Personality Flashcards
personality
individual differences that influence feelings, behaviors, and thoughts across time and situations
used constantly
best explained by many aspects
approaches to personality
psychoanalytic/psychodynamic humanistic behavioral socio-cognitive trait
foundation of the psychodynamic approach
case studies of clinical patients in psychoanalysis
key ideas of the psychodynamic approach
unconscious influences behavior
personality formed in early childhood
key concepts of the psychodynamic approach
id
ego
superego
id
instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle
pleasure principle
demands immediate gratification of its urges
ego
decision-making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle
reality principle
seeks to delay gratification of the id’s urges until appropriate outlets and situations can be found
superego
moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what represents right and wrong
psychoanalytic model
intrapsychic conflict that leads to anxiety, which leads to reliance on defense mechanisms
defense mechanism
unconscious psychological strategies for dealing with anxiety
what are the defense mechanisms?
repression projection displacement reaction formation regression rationalization
repression
keeping thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious
projection
attributing one’s own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another
displacement
diverting emotional feelings from the original source to a substitute target
reaction formation
behaving in a way that is exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings
regression
reversion to immature patterns of behavior
rationalization
creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behaviors
foundation of the humanistic approach
case studies of clinical patients in client-centered therapy
key ideas of the humanistic approach
goodness of human nature
emphasis of free will
importance of subjective experience
key concept of the humanistic approach
self-concept
self-concept
mental model of abilities and attributes
humanistic model
congruence of self-concept and actual experience means the person is well-adjusted.
incongruence of self-concept and actual experiences means the person is poorly adjusted.
foundation of the behavioral approach
lab studies primarily with animal subjects
key ideas of the behavioral approach
personality is a response tendency shaped by reinforcement history
environmental determinism
environmental determinism
one’s environment determines their personality
behaviorist model
one’s environment determines their behavior, which has consequences (which further impacts one’s behavior)
foundation of the social-cognitive approach
lab studies with primarily human children subjects
key ideas of the socio-cognitive approach
individuals are self-organizing, self-reflecting, and self-regulating
self-efficacy impacts behavior
socio-cognitive model
reciprocal determinism
reciprocal determinism
internal mental events, external environmental events, and overt behavior all influence one another
self efficacy
our beliefs about performance capacity in a particular situation
what is the difference between the behavioral and cognitive models?
the behavioral model says we cannot study internal behavior; the cognitive model says we can!
foundation of the trait approach
statistical analysis of empirical data from personality tests
key ideas of the trait approach
individuals are unique
traits are consistent patterns of feelings, behaviors, and thoughts
what are the traits of the five factor model?
conscientiousness agreeableness neuroticism openness extraversion
ranges studied in conscientiousness
organized/disorganized
careful/careless
disciplined/impulsive
ranges studied in agreeableness
soft-hearted/ruthless
trusting/suspicious
helpful/uncooperative
ranges studied in neuroticism
calm/anxious
secure/insecure
self-satisfied/self-pitying
ranges studied in openness
imaginative/practical
preference for variety/routine
independent/conforming
ranges studied in extraversion
sociable/retiring
fun-loving/sober
affectionate/reserved
are there gender differences in personality?
YES
women are typically more agreeable than men
what personality traits increase with age?
social dominance
conscientiousness
agreeability
emotional stability
what personality traits decrease with age?
neuroticism
openness
what traits do people in individualistic societies more identify with?
adventure competition individualism modernity uniqueness wealth
what traits do people in collectivist societies more identify with?
collectivism courtesy family nature respect for elderly social status
what is a larger determinant of personality: genetic or environment?
ENVIRONMENT! (~60%)
genetics is ~40%
components of environment
shared environment and unique environment
examples of shared environment
family
race, ethnicity, and culture
neighborhood
school
examples of unique environment
birth order
sibling interaction
parental interaction
peers
is shared environment or unique environment more predictive of personality?
UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT!
