Key Concepts in Personality Psychology

Personality

A person's characteristic thoughts, emotional responses, and behaviors.

Personality trait

A pattern of thought, emotion, and behavior that is relatively consistent over time and across situations.

Genetic influence on personality

Genetic influence accounts for approximately 40-60% of the variance between individuals for all personality traits.

Adoption studies

Children who are not biologically related and are raised in the same household tend to be no more alike in personality than strangers.

Big Five personality traits

Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism (OCEAN).

Eysenck's Biological Trait Theory

A theory that includes introversion/extraversion, emotional stability/neuroticism, and high/low constraint as key factors in personality.

Behavioral Activation System (BAS)

The brain system involved in the pursuit of incentives or rewards, known as the "go" system.

Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)

The brain system that inhibits behavior sensitive to punishment, known as the "slow down" system.

Self-actualization (Maslow)

The fulfillment of one's potential, the highest need in the hierarchy of needs.

Unconditional Positive Regard (Rogers)

Accepting and supporting a person regardless of their actions or thoughts, central to the person-centered approach.

Reciprocal determinism

The interaction of environment, personal factors, and behavior that shapes personality.

Idiographic vs. Nomothetic

Idiographic focuses on individual lives, while nomothetic focuses on how common traits vary from person to person.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

A projective test where individuals interpret ambiguous inkblot images to reveal personality traits.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A projective test where people create stories based on pictures to reveal underlying thoughts and feelings.

Self-esteem

The evaluative aspect of the self-concept in which people feel worthy or unworthy.

Sociometer theory

The theory that self-esteem serves as an internal monitor of social acceptance or rejection.

Narcissism

A personality trait associated with an inflated sense of self-worth and a need for admiration.

Dark triad

A collection of three personality traits: narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism.

Situationism

The theory that behavior is determined more by the situation than by personality traits.

Interactionist perspective

The theory that behavior is jointly determined by situations and personality traits.

Big Five cross-cultural applicability

The Big Five personality traits emerge across cultures but may show cross-cultural differences in traits related to social interaction, honesty, and trustworthiness.

Life events and personality

Life events, such as becoming a spouse or parent, can lead to personality changes in response to new roles and experiences.

Self-serving bias

The tendency to take credit for success but blame failure on external factors.

Upward comparison

Comparing yourself to someone better than you, which can provide information on how to improve but may feel discouraging.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

An objective personality test used to assess personality traits and psychopathology.