Studied by 66 people
Personality
A person’s unique set of consistent behavioral traits.
Personality Traits
Durable dispositions behave in a particular way in a variety of situations.
Factor Analysis
Using statistical techniques to identify clusters of related info.
The Five-Factor Model (“Big 5”)
Openness~
Consciousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
Openness
High: Receptive to new ideas, creative, & broad in interests.
Low: Conventional, practical, narrow in interests.
Consciousness
High: responsible, organized, disciplined, achievement-oriented
Low: Careless, disorganized, impulsive, lazy
Extraversion
High: outgoing, fun-loving, assertive, talkative
Low: shy, serious, passive, quiet
Agreeableness
High: Warm, trusting, helpful, easygoing
Low: cold, suspicious, uncooperative, argumentative
Neuroticism
High: Moody, Anxious, Restless, Excitable
Low: Calm, Even-tempered
Who made Central & Secondary Traits in the Trait Theory?
Allport
Central Traits
approx. 7 main personality traits that are apparent to others & consistent across diverse situations.
Secondary Traits
unlimited number of traits that only show up in specific situations.
Who made Source & Surface Traits in the 16- Factor Trait Theory?
Cattell
Source Traits
16 underlying personality traits that influence surface behavior.
Surface Traits
The combination of source traits that make up our personality. These are behaviors that others see & are unlimited.
Introverted/Extraverted
*Introverted: Quiet, Reflective, Reserved, etc…
*Extraverted: Active, Sociable, Outgoing, etc…
Neuroticism (Emotionally)
*High in Neuroticism: Moody, Anxious, Restless, Excitable, etc...
*Low in Neuroticism: Calm, Even-tempered, etc…
Psychoticism
*High in Psychoticism: Cruel, hostile, aggressive, impulsive, self-centered.
*Low in Psychoticism: Warm, caring, & concerned for others.
Evaluating Trait Theories (Advantages)
Advantage: Gives us terminology to describe the behavior.
Evaluating Trait Theories (Disadvantages)
*Disadvantages: Doesn't explain behavior; Doesn't create a unique description for everyone (like a horoscope) (Barnum Effect*).
What are the 3 Structures of Personality/Mind? (Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory)
Id
Ego
Superego
Id (instincts)
*Primitive, instinctual component of our personality.
*Fulfills our unconscious urges (doesn’t care about consequences)
*Operates on the pleasure principle (instant gratification)
*Includes: Eros (life instinct); Thanatos (death instinct); Libido(sexual energy).
Ego (reality)
*Operates on the reality principle (delay gratification until id’s urges can be satisfied in a socially acceptable way).
Superego (morality)
*moral component of personality (values, conscience, right v wrong)
*learned from parents & society.
Defense Mechanism
unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions such as anxiety and guilt resulting from unconscious conflict.
Denial (defense mechanism)
Refusal to recognize or acknowledge a threatening situation.
ex~ Ben is failing his classes & denies struggling academically.
Repression (defense mechanism)
“pushing” threatening or conflicting events or situations OUT of conscious memory.
ex~ Elise was injured in a fire as a child, but can’t remember the fire at all.
Rationalization (defense mechanism)
Making up acceptable excuses for unacceptable behavior.
ex~ “If I don’t have breakfast, I can have that piece of cake later on w/o hurting my diet.”
Projection (defense mechanism)
Placing one’s unacceptable thoughts onto others, as if the thoughts belong to them & not to oneself.
ex~ Keisha is attracted to her friend’s boyfriend but denies this & believes the boyfriend is attracted to her.
Reaction Formation (defense mechanism)
Forming an emotional reaction or attitude that is the opposite of one’s threatening or unacceptable actual thoughts.
ex~ 7yo Darnell likes Annie but he makes fun of her & acts mean in her
Displacement (defense mechanism)
Expressing feelings that would be threatening if directed at the real target onto a less threatening substitute target.
ex~ Sandra’s teacher scolds her & she goes home to pick a fight w/ her brother angrily.
