Psychology of Personality Exam 1

What is Personality?

The set of psychological traits and mechanisms that influence a person's adaptations to their environment.

What are Psychological Traits?

Characteristics that describe ways in which people are similar or different from each other.

What is the Lexical Approach?

Important traits have a lot of synonyms and have become a part of most languages. Essentially if something is meaningful, people will have developed words to describe it. More synonyms, the more important/universal the trait is. (ex: bossy, pushy, forceful, arrogant).

What is the Theoretical Approach?

Important personality traits can be derived using theory. Start with a theory of personality, then identify traits based on what the theory predicts.

What is the Statistical Approach?

Important personality traits can be derived using statistical analysis on a set of responses.

What is the Myers-Briggs Personality Test?

-Treats personality as categories

-Lacks predictive validity

-Has poor reliability

What are the Big 5 Personality Traits?

-Openness to experience

-Conscientiousness

-Extraversion

-Agreeableness

-Neuroticism

What are traits of someone with High Openness to Experience?

Experimenting with new foods, extramarital affairs, creative, excels in the arts, more politically liberal, and more tattoo and piercings.

What are possible causes of Openness to Experience?

Individual differences in the processing of information.

What are traits of someone with High Conscientiousness?

Hardworking, high GPA, saves money, perfectionists, less likely to gain weight, and exercise.

What are traits of someone with Low Conscientiousness?

Risky sexual behavior, sloppy, careless, and more likely to cheat on partners.

What are downsides to Extraversion?

Take more risks, less likely to save for retirement, and unable to cope well with being alone.

What are traits of someone with High Agreeableness?

Uses negotiation, prefers social harmony, empathetic.

What does Neuroticism refer to?

Taps into how people deal with life stressors

What are traits of someone with High Neuroticism?

More tired, substance abuse problems, feels more disconnected, more frequent thoughts of suicide.

How can Neuroticism be helpful?

People are more aware of threats in their environment and are more motivated to work hard.

What is the HEXACO model?

The HEXACO model is an alternative to the Five-Factor Model. The HEXACO model includes six traits which includes Honesty-Humility.

What is Honesty-Humility trait?

At the high end individuals are honest and sincere. On the low end individuals are arrogant and greedy

What is Natural Selection?

Very gradual and occurs over many generations. Related to reproductive and survival advantages.

What are Adaptations?

Physiological and psychological mechanisms designed to serve specific functions. (Ex: longer necks)

What is Fitness?

An organisms ability to out-reproduce its peers.

TRUE or FALSE: Adaptations increase an organisms's fitness.

TRUE

What is Selection Pressure?

Any aspect of the environment that influences whether a particular trait is selected for.

What is a Proximate Reaction?

Immediate explanation for a trait/behavior. (Ex: We avoid incest because it is against the law)

What is an Ultimate Reaction?

Functional explanation for a trait/behavior. (Ex: We avoid incest because reproducing with close relatives increase the likelihood of birth defects)

What is the Napoleon Complex?

Short men act more aggressively toward other men when they can do so in an indirect way.

What is the Preparedness Theory?

Organisms are biologically prepared to learn certain things very efficiently.

What is Epigenetics?

When developmental experiences turn certain genes on or off.

What is Taste Aversion?

Occurs when an animal associates the taste of a certain food with symptoms caused by a toxic, spoiled, or poisonous substance.

What is Freud's Grand Theory of Personality about?

Sex and Agression

What is Adler's Grand Theory of Personality about?

Striving for superiority

What is Hogan's Grand Theory of Personality about?

Status and acceptance.

What does an individual's Need to Belong refer to?

Humans are social species and main goal is to not be exculded

What is Social Anxiety?

Distress or worry about being negatively evaluated in social situations.

TRUE or FALSE: Emotions are adaptations

TRUE

What emotions are Universal?

-Fear

-Surprise

-Anger

-Happiness

-Sadness

-Contempt

-Disgust

What is Disgust?

An emotion that involves feelings of revulsion and sometimes nausea. Showing people pictures of contaminated food increases their body temp (immune system activation).

Why are women "choosy" with their partners?

They must invest more time and energy in mating since they are limited in how many eggs they can produce.

What is the Parental Investment Theory Trivers, 1972?

Because reproduction is more costly for women, they evolved to be choosier about mates—favoring partners who could provide resources, protection, and long-term commitment.

Do more men or women express aggression?

Men. Linked to competition for mates.

What adaptive problems do women face?

-Childbirth

-Child Support

What adaptive problems do males face?

-Paternity uncertainty

-Investing resources in another male's child

What is Attachment Anxiety?

The degree to which a person fears rejection by relationship partners. Functional for women in ancestral times (rather be anxiously attached then avoidant).

How do men and women differ in jealousy?

Men care more about sexual involvement while women care more about emotional involvement.

What is the Sexual Strategy Theory?

-If the father is absent during childhood, individuals think that resources aren’t reliable and relationships aren’t lasting. Results in short-term mating strategy, and sexually active earlier in life.

-If the father is present, results in long-term mating, have sex later in life, and few children with heavy investment.

What is Trait Contingency?

Trait x is dependent on having trait y.

IF you are y, THEN you may be x.

What did the Sexual Overture Study show?

When male confederates asked females "Would you like to go to bed with me tonight" 0% of women said yes. When female confederates asked males the same thing, 75% of males said yes.

