Personality Theories Flashcards

Question

Major assumptions of the trait theory?

Answer 1

* Temporal consistency: Traits are relatively stable and enduring across time * Situational consistency: Traits show stability across sitations

Answer 2

Early theorist within the trait approach. He believed that traits have a neurological basis. He does acknowledge environmental factors. Allport’s research strategies • - Nomothetic: Discovering universal laws within groups - Idiographic: identifying unique characteristics in individuals • Allport’s trait pervasiveness: Suggests that our trait levels differ from one individual to another. However some are more pervasive than others • - Cardinal: Dominates the whole personality - Central: Usually have 5-10 different traits - Secondary: Less conspicuous,

Answer 3

Whereas Eysenck based his theory based on the responses of hospitalized servicemen, Cattell collected data from a range of people through three different sources of data. • L-data - this is life record data such as school grades, absence from work, etc. • Q-data - this was a questionnaire designed to rate an individual's personality (known as the 16PF) . • T-data - this is data from objective tests designed to 'tap' into a personality construct. Cattell analyzed the T-data and Q-data using a mathematical technique called factor analysis to look at which types of behavior tended to be grouped together in the same people. He identified 16 personality traits / factors common to all people. Cattell made a distinction between source and surface traits. Surface traits are very obvious and can be easily identified by other people, whereas source traits are less visible to other people and appear to underlie several different aspects of behavior. Cattell regarded source traits are more important in describing personality than surface traits.

Answer 4

* Eysenck (1952, 1967, 1982) proposed a theory of personality based on biological factors, arguing that individuals inherit a type of nervous system that affects their ability to learn and adapt to the environment. * Eysenck (1947) found that their behavior could be represented by two dimensions: Introversion / Extroversion (E); Neuroticism / Stability (N). Eysenck called these second-order personality traits.

Answer 5

Lewis Goldberg ``` • The Big Five is a research-driven approach in psychology which derives from the notion that the most common personality traits can be captured by five core dimensions: Openness to Experience. Conscientiousness. Extroversion. Agreeableness. • Openness • - Insight/shallowness - Creative/unimaginative - Intelligent/ignorant • Conscientiousness • - Efficient/disorganised - Dependable/unreliable - Precise/negligent - Industrious/lazy - Combination of prudence and will to achieve • Extraversion • - Gregarious/aloof - Expressive/silent - Spontaneous/reserved - Both a social and cognitive aspect - Sometimes conceptualised in terms of positive effect -Agreeableness - Cooperative/belligerent - Empathic/bossy - Lenient/unforgiving - Courteous/ruthless • Neuroticism (high ‘N’ is associated with low self-esteem, ineffective coping) • ¬- Placid/nervous - Independent/clinging - Stable/temperamental ```

Answer 6

* Cognitive artefact or realistic description? Cognitive biases; limitations on information processing * Too few or too many factors? * Factor analysis is arbitrary and theoretical

Answer 7

* Used objective measures * Many practical applications * Generated a large amount of research

Answer 8

* Trait measures do not predict behaviour well: Is personality or situation more important * Personality coefficient is .3 (Mischel) * There is little evidence for cross-situational consistency: Consistency paradox

Answer 9

* Classical conditioning * Classical conditioning theory involves learning a new behavior via the process of association. In simple terms two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in a person or animal. * John Watson proposed that the process of classical conditioning (based on Pavlov’s observations) was able to explain all aspects of human psychology. * Everything from speech to emotional responses was simply patterns of stimulus and response. Watson denied completely the existence of the mind or consciousness. Watson believed that all individual differences in behavior were due to different experiences of learning. * For example, a person (CS) who has been associated with nice perfume (UCS) is now found attractive (CR). Also, chocolate (CS) which was eaten before a person was sick with a virus (UCS) now produces a response of nausea (CR).

