Personality 1/2

personality

an individual’s characteristics, patterns of thought, emotion, and behaviours, together with the psychological mechanisms behind their patterns

who founded the psychoanalytical approach?

Sigmund Freud, focused on the idea that conscious experience is a balancing act

what were Freud’s 3 parts of the mind?

id, ego, superego

id

the unconscious part that is focused on pleasure, has no sense of right/wrong, and is present from birth

ego

the mainly/most conscious part, is mindful of reality and strives to find a compromise between id and superego

superego

most unconscious and slightly conscious and focused on morality, all about doing the right thing, develops at the age of 4

what happens if you have an over-dominant id?

you will be reckless and impulsive

what happens if you have an over-dominant superego

you will have a “holier than thou” personality

freudian slip

mistakes that aren’t random and reflect unconscious worries/desires/conflicts

what are the 2 types of content in dreams?

latent and manifest

latent dream content

the hidden meanings behind dreams (desires/worries)

material dream content

what dreams are literally about

psychological defense mechanisms

automatic mental strategies that function to relieve us of anxiety by distracting us from stressors or by disguising their true name

denial

refusing to accept the information presented to you, rejecting facts to reduce anxiety

rationalization

using logic to justify behaviour or decisions after making them

projection

labelling others as having your own unconscious views

repression

preventing you from consciously processing troubling facts, this can impact behaviour

sublimation

finding socially acceptable outlets for unconscious impulses, known as a “mature” defense mechanism

behavioural and cognitive approach

focus is on observable behaviours, believing that feelings are unmeasurable, and that personality changes due to your environment

behavioural appraoch

this was too limited, it caused a change

cognitive approach

the new “behavioural” approach

what are the 4 main components of the cognitive approach?

observation -—reinforcement—→ modelling = cognition

trait

a personality characteristic that is consistent, stable, and varies from person to person

what are the 5 big personality traits?

openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism

openness (to experience)

the level of creativity and adventure you have

high openness

you like experience and creative endeavours

low openness

you favour tradition and routine, you don’t like change

conscientiousness

the level of thoughtfulness and diligence

high conscientiousness

you have self-control, you plan, goal oriented, and organzied

low conscientiousness

you prioritize living in the moment, you’re more casual and unrestricted (lowest in childhood)

extroversion

the level of enthusiasm and sociability you have

high extroversion

you are outgoing, energized by company, and talkative (highest in childhood)

low extroversion

you are reserved, introspective, and enjoy alone time

agreeableness

the ability to put others’ needs above your own

high agreeableness

you’re compassionate, well-liked, polite, trusting, helpful

low agreeableness

you’re antagonistic, competitive, and secretive

neuroticism

the level of emotional stability and resilience

high neuroticism

not favoured, you’re hypersensitive, anxious, self-conscious, insecure

low neuroticism

you’re relaxed, self-assured, and stable

what are the drawbacks to the trait approach?

it overlooks how personality can vary in different environments and only focuses on existing differences

biological approach

focus is on brain structures, neuroanatomy, and how genes contribute to personality and evolutionary theory

amygdala + personality

since it is involved in anxiety and fear, it is active in shy and pessimistic individuals

frontal lobe + personality

linked to neuroticism and stability

if you are “high left” in your frontal lobe

you are emotionally stable, optimistic, and anger prone

if you are “high right” in your frontal lobe

you have high neuroticism

dopamine

connects to extroversion and openness

high dopamine

more open and extroverted

serotonin

connected to conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism

high serotonin

high in conscientiousness, agreeableness, and low in neuroticism

heritability of personality

the degree to which genetic differences correlate with variation in traits

what is the most heritable trait?

openness

what is the least heritable trait?

agreeableness

rorschach inkblot tests

lacked scientific validity and reliability

what are the 2 ways of measuring personality?

self-report and behaviour measures

self-report measures

answering questions about yourself

cons of self-report measures

hard to conceal the purpose which causes bias, social desirability bias to over-emphasize the truth, you may be unaware of certain traits

pros of self-report measures

cheap and easy to administer

behaviour measures

traits are assessed based on response time

pros of behaviour measures

they let researchers manipulate and perform proper experiements

cons of behaviour measures

situational impacts can skew the results, they’re expensive and timely

Myers-Briggs test

most used, depicted by a 4 letter code with 16 possibilities

cons of Myers-Briggs test

it has low reliability and validity

pros of Myers-Briggs test

it’s popular and widely-used

Minnesota multi-phasic personality inventory (MMPI)

an accurate clinical self-report tool with true or false questions

what are the 3 criteria of personality traits?

consistency, stability, and individual differences

humanistic view of personality

it is consciously controlled

psychodynamic view of personality

it is unconsciously controlled

projective test

test that is used to “tap into” unconscious influences on personality

projective hypothesis

if a person is asked to describe/interpret ambiguous stimuli, responses will be influenced by unconscious needs/feelings/experiences

objective tests

known as interviews, observations, questionnaries

pros of objective tests

it capitalizes on self-knowledge, simple, easy, cost-effective

cons of objective tests

it capitalizes on self-knowledge

trait theory

we can create a manageable set of personality dimensions

factor analysis

when you analyze patterns of correlations to extract factors that underlie the correlations

what is the opposite of openness

closedness to experience

what is the opposite of conscientousness

lack of direction

what is the opposite of extraversion

introversion

what is the opposite of agreeableness

antagonism

what is the opposite of neuroticism

emotional stability

what happens if you have high openness?

you are more likely to be in humanities, to change careers, to perform better, to play a musical instrument

what happens if you have high conscientousness?

you are more faithful, high job ratings, smoke/drink less, more safe, less risk for Alzheimer's

what happens if you have high extraversion?

more parties/popular, less disturbed by sounds, a leader

what happens if you have high agreeableness?

more willing to lend money, fewer arrests, higher school grades in childhood

what happens if you have high neuroticism?

paying more attention to threat in environment, more stress when pop quiz, higher divorce rate, more susceptible to depression/anxiety

psychological triad

feelings, behaviours, and thoughts = personality

what are Hippocrates’ 4 humours?

sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, and melancholic

sanguine

 a type of personality that is associated with optimism, cheerfulness

choleric

a type of personality that is associated with assertiveness, confidence, and taking charge

phlegmatic

a type of personality that is associated with calmness, thoughtfulness, and self-reservation

melancholic

a type of personality that is associated with introspection, sensitivity, and a tendency towards sadness

maslow’s hierarchy of needs

physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love, esteem needs, self-actualization

physiological needs

things that are required for basic survival; food, water, warmth

safety needs

things that are required for safety; shelter, health, financial security

belongingness and love

things that are required for interpersonal connection; love, friendship, trust, sense of belonging

esteem needs

things that are required for self-worth; being recognized

self-actualization

things that represent a person's potential; creative needs, desire for personal growth, drive to feel fulfilled

Eysenck’s personality factors

he believed that personality can be described in 2 dimensions: neuroticism and extroversion

temperament

the approach that believes that there is an innate part of personality, refers to the aspects of your personality that are influenced by your genes

easy temperament

if a baby has this, they can easily adapt to new situations and are mainly in a good mood

slow-to-warm-up temperament

when babies approach the world cautiously, they might be shy or withdraw from new things