Lecture 25: Personality Flashcards
What is personality?
A systematic attempt to describe and explain how people are similar, how they are different and why every individual is unique
-an individual’s unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving
What are the 4 perspectives of personality theories?
- Psychoanalytic
- Humanistic
- Social cognitive perspective
- Trait
What is the Psychoanalytic perspective of personality?
Emphasized the importance of unconscious processes and influence of early childhood experience
What is the humanistic perspective of personality?
Represents an optimistic look at human nature, emphasizing the self and the fulfillment of a person’s unique potential
What is the social cognitive perspective of personality?
Emphasizes learning and conscious cognitive processes, including the importance of beliefs about the self, goal-setting and self-regulation
What is the trait perspective of personality?
Emphasizes the description and measurement of specific personality differences among individuals
-measurement of trait
What is Freud’s Dynamic Theory of Personality?
Personality and behavior result from a constant interplay between conflicting psychological forces that operate at three levels of awareness
1. All thoughts, feelings, sensations you are aware of at this particular moment represent the conscious level 2. The preconscious contains information which you’re not currently aware, but is easily capable of entiring your consciousness, like childhood memories or your social security number 3. The bulk of Freud’s psychological iceberg is made up of the unconscious (SUBCONSCIOUS), which lies below the waterline of the preconscious and the conscious (shit we are never aware of)
What are ego defense mechanisms?
Reaction patterns, usually unconscious, which serve the purpose of protecting an individual from anxiety, guilt, unacceptable impulses, internal conflicts or other threats to the sense of self
- defense mechanisms to help us avoid anxiety and guilt - keep emotions within bearable limits - handle unresolvable conflicts with others
What is the most fundamental ego defense mechanism?
Repression = unconscious forgetting
-unbeknownst to the person, but can lead you to act out
What is displacement?
An ego defense mechanism
-impulses are redirected to a substitute object or person
-usually one less threatening or dangerous than the original source of conflict
Man yells at woman …. Leads to kid kicking a dog lmao
What are the 4 types of defenses?
- psychotic
- immature
- neurotic
- altruism
What are psychotic defenses?
1. Delusional projection Example: thinking that aliens are going to abduct you 2. Denial Example: denial of tumor presence 3. Distortion
What are immature defenses?
- Projection
- Schizoid fantasy
- Hypochondriasis
- Passive-aggressive
- Acting out
What are neurotic defenses?
- Intellectualization
- Repression
- Displacement
- Reaction formation
- Dissociation
- dissociating emotion from thoughts
What are mature defenses?
- altruism
- humor
- suppression (take a deep breath; not going to freak out)
- anticipation
- sublimation (delayed gratification)
What are the characteristics of humanistic perspective of personality?
Humanistic psychologists contend that the most important factor in personality is the individuals CONSCIOUS, subjective perception of his or herself
- rejects idea that sex drives everything
- see from perspective of patient
What is Maslow’s hierarchy?
Part of humanistic view of personality
Lower needs need to be satisfied
Goes from physiological needs to safety to love needs to esteem needs, etc.
From the humanistic perspective of personality, what is the goal of life?
To become a fully functioning, actualized person
How does one become a functioning actualized person in humanistic perspective?
Consistent experiences of unconditional positive regarde (white people!!)
How is Positive psychology derived?
The pleasant life (life of enjoyment)
The good life (life of engagement)
The meaningful life (life of affiliation)
What is a key feature of Seligman’s humanistic perspective?
Character strengths and virtues such as wisdom, courage, humanity, and justice
-these define positive psychology that allows one to be a fully funciotning, actualized person
What is the social cognitive perspective of personality?
Defined by Albert Bandura
Based on the idea that a person’s conscious thought processes in different situations strongly influence his or her actions
“Our environment shapes us
How does social cognitive perspective of personality differ from psychoanalytic/humanistic perspectives?
- it relies heavily on experimental findings
- it emphasizes conscious, self-regulated behavior
- it emphases that our “sense of self” can vary
Emphasis on observational learning and self-efficacy
-social origins of thoughts and actions and also stresses active cognitive processes and the capacity for self-regulation
What is observational learning? Significance?
The idea that we all observe consequences that follow people’s actions
-we observe rules and standards to behaviors
-we observe the way people regulate own behavior
One of the core principles of Bandura’s Social Cognitive Perspective of Personality
What is reciprocal determinism?
A model that explains human functioning and personality as caused by the interaction of cognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors
Example: Rostain is influencing us and audience is influencing Rostain
What is self-efficacy? Significance?
The idea of how well we can accomplish a task or fulfill a role
A belief that collectively, a person’s cognitive skills, abilities and attitudes represent the person’s self-system
One of two core principles of Bandura’s Social Cognitive theory of Personality
What is the virtuous cycle of self-efficacy?
Belief you will do well greater effort or persistence success believe you will do well
What is the trait perspective of personality?
