Psych Exam 2: Personality

Question 1

What is the trait theory?

Answer 1

That personality is defined by a set of basic traits

Question 2

What is a trait?

Answer 2

A relatively stable disposition to behave in a particular and consistent way

Question 3

What is a high and low self-monitor?

Answer 3

High self-monitors alter their behavior to appeal to people in specific situations, low self-monitors care less about how they appear to others behave consistently across situations.

Question 4

The two major types of personality tests?

Answer 4

A structured (objective) personality test, and unstructured (projective) personality test

Question 5

What is a structured (objective) personality test and what is an example?

Answer 5

A structure personality test assesses personality along several scales, each of which measures a personality trait, there are hundreds of true false questions each of which assess a particular trait, it is scored on each scale to indicate the degree to which that treat characterizes the person. Example of this will be the MMPI stands for the Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (the most widely used personality test)

Question 6

What are the problems with the MMPI test?

Answer 6

People may misrepresent themselves it is handled by using a validity scale (the lying scale and bizarre scale) it has low predictive validity

Question 7

What is an unstructured (projective) personality test?

Answer 7

The person is given an unstructured task, the structure of the person gives that task indicates unconscious issues

Question 8

What are some examples of an unstructured personality test?

Answer 8

A Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) - people expressed their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous pictures.
The Rorschach inkblot test: uses a set of 10 inkblots to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.
This test looks at content, characteristics, and whole/part (how much of the card you used)

Question 9

What are the criticisms on unstructured or projective tests?

Answer 9

Critics argue that projective tests lack both reliability (consistency of results and validity, (predicting what it is supposed to). Projective tests may misdiagnose a normal individual as pathological.

Question 10

What are the four types of validity?

Answer 10

Face validity– what your measure is, very direct (measuring your pupil size). Content validity – if the questions are fair/unfair. Predicative validity- does the test predict future behavior. Construct validity – is this test measuring the underlying property it’s supposed to (SATs)

Question 11

What are the big five personality traits in the personality theory?

Answer 11

Extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability (neuroticism), openness to experience (cognitive flexibility).

Question 12

What are the problems with the big five?

Answer 12

It is descriptive but not explanatory, tells us what personality looks like but not why.

Question 13

What did Eysenk argue?

Answer 13

He tried to resolve that personality is not explanatory by linking traits to biological systems. Argues that personality can be reduced down to two heritable polar dimensions extraversion/introversion and emotional stability/instability.

Question 14

What Is extroversion?

Answer 14

Extroverts have chronically under aroused nervous systems (they don’t feel comfortable by themselves), sensation – seeking is characteristic of extroverts.

Question 15

What is introversion?

Answer 15

Introverts have chronically over aroused nervous systems, associated with inhibited temperament characterized by a fear of novelty, associated with an overactive brain and attempts to compensate for it.

Question 16

What is said about the heritability of traits in psychology?

Answer 16

Basic personality traits seem to be highly heritable, adopted kids are far more like their biological than their adopted parents.

Question 17

Who developed the psycho analytic theory and what was it?

Answer 17

Sigmund Freud, Frued sought to ground everything he said in biology, he had three ideas with major impact, independent of the rest of the theory: In unconscious mind that influences emotions and feelings, much of adulthood personality is due to childhood experiences, and emotional problems can be aided by verbal therapy designed to explore the unconscious.

Question 18

What were the three parts of the mind according to Freud?

Answer 18

The ID, ego, and superego

Question 19

What is the ID?

Answer 19

The most primitive part, holy unconscious contains all biological urges contains the energy of the whole psyche:
A. Energy= libido
B. Death instinct= Thanatos
Guided by the pleasure principle (gratification now) rooted in reality – primary process thinking – the things you wish are things that are true.

Question 20

What is the ego?

Answer 20

Develops from the ID, attempts to realize the IDs desires but accords with the REALITY PRINCIPLE – desires can only be realized in term of real world constraints.
Ego is initially unconscious and always remains partly unconscious, over time you go develops the ability to reflect and leads to a sense of self.

Question 21

What is the super ego?

Answer 21

Develops from the ego, represents the internalize rules of the parents and through them of society,
Ego- deal: upholds the good and virtuous
Conscience watches over and senses the bad.
I’d and ego mature as the child gains experience; the superego doesn’t
Superego is largely unconscious.

Question 22

What is the continual conflict of the three subsystems of Freud’s theory?

Answer 22

The ego needs to suppress the ID desires to satisfy the super ego – if the ego lives up to the super ego it feels pride but if it fails it feels guilt. The ID won’t allow these desires to be repressed so finds a substitute outlets, the ego develops additional defenses/defense mechanisms, to handle these new outlets and keep the desires repressed.

