Psychology of Personality

A set of 25 vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts and definitions related to personality psychology.

The unique and relatively enduring set of behaviours, feelings, thoughts, and motives that characterize an individual.

Personality

A disposition to behave consistently in a particular way.

Trait

The two factors that shape personality, indicating that genetics and environment both play roles.

Nature and Nurture

The proportion of variance in traits attributed to genetic factors, estimated to be 40 to 60 percent.

Heritability

A perspective that suggests certain personality traits may have evolved as adaptive mechanisms.

Evolutionary theory

Research methods that compare traits in twins to investigate the genetic basis of personality.

Twin Studies

The concept that personality remains relatively stable across an individual's lifetime.

Stability of Personality

A statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies.

Meta-analysis

The realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potential, often considered the drive to achieve personal growth.

Self-actualization

The discrepancy between how we perceive ourselves and how we perceive we should be.

Real self vs. Ideal self

Acceptance of a person regardless of their behavior, fundamental in humanistic psychology.

Unconditional Positive Regard

The beliefs that a person’s worth depends on displaying the right attitudes, behaviors, and values.

Conditions of Worth

The view that personality is a collection of learned behavior patterns shaped by reinforcement and punishment.

B.F. Skinner’s Behaviourist Approach

Theories emphasizing the role of cognitive processes in understanding personality.

Social Cognitive Approaches

Belief in one's own capabilities to achieve a task or meet challenges.

Self-Efficacy

An individual's overall evaluation of their worth or value.

Self-Esteem

A theory that explains consistencies in individual behavior based on traits.

Trait Theory

A dominant characteristic that directs most of a person's actions.

Cardinal Trait

Major characteristics that guide a person’s life and comprise the core of their personality.

Central Trait

Traits that influence behavior in fewer situations and are less consistent.

Secondary Trait

A statistical method used to identify associations among many variables and uncover underlying patterns.

Factor Analysis

A personality assessment tool developed by Raymond Cattell that identifies 16 source traits.

Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF)

A model comprising Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Psychoticism as fundamental personality dimensions.

Eysenck’s Three Dimensions of Personality

A model outlining five major factors of personality: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

The Big Five

The consistency of a measure across different occasions or versions.

Reliability

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.

Validity

Personality tests that use ambiguous stimuli to uncover hidden aspects of an individual's personality.

Projective Measures

Assessments that ask individuals to describe their own behavior or characteristics.

Self-Report Measures