Psychology of Personality Ch1

What does the Latin word persona mean?

mask

We are all like other human beings insofar as there is a _____ ______

human nature

Important ways in which humans differ from one another. One of the tasks of the personality theorist is to describe and explain

individual differences

the most common lay explanation of personality is often based on

genetics

____ may play a far greater role in determining personality than was previously thought

heredity

argument concerning the extent to which an attribute, such as intelligence, is influenced by inheritance as opposed to experience.

nativism empiricism controversy

Some personality theorists believe that what distinguishes people from one another are the ___ they possess

traits

To a large extent, one’s ___ determines what are considered proper practices

culture

the way your personality chages through learning is through

reward and punishment

belief that the determinant of behavior are found in the environment instead of in the person

environmentalism

belief that all behavior is caused and therefore not free

determinism

self-examination. directing one’s thoughts inwards to discover the truth about one’s self

introspection

the study of a single individual

idiographic research

the study of groups of individuals

nomothetic research

variables controlling a person’s behavior internally

person variables

variables controlling a person’s behavior externally

situation variables

contention that no mind-body problem exists because no mind exists. no mental events occur, only physical events

physical monism

contention that mental events are the by-products of bodily events. Bodily events cause mental events but mental events cannot cause bodily events. mental events, therefore, can be ignored in the analysis of human behavior

epiphenomenalism

contention that an environmental event causes both mental and bodily reactions at the same time. according to this proposed answer to the mind-body question, bodily and mental phenomena run parallel to each other and are therefore not casually related

parallelism

contention that the mind influences the body and the body influences the mind. that is, the mind and the body are casually related

interactionism

the _____ theory states that people become what they experience

empirical

the _____ theory states that human behavior is, or can be, under the control of thoughtful, logical, rational thought processess

rational

the ______ theory states that humans possess the same impulses and instincts as other animals, particularly other primates

animalistic

the ____ ______ theory claims that humans inherit behavioral tendencies from our evolutionary past but that these tendencies can be modified by rational thought or cultural influence

evolutionary psychological

the ____ theory states that the most important point about humans is our ability to choose courses of action and to assign meaning to the events in our lives

existential

the ____ theory claims humans are born basically good; if we engage in undesirable behavior it is because cultural, societal, or familial conditions have forced us to do so

humanistic

the ____ theory states that humans are automatons who respond automatically to environmental events

mechanistic

the study of knowledge

epistemology

belief that knowledge can be gained only by exercising the mind, for example, by thinking, by thinking, deducing, or inferring

rationalism

contention that an attribute is determined by experience rather than by genetics. within ____ it is the belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience

empiricism

combination of the philosophical schools of rationalism and empiricism, with two major functions: (1) to synthesize/explain many observations (2) to generate new information

scientific theory

a theory’s ability to organize and explain several otherwise disjoined observations

synthesizing function

a theory’s ability to generate new research is called its ____ function

heuristic

the stipulation that scientific propositions must be capable of objective, empirical testing that is available to any interested person

principle of verification

term used by Kuhn to describe a theoretical viewpoint shared by many researchers

paradigm

predictions that run the risk of being incorrect. according to Popper, for a theory to be considered scientific it must make _____ _____

risky predictions

(also called refutability), Poppers contention that a scientific theory must make risky predictions; that is, it must make predictions that could be conceivably be false and, if so, would refute the theory

principle of falsifiability

contention that the major motive in life is to seek pleasure and avoid pain

hedonism

problem of specifying how something mental (cognitive) can influence something physical, such as the body and vice versa

mind-body problem

contention that an attribute is determined by genetics rather than by experience

nativism

epistemological pursuit that combines the philosophical schools or empiricism and rationalism

science

concept employed by several personality theorists to account for the facts that human behavior is smooth running, consistent, and well organized. the concept of ____ has also been used to explain why we are aware of ourselves as individuals

self

situation that exists when a person is acting in accordance with his or her full potential

self-actualization

those variables found in the environment thought to be responsible for behavior

situation variables

purposive behavior

teleological behavior

Core characteristics of personality : Consistency across time and ____

distinctiveness

Core characteristics of Personality: ______ and Distinctiveness

consistency across time

Multiple Determinants for Personality: ___, learning, traits, existential-humanistic, culture, and unconscious mechanisms

genetics

Multiple Determinants for Personality: genetics, ___, traits, existential-humanistic, culture, and unconscious mechanisms

learning

Multiple Determinants for Personality: genetics, learning, ___, existential-humanistic, culture, and unconscious mechanisms

traits

Multiple Determinants for Personality: genetics, learning, traits, ___, culture, and unconscious mechanisms

existential-humanistic

Multiple Determinants for Personality: genetics, learning, traits, existential-humanistic, ___, and unconscious mechanisms

culture

Multiple Determinants for Personality: genetics, learning, traits, existential-humanistic, culture, and ____

unconscious mechanisms

Fundamental Question: How relevant is your ___ to your personality?

past

The Scientific Method: ___, Hypothesis, Testing, Replication, and Theory

observation

The Scientific Method: Observation, ___, Testing, Replication, and Theory

hypothesis

The Scientific Method: Observation, Hypothesis, ___, Replication, and Theory

testing

The Scientific Method: Observation, Hypothesis, Testing, ___, and Theory

replication

The Scientific Method: Observation, Hypothesis, Testing, Replication, and ___

theory

explanations must be testable and available to the public

the principle of verification

along with evidence, people also learn from ___

experience

A good theory ____ the past and ___ the future

explains predicts

psychological theories are not ___, they’re ___

deterministic probabilistic

Assumptions of Scientific Inquiry: _________ and the laws are accessible

behavior is governed by laws

Assumptions of Scientific Inquiry: Behavior is governed by laws and ______

the laws are accessible

The goals of science are to ___, predict, control, and explain

describe

The goals of science are to describe, ___, control, and explain

predict

The goals of science are to describe, predict, ___, and explain

control

The goals of science are to describe, predict, control, and ___

explain

a model of reality that helps us to understand, explain, predict, and control that reality

scientific theory

a ____ theory is like a map, it isn’t entirely accurate and precise but it’s a good guide

scientific

Characteristics of a Scientific Theory: ___, parsimonious, fits existing observations, and predicts future findings

falsifiable

Characteristics of a Scientific Theory: falsifiable, ___, fits existing observations, and predicts future findings

parsimonious

the simplest explanation for something

parsimonious

Characteristics of a Scientific Theory: falsifiable, parsimonious, ___, and predicts future findings

fits existing observations

Characteristics of a Scientific Theory: falsifiable, parsimonious, fits existing observations, and ___

predicts future findings

Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge: ___, Systematic, Evidence-Driven, and Probabilistic

objective

Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge: Objective, ___, Evidence-Driven, and Probabilistic

systematic

Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge: Objective, Systematic, ___, and Probabilistic

evidence-driven

Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge: Objective, Systematic, Evidence-Driven, and ___

probabilistic

what is the method of investigation where you observe things as they are?

naturalistic observation

What is the method of investigation where you focus on one person, study them in detail, and then generalize to everyone?

case study

What is the method of investigation where you ask participants a series of questions?

survey

according to freud, human nature is ___ and ___

sexual aggressive

the life force

libido

the death instinct

thanatos

the source of life energy, seeks to embrace pleasure and erase pain

id

serves a manager function, navigates reality in an attempt to fufill id impulses

ego

the internalized conscious and moral compass

superego