Personality (Ch 13)

Question 1

Personality

Answer 1

• unique and relatively enduring set of behaviours, feelings, thoughts, and motives that characterize and individual
• about individual differences
• consistency across situations vs. Consistency across time

Question 2

Trait

Answer 2

• a disposition to behave consistently in a particular way

- not necessarily synonymous with personality

Question 3

Normal distribution of personality traits

Answer 3

Personality traits follow normal distribution

Question 4

Behavioural thresholds

Answer 4

• The point at which you move from not having a particular response to having one
• a low threshold means you are likely to behave in a particular way

Question 5

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach

Answer 5

• technique that looks for the locations of specific bits of DNA that might be associated with particular behaviours
• uncovers locations on particular genes that are associated with high or low levels of a trait
• locations known as markers

Question 6

Phsychoanalysis

Answer 6

• the idea that the unconscious is the most powerful force in our personality
• 3 layers: unconscious, preconscious, and conscious
• unconscious contains all drives, urges, or instincts that motivate our speech, thought, and actions
• 3 regions of that control and regulate impulses: Id, ego, superego

Question 7

Id

Answer 7

• first to develop
• is the seat of impulse and desire
• sole function is to seek pleasure

Question 8

Ego

Answer 8

• second to develop by 1 year of life
• sense of self
• in direct contact with the outside work and operates in the reality of principle
• makes realistic attempt to obtain pleasure

Question 9

Superego

Answer 9

• last to develop
• part of the self that monitors and controls behaviour
• “stands over us” and evaluate actions in terms of right and wrong

Question 10

Defence mechanisms

Answer 10

• how the mind protects itself from harmful, threatening, and anxiety producing thoughts, feelings, or impulses
• share 2 qualities: they operate unconsciously, and they deny and distort reality in some way

Question 11

Repression

Answer 11

• most basic defence mechanism
• unconscious act of keeping threatening or disturbing thoughts or feelings out of consciousness
• mostly sexual and aggressive impulses
• may be expressing in unconscious

Question 12

Reaction formation

Answer 12

• occurs when an unpleasant idea, feeling, or impulse is turned into its opposite
• often results in exaggerated or compulsive feelings and behaviour
• eg. Homophobia is sometimes explained according to this: hatred and aggression toward homosexuals could be considered a reaction against fear of one’s own latent homosexuality

Question 13

Sublimation

Answer 13

• expressing a socially unacceptable impulse in a socially acceptable way
• sometimes unfulfilled sexual desire or aggressive impulses drive much creative output

Question 14

Psychosexual stage theory

Answer 14

• adult personality stems from early child hood experiences

- delineated 4 major stages of psychosexual development

Question 15

Fixation

Answer 15

-a defence mechanism where a person continues to be concerned and even preoccupied with an earlier stage of development

Question 16

Striving for superiority

Answer 16

• Adler
• humans naturally strive to overcome their inherent inferiorities or deficiencies
• major strive behind all behaviour
• unfolds by compensations
• those who feel the need to upstage others as a way of compensating for feelings of inferiority have an inferiority complex

Question 17

Personal unconscious

Answer 17

• Jung

- consists of all our repressed and hidden thoughts/feelings

Question 18

Collective unconscious

Answer 18

• Jung
• the unconscious that belongs to the species not the individual
• consists of the shared experiences of our ancestors that have been transmitted from generation to generation
• made up of archetypes (ancient images that result from common ancestral experiences and show up most often in dreams/fantasies/myths etc)

Question 19

Archetypes

Answer 19

• ancient images that result from common ancestral experiences and show up most often in dreams/fantasies/myths etc
• Jung postulated many archetypes: shadow, anima, animus

Question 20

Shadow archetype

Answer 20

• dark and morally objectionable part of ourselves

- project darkness and evil onto our enemies and deny that we ourselves are evil or capable of it

Question 21

Anima archetype/Animus

Answer 21

• the female part of the male personality (anima)
• the male part of the female personality (animus)
• suppress our opposite side

Question 22

Psychoanalytic social theory

Answer 22

• Karen horney
• neurosis stems from basic hostility and basic anxiety
• hostility: anger or rage that originated in childhood and stem from fear of being neglected or rejected
• basic anxiety: feeling of being isolated and helpless in a work conceived as potentially hostile

Question 23

3 neurotic trends

Answer 23

1. Moving toward others (compliant personality: clinging to others, belittling oneself)
2. Moving against others (aggressive personality: competing against others, prone to hostility and anger)
3. Moving away from others (detached personality: not responding emotionally, commitment shy)

Question 24

Humanistic approach to personality

Answer 24

-humans naturally interested in realizing their full potential

Question 25

Unconditional positive regard

Answer 25

• the ability to respect and appreciate another person unconditionally
• regardless of their behaviour

Question 26

Conditions of worth

Answer 26

-to love people only when they do things that we want and like is to love them conditionally

Question 27

Reciprocal determinism

Answer 27

• 3 factors influence one another in shaping personality

- personal factors, environment, and behaviour

Question 28

Self efficacy

Answer 28

• beliefs about their ability to perform the behaviours needed to achieve desired outcomes
• can impact an individuals level of accomplishment and well-being in numerous ways