module 1 Flashcards
define personality
set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that is organized and relatively enduring and that influences his or her interactions with, and adaptations to, the environment (including the intrapsychic, physical, and social environment)”
what is the study of personality about
the study of personality is about understanding the whole person
What are psychological traits?
Psychological traits are characteristics that
describe ways in which people are different
from each other.
traits describe the average tendencies of a person.
What are psychological mechanisms?
Psychological mechanisms are like traits, except that the term mechanisms refers more to the processes of personality. For example, most psychological mecha-
nisms involve an information-processing activity.
Someone who is extraverted, for example, may look for
and notice opportunities to interact with other people.
Where do important sources of personality reside?
that personality is something a person carries with themselves over time and
from one situation to the next.
How is personality organized? And how consistent is personality across the lifespan?
-personality is organized because the mechanisms and traits are linked to one another in a coherent fashion.
-relatively enduring over time, particularly in adulthood, and are somewhat conistent over situations.
Explain person–environment interactions. 4 main interactions?
personality impacts what environments we choose to be in + how we shape our lives
interactions with situations include perceptions, selection, evocations, and manipulations.
Perceptions refers to how we “see,” or interpret, an environment.
Selection describes the manner in which we choose situations to enter
Evocations are the reactions we produce in others, often quite unintentionally.
Manipulations are the ways in which we intentionally attempt to influence others.
What are personality adaptations?
a central feature of personality concerns adaptive
functioning
-human behaviour - goal is directed, functional, and purposeful.
What aspects of the environment influence personality?
- physical environment (ie direct threats to survival)
- social environment (how we cope w our social environment)
- intraphysical environment- within the mind (ex. self esteem)
- The particular aspect of the environment that is important at any moment in time is frequently determined by
personality.
What are the three levels of personality analysis
- like all others (the human nature level)
- like some others (the level of individual and group differences)
- like no others (the individual uniqueness level)
Explain the difference between nomothetic research and idiographic research.
nomothetic - statistical comparisons of individuals or groups, requiring samples of subjects on which to conduct research. applied
to identify universal human characteristics and dimensions of individual or group differences.
idiographic - focuses on a single subject, trying to observe general principles that are manifest in a single life over time. case studies or psychological biography
human nature level - describe
describes human nature in general—the traits and mechanisms of
personality that are typical of our species and are possessed by everyone or nearly everyone.
describe individual and group differences
in which each person is like some other people
describe individual uniqueness
Every individual has personal qualities not shared by any other person in
the world.
how do we meet goal of personality psych? is it easy?
to explain people’s behaviour. This includes describing, measuring, and explaining how people differ, uncovering the conscious and unconscious thoughts that drive behaviour, and predicting what people will do in the future
extremely difficult
Dispositional Approach focus?
How do people differ psychologically from one another?
Biological Approach focus?
How do genetics, physiology, and evolution relate to personality
Intrapsychic Approach focus?
How does the unconscious mind influence motivation and behaviour?
Cognitive/Experiential Approach focus?
ow does our conscious mind and emotional experiences affect our personality
What is a domain of knowledge?
a specialty area of science and scholarship in which psychologists have focused on
learning about some specific and limited aspects of human nature.
delineates the
boundaries of researchers’ knowledge, expertise, and interests.
Define and describe what is examined within each of the six domains (summarize)
personality is influenced by traits the person is born with and develops over time (dispositional domain); by
biological events (biological domain); by processes within the person’s own mind (intrapsychic domain); by
personal and private thoughts, feelings, desires, beliefs, and other subjective experiences (cognitive-
experiential domain); by social, cultural, and gendered positions in the world (social and cultural domain);
and by the adjustments that the person must make to the inevitable challenges of life (adjustment
domain).
What is the central goal of personality psychologists working in the dispositional domain?
The central goal of personality psychologists working in the dispositional domain is to identify and measure the most important ways in which individuals differ from one an-
other.
They are also interested in the origins of the important individual differences and in how they develop and are maintained.
What are the three main areas of the biological domain?
biological
approaches typically refers to three areas of research within this general domain: genetics, psychophysiology (nervous system), and evolution.
Identify key distinctions between the intrapsychic domain and the cognitive-experiential domain
- intrapsychic domain deals with mental mechanisms of personality, many of which operate outside of conscious awareness.
The cognitive-experiential domain focuses on cognition and subjective experience, such as conscious
thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and desires about oneself and others.
