Chapter 12: Personality Psychology

personality

long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways

heritability of personality and temperament

determined by a combination of many genes and epigenetic factors

temperament

• personality when we are first born

  • how you act as a baby

• appears very early on in our lives

reactivity

how we respond to environment

self-regulation

our ability to control our response

Minnesota Twin Study

.50 greater heritability ratio for personality traits

how is personality measured?

self-report

reliability

scores on it today are close to scores of the test taken again in days, weeks, or months later

validity

the test measures what we think it should measure

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

• most widely used personality test

• categorizes people into one of four categories

• does not pass reliability or validity tests

• based on opposing traits, not a spectrum

barnum effect

people tend to believe in descriptions of their personality that could in fact describe almost anyone

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

composed of a series of true/false questions

projective tests

personality assessments in which a person responds to ambiguous stimuli, revealing hidden feelings, impulses, and desires

projective test examples

• rorschach inkblot test

• rotter incomplete sentence blank

• thematic apperception test

• TEMAS multicultural thematic apperception test

culture

• all of the beliefs, customs, art, and traditions of a particular society

• maybe the most important environmental factor that shapes personality

regional personality clusters

C1: friendly, conventional — midwest and south

C2: relaxed, creative — west coast

C3: temperamental, uninhibited — texas, new england

approaches to study personality in a cultural context

• cultural-comparative approach

• indigenous approach

• combined approach

cultural-comparative approach

compare assessments developed in one culture to another culture; western centric

indigenous approach

• develop tools for each culture individually

• more inclusive and can highlight unique diversities of different cultures

combined approach

• integrate the strengths of both — identifying both the universal and unique aspects of personality

• holistic approach that can tell more

freudian explanation of personality

personality developed from a. conflict between two forces: biological aggressive and pleasure-seeking vs. internal socialized control

defense mechanisms: unconscious protective behaviors that reduce anxiety

• denial

• displacement

• projection

• rationalization

• reaction formation

• regression

• repression

• sublimation

denial

refusing to accept real events because they are unpleasant

displacement

transferring inappropriate urges or behaviors onto a more acceptable or less threatening target

projection

attributing unacceptable desires to other

rationalization

justifying behaviors by substituting acceptable reasons for less-acceptable real reasons

reaction formation

reducing anxiety by adopting beliefs contrary to your own

regression

returning to coping strategies for less mature stages of development

repression

suppressing painful memories and thoughts

sublimation

redirecting unacceptable desires through socially acceptable channels

inferiority complex

• developed by adler

• refers to a persons feelings that they lack worth and don’t measure up to others’ or society’s standards

collective unconscious

• developed by Jung

• common psychology tendencies that have been passed fown from one generation to the next

archetype

• developed by jung

• pattern that exists in our collective unconscious across culutres and societies

jung

believed in

• subconsciousness and in the collective subconscious

• archetypes or “selves” that we present depending on the situation

came up with introverts and extroverts

introvert

• energized by being alone

• avoids attention

• speaks slowly and softly

• thinks before speaking

• stays on one topic

• prefers written communication

• pays attention easity

• cautious

extrovert

• energized by being with others

• seeks attention

• speaks quickly and loudly

• thinks out loud

• jumps from topic to topic

• prefers verbal communication

• distractible

• acts first, thinks later

coping styles

developed by Horney

• moving toward people

• moving against people

• moving away from people

moving toward people

affiliation and dependence

moving against people

aggression and manipulation

moving away from people

detachment and isolation

learning approaches to personality

• behaviorist

• social-cognitive

bahaviorist

• personality is shaped by reinforcements and consequences

• people behave in a consisten manner based on prior learning

social-cognitive

• personality is developed through learning, which may be observational

• both learning and cognition are sources of individual differences in personality

• reciprocal determinism

• self-efficacy

reciprocal determinism

• proposed by bandura

• our behavior, cognitive process, and situational context all influence each other

self-efficacy

someone’s level of confidence in their own abilities

locus of control

our beliefs about the power we have over our lives, occurs on a continuum from internal to external

Maslow’s hierarchy (triangle) of needs

human being must have certain needs in common and that these needs must be met in a certain order

self concept

our ideal self is similar to the person we are, our real self, we experience congruence

traits

relatively enduring characteristics that influence our behavior across many situations; help explain consistencies

Cattrell

• 16 factors or dimensions of personality

• traits are characteristic ways of behaving

Eyesnck

• people have three specific personality dimensions

  • extro/intro version

  • neuroticism/stability

  • psychoticism/superego control

big five model of personality

1. openness

2. conscientiousness

3. extroversion

4. agreeableness

5. neuroticism

DOES NOT CAPTURE MORAL BEHAVIOR

HEXACO model

1. honesty/humility

2. openness

3. conscientiousness

4. extroversion

5. agreeableness

6. neuroticism