Psychology 200 Exam 3 Study Guide Chapters 11, 12, 14, & 15

What is personality?

an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

What is self-report?

a method in which people provide subjective information about their own thoughts, feelings, or behaviors, typically via questionnaire or interview

What is the MMPI?

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

(the most widely used psychometric test for measuring adult psychopathology in the world. The MMPI-2 is used in mental health, medical and employment settings)

What are the MMPI's validity scales designed to assess?

Identifies personality structure and psychopathology i.e. mental disorders/soundness of mind/personality

What are some strengths and weaknesses of using self-report?

Strengths: it's getting a personal account from the subject

Weaknesses: risk social desirability bias as well as the lack of a base line for testing. What one person could define as being a rude behavior, another could think that it's totally normal

What are projective tests?

tests designed to reveal inner aspects of individuals' personalities by analysis of their responses to a standard series of ambiguous stimuli i.e. words, images, or situations

What is the Rorshach Inkblot Test?

a projective technique in which respondents' inner thoughts and feelings are believed to be revealed by analysis of their responses to a set of unstructured inkblots

What is The Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT)?

a projective technique in which respondents' underlying motives, concerns, and the way they see the social world are believed to be revealed through analysis of the stories they make up about ambiguous pictures of people

Example: Seeing a photo of a woman talking to a child and then interpreting a story from the photo.

What are some criticisms of projective tests of personality?

Lack of standardization & validity

"A common criticism of projective tests is their lack of standardization. This means that different people giving the test may administer and interpret the tests differently and, therefore, the tests will yield different results."

"Projective tests have been questioned for their validity or accuracy of measure. While the purpose of projective tests is to get at subconscious content, some believe the tests simply measure content that is connected to the individual's most recent experiences, rather than their deepest subconscious desires."

What is the goal of the trait approach?

a relatively stable disposition to behave in a particular and consistent way

What are the trait dimensions that make up the Big Five?

Openness to experiences

Conscientiousness

Extraversion

Agreeableness

Neuroticism

What do twin studies- especially of twins raised apart- tell us about the heritability of personality traits?

identical twins, who share the same genes, proved markedly more similar to each other in personality than did fraternal twins, who share on average only half their genes

Even if raised separately, the twins will often exhibit similar personalities or conform to each other's personality when reunited.

What does the psychodynamic approach propose about personality?

Personality is formed by needs, strivings, and desires largely operating outside of awareness

What are the id, ego, and superego?

id: our desire to immediately satiate needs. If you're hungry, your id would take food immediately off someone else's plate without waiting for your own.

superego: internalization of cultural/social rules. The superego is why we wouldn't take food off someone else's plate.

ego: acts as the balancer between the two. Keeps us from acting on impulse but also allows us to find and order at a restaurant.

What arises when there are unwanted thoughts or feelings?

Anxiety

What is repression?

the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

What are defense mechanisms?

unconscious coping mechanisms that reduce anxiety generated by threats from unacceptable impulses

What is rationalization?

defense mechanism offering a rational, logical reason for an upsetting event rather than the real reason

What is reaction formation?

defense mechanism that transforms an unwanted thought or feeling into its opposite

What is projection?

Defense mechanism - blaming others for one's behaviors

What is regression?

Defense mechanism - retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

This is what Buddy the Elf was accused of for dressing like an elf and talking about Santa from the movie, Elf

What is displacement?

Defense mechanism - transfer of feelings to a less threatening person

What is identification?

Defense mechanism - taking on the character of another person

What is the sublimation defense mechanism?

Funneling of an unacceptable impulse into a socially acceptable activity.

ex: person who loves cutting and blood, becomes a surgeon instead of a murderer.

What are the psychosexual stages of development?

oral stage (0-2)

anal stage (2-3)

phallic stage (3-7)

latency stage (7-11)

genital stage (11-adult)

What is the Oedipus complex?

a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

Which psychosexual stage is this?

-An 8 month old enjoys sucking on their thumb and babbling.

Oral stage

Which psychosexual stage is this?

