Personality

Question 1

Personality

Answer 1

A constellation of traits shaped by genetics and experiences. A unique, enduring pattern of how you think, feel, and behave.

Question 2

Personality Trait

Answer 2

A specific physiological characteristic that makes up part of a person’s personality. We can make predictions of behaviour based on traits.
Can have cardinal, central, or secondary traits.

Question 3

Cardinal Traits

Answer 3

Single characteristic that directs most of a person’s activities. Rare. Not everyone has one.

Question 4

Central Traits

Answer 4

Major characteristics of an individual. Can have 5-10

Question 5

Secondary Traits

Answer 5

Characteristics that affect behaviour in fewer situations that central traits and have less influence.

Question 6

The Big Five (Five Factor) Model

Answer 6

By McCray and Costa. A trait based approach to use a measure of 5 traits to determine personality. These 5 traits include Openness, extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
Measured by the NEO-PI-R assessment.
Universal, but different emphasis depending on culture. Predicts real-world outcomes, can change over time, exists in animals.

Question 7

HEXACO Model

Answer 7

The 5 factors model with the addition of honesty-humility.

Question 8

Maturity Principle

Answer 8

Over time, people become more dominant, agreeable, and conscientious and emotionally stable.

Question 9

Behaviourist Perspectives on Personality

Answer 9

We are what we learned. Personality is a collection of learned behaviour patterns (Skinner). Similarities are due to patterns of reinforcement. Humans are infinitely changeable through process of learning new behaviour patterns.

Question 10

Social Cognitive Approaches to Personality

Answer 10

Emphasized the interaction between the individual and the environment in shaping personality (Bandura). People learn through watching others, modelling, and reciprocal determinism (personality shaped by interaction between behaviour, cognition, and environment).

Question 11

Self-Efficacy

Answer 11

The belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations. Plays a role in shaping and influencing personality traits.

Question 12

Individualist Cultures

Answer 12

Value independence, competition, and personal achievement. (U.S., England, Western nations). More personally oriented personality traits.

Question 13

Collectivist Cultures

Answer 13

Value social harmony, respectfullness, group needs over individual. Asia, Africa, South America. More socially oriented personality traits.

Question 14

Biological Approach to Personality

Answer 14

Belief that important components of our personality are inherited

Question 15

Psychoanalytic theory

Answer 15

Freud’s idea that the unconscious forces act as determinates of personality. This includes memories, knowledge, beleifs, feelings, urges, and instincts outside of awareness. To understand personality you must expose the unconcious.
Personality consists of 3 seperate but interacting components: ID, Ego and Superego

Question 16

ID

Answer 16

The pleasure principle in the psychoanalytic theory of personality that involved unconcious urges and desires that seek immediate gratification. The unconscious.

Question 17

Ego

Answer 17

The reality principle, or executive of the psychoanalytic theory. The conscious.

Question 18

Superego

Answer 18

The moral guardian, ego ideal, “perfect person” of the psychoanalytic theory. The conscious.

Question 19

Freud’s Psychosexual stages of personality/development

Answer 19

Development periods in which we encounter conflicts between the demands of society and our sexual urges. Failure to resolve conflicts result in fixations.

Question 20

oral stage

Answer 20

1st year. Includes pleasure from sucking and eating. Oral fixation occurs with improper weaning and can lead to excessive oral behaviours (smoking, talking, etc).

Question 21

Anal stage

Answer 21

Ages 2-4. Pleasure from retention or expulsion. Anal fixation results in messy, wasteful and sloppy traits, or obsessively clean and organized traits.

Question 22

Phallic stage

Answer 22

4-6 years. Pleasure in manipulating genitals. Oedipus complex and preoccupation with manhood (males), or elektra complex and feelings of inferiority to men (females).

Question 23

Latency stage

Answer 23

6-12 years. Sexual desires dormant, focus shifts to skills and hobbies. Consolidates personality traits developed in earlier stages.

Question 24

Genital stage

Answer 24

12+ years. Focus on mature sexual intimacy and relationships. Success leads to well-balanced relationships and mature personality. Fixations result in intimacy difficulties.

Question 25

Defense mechanisms

Answer 25

Tools the ego uses to mediate between the id and superego. Includes repression, denial, regression, projection, and displacement.

Question 26

Humanistic Approaches

Answer 26

Emphasized unique and positive qualities of human experience and potential. Believed that humans are good. Exceptional people share several common traits, like creativity, realistic thinking, concern for others. Maslow believed in few friends, well developed sense of humour, periodic mystic or peak experiences.

Question 27

MMPI-2

Answer 27

A self-report measure that identifies people with psychological difficulties and can predict everyday behaviours. Mostly used in clinical settings.

Question 28

Projective Tests

Answer 28

Tests in which someone is shown an ambiguous stimulus and asked to describe it or tell a story about it to infer personality traits.

Question 29

Psychopathy

Answer 29

Charaterized by high impulsivity, high thrill seeking, low empathy, coldness, callousness. May havae biological roots.

Question 30

Narcissism

Answer 30

Characterized by grandiosity, entitlement, superiority, excessive self-love, excessive desire for admiration and attention, fragile and low self-esteem.

Question 31

Machiavellianism

Answer 31

Characterized by being cynical, unprincipled, interpersonal manipulation, few emotional attachments, lack of empathy, and obsession.

Question 32

Sadism

Answer 32

Tendency to derive pleasure from inflicting pain, humiliation, or suffering on others.