Personality Flashcards
What is the origin of the word personality?
The word personality is derived from the Latin word persona, meaning a mask or false face used by Greek actors.
How did Gordon Allport define personality in 1957?
Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.
What is temperament?
Temperament is a biologically based characteristic way of reacting.
What is a trait?
A trait is a stable and specific way of behaving.
What is disposition?
Disposition is the tendency of a person to react to a given situation in a particular way.
What is character?
Character is the overall pattern of regularly occurring behavior.
What is a habit?
A habit is an overlearned mode of behaving.
What are values?
Values are goals and ideals that are considered important and worthwhile to achieve.
What does the concept of self refer to?
The concept of self refers to the totality of an individual’s conscious experiences, ideas, thoughts, and feelings regarding themselves.
What are the kinds of self?
There are several kinds of self formed through interactions with physical and socio-cultural environments.
What is the distinction between personal and social self?
The personal self is concerned primarily with oneself, while the social self emerges in relation to others, valuing cooperation and relationships.
What does the social self emphasize?
The social self emphasizes cooperation, unity, affiliation, sacrifice, support, and sharing.
What is the Four Temperaments theory?
The Four Temperaments theory, developed by Hippocrates, suggests that personality types are influenced by four bodily fluids: blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm.
What are the four personality types in the Four Temperaments theory?
The four personality types are Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic, and Phlegmatic.
What are the characteristics of a Sanguine personality?
Sanguine individuals are sociable, optimistic, talkative, warm-hearted, leader-like, and pleasure-seeking.
What are the characteristics of a Choleric personality?
Choleric individuals are egocentric, extroverted, bad-tempered, restless, irritable, and impulsive.
What are the characteristics of a Melancholic personality?
Melancholic individuals are serious, analytical, quiet, introverted, cautious, and susceptible to depression and moodiness.
What are the characteristics of a Phlegmatic personality?
Phlegmatic individuals are peaceful, inward, private, relaxed, thoughtful, patient, caring, and tolerant.
Who developed the Type-A and Type-B personality theory?
The Type-A and Type-B personality theory was developed by Meyer Friedman and R.H. Rosenman.
What are the characteristics of a Type-A personality?
Type-A individuals exhibit free-floating hostility, competitive drive, time urgency, ambition, and are often workaholics.
What are the characteristics of a Type-B personality?
Type-B individuals work steadily, enjoy achievements, are flexible, and experience lower levels of anxiety.
What is Sheldon’s type theory based on?
Sheldon’s type theory is based on the somatotypical approach, categorizing body types into Endomorph, Mesomorph, and Ectomorph.
What personality type corresponds to the Endomorph somatotype?
The personality type corresponding to Endomorph is Viscerotonia, characterized by social, affectionate, and lazy traits.
What personality type corresponds to the Mesomorph somatotype?
The personality type corresponding to Mesomorph is Somatotonia, characterized by active, reckless, and aggressive traits.
What personality type corresponds to the Ectomorph somatotype?
The personality type corresponding to Ectomorph is Cerebrotonia, characterized by pessimistic, unsocial, and solitary traits.
What are the advantages of type theories?
Type theories provide a first attempt to assess personality, consider human nature as a whole, and offer simple methods for rapid evaluation.
What are the disadvantages of type theories?
Disadvantages include oversimplification, inability to categorize individuals permanently, and emphasis on extremes rather than mediocrity.
What are the three parts of Freud’s structure of personality?
The three parts are the Id, ego, and superego.
What does the Id represent in Freud’s theory?
The Id represents desire and consists of primitive, innate urges such as bodily needs, sexual desires, and aggressive impulses.
How does the Id operate according to Freud?
The Id operates in accordance with the pleasure principle, seeking immediate and total gratification without considering potential costs.
What is the role of the ego in Freud’s structure of personality?
The ego holds the Id in check until conditions are appropriate for satisfying its impulses, operating according to the reality principle.
What does the ego consider when directing behavior?
The ego takes into account the external consequences of actions to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
What is the superego concerned with?
The superego is concerned with morality and is based on the moral principle, distinguishing right from wrong.
How does the superego regulate the Id’s impulses?
The superego permits gratification of Id impulses only when it is morally correct, unlike the ego which considers safety and feasibility.
What are the two parts of the superego?
The two parts are the conscience and the ego ideal.
What does the conscience consist of?
The conscience consists mainly of prohibitions learned from parents and authorities.
What is the ego ideal?
The ego ideal is a set of positive values and moral ideals pursued because they are believed to be worthy.
What is libido in Freud’s theory?
Libido is the main psychic energy of human life, powering all mental activities and developing through different stages.
What are the five distinct stages of Freud’s psychosexual development?
The five stages are oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.
What is the focus of pleasure in the oral stage?
In the oral stage (birth to 18 months), pleasure is sought mainly through the mouth.
What can result from too little or too much gratification in the oral stage?
It can lead to over-dependence, gullibility, optimism, sarcasm, argumentativeness, hostility, and aggression.
What is the focus of pleasure in the anal stage?
In the anal stage (18 months to 3 years), pleasure comes from the process of elimination through the anus.
What can overly harsh toilet training lead to in the anal stage?
It can lead to compulsivity, excessive orderliness, stubbornness, and an excessive strive for perfection.
What is the focus of pleasure in the phallic stage?
In the phallic stage (3 to 7 years), pleasure is sought through the genitals.
What is the Oedipus Complex?
The Oedipus Complex is when a boy becomes attached to his mother and fears his father, leading to identification with the father.
What is the Electra Complex?
The Electra Complex is when a girl becomes attached to her father and resents her mother for not having a penis.
What characterizes the latency stage?
