Trait, Biological, & Behavioral Theories Flashcards
What is the main characteristic of a secondary trait?
Secondary traits reveal personal preferences.
Do personality traits offer a broader summary or more precise description of personality?
Traits offer a more precise description.
What are the major dimensions of the Big 5 model?
(OCEAN)
Openness.
Contentiousness.
Extraversion.
Agreeableness.
Neuroticism.
True or false:
Evolutionary psychology explores traits considered universal, emphasizing adaptive differences for survival and reproduction.
True.
(Evolutionary psychology examines the evolution of key human traits.)
What are overarching and all-encompassing traits that deeply influence almost all aspects of someone’s personality and actions (e.g., ambition, altruism)?
Cardinal traits.
What are core characteristics that are significant but less dominant, influencing behavior but not controlling every aspect of a person’s life (e.g., kindness, honesty, sociability)?
Central traits.
What are less important and situation-dependent traits that influence behavior only in specific contexts or situations (e.g., preferences, specific habits, reactions to stress)?
Secondary traits.
What is the perspective that focuses on understanding personality through the concept that all individuals possess specific TRAITS or characteristic ways of behaving?
Trait theory.
What term describes Allport’s theory, which emphasizes the development of a unified and conscious individual?
Personological.
Which Big 5 personality factor is characterized by traits such as hardworking and dependable behavior?
Conscientiousness.
Which Big 5 personality factor indicates cooperative and agreeable behavior?
Agreeableness.
What are Cattell’s 16 factors?
Warmth, reasoning, emotional stability, dominance, liveliness, rule-consciousness, social boldness, sensitivity, vigilance, abstractedness, privateness, apprehension, openness to change, self-reliance, perfectionism, & tension.
What is the personality assessment developed by Raymond Cattell based on the 16 factors, designed to measure an individual’s personality traits on a continuum?
16PF.
Which personality factor is characterized by sociability, assertiveness, excitement seeking, and emotional expression, leading to outgoing and warm behaviors?
Extraversion.
What is a prominent theory in personality psychology, representing the Big Five personality factors as openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism?
Five factor model (FFM)
What is a personality factor characterized by emotional instability, leading to experiences of negative emotions like anxiety and unhappiness?
Neuroticism.
What are theories that employ FACTOR ANALYSIS to identify and describe personality TRAITS based on the words people use in their everyday lives to describe one another?
(includes 16PF and five-factor model approaches)
Factor analytic trait theories.
What are genetically-based behavioral & emotional patterns seen in infancy (and later), which serve as an early indicator of an individual’s personality?
Temperament.
What is the transmission of genetic characteristics from one generation to the next?
Heredity.
What are chemical substances in the brain that transmit signals between nerve cells, influencing various aspects of behavior and personality?
Neurotransmitter.
What is the process by which traits that enhance reproductive success become more frequent in a population over generations due to natural selection?
Adaptation.
What branch of psychology examines personality traits that are universal and the differences across individuals, emphasizing the role of adaptive differences and their impact on survival and reproduction?
Evolutionary psychology.
Which psychological approach emphasizes the study of observable behaviors and how they are influenced by the environment, with a focus on learning theory and the consequences of behavior?
Behaviorism.
What therapeutic technique involves identifying and altering specific behaviors through learning therapies?
Behavior modification.
Who defined the personality dimensions of extraversion and introversion, where extroverted individuals are more sociable, while introverted individuals have a higher need for solitude?
The Eysencks.
Which personality dimensions (proposed by the Eysencks) involve neurotic individuals tending to be anxious and easily triggered into a flight-or-fight response, while stable individuals require more stimulation to?
Neuroticism / Stability.
What is Arthur Staats’s theory that describes personality as learned behavior and consists of basic behavioral patterns?
Psychological Behaviorism.
From B.F. Skinner’s (version of) behaviorism, this concept emphasizes how behavior is selected by the environment through reinforcement and punishment…
Operant behavior.
What theories explain the nature of personality in terms of BIOLOGICAL influences, including genetic inheritance, brain functioning, and evolutionary FACTORS?
Biological factor theories.
Personality theories historically left out the impact of what two aspects?
Culture and society.
How does motivation affect behavior?
By providing energy and direction.
What does personality adaptation provide an individual?
A way to cope with the world and adjust.
(Once a person adapts to their environment, they can cope with the world.)
Does the personological perspective emphasize that personality traits are isolated characteristics or encompass a broad range of psychological dimensions that make up the whole individual?
Per Allport (& others), traits encompass a BROAD range of dimensions that make up the whole individual.
(This perspective focuses on how traits are integrated into an individual’s overall personality, considering how traits influence various behaviors, thoughts, and emotions in different situations.)
How do psychologists use the nomothetic approach to make comparisons between people?
They analyze and compare the totality of the individuals.
Who proposed that behavior can be understood in terms of chaining, discrimination, generalization, and reinforcement schedules?
B. F. Skinner
(Operant conditioning -Behavior is shaped by its consequences.)
Which theorist proposed a theory of personality based on environmental determinants of behavior?
B. F. Skinner
(Operant conditioning asserts that behavior is shaped by its consequences. Skinner proposed that organisms learn through reinforcement or punishment, with behaviors more likely to be repeated if they are reinforced and less likely if they are punished.)
