Lecture 1 - Introduction to Personality Key Terms

Question 1

Personality

Answer 1

The distinctive and enduring patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviours that characterise an individual. Various definitions highlight its stability over time, internal origin, consistency across situations, and contribution to individual differences.

Question 2

Traits

Answer 2

Stable and enduring dispositions to behave in certain ways across situations and over time. Traits can be positive or negative and contribute to the consistency we observe in individuals’ behaviour.

Question 3

Psychological Mechanisms/Variables

Answer 3

Internal processes, often cognitive in nature, that influence how individuals perceive, interpret, and respond to their environment. These mechanisms, while not always directly observable, play a significant role in shaping personality

Question 4

Cognitive Appraisals

Answer 4

The subjective evaluations individuals make about situations and events, influenced by their personality and contributing to their emotional responses and behaviours

Question 5

Unconscious

Answer 5

A concept prominent in psychoanalytic theory, referring to mental processes that are outside of conscious awareness but that influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

Question 6

WEIRD Science

Answer 6

Research conducted primarily on populations from Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic societies. This term highlights the lack of diversity in psychological research and the potential limitations of generalising findings from these specific populations to the wider global population.