1
Q
personality
A
A characteristic pattern of thinking, interaction, and reacting that is unique to each individual, and remains relatively consistent over time and situations
2
Q
What are the two approaches to studying personality?
A
- idiographic
- nomothetic
3
Q
idiographic approach
A
Focus on detailed descriptions of individuals and their unique personality characteristics
4
Q
nomothetic approach
A
Examines personality in large groups, with the aim of making generalizations about personality structure
5
Q
personality traits
A
Labels applied to specific attributes of personality
-18 000 descriptors tallied by early studies
6
Q
factor analysis
A
Reveals statistical similarities among a wide variety of items
-18 000 terms, will probably have some redundancy, ex: “I like meeting people” and “I like going to parties” can both go into a category like “I am social”
7
Q
five factor model
A
A trait-based approach to personality measurement that includes
- openness
- conscientiousness
- extraversion
- agreeableness
- neuroticism
8
Q
what is missing from the five factor model?
A
it does not take into account people that are “evil”
9
Q
authoritarian personality
A
Tendency to separate social world into ‘us’ and ‘them’
-these people are more likely to engage in prejudice and violence towards members of other groups
10
Q
what is HEXACO?
A
Added honesty-humility dimension to the big five
11
Q
the dark triad
A
- Machiavellianism: playing both sides to use people
- psychopathy: seeking out conflict to gain stimulation that they were otherwise lacking
- narcissism: socially destructive people using and manipulating people for their own selfish interest
12
Q
Right winged authoritarianism (RWA) can be characterized by:
A
Obeying orders; deference to authority
- supporting aggression against those who dissent and targets identified authorities
- believe strongly in maintaining the existing social order
13
Q
what is the global change game?
A
- each region is given resources and qualities that are equivalent in the real world
- the game was either run by people who were high right winged or low right winged
- low right winged people had very little war and military build up, downsizes their armies and diverted the money to humanitarian problems (ex: global warming) this created a peaceful world
- unlike people who were high right winged, more war, more violence, they wiped out the entire population and the game ended quickly
- even with a second chance, they played the same way
14
Q
temperaments
A
Personality-like attributes present at birth
- innate foundation on which personality is built
- predicts adult personality (well-adjusted vs. under-controlled and inhibited)
15
Q
reciprocal determinism
A
The idea that behaviour, internal factors, and external factors interact to determine one another
16
Q
state
A
A temporary physical or psychological engagement that influences behaviour
-ex: someone that is usually calm and even tempered, if put in the right situation, this person can “snap”
17
Q
what are the 4 general aspects of situations that would lead to someone “snapping”
A
- locations
- associations
- activities
- subjective states
18
Q
do personality structures differ between cultures?
A
Countries do differ in Big Five scores
- however, Big Five is a construct developed based on Western cultures and language and therefore inherently biased
- equivalents of Big Five found in most cultures
- factor analysis of adjective form other languages identify additional, culture specific personality dimensions
19
Q
Is the Big Five an accurate measure of personality across the world?
A
- Big Five was developed using the English language so there is bias
- but, there is reasonable consistency
- it’s a challenge to assure that these tests are properly translated, but there is a lot of research to say that the Big Five is fairly accurate throughout different societies
20
Q
individualism
A
Refers to the view that personal identity, goals, and attributes are of greater value than group identity, goals, and attributes
21
Q
collectivism
A
Is a view that places greater value on defining the self in terms of group membership and goals
22
Q
There are brain imaging differences between individualistic and collectivistic people
True of False?
A
true, area in the prefrontal cortex had more activation in individualistic people when explaining things that relate to themselves and vice versa for collectivistic cultures when talking about others
23
Q
______ code for brain chemicals related to personality, not personality itself
A
genes
24
Q
give an example of how genes can affect personality
A
Genes regulate serotonin transport which is linked with anxiety
25
what have studies concluded about the similarity of identical twins and their personalities?
