Psych 105 Chapter 12

The Trait Approach

a theory in psychology that focuses on identifying and measuring individual personality characteristics, known as traits, that are relatively stable over time and influence behaviors.

The Psychodynamic Approach

a theory in psychology that emphasizes the influence of the unconscious mind, early life experiences, and interpersonal relationships on an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Includes the ID (Instinct, pleasure) Ego (Middle man that relies on reality and balances demand) and Super Ego (Internalized societal standards and moral judgement)

The Humanistic-Existential Approach

is a psychological perspective that emphasizes personal growth, self-actualization, and the inherent value of the individual while considering existential concerns such as freedom, responsibility, and meaning in life.

The Social-Cognitive Approach

is a perspective in psychology that emphasizes the role of social interactions, observations, and cognitive processes in the development of personality and behavior. A person’s perception of the environment

MMPI-2-RF

is a psychological assessment tool designed to evaluate personality traits and psychopathology through a series of true-false questions, often used in clinical settings. Shows stuff like antisocial behavior, somatic problems, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, interpersonal problems.

Thematic Apperception Test

Respondents interpret ambiguous images, revealing underlying motives and concerns

Problems with Projective Tests

include issues such as low reliability and validity, potential for subjective interpretation, and a lack of standardized scoring methods. Cannot predict behaviour

Rorschach test

is a projective test consisting of inkblots that respondents interpret, revealing their thoughts, feelings, and personality characteristics.

Trends in Traits

Interests shifted from authoritarianism to more contemporary like sensation seeking and cognitive complexity.

Big Five of Personality Traits

are the five broad dimensions of personality that include openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Potential Influences on Personality

Brain damage, pathologies, pharmaceutical treatments

Genetic Correlations on Personality

the heritability of traits influenced by genetics, suggesting that genetics can play a significant role in shaping individual personality characteristics.

What is the breakup of personality of Genes vs Environment

40% from genes and 60% from environment

Men vs Women Personalities

Women tend to score higher on agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, Men have higher assertiveness and self-esteem.

Hans Eyesenc’s Hypothesis

suggests that personality can be understood through three main dimensions: extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.

Raymond Cattel’s Hypothesis

proposes that personality is composed of 16 primary factors, which can be measured to determine individual differences.

Do Animals Have Personalities?

Research suggests that many animals exhibit consistent behaviors and traits that resemble human personality characteristics, such as sociability and aggression.

Defense Mechanisms

1. Repression

2. Rationalization

3. Reaction Formation

4. Projection

5. Regression

6. Displacement

7. Identification

8. Sublimation

Self Actualizing Tendency

Motivated realization of personal potential and self-fulfillment, leading to personal growth and peak experiences.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Sequential levels of needs leading to self-actualization.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Psychologist known for his concept of "flow", a state of focused immersion in activities leading to personal fulfillment and creativity.

Self-concept

An individual's perception of their own identity, beliefs, and characteristics that shape their self-identity. “Me” is the self that is known, “I” is the perspective of all personal experiences and affects behavior

Self Narratives vs Self Schemas

Narratives are stories that form from the self-concept, the schemas are traits that people identify as defining aspects of themselves

Implicit Egotism

Unconsciouspreference for things related to oneself, influencing decisions and choices.