Psych 111 Exam 3 Flashcards
(311 cards)
What is the concept of personality used to explain?
the stability in a person’s behavior over time and across situations (consistency). It is also used to explain the behavioral differences between people reacting to the same situation (distinctiveness)
Personality
An individual’s unique set of consistent behavioral traits
Personality Traits
Durable dispositions to behave in a particular war in a variety of situations
Factor Analysis
Correlations among many variables analyzed to identify closely related clusters of variables
Raymond Cattell
Used factor analysis to determine that the 171 personality traits compiled by Gordon Allport could be condensed to 16 basic personality dimensions
Robert McCrae and Paul Costa
Developed the Five-Factor Model of Personality and maintain that most personality traits are derived from the Big Five
The Big Five Personality Traits
Extraversion, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Characterized as outgoing, sociable, friendly, assertive, and gregarious. They tend to be happier and have a more positive outlook. They pursue social contact, intimacy, and interdependence.
Neuroticism
Characterized as hostile, anxious, insecure, conscious, and vulnerable. They tend to over-react when responding to stress and tend to exhibit impulsiveness and emotional instability
Positive Emotionality
Extraversion – outgoing, sociable, friendly, assertive, and gregarious. They tend to be happier and have a more positive outlook. They pursue social contact, intimacy, and interdependence.
Negative Emotionality
Neuroticism – hostile, anxious, insecure, conscious, and vulnerable. They tend to over-react when responding to stress and tend to exhibit impulsiveness and emotional instability.
Openness to Experience
Curiosity, flexibility, vivid fantasy, imaginativeness, artistic sensitivity, and unconventional attitudes. Tend to be tolerant of ambiguity and less need for closure.
McCrae’s view on Openness to Experience
Its importance is understated and openness tends to be an important determinant of political ideology, as openness tend to foster liberalism.
Agreeableness
Sympathetic, trusting, cooperative, modest, and straightforward. Those who are opposite to this are suspicious, antagonistic, and aggressive. Agreeableness is also correlated with empathy and helping behavior
Conscientiousness
Disciplined, well-organized, punctual, and dependable. Sometimes referred to as constraint. It is characterized by strong self-discipline and the ability to regulate oneself. It fosters diligence and dependability in the workplace
Chapman and Colleagues
The number of people scoring highly in specific Big Five traits varied among social classes. As social class increases, the prevalence of conscientiousness, openness to new experiences, and extraversion increase
Positive Predictors of career success in the Big Five
Conscientiousness and Extraversion
The Big Five Trait most related to major mental disorders
Neuroticism
The Perspectives of Personality Theories
- Psychodynamic
- Behavioral
- Humanistic
- Biological
Psychodynamic Theories of Personality
All the diverse theories, descended from the work of Sigmund Freud, that focus on unconscious mental forces
Psychoanalysis
required lengthy verbal interactions with patients during which Freud probed deeply into their lives.
Why were Freud’s opponents critical of his Psychoanalytic theory?
- In arguing that people were controlled by unconscious factors, Freud implied that people were not the masters of their minds
- In suggesting that people are influenced by childhood and outside factors, they were not in control if their destiny
- By emphasizing the importance of how people coped with their sexual urges, he offended conservative Victorian values
Freud’s Three Components of Personality
According to psychodynamic theory, personality consists of the id, ego, and superego. The id operated in the unconscious, while the ego and superego operate in the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious
The Id
the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle. It contains primitive urges like eating, sleeping, defecating, and copulating