Approaches personality by focusing primarily on describing individual differences rather than similarities among individuals
DIFFERENCE > SIMILARITY
Example: Meyers-Briggs
What are surface traits?
Traits that lie on the surface and can be easily inferred from observable behavior
What are source traits?
Thought to be the most basic dimension of personality
- a source trait can potentially give rise to a vast number of surface traits - there are relatively few source traits and these represent a universal way of describing individual personality differences
What are Eysenck’s three dimensions of personality?
- introversion/extroversion
- neuroticisms-emotional stability
-neuroticism = predisposition towards being emotionally upset - psychoticism
-high in this trait = antisocial
-so psychoticism in this case means more of an aloofness
Pertains to trait personallity
What are the “Big Five” personality factors? Significance?
- Extroversion (outgoing – withdrawn)
- Neuroticism (stable – unstable)
- Conscientiousness (undependable – dependable)
- Agreeableness (low – high)
- Openness to experience (closed – open)
Consensus among trait reserachers is that essential building blocks of personality can be described here
Human behavior is
A complex interaction between traits and situations
Which of the Big Five personality factors are most heritable?
Extraversion and Neuroticism
But also big interplay with environment
What is the biosocial Theory of Personality?
Developed by Cloninger to assign neurotransmitters to behaviors including:
First foray into linking behavior with circuits
1. Behavior activation = dopamine
2. Behavioral inhibition = serotonin
3. Behavioral maintenance (reward) = norepinephrine
What is a personality disorder?
Enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself that are exhibited in a wide range of important social and personal contexts that cause significant functional impairment or subjective distress
What are the general criteria for personality disorder?
Enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from cultural expectations. Manifested in 2+ areas:
-cognition
-affectivity
-interpersonal functioning
-impulse control
-inflexible and pervasive across broad range of personal/social situations
Pattern leads to clinically significant impairment or distress
Pattern is stable and of long duration and onset can be traced adolescence or early childhood
What are the key characteristics of personality disorder?
Coded on Axis II
Patient does NOT think they have a disorder
Disorder symptoms are ego-syntonic
-mostly have problems with other people
What are the disorders in cluster A of DSM-IV?
Odd and Eccentric in nature
- Paranoid PD
- Schizoid PD
- Schizotypal PD
What is paranoid PD?
Distrust and suspiciousness
- interpreting motives as malevolent - reading malicious intent into even innocuous comments - extreme jealousy - hypersensitivity to criticism - controlling; quick to anger - possible family history - taking remarks out of context and interpreting them to support own frame of reference
What is Schizoid PD?
Detachment from social relationships (does not want them)
ISOLATED, lack of emotion
-pervasive indifference toward others
-restricted range of emotional expression
-unaffected by praise or criticism
-few friends/confidants
-no sense of humor
-lacks social skills
-no overtly bizarre behavior, thinking, etc.
What is schizotypal PD?
Social deficits and perceptual distortions or eccentricities
- unkempt - digressive or vague in speech - like from a different planet - deficient in social relationships - acutely uncomfortable around others
What type of personality disorders are in cluster B?
Dramatic Emotional or Erratic
- Antisocial PD
- Borderline PD
- Histrionic PD
- Narcissistic PD
What personality disorder is marked by EXTREME fear of abandonment while being very unstable?
Borderline PD
What is Antisocial PD?
Anti-social norms Disregard for other’s rights -longstanding irresponsible behavior -will smile at you while they steal your money and run away with it -disregard for others righs -no remorse -charming, engaging, persuasive Example: Bernie Madoff stealing 1 billion dollars
What is borderline personality disorder?
Intense, unstable, extremes
Hallmark of someone with borderline PD: Someone who REALLY FEARS Abandonment
-are the ones that are very emotionally high maintenance
What is histrionic personality disorder?
High Drama
- flamboyant - inappropriately flirtatious/seductive - a lot of abuse in families
What is narcissistic personality disorder?
Grandiose entitlement
- entitled to being admired - sees self as unique - lacks empathy - must have their own way in relationships
What are the personality disorders in cluster C?
Anxiety or Fearfulness
- Dependent PD
- Avoidant PD
- Obsessive-compulsive PD
What is Dependent PD?
Excessive need to be taken care of Limited sense of self Highly sensitive to disapproval Difficulty initiating projects Complete passivity
What is avoidant personality disorder?
Involvement is seen as risky
-they avoid shit
What is Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder?
Is NOT the same as OCD
-all about order and structure
-scrupulosity to the point of rigidity
-an excessive need for perfectionism
-cant get rid of shit
Lack of Obsessions and Compulsions in OCPD
OCPD sees hardwork as beneficial and not as a ritual
What is OCD and how is it different from OCPD?
OCD is an ANXIETY disorder where one experiences obsessions and compulsions
-unwanted and cause extreme distress
