Personality Unit Flashcards
(115 cards)
1
Q
How is personality defined?
A
The ways in which people differ from each other in their interests, attitudes, and social behaviors
2
Q
Who first developed the psychodynamic theory?
A
Sigmund Freud
3
Q
What does the psyschodynamic theory state?
A
It states that personality is to the interplay of conflicting forces, including unconscious ones, within the individual
4
Q
What does catharsis mean?
A
It means a release of pent up emotional tension
5
Q
What is psychoanalysis?
A
The first form of talking therapy developed by Freud. Which involved explaining and dealing with personality based on conscious and un conscious forces
6
Q
How can the unconscious be defined?
A
It can be defined as memories, thoughts, and behaviors that influence our actions even if we don’t acknowledge or are aware of them
7
Q
CC: What was Freud’s original view of the cause of personality problems, and what view did he substitute? What evidence did he have for either view?
A
After very early references to recent traumatic experiences or inadequate sex, Freud pointed to childhood sexual abuse. Later, he said that the problems was childhood sexual fantasies such as the oedipus complex. His only evidence was his interpretations of what his patients described
8
Q
What is an odipus complex?
A
When a young boy is attracted to his mother and sees his father as competition for her
9
Q
What is psychosexual pleasure?
A
Any enjoyment found in a form of bodily stimulation
10
Q
What is libido as defined by Freud?
A
A psychosexual engrgy or desire
11
Q
What is the oral stage of psychosexual development?
A
It occurs in newborns to roughly 1 and 1/2 year olds. It’s when the babies find pleasure from oral activites such as feeding. People fixated on this stage struggle with attachment and enjoy eating drinking and smoking
12
Q
What is anal stage of psychosexual development?
A
occurs in children ages 1.5 to 3 years old when they enjoy bowel movements. it is associated with either being orderly or messy
13
Q
What is the phallic stage of psychosexual development?
A
occurs in children ages 3-6 and are fasinated with their own genitals.
14
Q
What is the latent stage of psychosexual development?
A
occurs in children ages 5/6- trough the onset of puberty. This is when they suppress any sexual interest
15
Q
What is the genital stage of psychosexual development?
A
begins at the onset of puberty and is when people develop a sexual interest in others
16
Q
Is the psychosexual theory reliable?
A
No because it has not been tested
17
Q
CC: According to Freud, what does it mean if someone is orderly and stingy? What does it mean if someone is messy and wasteful?
A
Freud would interpret those as fixations of the anal stage
18
Q
What are Freud’s 3 structures of personality?
A
Id, ego, and superego
19
Q
CC: How would Freud interpret the behavior of someone who follows every impulse?
A
that would indicate a weak superego
20
Q
What is the defense mechanisms against anxiety according to freud?
A
that the ego defends itself by putting stressful thoughts and impulses away from the conscious mind
21
Q
What is repression?
A
when someone intentionally tries to put something that is unacceptable out of their mind as a defense mechanism
22
Q
Is repression real?
A
no, there isn’t much evidence for it. what is more likely is that people intentionally suppress their unwanted thoughts and memories which is shown to have positive psychological effects.
23
Q
What is denial?
A
The refusal to accept that something awful is happening or has happened
24
Q
What is rationalization?
A
when people try to affirm that their actions or beliefs are justifiable or called for
25
What is displacement?
Diverting a behavior or feelings from the actual source towards someone or something else ex Carmen in the sisterhood of the traveling pants being mad at everyone else but her dad
26
What is regression?
When people behave more childishly than what is appropriate for their age in response to a current stressful situation
27
What is projection?
It is when people project their own undesireable characteristics onto others
28
What does reaction formation mean?
It is when people present themselves in the opposite manner of how they truly are
29
What is sublimination?
When someone converts their own sexual desires into more socially acceptable behaviors like painting
30
Is sublimination real?
Not really
31
CC: Match each of the following to one of these Freudian defense mechanisms: regression, denial, projection, rationalization, reaction formation and displacement.
a) an adult who pouts and cries after losing an argument
b) someone who cheats on taxes but says everyone does it
c) someone who justifies wasteful spending by saying that it boosts the economy
d) a man hears something bad about someone he admires and insists its isn't true
e) someone embarassed about enjoying pornography campaigns to have it banned
f) a girl angry with her parents yells at her stuffed animals
a-regression
b- projection
c-rationalization
d- denial
e- reaction formation
f-displacement
32
What is transference?
