L5 - Personality Theories 2

Question 1

What are the 5 personality traints of the big 5?

Answer 1

OCEAN

Openness - willing to take reisks, try new things

Conscientiousness - organised, efficient, dependable

Extraversion - outgoing attitudes

Agreableness - Empathy, caring cooperation

Neuroticism - stable vs emotionally vulnerable

Question 2

What does the big 5 say about how our personalities change over our lives?

Answer 2

Generally they dont

There is a high correlation of big 5 features over the lifespan

• Changes that do happen tend to be positive*
• Emotional stability and functioning increase with age*
• Biggest level of conscientiousness increases in your 20’s*
• Agreeableness increases in your 30s*
• Neuroticism changes with age*

Question 3

How does the big 5 get your personality ranking?

Answer 3

Compares you to other members of the population

This means that even though you might change slightly over time, compared to the population who are going through similar changes you will stay roughly the same

Question 4

What did the Mills College Study when they tested women at 21, 27, 43 and 52 find in regards to how our personalities change over time?

Answer 4

At 27 women were higher on emotional dependence than partners, there was no difference between them and their partners at 52

However, their mothers were still high on dependence at 52

Question 5

Why was the mothers of the Mills College Study still high on dependence at age 52 but their children weren’t?

Answer 5

Environmental and Social Context

womens rights movement - sociocultural context is important

Question 6

Objective measures of ageing are good because they are scientific and bad because…

Answer 6

they define what counts as ‘successful ageing’ very tightly

definitions may differ

Question 7

What are the four components for successful ageing articulated by Rowe and Kahn

Answer 7

Physical

Cognitive

Social

Engagement

Question 8

When evaluating life satisfaction (subjective) how are individualist and collectivist cultures different?

Answer 8

individual: values independence as they age
collectivist: don’t rate independence as important

Question 9

What did the Kansas City Studies use to test the ‘typical’ middle aged women in a cross-sectional comparison with a 6 year longitudinal follow up?

What were they interested in?

Answer 9

Interviews

and

Thematic Apperception Test (ambiguous pictures)

Interested in how these changed over time

Question 10

What do thematic apperception tests supposed to reveal?

Answer 10

Unconscious concerns, conflict and underlying world view

Ego energy reflects vigorous, passitionate engagement with life vs withdrawal

Mastery style reflects triumph and success over problems

Question 11

What were the results of the Kansas City Studies?

Answer 11

Starting in 50s ego energy and mastery declined

Interiority (internal focus) increased

Less interested in the outside world, more preoccupied with self

Question 12

Describe what the disengagement theory of ageing suggested

Answer 12

A natural process of disengagement occurs in late middle age

There was a mutual withdrawal – self left society / society left individual

Question 13

What were the concerns and impact that disengagement theory had on ageing individuals?

Answer 13

Because elderly were suggested to leave society, problems arose

Concerns: fluency decline, discomfort with testing, sample used was problematic, Psychoanalytic underpinnings used for it not correct

Broader concerns: allowed for ageism, had political implications, doesn’t apply cross-culturally

Question 14

What theory became prominant after disengagement theory went into decline?

Answer 14

Activity Theory

Question 15

What were the key tenants for successful ageing outlined in activity theory?

Answer 15

Successful ageing = replacing roles with new ones as roles and relationships change

keeping busy and active is the key

Question 16

What does activity theory link with successful ageing?

Answer 16

Being active: socially, physically, in leisure activities

leads to wellbeing, functional outcomes and reduces mortality

Question 17

What are the concerns with activity theory?

Answer 17

Emphasis on the individual rather than structural issuses.

This could marginalise already marginalised older groups and they may become isolated

- these limitations can be structural and can block individuals from actively achieving these goals

Question 18

What relationship does life satisfaction have with age?

Answer 18

little relationship until oldest-old

people dont report being unhappy with age and lifesatisfaction until they are very old and lose their mental and physical health

Question 19

What impacts life satisfaction the most?

Answer 19

Poor living conditions, ill-health, loss of relationships

Question 20

What is the paradox of happiness?

Answer 20

Your way of looking at the world influences how happy you are, not your objective situation

it depends on comparative status, who you compare yourself, what dimensions you compare yourself across, what matters more to you etc.

Question 21

Is socio-economic status a predictor of well-being because you have more money?

Answer 21

No, having more money doesn’t make you happier

It is a predictor because of the opportunities it can bring

Question 22

Who is happier, someone who spends money on themselves or others

Answer 22

Spends money on others

Question 23

Actual health or self-reported health is a better predictor of wellbeing

Answer 23

Self-reported health

What you consider your health to be

Question 24

Name the predictors of wellbeing

Answer 24

Question 25

What personal resources are predictors of wellbeing?

Answer 25

Sense of control

Self-esteem

Socio-cognitive skills

Sense of purpose/usefulness

Question 26

What cognitive functions are predictors of wellbeing

Answer 26

Evaluation, expectation, interpretation

in relation to how you are ageing

Question 27

Purpose is a very strong predictor of ______

Answer 27

Wellbeing

Question 28

Marital closeness is a predictor of ____

Answer 28

wellbeing