Personality Theories Flashcards
(158 cards)
1
Q
What is personality?
A
Personality refers to the psychological qualities that contribute to an individual’s enduring and distinctive patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving.
2
Q
What are the aims of personality psychologists?
A
The aims of personality psychologists are to describe the structure of personality and to study individual differences in personality
3
Q
What are the 5 major theoretical perspectives?
A
- Trait perspective
- Psychodynamic perspective
- Humanistic perspective
- Social Cognitive perspective (Behaviourist perspective)
- Biological perspective
4
Q
What is the trait theory?
A
A personality trait is best explained as a stable predisposition to behave in a certain way in various situations.
5
Q
How is trait theory understood?
A
Traits exist on a continuum, meaning that they either prefer more or less stimulating environments. There are cases in which extremities exist, but those are rare instances. Most people tend to exist somewhere closer to the middle.
6
Q
How many traits were discovered initially and by who?
A
Alport initially found there to be approximately 200 traits.
7
Q
What technique did Cattell use to minimise the list of traits
A
Cattell used factor analysis to bring the list down to 16 basic personality traits.
8
Q
What is the big 5 personality model?
A
The Big 5 model refers to a group of generalised traits. It is considered reliable because these factors were found to emerge in various cultures and ages
9
Q
What is Openness to experience?
A
People who are creative, curious and independent in comparison to people who are more conservative, practical and who aren’t really open to stepping out of their comfort zone.
10
Q
What is Conscientiousness?
A
Conscientiousness refers to the extent to which a person is organised, disciplined, dependable in comparisson to someone who is untidy, impulsive, careless and disorganised.
11
Q
What is extraversion?
A
People who work well with others and are sociable, compared to people who are quiet, reserved and thoughtful and who can be described as being introverted.
12
Q
What is agreeableness?
A
The extent to which a person is kind, helpful and trustful, compared to someone who is ruthless, uncooperative and demanding.
13
Q
What is neuroticism?
A
The extent to which a person is anxious and insecure at one extreme versus a person who is more calm, emotional stable and secure.
14
Q
What was Walter Mischel’s belief?
A
Mischel believed that people could and would behave immorally depending on a situation rather than focusing on personality traits
15
Q
What was Mischel’s theory known as?
A
The theory of situationism
16
Q
What was the opposing belief to Mischel’s theory?
A
Traits may fail to predict single behaviours but they are good at predicting the averages of a lot of behaviours.
17
Q
What is the current view surrounding behaviours and personality?
A
Behaviour is determined by the interaction of personality traits and the situation or environment, this is known as interactionism.
18
Q
What are examples of strong situations that have an impact on personality?
A
Strong situations include events or environments that mask an individual’s personality. An example of this would be a funeral or a religious service.
19
Q
What are examples of weak situations that have an impact on personality?
A
Weak situations include being at a party, a park or at home. These kinds of environments don’t tend to have many rules or restrictions which allow people to uncover more of their personality.
20
Q
What contributions have trait theories had on the knowledge surrounding personality currrently?
A
Traits are easy to measure and widely applicable.
21
Q
What are the limitations of trait theories?
A
Trait models are descriptive rather than explanatory which questions their usefulness.
22
Q
What is the psychodynamic perspective?
A
The psychodynamic perspective focuses on the unconscious processes that originate from childhood which have been shown to determine personality.
23
Q
What were some of the main areas of focus in Freud’s theories?
A
The topography of the mind, drive, development of personality, personality structure and defence mechanisms.
24
Q
What is the topographic mind comprised of?
A
The conscious mind, the preconscious and the unconscious.
25
What is the conscious?
At this level there is an awareness of our thoughts. These thoughts are always being thought of and can be easily brought to the front of the mind
26
What is the preconscious?
Thoughts that are slightly further out of reach, such as thoughts that we are not consciously aware of, but are still fairly easy to bring to the conscious mind. Examples of information that exists in the preconscious include remembering your phone number or song lyrics.
27
What is the unconscious?
Feelings, thoughts and motivations that aren’t as easily accessible are found in the unconscious mind. Freud believed that a person’s desires and motivations came from this part of the mind. Unconscious thoughts may manifest in the form of a phenomenon known as the slip of the tongue.
28
How did Freud study thoughts in this part of the brain?
Freud found it useful to study this part of the mind by analysing things such as the jokes that a person tells or their dreams.