It is when you react to people in your life a certain way because they remind you of someone else (many cases its of your parents)
33
What does it mean if a psychologist is a neo-Freudian?
It means that they adhere to some of his original theories while modifying some other aspects
34
What is a collective unconscious?
it a unconscious that we all share and is of the cumulative experience of the generations before us
35
What are archetypes?
Vague images that have always been a part of human experience. ex how cultures have many similiarites in artwork, myths and folklore
36
CC: How did Jung and Freud differ in their view of the unconscious?
Freud believed that the unconscious developed from repressed experiences. Jung though that some unconscious thoughts or motives came from personal experiences as well as the collective unconscious.
37
What is individual psychology as Alder defines it?
He defines it as looking at the psychology of a person as a whole rather than parts
38
What is an inferiority complex?
It is when someone feels they are inferior to those around them and feel inadaquate, and helpless
39
What is striving for superiority as defined by Adler?
It means that people everyone has a desire to seek achievement and fufillment
40
What does social interest mean?
That when a sense of solidarity with others is so strong that is drives people to work for making a change.
41
CC: According to Adler, what is people's main motivation? And what did he mean by social interest?
People's main motivation is to strive for superiority. Social interest is when people see the need to take action for the betterment of a community as a whole.
42
CC: According to the learning approach, do people have consistent personality traits, such as honesty or promptness?
No, because its based on learned behaviors from those around you.
43
What is the learning approach to personality?
It is the theory that people learn some personality traits from watching those around them growing up
44
What is humanistic psychology?
It focuses on consciousness, beliefs, values and sprituality that people live by and die for
45
What is a self concept?
An image of how they act/who they really are
46
What is a ideal self?
An image of what they would like to be like
47
What does unconditional positive regard mean?
It means the complete unqualified acceptance of the other person
48
What is self actualization?
Achieving one's full potential
49
CC: How does humanistic psychology resemble the ideas of Alfred Adler?
He emphasized people's values and beliefs. He also understood the idea of people having an idolized version of themselves. Self-actualization is similar to his idea of striving for superiority. His term "social interest" was a predecessor to unconditional postitive regard.
50
TQ: Why are many psychologists skeptical of using catharsis to overcome stress?
A) Catharsis is difficult to achieve except by intensive psychoanalysis
B) Catharsis is useful only if it occurs immidiately after the painful experience
C) Ruminating about a painful experiences often leads to depression
D) In his later works, Freud himself later abandoned the idea
C
51
TQ: What as Freud's evidence that childhood sexual fantasies led to later problems?
A) He observed the behavior of a large sample of children
B) His patients described their childhood sexual fantasies
C) He did a meta-analysis of research by developmental psychologists
D) He inferred sexual fantasies from his patients dreams and symptoms
D
52
TQ: Which was the second of Freud's psychosexual phases?
A) Phallic
B) Genitial
C) Oral
D) Anal
D
53
TQ: How does Freud's concept of repression differ from suppression?
A) Repression occurs consciously
B) Repression is applied to other people, and suppression is to yourself
C) Repression applies to ego impulses, and suppression to id impulses
D) Repression is temporary and suppression is permanent
A
54
TQ: What is meant by "reaction formation"?
A) Going to the opposite extreme
B) Attributing your undesirable qualities to other people
C) Offering a noble sounding excuse for disreputable acts
D) Directing a behavior towards a less threatening target
A
55
TQ: What is meant by projection?
A) Going to the opposite extreme
B) Attributing your undesirable qualities to other people
C) Offering a noble sounding excuse for a disreputable act
D) Directing a behavior towards a less threatening target
B
56
TQ: What did Carl Jung mean by the collective unconscious?
A) Material that remains unconscious even after psychotherapy
B) The residue of painful experiences from our childhood
C) Images created by our ancestors
D) Material that became unconscious without being painful
C
56
TQ: According to Adler, what is the main cause of psychological distress?
A) Conflict between the ego and the superego
B) Failure to understand the collective unconscious
C) Reinforcement and extinction
D) Setting unhealthy goals
D
56
TQ: According to Alfred Adler, what's people's main motivation?
