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Personality Flashcards

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1
Q

define personality - everyday meanings

A

charisma or charm
character or dominance
features of a person

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2
Q

definition of personality - scientific meaning

A

Inner qualities, consisting of traits and mechanisms that affect behaviour in more or less adaptive ways as well as organised in a way that uniquely defines who we are

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3
Q

what are the key concepts that define personality?

A

inner qualities
traits
mechanisms
affect on behaviour
adaptive
relatively stable
organised
uniquely defined

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4
Q

define inner qualities in its relation to the definition of personality

A

essential features of a person, at least partly latent and hidden

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5
Q

define traits in its relation to the definition of personality

A

particular dispositions or inclinations to behave a certain way

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6
Q

define mechanisms in its relation to the definition of personality

A

particular mental operations that might underlie why you behave in a certain way

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7
Q

define affect on behaviour in its relation to the definition of personality

A

Internal characteristics affect behaviour and have an impact on what we do and provide causal explanations of manifest behaviour

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8
Q

define adaptive in its relation to the definition of personality

A

some traits help us and other hurt us

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9
Q

define relatively stable in its relation to the definition of personality

A

traits imply consistency and personality evolves slowly over time

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10
Q

define organised in its relation to the definition of personality

A

there is a structure to personality, there are basic traits that pair with basic types of personality, it is not random and can be organised, personality is a constellation of traits and mechanisms

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11
Q

define uniquely defined in its relation to the definition of personality

A

every constellation of traits and mechanisms is different but we can find some standard traits and mechanisms to characterise people

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12
Q

what are the 3 different levels of analysis of personality?

A

universal
nomothetic
idiographic

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13
Q

what is the universal level of analysis?

A

overall claims - these claims characterise people in general, in terms of always true or generally true facts e.g. every human has an oedipus complex

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14
Q

what is the nomothetic level of analysis?

A

lawful claims - these claims characterise variations between people along shared dimensions e.g. X is more attached to their mother than Y is to theirs

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15
Q

what is the idiographic level of analysis?

A

individual claims - these claims characterise people particularly, variations between people using unique dimensions e.g. X is uniquely Z

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16
Q

define individual differences

A

They have to do with what a person is like (personality) and what a person can do (intelligence)

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17
Q

how are individual differences analysed?

A

nomothetically

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18
Q

what causes individual differences?

A

genes and the environment

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19
Q

define theories of personality

A

Systematic frameworks for understanding the structure, dynamics or origins of personality
These theories focus on different things and take on different perspectives

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20
Q

define structure, dynamics and origins

A

structure: components and organisation
dynamics: impacts on behaviour
origins: developmental causes

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21
Q

what are the different kinds of theories?

A

grand theories
piecemeal theories
implicit theories
explicit theories

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22
Q

explain grand theories

A

big/ classic approach
Give a complete account of human nature
Aim to give complete and internally consistent account of human nature
More theory, less evidence e.g. Freud’s theories

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23
Q

explain piecemeal theories

A

modern/contemporary approach
Focus on one aspect of human nature or particular personality trait and explains them in isolation
Aim to give a partial and externally consistent account of human nature
More evidence, less theory

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24
Q

explain implicit theories

A

popular psychology
Less scientific, more subjective
More intuitively digestible - easy to make sense of
More simplistic
May seem arbitrary or unlikely
e.g. astrology

