2/13-2/25 Psych Unit 4

The Big Five Theory (Big Five Factors)

Openess, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism (O.C.E.A.N)

Openess (to Experience):

how much you like new things and new ideas

Low (bad): practical, conventional, prefers routine

High (good): curious, wide range of interest, independent

Conscientiousness:

how organized + responsible you are

Low (bad): impulsive, careless, disorganized

High (good): hardworking, dependable, organized

Extroversion:

how social and outgoing you are

Low (bad): quiet, reserved, withdrawn

High (good): outgoing, warm, seeks adventure

Agreeableness:

how kind and cooperative you are

Low (bad): critical, uncooperative, suspicious

High (good): helpful, trusting, empathetic

(think trustworthiness!!!!)

Neuroticism:

how emotionally stable

Low (good): calm, even-tempered, secure

High (bad): anxious, unhappy, prone to negative emotions

Stability of PesonalityTraits and Behaviors?

Personality traits are both stable and potent. However, the consistency of our specific behaviors can vary from situation to situation

Trait

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports

Factor Analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters (factors) of test items that tap basic components of a trait, to reduce personality variation to two dimensions

Personality inventory

a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits (e.g. MMPI, Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.)

Defense mechanisms: Ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.  All defense mechanisms function indirectly and unconsciously

Repression: basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.  Underlies ALL other defense mechanisms.

Seven Defense Mechanisms:

Enabled by repression, Freud believed repression enabled the following defense mechanisms

Id (unconscious): a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification

Ego: (conscious level) the largely conscious “executive” part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality

Superego (preconscious level): the part of persoanlity that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgement (the conscious)

Maslow, self-actualization

Humanistic theories: view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth.  Focused on the individual.

Self-actualization: according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one’s potential.

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Projective test: a personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics.

Behavioral approach: personality perspective that focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development.

• Behaviorists focus on how our environment controls us.

Social­-­cognitive perspective: views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context.

• Social-cognitive theorists focus on how we and our environment interact

Reciprocal determinism: the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

• Bandura explains how behavior, environment, and personal factors (like thoughts and emotions) all interact and influence one another.

Attributional/explanatory style:  ways in which people explain the cause of events within their lives

personal control—whether we learn to see ourselves as controlling, or as controlled by, our environment

• Internal locus of control: belief that one is responsible for one’s own success/failures

• External locus of control: attributes success or failure to luck or chance/ a higher power

Effects of Excessive Optimism:

• Can lead to unrealistic expectations and falling short of a goal

Incompetence leads to overconfidence, People often are most overconfident when most incompetent. It takes competence to recognize competence, e.g. Experts understand how much they still don’t know (Dunning-Krueger Effect)

Social-cognitive theories focus on how situations affect, and are affected by, individuals.

• Take heavily from psychological research on learning and cognition

Critics: social-cognitive theories focus so much on the situation that they fail to appreciate the person’s inner traits

• unconscious motives, our emotions, and our pervasive traits also guide behavior

Self-concept: an understanding you have of yourself that includes elements such as intelligence level, gender identity roles, racial identity roles etc., which influence how we perceive ourselves both in the present and what we want to become in the future.

Spotlight effect: overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders

Self­-­esteem: a feeling of self-worth

Self-efficacy: sense of competence on a task