What is the Sex Similarity Hypothesis Hyde, 2005?

On average, males and females are actually very similar. 78% of sex differences are small or close to zero. Large differences only in throwing ability and attitudes toward casual sex.

What is Frequency-Dependent Selection?

When traits are very common, they may decrease in advantage. Rare traits can offer competitive benefits by standing out. (Ex: rock, paper, scissors always throwing rock).

What are limitations of Evolutionary Psychology?

-We are unsure of what ancestral environments were like

-Selectional pressures have changed

-Ongoing debates with competing hypotheses

What are the main approaches psychologists use to identify and classify personality traits?

-Lexical

-Statistical

-Theoretical

How does the Big 5 asses personality?

On a scale

What is an example of traits offering advantages in ancestral environments?

Extraversion can increase access to mates and neuroticism can increase vigilance for threats

What do women prioritize when looking for a mate?

Traits linked to resource acquisition, stability, and parental investment.

What do men prioritize when looking for a mate?

Traits linked to fertility such as youth and attractiveness. Leads to more partners because they do not invest as much.

What is an example of jealousy being a proximate reaction?

We are jealous if our partner talks to someone else because it makes us insecure and sad.

What is an example of jealousy being an ultimate reaction?

Individuals experience jealousy regarding their partners because it protects against infidelity.

What is the Naturalistic Fallacy?

Just because something is natural, doesn't mean it's right. You cannot rape someone because you need to mate to reproduce.

What is Genetic Determinism misconception?

Evolutionary psychology says our genes determine behavior, but they only provide blueprints not destinies.

What are some examples of misconceptions in evolutionary psychology?

-People are the end product of evolution

-People only have sex to reproduce

-Evolution is intentional

-Survival of the fittest is only the largest and strongest

-Evolution is only good

-Evolution cares specifically about species survival

-People evolve from chimpanzees

Why are humans not the end product of evolution?

We are still evolving! (Ex: Lactose Intolerance)

TRUE or FALSE: Individuals use both emotion and reason to make decisions?

TRUE

What is a Longitudinal Study?

Follows the same group of people over time

What is the Mean Level of Change?

Average level of the personality trait changing within a group.

What is Rank Order Change?

Change in the position within a group.

What is Temperament?

Individual differences that arise early in life

TRUE or FALSE: As people age, personality appears to become more and more “set”.

TRUE

As you age how do the Big 5 Personality traits change overtime?

-Openness decreases

-Conscientiousness Increases

-Extraversion Decreases

-Agreeableness Increases

-Neuroticism Decreases

How do women change overtime?

-Self esteem decreases

-Become more assertive and independent

How do men change overtime?

-Self esteem Increases

-Ambition decreases

What is coherence?

Trait expression changes, but underlying tait remains the same.

Should we think about traits as distributions across people, or as absolute categories?

Distributions because someone who scored slight higher on agreeableness is not the same type of person who makes no decisions for themselves.

What is Factor Analysis?

A commonly used statistical procedure for identifying underlying structure in personality ratings or items. Factor analysis essentially identifies groups of items that covary with each other, but tend not to covary with other groups of items. This provides a means for determining which personality variables share some common underlying property or belong together within the same group.

What is a possible limitation of the theoretical approach?

Might miss important traits not covered by the theory.

What is the concept of individual uniqueness?

No two individuals, even identical twins, have the same personality

What is a taxonomy?

A system that organizes things by breaking them into categories.

What are the essential ingredients for psychological mechanisms?

-Inputs

-Decision rules

-Outputs

What are psychological mechanisms?

Process or function within the mind that influences our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

What are the 3 levels of personality analysis?

-Human Nature

-Individual and Group Differences

-Individual Uniqueness

What are the 6 domains of knowledge about human nature?

-Dispositional

-Biological

-Intrapsychic

-Cognitive-Experiential

-Social and Cultural

-Adjustment

What does the Dispositional Domain focus on?

Identify and measure the most important ways in which individuals differ from one another

What does the Biological Domain focus on?

Focuses on the genetics, the psychophysiology, and the evolution of personality.

What does the Intrapsychic Domain focus on?

Mental mechanisms of personality, many of which operate outside of conscious awareness such as Freud's sex and aggression.

What does the Cognitive-Experiential Domain focus on?

Thought processes and subjective experience such as conscious ideas, feelings, beliefs, and desires about oneself and others.

What does the Social and Cultural Domain focus on?

Personality affects, and is affected by, the social and cultural context.

What does the Adjustment Domain focus on?

Personality plays a key role in how we cope, adapt, and adjust to the flow of events in our day-to-day lives

What is the Bateman Principle?

Males show more variability in reproductive success than females. Some males monopolize mating while some have none, whereas most females reproduce at least once.

What did Buss et al. (1992) find about jealousy?

-Men report more distress about sexual infidelity

-Women report more distress about emotional infidelity

What is the Theory of Sociosexual Orientation?

-Proposes an individual difference in the realm of dating and relationship commitment

-Restricted: monogamous, investing in children

-Unrestricted: promiscuous, more partner switching, less investment in children

What are the two perspectives on traits?

-Internal properties (causes behavior)

-Descriptive summaries (patterns of behavior)

What is the Mismatch Theory?

Evolutionary biology concept that a previously advantageous trait may become maladaptive due to change in the environment, especially when change is rapid.