Behavioral Sciences Chapter 6: Identity and Personality

Question 1

What is self-concept?

Answer 1

The sum of ways in which we describe ourselves; in the present, who we used to be, who we might be in the future

Question 2

Identities

Answer 2

individual components of our self-concept related to the groups to which we belong. Religious affiliation, sexual orientation, and ethnic and national affiliations are examples of identities.

Question 3

Self-esteem

Answer 3

Evaluation of ourselves - Generally the closer our actual self is to our ideal self (who we want to be) and our ought self (who others want us to be), the higher our self esteem will be.

Question 4

Self-efficacy

Answer 4

degree to which we see ourselves as being capable at a given skill or in a given situation. When placed in a consistently hopeless scenario, self-efficacy can be diminished to the point where learned helplessness results.

Question 5

Learned helplessness

Answer 5

State of hopelessness and resignation resulting from being unable to avoid repeated negative stimuli; often used as a model of depression.

Question 6

Locus of control

Answer 6

Way we characterize influences

Question 7

What is internal locus of control?

Answer 7

see successes and failures as a result of their own characteristics and actions

Question 8

What is external locus of control?

Answer 8

outside factors have more of an influence over their lives

Question 9

What is Freuds psychosexual stages of personality development based on?

Answer 9

libido – failure leads to fixation, causing personality disorders

Question 10

What are his phases?

Answer 10

oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital - based on erogenous zones that are the focus of each phase of development

Question 11

What do Erikson’s stages arise from? What are the categories?

Answer 11

Stem from conflicts that occur through life and the decisions we are forced to make about ourselves and the environment around us.

• trust v. mistrust
• autonomy v. shame and doubt
• initiative v. guilt
• industry v. inferiority
• identity v. role confusion
• intimacy v. isolation
• generativity v. stagnation
• integrity v. despair

Question 12

What are Kohlberg’s stages of moral development based on? What are the three main phases?

Answer 12

Approaches of individuals to resolving moral development

• preconventional
• conventional
• postconventional

Question 13

What is the idea of zone of proximal development?

Answer 13

Describes the skills that a child has not yet mastered and require a more knowledgeable other to accomplish

Question 14

What are two common ways children learn from others?

Answer 14

imitation and role-taking

Question 15

What is a reference group?

Answer 15

The group that we compare ourselves to – may see qualities differently depending on how those qualities compare to their reference group

Question 16

What is the psychoanalytic perspective view?

Answer 16

personality as resulting from unconscious urges and desires.

Question 17

What are Freud’s psychoanalytic theories based on?

Answer 17

id - basic urges of survival and reproduction
superego - idealist and perfectionist
ego - mediator between the two and conscious mind

Question 18

What did Jung assume?

Answer 18

That a collective unconscious links all humans together. He viewed the personality as being influenced by archetypes.

Question 19

What is the humanistic perspective?

Answer 19

emphasizes the internal feelings of healthy individuals as they strive toward happiness and self realization.

Question 20

What are two examples of humanistic approach?

Answer 20

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Rogers’ therapeutic aproach of unconditional positive regard flow

Question 21

What do type and trait theorists believe?

Answer 21

That personality can be described as a number of identifiable traits that carry characteristic behaviors

Question 22

What are three type theories?

Answer 22

Ancient greek notions of humors
Sheldon’s somatotypes division into Type A and B
Myers-Briggs Type Inventory

Question 23

What are three major traits that Eysencks thought could describe all individuals?

Answer 23

psychoticism (nonconformity)
extraversion (tolerance for social interaction and stimulation)
Neuroticism (arousal in stressful situations)

Question 24

What are the BIG FIVE?

Answer 24

Openness 
Concientiousness 
Extraversion 
Agreeableness
Neuroticism

Question 25

What three traits did allport identify?

Answer 25

Cardinal - organizes ones life around
Central - major characteristics
Secondary - more personal and limited in occurrence

Question 26

What is the social cognitive perspective?

Answer 26

individual interacts with their environment in a cycle called reciprocal determinism. People mold their environments according to their personalities and those environments shape our thoughts, feelings and behaviors

Question 27

What is the behavioralist perspective?

Answer 27

concept of operant conditioning - personality is learned through rewards and punishments

Question 28

What is the biological theory?

Answer 28

behavior = genetic expression