what is personality psychology Flashcards
people generally view personality as ________ to a person, psychologists consider it to be an ___________, ie. it is a _____________ of what everyone’s personality consists of.
specific; abstraction; conception
state the 3 reasons why people use “personality”.
- convey a sense of consistency & continuity about someone
- convey a sense that whatever the person is doing, it comes from within them (internal)
3.
personality conveys a sense of __________ and ____________ about a person.
consistency; continuity
what are the 2 branches of consistency? give an example for each.
A) consistency across situations
- similar situations - always kind, whether to people or animals
- different situations - always overly excited and well-prepared, whether for vacations or upcoming national exams
B) consistency across time - still heartless after all these years
what are the 2 sources of influence?
- person
- situation
Understanding personality can aid in ___________ of others’ or even own behavior.
It also provides a _______ of the individual, consolidating the most ____________ characteristics of someone.
Personality captures personal __________.
prediction; summary; prominent; distinctiveness
Personality is a _________ organisation, inside the person, of ___________ systems that create the person’s characteristic pattern of _________, ___________ and __________.
According to Allport, what does the definition of personality consist of? List just 3.
dynamic; psychophysical; behavior; thoughts; feelings
- organised structure
- active processes
- psychological and physical components
- determines how ppl relate to world
- patterns and consistencies
- manifests itself across thoughts, feelings and behaviors
interpersonal vs intrapersonal
Interpersonal - interactions/relationships between two or more people.
Intrapersonal - internal processes/interactions within a single individual.
what are the 2 fundamental themes in personality psychology?
- individual diff
- intrapersonal functioning
what is a theory?
a theory is a summary statement or (a set of) principles about a class of events.
theories can be _______ (isolated/narrow) or _________ (encompassing/overarching).
what 2 things do theories help us do?
specific; broad
- explain phenomena
- predict new info
**theories must be tested and as needed, revised
name the 3 criteria that make a good theory.
- breadth of info - should have more than 1 source of info
- parsimony - as simple/few assumptions as possible
- subjectivity of interpreter
- scientists prefer theories that fit their own images
- which theories are best depends on how you see the world
what are the 10 theoretical perspectives on personality?
- dispositional (trait)
stable qualities in ppl - dispositional (motive)
motives underlying behaviors - biological process
body and brain processes due to personality - psychosocial
individual’s psychological state in social contexts - psychoanalytical
unconscious mind - behaviorist/learning
personality changes resulting from experience/learning - humanistic (self-actualisation/self-determination)
natural tendencies towards self-perfection - cognitive
mind imposes organisation on experiences - self-regulation
synthesizing goals and moving towards them - culture
culture n community on personality
state 3 caveats on evaluatiing individual theories/perspectives on personality.
Each perspective describes only one area of human nature.
We must be aware of different core assumptions behind each perspective. (aka cognizant of differing orienting assumptions)
Perspectives fit into larger theoretical (metatheoretical) categories and connect to others.
Perspectives can overlap in ideas or focus.
They have limited scope by design/intention, focusing on specific areas of personality.
