Psych 203 - Midterm 2

Ch 13-14

What is personality?

Enduring patterns of thought, emotion, and behaviour that distinguish individuals from one another. (introverted vs extroverted, anxious vs adventure-seeking, pessimistic vs optimistic)

Psychodynamic theory (Freud)

Personality is the result of NON-CONSCIOUS interaction between 3 psychic systems: id (individual desire, superego [social rules for right and wrong], and ego [balances the last 2])

Behaviorist theory

• Says personality is learned

• Operant conditioning determines which characters are maintained (rewards increases tendancy of a behaviour and vice versa for punishments)

• Social learning (observing parents, friends peers)

• basically says: people are a blank slate, so humans have to learn their behaviours

What is a trait? How can you tell what traits go together?

.A stable personality characteristic. Use factor analysis to figure out which traits go together.

What is the Big Five Theory? (By McCrae and Costa)

-Openness

-Conscientiousness

-Extroversion

-Agreeableness

-Neuroticism

OCEAN

Associated with Job performance, parenting style, psychological disorders + substance abuse, cognitive decline in older adulthood, happiness, academic performance

Openness

A personality trait characterized by imagination, creativity, and a willingness to explore new experiences and ideas.

(Openness to experience)

Concientiousness

Best predictor of workplace success

• Reliable

• Hard working

• Punctual

Extroversion

A personality trait characterized by sociability, assertiveness, and a tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others. Extroverts are often outgoing and energetic.

• Talkative

• Assertive

Agreeableness

• Appreciative

• Forgiving

• Generous

• Trusting

• Non-critical

Neuroticism

• Higher survival value

• Anxious

• Self-pitying

• Vulnerable

• Touchy

Is all behaviour determined by personality?

The situation affects behaviour, regardless of personality

• Personality can change

Internal Locus of control

Belief that experiences result from one’s own doing

Advantages:

• Takes initiative and takes responsibility

Disadvantages:

• Higher depression, stress, less sympathy towards others

“I didn’t get that job because I am not good enough”

“Poor people are just lazy”

External Locus of Control

The belief that experiences result from factors beyond one’s control

Advantages:

• Lower levels of stress, suicide rates

Disadvantages:

• More complacency

• Less accountability

Projective tests

Individuals have to create/interpret stimuli and project their personality onto it

Types of Projective tests

Rorschach test:

• Describe what is seen on inkblots

• Interpret an abstract thing

Sentence completion test:

• “I wish…”, “My father…”

Drawing test:

• Draw human figures and talk about them

Advantages and limitations of projective tests

Advantage: Provides supplementary information about the individual’s personality (and conflicts)

Disadvantage: Low reliability and validity; investigators can’t agree on what it means or how to interpret it

Personality assessments

True-false items: Relates things back to OCEAN

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): 500 self statements in which individual must say true, false, or cannot say

Big Five Inventory (BFI-10)

Neuroticism was predicative of future risk for serious mental illness

Perception

Perception of our own affects behaviour, and cognition (ABC)

(Whereas personality looks at characteristics we share with OTHERS)

Self-Concept

Description of one’s own characteristics:

• Age

• Gender Identity

• Employment/study status

• Personality

Self-Schema

Set of beliefs about oneself

“I am… loyal, kind, talkative” etc

True or False: Self relevant information is processed more easily than information about others

True! Called the self-reference effect

Thinking about the self is associated with what in the brain?

The Default mode network: Medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and inferior parietal love

A disruption of sense of self is associated with?

Poor information processing in schizophrenia, fewer reference to self-referential terms (I, me, my…)

What is self-esteem?

Personal judgement on the value of one’s self; based on overall self-worth or specific characteristics like intelligence, appearance. This is the emotional component of self-perception.