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?