What is defined by humanistic psychologists as expressing empathy, support, & acceptance, regardless of what someone says or does?
Unconditional positive regard.
(Carl Rogers)
What kind of state is someone said to be in if they are immersed in a task, pay no attention to distractions, and time seems to pass without any notice?
A flow state.
(It can occur during a wide variety of tasks such as learning, being creative, or participating in a sport.)
What is Jeffrey Gray’s theory, which emphasizes the role of the brain’s reward and punishment systems in shaping individual differences in personality traits?
Reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST)
What is behavior that is selected and influenced by its consequences?
Operant behavior.
(a fundamental concept in behaviorism credited to B.F. Skinner)
What is a key personality trait characterized by emotional instability and a predisposition to experiencing negative emotions?
Neuroticism.
What are the variations and distinctions among individuals in terms of personality traits, behaviors, and responses?
Individual differences.
Whose approach to individual differences maintained that individuals have both common traits and traits that are unique to the individual?
Gordon Allport.
Who believed neuroticism is an inclination toward negative emotions, and emotional instability can lead to maladjustment?
Raymond Cattell.
(creator of 16PF)
True or false:
Society impacts culture by providing the context for learning and shaping personality.
True.
Who believed childhood development was influenced by experiences and a formative period?
Raymond Cattell.
(creator of PF16)
Who believed childhood development occurs in stages, though he did not research them in detail?
Gordon Allport.
Which type of psychologists believe early development can make children more sensitive to stress reactions?
Biological psychologists.
Which type of psychologists believe children’s development provides the foundation for later learning?
Behavioral psychologists.
While positive psychology covers many disciplines and areas, what five factors have many scholars and practitioners focused on as essential to happiness and wellbeing?
(PERNA)
Positive emotions.
Engagement.
Meaning.
Relationships.
Accomplishment.
What is the accurate perception of one’s feelings and experiences in the world?
Experiential openness.
(Carl Rogers)
What does Carl Roger’s define as a “novel product” that comes out of the “uniqueness of the individual” and the “materials, events, or circumstances of his life”?
Creative inspiration.
(Carl Rogers)
Which characteristic does a fully functioning person display when they rely on their inner guide to dictate behavior?
Organismic trust.
(Carl Rogers)
What is acknowledging one’s freedoms and taking responsibility for one’s own actions?
Experiential freedom.
(Carl Rogers)
What are groups of people who meet to gain psychological benefit through close contact with one another?
Encounter groups.
(To reduce political tension, they increase communication between group members.)
What/whose theory is rooted in three factors of personality: psychoticism, extroversion, neuroticism?
Eysenck’s biological theory.
What/whose theory focuses on identifying and categorizing specific traits that are consistent and enduring?
Allport’s trait theory.
What/whose theory suggests that behaviors are either positively reinforced, increasing a behavior, or punished, decreasing a behavior?
Skinner’s behavioral theory. (involves operant conditioning)
What is the FFM?
Five Factor Model.
This is the model that the Big 5 personality test is modeled after. (OCEAN)
What/whose trait theory focuses on identifying specific traits, such as introversion/extraversion?
Cattell’s two-factor anaylytic trait theory.
(creator of the PF16)
What is the study of personality from a HOLISTIC point of view, based on the theory that an individual’s actions/reactions, thoughts/feelings, and personal/social functioning can be understood only in terms of the WHOLE person?
Personological.
What is a statistical method used to describe variability among observed, correlated variables in terms of a potentially lower number of unobserved variables called FACTORS?
Factor analysis.
What are a group of theories that argue for the nature (or biological) side of personality?
Biological psychology.
(Evolutionary psychology is under this umbrella, but it focuses on nature with regard to “humanity,” not necessarily individuals.)
What branch of psychology believes personality is shaped by the reinforcements and consequences outside of an organism, not on genetics or inborn predispositions?
Behavioral psychology.
(Behaviorists believe people behave in a consistent manner based on prior learning.)
What type of therapy takes a holistic approach, emphasizing spirituality and meditation techniques?
Transpersonal therapy.
Which type of therapy is non-directive and empathetically driven toward providing a person with a safe space to talk, self-actualize (realize your full potential), and make positive changes in their life?
Person-centered therapy.
(aka client-centered therapy, non-directive therapy, & Rogerian therapy, after Carl Rogers)
Which type of therapy teaches children and families how to strengthen positive behaviors and eliminate or reduce unwanted or problem behaviors?
Behavioral therapy.
What is a kind of psychotherapy that promotes self-awareness, self-acceptance, personal responsibility, and good relationships?
Gestalt therapy.
(Gestalt therapy helps clients focus on the present to understand what is happening in their lives currently and how it makes them feel now, rather than what they assume to be happening based on past experience.)
According to which branch of psychology is a meaningful life a construct having to do with one’s purpose, significance, fulfillment, and overall satisfaction of life?
Positive psychology.
(focuses on strengths and solutions, rather than what is wrong)
To move successfully through this PROCESS is to make choices that are in harmony with one’s true self…
The Organismic Valuing Process (OVP)
What PROCESS includes many variables such as authenticity, autonomy, an internal locus of evaluation, and unconditional positive self-regard?
The Organismic Valuing Process (OVP)
What is an internal locus of evaluation?
To not seek approval from others.
What term means making your own decisions and not based on other’s desires?
Autonomy.
