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
Explain the influence of free will vs determinism on personality theories
- Whether and to what extent we have a choice about what we do
• Hard determinism
• Soft determinism
• Free will
Explain the influence of subjective vs objective on personality theories
- whether we should be concerned only with observable behaviour, or private subjective experiences
Explain the influence of person vs situation on personality theories
To what extent are people consistent in the way they think, feel and act in various situations?
Explain the influence of uniqueness vs universality on personality theories
- Idiographic approach: focus on uniqueness
- Nomothetic approach: focus on universals
Explain the influence of physiological vs. purposive motivation on personality theories
Are we “pushed” by basic physiological needs or are we “pulled” by our purposes, goals, values and principles?
Explain the influence of conscious vs unconscious motivation on personality theories
Is much, most, or even all of our behaviour and experience determined by unconscious or conscious forces?
Explain the influence of stage vs non-stage theories of development on personality theories
Do we all pass through predetermined stages of psychological development?
Explain the influence of cultural determinism vs cultural transcendence on personality theories
To what extent do our cultures mold us?
Explain the influence of early vs late personality formation on personality theories
Are our personality characteristics established in early childhood, to remain relatively fixed through the rest of our lives?
Explain the influence of optimism vs pessimism on personality theories
Are humans basically good or bad?
