personality

Question 1

what do personality psychologists study

Answer 1

patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are consistent across situations and time

Question 2

what is the unconscious mind (freud)

Answer 2

a reservoir of thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories outside awareness but influencing behavior

Question 3

what is the purpose of free association

Answer 3

to reveal the unconscious by saying whatever comes to mind without censorship

Question 4

what structures make up the larger structure of the mind

Answer 4

id, ego, superego

Question 5

what is the id structure of the mind

Answer 5

unconscious, pleasure principle, immediate gratification

Question 6

what is the ego structure of the mind

Answer 6

reality principle, mediates between id and superego

Question 7

what is the superego structure of the mind

Answer 7

morality, internalized ideals

Question 8

how do the structures of the mind relate to one another

Answer 8

they interact to shape personality and conflict

Question 9

what are freud’s psychosexual stages of development

Answer 9

oral –> anal –> phallic –> latency –> genital

Question 10

what is the phallic stage of development

Answer 10

oedipus/electra complex

Question 11

what is an oedipus/electra complex

Answer 11

desire for opposite-sex parent
rivalry with same-sex parent
men: oedipus, women: electra

Question 12

what is the significance of identification in psychosexual development

Answer 12

resolution of oedipus/electra complex occurs through identification with same-sex parent

Question 13

what is fixation in terms of development

Answer 13

unresolved conflict at a stage

Question 14

how does fixation affect personality

Answer 14

unresolved conflict at a stage –> lingering traits
oral fixation = overeating, smoking

Question 15

what is a defense mechanism

Answer 15

an unconscious psychological strategy the ego uses to protect an individual from anxiety, stress, or uncomfortable thoughts and feelings

Question 16

what are the 6 main defense mechanisms

Answer 16

repression, regression, projection, reaction formation, rationalization, displacement

Question 17

what is a repression defense mechanism

Answer 17

blocking anxiety-provoking thoughts from awareness
(a person who experienced childhood trauma has no conscious memory of it)

Question 18

what is a regression defense mechanism

Answer 18

retreating to an earlier developmental stage
(an overwhelmed adult throws a temper tantrum or curls up and cries like a child)

Question 19

what is a projection defense mechanism

Answer 19

attributing your own unacceptable feelings to someone else
(someone who is angry at a coworker insists the coworker hates them)

Question 20

what is a reaction formation defense mechanism

Answer 20

behaving opposite of your true feelings
(a person who feels insecure acts overly confident or cocky)

Question 21

what is a rationalization defense mechanism

Answer 21

creating self-justifying explanations for behavior
(a student who cheats on a test says “everyone else does it and the teacher is unfair anyway”)

Question 22

what is a displacement defense mechanism

Answer 22

redirecting influences toward a safer target
(after being yelled at by a boss, someone goes home and snaps at their roommate instead)

Question 23

what is jung’s notion of the collective unconscious and archetypes

Answer 23

shared reservoir of ancestor experiences –> universal symbols (archetypes) like hero, mother, shadow

Question 24

what is a projective test

Answer 24

ambiguous stimuli designed to reveal unconscious dynamics

Question 25

what is the thematic apperception test (TAT)

Answer 25

tell stories about ambiguous pictures

Question 26

what does the thematic apperception test measure

Answer 26

motives/needs

Question 27

what is the rorschach test

Answer 27

interpret inkblots

Question 28

what does the rorschach test measure

Answer 28

unconscious conflicts

Question 29

how reliable and valid are the thematic apperception and rorschach tests

Answer 29

reliability and validity are limited

Question 30

what is the current view on psychoanalysis

Answer 30

psychoanalysis is historically important, but limited scientifically

Question 31

what does research tell us about the accuracy of freud's ideas about psychoanalysis

Answer 31

research supports the general idea of an unconscious mind and some defense mechanisms, but most of freud's major theories are not scientifically validated, overly based on case studies, and not testable

Question 32

what is the humanistic perspective

Answer 32

focuses on growth, potential, conscious experience, free will

Question 33

what is the psychoanalytic perspective

Answer 33

focuses on unconscious conflict and past trauma

Question 34

what is self-actualization

Answer 34

achieving one's fullest potential, top of maslow's hierarchy

Question 35

what is unconditional positive regard (rogers)

