Studied by 4 people
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personality (ch 1)
someone's usual pattern of behavior, feelings, and thoughts
extraversion (ch 1)
how outgoing, assertive, and talkative someone is
introversion (ch 1)
how shy and reserved someone is; the opposite of extraversion
situation (ch 1)
the other people and the physical environment surrounding the person
nature-nurture debate (ch 1)
the view that genetics cause personality traits versus the view that the environment causes personality traits
person-situation debate (ch 1)
the view that stable personality traits predict behavior versus the view personality doesn't really exist and the situation is much more important
conscientiousness (ch 1)
being neat, organized, and achievement oriented
person-situation interaction (ch 1)
when the person and situation work together to determine behavior
personality assessment (ch 2)
the way we measure and capture personality, using a variety of methods
self-report measure (ch 2)
questionnaires asking people to report on their own personalities, usually through rating themselves on a list of adjectives or statements
socially desirable responding (ch 2)
the tendency of people to make themselves look better than they actually are
reverse-scored items (ch 2)
items scored in the opposite direction from the responses
acquiescence response set (ch 2)
the tendency of some respondents to agree with many items on a questionnaire
Likert scale (ch 2)
a range of numbers that correspond to how much someone agrees or disagrees with an item
correlations (ch 2)
the statistical relationship between two variables
positive correlations (ch 2)
when one variable is high, the other variable tends to be high as well
negative correlations (ch 2)
when one variable is high, the other variable tends to be low
null correlation (ch 2)
when two variables are not related to each other
statistically significant (ch 2)
having a probability of less than 5% that the results are due to random chance
reliability (ch 2)
consistency, either within a scale or over time
internal reliability (ch 2)
when all of the items on a questionnaire measure the same thing
Cronbach's alpha (ch 2)
a statistical measure of internal reliability
test-retest reliability (ch 2)
taking the test at two different times produces roughly the same result
validity (ch 2)
when a scale measures what it's supposed to measure
face validity (ch 2)
when scale items appear, at face value, to measure what they are supposed to measure
predictive validity (ch 2)
when a scale is related to a concrete outcome or behavior
replicate (ch 2)
when the same or a very similar study is conducted again, the results are similar
Barnum effect (ch 2)
the tendency for people to believe vague, positive statements about themselves
descriptive statistics (ch 2)
numbers such as the mean, median, and mode
mean (ch 2)
the average score on a scale, calculated by adding everyone's scores and dividing by the number of scores
median (ch 2)
the score that falls in the middle of all the scores on the test (also called the 50th percentile)
mode (ch 2)
the most frequent score
normal distribution (ch 2)
a distribution of scores in which most people score in the middle and fewer score at the extremes; also known as a "bell curve"
standard deviation (ch 2)
a measure of spread around the mean. In a normal distribution, two thirds of the data will lie within one standard deviation of the mean
percentile score (ch 2)
the percentage of people someone scores higher than on a scale or test. A score at the 90th percentile means someone scores higher than 90% of the people who took the scale.
projective tests (ch 2)
measures designed to elicit personality characteristics without directly asking
intercoder reliability (ch 2)
occurs when people coding stories or written material agree, using a set of rules, that it meets certain criteria
physiological measures (ch 2)
measurements assessing physical reactions such as heart rate or sweating
repressive copers (ch 2)
people who deny their anxiety even when they're feeling very worried; they score high on social desirability and low on self-report measures of anxiety
fMRI (ch 2)
functional magnetic resonance imaging, a type of brain scanning
triangulation (ch 2)
using different research methods to answer the same question, in order to be more certain of the answer
correlational (ch 2)
studies that examine the relationship between two or more characteristics of people
convergent validity (ch 2)
when a scale correlates with other scales measuring the same construct
discriminant validity (ch 2)
when a scale does not correlate with unrelated scales
longitudinal study (ch 2)
a study that collects data on the same people at more than one time
experiment (ch 2)
a study in which people are randomly assigned to conditions
independent variable (ch 2)
the experimental or control conditions in an experiment
random assignment (ch 2)
participants are equally likely to experience the experimental or control condition
dependent variable (ch 2)
the outcome the researcher is interested in measuring
informant reports (ch 2)
when the people close to someone (roommates, family, friends) report on his or her personality
