Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

FPsych > Personality > Flashcards

Personality Flashcards

1
Q

Define Personality

A
  • An individual’s unique set of consistent behavioural traits
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Define Personality in terms of its Consistency and Distinctiveness

A
  • Explains the stability in one’s behaviour over time and across situations (Consistency)
  • Explains behavioural differences among people reacting to the same situation (Distinctiveness)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Define Personality Traits in terms of its Dispositions and Dimensions

A

Personality Trait : Durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations

Factor Analysis : Statistical analysis of correlations among many variables to identify closely-related clusters of variables
- Most approaches to personality assume that some traits are more basic than others

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Explain the Five-Factor Model of Personality Traits (OCEAN/CANOE) (McCrae and Costa, 1985, 1987, 1997)

A
  • Maintain that most personality traits are derived from just 5 higher-order traits (Big Five)

1. Extraversion (Positive Emotionality) : Outgoing, sociable, upbeat, friendly, assertive
- Have a more positive outlook on life, motivated to pursue social contact, intimacy and interdependence

2. Neuroticism (Negative Emotionality) : Anxious, hostile, self-conscious, insecure, vulnerable
- Tend to exhibit more impulsiveness and emotional instability than others

3. Openness to Experience : Curious, flexible, imaginative, interested in new ideas, possess unconventional attitudes
- Tend to be tolerant of ambiguity

4. Agreeableness : Warm, sympathetic, trusting, compassionate, cooperative, straightforward
- Correlated with empathy and helping behaviour

5. Conscientiousness (Constraint) : Diligent, well-organised, punctual, dependable
- Associated with strong self-discipline and the ability to regulate oneself effectively

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Explain Freud’s Psychodynamic Perspectives

A
  • Psychodynamic theories include all the diverse theories descended from Sigmund Freud (focuses on unconscious mental forces)
  • Attempts to explain personality by focusing on the influence of early childhood experiences, unconscious conflicts and sexual urges
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Explain Freud’s Model of Personality Structure

A
  • Theorised that people have 3 levels of awareness (conscious, preconscious, unconscious)

1. Id : Primitive, instinctive component of personality (Primary-process thinking)
- Houses raw biological urges (eat, sleep etc.)
Pleasure Principle - Demands immediate gratification of its urges

2. Ego : Decision-making component of personality (Secondary-process thinking)
- Considers social realities (norms, etiquette, rules, customs)
Reality Principle - Seeks to delay gratification of the id’s urges until appropriate outlets can be found

3. Superego : Moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what feels right and wrong (Moral Principle)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Explain Anxiety and Defence Mechanisms

A
  • Unconscious conflicts between the id, ego and superego sometimes leads to anxiety, the discomfort can lead to the use of defence mechanisms (temporarily relieves anxiety)

Defence Mechanisms : Largely unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions (anxiety and guilt)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

List the Types of Defence Mechanisms

A

1. Repression : Keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious
E.G Soldiers have no recollection with details of a close brush with death

2. Projection : Attributing one’s own thoughts, feelings or motives to another
E.G Woman who dislikes her boss thinks she likes her boss but feels that the boss doesn’t like her

3. Displacement : Diverting emotional feelings (usually anger) from their original source to a substitute target
E.G A girl takes her anger out on her little brother after a parental scolding

4. Reaction Formation : Behaving in a way that is exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings
E.G A parent who unconsciously resents a child spoils the child with outlandish gifts

5. Regression : A reversion to immature patterns of behaviour
E.G Adult has a temper tantrum when he doesn’t get his way

6. Rationalisation : Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behaviour
E.G Student watches TV instead of studying and says that additional studying won’t do any good anyway

7. Identification : Bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person/group
E.G Insecure man joins a fraternity to boost self-esteem

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Explain Jung’s Analytical Psychology (Collective Unconscious)

A
  • Proposes that the unconscious consists of 2 layers

Personal Unconscious : Same version of Freud’s version of the unconscious
- Houses material that is not within one’s conscious awareness because it has been repressed/forgotten

Collective Unconscious : Storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from people’s ancestral past
- Jung states that each person shares the collective unconscious with the entire human race

  • Jung calls these ancestral memories archetypes
    Archetypes : Emotionally charged images and thought forms that have universal meaning (ancestral memories)
  • Often manifested in a culture’s use of symbols in art, literature and religion
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Explain Adler’s Individual Psychology

A
  • Adler developed the individual psychology approach
  • The foremost source of human motivation is a striving for superiority

Compensation : Involves efforts to overcome imagined/real inferiorities by developing one’s abilities
- Overcompensation is used to deal with feelings of inferiority