A) Sex
B) Hunger
C) Trying to understand the universe
D) Striving for superiority
C
57
TQ: What did Carl Rodgers recommend?
A) Unconditional acceptance of other people
B) Intensive analysis of unconscious behaviors
C) Extinction of inappropriate learned behaviors
D) Finding the "inner child" within each of us
A
58
What is the nomothetic approach?
It is an approach that seeks the general principles of personality based on studies of groups of people
59
What is the idiographic approach?
It uses the intensive studies of individuals to see what makes a single person unique from others
60
What is a trait?
A consistent tendency toward a behavior like shyness
61
What is a state?
A temporary activation of a specific behavior
62
CC: If being with your family makes you happy is that a trait or a state?
State because it is a response to a situation
63
What is the trait approach to personality?
It is the idea that people have reasonably consistent behavioral characteristics
64
CC: Why do accident victims often respond "It could've been worse"?
It seems unfair for an innocent person to sustain an injury. So saying that "it could have been worse" makes the injustice seem less severe and help the person maintain their belief that the world is just.
65
What is self-esteem?
A measure of one's own beliefs towards their worth, and abilities
66
CC: If someone scores higher on one self-esteem questionaire than another, what is a likely explanation?
Some questionnaires include items that might be bragging or high goals, as opposed to pure self-esteem.
67
What are the traits of the big 5 model?
Emotional stability, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to new experience
68
What is emotional stability described as?
the tendency to minimize unplesant emotions
69
What is the opposite described as?
neuroticism
70
What is extraversion described as?
The tendency to seek sitmulation and enjoy the company of other people
71
What is agreeableness described as?
It is described as the tendency to be compassionate towards others
72
What is conscientiousness described as?
The tendency to show self discipline, be dutiful and strive for achievement and competence
73
What is openness to experience described as?
A tendency to enjoy new experiences and new ideas
74
CC: what type of research is necessary to decide weather to consider selfishness or integrity as 6th big factor of personality?
Researchers need to determine two things: first does selfishness or integrity correlate with any important behaviors? Second, does selfishness or integrity correlate with any of the big 5 behaviors? Either one could be accepted if the answer to the 1st one is yes and the 2nd one is no.
75
What is a unshared environment?
Those environments that differ from one individual to another even within the same family
76
CC: What evidence would indicate the important role of the shared environment?
The best evidence would be any similarities between adopted children and their adoptive parents
77
CC: Why is it difficult to compare personality traits among countries or generations?
It is difficult to compare because people will base their answers on the people around them who tend to have similar traits so they show up as average. Plus different people have different interpretations of traits
78
TQ: People- college students, at least- are most likely to believe the just world hypothesis applies to whom?
A) people in other countries
B) people who lived long ago
C) Poor people
D) themselves
D
79
TQ: The difference between males and females in their self esteem is the greatest at what point in their life?
A) Adolescence
B) Early Career
C) late Career
D) Retirement
A
80
TQ: Some of the questions on certain self-esteem surveys seem to be measuring what, instead of self-esteem?
A) Belief in a just world
B) Sexual experience
C) High goals
D) Hostility
C
81
TQ: The research leading to the big 5 model of personality began with an analysis of what?
A) Children's playground activities
B) Words in the English language
C) Dating habits of college students
D) Symptoms of mental illness
B
82
TQ: Extraversion correlates most highly with which of the following?
A) Racial prejudice
B) Life expectancy
C) Job success
D) Happiness
D
83
TQ: What evidence indicates that "shared environment" has not much effect on personality?
A) Significant effects on personality from certain identified genes
B) Significant changes in personality between one generation and another
C) Equal similarity of personality for dizygotic twins or monozygotic twins
D) Low similarity between personality between of adopted children and adoptive parents
D
84
TQ: Which of the following has been demonstrated to affect personality?
A) Swimming
B) Barometric pressure
C) Eye color
D) Schooling
D
85
What is the Barnum effect?
It is the tendency to accept vague descriptions of our personality
86
How is a standardized test defined?
A test that is given by following certain rules that specify how to interpret the results
87
What does the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) measure?
It measures people's traits that relate to clinical conditions based on their response to true/false questions
88
CC: Suppose you want to create a test of curiosity. How would you choose items for your test, presuming you use the same method as the MMPI?
Identify people with high levels of curiosity. Then give the questions to these people and a representative sample of the population and find questions that the highly curious people answered differently from everyone else
89
What does the NEO PI-R test?