Answer 10

• Rotter chose the empirical law of effect as his motivating factor. The law of effect states that people are motivated to seek out positive stimulation, or reinforcement, and to avoid unpleasant stimulation. Rotter combined behaviorism and the study of personality, without relying on physiological instincts or drives as a motive force. He argued the need to understand influences on behaviour. He formalised these influences in terms of the likelihood of the behaviour (behavioural potential), which can be understood as a product of expectancies (outcomes that have been learned) + the reinforcement values that the behaviour has to us. BP = E + RV BP = Behavioural potential E = Expectancy RV = Reinforcement value Expectancy Concerns our beliefs that there will be some consequence of an action. We can expect something to happen, based on the decisions that we make. Consistent behaviour is the result of stable expectations. Generalised expectancies = locus of self-control. Reinforcement value • The degree to which we prefer one reinforcer over another. This can vary with time and situation, but there is some degree of consistency. It is independent

Answer 11

• In social learning theory, Albert Bandura (1977) agrees with the behaviorist learning theories of classical conditioning and operant conditioning. However, he adds two important ideas: • Mediating processes occur between stimuli & responses. • Behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning. • Reciprocal determinism is the theory set forth by psychologist Albert Bandurawhich states that a person's behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment. • Three factors that influence behavior: the environment, the individual, and the behavior itself • Behavior Component -For example, a child who doesn't like school may act out in class, resulting in negative attention from classmates and teachers. The teachers are forced to alter the school environment for this child (and theoretically others like him). • Reciprocal determinism is the idea that behavior is controlled or determined by the individual, through cognitive processes, and by the environment, through external social stimulus events. So in the case of our troubled student, his dislike of school is being reinforced (and perhaps magnified) by the actions of his teachers and classmates, which he's perpetuating by continuing to act out. • Environmental Component -The environmental component is made up of the physical surroundings around the individual that contain potentially reinforcing stimuli, including people who are present (or absent). The environment influences the intensity and frequency of the behavior, just as the behavior itself can have an impact on the environment. So if our student gets yelled at by a teacher for talking in class, it not only has an effect on him but on the classroom environment for the rest of the students, not to mention the teacher. • Individual Component -The individual component includes all the characteristics that have been rewarded in the past. Personality and cognitive factors play an important part in how a person behaves, including all of the individual's expectations, beliefs, and unique personality characteristics. If our student knows that the teacher is more likely to give him something he wants if he waits until close to the end of the school day to act out, obviously he'll tailor his behavior. • So all the factors in our troubled student example affect each other: the child doesn't like school, he acts out, his teachers and classmates react to his behavior, reinforcing his dislike of school and creating a hostile environment. • The behavior itself is something that may or may not be reinforced at any given time or situation.

Answer 12

• They are acquired by classical conditioning or social learning, maintained by operant conditioning. They are treated by extinction, flooding, counter conditioning, systematic and desensitisation.

Answer 13

• The cognitive, motivational, and emotional deficits that follow a perceived lack of control over important aversive events. Helplessness can be generalised to other events through conditioning.

Answer 14

Julian Rotter • A generalised expectancy that classifies people according to the extent that they believe that what happens to them and others is controllable. Those with an internal LoC tend to be happier than those with an external LoC. Externals ae more anxious and depressed, less achievement oriented. Internals practice better health habits than externals. Internals value health.

Answer 15

• He employs a cognitive approach to personality: Looking at differences in the way people process information to explain differences in behaviour. Attempts to close the gap between humanistic and cognitive theories. • He views people as scientists. We construct a unique personal perspective of the world and how it feels. We generate a set of personal constructs, and view the world through this lens. • Fundamental postulate: A person’s processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which they anticipate events. People’s behaviours, thoughts, and feelings are determined by the constructs they use to anticipate or predict events. It encompasses a range of processes – perception, understanding, interpretation. It is an active process. • Constructivism alternativism • Events are open to multiple interpretations; people decide among constructs in interpreting events; we can alter experiences by constructing these events differently. Kelly explains’ events’ as - Objects - People - Feelings - Experiences - Events