Regression (defense mechanism)
Falling back on childlike patterns as a way of coping w/ stressful situations.
ex~1st-year college roommate is not used to college & gets overwhelmed so she starts sucking her thumb (like she did when she was young), to cope.
Identification (defense mechanism)
Trying to become like someone else to deal w/ one’s anxiety.
ex~ Marie really admires Suzy, the most popular girl in school, & tries to copy her behavior & dress.
Compensation (substitution) (defense mechanism)
Trying to make up for areas in which a lack is perceived by becoming superior in some other area.
ex~ Reggie is not good at athletics, so he puts all of his energies into becoming an academic scholar.
Sublimination (defense mechanism)
Turning socially unacceptable urges into socially acceptable behavior.
ex~ Alain, who is very aggressive, becomes a professional hockey player.
Intellectualization (defense mechanism)
Removing emotions from a situation; very logical thinking
Psychosexual Stages of Development
Developmental periods w/ a characteristic sexual focus that leaves their mark on adult personality. Each stage corresponds w/ a specific area/source of pleasure.
Fixation
IF a stage is not resolved successfully, a fixation may result. A fixation is a preoccupation w/ a particular source of pleasure.
Oral Stage (0-1 yr)
Mouth is the source of pleasure; the focus is on breastfeeding/weaning to determine if successful resolution.
Fixation: biting, chewing, sarcasm, smoking, etc.
Anal Stage (1-3 yrs) ; (2 things)
Focuses is on potty training to determine if there is a successful resolution.
Anal Retentive~
(too early or too harsh); Organized, clean, likes control.
Anal Expulsive~
(too late or too lax): messy, disorganized, impulsive.
Phallic Stage (3-5 yrs) ; (2 things)
Source of pleasure: genitals. D:;
Oedipus complex (boys)~
Little boys desire mommy & want to kill daddy.
Electra complex (girls)
Little girls desire daddy & want to kill mommy. *Girls develop penis envy
(as a result, children use reaction formation & identification & cling to the same-sex parent. This is where the morals of the superego are learned).
Fixation: mommy/daddy issues; trouble finding a mate.
Latency Stage (5 yrs-adolescence)
Sexual impulses are dormant; nothing really happens. Most interactions occur w/ same-sex children.
Genital Stage (adolescence +)
Sexual desires reappear; earlier fixation reappears, sexual energies are channeled toward peers of the other sex, rather than toward oneself.
Personal Unconcious
Houses material that is not within one’s conscious awareness bc it has been repressed or forgotten. (our traditional view of the unconscious),
Collective Unconscious
A storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from people’s ancestral past; shared by the entire human race.
Archetypes (symbols of collective unconcious)
Ancestral memories; emotionally charged images & thought forms that have universal meaning. (used in dream analysis)
Persona = mask to hide true self (being “fake”)
How we present ourselves to the world. The persona represents all of the diff. social masks that we wear among various groups & situations. It acts to __shield the eg__o from negative images.
(ALFRED ADLER) Striving for superiority (overcoming feelings of inferiority)
*Inferiority: a feeling, often unconscious, that one is “lesser” to others in some way (physical, social, economical, intellectual, etc.)
*As a result, we use compensation, which drives us to excel (strive for superiority) in other areas in our lives.
Important note: A “complex” indicates a serious issue within one’s personality. For example, a neurotic concern with feeling inferior to others is called an inferiority complex. An insatiable need to prove oneself, often to demonstrate superiority over others, is called a superiority complex.
KAREN HORNEY
*womb envy (men compensate in other ways)
While Freud argued personality differences in gender were biological, Horney argued that they were societal/cultural. She also focused on how diff. personalities were a rep. of different ways of attaining love/affection.
Object Relations
Early relationships between infants & significant objects (especially people) shape personality.