Inferiority Complex : Exaggerated feelings of weakness and inadequacy
- Birth order was a factor governing personality

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Explain Behaviourism

A
  • A theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behaviour
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Discuss how Skinner’s ideas apply to Personality

A
  • Skinner’s principles of operant conditioning have affected thinking in all areas of psychology
  • Determinism implies behaviour is determined by environmental stimuli
  • Personality is a collection of response tendencies tied to stimulus situations
  • Operant conditioning shapes human responses
  • Personality development is a continuous, lifelong journey
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Explain Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

A
  • Agrees with behaviourism that personality is shaped through learning
  • People actively seek out and process information about their environment to maximise favourable outcomes
  • Maintains that people’s characteristic patterns of behaviour are shaped by the models they are exposed to
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Discuss Mischel and the Person-Situation Controversy

A
  • Mischel focused attention on the extent to which situational factors govern behaviour
  • People make responses they think will lead to reinforcement in the situation at hand
  • Mischel’s version of social learning theory predicts people will often behave differently in different situations
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Explain Humanism

A
  • Theoretical orientation that emphasises the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal growth

Humanistic theorists assume that :
- People can rise above their primitive animal heritage
- People are largely conscious and rational beings who are not dominated by unconscious, irrational conflicts
- People are not helpless pawns of deterministic forces

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Discuss Carl Rogers’ view of personality development and dynamics

A
  • Person-centered theory

1. The Self
Self-Concept : Collection of beliefs about one’s own nature, unique qualities and typical behaviour
E.G Own mental picture of yourself, collection of self-perceptions
Incongruence : Degree of disparity between one’s self-concept and one’s actual experience

2. Development of Self
- Unconditional love from parents fosters congruence, conditional love fosters incongruence

3. Anxiety and Defence
- People with highly incongruent self-concepts are especially likely to be plagued by recurrent anxiety
- Individuals often behave defensively in an effort to reinterpret their experience to appear consistent with their self-concept
- Ignores, denies and twists reality to protect and perpetuate self-concept

17
Q

What is Maslow’s Theory of Self-Actualisation? (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs)

A
  • A systematic arrangement of needs (basic needs must be met before less basic needs are aroused)
  • Most basic needs are at the bottom of the pyramid (physiological/security needs)
  • Individuals progress upward in the hierarchy when lower needs are satisfied reasonably well, but may regress back to lower levels if basic needs are no longer satisfied
18
Q

What is the Need for Self-Actualisation?

A
  • Need to fulfill one’s potential (Highest need in Maslow’s motivational hierarchy)
19
Q

Explain Eysenck’s Model of Personality Structure

A
  • Describes personality structure as a hierarchy of traits
  • A few higher-order traits (extraversion) determine a host of lower-order traits, which determines a person’s habitual responses
  • Personality is largely shaped by one’s genes
20
Q

Discuss the Evolutionary Approach to Personality (David Buss, 1991, 1995, 1997)

A
  • Argues that the Big Five personality traits are important across cultures because they have had significant adaptive implications
  • Points out that humans historically have depended heavily on groups (protection, food)
21
Q

Discuss the Evolutionary Approach to Personality (Daniel Nettle, 2006)

A
  • Asserts that the Big Five traits themselves are products of evolution that were adaptive in ancestral environments
  • Evolutionary analyses may be able to help explain the origins of individual variations on these dimensions
22
Q

Define Narcissism

A
  • A personality trait marked by an inflated sense of importance, a need for attention and admiration, a sense of entitlement and a tendency to exploit others
  • Narcissists are often well-liked at first, but their popularity declines quickly

1. Grandoise Narcissism : Characterised by arrogance, extraversion, immodesty and aggressiveness

2. Vulnerable Narcissism : Characterised by hidden feelings of inferiority, introversion, neuroticism and a need for recognition

3. Collective Narcissism : Refers to an inflated belief in the greatness of one’s social grouping (country, ethnicity, religion)
- Overly sensitive to the criticism of their group, seeing it as a sign of disrespect (likely to perceive other groups as threatening)

23
Q

What is Terror Management Theory (TMT)?

A
  • Asserts that humans’ unique awareness of the inevitability of death fosters a need to defend one’s cultural worldview and self-esteem, serves to protect one from mortality-related anxiety
    E.G One of the chief goals of TMT is to explain why people need self-esteem

Mortality Salience : Degree to which subjects’ mortality is prominent in their minds
- Leads subjects to engage in a variety of behaviours that are likely to bolster self-esteem to reduce anxiety

FPsych (7 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions