ap psych unit 7: personality and MESH

personality

personality

a person’s unique set of consistent behavioral traits

personality traits

durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations

factor analysis

using statistical techniques to identify clusters of related information

the five-factor model: openness

receptive to new ideas, creative, and broad in interests

the five-factor model: conscientiousness

responsible, organized, disciplined, and achievement oriented

the five-factor model: extraversion

outgoing, fun-loving, assertive, and talkative

the five-factor model: agreeableness

warm, trusting, helpful, and easy-going

the five-factor model: neuroticism

emotionally unstable, insecure, anxious, and moody

central traits (allport)

approximately 7 main personality traits that are apparent others and consistent across diverse situations

secondary traits (allport)

unlimited number of traits that only show up in specific situations

source traits (cattell)

16 underlying personality traits that influence surface behavior

surface traits (cattell)

the combination of source traits that make up our personality; others see these unlimited behaviors

introversion (eysenck) *biological

quiet, reflective, and reserved

extroversion (eysenck) *biological

active, sociable, and outgoing

high neuroticism (eyesenck) *biological

moody, anxious, restless, and excitable

low neuroticism (eyesenck) *biological

calm and even tempered

high psychoticism (eyesenck) *biological

cruel, hostile, aggressive, self-centered, and impulsive

low psychoticism (eyesenck) *biological

warm, caring, and concerned for others

advantage of trait theories

gives terminology to describe behavior

disadvantages of trait theories

• doesn’t explain behavior

  • not unique situation for each person (barnum effect) (i.e. horoscopes are generally vague)

focus of the psychodynamic perspective

unconscious and early childhood (repressive)

freud’s psychoanalytic theory: id

instricts; basic impulses (sex and aggression); irrational, impulsive; unconscious; pleasure principle (initial gratitude)

freud’s psychoanalytic theory: ego

reality; ration and mediates between id and superego urges; conscious and preconscious; reality principle; delays gratitude until id’s urges can be satisfied in a socially accepted way

freud’s psychoanalytic theory: superego

morality; striving for protection; values, conscience; right vs. wrong; learned from parents and society

defense mechanisms

unconscious reactions that protect a person from emotions like anxiety and guilt

denial

refusal to recognize or acknowledge a threatening situation

repression

“pushing” threatening/conflicting events or situations out of conscious memory; occurs with extreme trauma

rationalization

making up acceptable excuses for unacceptable behavior

projection

placing one’s own unacceptable thoughts onto others; as if the thoughts belonged to them

reaction formation

forming an emotional reaction/attitude that is the opposite of one’s threatening/acceptable/actual thoughts

displacement

expressing feelings that would be threatening if directed at the real target onto a less threatening substitute target.

regression

falling back on childlike/old patterns as a way of coping with stressful situations

identification

trying to become like someone else to deal with one’s anxiety

compensation (substitution)

trying to make up for areas in which a lack is perceived by becoming superior in some other area

sublimation

turning socially unacceptable urges into socially acceptable behavior

intellectualization

removing emotions from a situation; very logical thinking

psychosexual stages of development

developmental periods with a characteristic sexual focus that leaves a mark on adult personality; each stage corresponds with a specific area

fixation

a preoccupation with a particular source of pleasure; if a stage is not resolved successfully, a fixation may result

oral stage (0-1 y/o)

• source of pleasure - mouth

• focus - breastfeeding/weaning to determine if successful resolution

• fixation - biting, chewing, sarcasm, and smoking

anal stage (0-1 y/o)

• source of pleasure - bowel and bladder control

  • focus - potty training to determine if successful resolution

anal retentive (too early/harsh)

organized, clean, and likes control

anal expulsive (too late/relax)

messy, disorganized, and impulsive

phallic stage (3-5 y/o)

• source of pleasure - genitals

• fixation - mommy/daddy issues; trouble finding a mate

• use reaction formation and identification and cling to the same sex parent; superego morals are formed

oedipus complex (boys)

little boys desire mommy and want to kill daddy

electra complex (girls)

little girls desire daddy and want to kill mommy; girls develop penis envy

latency stage (5 y/o-adolenscence)

• sexual impulses are dormant; nothing really happens

• most interaction occurs with same-sex children

• focus is social skills

genital stage (adolescence +)

• sexual desires and earlier fixations reappear

  • sexual energies are channeled toward the opposite sex rather than oneself

personal unconscious (jung)

house materials that are not within one’s conscious awareness because it has been repressed/forgotten; traditional view of unconsciousness

collective unconscious (jung)

shared unconscious; storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from ancestral past; shared by the whole human race; i.e. all snakes are harmful because of the bible

archetypes (jung)

symbols of collective unconscious; ancestral memories; emotionally charged images and thoughts form that have universal meaning (dream analysis); i.e. heroes, villains, wise old man

persona (jung)

mask to hide true self; being fake

striving for superiority (overcoming feelings of inferiority) (adler)

inferior is the belief that one is less than others in some way (physically, socially, intellectually); as a result, we use compensation which drives us to excel and strive for superiority in other areas of our life

karen horney

• neo-freudian that later countered freud’s “penis envy” with womb envy

• while freud argued personality differences in gender were biological, horney argued they were societal/cultural