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25
define explicit theories
scientific psychology More intellectually challenging More scientific, more objective More sophisticated May be more measurable
26
what should a good theory do/contain? EVALUATION
- Make organised sense of what is already known to be true - Make interesting new predictions about what should be true - Be parsimonious, explain a lot with a little - Be testable, answerable to evidence - Have heuristic value, suggest new lines of research inquiry - Have applied value, suggest interventions
27
what are the larger perspectives to these theories?
- Each perspective encompasses several theories of a particular sort, makes particular assumptions and emphases particular factors - The various perspectives show different facets of personality, may be mutually incompatible and can be divided up in different ways
28
examples of the larger perspectives to these theories
Psychoanalysis or behaviour theory or evolution - explains the complexity of personality or intelligence in terms of simpler processes - reductionist approach - determinist Humanistic approach - explains people's goals and ambitions for the future - not reductionist, we have free will All theories make assumptions about human nature
29
what are the key perspectives within theories of personality?
- Dispositions: traits and types - Psychodynamics: unconscious drives - Behaviour genetics: nature v 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
30
examples of issues within personality
- Does personality really exist? - Is personality consistent? - What are the basic traits of personality? - Where does personality come from? - What scope or limitaitons does human personality have? - How defensible are commonsense views of human personality?
31
define dispositions
a latent tendency to exhibit a coherent class of behaviours the idea that you have an inclination to behave in a certain way due to your personality This is what affects your behaviour People differ individually as they have varying dispositions
32
questions about dispositions
Is a disposition the cause of behaviour explaining why it occurs or a summary of behaviour, describing its occurrence? Can this be answered? Does the answer matter?
33
how can you categorise people by disposition?
use types and traits
34
define types of disposition
exclusive categories (names) you belong to either one or the other nominal or ordinal variable a qualitative difference type-based classification is called typology
35
define traits of disposition
continuous dimensions (numbers) you can be higher or lower along an entire dimension interval variable a quantitative difference trait-based classification is called 'traitology'
36
difference between traits and types
Traits tend to be normally distributed Types tend to be bimodally distributed
37
how can you convert a trait into a type and vice versa?
You can convert a trait to a type by choosing a splitting point but this causes information to be lost You can't convert a type to a trait
38
name some popular typologies
Enneagram Jung/ Myers-Briggs/ Kiersky
39
name some scientific models/ traitologies
Eysenck's 2- and 3- factor model Cattell's 16 Factor Model Wiggins Circumplex Model The 'Big Five' Model
40
explain the Enneagram typology
you can use 9 basic types to describe people can be good or bad to move towards one type or the other can only be one type divides people into groups
41
explain the Myers-Briggs typology
takes 4 dimensions of personality: extrovert/introvert intuitive/sensing feeling/thinking judging/perceiving categorises people into one or the other side of each aspect
42
explain Eysenck's 2-factor model
2 factors: extraversion and neuroticism factors are independent of each other
43
what are Eysenck's 2 factors of personality?
extraversion and neuroticism
44
what are the two sides of extraversion?
extroverts: sociable, dominant, active, sensation-seeking, high-energy, enjoy themselves a lot introverts: opposite
45
define neuroticism
having trouble dealing with reality
46
what are the two sides of neuroticism?
emotionality: anxious, depressed, moody, easily upset, hard time dealing with stress stability: opposite
47
what did Galen add to Eysenck's 2-factor model?
Galen combined extraversion and neuroticism to yield a classical Greek typology This classical Greek typology has four characteristics: melancholic (sad), cholic (angry), pragmatic (calm) and sanguine (happy) These characteristics were attributed to humours in the body e.g. people were sad or melancholic if they had an excess of black bile which is one of the humours in the body or people were sanguine due to their blood e.g. extroverted and emotionally stable = sanguine
48
what is a positive evaluation of Galen's addition to Eysenck's 2-factor model?
Eysenck's model was criticised for being oversimplistic whereas Galen's interpretation is less so
49
explain Eysenck's 3-factor model
added a 3rd factor: psychoticism psychoticism: impulsive, cold, antisocial, egocentric, aggressive criminals tend to be higher in psychoticism Aim is to parsimoniously account for a lot of the diversity between human beings on the base of these 3 dimensions
50
define psychosis
being out of touch with reality
51
how did Eysenck explain why people differ in these factors?
explained observed differences in people's traits and personalities in terms of the train as it leads to different behaviours claimed these factors are partly genetic as the brain is coded for by genes - nature side of the debate
52
how did Eysenck explain why people differ in the extraversion factor?
extroverts need more stimulation to achieve optimal cortical arousal whereas introverts are already adequately stimulated and don't need more stimulation from others
53
how did Eysenck explain why people differ in the neuroticism factor?
explained neurotics in terms of your emotions and autonomic nervous system neurotics possess a more unstable autonomic nervous system due to arousal
54
how did Eysenck explain why people differ in the psychoticism factor?
psychotics have more testosterone and less of the neurotransmitter MAO
55
how did Eysenck derive these traits?
used factor analysis
56
what is factor analysis?
a set of statistical procedures designed to uncover the nature and number of latent factors that underlie a given set of items it allows clusters of correlating items (factors) to be identified and interpreted some subjectivity is involved here
57
how does a factor analysis work?
each item loads on (correlates with) a factor to some degree the pattern of loadings (made more coherent by factor rotation) serves as the basis for interpretation conclusions as to the factor structure are then reached by considering the size and composition of these clusters
58
how is a factor analysis carried out?
ask people lots of questions on lots of questionnaires look at how the scores go together and how they correlate factor analysis identifies clusters that are formed from the results shows basic dimensions of personality
59
how did Eysenck explain his theory in terms of hierarchy?