-A 2.5 year old has begun potty training. She knows when she gets the feeling in her stomach, she has to go, and will wait to release the pressure until she's on the potty chair.

Anal stage

Which psychosexual stage is this?

-A 7 year old pretends to shave like his dad and has become more aware that women don't grow facial hair or that men don't have boobs.

Phallic stage

Which psychosexual stage is this?

-The child is between 7 & 11 years and has continued development, but sexual urges are still quiet during this time.

Latency stage

Which psychosexual stage is this?

-A 17 year old is able to maturely talk with her boyfriend about sex and protection and what they'll plan on doing.

Genital stage

How do the humanistic and existential approaches to personality differ from the trait and psychodynamic approach?

humanistic-existential approach focuses on how a personality can become optimal. In Psychodynamics approach personality is formed by needs, strivings, and desires largely operating outside of awareness motives that can produce emotional disorder

What is a self-actualizing tendency?

the human motive toward realizing our inner potential

What is flow?

a completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement of one's skills

What is the existential approach?

Basically we're all going to die one day so instead of focusing on existential crisis, you live life to the fullest by avoiding thoughts of angst and satisfying yourself with superficial pleasures

What is the social cognitive approach to personality?

Views personality in terms of how the person thinks about the situations encountered in daily life and behaves in response to them

What is the person-situation controversy?

the question of whether behavior is caused more by personality or by situational factors

When can we see personality consistency?

Appears to be a matter of when and where a certain kind of behavior tends to be shown

What is the difference between an internal and external locus of control?

People who believe they control their own destinies have internal locus of control

People who believe outcomes are random, by luck, or controlled by other people have external locus of control

What is self-concept?

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

What are the two ways self-concepts is organized?

self narrative and personality traits

What is self-verification?

the desire to have others perceive us as we truly perceive ourselves

What is self-esteem?

how much you value, respect, and feel confident about yourself

What is the self-serving bias?

the tendency for individuals to attribute their own successes to internal factors and put the blame for failures on external factors

What is narcissism?

an inflated view of self, especially about one's own power and importance

What is social psychology?

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

What is aggression?

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy

What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

frustration at a situation leads to aggression towards something and results in prejudice

How does gender impact aggression?

Although women can be just as aggressive as men, their aggression tends to be more premeditated than impulsive and more likely to be focused on attaining or protecting a resource than on attaining or protecting their status.

Women are much less likely than men to aggress without provocation or to aggress in ways that cause physical injury, but they are only slightly less likely than men to aggress when provoked or to aggress in ways that cause psychological injury

Women more likely to cause social harm: ostracizing others, spreading malicious rumors, silent treatment.

What is the prisoner's dilemma?

a situation in which two players each have two options whose outcome depends crucially on the simultaneous choice made by the other, often formulated in terms of two prisoners separately deciding whether to confess to a crime.

(X & Y are suspected of robbing a store. If one person says the other person did it and the other does not, then that person gets off free and the accused has to do 3 years. If both confess then they each do 2 year. If neither confess then they both do 1 years, etc.)

What is a group?

two or more people who, for longer than a few moments, interact with and influence one another and perceive one another as "us"

What is prejudice?

preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience

What is discrimination?

Biased actions against an individual or group

What is deindividuation?

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

What is diffusion of responsibility?

the tendency for individuals to feel diminished responsibility for their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way

What is altruism?

the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.

What is kin selection?

The tendency of an individual to be altruistic toward a close relative, resulting in the preservation of its genetic traits.

What is reciprocal altruism?

That if I do something good for you, you'll return the favor and benefit me.

Why are women more selective in choosing a sexual partner?

Sex has more risks for women like pregnancy and women often don't participate in sex solely for fun, plus men produce more sperm than women do eggs so why waste an egg on a man you don't even care about

What situational factors influence attraction?

proximity, mere exposure effect (see more often, like them more)

How does physical beauty impact attraction?

height in men, weight in girls

What is "beautiful" across many cultures?

It varies although most people are attracted to human faces that are bilaterally symmetrical.

