Social Psych and Personality

Question 1

Name the trait perspective theorists:

Answer 1

1. Allport
2. Cattell
3. Eysenck
4. McCrae & Costa

Question 2

Allports view on trait perspective

Answer 2

• first to use the term trait
• unlimited amount of traits
• wanted to understand the human nature
• idiographic approach: very in depth –> focusing on individuals
• nomothetic approach: broad personality characteristics –> looks at group behaviour
• common traits: what most people have
• individual traits: unique traits that not everyone has

Question 3

Cattells view on trait perspective:

Answer 3

factor analysis:

• which traits tend to go together in people
• cluster them based on correlations
• 16 main personality traits

Question 4

Eysencks view on trait perspective:

Answer 4

• 3 dimensions of personalities - super factors/supertraits
• extraversion/ Introversion
• neuroticism
• psychoticism
• neuropsychology causes personality
• trais and intelligence are hereditary

Question 5

McCrae & Costas view on trait perspective:

Answer 5

• 16 too many, 3 too few
• created the big five:
  • ENCAO
  • Extraversion
  • Neuroticism
  • conscientiousness
  • agreeableness
  • openness

Question 6

The strengths of the trait perspective:

Answer 6

• active research, generating knowledge about humans
• generating falsifiable hypotheses
• integrating biological findings with personality theory

Question 7

The weaknesses of the trait perspective:

Answer 7

Allport: you can’t predict individual behaviour from looking at their nominal traits

• factor analysis gives you artificial clusters
• trait data only rely on self report questionnaires
• cultural differences?
• personality is more than just traits

Question 8

Name the Social cognitive perspective theorists:

Answer 8

1. Bandura
2. Kelly
3. Mischel (was kelly’s student)

Question 9

Banduras view on the SCT

Answer 9

• exposure to life experience
• learning that actions have consequences
• developing internal system of values and morals
• these systems guide our actions
• Observational learning
• Bobo doll experiment

Question 10

Kellys view on SCT

Answer 10

• cognitive view: people don’t just respond to situations but also interpret the situations
• role construct repertory test

Question 11

Mischels view on SCT

Answer 11

• personality paradox
• weak vs. strong situations
• people differ in terms of:
  • competencies + skills
  • beliefs + expectancies
  • goals (proximal and distal)
  • evaluative standards

Question 12

Trait vs SCT differences

Answer 12

trait:
- score on questionnaire is average tendency to behave in a particular way
- traits cause your behaviour

SCT

• averaging behaviour trends is less meaningless because personality is variations per situations
• traits can only describe, requires more than that like cognition and emotion

Question 13

Strengths of the SCT

Answer 13

• theoretical concepts are defined in such a way that you can test and potentially falsify them
• wide variety of research methods

Question 14

weaknesses of the SCT

Answer 14

• not yet unified
• no assumptions that tie together all elements
• neglect biological forces of maturation (puberty, menopause) + temperament

Question 15

Who are the theorists of the humanistic perspective?

Answer 15

1. Rogers

2. Maslow

Question 16

Rogers view on the humanistic perspective

Answer 16

• from religious family
• changed to clinical psychology and later concluded that human nature is essentially positive
• phenomenology: how an individual perceives the world
• self concept: ideal self and actual self

Question 17

Maslows view on the humanistic perspective

Answer 17

• distinction between biological needs and psychological needs
• hierarchy of needs
• the study of self- actualised people.

Question 18

Strengths of the humanistic perspective

Answer 18

• systematic enquiry into necessary and sufficient conditions for therapeutic change
• tries to understand the whole person, focus on how he she sees the world
• self concept consistency has psychological benefits

Question 19

Who are the main theorists of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 19

1. Sigmund Freud
2. Adler
3. Jung

Question 20

Freuds view on the psychodynamic approach:

Answer 20

• story of jacob (co twin that dies before birth)
• 3 levels of awareness CPU
  • conscious: thoughts we have access to
  • preconscious: thoughts we do not have access to at the moment but can easily gain access
  • unconscious: no access unless in dreams or hypnosis
• id, ego and supergo

Question 21

what defence mechanisms do we have?

Answer 21

• denial
• projection
• isolation
• undoing (of thoughts)
• reaction formation (gay –> homophobic comments)
• sublimation (aggression–> butcher or surgeon)
• repression ( sexual abuse)

Question 22

Adlers view on psychodynamic approach

Answer 22

• people want to be inferior and have superiority thats why they behave aggressively

Question 23

Jungs view on psychodynamic approach

Answer 23

life instinct is not just sexual but also includes other pleasures and creativity

Question 24

strengths of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 24

• rich observations of all aspects of human behaviour
• embraces complexity of human nature
• only few concepts needed to interpret a wide range of behaviours

Question 25

weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 25

• it does not make specific predictions that can be tested
• theory language is vague and open for interpretation
  scientists need to be open to critique and respect each others ideas

Question 26

personality disorders:

Answer 26

• antisocial: disregard for others
• borderline: emotion instability
• histrionic: need to be noticed
• narcissistic: high self interest
• avoidant: inadequacy
• dependent: very clingy
• obsessive compulsive: OCD, perfectionism

Question 27

trait perspective on personality disorders

Answer 27

• assumes traits are inherited so are disorders also inherited?
• big5 can be used to determine the best therapy
• low openness: medication, direct treatment
• high openness: no medication, psycho analysis

Question 28

psychodynamic approach on personality disorders

Answer 28

• disorders stem from failures in the development
  1. stuck in oral stage: demanding
  2. stuck in anal stage: striving for control
  3. stuck in phallic personality: excessive masculinity for men and hysteria for women

Question 29

humanistic approach on personality disorders

Answer 29

discrepancies between self concepts and actual experience

- defensive behaviours

Question 30

social cognitive theory on personality disorders

Answer 30

distorted cognitions about self, others and events in the world

Question 31

personal sources of self knowledge

Answer 31

• introspection and self reflection:

you are the only person who knows your thoughts

Question 32

pennebaker (1986)

Answer 32

writing about traumatic experiences can enhance self understanding
keeping a diary can help you check facts

Question 33

Self perception theory

Answer 33

• Bem, 1972
• inferring your internal states by observing your own behaviour
• looking at yourself from an outsider point of view

Question 34

Valins Experiment 1966

Answer 34

• men had to rate attractiveness
• were connected to heart rate monitor
• thought they saw their own heart rate
• rated women more attractive were they thought their heart rate increased even if it wasn’t their own heart rate
• misattribution of arousal

Question 35

Festinger and Carlsmith 1959

Answer 35

• the boring task
• 1 dollar to say how interesting it was even though it was not interesting at all
• but at the end believed it was interesting

Question 36

Social sources of self knowledge

Answer 36

• attachment processes and social appraisal: caregiving style
• social comparison using others as benchmark (Facebook envy)
• interpersonal relationships: Aron et al (when in love- higher self concept)

Question 37

“who am I” is influenced by…

Answer 37

• who is giving the answer
• motivation for accuracy
• ability to attribute own behaviour
• social comparisons