Personality Theory Flashcards

1
Q

What is personality?

A

Relatively enduring predispositions that influence our behavior across many situations.

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2
Q

How do behavior-genetic methods attempt to disentangle the effects on personality?

A

By considering genetic factors, shared environmental factors, and nonshared environmental factors.

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3
Q

What is the role of birth order in personality?

A

Most research has failed to find a link between personality and order of birth, except possibly for acceptance of radical scientific ideas.

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4
Q

What are some key assumptions of psychoanalytic theory?

A

Psychic determinism, symbolic meaning, and unconscious motivation.

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5
Q

According to Freud, what are the components of the psyche?

A

Id (basic instincts), ego (decision maker), and superego (morality).

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6
Q

How does the ego minimize anxiety according to psychoanalytic theory?

A

Through defense mechanisms.

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7
Q

What are some examples of defense mechanisms according to psychoanalytic theory?

A

Repression, denial, and projection.

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8
Q

What are the stages of psychosexual development according to Freud?

A

Oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages.

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9
Q

What are some criticisms of psychoanalytic theory?

A

Unfalsifiable, failed predictions, questionable conception of unconscious, unrepresentative samples, and emphasis on shared environment.

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10
Q

How do Neo-Freudians differ from Freud’s theories?

A

They emphasize social drives over sexuality and are more optimistic about personal growth.

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11
Q

How do behavioral approaches explain personality differences?

A

They attribute differences to learning histories and acquired habits.

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12
Q

What are some key ideas of social learning theories?

A

Emphasis on reciprocal determinism, observational learning, and individuals’ locus of control.

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13
Q

What are some components of Carl Rogers’ personality theory?

A

The organism, the self, and conditions of worth.

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14
Q

What is self-actualization according to Carl Rogers?

A

The core motive in personality, involving creativity, spontaneity, and acceptance of oneself and others.

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15
Q

What are trait models primarily interested in?

A

Describing and understanding the structure of personality.

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16
Q

What are the Big Five traits in the Big Five model of personality?

A

Openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

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17
Q

How do traits manifest in different individuals?

A

Same traits can manifest in very different ways.

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18
Q

Can personality change?

A

Some variability prior to age 30, but little thereafter.

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19
Q

What are some issues with personality assessment methods?

A

Lack of reliability and validity in methods such as phrenology, physiognomy, and Sheldon’s body types.

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20
Q

What is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)?

A

A paper-and-pencil test consisting of true-false questions, used for personality assessment.

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21
Q

What are projective tests?

A

Tests that ask examinees to interpret or make sense of ambiguous stimuli.

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22
Q

What is the Rorschach Inkblot Test?

A

A projective test consisting of symmetrical inkblots used to assess personality traits.

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23
Q

What are some pitfalls in personality assessment?

A

The PT Barnum effect, accepting high base rate descriptors as accurate, and lack of reliability and validity in some methods.

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24
Q

What is psychic determinism according to psychoanalytic theory?

A

The idea that all psychological events have a cause and are not random.

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25
Q

How does Freud describe the symbolic meaning in psychoanalytic theory?

A

Believes that many symbols in dreams are specific to the dreamer’s experiences.

26
Q

What is unconscious motivation in psychoanalytic theory?

A

The idea that many of our behaviors are driven by unconscious desires and conflicts.

27
Q

What are some key aspects of the structure of personality according to Freud?

A

The id (basic instincts), ego (decision maker), and superego (sense of morality).

28
Q

How does conflict between the id, ego, and superego manifest in personality?

A

It can cause distress and lead to psychological issues.

29
Q

How did Freud believe dreams reflected unconscious struggles?

A

Believed that dreams reflected unconscious desires and conflicts, often in disguise.

30
Q

How does the ego minimize anxiety according to psychoanalytic theory?

A

Through the use of defense mechanisms.

31
Q

How does Freud describe the stages of psychosexual development?

A

Believed that individuals pass through stages focused on different erogenous zones.

32
Q

What are some criticisms of psychoanalytic theory regarding scientific evaluation?

A

Unfalsifiable, failed predictions, questionable conception of unconscious, unrepresentative samples, and emphasis on shared environment.

33
Q

How do Neo-Freudians differ from Freud’s theories?

