Lecture 1+2 Flashcards
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What is a definition of personality?
“Personality is a particular pattern of behaviour and thinking that prevails across time and situations that differentiates one person from another”
What does psycho mean?
Psychological
What does pathos mean?
Disease/disorder
What did personality research emerge out of?
Abnormal psychology
What are four reasons for the study of personality?
- Understanding how our personalities can break down
- Implications for therapy
- Helping us to understand ‘normal’ mental functioning
- Understand what is necessary for mental health needs
What is free-will?
The choices that we make are not bound by casual conditions - in exactly the same circumstances we could do otherwise
What is determinism?
Everything (including our behaviour and thoughts) is caused by antecedent (prior) conditioning.
What are the two types of criticism and what do they mean?
Logical (identifying contradictions, hidden assumptions, vagueness, ambiguity) and empirical (determining whether observation supports a theory or not)
What are the four main methods used in personality research?
- Case studies
- Objective tests
- Projective tests
- Physiology methods
What are objective tests?
true/false, multiple choice
What are projective tests?
Ambiguous stimuli, e.g. Rorshach inkblots
What percentage of psychologists use projective tests?
30%
What’s a main problem with projective tests?
Problem of score interpretation, reliability and validity
What’s the main problem with physiological methods?
We have to have a particular theory on personality before we can theorise how the brain affects it
What is the problem relating to ethnocentrism and personality?
Are the theories universal or reflections of specific cultures?
What are some considerations relating to egocentrism and personality?
Are our theories representations of ourselves? How do our own experiences affect our beliefs of personality?
What are the self-preservation drives in the Human Animal?
hunger, thirst, pain, avoidance, sex, destructiveness
What is Freud’s belief on unconsciousness?
That we are not aware of everything in the mind (unconscious beliefs and desires) and are not aware of all of the causes of our behaviour (brain processes)
What three aspects can the mind be divided into?
- Id (biological drives)
- Ego (self)
- Super-ego (conscience/morality)
What is the Id?
Original and primitive part of personality - impersonal, animalistic, selfish, non-socialised, impulse, unconscious
What is the Ego?
Our sense of self - “I”
Is the Ego conscious, unconscious or both?
Both
What is the Reality Principle?
Part of the Ego, we learn to satisfy our desires via reality - e.g. gratification postponement (uni)
What is the super-ego?
Conscience, moral beliefs & values - impact of social forces, beliefs about should and should not, develops from fear of punishment/loss of love (anxiety and guilt)
What are we in infancy, Id, Ego or Super-ego?
Id
What leads us to become more than Id?
Socialisation - learn that some desires lead to punishment/reward - conflict between parental prohibitions and desires
What is repression?
Inhibition of anti-social behaviours - unconscious conflict between biological impulses and moral beliefs
What is denial?
Not accepting the reality of a threatening situation
What is reaction-formation?
Transferring unacceptable wishes into their opposite - e.g. homophobia
What are three problems with the psychoanalytic theory?
- unscientific
- untestable
- unfalsifiable
What do psychodynamic models emphasise?
The active, motivated nature of the mind and personality
