trait theories Flashcards
tendency of human beings to notice commonalities and differences in behaviors and put them into general categories and also try to explain why they might have these qualities
dispositional and biological basis of personality
Gordon Allport studied
social ethics
Allport influenced
Cattle, Eysenck
allport continuing theories
personality development is an accumulation of skills, habits, discriminations
allports discontinued theories
an organism experiences genuine transformations or changes
allport had how many words in his list for personality
4500
personality: dynamic
moving and changing
personality: organized
structured
psychophysical
involving both the mind and body
personality: determines
structures by the past and predisposing of the future
characteristic
unique for each individual
it is a real entity that one day might be shown on the level of
neural and physiological components
traits are essentially
unique to each indivisual
traits are ____ structures within a person
neuropsychic
traits are not simply
labels we use to describe or classify behaviors
traits determining
tendency or a disposition to respond to the world in certain ways
hypothetical constructs that permit us to make comparisons between individuals
common traits
personal dispositions
describe a persons uniqueness; concrete, easily recognized, consistencies in our behaviors
cardinal disposition
lust for power
central disposition
what we mean as traits
intelligent, responsible, independent, sensitive, caring
secondary disposition
specific, focused, aggressive at home, submissive with people of power
radical discontinuity between the neurotic and healthy personality
maturity
criteria for health and maturity
extension of the same self
warm relating to self and others
emotional security
realistic perception, skills, assignments
self-objectification
unifying philosophy of life
nomothetic approach
studying large groups to find universal principles, general variables, common traits
idiographic approach
studying the individual in order to understand uniqueness
trait theory focuses on
identifying, describing, and measuring individual differences in behavioral predisposition
surface traits
characteristics or attributes that can be inferred from observable behavior
source traits
broad, basic traits that are hypothesized to be universal and relatively few in number
cattell reduced allports 4500 to
171
cattell proposed ____ personality factors
16
cattell definition of personality
permits a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation
(cattell) surface
clusters of overt behavior responses that appear to go together
(cattell) source
underlying variable that determine surface manifestations
factory analysis
correlation technique used to identify traits
social cognitive perspective
stresses conscious thought processes, self-regulation, and the importance of situational influences rather than unconscious mental influences and instinctual drives
social cognitive personality theorists rely on
experimental findings
bandura social cognitive theory
emphasizes the importance of observational learning, conscious cognitive processes, social experiences, self-efficacy beliefs and reciprocal determinism
reciprocal determinism
explains human functioning and personality caused by interaction of behavioral, cognitive, environmental factors
self efficacy
beliefs that people have about their ability to meet the demands of a specific situation
self-confidence
self esteem
evaluation of self worth that is largely dependent on how society evaluates our attributes and how our behavior meets our views of our worthiness
strengths with social cognitive perspective
well grounded in empirical, lab research
major impact on the study of personality
emphasizes the self-regulation of behavior
places most of the responsibility for behavior on the person
limitations of social cognitive perspective
lab experiences simple and may not reflect complexity of human interactions in the real world
influences of the unconscious, emotions, and conflicts downplayed
Murray personology
unique interdisciplinary study of the individual
Murray personality
reflection of behaviors controlled by needs and presses
needs
force in the brain that organizes our perception, understanding and behavior
potential readiness to behave in a certain way
primary needs, secondary needs
press
force from objects or persons within environment that help or hinder an individual reaching goals
Murray theory
entire person over the course of their lifespan
who says people are free/determined; positive/negative; nature/nurture; unique/universal; past/present
Murray
thematic apperception test
consists of 31 cars
Goldberg reduced cattells 16 factors to
5
some of the measures based on the five-factor model
IPIP
NEO-PI-R
the ten-item personality inventory
five item personality inventory
most mainstream and widely accepted framework for personality
big 5
differences among people in the 5 factor model are
stable
genetic
OCEAN
openness
conscientiousness
extraversion
agreeableness
neuroticism
neuroticism
chronic negative affect
health complaints
mortality rates
suffering silently
openness
liberal and democratic values, open mindedness, tolerance
life-long better cognition, IQ
dressing up well, greater achievement, greater levels of entrepreneurship
conscientiousness
high school and university and academic success
quality friendships
spirituality
forgiveness
dressing up well
successful entrepreneurship
agreeableness
more satisfactory romantic relationship
positive outlook towards others
truthful in personal revelations
some traits are more stable than others
intro/extraversion
emotionality and activity level
self esteem
optimism or pessimism
some traits decrease over time
neuroticism
openness
extraversion
some traits increase over time
agreeableness
conscientiousness
some researchers claim there is only one factor with two poles
stability/instability
some personality traits do not change over lifespan in response to experiences
neuroticism
agreeableness
conscientiousness
emotional stability
personality growth linked to better career outcome
increases in extraversion and conscientiousness
decrease in neuroticism
high ____= higher brain activation to positive images
extraversion
high _____= higher brain activation to negative images
neuroticism
extraversion: larger tissue volume in the
medial orbitofrontal cortex
medial orbitiofrontal cortex
brain region that is associated with sensitivity to rewarding stimulus
agreeableness: increased volume in the
posterior cingulate cortex
posterior cingulate cortex
region associated with understanding the beliefs of others
consciousness: large region of
frontal cortex
frontal cortex
planning, working memory, self-regulation
neuroticism: mixed patterns of
brain structures differences related to sensitivity to threat and punishment
behavior genetics
interdisciplinary field that studies the effect of genes and heredity on behavior
HEXACO
honest-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience
strengths of trait perspective
psychologists agree that people can be described and compared in terms of basic personality traits
limitations of trait perspective
human personality not really explains
explanation of how or why individual differences develop not explained
failure to address other important personality issues
