Psychology of Personality Exam 2

Fixed Action Pattern (FAP)

Instinctual chain of movements found in almost all members of a species

Innate Behavior

Inborn, unlearned behavior e.g. breathing, reflexes

Species-Specific Behavior

Behavior patterns that occur with little variation in almost all members of a species

Species-Typical Behavior

Behavior patterns typical of a species but NOT automatic

Behavior modification 

• The therapy technique designed to extinguish undesirable behaviors, by removing the reinforcers, and replacing them with desirable behaviors of reinforcement. 

• Used for many psychological problems addictions, neuroses, shyness, autism, and even schizophrenia 

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

some stimulus in the environment that naturally elicits a response from the person or animal. (automatic WITHOUT learning)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Some previously neutral stimulus that is paired over and over in space and time with unconditioned stimulus 

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

the behavior that’s drawn out by the unconditioned stimulus (automatic WITHOUT learning) 

Conditioned Response (CR)

the behavior elicited by the conditioned stimulus after learning has taken place

• habit (smoking, vaping, etc.) 

Classical Conditioning 

a learning process where a subject learns to associate a neutral stimulus, eventually eliciting a conditioned response 

Punishment

response followed by presentation of an average stimulus

• nagging, spanking, time-out 

Negative reinforcement 

response followed by removal of an aversive stimulus 

removing a stimulus you do not like 

reinforcement vs. punishment 

negative reinforcement increases a desired behavior by removing an unpleasant stimulus 

vs. 

punishment decreases an undesired behavior by removing a pleasant stimulus or adding a unpleasant stimulus

aversive stimulus 

stimulus that is painful or uncomfortable 

Escape learning

learning to make a response in order to end an aversive stimulus

Avoidance learning

learning to make a response to avoid/postpone/ prevent discomfort

Skinner

• punishment is not a good way to decrease behavior… it can stop all behavior 

• punishment leads to aggression 

• important to give the child or person information on behaviors that would be reinforced 

• punishment does not create new and appropriate behavior 

Albert Bandura 

• cognitive behaviorist theories/social learning theory 

• began with behaviorism 

• added reciprocal determinism to behaviorism

• personality is an interaction among three things: (1) environment, (2) behavior, (3) psychological processes

Social learning theory 

• humans are conscious, thinking, and feeling beings 

• personality develops through observational learning of others’ behavior 

person variables need to be considered as well as environmental variables 

Personality consists of

1. environment 

2. behavior

3. psychological processes

Psychological processes

the underlying cognitive, emotional, and motivational mechanisms that influence personality 

biological constraints on conditioning 

• instinctive drift (biological tendencies)

• conditioned taste aversion 

• preparedness and phobias 

biology influencing behavior

• fixed action pattern (FAP) 

• innate behavior 

• species specific behavior 

reciprocal determinism 

environment effects behavior; behavior effects environment

Steps involved in the modeling process

• attention 

• retention 

• reproduction 

• motivation 

past reinforcement 

the effect reinforcement has on current behavior 

promised reinforcement

the pre-arranges promise of a reward after a specific behavior is completed (incentives) 

vicarious reinforcement

individuals are more likely to imitate a behavior after observing another person being rewarded for it 

self reinforcement 

you find yourself meeting your standards and life loaded with self-praise and self-reward (sense of pride), you will have a pleasant self concept ( high self-esteem) 

self punishment

you find yourself failing to meet your standards and punish yourself, you will have a poor self concept. (low self-esteem) 

3 results of excessive self-punishment

• compensation

• inactivity

• escape 

compensation

a superiority complex delusions of grandeur (narcissm)

inactivity

apathy, boredom, depression

escape

drugs and alcohol, television fantasies, or the ultimate escape of suicide

Recommendations for low self esteem (social learning theory)

• regarding self observation: know thyself! Make sure you have an accurate picture of your behavior

• regarding standards: make sure your standards aren’t set too high. Don’t set yourself up for failure! Standards that are too low, on the other hand are meaningless

• regarding self-response: use self-rewards not self punsishments. Celebrate your victories don’t dwell on your failures. 

Self-control therapy 

• behavioral charts 

• environmental planning 

• self-contracts 

Weaknesses of Social Learning Theory

• deterministic - forces beyond our control 

• SLT does not take traits into account 

• neglect biological/genetic factors 

• there is more to a person than the sum of their learning 

trait aggression

might be expressed overtly as hitting, yelling, practical joke, biting, or high blood pressure (if the aggression was inhibited in direct expression)

inconsistency

change in behaviors across situations could still be interpreted as “evidence” for the power of genotypic personality traits

interaction position 

states that there may be interactions of personality by situations that are more powerful that either personality trait effects or situation effects 

4 combinations of personality

1. high aggression high need for social approval

2. low aggression, high need for social approval

3. High aggression, low need for social approval 

4. low aggression, low need for social approval 

2 drive types:

Dollard and Miller

1. primary drives 

2. secondary drives 

primary drives

satisfy some basic biological need (food, water, sex)

secondary drives

indirectly lead to fulfillment of the primary drives

Critical periods

Dollard & Miller

(Overlap with Freud) 

1. feeding 

2. toilet training/cleanliness training 

3. learning about sex

4. expressing and expression (anger management, for one) 

Erik Erikson 

• freudian ego-psychologist: meaning he accepts Freud’s ideas as basically correct, including the more debatable ideas  

• society and culture oriented 

• pushes Freud’s ideas about the unconscious and life instinct

• development theories of personality 

Erikson Theory

• the epigenetic principle

• identified these stages by refining and expanding Freud’s psychosexual stages of development 

• each stage involves certain developmental tasks that are psychosocial in nature

• various tasks are referred to by two terms (ex: trust vs. mistrust) 

