Personality Psychology Lecture Notes

A compilation of flashcards covering key concepts, definitions, and critiques related to personality psychology.

What is personality?

An individual’s characteristic pattern of behavior, thoughts, and feelings - stable over time and across situations.

Biological model of personality

The mind is what the brain does; to understand personality, one needs to understand brain function.

Psychoanalytic model

Developed by Sigmund Freud; focuses on early psychological development and the unconscious mind.

Cognitive model of personality

Focuses on personality as a result of information processing in the brain.

Humanistic/Existential model

Emphasizes free will and conscious subjective experience; focuses on narrative construction of personality.

Behavioral model

Suggests that behavior is shaped by environment, reinforcement, and punishment.

Trait approach

Focuses on stable attributes of personality to predict future behavior, ignoring underlying causes.

What is a Trait?

A stable attribute of personality, such as impulsivity or warmth.

Dispositions

A set amount of tendencies to behave in certain ways across various situations.

The Big Five personality traits

Include Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness.

Neuroticism

Proneness to experience negative emotional reactions like anxiety and sadness.

Extraversion

The tendency to crave high levels of stimulation and seek social interaction.

Openness to Experience

The tendency to seek out new experiences and invite change.

Agreeableness

The tendency to maintain a positive emotional tone in interpersonal dealings.

Conscientiousness

The tendency to pursue goals in an organized, methodical fashion.

Critique of the Trait Approach

Mischel's situationist critique argues that traits may not be stable across situations.

Empirical Problems with Trait Research

Correlation between questionnaire scores and actual behavior is typically around .30.

What is the significance of the Big Five traits?

Each of the Big Five traits is associated with various aspects like psychiatric outcomes, life satisfaction, and job performance.

Expected behavioral variance from traits

Personality traits account for no more than 10% of the variance in actual behavior.