1. Personality: Introduction

Flashcard Set: Personality Psychology

Flashcard 1

Q: What are the everyday meanings of "personality"?
A:

• Charisma

• Character

• Features of a person

Flashcard 2

Q: What is the scientific definition of personality?
A:
A multifaceted concept involving inner qualities (traits and mechanisms) that affect behavior in adaptive ways, are relatively stable, and are organized in a way that uniquely defines who we are.

Flashcard 3

Q: What are the key components of the scientific definition of personality?
A:

• Inner qualities: Essential features of a person

• Traits: Particular dispositions

• Mechanisms: Particular mental operations

• Affective behavior: Impact on what we do

• Adaptive: Traits can help or hurt us/others

• Relatively stable: Traits imply consistency; personality evolves slowly

• Organized: Personality is a constellation of traits in a non-random pattern

Flashcard 4

Q: What are the three levels of analysis in personality psychology?
A:

1. Universal: Overall claims that are always or generally true.

2. Nomothetic: Lawful claims about variations between people along shared dimensions.

3. Idiographic: Individual claims about what makes someone unique.

Flashcard 5

Q: What is the universal level of analysis in personality psychology?
A:
It makes overall claims that characterize people in terms of what is always or generally true (e.g., "All humans have a need for social connection").

Flashcard 6

Q: What is the nomothetic level of analysis in personality psychology?
A:
It characterizes variations between people along shared dimensions (e.g., "Individuals with higher anxiety are more likely to avoid risky situations").

Flashcard 7

Q: What is the idiographic level of analysis in personality psychology?
A:
It characterizes variations between people using unique dimensions, focusing on what makes someone different (e.g., "John has a phobia of dogs due to a childhood experience").

Flashcard 8

Q: What are individual differences in personality psychology?
A:
Variations between people, analyzed nomothetically, that describe what a person is like and what they can do. These differences are caused by genes and environment.

Flashcard 9

Q: What are the three types of personality theories?
A:

1. Grand theories: Classic, complete, and internally consistent accounts of human nature (more theory, less evidence).

2. Piecemeal theories: Contemporary, evidence-based, and externally consistent accounts of human nature (more evidence, less theory).

3. Implicit theories: Popular psychology, subjective, and simplistic.

4. Explicit theories: Scientific psychology, objective, and sophisticated.

Flashcard 10

Q: What are grand theories of personality?
A:
Classic theories that aim to provide a complete and internally consistent account of human nature (e.g., Freud’s psychodynamic theory).

Flashcard 11

Q: What are piecemeal theories of personality?
A:
Contemporary theories based on modern research that provide partial, externally consistent accounts of human nature. They avoid overgeneralization and focus on testable explanations.

Flashcard 12

Q: What are implicit theories of personality?
A:
Popular psychology theories that are subjective, simplistic, and more understandable to the general public.

Flashcard 13

Q: What are explicit theories of personality?
A:
Scientific theories that are objective, sophisticated, and intellectually challenging, often supported by empirical research.

Flashcard 14

Q: What should a good personality theory do?
A:

• Make organized sense of what is already known.

• Make interesting new predictions.

• Explain a lot with a little.

• Be testable.

• Suggest new lines of research.

• Have applied value.

Flashcard 15

Q: What are some key perspectives in personality theories?
A:

• Dispositions: Traits and types

• Psychodynamics: Unconscious drives

• Behavior genetics: Nature vs. nurture

• Brain and physiology: Personality in the organism

• Evolution: Heredity and adaptation

• Learning: Outer contingencies that shape us

• Cognition: Inner beliefs that shape us

• Humanism: The whole person

Flashcard 16

Q: What is the dispositional perspective in personality theories?
A:
It focuses on traits and types as key components of personality (e.g., the Big Five personality traits).

Flashcard 17

Q: What is the psychodynamic perspective in personality theories?
A:
It emphasizes unconscious drives and conflicts as shaping personality (e.g., Freud’s theory of the id, ego, and superego).

Flashcard 18

Q: What is the behavior genetics perspective in personality theories?
A:
It explores the role of nature (genes) and nurture (environment) in shaping personality.

Flashcard 19

Q: What is the evolutionary perspective in personality theories?
A:
It examines how heredity and adaptation influence personality traits over time.

Flashcard 20

Q: What is the humanistic perspective in personality theories?
A:
It focuses on the whole person, emphasizing self-actualization and personal growth (e.g., Maslow’s hierarchy of needs).Flashcard 21 Q: What is the cognitive perspective in personality theories? A: It explores how internal thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions shape an individual's personality and behaviour.