PSY 305 EXAM 3

Big Five

The five basic dimensions of personality found in many factor analytic studies

Trait approach

- less tailored to individual
- does not have an intervention or psychotherapeutic process
-AIM: predicting typical behavior of groups or people who score within a certain segment on the trait continuum

Central Traits

The 5-10 traits that best describe a person's personality

Factor Analysis

A statistical procedure used to determine the number of dimensions in a data set

Idiographic Approach

A method of studying personality through in-depth analysis of one individual and the dimensions relevant to that person's personality

Nomothetic Approach

A method of understanding personality that compares many people along the same personality dimensions

Person-by-Situation Approach

An approach to understanding behavior that maintains behavior is a function of the person as well as the situation

Psychogenic Need

Murray: readiness to respond in a certain way under certain given conditions

Social Desirability

The extent to which test takers tend to respond to items in a manner that presents them in a positive light

Trait

A dimension of personality used to categorize people according to the degree to which they manifest a particular characteristic

Trait Approach Assumptions

1. personality characteristics are relatively stable over time
2. personality characteristics are stable across situations

Behavioral/Social Learning Approach

An approach that focuses on the way people learn from watching role models

Murray's Personology

identifying needs as the basic elements of personality

Press

whether a need is activated depends on the situation

Source Traits

basic traits that make up human personality

Limitation of Factor Analysis

the procedure is confined by the type of data chosen for analysis

The Big Five Dimensions

1. Openness
2. Conscientiousness
3. Extraversion
4. Agreeableness
5. Neuroticism

Openness

Openness to experience rather than openness in an interpersonal sense (intellectual curiosity, imagination)

Conscientiousness

How controlled and self-disciplined we are (disciplined, goal driven)

Extraversion

High or Low Sociability

Agreeableness

being kind and warm to others

Neuroticism

Emotional stability and personal adjustment

Criticism and Limitation of Big Five Model

-does not accurately capture complexities and subtleties of human personality
-a lot of disagreement about the structure of the five factor model

Research on the Five-Factor Model

hypotheses about the origin of the Big Five factors were generated after the research were seen

Many researchers fails to produce strong links between personality traits and behavior. Epstein has argued that the reason for this failure is because

researchers don't measure behavior correctly

Research has shown that among the Big Five personality factors, the best predictor of performance is_______

Conscientious

Self Report Inventories are popular among professional psychologists; why?

1. bc they can be given in groups or online
2. can be administered and interpreted one test at a time
3. popular bc the measures have greater face validity than other instruments

MMPI II

-used by clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists, personnel psychologists, and school psychologists

Changes in Big 5 Personality Traits between Adolescence and 30 yrs.

-declines: neuroticism
- goes down but less: extraversion and openness
-increases: agreeableness and conscientiousness
- universal and cross cultural

Problems with Self-Report Inventories

1. Faking
-fake good: people try to resent themselves as better than they really are
-fake bad: people want to make themselves look worse than they really are
2. Carelessness and Sabotage
3. Social Desirability

MMPI-2 Common Code Types 24/42

- in treatment because in trouble likely to be alcoholic
- if not in trouble will be first impression then fades

Common Code Types 678

-psychotic valley
-schizophrenia or paranoid

Common Code Types 247/274/472

-passive agressive PD

MMPI2 Common Code Types 27/72

*ON TEST*
Most common outpatient codetype. Neurotic, anxious, depressed. Overreact to stress, depressed without deep experience of sadness

Strengths of Trait Approach

-reduces some of the biases and subjectivity of other approaches
-has many practical applications

Criticism of Trait Approach

-Trait psychologists describe people in terms of traits but don't tell them how these traits develop or how to help people who suffer from extreme scores
-No school of psychology coming out from it

Achievement

goals, targets people aspire to in achievement situations

Need for Achievement

desire to accomplish something difficult; to master, manipulate or organize

High Achievement Motivation Characteristics

-moderate risk takers
-tackle work with a lot of energy
-prefer jobs that give them personal responsibility for outcomes
-early roots in parenting:
1) providing support to a point scaffold
2) while allowing for struggle growth

Individualist Culture and Achievement

Aim: personal accomplishments
View: in competition with others

Collectivist Culture and Achievement

Aim: cooperation and group accomplishments
View: concerned about well being of coworkers

Why do High Achievers succeed in business?

Because they anticipate many courses of actions and possible pitfalls and thereby increase their chances of reaching their goal of personal acheivement

Attributions

determines how we feel about the performance and how we perform in similar situations in the future

Types of Attribution

1. Stability
2. Locus
3. Control

Stability

attributing our performance by pointing to stable (intelligence) or unstable causes (luck)

Locus

attributing to internal (amount of effort put) or external (difficult test)

Control

whether we can or cannot control causes of success or failure

Easiest way to improve achievement motivation

Change people's attributions

Mastery Goals

-aim to develop competence (instrinsic)
-guided by interest
-leads to high achievment
-retain information longer
- unlikely to ask: will this be on the test

Performance Goals

-aim to get recognition (extrinsic)
-guided by positive evaluations
-can lead to high achievement
- lasting learning/retention of skill is often minimized

3 Major Components of Type A Trait

-have a higher competitive achievement striving than type B
-shows a sense of time urgency
-more likely to respond to frustrating situations with anger and hostility

