Exam 4 personality Flashcards
(45 cards)
What is personality?
An individual’s characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with the psychological mechanisms behind those patterns.
What makes a behavior “characteristic”?
Is it the same behavior across situations and environments?
Is it the same behavior over time, from year-to-year?
What do personality theories try to accomplish?
They try to define and describe personality b
what was humanistic psychology, origin?
People disliked Freud’s theories because they were to sex motivated and behaviorists for being themselves and so negative so they took a more positive approach
What does humanistic psychology focus on?
There are higher level needs. People strive to grow when their basic needs have been met.
People are active. People don’t just respond to the environment like a rat in a cage. They do things.
People are good. We’re sensible and understand ourselves. We want to improve and grow.
Focus on self-actualization.
What is Humanistic psychology
Focuses on the healthy development of human potential (self-actualization).
People have a need to grow and be better people.
People need to be genuine and true to themselves.
What is self-actualization?
The need to maintain and enhance life, and according to humanists, this is the goal of existence.
Involves Realizing one’s potential, Improving one’s experiance, Deeply appreciating life
How did Maslow view self-actualization?
People are motivated by a hierarchy of needs and strive for self-actualization and self-transcendence.
How did Rogers view self-actualization?
To self-actualize, you need the following…
Listen to and follow your inner guide
Unconditional positive regard loving yourself without expectations or demands.
Living in ways that are consistent with your innermost beliefs.
What are some of the criticisms of humanistic psychology?
Use vague, subjective, difficult to measure concepts.
Advance individualism and self-centered values.
Offer naively optimistics assumptions about human nature.
What are some of the benefits of humanistic psychology?
Influenced counseling, education, child raising, and management.
Laid the groundwork for positive psychology.
Renewed interest in the concept of the self
What defines the trait approach to personality?
Focusing on the ways we systematically differ from each other, but it doesn’t focus on truly unique qualities.
Describe differences rather than trying to explain them.
Suggest that genetic predispositions influence many traits.
Assume traits influence overall behavior but not always in specific situations
What is factor analysis?
statistical procedure used to identify similar clusters of test items to tap basic components of personality.
What is a personality inventory?
questinare on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors.
Used to assess selected personality traits
Test items empirically derived and verified
Tests are objectivley scored.
Why isn’t the Myers-Briggs a good test of personality?
personality traits had a low correlation with the behaviors they were supposed to predict
What was the Person-Situation Debate?
Debate over if personality traits or situations have the strongest influence on behavior, and do personality traits really matter?
How did personality psychologists address the criticism that personality traits didn’t predict behavior well enough?
In general, personality traits are stable and socially significant, predicting mortality, divorce, and occupational attainment.
Consistency of specific behaviors from one situation to another is weak; average behaviors are predictable.
What evidence is there that personality is stable over time?
With age, personality traits become more stable, as reflected in the stronger correlation of trait scores with follow-up scores 7 years later
What is the evidence that personality variable over time?
Changes over time
May be based on changing social roles and life events that encourage these traits.
Also big life experiances (ex homelessness) changes your personality too
How does your personality change as you get older?
Yes, over time People become…
less neurotic.
more agreeable.
more conscientious.
What are the Big Five personality traits?
Openess, consientiousness, Extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism
Extraversion
One of the most important individual differences in psychology.
Extraverted people may be more likely to experience postive emotions and more sensitive to rewards. (they also tend to be happier and more social)
Neuroticism
Over-react to and don’t deal well with stress
Sensitive to rejection
Neurotic people may be more likely to experience negative emotions and be more sensitive to punishment
(Also very important and nonrefuted trait)
Agreeableness
The tendency to be cooperative and get along well with others.
Reflects an important aspect of the survival of our species
Tend to Say nice things to others.
More involved in community and religious activities.
Have a good sense of humor
Be healthy and well-adjusted.
Be accepted by peers
