Module 1: Personality Flashcards
What is a personality?
It is a set of relatively enduring and behavioural cognitive chatacteristics
What is a trait?
It is a consistent pattern of behaviour that one displays in relevant circumstances
What is national character?
Each culture has a model personality type
Most people in that culture share aspects of it
What are the problems with the development of personality measures used in cross-cultural research being done in a single language and single culture?
It imposes an assumed etic construct on cultures and has questionable reliability and validity
What is the Five-Factor model?
It is a model that describes all personality characteristics to reflect some combination of five or more traits
What are the five (Big Five) core traits of the Five-Factor Model?
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
What are the aspects of Openness?
Imaginative, curious, broad minded vs. concrete minded, practical, narrow interests
What are the aspects of Consciensciousness?
Dependable, organized, relatable, hardworking vs. undependable, disorganized, impulsive, lazy
What are the aspects of Agreeableness?
Pleasant, good-nature, sympathetic vs. unfriendly, unpleasant, hostile
What are the aspects of Neuroticism?
Anxious, excitable, irritable vs. clam, even-tempered, relaxed
Do perceptions of national character correspond to aggregate personality traits?
Perceptions of national character do not necessarily correlate with actual, aggregate personal levels of individuals of those cultures
Ecological fallacy - error of reasoning brought by arguing that the relationship between properties of groups might apply to the people themselves
What are the 6 aspects of interpersonal relatedness developed by Chung for China’s and overseas Chinese culture?
Harmony Rien Qing Modernization Thrift vs. Extravagance Ah-Q Mentality Face
What are the aspects of Harmony?
Inner peace of mind Contentment Interpersonal harmony Avoidance of conflict Maintenance of equilibrium
What are the aspects of Ren Qing?
Adherence to cultural norms of interaction based in reciprocity, exchange of social behaviours, and exchange of affection according to implicit rules
What are the aspects of Modernization?
Personality change in response to societal modernization and attitudes toward traditional Chinese beliefs
What are the aspects of Thriftiness vs. Extravagance?
Traditional virtue of saving rather than wasting and carefulness in spending, in contrast to the willingness to spend money for hedonistic purposes
What are the aspects of Ah-Q Mentality?
Defensiveness, self-protective rationalization, externalization of blame, and belittling of others’ achievements
What are the aspects of Face?
Patterns of orientations in an international and hierarchical connection in and social behaviours to enhance one’s face and to avoid losing one’s face
What is the Authoritarian personality?
Dominance, different degrees of dependence on authority and hierarchical status
What is the internal Locus of Control?
Belief that we have control over situations and rewards
Individuality, separateness, and uniqueness
European Americans - high internal locus of control
What is the external Locus of Control?
Belief that events outside ourselves determine what happens
Fate, luck, supernatural forces, relationships with others
East Asians, African-Americans, Filipinos, Brazilians
What factors inform the personalities of regions and cities?
Historical imprint of economic and industrial structure
Physical environment
Social factors
How does the historical imprint of economic and industrial structure affect the personality of a region or city?
Old industrial regions -agreeableness and conscientiousness
Sales, business headquarters, and high-levels services - extroversion
Large coastal cities, historically home to diverse economic structures, immigrant populations, and longstanding artistic and bohemian quarters - openness
Eg. “Bohemian-Gay/Hipster Index” - the “creative class”
How does the physical environment affect the personality of a region or city?
Cold climates and dark winters - seasonal affective disorder, depression, stress, anxiety
Warmer climates - aggressive behaviour
Rainy climates - neuroticism
How does the social factors affect the personality of a region or city?
“Social Founder Effect”
People come to acquire personality traits that reflect their practices, lifestyles, and beliefs
Places that encourage openness attract open-minded people and, people who are not initially open-minded, will internalize those values over time
“Selective Migration”
Geographical differences in personality - result of immigrants selectively migrating to places that satisfy and reinforce their psychology and physical needs
“Genetic Founder Effects”
Initial groups establish personality traits passed down to subsequent generations
Social pressure and influence