Social Anxiety

anxiety related to social interactions or anticipated social interactions

Social Anxiety and Shyness

-not related introversion
-Social Anxiety: people do not like their shyness

Evaluation Apprehension

a strong concern about receiving negative evaluations from others

3 ways our emotions can be examined as relatively personal characteristics

1. each of us differs in the extent to which we typically experience emotions, both positive and negative
2. we differ in the typical strength of emotions we experience
3. we differ in the way we express our emotions

3 Aspects of Emotions

1. Affectivity
2. Intensity
3. Expressiveness

Emotional Affectivity

the extent to which people typically experience positive and negative emotions

Positive Emotional Affect

High: active, content, satisfied
Low: sad and lethargic

Negative Emotional Affect

High: nervousness, anger, distress
Low: calm and serene

Effects of high positive affect

-more likely to be involved in romantic relationship and more satisfied
-social activity causes high positive affect, vice versa
-better at solving conflicts and maintaining happy relationships

Affect Intensity

the degree to which people typically experience their emotions

People with High Affect Intensity

-feel emotions more strongly than low intensity
-happiness means a lot of exhilarating and enlivening experiences

People with Low Affect Intensity

-happiness is calm and enduring sense of contentment

Emotional Expressiveness

the extent to which people outwardly express their emotions

Dispositional Optimism

general expectancy that good things rather than bad things happen

Why do dispositional optimists fair better at handling stress?

they use different coping strategies

Defensive Pessimism

generate their gloomy expectations as part of a deliberate strategy

2 reasons defensive pessimists have a dismal outlook

1. prepare for failure by setting low expectations in advance; sting of defeat is lessened, success is even better
2. real possibility of failure pushes them to try harder

In one study in the textbook, participants were asked to engage in a five-min "get acquainted" convo. The researchers found:

-socially anxious more likely to agree with what the other person said and to restate what they said
-create image of politeness and interest without becoming too involved in the conversation
-minimize amount of evaluation by the partner

Researchers use _______ _______ technique to examine the relation among various emotions

factor analysis

3 Elements of Existential Philosophy

1. Meaning of our existence
2. Role of Free Will
3. Uniqueness of each human being

Existential Anxiety

feelings of dread and panic that follow the realization that there is no meaning to one's life

Key elements of Humanistic Point of view

1. emphasis on personal responsibility
2. emphasis on the "here and now"
3. focus on phenomenology of the individual
4. emphasis on personal growth

Personal Responsibility

although we may try to deny it, we are ultimately responsible for what happens to us

Here and Now

can't become fully functioning individuals until we learn to live our lives as they happen

Phenomenology of the Individual

-no one knows you better than yourself
-Humanistic psychologists should try to understand where the clients are "coming from" instead of what clients need to help themselves

Personal Growth

there is more to your life than having all of your immediate needs met

Self-Actualization

a state of personal growth in which people fulfill their true potential

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

1. Physiological
2. Safety
3. Love/Belonging
4. Esteem
5. Self-Actualization

Physiological Need

-breathing
-food
-water
-sex

Safety Need

-security of body
-security of employment
-security of resiources

Love/Belonging Need

1. D-Love: need to satisfy the emptiness people experience without it
2. B-Love: experienced and grows as a result of being in the relationship

Esteem Need

1. Need to perceive self as competent and achieving
2. Need for admiration and respect

Self-Actualization Need

satisfied when we identify our true self and reach our full potential

Carl Rogers

-Humanistic Psychology
-first to popularize "person-centered" approach

Carl Rogers' Central Assumption

anxiety results from inability to take in information that is inconsistent with our self-image

Fully Functioning Person

a psychologically healthy individual who is able to enjoy life as completely as possible

Rogers on Anxiety and Defense

says that anxiety results form coming into contact with information that is inconsistent with the way we think of ourselves
-when an idea interrupts self-concept

Subception

we receive threatening information at a level somewhere below consciousness
-if the info is not threatening, it easily flows into awareness
-but if it contradicts self-concept, we'll rely on defenses to keep info from entering consciousness

Distortion

-most common defense
-we become anxious when encountering positive information if that information is in consistent with our self-concept
-"she really shouldn't get that upset by what I said"

Disorganization

when the gap between self-concept and reality is so large that even our defenses are inadequate
-the protective barrier against threatening information collapses and results in extreme anxiety

Unconditional Positive Regard

when we experience this, we know we will be loved and accepted to matter what we do

2 Types of Motives

1. Deficiency Motives
2. Growth Needs

Deficiency Motives

lack of some needed object (physiological needs)

Growth Needs

-not satisfied once object of need is found
-satisfaction: expressing the motive unselfish giving of love to others, development of one's unique potential

Misconceptions about Maslow's Need Heirarchy

-it varies cross-culturally
-Maslow's theory that any behavior is motivated by 1 need is oversimplified

Optimal Experience

a state of happiness and satisfaction characterized by absorption in a challenging and personally rewarding task

Person-Centered Therapy

not to change the client but to provide an atmosphere within which clients are able to help themselves

Maslow's Eupsychian Management

-rearranging an organization to help employees satisfy higher level needs
-careers can provide an avenue for personal growth as well as a means for paying the bills

Q-sort

an assessment procedure in which test takers distribute personal descriptions along a continuum