Personality - Exam 5

Question 1

personality

Answer 1

relatively stable pattern of behaving, feeling, and thinking that distinguishes one person from another

**highly tied to psychological disorders

Question 2

projective tests

Answer 2

psychological test that involves the use of unstructured/ambiguous stimuli in an effort to asses personality
ex: thematic apperception test (TAT), Rorschach inkblot test, barnum effect

Question 3

what is the assumption of projective tests?

Answer 3

people project personality characteristics onto ambiguous stimuli, reflect unconscious aspects of personality

Question 4

thematic apperception test (TAT)

Answer 4

show people black and white images and ask them to tell a story

Question 5

rorschach inkblot test

Answer 5

show people inkblots and ask what they see

Question 6

Barnum effect

Answer 6

tendency to accept generalized personality descriptions as accurate descriptions of oneself
ex: horoscopes, buzzfeed

Question 7

limitations of projective tests

Answer 7

require extensive training
subjective judgement

Question 8

to be a useful personality test, they must have what characteristics?

Answer 8

reliable (same measurements no matter the therapist)
valid (measures what it’s supposed to measure)
standardized (scored the same/consistent for all those taking it)

Question 9

self report inventories (ex and limitations)

Answer 9

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
California Psychological Inventory (CPI)
limitations - outdated, time consuming, expensive

Question 10

MMPI

Answer 10

used to weed people out
has lie scale built into
ex: used for cops

Question 11

CPI

Answer 11

used on teens/workers to test for leadership

Question 12

early biological connection to personality

Answer 12

treponation
humors and bumps
body types (endo, meso, ecto)

Question 13

treponation

Answer 13

drilled holes in head to let out demons, now used in med procedures

Question 14

humors and bumps

Answer 14

Franz Joseph Gall
humors = bodily fluids
bumps = phrenology
**imbalance of fluid -> personality changes
**bumps on head -> personality

Question 15

endomorphs

Answer 15

comfort, loving, outgoing (funny)

Question 16

mesomorph

Answer 16

assertive, energetic (ie athletes)

Question 17

ectomorph

Answer 17

restrained, lonely

Question 18

sensation seeking self report inventory

Answer 18

rate how you feel about:
disinhibition (loss of self control), thrill seeking, experience seeking, boredom susceptibility

Question 19

high sensation seekers typically…

Answer 19

like spicy foods, more likely to do drugs, more likely to cause accidents, gamblers

Question 20

biological basis in sensation seeking

Answer 20

low levels of MAO are associated with high sensation seeking scores
(ex: gamblers show low MAO levels)

Question 21

Freud theories

Answer 21

psychodynamic perspective
structure of mind
persodynamic theory
defense mechanism
trait perspectives

Question 22

psychic determinism

Answer 22

influence of your past on your present (ie childhood experience affects adult life)
includes Freudian slip (reveal our “real” intentions)

Question 23

instincts (according to Freud)

Answer 23

eros (lifegiving/pleasure seeking)
thanatos (destructive/aggressive)

Question 24

levels of consciousness

Answer 24

consciousness - aware of at any given time
preconsciousness - thoughts/feelings that can be brought to conscious level
unconsciousness - can’t reach without therapist, can’t access, often undesirable

Question 25

structure of mind (consciousness levels)

Answer 25

ego, superego, id

Question 26

ego

Answer 26

executive arm of personality that seeks to resolve conflict between the id and superego, follow reality principle

Question 27

superego

Answer 27

moralistic/idealistic structure

Question 28

id

Answer 28

source of energy of eros and thanatos, seeks immediate gratification

Question 29

psychodynamic theory

Answer 29

personality developing from our attempt to resolve inner conflict between impulse and restraint

Question 30

3 interacting parts of psycodynamic theory

Answer 30

id - completely unconscious, survive/reproduce/aggress, operates on pleasure principle ego - deals with id's demands in realistic ways, operates on reality principle superego - moral compass (conscious), how we ought to behave

Question 31

defense mechanisms

Answer 31

denia displacement projection rationalization reaction formation regression sublimation

Question 32

denial

Answer 32

refuse to acknowledge experience/thought

Question 33

displacement

Answer 33

mad at boss -> kick the dog (situational)

Question 34

projection

Answer 34

not my fault their fault

Question 35

rationalization

Answer 35

it keeps me calm (ex: girl math, smoking, tanning)

Question 36

reaction formation

Answer 36

exhibit opposite of true feelings

Question 37

regression

Answer 37

return to early forms of development

Question 38

sublimation

Answer 38

boxer takes out aggression in the ring (general)

Question 39

psychodynamic theory takeaways

Answer 39

personality determined by current and early life experiences personality develops over lifespan we have conscious and unconscious motives (can cause anxiety)

Question 40

trait

Answer 40

stable and enduring behaviors personality structures that cause a person to behave the same in different situations

Question 41

lexical approach

Answer 41

Allport went through dictionaries and picked out every word that could describe someone (18,000 - too many to be useful) ended up factoring words to reflect basic traits (4,500) -> ended with 5 factors

Question 42

Big 5 factors of personality (definition)

Answer 42

broad traits that describe main personality dimensions, measured on a continuum

Question 43

Big 5 Factors

Answer 43

conscientiousness agreeableness neuroticism openness extraversion (OCEAN/CANOE)

Question 44

conscientiousness

Answer 44

high = organized and forgiving low = disorganized and vengeful

Question 45

agreeableness

Answer 45

high = generous and helpful low = ruthless and uncooperative

Question 46

neuroticism

Answer 46

high = anxious and insecure low = calm and secure

Question 47

openness

Answer 47

high = tolerant and creative low = intolerant and conforming

Question 48

extraversion

Answer 48

high = social and outgoing (extraverted) low = reserved and "home body" (introverted)

Question 49

can personality traits predict behavior?

Answer 49

yes ex: introverts prefer email, conscientious people get better grades