A

They place less emphasis on sexuality and more on social drives, and they are more optimistic about personal growth.

34
Q

What is Adler’s theory of personality?

A

Adler emphasized the “style of life” and the “inferiority complex” as key components of personality.

35
Q

What is Jung’s theory of personality?

A

Jung proposed the idea of the collective unconscious and archetypes as key elements of personality.

36
Q

How do behaviorists explain personality differences?

A

They attribute differences to learning histories and acquired habits.

37
Q

What do behaviorists believe personality is?

A

They view personality as bundles of habits acquired by classical and operant conditioning.

38
Q

What are some key ideas of social learning theories?

A

They emphasize reciprocal determinism, observational learning, and individuals’ locus of control.

39
Q

Who is Sigmund Freud?

A

Viennese neurologist who developed the first comprehensive theory of personality, known for psychoanalytic theory.

40
Q

What are some key assumptions of psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud?

A

Psychic determinism, symbolic meaning, and unconscious motivation.

41
Q

Who is Carl Jung?

A

Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology, known for the concepts of the collective unconscious and archetypes.

42
Q

Who is Alfred Adler?

A

Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of individual psychology, known for his theory of the inferiority complex and style of life.

43
Q

Who is Carl Rogers?

A

American psychologist and one of the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology, known for his theory of self-actualization.

44
Q

What are humanistic theories in psychology?

A

They emphasize personal growth, free will, and the innate goodness of individuals.

45
Q

Who is Carl Rogers and what is his contribution to humanistic psychology?

A

Carl Rogers rejected determinism and embraced free will, proposing self-actualization as a core motive in personality.

46
Q

What is self-actualization according to humanistic psychology?

A

Self-actualization refers to the tendency for individuals to fulfill their potential and become the best version of themselves.

47
Q

What are some common personality traits according to psychologists?

A

Some common personality traits include introversion, extraversion, thinking, feeling, and conscientiousness.

48
Q

What is the difference between the nomothetic and idiographic approaches to studying personality?

A

The nomothetic approach seeks general laws that determine behavior, while the idiographic approach focuses on unique characteristics or life histories.

49
Q

How is personality defined?

A

Personality is defined as an individual’s unique and relatively stable patterns of behavior, thoughts, and emotions that characterize them in various situations over time.

50
Q

What is situationism in personality psychology?

A

Situationism challenges the idea of stable personality traits, suggesting that behavior depends on the interaction of long-term personality traits and the current situation.

51
Q

What are some factors that account for differences in personality?

A

Genetic factors, shared environmental factors, and non-shared environmental factors all contribute to differences in personality.

52
Q

What are some key assumptions of psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud?

A

Psychic determinism, symbolic meanings, and unconscious motivation are key assumptions of psychoanalytic theory.

53
Q

What are the three structures of personality according to Freudian theory?

A

The id, ego, and superego are the three structures of personality according to Freudian theory.

54
Q

What is the role of the id in personality according to Freud?

A

The id is the inborn, unconscious portion of personality that operates on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification.

55
Q

How does the ego differ from the id in personality according to Freud?

A

The ego is the rational, reasoning part of personality that develops through experience with reality, seeking to satisfy the id’s impulses in a realistic way.

56
Q

What is the role of the superego in personality according to Freud?

A

The superego is the part of personality that represents morality or conscience, providing moral standards and internalizing society’s rules.

57
Q

What are defense mechanisms in Freudian theory?

A

Defense mechanisms are unconscious strategies the ego uses to protect itself from anxiety by distorting reality.

58
Q

What are Freud’s psychosexual stages of personality development?

A

Freud’s psychosexual stages include the oral stage (birth to 1 year), anal stage (1-3 years), phallic stage (3-5 years), latency period (6-puberty), and genital stage (11-18 years).

59
Q

What are some criticisms of the psychoanalytic approach to personality?

A

Criticisms include lack of falsifiability, failed predictions, overemphasis on innate drives, and reliance on case studies.

60
Q

Who are the neo-Freudians, and what distinguishes their theories from Freud’s?

A

The neo-Freudians developed their own theories, placing less emphasis on sexuality and posing more optimistic theories than Freud.