Unit 11 (Chapter 12) Flashcards

Question

Conscientiousness

Answer 1

Low: Disorganized, poor timekeeping, careless, impulsive. Ex: Jake from B99. High: Thorough, dependable, focused, high capacity for self-regulation. Ex: Amy from B99.

Answer 2

Low (a.k.a. introvert): Reserved, low key, quiet, lower social engagement and energy. High: Talkative, energetic, enthusiastic, assertive, outgoing, social. Ex: Alexis from Schitt's Creek.

Answer 3

Low: Critical, quarrelsome, harsh, aloof, blunt High: Helpful, selfless, sympathetic, kind, considerate, trusting. Ex: Ted Lasso

Answer 4

Low: Handles stress well, emotionally stable, calm, relaxed. Ex: Bob Ross. High: Anxious, easily ruffled/upset, worried, moody. Ex: Eyore. Heightened activation is shown in the amygdala and the hippocampus. The insula is also involved.

Answer 5

According to various studies, it looks as though we are measuring what we think we're measuring!

Answer 6

Fair amount of evidence for stability over time. **Relative ranking of personality traits remains consistent.** - E.g., if you are more conscientious than your peers in high school, you will likely be more conscientious than your peers in adulthood even if your overall level of conscientiousness changes. However, some average shifts in personality over the lifespan have been observed: - Increases in agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability (mellow out, increased responsibilities in adulthood). - Increases in open-mindedness in young adulthood, then reduction in late adulthood - Extraversion is mixed: Social vitality (social activity) stays the same, but social dominance (how assertive you are) increases until middle adulthood then levels off. Personality change can occur after counselling (positively) or traumatic events (negatively).

Answer 7

Social cognitive theories of personality emphasize role of cognitive processes and social interaction in shaping personality. o Offer several critiques of the trait approach.

Answer 8

1. Correlations between traits and behaviors are modest (around r=.30). 2. Individual consistency across situations is lower than imagined. - E.g., Observed 19 forms of behaviour presumed to be related to conscientiousness like class attendance, assignment punctuality, room neatness, personal appearance neatness. Found high consistency within measures, but relatively low consistence across measures. Ex: student may attent classes but have a very messy room. 3. Traits can be reframed as templates used to perceive and categorize others, rather than internal forces that shape our behavior—this creates the illusion of consistency in people’s traits (schemas). - While traits do predict behaviour, we overestimate the strength of the relationship between traits & behaviour - E.g., extraversion correlates r=.30 with tendency to talk more, but perceived extraversion correlated r=.67 with tendency to talk more. (We have this idea that extroverted people talk more, and thus label people who talk more as extroverts).

Answer 9

A model positing that in order to understand and predict behavior, it is necessary to account for both personal dispositions and the situation people find themselves in, as well as the interaction between the two. o The “right” situations afford the opportunity to express a certain trait o Some “strong” situations will evoke certain types of behaviour regardless of individual differences ## Footnote Ex point 1: Someone who is prone to achievement might not push for it in every situation. Ex point 2: Milgram experiment.

Answer 10

- Rejection sensitivity: tendency to ”anxiously expect, readily perceive, and overreact to rejection”. - Individuals higher in rejection sensitivity were more likely to feel rejected in an ambiguous situation that could be interpreted as an experience of social rejection. ## Footnote Ex: Ps "rejected" by confederate in lab, second interaction did not happen at all. Either given a reason, or left to wonder why.

Answer 11

The idea that personality guides cognition about the world in ways that can shape the environments people choose, serving to reinforce or amplify their personality. Key elements: § Personality guides cognition- our schemas shape how we interpret and process information about the world. § People select or create environments that are consistent with their personality traits. § This, in turn, reinforces our schemas (self-fulfilling prophecies). ## Footnote Ex: Rejection expectancies lead people to behave in ways that elicit rejection. They exhibit more negative behaviour and aggression towards romantic partners during conflict discussions. This, in turn, predicts higher anger from romantic partner and serves to reinforce the cognitive schemas of the rejection sensitive person (i.e. partner denying responsibility, or putting them down).

Answer 12

The attachment system regulates proximity-seeking towards an attachment figure during separation or distress. This system is universal, but individual differences exist in attachment strategies (called attachment styles): - Secure attatchment style - Anxious attatchment style - Avoidant attatchment style

Answer 13

Comfort with intimacy and seeking closeness, belief that others can be relied on and that support seeking will be effective, sense of self-efficacy in dealing with challenges. - Attachment figures have been consistently supportive. - Insecure attachment thought to stem from deficits in caregiving.

Answer 14

Excessive preoccupation with closeness and vigilance for signs of distance and rejection, difficult to reassure, “clingy”, lack of self-efficacy (being not as close as they would like to their partner causes distress). - Caregiver is inconsistent, which leads to hyperactivation of the attachment system (if I ramp up my bids for proximity, maybe caregiver will respond).