In the latency stage (7 years to onset of puberty), sexual urges are inactive while children focus on the larger world.
What is the focus of pleasure in the genital stage?
In the genital stage (puberty to adulthood), pleasure is again focused on the genitals.
What personality characteristics are associated with the genital stage?
Normal sexuality, creativity, adaptability, security, and cooperation are associated with the genital stage.
What did Karen Horney challenge about Freud’s theory?
She challenged Freud’s idea of penis envy with her own concept of womb envy, which refers to the inability to bear and nurse a child.
What are the key concepts introduced by Karen Horney?
The key concepts are basic anxiety and basic hostility.
What causes basic anxiety according to Horney?
Basic anxiety develops due to disturbances in interpersonal relationships during childhood, where the child feels weak and powerless.
How can parental behavior affect a child’s sense of security?
Loving, reliable parents foster a sense of security, while irresponsible or rejecting parents create feelings of insecurity and helplessness.
What is basic hostility?
Basic hostility arises when a child feels insecure due to parental behavior, but this hostility is repressed and cannot be expressed directly.
What are the three styles of social behavior that may develop from repressed hostility?
- Moving towards others (passive style) - seeking security through compliance.
- Moving against others (aggressive style) - dominating others to protect oneself.
- Moving away from others (withdrawn style) - avoiding social relationships.
What is Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development?
Erikson’s theory describes personality development through a series of stages, each defined by a specific crisis influenced by social experiences.
What is the first stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development?
Trust vs. Mistrust occurs between birth and one year of age, focusing on the child’s trust in caregivers.
What happens if a child fails to develop trust in the first stage?
The child may develop fear and a belief that the world is inconsistent and unpredictable.
What is the second stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development?
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt occurs during early childhood, focusing on personal control and independence.
What is the outcome for children who successfully complete the autonomy stage?
They feel secure and confident.
What is the third stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development?
Initiative vs. Guilt occurs during preschool years, where children assert control over their environment.
What is the fourth stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development?
Industry vs. Inferiority occurs in early school years, focusing on a child’s sense of competence through social interactions.
What is the fifth stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development?
Identity vs. Confusion occurs during adolescence, where the child explores independence and develops a sense of self.
What is the sixth stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development?
Intimacy vs. Isolation occurs in early adulthood, focusing on developing close personal relationships.
What is the seventh stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development?
Generativity vs. Stagnation occurs during adulthood, focusing on contributing to society through career and family.
What is the eighth stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development?
Integrity vs. Despair occurs in old age, where individuals reflect on their life.
What are the advantages of Freudian and post-Freudian theories?
They have stimulated extensive research and highlighted the importance of consciousness and social factors.
What are the disadvantages of Freudian and post-Freudian theories?
They lack experimental verification, contain vague concepts, and have been criticized for their interpretations.
What is Carl Rogers’ theory of fully functioning persons?
Rogers proposed that individuals have a natural tendency to become psychologically healthy and live life to the fullest.
What are the characteristics of fully functioning persons according to Rogers?
- They are spontaneous and trust their feelings.
- They channel their lives through constructive impulses.
- They experience life more deeply.
What is the fundamental principle of Rogers’ theory?
Healthy personality development requires an environment of unconditional positive regard.
What is Maslow’s theory of self-actualization?
Maslow stated that each person has an innate desire to grow and develop to their fullest potential.
What is the hierarchy of needs according to Maslow?
It starts from physiological needs, moves to safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and culminates in self-actualization.
What are the characteristics of self-actualizers?
- They accept themselves and recognize their strengths and weaknesses.
- They are less inhibited and view life as an adventure.
- They may experience peak experiences linked to personal growth.
What is the evaluation of humanistic theories?
Humanistic concepts are loosely defined and remain unclear, leading to ambiguity.
What are traits?
Traits are stable characteristics that lead people to behave in a more or less distinctive and consistent manner across situations.
What is Gordon Allport’s theory of personality traits?
Gordon Allport identified about 18,000 trait-like terms, mostly adjectives, that describe how people act, think, perceive, and feel.
What are cardinal traits according to Allport?
Cardinal traits are dominant traits that influence nearly all of an individual’s actions.
What are central traits?
Central traits are those that characterize an individual’s behavior to some extent, typically numbering between 5 to 10.
What are secondary traits?
Secondary traits exert relatively specific and weak effects on behavior and are the least generalized characteristics of an individual.
What is functional autonomy in Allport’s theory?
Functional autonomy is the idea that behaviors acquired for one reason may later be performed for different reasons.
Who is Raymond Cattell?
Raymond Cattell is a well-known advocate of the trait approach who identified basic dimensions of personality through factor analysis.
What are source traits?
Source traits are stable underlying structures that determine behaviors and are the key dimensions of personality.
What are surface traits?
Surface traits are observable behaviors that manifest from source traits, such as curiosity or dependability.
What is the Five Factor Model?
The Five Factor Model, developed by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae, identifies five key personality traits known as OCEAN.
What does OCEAN stand for?
OCEAN stands for Openness to experiences, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
What are the criticisms of trait theories?
Criticisms include being overly descriptive, failing to explain trait development, and lacking consensus on which traits are most important.
What is Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory?
Bandura’s theory emphasizes the self system and cognitive processes that regulate behavior in given situations.
What is self-efficacy?
Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their ability to perform a task successfully, influencing their success in various areas.
What is observational learning?
Observational learning is acquiring new information and behaviors by observing others, involving a model and an imitator.
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Vicarious reinforcement occurs when an imitator observes the consequences of a model’s behavior.
What was the Bobo doll experiment?
In the Bobo doll experiment, children exposed to adult aggression towards dolls later exhibited aggressive behavior themselves.
