Personality Flashcards
What are the 5 domains of knowledge in personality?
- Dispositional/trait
- Biological
- Intrapsychic/psychodynamic
- Cognitive-experimental
- Social and cultural
What is the primary goal of the Dispositional/Trait approach?
To identify and measure the most important ways in which individuals differ. The origin of differences and how they develop over time.
What is the core assumption of the biological approach?
That humans are collections of biological systems, and these systems provide building blocks for behaviour, thought, and emotion.
What are the 3 main perspectives of the biological basis of personality?
- Behavioural genetics
- Psychophysiology
- Evolutionary personality psychology
Which domain deals with the mental mechanisms of personality which often operate outside conscious awareness?
Intrapsychic/psychodynamic
What are some example topics of psychoanalysis?
Repression, denial, projection, and motives for power, achievement, and affiliation.
What does the cognitive-experimental domain focus on?
The cognition and subjective experience, such as conscious thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and desires about oneself and others.
What does the social and cultural domain examine?
How personality plays out in the social sphere, including sex and gender, and differences in personality processes, traits, and mechanisms.
What are the 3 approaches to personality trait identification?
- Lexical
- Statistical
- Theoretical
What are the 3 personality taxonomies/theories?
- Eysenck’s Hierarchical model of personality
- Cattell’s taxonomy
- Five-factor model
What are the 3 super traits in Eysenck’s model?
- Extraversion-introversion (E)
- Neuroticism-emotional stability (N)
- Psychoticism (P)
What is Eysenck’s Hierarchical Model of Personality?
Theory that organises personality traits into a hierarchy, with broad traits at the top and specific behaviours at the bottom.
What are the 4 levels of Eysenck’s theory?
- Specific acts or cognitions
- Habitual acts or cognitions
- Personal dispositions
- Super traits
How many factors did Cattell’s taxonomy identify?
16
Which taxonomy had the goal of identifying and measuring the basic units of personality?
Cattell’s taxonomy
What are the aspects of the five-factor model?
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Conscientiousness
- Emotional stability/neuroticism
- Openness/intellect
What are the 3 assumptions of trait personality?
- Meaningful individual differences
- Stability or consistency over time
- Consistency across situations
What are the 2 possible explanations for behaviour?
- Function of personality traits
- Function of situation
What does situational specificity explain?
Certain situations can provoke behaviour that is out of character for an individual.
What percentage of personality is genetic?
20-50%
What percentage of personality is due to environmental factors?
50-80%
What are the 3 types of methods used to study the biological domain of personality?
- Family studies
- Twin studies
- Adoption studies
What are the 2 criteria for natural selection?
Survival and reproduction
What is the preparedness hypothesis?
Suggests that humans are naturally inclined to learn certain fears and associations more easily than others.
What are the 3 models of psychodynamic theory?
- Instinct model
- Psychosexual stages of development
- Structural model
What are the 2 instincts within the instinct model?
Original:
1. Self-preservation instinct
2. Sexual instincts
Combined:
1. Life instinct
2. Libido
What occurs when energy is left behind in a stage of psychosexual development?
Fixation - adults under stress will regress back to the stage where they left most of their energy.
What are the 5 stages of psychosexual development?
Oral: 0-18 months
Anal: 2-3 years
Phallic: 4-6 years
Latency: 7-11 years
Genital: 12+ years
What conflict occurs with an oral fixation?
Issues with dependency, aggression, drinking, eating, smoking, or nail-biting.
What 2 types of conflict occur with an anal fixation?
Lenient parents results in anal-expulsive personality: messy, wasteful, or destructive.
Strict or too early results in anal-retentive personality: stringent, orderly, rigid, and obsessive.
What conflict occurs with a phallic fixation?
Oedipus/Electra complex: unconscious desires for the opposite-sex parent and feelings of rivalry with the same-sex parent.
What conflict occurs with a latency fixation?
Immaturity, sublimation of sexual and aggressive impulses, and inability to form fulfilling relationships as an adult.
What occurs during the genital stage?
Mature sexuality and relationships.
What are the 3 parts of unconscious motivation?
- Conscious: thoughts and feelings
- Preconscious: not presently thinking about but can easily retrieve
- Unconscious: largest part which the person is unaware of
What are the 3 components of Freud’s structural model of personality?
- Ego: psychological, reality principle
- Superego: social, moral imperatives
- Id: biological, wish fulfilment
What occurs when there is an imbalance between the id, superego, and ego?
Anxiety
Which component of Freud’s structural model is engaged for defence mechanisms?
Ego - unconscious mental processes that protect a person from unpleasant emotions.
What are the 12 types of defence mechanisms?
- Compensation
- Denial
- Displacement
- Fantasy
- Identification
- Isolation
- Projection
- Rationalisation
- Reaction formation
- Regression
11: Repression
12: Sublimation
Who was a prominent critique of Freud’s theory?
Karen Horney: feminist interpretation, cultural influence, gender differences.
What is the object relations theory?
The enduring patterns of behaviour in intimate relationships, and the motivational, cognitive, and affective processes that produce those patterns.
Which theory focuses on interpersonal disturbances?
Relational theory: capacity for relatedness to others.
Who were the 2 main figures in early childhood attachment theory?
Bowlby and Ainsworth
What are the 3 attachment styles?
Secure
Avoidant
Ambivalent
What are the traits of the ambivalent attachment style?
Reluctant to get as close to others as they want to, worry partner doesn’t really love them, wants to merge completely with partner.
Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991) expanded attachment theory. What are the 3 additional styles?
Dismissing: independent and self-sufficient
Preoccupied: want complete emotional intimacy, uncomfortable without close relationships
Fearful: want emotionally close relationships but difficult to trust others
What are the 4 key differences in the cognitive approach to personality?
- Perception
- Interpretation
- Beliefs and distress
- Intelligence
What is field independence in the context of perception?
Ability to focus on specific details within a complex visual environment, even when there is distracting background information.
Do FI or FD people favour social science and eduation?
FD
Do FI or FD people favour maths, science, and engineering?
FI
Are FI or FD people more interpersonally detached?
FI
Are FI or FD people more attentive to social cues and people oriented?
FD
Which theory believes a person uses constructs to interpret and predict events?
Kelly Personal Construct Theory
What does Rotter’s Locus of Control theory relate to?
A person’s interpretation of responsibility for events, both internal and external.
What 4 things are revealed through differences in beliefs and desires?
- Personal strivings
- Current concerns
- Personal projects
- Life tasks