Question 23

Who is Carl Jung and what did he propose about the unconscious?

Answer 23

Proposed that there are two types of unconscious: personal and COLLECTIVE
-collective unconscious is dominated by ARCHETYPES.
He proposed earliest trait theory (especially introversion – extroversion) believed every dominant side of personality/conscious had a nondominant side/unconscious – personal growth involves balancing these opposites
Concept of PERSONA

Question 24

What is the object relations theory?

Answer 24

It tries to account for the difficulties of people who are highly impaired in either area refers to two things:

1. Enduring behavior patterns in intimate relationships, and the motivational, cognitive, and effective processes that produce these patterns
2. People who have trouble with relationships either represent themselves and others more negatively, expect abuse in relationships, or have poor positive person constancy.

Question 25

What is the humanistic approach and how was it created?

Answer 25

It was created because people thought Freud’s theory was too negative and determined.
The humanistic theories of personality emphasize a positive optimistic view of human nature, goodness and potential for growth it suggest that people have the natural desire to be happy but certain things block that.

Question 26

What are five things the humanistic approach focuses on?

Answer 26

1. Less deterministic then analytic theories
2. A persons conscious experiences form the basis for personality
3. Great emphasis on free will
4. Stress the creative self within each person that seeks expression and need for growth
5. Goal is to understand how people experience themselves, others and the world

Question 27

What is self-actualization?

Answer 27

Becoming who you were supposed to be

Question 28

What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 28

Maslow proposed that we as individuals are motivated by a hierarchy of needs. Beginning with psychological needs, we try to reach the state of self-actualization.

Question 29

What is Roger’s self-theory?

Answer 29

Self-concept – and organize body of knowledge about the self which cheapest ones behaviors, perceptions and emotions. Involves personal myths – the personal narrative of the stories that provide a person with a sense of direction and meaning.

Question 30

What are the two selves of Roger’s self-theory?

Answer 30

The actual self and the ideal self.
The actual self is an organized pattern of perceived characteristics along with values attached to those characteristics.
The ideal self are the standards to which we hold ourselves.
Inside the ideal self is the:
Ought self- who we think we should be
The want self-who we think we authentically are.
People also have possible selves – mental representations of the people they might become in the future.

Question 31

What is positive psychology?

Answer 31

The goal is to understand the good parts of being human, stress is the role of positive emotions, experiences, and traits. Also focuses on the character strengths and virtues

Question 32

What two theories make up the social cognitive theory?

Answer 32

Behavior theory and cognitive theory

Question 33

What is the social cognitive approach?

Answer 33

Uses personality in terms of how the person thinks about the situations encountered in daily life and behaves in response to them.

Question 34

What is the basic principle behind social cognitive personality theory?

Answer 34

Reciprocal determinism- personality involves a constant interplay between the world, in the way in which a person processes information about the self and the world.

1. Personality produces cognitive use, which produce feelings and behaviors
2. These behaviors have results
3. The results influence personality

Question 35

What are the six concepts of social cognitive theory?

Answer 35

Control, attributional style, self-control, outcome expectancy’s, locus of control, and learned helplessness

Question 36

What is control in the social cognitive theory?

Answer 36

People want control over their lives and benefit from feeling that they have it, the paradox of choice.

Question 37

What is attributional style in social cognitive theory?

Answer 37

It is based off of the:
Self-serving bias – attributing our successes to dispositional factors in our failures to situational factors, and self-handicapping – arranging for an obstacle to performance, so that failure can be attributed to the obstacle instead of one’s own limitations.

Question 38

What is self-control in social cognitive theory?

Answer 38

The ability to pursue a goal while managing internal conflicts about it, or delay pursuing a goal because of other considerations or constraint.

Question 39

Does outcome expectancy’s in the social cognitive theory?

Answer 39

A persons assumptions about the likely consequences of his teacher behavior combine with goals to produce characteristic style of behavior. -self efficacy expectations: belief in how effective a person can be in some area.

Question 40

What is the locus of control in the social cognitive theory?

Answer 40

A person’s tendency to perceive the control of events as being internal to the self or external in the environment.

Question 41

What is the internal locus of control?

Answer 41

– The person is largely responsible for the things that happened to him

Question 42

What is the external locus of control?

Answer 42

Things that happen to a person are largely determined by factors outside that person’s control.

Question 43

What is learned helplessness in the social cognitive theory?

Answer 43

Repeated aversive experiences over which the person has no control leads to the believe that nothing can be done to change such experiences