Personality Flashcards
What is personality
individuals’ characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
- characterized by long-lasting patterns
What did Freud propose about personality
proposed personality is determined by unconscious drives, which shapes how we approach and interact with the world
What were Freuds main contributions
- concept of our unconscious mind
- psychosexual stages of development
- defense mechanisms for alleviating anxiety
What are the 3 components of our personalities
the id
the ego
the superego
Is personality conscious or unconscious
entirely unconscious
What do the desired of the “id” do
help us fill our basic needs (to survive, to reproduce, aggression, etc.)
What principle does the “id” operate by
the pleasure principle
What does the superego refer to
our conscience
What does the superego represent
the ideal (best-case scenario)
What is different about the ego
it is almost entirely conscious, whereas the “id” is unconscious and the superego is almost entirely unconscious as well
What does the ego allow us to balance
the needs of the “id” and the ideals of the superego
What principle does the ego follow
the reality principle
Thinking about an angel and devil sitting on each should, what position is what based on the “id”, the ego, and the superego
angel: the superego
devil: the “id”
mediator: the ego
What happens when the ego cannot resolve conflict between the id and superego
anxiety
Explain the defense mechanism: denial
refusing to acknowledge unpleasant info
Explain the defence mechanism: rationalization
generating excuses for our behaviour
Explain the defense mechanism: reaction formation
switch one impulse into its opposite
Explain the defense mechanism: projection
attributing your own impulses to others
What are the 5 stages of personality development
oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
What is the age range of the oral development stage
0-18 months
What is the theme of the oral development stage
eating and feeling dependant
What is the age range for the anal development stage
18-36 months
What is the theme of the anal development stage
expelling waste and exerting control
What is the age range for the phallic stage of development
3-6 years
What is the theme of the phallic development stage
genital organs and jealousy
What is the age range for the latency stage of development
6-11 years
What is the theme of the latency development stage
diverted focus/external activities
What is the age range for the genital stage of development
12 - adulthood
What is the theme of the genital development stage
sexual activites and maturity
What are some criticisms of Freuds theory
- too much parental influence
- said children have no gender before 6 years
- sexist (women envy penis)
- untestable
What is an important result of Freuds theory
developed psychotherapy
What are type theories
view characteristics of people as discrete categories (intro vs extrovert)
What did Myers-Briggs test lack
reliability and validity
What was Gordon Allports theory
personality is made up of a number of continuous dimensions called “traits”
What is the lexical hypothesis
important differences in behaviour will become encoded in language
What is the big 5 in relation to personality
“OCEAN”
O: openness
C: conscientiousness
E: extraversion
A: agreeableness
N: neuroticism
What is openness within the big 5
receptive to new ideas and experiences
What is conscientiousness within the big 5
degree of discipline and organization
What is extraversion within the big 5
preference for social interaction, lively activity
What is agreeableness within the big 5
trusting and selflessness for others
What is neuroticism within the big 5
negative emotionality/affectivity
What is self-esteem
a persons appraisal of their own value; global feelings of self worth
What is sociometer theory
self-esteem is a gauge of perceived social value; the degree to which one feels valued by others
What is self-report vs informant-report
self report: self-ratings of characteristics, thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
informant report: rating of characteristic and behaviours from people who know the target well
What model is used to measure personality
SOKA (Self-Other Knowledge Asymmetry model)
What does it mean when a trait is low in observability
inwardly expressed
- self ratings are more valid than informant ratings
What does it mean when a trait is highly evaluative
socially desirable or undesirable
- self ratings are less valid here compared to informative ratings
What is the difference between observational measure and archival/biographical measure
observation: direct observation of behaviour in a natural or artificial setting
archival/biographical: data from existing records
Personality dimensions are roughly ____% heritable
50%
What is situationism
behaviour is driven by situation and not be the traits someone possesses
How do social cognitive theories relate to personality and behaviours
emphasize the role of both social contexts and internal cognitive processes, such as beliefs and expectancies
What is reciprocal determinism
the individual and the environment influence each other
What does WEIRD stand for
Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic
Does the big 5 apply across the world, or just the “WEIRD” countries
bases of personality appear to be somewhat the same worldwide
What are response styles?
characteristic ways of responding to questions
How are response styles differ across the world
strongly influenced by cultural norms
What is geographical psychology
large-scale variation of personality across different cultural locations
Where does culture fall on the nature-nurture continuum
nurture
Where do genetics fall on the nature-nurture continuum
nature
What does polymorphic mean in relation to our genes
“multiple form” - different version of the same gene that lead to different physical or behavioural characteristics
What does evolutionary psychology help us determine
WHY we have inherited the personality traits we have
What theory guided personality in western medicine long ago
humourism
What is humourism
wellness and personality influenced by imbalances of fluids in the body
What theory guides personality in the late 1700s to early 1800s
personality could be assessed by carefully measuring the shape of the skull
What is the arousal theory of extroversion
extraversion is determined by peoples threshold for arousal
What is the ascending reticular activating system
our brain system that plays a central role in controlling the arousal response
Extroverts have a _____ reactive ARAS than introverts
less reactive
What are the two systems involved in the approach/inhibition model of motivation
the behavioural activation system (BAS) and the behavioural inhibition system (BIS)
What is the behavioural activation system (BAS)
“GO” system, arousing a person in pursuit to seek out desired goals
Greater emotional response is related to ________ BAS
greater
What is the behavioural inhibition system (BIS)
a “danger” system, motivating one to act in order to avoid punishment or negative outcomes
The BIS is associated with _______ emotional responses, while the BAS is associated with __________ emotional responses
BIS: negative
BAS: positive
What big 5 trait is associated with BAS
extraversion
What big 5 trait is associated with BIS
neuroticism
What is the medial orbitofrontal cortex responsible for
processing reward
What is the amygdala responsible for
processing novelty, danger, and fear
How does the HEXACO model of personality differ from the Big Five factors?
HEXACO includes a sixth personality trait: honesty–humility
Lisa and Elaine work at the same place and were both being considered for a promotion. In order to secure the promotion for herself, Lisa told her bosses lies about Elaine being selfish and difficult to work with. As a result, Elaine did not receive the promotion. Lisa’s behaviour is an example of which personality trait?
Machiavellianism
What is different about the findings of the big 5 study in China compared to Canada
in china they found only 4 main personality traits
- dependability, social potency, individualism, and interpersonal relatedness
- the first 3 closely mimic 3 of the big 5 traits, but the fourth is different and suggests differences in personality traits from cultural influences
Which gene has been found to code for serotonin activity
chromosome 17