Answer 15

Discomfort with closeness and intimacy, distrust of others, overemphasis on self-reliance. - Caregiver is rejecting, discourages closeness, which leads to deactivation of the attachment system (if I don’t come off as too needy, maybe the caregiver won’t reject me).

Answer 16

- Through attachment interactions, people develop schemas or internal working models of themselves, their attachment figures, & attachment relationships. - ”Working” = Allows to simulate/predict likely outcomes of attachment behaviours; provisional/subject to updating - These scemas include specific autobiographical memories; generalized beliefs about oneself, attachment figures, & close relationships; procedural knowledge (how to regulate emotions & behave in close relationships). - Working models—like other schemas—direct attention & influence the way we interpret, store, & recall information. - Self-perpetuating—provide continuity between early and later attachment-related feelings & behaviour. - Perceptual confirmation. E.g., being overly attentive to signs of inattention may perpetuate anxious individuals’ insecurity (you see rejection everywhere). - Behavioural confirmation. E.g., avoidants’ cold behaviour may drive away partners—confirming idea that others cannot be relied on. - Within-person variation in attachment security across different attachment figures. Ex: The way you relate to mom may not necessarily be the same as you relate to your romantic partner. - Most people possess relational schemas corresponding to a range of attachment orientations - E.g., even individuals with a global avoidant or anxious orientation have access to secure representations (available to be primed). - Can be made more accessible in certain contexts

Answer 17

What we know and believe about ourselves. - ”Who am I” - Our attributes, abilities, values, goals - Descriptive & evaluative components (how you feel about those attributes) Where does it come from? - Self-perception - Reflected appraisals (perceived feedback from others) - Social comparison

Answer 18

Inferences from observations of our own behaviour. Self-perception theory: When we are uncertain about our attitudes and feelings, we infer them by observing our own behaviours (forming impressions about ourselves). More likely to happen in ambiguous situations where there is no salient extenal force acting on you. ## Footnote E.g., If I am the kind of person who does kind acts, I must be a kind person; if I someone who regularly recycles, I must be the kind of person that cares about the environment.

Answer 19

- The looking-glass self (we're like a mirror, reflecting the appraisals of others). - We develop self-concept through interactions with others 1. Imagine how we appear to others (”How do others see me?”) 2. Interpret others’ reactions (”How do they judge/evaluate me”?) 3. Develop & revise self-concept based on these perceptions & judgments.

Answer 20

A belief about what others think of one's self. ## Footnote Ex: If others laugh at your jokes: "I'm funny". If not: "I'm boring."

Answer 21

We are driven to to evaluate our opinions and abilities. When objective standards are not available, we engage in social comparisons. I.e. Figuring out where we stand in comparison to other people. ## Footnote Ex: Job ad study with either put together or messy confederate. Participants asked to rate themselves.

Answer 22

The positive or negative evaluation a person has of themselves. - Trait level: Enduring level of self-regard Fairly stable - State level: Dynamic, changing feelings about the self Vary moment to moment

Answer 23

Motivation to view oneself positively. ## Footnote For college students, self-esteem > pizza, beer, & sex.

Answer 24

Tend to view ourselves and process information in ways that allow us to maintain a positive attitude toward the self. This is done through: 1. Self-serving attributions 2. Above-average effect 3. Idiosyncratic trait definitions 4. Overestimating our contributions

Answer 25

Tend to make internal attributions for our positive behaviours & outcomes, external for our negative behaviour & outcomes. ## Footnote "The teacher asked us unfair questions" VS "I'm super smart and worked very hard."

Answer 26

Finding that most people think they are above average on various personality trait and ability dimensions.

Answer 27

Most people think of themselves as above average on ambiguous traits (e.g., intelligence). - Can construe these ambiguous traits in multiple ways: E.g., good at math, good at writing, “street smarts”, emotional intelligence - When the domain is constrained to be specific, better-than-average effect diminishes (ex: when asked how good they are at math).

Answer 28

Tend to overestimate the contributions we make to various joint efforts (e.g., group projects, household chores). Why? - Tend to focus on and recall our efforts more; our eforts are more salient - Judge ourselves by our intentions, and others by their actions

Answer 29

People strive to maintain a coherent self-view because it serves our need for prediction and control. - Predicts that people will seek feedback that reinforces their self-view, even when self-view is negative (like confirmation bias for the self!). - We are uncomfortable with social feedback that conflicts with our self view. ## Footnote Ex: Roommate experiment. Those with negative self-views prefer interaction partners who appraise them unfavourably rather than favourably. More desire to stay with roommates whose appraisals are congruent with one’s own self- views.

Answer 30

People use self-esteem as a “gauge” to assess the degree to which they are accepted by others (like a gas tank). - Supporting evidence: our perceptions of acceptance & rejection influence our self- esteem. - May have stemmed from the need to belong, which was essential to survival. It makes sense to have a signal telling us something's wrong and we need to do something.

