The Cognitive/Experiential Domain: Cognitive Topics in Personality Flashcards
What are the 3 Levels of Cognition in Personality?
Perception
Interpretation
Conscious Goals
What does it mean to be Field-independent?
People who are influenced by inner (self) cues
People excel at analyzing complex situations and filtering out distractions.
Favour natural sciences, math, engineering; more interpersonally detached
What does it mean to be Field-dependent
People who are influenced by environmental cues
Individuals are more socially oriented and attuned to the broader context.
Favour social sciences, education; attentive to social cues, oriented toward others.
Field Dependent Research
Field independent people can better able to screen out distracting information and focus on a task
Application:
Police officers high in field independence do better in shooting tasks/chases
What is Reducer-Augmenter Theory?
The dimension on which we differ in our reaction to sensory stimulation
Personality via Perception: Clinical Example
METHOD: Compared people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) to those with no diagnosis. Examined pain tolerance when participants were calm & then when stressed.
MAIN FINDING: Individuals with BPD reported less physical pain when calm AND when in higher distress compared to individuals without BPD
IMPLICATION: May help to explain why people with BPD self-injure when in distress
what is a locus of control?
One’s perception of responsibility for life events
what is an internal locus
Belief that outcomes result from personal effort and control.
Associated with better life management (e.g., health, academic success, financial responsibility).
What is an external locus?
Belief that outcomes are determined by fate, luck, or external forces.
Can lead to passivity and lack of personal agency.
What is the Expectancy Model of Learning Behavior?
Learning depends on reinforcement value and expectation of reinforcement.
People have different expectations about whether their behavior will lead to rewards.
What is Learned helplessness?
When subjected to unpleasant/inescapable (& continued) experience, one becomes passive, accepting & helpless in that situation
How learned helplessness can be overcome?
Often requires an external perspective, encouragement, and new strategies for regaining control.
Seeking support from others is crucial when a situation feels inescapable
What is a Explanatory Style?
Tendency to adopt a set of explanations for life events
What is a Pessimistic Explanatory Style?
Negative events:
Internal, stable & global causes
Positive events:
External, unstable & specific causes
What is a Optimistic Explanatory Style?
Positive events:
Internal, stable & global causes
Negative events:
External, unstable & specific causes
Research on Explanatory Style
Pessimistic explanatory confers risk for depression & physical health concerns
This leads to the conclusion that ways of thinking can have an impact on our mental & physical wellbeing
What are Personal projects?
Set of actions intended to achieve a goal
Studied via Personal Projects Analysis…
Can help to study various personality traits
(e.g., neuroticism)
What is Cognitive-social Learning?
Focus on cognitive & social processes involved in goals
Self-efficacy
Belief that people execute specific courses of action to achieve a goal
Self-efficacy influenced by modeling
Mastery Orientation
Fixed Mindset: Intelligence is unchangeable, leading to avoidance of challenges.
Growth Mindset: Intelligence can be developed through effort, leading to greater motivation and success.
What is Regulatory Focus Theory?
Higgins’ Regulatory Focus Theory explains how people regulate their goal-directed behaviors:
Promotion Focus: Striving for growth, success, and accomplishments (linked to extraversion).
Prevention Focus: Emphasizing safety, avoiding risks, and preventing failure (linked to neuroticism).
Cognitive-Affective Personality System (CAPS)
Mischel’s CAPS theory argues that personality is not just a collection of traits but a system of cognitive and affective processes that shape responses to situations.
Types of intelligence
Achievement View: Intelligence as knowledge acquired relative to peers.
Aptitude View: Intelligence as the ability to learn and become educated.
Emotional intelligence components
Awareness of own feelings & how to distinguish them
Ability to regulate emotions
Ability to control impulses
Ability to read the cues of others & be empathic
Ability to be a strong, effective leader