29
What are drives?
Freud believed that people are motivated specifically by their need for sex and aggression.
30
Describe the psychosexual stages of development?
These stages of development from childhood to adulthood made up a lot of a person's personality based on their experiences.
31
Name the 5 stages of psychoexual development
Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital.
32
What occurs in the oral stage?
Freud believed that during the ages of 0 - 18 months a child's mouth was the most sexually sensitive. Children are dependent on their mothers to orally feed them and when those need are not met they may develop oral fixations. Other impacts can include a person becoming overly dependant or distant.
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What are common examples of oral fixations?
Excessive smoking, over-eating or nail biting.
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What is the most important aspect of the oral stage?
Dependency.
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What occurs in the anal stage?
A child's erogenous zone during the period of 2 - 3 years is the anus. During this period a child will develop a sense of autonomy by seeking out control.
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What are the two types of anal personalities that an adult can have?
An anal expulsive personality or an anal retentive personality
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What is an anal expulsive personality?
Adults with an anal expulsive personality tend to be messy, hostile or destructive.
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What is an anal retentive personality?
An adult with a retentive personality may tend to be stingy, excessively neat and stubborn.
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What are the most important aspects of the anal stage?
Orderliness and Control.
40
What occurs in the phallic stage?
During the ages of 4 - 6 children are able to distinguish between different sexes. Freud's idea of the Oedipus and Electra complex came from this stage.
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What is the most important aspect of the phallic stage?
A child's ability to identify their parents as being different sexes.
42
What occurs in the latency stage?
Children's sexual feelings towards the opposite sex from the ages of 7 - 11 are repressed and remain latent until puberty. Children also develop intellectually as well as physically and socially.
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What is the most important aspect of latency?
During this stages a young adolescents' sexual and aggressive impulses are channelled into socially acceptable behaviours.
44
What occurs in the genital stage?
From the ages of 12 and older (puberty and adulthood), adolescents begin having more conscious thoughts about their sexual urges.
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What is the most important aspect of the genital stage?
Mature sexuality and relationships between people.
46
How do fixations develop?
When children are overindulged or deprived within these areas of their lives they may develop fixations.
47
According to Freud what were the three components that made up the structure of personality?
Id, Ego and Superego
48
What is the Id?
The Id is found in the unconscious, and it is based on pleasure inspired by biological needs, such as the need to eat, sleep or sexual desires. The id does not take into consideration the consequences of one’s actions, and acts on impulse as a result of seeking instant gratification.
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What is the operating principle of the Id?
Pleasure
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What is the Ego?
This ego is focuses on reality and rationalising ideas in order to solve problems. The Ego is a largely conscious aspect of personality.
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What is the operating principle of the Ego?
Reality
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What is the superego?
Unlike the Id, the superego is largely conscious and it is often used to determine right from wrong. Notions about right and wrong tend to come from children internalising the standards set by their parents and society.
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What is the operating principle of the superego?
It is idealistic.
54
What are defence mechanisms?
Defence mechanisms are actions and mental strategies that are meant to protect self esteem and to prevent unacceptable thoughts or impulses from reaching the conscious state of awareness avoiding distress or anxiety.
55
What are some common examples of defence mechanisms?
Repression, projection, denial, rejection formation, displacement, sublimation and compensation.
56
What is repression?
Excluding the source of anxiety from awareness, which can occur when people aren’t able to remember traumatic events.
57
What is projection?
The attribution of unacceptable qualities of oneself unto someone else. This can occur when a person becomes defensive about something that is related to them.
58
What is reaction formation?
Warding off uncomfortable thoughts by emphasising the opposite. Internalised homophobia is an example of this.
59
What is rationalisation?
Creating a seemingly logical reason or excuse for shameful behaviour. An example of this would be a person justifying the fact that they cheated on a test, because that test plays a large factor in future decisions.
60
What is displacement?
The shifting emotion from one object to another (often a safer object). An example would redirecting or displacing anger at work towards one person towards another person or thing.
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What is sublimation?
Channelling socially unacceptable impulses into acceptable or admirable behaviour. An example of this would a person who tends to engage in physical fights who channels that energy into a combat or contact sport as this is the more socially acceptable option.
62
What were some of the criticisms of Freud's theories?
Freud's theories that were based on observation particularly about women were seen as problematic. His theories had cultural and sexist bias.