  • different personalities were a representation of different ways of attaining love and affection

object relations

early relationships between infants and significant objects (especially people) shape personality

advantages of psychodynamic perspectives

1. unconscious forces do influence behavior

2. internal conflicts do exist

3. early childhood experiences do influence adult behavior

4. people do use defense mechanisms

disadvantages of psychodynamic perspectives

1. lacks empirical evidence (all)

2. unrepresentative samples (freud)

3. inaccurate reporting of data and method of conducting research had leading questions (freud)

4. ignores consciousness (all)

focus of cognitive-behavioral perspectives

cognitive processes (thinking, judging) in the development of personality; contribute to learned behaviors that are central to one’s personality

how is personality developed according to B.F. skinner’s behaviorism?

through rewards and punishments

reciprocal determinism (bandura)

thoughts and cognition, behaviors, and environment factors all interact and influence each other

self efficacy (bandura)

one’s beliefs about their ability to succeed (produce expected outcomes); can be high/low, general/specific situation

walter mischel’s theories

focused on the importance of the situation in determining behavior

the person-situation controversy (mischel)

identified certain “person variables” and “situational variables” in guiding behavior

locus of control (rotter)

behavior is determined by the extent to which you believe your actions impact your environment

external LOC (rotter)

no, my behaviors do not impact my environment

internal LOC (rotter)

yes, my behaviors do impact my environment

advantages of cognitive-behavioral perspectives

1. empirical evidence

2. objective

3. emphasizes the role of the environment and cognitive processes

disadvantages of cognitive-behavioral perspectives

1. deemphasizes free will in behavior (too much emphasis on environment)

2. ignores unconscious and biological influences

focus of humanistic perspectives

unique qualities in humans; freedom to choose destiny and potential for personal growth; be the best that they can be

self-concept (rogers)

“self schema”; collection of beliefs about one’s own nature, human qualities, and typical behavior; subjective

actual self (rogers)

who we are

ideal self (rogers)

who we wish we were

ought self (rogers)

who "they” say we should be

conditions of worth (rogers)

the development of the self is determined by the extent to which parents make their love conditional; positive self-concept if based on unconditional love

abraham maslow’s hierarchy of needs (premise)

some needs are more important than others; basic needs first unless some people deny them for self-transcendent reasons; i.e. hunger strike

psychological (maslow)

need to satisfy hunger and thirst

safety (maslow)

need to feel world is organized and predictable; need to feel safe, secure, and stable

belongingness (maslow)

need to love and be loved; belong and accepted; avoid loneliness and separation

esteem (maslow)

need for self-esteem, achievement, competence, and independence; need for recognition and others respect

self actualization (maslow)

the need to fulfill one’s potential; be the best you can be

self-transcendence (maslow)

need to find meaning and identity beyond the self

growth orientation (maslow)

focuses on what you have

deficiency orientation (maslow)

focusing on what’s missing

how does growth orientation relate to maslow’s hierarchy?

those with growth orientation are healthier and more likey to reach self-actualization

advantages of humanistic perspectives

1. group therapies

2. child-rearing and relationships in general

3. free will to change

disadvantages of humanistic perspectives

1. poor testability and inadequate evidence

2. unrealistic view of human nature (too positive)

3. confined to western, individualistic cultures

4. ignores biological, social learning, and unconscious factors

individualism

putting personal goals ahead of group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group membership

collectivism

putting group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of the group one belongs to

objective personality tests (self-report inventories)

T/F, Y/N, MC questions/statements that can be scored

MMPI

minnesota multiphasic personality inventory; more widely used, used in diagnosis; 566 T/F questions; 10 clinical scales and 4 validity scales

16PF (cattell) and NEO-PI-R (costa & mccrae) (big 5)

NEO-PI compares results from private and public versions

MBTI

myer's-briggs type indicator; objective test; gives 4 letters = personality type

advantage of objective tests

objective

disadvantages of objective tests

1. self report data

2. social desirability bias

3. response sets

projective personality tests

participants respond to vague, ambiguous stimuli in ways that may reveal the subject’s unconscious needs, feelings, and personality traits that can be analyzed in many different ways

thematic apperception test (TAT)

tell the story of a picture

rorschach inkblot test

shown a series of inkblots; respond to what you see

advantages of projective personality tests

1. not apparent to participants

2. insight to unconscious

disadvantages of projective personality tests

1. little evidence

2. may not be accurate

motivation

the factors that influence the initiation, direction, intensity, and persistence of behavior

sources of motivation: biological factors

food, water, sleep, sex, temperature, and physiological factors (drugs/hormones); internal