- this could be because of genetic makeup
- but, twins that had been raised in separate households were about as similar to twins that were raised in the same house
- adoptive parents have quite little impact on their adoptive children
26
are Big Five traits also found in animals?
yes, extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness reliably rated by human caregivers of chimpanzees
27
novel environment/ novel objects test
Measures tendency to explore and shyness-boldness continuum
- animal enters an unfamiliar room/ is given an unfamiliar object
- measuring how fearful they are of exploring a new environment, how curious they are
28
habitat-dependent selection hypothesis
Certain personality types have fitness advantages in particular types of environments
-Ex: more bold individuals tend to be better suited for more stable environments, shy individuals are better suited for fluctuating environments
29
Brain regions responsible for cognitive abilities related to each Big Five factor show ______
Size differences between high and low scorers
30
arousal theory of extraversion
Extraversion determined by people's threshold for arousal
- ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) regulates arousal response
- people's rating on the Big Five corresponded with the size of the brain regions thought to be involved with those certain personality traits
31
psychodynamic theories
Focus on how personality arises through complex interactions involving motivational conscious and unconscious processes that occur from early development through adulthood (Freud)
- unconscious influences behaviour
- personality forms in early childhood
- mental representations shape behaviours
32
Id
Collection of basic biological drives
| sexual/aggressive tendencies
33
super-ego
Responsible for moral judgments
34
ego
Mediates between desires of id and super-ego
35
Though unscientific and discredited, psychodynamic theories had some lasting contributions. What were they?
- appreciation for unconscious processes
| - defence mechanisms
36
defence mechanisms
Unconscious strategies to reduce or avoid anxiety, guilt, and other unpleasant feelings
37
what are 5 defence mechanisms? Explain them
- repression: keeping distressing information out of consciousness
- denial: refusing to acknowledge unpleasant information
- rationalization: coming up with alternative explanations to justify one's unacceptable behaviours
- projection: remaining ignorant of one's undesirable qualities by attributing them to others
- reaction formations: altering an impulse into its opposite
38
fixation
When an individual becomes preoccupied with obtaining the pleasure associate with a particular stage
-proposed some odd psychological tendencies, not supported by any empirical evidence
39
What are Freud's psycho-sexual stages of development
Oral: Infant achieves gratification through oral activities such as feeding, thumb sucking and babbling
Anal: The child learns to respond to some of the demands of society (such as bowed and bladder control)
Phallic: The child learns to realize the differences between males and females and becomes aware of sexuality
Latency: The child continues his or her development but sexual urges are relatively quiet
Genital: The growing adolescent shakes off old dependencies and learns to deal maturely with the opposite sex
40
projective tests
Personality test which ambiguous images are presented to an individual to elicit responses that reflect unconscious desire or conflicts
41
What do projective tests tell us about our unconscious desires?
- these methods lack validity and reliability
| - perception of others as a measure of projection, but weak correlations
42
analytical psychology
- Carl Jung
| - A branch of psychology that describes personality as the result of unconscious archetypes
43
collective unconscious
A collection of memories that can be traced to our ancestral past
44
inferiority complex
- Alfred Adler
| - an abnormal personality that results from struggling with feelings of inferiority in one's social environment
45
humanistic psychology
Emphasizes the unique and positive qualities of human experience and potential
46
Abraham Maslow: self-actualization
reaching our fullest potential
47
Carl Rogers: person-centered perspective
People are basically good, and given the right environment their personality will develop fully and normally
48
positive psychology
Uses scientific methods to study human strengths and potential
-well-being and flow
49
mimicry
Taking on for ourselves the behaviours, emotional displays, and facial expressions of others (can be useful when doing something for the first time)
50
chameleon effect
Non-conscious 'mirroring' of another person's behaviour
- body position, gestures, facial expressions often end up mirroring other person's expressions when having a conversation
- ex: sitting in a pub, once one person has a drink it starts a chain reaction
51
social norms
Unwritten guidelines for how to behave in social contexts
- promotes conformity
- everything form our manners, and how much to eat at a meal, attitudes and beliefs, etc.
- these vary by cultures
- people often don't realize that their being governed by these social norms
52
social loafing
When individuals put less effort into tasks when working with others
53
what are some reasons that lead to social loafing?
- person could have low self-efficacy beliefs, they don't think they have control over the outcome so they put less effort in the group task
- people don't care about the group outcome
- people don't know how they are helping the group
- they think others in the groups aren't putting in their full effort either
54
social facilitation
| -what is the Yerkes-Dodson law?