Eysenck showed that E, N and P were more general traits that could be derived from more specific traits the structure was thus hierarchial extraversion subsumed dominance, sociability, activity etc
60
differences between Eysenck's factor models and Cattell's factor model
Eysenck had 3 factors whereas Cattell had 16 factors Eysenck looked at personality at a more general level whereas Cattell split personality apart more specifically Cattell's model involved more subjectivity compared to Eysenck's model
61
similarities between Eysenck's factor model and Cattell's factor model
both based on traits not types both used factor analysis but came to different conclusions
62
explain Cattell's 16 factor model
identified 16 different traits using factor analysis to show the diversity of personality traits can be described as aspects/ sub-traits of Eysenck's factors
63
how did Cattell ensure all relevant traits were covered?
The lexical hypothesis (Galton) all important traits are encoded in natural language so the more important a trait is, the more frequently it is referred to used a dictionary to reduce all the trait adjectives to a manageable number and used it as a basis for self-ratings then subjected the rating to factor analysis the factors will correspond to fundamental personality traits
64
what did Cattell aim to do with his research?
the hope is that the procedure is non-arbitrary the key traits will be comprehensive it will bring order to the chaos of different personality theories
65
explain the Big Five model
Goldberg, Costa and McCrae identified 5 dimensions that regularly emerge from factor analyses across different types of items, assessments, people and species to describe personality
66
what are the big five dimensions of personality?
neuroticism (emotionality) extraversion (dominance) openness (sophistication) agreeableness (likeability) conscientiousness (responsibility)
67
acronym to remember the big five
OCEAN Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
68
what makes someone neurotic? what emotions would they display?
experiencing unpleasant emotions easily angry hostility, anxiety, depression, vulnerability, impulsiveness, self-consciousness
69
what makes someone extroverted? what emotions would they display?
showing energy, positive emotions, surgency, and for seeking stimulation and the company of others warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, positive emotions
70
what makes someone open? what emotions would they display?
appreciating art, emotion, adventure, unusual idea, imagination, curiousity and variety of experience fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, values
71
what makes someone agreeable? what emotions would they display?
behaving compassionately and cooperatively, rather than suspiciously and antagonistically towards others trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, tender-mindedness
72
what makes someone conscientious? what emotions would they display?
having self-discipline, acting dutifully and aiming for achievement and planned rather than spontaneous behaviour competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline, deliveration
73
what are some signs of personality characteristics in books?
people express themselves and their personality through their preferences examples of this are: High in extraversion - like celebrity romance High in introversion - like manga High in neuroticism - like sad endings Low in neuroticism - like politics and philosophy High in extraversion - like humour High in openness - like philosophy
74
study into word preferences and personality results
High intraversion / low extroversion - computer, internet, emoticons - solitary - may be some cultural differences High neuroticism - sick, hate, stupid, depressed etc Low neuroticism - success, workout, blessed, beach etc - religious connotations High conscientiousness - work, excited, great day, thankful etc Low conscientiousness - fuck, pokemon, youtube, bored etc High agreeableness - blessed, amazing, wonderful, excited, prayers etc Less agreeableness - bitch, damn, fuck, hell, wtf etc High openness - soul, universe, dream, writing, music Less openness - can't, don't, wait, wat, gud etc - connected to IQ perhaps
75
what is the core mechanism of extraversion?
response to reward mid-brain dopamine reward systems
76
what is the core mechanism of neuroticism?
response to threat amygdala and limbic system serotonin production
77
what is the core mechanism of conscientiousness?
response inhibition dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
78
what is the core mechanism of agreeableness?
regard for others theory of mind empathy component
79
what is the core mechanism of openness?
breadth of mental associations
80
what are the benefits and costs of extraversion?
benefit: increased reward pursuit and capture cost: physical danger, family instability
81
what are the benefits and costs of neuroticism?
benefit: vigilance, striving cost: anxiety, depression
82
what are the benefits and costs of conscientiousness?
benefit: planning, self-control cost: rigidity, lack of spontaneous response
83
what are the benefits and costs of agreeableness?
benefit: harmonious social relationships cost: not putting self first, lost status
84
what are the benefits and costs of openness?
benefit: artistic sensibility, divergent though cost: unusual beliefs, proneness to psychosis
85
how are the big five traits dissected further?
Each trait has a number of different sub-traits/ facets, allowing for greater detail and subtlety of characterisation e.g. Depression and anxiety are characteristics of neuroticism
86
how does personality change?
personality traits seem to be stable after the age of 30 evidence of heritability too can predict variations of people's personality based on genetic factors
87
how does the big five model fit with other traitologies?
These factors often neatly map onto traits described in other theories, simply or as a combination e.g. psychoticism and agreeableness overlap
88
criticisms of the big five model
openness correlates with intelligence but intelligence is not personality however, personality may depend of intelligence if all factors correlate with each other then personality is only one factor in which you can be high or low in subjective not clear for other factors e.g. humour, self-esteem etc more descriptive than theoretical - theorising may suggest other traits of greater significance dynamics and complexities of personality are not addressed
89
what was the 6th factor added to the Big Five?
honesty-humility divided agreeableness into being nice and being not egotistical
90
questions to do with the big five model:
Are the big five personality traits the fundamental and invariant building blocks of personality? May not however they are useful organisational tools, they have stimulated research and they reflect some interesting underlying order in personality
91
criticisms of assigning specific traits to personality
situational influence, variability of behaviour, predictive power of traits but have been addressed, conceptual, measurement and statistical issues
92
types instead of traits?
Average, reserved, role models, self-centered

Individual Differences (14 decks)

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