L11 - personality

Question 1

personality definition

Answer 1

way of thinking (cognitions), feeling (emotions), and acting (behaviours) stable across time, space, & situation

Question 2

historical approaches

Answer 2

bumps - phrenology using psychograph, map of 35 personality traits
blots - uncover hidden throught processes (eg Rorschach ink blot, draw a person, thematic apperception)
bodies - endomorphy, mesomorphy, ectomorphy

Question 3

humanistic theories

Answer 3

emphasises conscious free will, uniqueness of individual & personal growth

Question 4

contributions/crituques of psychoanalytic theory

Answer 4

too deterministic

Question 5

Freud’s theory: three levels of awareness

Answer 5

conscious mind, preconscious mind, unconscious mind
primary motication, biological instinctual drives, repressed unacceptable thoughts, memories, feelings, especially unresolved conflicts from early childhood

Question 6

Freud’s three-part personality structure

Answer 6

id - original personality, life & death instincts
ego - realistic, socially acceptable outlets of id’s needs (reality principle)
superego - conscience, idealised standards (morality principle), guilt & shame
use of defense mechanisms to prevent anxiety from satisfying both id and superego, distorting reality

Question 7

pleasure principle of id

Answer 7

demands immediate gratification of drives without regard of consequences

Question 8

unhealthy personalities

Answer 8

develop when:
we get too dependent on defense mechanisms
whe
id or superego too strong
ego too weak

Question 9

Freud’s psychosocial states of personality development

Answer 9

erogeneous zone where id’s psychic energy focuses during particular stage
fixation when portion of id’s energy remains in a stage because of excessive gratification or frustration

Question 10

phallic stage conflicts

Answer 10

Oedipus conflict - fears father will find out and castrate him
Electra conflict - penis envy, attracted to father because of this

Question 11

neu-Freudian theories of personality

Answer 11

Carl Jung collective unconsious - universal human experiences manifest in archetypes (explorer, mother, hero), each with own primary desire
Alfred Adler striving for superiority - overcome sense of inferiority felt as infants
Karen Horney need for security - parent must provide sense of security, otherwise will develop neurotic personality patterns: towards people (dependent personality disorder), against (antisocial personality disorder), away (schizoid personality disorder)

Question 12

trait theories of personality

Answer 12

factor analysis + other statistical techniques to tell number & kind of traits (lexical approach)

Question 13

Eyseneck’s three-factor theory

Answer 13

extraversion-introversion: extraverts have lower cortical arousal so need external stimulation
neuroticism-emotional stability: more reactive sympathetic nervous system
psychoticism-impulse control: high testostetone low MAO-A (warrior gene)
all controlled by genetics

Question 14

self concept, working self concept

Answer 14

network of mental representations one has of oneself

Question 15

locus of control

Answer 15

one’s perception of what determines their outcome - internal or external

Question 16

learned helplessness

Answer 16

state of passive resignation to aversive situation that one believes is outside of one’s control

Question 17

lexical hypothesis

Answer 17

traits providing useful ways to differentiate among personality characteristics are necessarily encoded in language

Question 18

big 5 theory

Answer 18

openess
conscientiousness
extroversion
agreeableness
neuroticism

Question 19

prevalence

Answer 19

9-15% of population
1-5% for each individual PD

Question 20

comorbidity

Answer 20

average of 6 PDs, also high comorbidity with other disorders

Question 21

sex/age differences

Answer 21

higher in women, especially deoendent, histrionic, borderline (could be due to gender bias in disgnosis)
men more commonly antisocial & narcissistic
most prevalent early/midlife, two sexes roughly equal in older age

Question 22

general criteria

Answer 22

pattern of inner experience & behaviour deviating markedly from individual’s culture in at least two of: cognition, affect, social, impulse control
patter inflexible & persasive across different situations, causes significant distress/impairments, early onset (adoleschence/early adulthood)
ego-syntonic, part of who they are and don’t want to change

Question 23

DSM disorders

Answer 23

Cluster A - odd/eccentric:
paranoid: hostile world attribution bias, suspicious & distrusting of others (see paranoid schizophrenia)
schizoid: detachments from social relationships, low pleasure or emotional expressions, indofferent to prasie or criticism
schizotypal: interpersonal problems, unusual perceptions, extreme social anxiety, believe they have magic powrr
Cluster B - dramatic/erratic:
antisocial: violate others’ rights, deceitful, lack of remorse
borderline: unstable emotions, relationships, identity, emptiness, impulsive, recurrent suicidal or self-mutilating behaviours/threats
histrionic: attention seeking
narcissistic - grandiosity, success & admiration, exploitative, no empathy
Cluster C - anxious/fearful
avoidant - extreme social avoidance & loneliness, fears socialising (rejection, criticism, embarrassment)
dependent - clingy & submissive, neddki
obsessive-compultive PD (not OCD) - perfectionism, rules, does not trust others

Question 24

diagnostic problems

Answer 24

is it right to say one’s personality disordered?
culture dependent
high comorbidity
stigma
Not Otherwise Specified most common diagnosis
polythetic criteria - two people could have same disorder but share 0 symptoms

Question 25

psychopathy checklist

Answer 25

factor 1 - affective/interpersonal: charm, self-worth, manipulation, no remorse
factor 2 - parasitic lifestyle, poor behavioural controls, impulsivity, need for simulation

Question 26

psychopathy/ASPSD relationship

Answer 26

factor one (interpersonal) components primary essence of psychopathy
factor two (impulsive) components = ASPD

Question 27

Roger’s self theory

Answer 27

parents set up conditions of worth
through life, people develop self-concept of what others think they should be
unconditional positive regard needed to feel self-actualised

Question 28

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Answer 28

studied healthy & creative people, arrangement of innate needs that motivate behaviour
physiological, safety, belongingness & love, esteem, self-actualisation

Question 29

self-actualisation

Answer 29

characteristics of people who have met this need:
accepting of themselves & world
independent, democratic, creative
has peak experiences

Question 30

narcissism