When one's performance is affected by the presence of others
-Yerkes-Dodson law: idea that for simple tasks, the audience effect tends to benefit performance in that task, for complex tasks, it is the opposite
55
group think
When group members tend towards the same ideas to minimize conflict
- other perspectives are not considered
- dissenters pressured
- overconfidence in decisions
56
conformity
Refers to a change in behaviour to fit in with a group
| -conscious decision
57
what are the 2 different types of influences that lead people to conform to others?
Normative influence: conforming to avoid incurring a social cost
Informational influence: concluding that the group must be right
58
___% of people would at one point conform to the Asch experiments, ___% of people conformed regularly
75, 25
59
conformity is affected by what 6 things?
1) Size of social group (more than 3 people)
2) Sex of group members (females increased conformity)
3) Familiarity of groups
4) Complexity of the task
5) Presence of nonconformists
6) Anonymity of responses
60
the bystander effect
The presence of other people actually reduces the likelihood of helping behaviour
61
diffusion of responsibility
When responsibility for taking action is spread across more than one person, making no single individual feel personally responsible
62
pluralistic ignorance
Occurs when there is a disconnect between the private beliefs of individuals and the public behaviour they display to others
- smoke filled room study: people look to others to guide their behaviours
- this can backfire if it was a real fire and put people in danger
63
social roles
Specific sets of expectations for how someone in a specific position should behave
64
deindividuation
Psychological state of decreased self-evaluation, often leading to disinhibited and anti-normative behaviour
65
obedience
Complying with instructions or orders from an individual who is in a position of authority
66
Milgram's obedience study
- participants instructed to give ever-increasing electric shocks to another participant, who was actually a confederate
- more than 75% of people complied
- 64% of people would go all the way up to 450V
67
what were the variants of Milgrim's experiment?
- change of clothing
- different location
- proximity of experimenter and 'learner'
- number of teachers
***but, obedience was disturbingly resistant (around 30% still complied)
68
person perception
Refers to the processes by which individuals form judgments about and categorize other people
69
implicit processes
Underlie quick, effortless, automatic thinking (not consciously aware)
70
explicit processes
Involve more careful and effortful thinking (conscious control)
71
false consensus effect
Assuming that our views are representative of society at large
-when people overestimate how much people agree with them
72
naive realism
Assuming that our perceptions of reality are accurate, and therefore those who differ must be wrong
73
internal (dispositional) attribution
When an observer explains another person's behaviour as due to some intrinsic quality of the person
74
external (situational) attribution
When an observer explains another person's behaviour as the result of the social context
-"benefit of the doubt"
75
locus of control
Degree to which people believe they have control over the events in their life
- internal vs external
- internal: thinking that you have a lot of control over the events of their life
- external: thinking that outside factors are primarily responsible for their behaviours
76
fundamental attribution error
A tendency to make internal attributions for other's behaviours while ignoring external influences
77
ingroups
Groups we feel positively towards and identify with
78
outgroups
Collection of people who are perceived as different
79
stereotype
A set of common beliefs about a group of people
| -can be positive or negative, both can have negative effects
80
prejudice
Attitudes based on stereotypes that include emotional and value judgments
81
discrimination
Behaviours based on prejudice
82
ingroup bias
Occurs when we are more likely to attribute positive qualities to the social group to which we belong
- common during times of economic hardship
- people tend to over value the contributions of their ingroup and blaming outgroups for taking resources
83
implicit associations tests
Measures how fast people respond to stereotype-consistent and stereotype-inconsistent stimuli
- many prejudice beliefs are not advertised day to day
- some people aren't aware that they are following a stereotype
84
how can we reduce implicit bias?