63
What contributions did Freud's theories have?
An advantage of Freud’s work was that it stimulated most of the knowledge and work on modern personality and psychodynamic theories. In addition to this, Freud highlighted the importance of childhood experiences and parental relationships.
64
What is the neo-freudian approach?
The neo-freudian approach examines psychodynamic theories that came about after Freud’s. These theories placed less emphasis on sex and aggression and placed more focus on social interactions. They also placed less emphasis on the unconscious and more on the ego.
65
What was Karen Horney's theory?
Horney's theory was a counter-argument against Freud’s theory that women were envious of the fact that men had penises. Horney’s theory suggested that men had "womb envy" and that women were only envious of the powers that men had and that women didn't.
66
What 3 ways can people cope with basic anxiety?
People can move towards, away from and against anxiety.
67
What did Horney believe about children who grew up in environments that were considered "not safe"
Children who grow up in environments that are “not safe” develop a neurotic style, based on parental difference.
68
What characteristics does a child with a compliant neurotic style have?
Children strive to be sweet, self-sacrificing, saintly and move towards people.
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What characteristics does a child with an aggressive neurotic style have?
Children strive to be powerful, overbearing and need to be in control of other people. They overly adopt the strategy to move against people.
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What characteristics does a child with a detached neurotic style have?
Children strive to be independent, perfect and become overly reliant on the need to move away from people.
71
What is the humanistic perspective?
The focus of the humanistic perspective is on an individual being inherently good and their willingness to acquire self-actualisation.
72
Name Carl Rogers' theory
Self-Theory / Theory of Self
73
What is self-theory?
Self theory focuses on the conscious beliefs about one’s self by looking at the positive aspects of a person’s personality such as their creativity, innate goodness and freewill.
74
According to Carl Rogers what was the most important aspect of personality?
The congruence between the ideal self (who we want to be) and the real self (who we actually are).
75
How does development of the self occur?
The development of the self comes about with the innate need for positive regard from other people. Rogers believed that this is an essential part for development.
76
What are the consequences of receiving conditional positive regard?
Children may develop self discrepancies and false sense of self.
77
What are the consequences of receiving unconditional positive regard?
Children will acquire self-actualisation allowing them to become a fully functioning person with a healthy self esteem.
78
What are the characteristics associated with being a fully functioning person?
- Being open to experience
- Existential living
- Organismic trusting
- Experiential freedom &,
- Creativity
79
Explain openness to experience
Being open to experience having the ability to accept reality as it is which often includes the ability to accept one's feelings without being defensive.
80
Explain existential living
Existential living is the ability to be open to living fully in the present moment.
81
Explain organismic trusting
Organismic trusting, involves having the ability to trust yourself and do what feels right.
82
Explain experiential freedom
Experiential freedom involves believing that we have free will and taking responsibility for the choices that we make.
83
Explain creativity
Creativity includes contributing to the self-actualisation of other people by helping other people fulfil their full potential.
84
What are the contributions of the humanistic approach?
It has a unique focus on how humans strive to find meaning in life.
85
What are the limitations of the humanistic approach?
It falls short in that it does not offer a comprehensive theory of personality and it is difficult to test and too idealistic. There also isn't a lot of research supporting this perspective.
86
What is the Social Cognitive perspective?
Theories of the social cognitive perspective aim to explain individual differences in personality in terms of learned beliefs, expectancies and interpretations of social situations.
87
What is an external locus of control?
This is the external belief that things happen to you, and that actions are not within their control.
88
What are expectancies?
Expectancies are based on the idea that a person may have the expectation for a behaviour to be punished or reinforced and if it will have a powerful influence on their thoughts, feelings, behaviours and personality.
89
Explain the locus of control
Locus of control is based around the idea of a person's control of actions that occur in their lives. People can be known to have an external or an internal locus of control.
90
What is an internal locus of control?
An internal locus of control describes people who believe that they have control over their actions and their outcomes.
91
Who came up with the theory of locus control
Julian Rotter
92
What does self-efficacy affect?
Self-efficacy impacts motivation, perseverance, locus of control and confidence.
93
What is self-efficacy?
Self-efficacy describes a person's belief in what they can do in order to achieve their desired outcomes and goals.
94
How does self-efficacy occur?