Answer 31

Success in a given domain increases self-esteem to the extent that the domain is believed to be valued by others. ## Footnote Ex: You're going to feel good if you get a good grade to the extent that you think others also value academic success.

Answer 32

The belief that we see the world as it is. - Corollary: idea that others see the world as we do (false consensus effect?). - Individuals with low self-esteem believe others share their negative self-views—but this often not true. Ex: If you feel bad about yourself, you assume your partner feels the same.

Answer 33

Low self-esteem associated with: - Poorer well-being (e.g., anxiety, depression, loneliness) - Relationship problems. E.g., may pre-emptively distance oneself from the relationship. High self-esteem - Higher initiative, resilience, positive affect - Self-fulfilling prophecies: expectations of success can lead us to behave in ways that ensure success BUT… High self-esteem is not a guarantee for professional and interpersonal success, or a positive impact on the world.

Answer 34

Unrealistic and self-aggrandizing views of the self, i.e. very inflated. - Sense of superiority, entitlement, & need for admiration. - Can lead to defensiveness and aggression toward people who threaten their positive self-view. - Very charming early on, leads to relationship problems later on. ## Footnote Kind of like the dark cousin of high self-esteem, though not equal.

Answer 35

Individuals scoring higher on narcissism more likely to retaliate aggressively against targets delivering negative feedback. ## Footnote Ex: Essay writing = got negative feedback from the "other person" (i.e. the confederate). Did a task they thought to be unrelated (play a sound in the other person's ears), and the higher levels of narcissism, the higher sound volume.

Answer 36

Prevalent in Western Europe, current and former British colonies (e.g., Canada, US) = independent self-construals.

Answer 37

Prevalent in East & South Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Latin America = interdependent self-construals.

Answer 38

- Self is an autonomous entity distinct and separate from other people. - Focus on asserting uniqueness & independence, internal causes of behaviour. - Conception of self as a set of traits stable across time and social context. ## Footnote E.g., “I am adventurous”, “I am smart”, “I am outgoing”.

Answer 39

- Self is fundamentally connected to other people. - Focus on social roles, one’s place within community. - Attention to social context & awareness that situations influence behaviour. - Conception of self in terms of social identities, relationships & roles; malleable across situational contexts. ## Footnote E.g., “I am the daughter of Juan & Camila”, “I am a devout Hindu”, “I am outgoing with my friends” Visualize a cicle overlapping with others.

Answer 40

- Independent cultures place more focus on self-esteem - Further, for independent people, self-esteem is more personal & less relational - By contrast, people from interdependent cultures more concerned with self-improvement & working toward collective goals ## Footnote Ex: If a Westerner's self-esteem is threatened, they would feel more angry than if their collective was threatened. The opposite is true for collective societies and their numbers.

Answer 41

The part of our mental life that influences our thoughts, feelings and actions that we cannot directly observe and of which we are unaware.

Answer 42

Traits that dominate someone’s personality.

Answer 43

The most general dispositions that we use to describe someone, for example, as outgoing or neurotic - traits that do not interlay define the person but provide useful insight into how they typically behave.

Answer 44

Traits that are relevant only in certain contexts.

Answer 45

The process of developing and validating tools to accurately measure and quantify traits and other features of personality.

Answer 46

**P**ersonality **E**rror in the judgements we make **R**esidual (idiosyncratic biases about certain types of people) **S**teteorypes about traits we expect different groups to possess **O**pinion (idiaosyncratic biases about certain types of behaviour) **N**orms that guide how we perceive certain behaviours

Answer 47

An approach that statistically compares patterns of similarity in the behavioural or personality profiles of people who differ in their genetic relatedness.

Answer 48

The tendency to assume that just because something has a genetic basis it is natural and unchangeable.

Answer 49

The interaction between environmental factors and a person’s genetic predispositions that determine the unique phenotypes expressed in personality.

Answer 50

A person’s perception of what determines his or her outcomes: intrinsic (internal) characteristics or random, external forces.

Answer 51

The belief that if a person can perform a behaviour, the desired outcome will result.

Answer 52

The belief that one can successfully execute a behaviour linked to a desired outcome.

Answer 53

A state of passive resignation to an aversive situation that one has come to believe is outside of one’s control.

Answer 54

The painful awareness of personal limitation that render outcomes uncontrollable, in contrast to a more commonly held illusion of control for those who are not depressed.

Answer 55

A theory positing that the roles people find themselves in can profoundly shape their personality.

Answer 56

The process of fulfilling one’s true potential by gaining a sense of personal autonomy, accepting oneself, and accepting other people.

Answer 57

A theory positing that well-being and success are most likely to be achieved when a person’s environments support three key motivation: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.