- reprogramming through practice
| - social contact between groups
85
the contact hypothesis
Predicts that social contact between members of different groups is extremely important to overcoming prejudice
-especially the case if contact occurs when groups have equal power
86
elaboration likelihood model
If an audience is motivated to attend to a message and if they have the opportunity for careful processing, they will be persuaded
87
central route to persuasion
Makes use of substantive arguments and requires attentiveness of the audience to evaluate the argument's logic
-longer lasting and more powerful change in attitude
88
peripheral route to persuasion
Makes use of style, is easier to process quickly, and activates people's feelings
- not as powerful or long lasting, but easier way to persuade people
- no need for a lot of facts for this method
89
construal level theory
Information affects us differently depending on our psychological distance form the information
-"it happened so close to home"
90
attitude inoculation
A strategy for strengthening attitudes and making them more resistant to change by first exposing people to a weak counter-argument and then refuting that argument
-used in educational programs (D.A.R.E)
91
the central route to persuasion is hindered by what 2 things?
- negative emotions and processing fluency
| - message complexity
92
the identifiable victim effect
People are more powerfully moved to action by the story of a single suffering person, than by information about a whole group of people
-gets around the idea of diffusion of responsibility and diverge all the responsibility onto you
93
the analytic system
Operates implicitly, acts more slowly and methodically, and uses logical processes
-hearing a story about a mass atrocity, lots of facts and information, we process this in a colder, more calculating way
94
what are 5 things we can do to use the peripheral route efficiently?
- authority: use of experts can increase persuasion
- liking: more likely to believe people we like
- social validation: conformity of other group members facilitates persuasion
- reciprocity: door in the face technique (following up an extravagant request with a reasonable one)
- consistency: foot in the door technique (following up a smaller request with an even bigger one)
95
cognitive dissonance theory
When we hold inconsistent beliefs, this creates aversive inner tension that we are motivated to reduce
- usually we reduce this by changing one of the beliefs that we previously held
- ex: fable of the fox and the grapes
- grapes are too high
- in order to justify walking away, he changes his initial belief and says that the grapes are probably not that good
96
health psychology
The study of both positive and negative impacts that humans' behaviours and decisions have on their health, survival, and well-being
97
Exposure to ______ of smoking predicts likelihood of smoking in adolescents
-correlation only
media depictions
98
name 3 things that are being done in order to try and prevent smoking
- non-smoking laws
- warnings on packages
- attitude inoculation
99
body mass index (BMI)
A commonly used statistic for estimating a healthy body weight that factors in an individual's height
100
___% of Canadians classified as obese
24
101
set point
A hypothesized mechanism that serves to maintain body weight around a physiologically programmed level
- maintaining over-eating can create a new set point in your weight
- this effect can also act in the opposite direction
102
social factors influencing obesity
- parental influence
- media: food commercials increase snacking in children
- social class
103
3 challenges for maintaining weight loss
- obese individuals find food cues more rewarding
- dieting reinforces cravings
- stress eating
104
what is social contagion? How does this relate to obesity?
The often subtle, unintentional spreading of a behaviour as a result of social interactions
- "obesity is contagious"
- if we see other people over-eating, we tend to over-eat
- social contagion can also work in a positive way
- study says that it tends to be groups of people that gain weight at the same time
105
stress
A psychological and physiological reaction that occurs when perceived demands exceed existing resources to meet those demands
- some stress can be positive (when doing simple tasks)
- too much stress results in poor cognitive performance
- these stressful thoughts occupy our working memory
106
System of appraisal that involved determining whether a threat exists
primary appraisal
107
A system of appraisal that involved determining if one can cope with a certain threat
secondary appraisal
108
System of appraisal
cognitive act of assessing and evaluating a situation or event and the demands of that event
109
fight-or-flight response
Sympathetic nervous system response resulting in release of epinephrine and norepinephrine
110
hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
A neural and endocrine circuit that provides communication between the nervous system (hypothalamus) and the endocrine system (pituitary glands)
-release of cortisol (enzyme that reduces stress)
111
what is the difference between the fight or flight response and the HPA?
- fight or flight involves the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system and stimulates the adrenal medulla (release of epinephrine and norepinephrine)
- HPA involves the hypothalamus, the anterior pituitary gland, and the adrenal cortex (release of cortisol)
112
general adaptation system (GAS)
A theory of stress responses involving stages of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
113
what happens during the 'alarm' stage of the general adaptation system?
Activation of fight or flight and HPA axis
| -initial recognition of a threat
114
what happens during the 'resistance' stage of the general adaptation system?