Self-efficacy comes from:
- performance experiences
- observational learning
- verbal persuasion &,
- emotional arousal
95
What is performance experience in relation to self-efficacy
Previous experiences of success or failure determine our future behaviours.
96
What is verbal persuasion in relation to self-efficacy?
Verbal persuasion relates to the verbal messages which we receive from other people.
97
What is observational learning in relation to self-efficacy?
Observational learning states that learning can be done by observing others and admiring the consequences of their behaviours.
98
Who did the theory of self-efficacy belong to?
Albert Bandura.
99
What is emotional arousal in relation to self-efficacy?
Physiological habits such as an increase of heart rate which can be interpreted both negatively or positively.
100
Explain reciprocal determinism
Reciprocal determinism is comprised of 3 factors, Behaviour, Environment and Self-efficiency which are all constantly interacting with each other and influence behaviour
101
What are the contributions of social cognitive theories?
They can be easily tested using experiments which support the findings of this perspective.
102
What are the limitations of social cognitive theories?
A limitation of this theory includes the fact that it focuses on rationalising life without focusing on the outside factors that may affect personality processes.
103
What is the biological perspective?
Eysenck believed that personality is linked to specific neuropsychological mechanisms.
104
How can the biological perspective be used to explain personality?
The difference between extraverts and introverts can be explained in terms of genetics. Differences in arousal and central nervous systems can determine a person’s personality.
105
What are behavioural activation systems?
These are brain structures that lead people to approach stimuli in search of rewards.
106
What are behavioural inhibition systems?
These systems are sensitive to punishment and inhibit behaviour that may lead to an undesirable result such as danger or pain.
107
What is the correlation between extroverts and BAS?
Extroverts have a stronger behavioural activation system (BAS) and are mores sensitive to rewards than punishments.
108
What is the correlation between introverts and BIS?
Introverts are more sensitive to the influence of punishment and avoiding it.
109
What are behavioural genetics?
Behavioural genetics relate to the ability to try and establish the influence of heredity on behaviour and personality.
110
What is reinforcement sensitivity theory?
Reinforcement sensitivity theory is comprised of two types of behavioural systems known as behavioural activation systems (BAS) and behavioural inhibition systems (BIS).
111
How are twin studies conducted?
Geneticists often make use of Monozygotic and Dizygotic twins, to determine how much biology affects their personality traits according to the big five. Monozygotic twins were found to have many similarities in personality based on the genetic similarities they share.
112
What is a disadvantage of making use of a twin studies?
A disadvantage of this kind of study would be that of identical twins get treated in the same way which would shape their personalities and the way they are overall.
113
What is heritability?
Heritability refers to the proportion of variance in a trait as a result of genetic influences.
114
What are the 3 genetically based dimensions of temperament?
- Activity level
- Emotionality &,
- Sociability
115
How do genes affect personality?
Personality aspects aren’t affected by a single gene, but by the interaction of a number of genes with each other. Heredity only makes up 40 - 50% of a person’s personality.
116
What is temperament?
Temperament refers to the innate biologically based tendencies to act in a certain way.
117
What are the contributions of the biological perspective?
There is evidence that proves behavioural genetics are a substantial component of personality
118
Which part of the brain is aroused in inhibited children?
The amygdala.
119
Do animals have personality?
Animals were found to have personalities similar to the big 5 personality features found in people, but weren’t exactly the same after tests were administered to animals like household pets and wild animals. Conscientiousness was found to be the only personality theory that was found in animals, in chimpanzees.
120
What are the limitations of the biological perspective?
There are methodological problems that exist with the heritability coefficients and they over simplify this complex issue.
121
What determines activity level?
Activity level is determined by the overall energy levels that a person exerts.
122
What is sociability?
Sociability refers to a person’s ability to associate with others.
123
What is emotionality?
Emotionality refers to the intensity of a person’s emotional reactions.
124
How can collectivist and individualistic cultures be compared?
People who live in collectivist cultures tend to score higher on agreeableness and have more of an external locus control as they see the needs of the external community as more important than their own. Individualistic cultures on the other hand to tend to value characteristics such as individual freedom, equality and the pursuit of happiness and score higher on extraversion, openness to experience and have more of an internal locus of control.
125
Why is it important to study personality in animals?
It is necessary for providing insight on the biological and environmental factors that influence personality. They also help researchers understand the general processes in personality perception, and lastly studying personality in animals can be useful for applying knowledge into real life contexts.