Answer 35

acceptance without judgement

Question 36

why is unconditional positive regard important

Answer 36

it helps people develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

Question 37

what is the lasting influence of unconditional positive regard

Answer 37

empathy, personal growth, client-centered therapy

Question 38

what are the main criticisms of unconditional positive regard

Answer 38

it is vague, subjective, and overly optimistic about human nature

Question 39

what is the trait perspective

Answer 39

focuses on identifying, measuring, and describing stable characteristics that people consistently show across situations and over time

Question 40

how is a trait defined

Answer 40

a stable characteristic pattern of behavior or disposition

Question 41

what is personality made up of

Answer 41

enduring traits that predict how people think and behave

Question 42

what trait dimensions are described by eysenck

Answer 42

extraversion-introversion, emotional stability-instability

Question 43

what is extraversion

Answer 43

outgoing, sociable, energetic, seek stimulation lower baseline arousal

Question 44

what is introversion

Answer 44

quiet, reserved, prefer lower stimulation environments higher baseline arousal

Question 45

what is the extraversion-introversion trait dimension linked to

Answer 45

baseline levels of brain arousal

Question 46

what is emotional stability

Answer 46

calm, even-tempered, emotionally steady

Question 47

what is emotional instability/neuroticism

Answer 47

anxious, moody, easily upset

Question 48

what is the emotional stability-instability trait dimension linked to

Answer 48

a reflection of ANS reactivity

Question 49

what are the big 5 personality factors

Answer 49

OCEAN: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism

Question 50

how were the big 5 personality factors derived

Answer 50

statistically (factor analysis)

Question 51

what do we know about the universality and stability of the big 5 personality factors

Answer 51

universal across cultures and stable over time

Question 52

what is openness

Answer 52

imagination, curiosity, creativity, willingness to try new things

Question 53

what is the difference between high and low levels of openness

Answer 53

high: open-minded and adventurous low: practical and routine-oriented

Question 54

what is conscientousness

Answer 54

organization, responsibility, self-dicipline

Question 55

what is the difference between high and low levels of conscientiousness

Answer 55

high: reliable, hardworking, structured low: careless, impulsive, disorganized

Question 56

what is the difference between high and low levels of extraversion

Answer 56

high: outgoing and energized by others low: reserved and preference for solitude

Question 57

what is agreeableness

Answer 57

cooperativeness, kindness, trust

Question 58

what is the difference between high and low levels of agreeableness

Answer 58

high: warm, helpful, compassionate low: competitive, critical, sometimes antagonistic

Question 59

what is neuroticism

Answer 59

emotional stability vs instability

Question 60

what is the difference between high and low levels of neuroticism

Answer 60

high: easily stressed, anxious, moody low: calm, resilient, emotionally stable

Question 61

what is the person-situation controversy

Answer 61

do traits or situations predict behavior?

Question 62

what is the answer to the person-situation controversy

Answer 62

both traits and situations matter to predict behavior traits are stable averages, but situations influence specific behaviors

Question 63

how to the person and the environment interact to produce personality

Answer 63

you choose environments that reinforce traits

Question 64

what is reciprocal determinism

Answer 64

person, environment, and behavior all influence each other

Question 65

what is the self-concept

Answer 65

your understanding of who you are

Question 66

what are the self-enhancement methods

Answer 66

downward comparison, self-serving bias, unrealistic optimism, basking in the glory of others

Question 67

what is the downward comparison self-enhancement method

Answer 67

comparing yourself to someone who is worse off to feel better about yourself

Question 68

what is the self-serving bias self-enhancement method

Answer 68

attributing successes to yourself and failures to external factors "i got an A because i'm smart, i failed because the test was unfair"

Question 69

what is the unrealistic optimism self-enhancement method

Answer 69

believing you're more likely than others to experience good outcomes and less likely that others to experience bad ones

Question 70

what is the BIRG self-enhancement method

Answer 70

boosting self-esteem by associating with successful others "we won" when your favorite team wins

Question 71

what are the benefits of high self-esteem

Answer 71

happiness, resilience

Question 72

what are the costs of high self-esteem

Answer 72

can lead to narcissism or aggression if threatened

Question 73

what is the causal role of high self-esteem

Answer 73

unclear, high self-esteem may result from success not cause it

Question 74

what is an individualist culture

Answer 74

self = independant personal goals, uniqueness

Question 75

what is a collectivist culture

Answer 75

self = interdependent group goals, harmony