Human Behaviour wk6 p2

Flashcards for reviewing personality theories, focusing on the person-situation debate and the CAPS model.

Walter Mischel

A key theorist who critiqued traditional trait theories and questioned the stability of personality traits across situations.

Person-Situation Debate / Personality Paradox

The debate questioning whether behavior is primarily influenced by stable internal personality traits or by situational factors.

Overestimation of Consistency

A criticism of trait theories, suggesting they overestimate behavioral consistency across different situations.

Self-Report Bias

A challenge in personality assessment where individuals may not accurately describe themselves due to lack of self-awareness or a desire to present themselves favorably.

Reductionism

Simplifying the complexity of personality and behavior to a limited set of traits, overlooking the dynamic interplay of factors.

Situationist Challenge

The perspective emphasizing that external environment and situational cues are primary influences on behavior.

Stanford Prison Experiment

A psychological experiment demonstrating how situational contexts can override individual personality traits, leading to unexpected behaviors.

Cognitive-Affective Processing System (CAPS)

A comprehensive theory of personality where behavior results from how people process different types of psychological situations, rather than traits., incorporating findings from cognitive psychology.

Cognitive-Affective Units

Cognitive and emotional elements like encoding, expectancies/beliefs, feelings/emotions that influence how individuals perceive and respond to the world.

Behavioral Signature of Personality

Stable patterns of situation-behavior relationships, linking people’s behaviors consistently to specific types of situations.