126
What are the personality types that exist according to personality and adjustment?
- Realistic types
- Investigative types
- Artistic and creative types
- Social types
- Enterprising types
- Conventional types
127
What are the criticisms of using these personality types in a South African context?
The assumption that work is readily available can't be used in South Africa. It's also not correct to assume that everybody has equal opportunities to education.
128
How does temperament develop with age?
During childhood, temperament evolves into a personality usually by the age of 3.
129
How personality change within adults?
Average changes of personality across cultures usually include people becoming more conscientious, agreeable and emotionally stable. This often referred to as the maturity principle.
130
Explain individual stability
Stability and personality are constructed by genes, early experiences and stable environments. Stability tends increase with age.
131
What are some examples of facts that prove a relationship between gender and personality?
Women tend to score higher on traits that reflect social connectedness and empathy whereas men on the other hand tend to score higher in traits that reflect individuality and autonomy and anger and aggression.
132
Why do gender differences cause differences in personality?
Gender differences in personality can occur as of biological means such as differences in hormones and natural selection. Sociocultural explanations involve the fact that women and men experience different social roles and training and expectations according to those rules.
133
What is the cultural relativity of personality theory?
This theory emphasis Euro-American values of individuality and autonomy which often do not apply very well to the rest of the world.
134
Why can it be considered difficult to compare personalities across cultures?
Simply changing the way in which something is written or described may not fully or accurately capture the personality concepts that exist in other cultures.
135
What approaches can be used to assess personality?
Idiographic approaches and nomothetic approaches
136
What is the idiographic approach?
This person-centred approach that focuses on an individual’s life and how various characteristics are integrated into unique persons.
137
When can the idiographic approach be used?
In clinical interviews or psychobiographies.
138
What is the nomothetic approach?
The nomothetic approach is used to study personality by focusing on the characteristics that are common to all people.
139
When would the nomotheic approach be used?
It is usually used in questionnaires.
140
What two types of measures can be used to assess personality?
Projective and Objective measures
141
What are projective measures?
Personality tests that examine unconscious processes by having people interpret ambiguous stimuli.
142
What are common examples of projective personality measures?
The inkblot test and the thematic apperception test.
143
What are the limitations of using projective personality measures?
The reliability and validity of these kinds of tests are questionable.
144
What are objective measures?
Personality tests that are structured and standardised usually based on self-reports or informant ratings.
145
What are common examples of objective personality tests?
- 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, version 2 (MMPI-2)
- Revised Neuroticism/Extraversion/Openness Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R/NEO-PI-3) &,
- South African Personality Inventory (SAPI)
146
What the benefits of using objective personality measures?
They are easy to administer and they allow comparison between people.
147
What are the limitations of using objective personality measures?
The tests and their responses can be biased. Directly comparing the ratings from the tests can be difficult. Some of these tests are considered to be dehumanising.
148
What 4 dimensions of musical preferences did Rentfrow and Gosling come up with?
- Reflective and Complex
- Intense and Rebellious
- Upbeat and conventional &,
- Energetic and rhythmic
149
What kinds of personality do people with reflexive and complex music tastes tend to have?
Imaginative, intelligent, tolerant and politically liberal. They score high in openness.
150
What kinds of personality do people with intense and rebellious music tastes tend to have?
Curious, intelligent, physically active, and enjoy taking risks. They score high in openness.
151
What kinds of personality do people with upbeat and conventional music types tend to have?
Cheerful, socially outgoing, reliable, helpful, physically attractive, conventional. They score high in extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness. They score low in openness.
152
What kinds of personality do people with energetic and rhythmic musics tastes tend to have?
Talkative, energetic, physically attractive, forgiving, and politically liberal. They score high in extraversion and agreeableness.
153
What are the benefits of using music to test personality?
Music preferences are quite accurate in conveying openness to experience, extraversion, emotional stability and agreeableness but not conscientiousness.
154
What 3 concepts can be used to explain assumptions about personality through music?
Activity congruence, emotion regulation and self identity motives.
155
Explain activity congruence
People prefer music that complements activities they enjoy.
156
Explain emotion regulation
People prefer music that reinforces their emotional state.
157
Explain self-identity motives
People prefer music that supports their self-perceptions and communicates that information to others.
158
What should be done to provide a comprehensive view of personality?
Using a diversity of approaches can provide a more comprehensive view of personality.
