Chapter 12 notes

• Personality- an individual's characteristic style of Behaving, thinking, and feeling

• Personality is connected to Prior events that may have shaped an individual's personality or anticipated events that motivate the person to reveal a particular personality

• Self-report- A method in which people provide subjective information about their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors, typically via questionnaire or interview 

• Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory- A well-researched clinical questionnaire used to assess personality and psychological problems 

• Projective test- test designed to reveal inner aspects of individuals' personalities by analysis of their response to a standard series of ambiguous stimuli

• Rorschach inkblot test-  a productive technique and wish respondents inner thoughts and feelings are believed to be revealed by analysis of the responses to a set of unstructured inkblots

•  Thematic apperception test- A productive technique in which respondents' underlying motives concerns in the way they see the social world are believed to be revealed through analysis of the stories they make up about ambiguous pictures of people 

• The value of the projective test is debated by psychologists

• Trait theories answer the question of why people have particular peculiar traits and whether those traits arise from biological or heredity foundations peculiar peculiar

•  trait- a relatively stable disposition to behave in a peculiar and consistent way

•  trades may be organized in a hierarchy in which many specific behavioral Tendencies are associated with a higher order trade

•  Personality is represented by language 

• Big 5-  the traits of the five-factor model: openness to experience, conscientiousness,  extraversion,  agreeableness,  and neuroticism 

•  Openness to experience: 

  •  high on trait,  imaginative, variety, independent

  • low on trait,  down to earth, routine, conforming

• Conscientiousness:

  • High on trait: organized, careful, self-disciplined

  • low  trait,  disorganized, careless, weak world

• Extraversion:

  • High on trait,  Social, fun-loving, and affectionate

  •  low on trait,   retiring, sober, reserved

• Agreeableness:

  • high on trait, Soft hearted, trusting, helpful 

  • low on trait,  Ruthless, suspicious, uncooperative 

• Neuroticism

  •   high on trait, worried, and secure, self-pitying

  •  low on trait,  calm, secure, self-satisfied 

• The more jeans you have with someone, the more similar your personalities are likely to be

• Boys show more emotions like anger, and girls show more internalizing emotions such as sadness and anxiety 

• Formation-  the part of the brain that regulates arousal or alertness

• Androgynous-  those who adopt The Best of Both Worlds in identifying with positive feminine traits such as kindness and  positive masculine characteristics such as assertiveness

•  Behavioral activation system- approach behavior and response to anticipation of reward

•  Behavior inhibition since system-  inhibits behavior and response to stimuli signaling punishment 

• Psychodynamic approach- an approach that regards personality as formed by needs striving and desires largely operating outside of awareness motives that can also produce emotional disorders

•  ID- the part of the Mind containing the drives present at birth it is the source of our bodily needs, once desires and impulses Peculiarly are sexual and aggressive  drives

•  Superego- the mental system that reflects the internalization of cultural rules mainly learned as parents exercise their authority

• Ego- the component of Personality developed through contact with the external world that enables us to deal with life's practical demands

•  Defense mechanisms- unconscious coping mechanisms that reduce the anxiety generated by threats from unacceptable impulses

• Anthropomorphize- A tribute of human characteristics to nonhuman animals

• Defense mechanisms

  •  Repression- removing painful experiences and unacceptable impulses from the conscious mind

  •  Rationalization-  supplying a reasonable-sounding explanation for unacceptable feelings and behavior to conceal one's underlying motives or feelings

  •  Reaction formation-  unconsciously replacing threatening inner wishes and Fantasies with an exaggerated version of their opposite

  •  Projection-  attributing one's feelings, motives, or impulses to another person or group

  •  Regression-  reverting to an immature Behavior or earlier stage of development, a time when things felt more secure to deal with internal conflict and perceived threat

  •  Displacement-  shifting unacceptable wishes or drives to a neutral or less threatening alternative

  •  Identification-  dealing with feelings of threat and anxiety but unconsciously taking on the characteristics of another person who seems more powerful or better able to cope

  •  Sublimation-  channeling unacceptable sexual or aggressive drives into socially acceptable and culturally enhancing activities 

• Self-actualizing tendency- the human motive towards realizing our inner potential

• Existential approach- a school of thought that regards personality as being governed by an individual's ongoing choices and decisions in the context of realities of life and death

•  Social cognitive approach- an approach that uses personality in terms of how the person thinks about the situations encountered in daily life and behaves and responds to them

•  person situation controversy-  the question of whether behavior is caused more by personality or by situational factors

•  Personal constructs- The Mansions people use in making sense of their experiences

•  Outcome expectancies-  a person's assumptions about the likely consequences of a future Behavior

•  Locus of control-  a person's tendency to perceive the control of rewards as internal to the self or external in the environment 

• The “I” is the self that  thanks experiences and acts in the world-  the self that is known

• The me is the self that is an object in the world-  it is the self that is known

•  Self-concept-  a person's explicit knowledge of his or her behaviors, traits and other personal characteristics 

• Self-verification- the tendency to seek evidence to confirm the self-concept 

• Self-esteem -  the extent to which an individual likes, values, and accepts the self

• Self-serving bias -  people's tendency to take credit for successes but not take responsibility for their failures 

• Narcissism-  a trait that reflects a grandiose view of the self combined with a tendency to see admiration from and exploit others 

Projective Tests- tests designed to reveal inner aspects of personalities by analysis of response to ambiguous stimuli.

Rorschach Test-projective test that analyzed interpretations of the inkblots.

Conscientiousness– involves self-discipline, competence, dutifulness, being dependable, persevering, and orderly 

Most highly sought after personality attribute for job applicants

Agreeableness– generally measures whether a person is well-tempered or not and involves being compassionate and cooperative, flexible and tolerant

Second most prized personality trait

Heritability- the measurement of how much the variations in people’s DNA can explain the variations in their traits.

Self efficacy- one’s belief about one’s ability to perform a task

High self efficacy=confidence. Low=worry

Self esteem- a person’s overall confidence & satisfaction with themselves

Self concept- beliefs, attitudes and opinions of oneself

Reciprocal determinism -Your cognition, behavior, and environment act as interlocking determinants of each other. Reciprocal determinism explore self concept & self efficacy contribute to self concept.

Humanistic psychologists emphasize a positive, optimistic view of human nature; emphasize goodness and potential for growth.

Self-actualizing tendency: Humans motive toward realizing their inner potential. Individual personality differences arise from the environment (facilitations or blocks); attempts to satisfy psychological needs.

Genuineness—open with feelings, transparent and self-disclosing.  

Empathy—sharing and mirroring others’ feelings, relaxing and fully expressing one’s true self

Acceptance—offering unconditional positive regard (an attitude of total acceptance toward another person in which value is shown despite failings)