Week 1 - Personality Flashcards
What is personality?
The set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that are organised and relatively enduring and that influence his or her interactions with, and adaptions to, the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments.
What are trait-perspective adjectives?
Adjectives that can be used to describe characteristics of people
What are psychological traits?
Characteristics that describe ways in which people are different from and similar to each other. They also describe the average tendencies of a person.
What are psychological mechanisms?
Like traits, except that the term ‘mechanisms’ refers more to the process of personality. Mechanisms have three essential ingredients: inputs, decision rules, and outputs.
What three levels can personality be analysed on?
- Like all others (the human nature level)
- Like some others (the level of individual and group differences)
- Like no others (the individual uniqueness level)
Describe Freud’s theory of personality
Behaviour is the result of clashing forces (Id, Ego & Superego) within personality. This is a negative pessimistic view of human nature.
Describe the behaviorist view of personality
Emphasise observable behaviour and the effects of learning. Neutral, scientific, and somewhat mechanistic view of human nature.
Describe the humanist view of personality
- Focus on subjective experience and drive for fulfilling human potential
Why have personality theories been developed?
- To understand individual differences
- To predict behaviour
- To guide future research
- To explore how people adapt to their environment
What are the characteristics of a good theory?
- Provides a guide for researchers
- Organises known findings
- Makes predictions
What are the criteria for examining theories of personality?
- Empirical validity
- Internal consistency
- Testability
- Usefulness
- Acceptability
- Ethnocentrism
- Egocentrism
Explain empirical validity
- When a theory is supported by reliable evidence.
- Evidence can be anecdotal, clinical, correlational or experimental.
Explain internal consistency
When the assumptions of a theory fit together
Explain ethnocentrism
The influences of our culture on how we think i.e. social unconscious
Explain egocentrism
The peculiarities of a theorist as a person