- coping with the event
| - getting over the initial thought
115
what happens during the 'exhaustion' stage of the general adaptation system?
- responses are going to decline
| - can result in damage to our body, can lead to illnesses, run out of energy
116
how can prolonged stress have a negative effect on our brain?
- cortisol receptors decline when stressed all the time
| - too much cortisol deteriorates hippocampus
117
what are oxytocin and vasopressin? what are their effects on our body?
Typically associated with social behaviour and bonding
- higher levels report better relationship qualities than people with lower levels
- these react with immune system
- counter-acts the effects or cortisol
118
oxytocin and vasopressin are positively correlated with ______ and ______
couple's positive behaviour, fast healing wounds
119
psychoneuroimmnology
The study of the relationship between the immune system and the nervous system functioning
120
There is a ______ immune response during high periods of stress
-ex: exam period
reduced
121
Norepinephrine supports cancer cell growth, what enzyme can magnify this effect? Therefore, people will more positive attitudes, (less ______), are more likely to survive things like cancer
cortisol, cortisol
122
Men under chronic stress are 30% more likely to die from/develop coronary heart disease
True or False?
true
123
common stress responses: type A personality
Describes people who tend to be impatient, worry about time, and who are easily angered, competitive, and highly motivated
124
common stress responses: type B personality
Describes people who are more laid back and characterized by patient, easygoing, and relaxed
125
The concept that hostility and anger are linker to coronary heart disease was developed by psychologists
True of False?
false, it was developed by cardiologists
126
our outlook on life can predict health outcomes
True or False?
true, people who are more optimistic tend to have longer life expectancy
127
coping
The process used to manage demands, stress, and conflict
128
Problem focused coping
try to deal with the causer of their problem, making a plan to eliminate the source of the stress
-used in situations where the problem is actually solvable
129
Emotion focused coping
managing your emotional reactions to a stressor
- when the problem isn't easily solvable (family death, job loss)
- can try to distract yourself, seek out social support
130
the Nun study
- well constructed study
- Nuns had to write autobiographies (in their late teens)
- the Nuns who had more positive content in their autobiography had lower mortality rates at any given age
-in the study, more than 1/3 of the Nuns brains had signs of full-blown Alzheimer's, non of which showed symptoms when they were alive
131
pessimistic explanatory style
The tendency to interpret and explain negative events as internally based (i.e. internal locus of control)
132
how would a neurotic person deal with a stressful situation?
negative affectivity: tendency to respond to problems with a pattern of anxiety, hostility, anger, guilt, or nervousness
-these people don't cope with stress very well
133
A person who is said to be extroverted/agreeable would most likely deal with a stressor in which manner?
- they seek out help from others
| - beneficial consequences for coping
134
someone who is said to be conscientious would most likely deal with a stressor in which manner?
Distancing: suppressing emotions to reduce the effect of stress on other responsibilities
135
people that are open to experience are more likely to respond to a stressor in which way?
-tend to be aware of and responsive to their emotions
136
resilience
The ability to effectively recover from illness or adversity
137
expressive writing therapy
- when a person whose had some kind of trauma is prompted to write about the event
- can create short term stress but helps in the long run
138
post traumatic growth
The capacity to grow and experience long-term positive effects in response to negative events
- also able to cope with future events more effectively
- the result of coping, not the stressful event
139
mindfulness/open-monitoring meditation
Involves attending to all thoughts, sensations, and feelings without attempting to judge or control them
140
concentrative/focused attention meditation
Individual focuses on a specific thought or sensation
141
is mediation an effective way to cope with stress? why?
- several studies found that meditation is quite effective in reducing psychological and physiological stress
- enhances peoples cognitive control processes
142
brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)
A protein in the nervous system that promotes survival, growth, and formation of new synapses
-slows the progression of Alzheimer's
143
learned helplessness
An acquired suppression of avoidance or escape behaviour in response to unpleasant, uncontrollable circumstances
-individual learns actions cannot remove the stress in one situation, then generalizes this learning to other situations
144
compensatory control
Psychological strategies that people use to preserve a sense of non-random order when personal control is compromised
- trying to seek order
- ex: superstitions, conspiracy theories
PSYC 1200
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Decks in class (5)
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