Adler & Horney are referred to as Neo-Freudians & focus on social & early childhood experiences that shape personality.
Evaluating Psychodynamic Perspectives (Advantages)
Unconscious forces do influence behavior.
Internal conflicts do exist.
Early childhood experiences do influence adult behavior.
People use defense mechanisms.
Evaluating Psychodynamic Perspectives (Disadvantage)
Lacks empirical evidence (all).
Unrepresentative samples (Freud).
Inaccurate reporting of data & method of conducting research had leading questions (Freud)
Ignore consciousness (all).
Cognitive-Behavioral Perspectives
Emphasizes cognitive processes, such as thinking & judging, in the development of personality. These cognitive processes contribute to learned behaviors that are central to one’s personality.
B.F. Skinner & Behaviorism
Personality (response tendencies) is developed through rewards & punishments.
Reciprocal Determinism (Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory)
Thoughts/cognition, behaviors, & environmental factors all interact & influence each other.
ex~ BEHAVIOR: drug. ENVIRONMENT: hangs out with people that do drugs. PERSONAL FACTORS: maybe they think they have depressive thoughts, too addicted. (ENDLESS LOOP)
Self-efficacy (Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory)
One’s beliefs about their ability to succeed (produce expected outcomes) in a new situation. Can be high or low. Can be general or situation specific.
Walter Mischel & The Person-Situation Controversy
Mischel’s theories focused on the importance of the situation in determining behavior. Identified certain “person variables'' & “situational variables'' in guiding behavior.
Julian Rotter’s Expectancy Theory & Locus of Control
Behavior is determined by how much you believe your actions impact your environment.
People are described as having either an internal LOC (yes, my behavior impacts my environment) or external LOC (no, my behavior does not affect my environment)
(voting) Internal LOC: Yes, my vote will count & make a difference. External LOC: why does my one vote matter? \n \n (job interview) Internal LOC: I can convince them that I should get the job. External LOC: They’re either going to hate or love me, no point in preparing.
Evaluating Cognitive-Behavioral Perspectives (Advantages)
empirical evidence
objective
emphasizes the role of the
environment & cognitive processes
Evaluating Cognitive-Behavioral Perspectives (Disadvantages)
de-emphasizes free will in behavior (too much emphasis on environment)
ignores unconscious & biological influences
Humanistic Perspectives (aka phenomenological)
emphasizes the unique qualities in humans, especially their freedom to choose their destiny & potential for personal growth; be the best that they can be.
Roger’s Person-Centered Theories (3)
Self-concept (“schema”)
Self-discrepancy theory (incongruence)
(Development of the Self) Conditions of worth & feeling unconditional love
Self-Concept “schema”
Collection of beliefs about one’s own nature, human qualities, and typical behavior. (people are subjective in their self-concept)
Self-discrepancy theory (incongruence)
Actual self: who we are
Ideal self: who we wish we were
Ought self: who “they” say we would be
*Is our actual self congruence w/ our ideal self? Ought self?
*Negative emotions result from incongruencies & create a low self-concept.
(Development of the Self) Conditions of worth & feeling unconditional love
*Conditions of worth are created when the person is evaluated rather than the behavior.
*The development of the self is determined by the extent to which parents make their love conditional. (positive self-concept is based on unconditional love)
Maslow’s Heirarchy
(Hierarchy of needs (some needs are more important than others) He said basic needs need to be satisfied 1st.)
Self-actualization
The need to fulfill one's potential; be the best you can be.
Growth Orientated vs. Deficiency Orientation
*Growth orientation: focusing on what you have.
*Deficiency orientation: Focusing on what’s missing.
Those w/ a growth orientation are healthier & more likely to reach self-actualization.
Evaluating Humanistic Perspective (Advantages)
Group therapies
Child-rearing & relationships in general
Free will to change
Evaluating Humanistic Perspective (Disadvantages)
Poor testability & inadequate evidence.