It measures someone's big 5 traits including neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness
90
How accurate is the NEO PI-R?
It has a high level and reliability- many people who score high on those traits tend to display it
91
CC: For what purposes might the NEO PI-R be more suitable, and for what purposes might the MMPI might be more suitable?
The NEO PI-R is more useful for assessing someone's personality traits like for job suitability purposes. Meanwhile the MMPI would be more useful in the process of screening someone for a clinical condition
92
What does the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test measure?
It is a test of someone's personality that is somewhat based on Carl Jung's theories
93
What are projective techniques designed to do?
They are designed to encourage people to project their own characteristics onto ambiguous stimuli.
94
What do the Rorschach Inkblots test?
It tests people's inner characteristics by having them interpret 10 ambiguous inkblots
95
How valid is Rorschach inkblot test?
It is somewhat valid at diagnosing people with things like schizophrenia but also flags a high number of people to be pathological
96
CC: When a psychologist administers the Rorschach, why does he or she only give vague instructions?
Because what's being tested is the person's interpretation of the inkblots without any other influences so the tester can't say too much
97
What is the thematic interpretation test?
It is a test to get a better understanding of someone's personality by having them make up a story for what happened in a particular photo with details of what led up to it and what is going to happen.
98
Is the thematic apperception test valid?
It's hard to tell as much of it is up to the psychologist to interpret. But regardless both the inkblot test and the tat are good was to get the clinitian to open up in sessions
99
What is an implicit personality test style like?
It test's someone's personality based on subtle changes in a person's behavior rather than a self report
100
How is a implicit personality done?
People are supposed to respond to pairs of words on a computer when they see them. The pairs then get reversed ex sex and guilt vs exercise and innocence
101
CC: Are implicit personality tests more useful to researchers or clinicians? Why?
It is more useful to researcher's because they demonstrate trends on average. But the tests are not accurate enough to show the traits of an individual
102
What does a psychologist have to be careful not to do with personality tests?
Diagnose someone with a condition just based on their score, there has to be other factors that go into it as well
103
CC: In what way is offender profiling similar to a projective personality test?
It is similar in the sense that psychologists try to infer someone's personality but based of behavior rather than self reports
104
TQ: Suppose a job interviewer asks how much experience you have at operating a matriculation machine and planning basic entropy programs. What is the probable point of these questions?
A) To test out your vocabulary
B) To find out about your computer skills
C) To see weather you exaggerate your job qualifications
D) To assess you interest in getting the job
C
105
TQ: Which test is based on the big 5 model of personality?
A) The MMPI
B) Rorschach Inkblot
C) The Thematic Apperception test
D) The NEO PI-R
D
106
TQ: Who devised the Meyers-Briggs type indicator?
A) The followers of Sigmund Freud
B) A mother and daughter with no training in psychology or statistics
C) An assembly of psychological researchers
D) two psychiatrists
B
107
TQ: The instructions for the Rorschach inkblots are vague, because of what assumption?
A) Your personality emerges the best in an ill-defined situation
B) Most people have trouble remembering and following specific instructions
C) People will become more interested after they ask for clarification
D) Most people are already familiar with the procedure
A
108
TQ: Why are many psychological researchers skeptical of using Rorschach?
A) It often just confirms an opinion based on other evidence
B) It penalizes people who cannot think of many answers
C) It is based entirely on the big 5 personality model
D) people with schizophrenia give the same answers as everyone else
A
109
Why is difficult to evaluate the reliability of the TAT?
A) Researchers have not been able to try it on a representative sample
B) The procedure varies from one instance to another
C) People are encouraged to vary their responses
D) The statistics are difficult to calculate
B
110
Suppose your answers on some test resemble the typical responses of people with a rare syndrome. Before rushing to a diagnosis, what else would a psychologist need to know?
A) How many people without the syndrome also give these answers?
B) How many people with that syndrome do not answer that way?
C) Have you recently met someone who has the syndrome?
D) What answers did you give on Rorschach?
A
111
How can Id be defined as?
The part of the ego that is based on pleasure and very "i" or "me" focused
112
How can ego be defined as?
Operates on reality in the sense of "could I get punished for this?"
113
How can superego be defined as?
Operates more on morals and what someone has been taught.
