt, or neurotic distortion
Being free of conditions of worth
Living a life that is rich in emotion, self-discovery, empathy

Q

Positive Psychology

A

Studies the traits, processes, and social institutions that promote happiness, fulfillment and flourishing
- Aims to maximize positive experiences

Q

Virtues

A

Character strengths
Uniformly positive character traits

Core Virtues: CJHTWT (Condescending Jewish Hates The Worrying Train)
- Courage
- Justice
- Humanity
- Temperance
- Wisdom
- Transcendence

Q

Flow

A

Time spent in autotelic activities (activities that are enjoyable for their own sake)

Csikszentmihalyi: secret for enhancing quality of life is to spend as much time in flow as possible