sufficiently large samples (ch 2)
having enough observations or people in a study to reliably detect an effect
meta-analysis (ch 2)
a study of studies that statistically analyzes the results of many studies on the same topic
confounding variables (ch 2)
in a correlational study, an outside variable related to the primary variables; also known as third variables
open practices (ch 2)
scientific practices that result in a high level of transparency, such as making data or research materials available to other researchers
many labs approach (ch 2)
when different groups of researchers do the exact same study at the same time
neuroticism (ch 3)
negative emotions such as worry and anger; opposite: calmness and emotional stability
traits (ch 3)
relatively stable tendencies of individuals
lexical hypothesis (ch 3)
that traits important for survival and reproduction became embedded in our language, with the most important traits represented by the largest number of words
openness to experience (ch 3)
being interested in trying new activities and playing with new ideas, beliefs, and value systems; opposite: being conventional and less comfortable with change
factor analysis (ch 3)
analyzing correlations among items to see which form related clusters
conscientiousness (ch 3)
organized, ambitious, and self-controlled; opposite: being messy, unmotivated, and impulsive
Big Five (ch 3)
five comprehensive personality domains: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience
hostile attribution bias (ch 3)
the tendency to see others as hostile and aggressive
extraversion (ch 3)
being outgoing and experiencing positive emotions; opposite: introversion or shyness
facets (ch 3)
more specific components of the Big Five, subcategories of Big Five traits
agreeableness (ch 3)
caring for others and getting along with other people; opposite: being argumentative, combative, and self-centered
nonshared environment (ch 4)
experiences not shared by siblings, such as certain friends, personal injuries, or participating in different activities
testosterone (ch 4)
a hormone much higher in men than in women
monozygotic twins (ch 4)
identical twins sharing the same genetic profile
sociosexuality (ch 4)
individual differences in attitudes toward sex without commitment
gene expression (ch 4)
how much a gene influences traits or outcomes
genetics (ch 4)
the DNA from one's biological mother and biological father
neurotransmitters (ch 4)
chemicals that carry signals over the gap between synapses in the brain
evolutionary psychology (ch 4)
the field of research exploring how evolution shaped human psychology
percentage of variance (ch 4)
explained by genetics or environment; this number refers to the variation among a group of people, and not within one individual
shared environment (ch 4)
the effects of growing up with the same parents; also known as family environment
morningness-eveningness (ch 4)
whether you are a morning person (a lark) or a night person (an owl)
epigenetics (ch 4)
the idea that some environments can influence how much genetics will matter
contrast effects (ch 4)
when one sibling consciously tries to be different from the other
fMRI (ch 4)
functional magnetic resonance imaging, a type of brain scan
twin study (ch 4)
a study examining twins raised apart and together, usually to explore whether characteristics are caused by genetics or environment
impulsivity (ch 4)
the tendency to take risks, not plan, and be high in sensation seeking, roughly equivalent to low conscientiousness
gene-environment interaction (ch 4)
when genetics and environment work together to shape personality
amygdala (ch 4)
the part of the brain responsible for processing reactions to fear
discrepancy detection (ch 4)
noticing something that is different in the environment
frontal lobe (ch 4)
the front part of the brain, which makes plans and considers decisions
biology (ch 4)
everything that appears in the body and brain, whatever its origin
2D:4D ratio (ch 4)
the length of someone's index finger divided by the length of their ring (third) finger; a low ratio is linked to high testosterone
vulnerable narcissism (ch 5)
narcissism including a low extraversion and dominance but high neuroticism
self-enhancement (ch 5)
the desire to maintain and increase the positivity of the self-concept
ideal self (ch 5)
the person you want to be
self-regulation (ch 5)
the process of guiding and directing yourself to a desired state
possible selves (ch 5)
the selves you imagine you could be, whether ideal or feared
discrepancy (ch 5)
the difference between where you are (your actual self) and where you want to be (for example, your ideal or ought self)
true self (ch 5)
the person you really are
loneliness (ch 5)
the experience of having fewer relationships than are desired
self-compassion (ch 5)
being kind to yourself; treating yourself with the same sense of compassion that you would treat others
self-control (ch 5)
willpower; the ability to control one's own behavior
material self (ch 5)
the extension of the self into the body, clothes, and possessions
standard (ch 5)
in self-regulation, a goal
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Flashcard (28)