PSYC 100: Personality

personality

the style of interacting with the world and other people

True or False: Personality is relatively enduring predispositions that influence our behavior across situations.

true

What is a trait?

a characteristic influencing our behavior

What are basic tendencies?

underlying personality characteristics

What are characteristic adapatations?

how the basic tendencies are manifested in specific behaviors

What is the lexical hypothesis?

important personality dimensions are reflected in language

What is the goal of trait approach?

to boil personality down to its elemental parts

What is factor analysis?

a statistical method for finding determining factors underlying patterns in data

What are the big 5 factors?

• openness to experience

• conscientiousness

• extraversion

• agreeableness

• neuroticism

What are the 6 factors of HEXACO?

• humility

• emotionality

• extraversion

• agreeableness

• conscientiousness

• openness

What is conscientiousness correlated with?

• good grades

• successful job performance

• physical health

What is neuroticism positively correlated with?

psychopathology

What are some additional culture-specific factors?

• China - Chinese tradition factor

• Northern Europe - honesty and humility

• Forager farmers in Bolivia (only 2 factors: industriousness and prosocial)

What is important to know about changes in personality traits?

• agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability increase from 30 to later life

What is Gray’s theory of personality?

personality is determined by 2 interacting motivational systems

What is the function of the behavior activation system?

governs approach to rewarding activity

What is the function of the behavior inhibition system?

governs avoidance of threat

What is neuroticism correlated with?

brain regions associated with regulating emotion and responding to negative outcomes

What is agreeableness correlated with?

brain regions associated with facial perceptions and understanding people’s actions and intentions

What is conscientiousness correlated with?

brain regions in the PFC involved in representing goals and exerting self-control

What is extraversion correlated with?

less activity in frontal areas involved in inhibition and active dopamine pathways

What is the internal locus of control?

believing you have control over your life

What is the external locus of control?

believing you are at the mercy of the world

What is having an external locus of control correlated with?

psychological distress

What is sensation-seeking related to?

• dopamine processing

• orienting responses to stimuli

What is a need for cognition?

the desire to engage in effortful thinking

What are some characteristics associated with a need for cognition?

• people high on a need for cognition are less easily persuaded

• they may be less influenced by stereotypes when making judgements

• more inclined to use “system 1” reasoning (though still use heuristics and reach incorrect conclusions)

• associated with both fluid and crystallized intelligence

• less physically active

What are the two criteria for measuring personality?

valid and realiability

What is reliability?

the test produces the same results each time

What is validity?

the test measures what you re trying to measure; it correlates with other measures or with behavior

What is the PT Barnum effect?

people are inclined to believe feedback, if it’s general feedback that could be true of anyone

What is the most popular personality test?

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Is the MBTI reliable?

no

What are the types of objective tests?

• self-report

• informant raintgs

• behavioral observations

What are characteristics of a subjective test?

• ambiguous stimuli that examinees must interpret or make sense of

• answers must be interpreted

What is the advantage of a self report?

you know yourself well

What are the disadvantages of a self report?

• self-enhancement bias

• reference group effect

What is the self-enhancement bias?

present yourself flavorably

What is a reference group effect?

compare yourself to those around you; they not be typical

What is the advantage of an informant report?

others may know you well and not have the self-enhancement bias

What are the disadvantages of an informant report?

• have more limited access

• are likely to be close to you and may be biased to enhance your positive qualities

True or False: Both self-report and informant rating measures of the Big 5 appear to be quite valid and reliable.

true

What is a widely used objective test?

the MMPI

What are the characteristics of the MMPI test?

• 10 basic scales to distinguish people with mental disorders from those without

• 3 scales to detect distortions of answers

What are two projective tests?

• the Rorschach Inkblot Test

• Thematic Apperception Test

is the RIT or the TAT reliable or valid?

no