• each stage has optimal time 

• each stage has: maladaptations, malignancy, virtue, mutuality

Mutuality

the interaction of generations

Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust

Oral Sensory Stage 

• Age 0-1 

• Maladaptive tendency - sensory maladjustment: overly trusting, even gullible, this person cannot believe anyone would mean them harm 

• Malignant tendency- withdrawal: depression, paranoia, and possibly psychosis 

• Virtue-Hope-Faith: the strong belief that even when things are not going well, they will work out well in the end

Maladaptive tendency - sensory maladjustment

overly trusting, even gullible, this person cannot believe anyone would mean them harm 

Malignant tendency- withdrawal

depression, paranoia, and possibly psychosis

Virtue-Hope-Faith

the strong belief that even when things are not going well, they will work out well in the end

Stage 2: autonomy vs. shame and doubt

Anal Muscular Stage

• Age 2-3

• maladaptive tendency-impulsiveness: hum Tinto thing without gripper consideration of your ability 

• malignancy-compulsiveness: the compulsive person feels as if their entire being rides on everything they do and everything must be done perfect 

• virtue-willpower-determination: “can do” attitude (with appropriate modesty to balance it) 

maladaptive tendency - impulsiveness 

jump into things without proper consideration of your ability 

Malignancy - compulsiveness

the compulsive person feels as if their entire being rides on everything they do and everything must be done perfect 

Virtue-willpower-determination

“can do” attitude (with appropriate modesty to balance it) 

Stage 3: initiative vs. guilt

Genital-locomotor stage

• Age 3-6

• maladaptive tendency- ruthlessness The ruthless person takes the initiative alright; they don't care who they step on to achieve their goals

• Malignancy- inhibition The inhibited person will not try things because "nothing ventured, nothing lost"

• Virtue- purpose- the capacity for action despite a clear understanding of your limitations and past failings

Stage 4: industry vs. inferiority

Latency Stage

• Age 7-12

• maladaptive tendency- narrow virtuosity children who aren't allowed to "be children"

• Malignancy- inertia If at first you don't succeed, don't ever try again!

• virtue-competency: learning your strengths and your limitations

Stage 5: ego identity vs. role confusion

• maladaptive tendency-fanaticism: A fanatic believes that his way is the only way

• Malignant tendency-repudiation: They repudiate their membership in the world of adults and, even more, they repudiate their need for an identity

• Virtue-Fidelity: Fidelity means loyalty, the ability to live by societies standards despite their imperfections and incompleteness and inconsistencies (we are not talking about blind loyalty, and we are not talking about accepting the imperfections)

Stage 6: intimacy vs. isolation

• Age 18-30

• Maladaptive-promiscuity: the tendency to become intimate too freely, too easily, and without any depth to your intimacy

• malignancy-exclusion: the tendency to isolate oneself from love, friendship, and community, and to develop a certain hatefulness in compensation for one's loneliness.

• Virtue-love: in the context of his theory, means being able to put aside differences and antagonisms through "mutuality of devotion." It includes not only the love we find in a good marriage, but the love between friends and the love of one's neighbor, co-worker

Stage 7: generativity vs. stagnation

• maladaptive tendency-overextension: Some people try to be so generative that they no longer allow time for themselves

•  malignant tendency of rejectivity: Too little generativity and too much stagnation and you are no longer participating in or contributing to society. And much of what we call "the meaning of life" is a matter of how we participate and what we contribute

• virtue-capacity for caring: learning how you are giving back to community and future generations

Stage 8: integrity vs. despair

• Age 50- death

• maladaptive tendency-presumption: This is what happens when a person "presumes" ego integrity without actually facing the difficulties of old age

• malignant tendency-disdain: Erikson means a contempt of life, one's own or anyone's

• Virtue-wisdom: Someone who approaches death without fear

Malignancy- inhibition

The inhibited person will not try things because "nothing ventured, nothing lost"

maladaptive tendency- ruthlessness

The ruthless person takes the initiative alright; they don't care who they step on to achieve their goals

Virtue- purpose

the capacity for action despite a clear understanding of your limitations and past failings

maladaptive tendency- narrow virtuosity

children who aren't allowed to "be children"

Malignancy- inertia

If at first you don't succeed, don't ever try again!

Virtue- competency

learning your strengths and your limitations

maladaptive tendency- fanaticism

A fanatic believes that his way is the only way

malignant tendency- repudiation

They repudiate their membership in the world of adults and, even more, they repudiate their need for an identity

Virtue- fidelity

Fidelity means loyalty, the ability to live by societies standards despite their imperfections and incompleteness and inconsistencies (we are not talking about blind loyalty, and we are not talking about accepting the imperfections)

Maladaptive- promiscuity

the tendency to become intimate too freely, too easily, and without any depth to your intimacy

Malignancy- exclusion

the tendency to isolate oneself from love, friendship, and community, and to develop a certain hatefulness in compensation for one's loneliness.

Virtue- love

being able to put aside differences and antagonisms through "mutuality of devotion." It includes not only the love we find in a good marriage, but the love between friends and the love of one's neighbor, co-worker

maladaptive tendency- overextension

Some people try to be so generative that they no longer allow time for themselves

malignant tendency of rejectivity

Too little generativity and too much stagnation and you are no longer participating in or contributing to society. And much of what we call "the meaning of life" is a matter of how we participate and what we contribute

Virtue- capacity for caring

learning how you are giving back to community and future generations

maladaptive tendency- presumption

"This is what happens when a person presumes" ego integrity without actually facing the difficulties of old age

malignant tendency- disdain

Erikson means a contempt of life, one's own or anyone's

Virtue- wisdom

Someone who approaches death without fear