People are attracted those who are similar to them. Why?

You can relate better to them

What is the difference between passionate and companionate love?

Passionate is an experience involving feelings of euphoria, intimacy, and intense sexual attraction. companionate is an experience involving affection, trust, and concern for a partner's well being

New relationships are often passionate whereas longterm relationships become companionate

What is social influence?

Behavior controlled by the presence and actions of others without regard to underlying attitudes

What are norms?

A society's stated and unstated rules for proper conduct.

What is normative influence?

even though you have background knowledge, you conform to the group to avoid being a social outcast (Think of Asch's line study)

What is the norm of reciprocity?

the unwritten rule that people should benefit those who have benefited them

What is the door-in-the face technique?

a large request is made at first, and if refused, a smaller request is made

What is the line length study by Asch?

A series of lines were produced and asked which one is the same length as the original line in a group of one participant and many confederates. The confederates would choose the wrong answer and the participant would go with their decision in order to blend.

What percentage of participants conformed at least once? (Asch's study)

75%

Describe the Milgram experiment

Each time the "learner" is wrong increase voltage by 15 (highest 450 volts)

Voltage box marked: slight shock- 15-60 v. all the way to XXX- 435-450 v.

What is obedience?

Complying with the demands of an authority figure

What percentage of participants continued to the highest shock level? (Milgram's study)

80%

What is an attitude?

an expression of positive or negative feelings toward a person, place, thing or scenario

What is informational influence?

a phenomenon that occurs when another person's behavior provides information about what is true

What is persuasion?

the process of creating, reinforcing, or changing people's beliefs or actions

How does systematic persuasion differ from heuristic persuasion?

In systematic, attitudes or beliefs are changed by appeals or reason. In heuristic, attitudes or beliefs are changed by appeals to habit or emotion.

What is the foot-in the-door technique?

Small request is made and after gaining compliance, larger request is made

What is cognitive dissonance?

the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.

What is social cognition?

the ways in which people think about others and how these ideas impact behavior

What are stereotypes?

Standardized mental picture that one person or group of people holds in common about another person or group of people.

What are four problems with stereotype use?

For example, we tend to underestimate differences within groups and overestimate differences between groups.

They can be inaccurate, overused, self-perpetuating, and automatic

What is perceptual confirmation?

the tendency for people to see what they expect to see

What is attribution?

a conclusion about the cause of an observed behavior/event

How is a situational attribution different from a dispositional attribution?

Situational: when we decide that a person's behavior was caused by some temporary aspect of the situation

Dispositional: when the behavior was caused by their relatively enduring tendency to think, feel, or act, in a particular way.

What is the correspondence bias?

the tendency to make dispositional attributions instead of situational attributions

What is the actor-observer effect?

the tendency to make situational attributions for our own behaviors while making dispositional attributions for the identical behavior of others

What are psychological disorders?

patterns of thoughts, feelings, or actions that are deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional

What is the DSM-V?

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

What is the medical model & how did it improve on earlier conceptualizations of mental illness?

the concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital.

Basically shows that mental issues can be treated

What are the three key elements needed to qualify as a disorder?

1) disturbances in behavior, thoughts, or emotions

2) personal distress or impairment

3) internal dysfunction

What is comorbidity?

the simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases or conditions in a patient

Understanding psychological disorders may require an integrated framework- what things need to be considered?

Incorporates biological, psychological, and environmental factors

What is the diathesis-stress model?

suggests that a person may be predisposed for a psychological disorder that remains unexpressed until triggered by stress

How does the study by Rosenhan show that labels need to be used carefully?

May affect how the person see themselves

What are anxiety disorders?

psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety

What is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)?

a disorder characterized by chronic excessive worry accompanied by three or more of the following symptoms: restlessness, fatigue, concentration problems, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep disturbance

How do a specific phobia and social phobia differ?

specific phobia is fear of a particular object or situation

social phobia is fear of being publicly humiliated or embarrassed

What is preparedness theory?

the idea that people are instinctively predisposed toward certain fears