Personality Psychology - Vocabulary Flashcards

Flashcards of key vocabulary, people, and concepts from personality psychology lecture notes.

Personal Constructs

Mental representations that guide perception and behavior; bipolar categories used to interpret events, developed from experience.

Fundamental Postulate (Kelly)

A person's processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipates events.

REP Test

Role Construct Repertory Test; used to identify an individual's personal construct system.

Constructive Alternativism

Kelly's theory emphasizing perception and personal meaning; people act like scientists, testing hypotheses about their world.

Traits (Allport)

Distinguishing characteristics or qualities; may be cardinal, central, or secondary.

Cardinal Traits

Dominant traits that define a person's life.

Central Traits

General characteristics found in varying degrees in every person.

Secondary Traits

More situation-specific and less consistent traits.

Functional Autonomy

Behavior may continue independently of its original motivation.

Proprium

Allport's term for the sense of self.

PEN Model (Eysenck)

Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism; three dimensions of personality.

Factor Analysis

Statistical method used to identify major dimensions of personality.

Cortical Arousal

Level of arousal in the cerebral cortex; related to extraversion/introversion.

Hierarchical Model (Eysenck)

Specific responses -> habitual responses -> traits -> supertraits (PEN).

Natural Selection

Traits that improve survival get passed on.

Sexual Selection

Traits that increase mating success are favored.

Evolved Psychological Mechanisms

Domain-specific mechanisms evolved to solve specific problems (e.g., detecting cheaters, choosing mates).

Parental Investment Theory

The sex investing more in offspring is more selective in mate choice.

Expectancy

Belief about the likelihood of a particular outcome.

Reinforcement Value

The desirability of a particular outcome.

Locus of Control

Belief about whether outcomes depend on one's own actions (internal) or external factors (external).

CAPS Model

Cognitive-Affective Personality System; personality is a stable system with interacting cognitive and emotional units.

OCEAN

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism; the Big Five traits.

Basic Tendencies

Biologically based core traits.

Characteristic Adaptations

Culturally conditioned behaviors, habits, values.

Self-Concept

How individuals perceive themselves, shaped by adaptations and traits.