new exam 4

What is Personality?

  • Definition: Personality is the unique and consistent pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving that characterizes an individual.

Psychodynamic Perspective

  • Theories about Personality Structure: Focuses on the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences.

  • Structures of Personality:

    • Id: The primal, pleasure-driven part of personality.

    • Ego: The rational, reality-oriented mediator.

    • Superego: The moral conscience.

  • Order of Development:

    1. Id (present at birth).

    2. Ego (develops in early childhood).

    3. Superego (emerges around age 5).

  • Defense Mechanisms: Strategies the ego uses to protect itself from anxiety, such as repression, denial, and projection.

  • Evaluations of Psychoanalytic Perspective: Includes criticisms of its lack of empirical evidence and emphasis on sexuality.

Social-Cognitive Perspective

  • Assumptions: Emphasizes the interaction of cognitive processes, behaviors, and environmental factors.

  • Reciprocal Determinism: The interplay between personal factors, environment, and behavior.

Humanistic Perspective

  • Assumptions: Focuses on personal growth, self-actualization, and free will.

  • Maslow’s Self-Actualizing Person: Describes individuals striving to fulfill their potential, following a hierarchy of needs.

Trait Perspective

  • Traits: Enduring characteristics that influence behavior.

  • Assessing Traits:

    • Personality Inventory: Tools like the Big Five (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism).

    • Objective Tests: Standardized tests such as the MMPI.

Personality Assessment

  • Assessing the Unconscious:

    • Projective Tests:

      • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).

      • Rorschach Inkblot Test.

  • Assessing Traits:

    • Self-Report Measures: Like the MMPI.

Chapter 13 – Social Psychology (Week 13)

Readings

  • Chapter 13 in the textbook.

Topics

  • What is Social Psychology? The study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another.

  • Social Psychological Research: Includes variables and methodology.

Key Concepts:

  1. Bystander Effect: The tendency for individuals to be less likely to help in an emergency when others are present.

  2. Social Cognition: How people perceive and think about social situations.

    • Attribution & Errors:

      • Fundamental Attribution Error: Overestimating personal traits and underestimating situational factors in others’ behaviors.

      • Actor-Observer Bias: Differences in attribution based on perspective.

  3. Social Comparison: Evaluating oneself relative to others.

  4. Attitudes and Actions:

    • Cognitive Dissonance Theory: The discomfort caused by inconsistent thoughts and actions, motivating attitude or behavior change.

Social Behavior:

  • Prosocial Behavior: Actions intended to benefit others.

Social Influence:

  • Conformity: Aligning behaviors with group norms.

    • Asch’s Study: Demonstrated normative and informational social influence.

  • Obedience:

    • Milgram Studies: Examined compliance with authority.

  • Group Influence:

    • Deindividuation: Loss of self-awareness in groups.

    • Social Facilitation/Inhibition: Performance enhancement or decline in group settings.

    • Social Loafing: Reduced effort in group tasks.

Prejudice and Discrimination:

  • Key Terms: Stereotype, Prejudice, Discrimination.

  • Types: Explicit and implicit biases.

  • Ethnocentrism: Belief in the superiority of one’s culture.

Chapter 15 – Psychological Disorders (Week 15)

Readings

  • Chapter 15 in the textbook.

Topics

  • What are Psychological Disorders? Patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that are deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional.

  • Theoretical Perspectives:

    • Biological: Genetics, brain structure, and biochemistry.

    • Psychological: Thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

    • Sociocultural: Social environment and cultural norms.

    • Biopsychosocial: Interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

  • Diagnosing Disorders:

    • DSM-5: Standard classification of mental disorders.

    • Critiques: Overdiagnosis and potential for stigma.

Disorders to Know:

  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders:

    • Autism Spectrum Disorder.

    • ADHD.

  • Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: Hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking.

  • Personality Disorders: Enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior.

  • Anxiety-Related Disorders:

    • Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

    • Panic Disorder.

    • Specific Phobias.

    • Social Anxiety Disorder.

  • Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.

  • Trauma and Stress-Related Disorders.

  • Mood Disorders:

    • Major Depressive Disorder.

    • Bipolar Disorder.

Additional Concepts:

  • Health and Wellness:

    • Consequences of stigma and labeling.

  • Illusory Correlation: The perception of a relationship where none exists.