Unrealistic view of human nature (too positive)
Confined to western cultures (very individualistic)
Ignores biological, social, learning, unconscious factors.
Independent self-system v. dependent self-system (Interdependent)
aka
(Individualism v. Collectivism)
Individualism: indivisual succession
(putting personal goals ahead of group goals)
Collectivism: group succession
(putting group goals ahead of personal goals)
Objective Tests (self-report inventories)
T/F, Y/N, MC questions/statements that can be scored.
MMPI
*Most widely used; used in diagnosis
*(566 T/F questions; 10 clinical scales & 4 validity scales)
16PF (Catell) & NEO-PI-R (Costa & McCrae) (Big 5)
NEO-P: Compares results from private & public versions.
(take a test about yourself, someone else takes a test about you)
MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)
Another objective test (gives 4 letters = personality type)
Strengths v Weaknesses w/ Personality Assessments (Advantages)
objective
Strengths v Weaknesses w/ Personality Assessments (Disavantages)
self-report data
social-desirability bias
response sets
Projective Tests
participants respond to vague, ambiguous stimuli in ways that may reveal the subject’s unconscious needs, feelings, & personality traits & can be analyzed in many different ways.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Tell the story of a picture.
Rorschach Inkblot Test
shown a series of inkblots; respond to what you see
Strengths v. Weaknesses of Projective Tests
Strengths: not apparent to participants, insight into unconscious
Weaknesses: little evidence, how do you know if the interpretation is accurate? (very subjective), etc...
Motivation
The factors that influence the intuition, direction, intensity, & persistence of behavior.
Biological Factors
Food, water, sleep, sex, temp., physiological factors. (drugs/hormones) “internal”
Social Factors
For what?: approval for others, acceptance, fitting in/standing out.
By whom?: parents/siblings, friends, teachers, media, culture/religion, etc. “external”
Cognitive Factors
Beliefs, thoughts, expectations, & views of yourself & of the world, curiosity, intellectual growth, etc. “internal”.
Emotional Factors
Love, happiness, anger, fear, jealousy, etc. “internal”
Primary v. Secondary Motives/Drives
Primary: biological needs: related to survival. (ex: food, water, oxygen, sleep, etc.)
Secondary: acquired drives that are culturally determined/learned. (ex: obtaining $, intimacy, social approval, etc.)
Drive Theory (aka Drive Reduction Theory)
We are motivated to maintain homeostasis. (balance). (this theory best explains biological needs).
Homeostasis
State of physiological equilibrium or stability.
Drive
Internal state of tension that motivates an organism to believe in a certain way in order to restore homeostasis.
Incentive Theory
Incentive = an external goal.
We are motivated to obtain desirable stimuli or avoid negative stimuli. (ex: $, promotion, food, approval, a good grade, etc.)
Evolutionary Theory
Based on survival/natural selection; reproductive capacity; automatic, involuntary, & unlearned behaviors. (ex: birds fly south for the winter).
Arousal Theory
People are motivated to maintain their optimal level of arousal (which is diff. for everyone).
If over-aroused (above your optimal level) = motivated to reduce level.
If under-aroused (below your optimal level) = motivated to increase arousal level.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
People are motivated to fulfill certain needs that are arranged in a hierarchy; the lower needs on the hierarchy must be filled before someone can be motivated by any of the higher level hierarchies. (review)
Lateral Hypothalamus
Feeding center; “ON” switch.
Ventromedial Hypothesis/Nucleus
Satiety center; “OFF” switch.
Paraventricular Nucleus (PVN)
Controls the selection of specific foods & __blood sugar l__evels. (ever wonder why you choose the foods you do?!)
Glucose
Food is converted into glucose (simple sugars) & provides a source of energy. Low levels = hungry.
Insulin
Secreted by pancreas; reduces appetite.
Ghrelin
Released by empty stomach = stimulates appetite; causes stomach contractions.
Note 
Flashcard (36)