General Psych Final Study Guide Chapter 14 Personality- Personality = People’s typical ways of thinking, feeling and behaving. - Trait = Relatively enduring predisposition that influences our behavior across many situations. (Aggressiveness, being self-conscientiousness, etc.). - 2 Major ways to studying a personality: o Nomethic Approach = Approach to personality that focuses on identifying general laws that govern the behavior of all individuals. o Idiographic Approach = Approach to personality that focuses on identifying the unique configuration of characteristics & life history experiences w/in a person.- Molecular Genetic Study = Investigation that allows researchers to pinpoint genes associated w/ specific personality traits. - ID = Reservoir of our most primitive impulses, including sex & aggression.- Ego = Psyche’s executive & principle decision maker. - Superego = Our sense of morality.- Pleasure Principle = Tendency of the ID to strive for immediate gratification. - Reality Principle = Tendency of the ego to postpone gratification until it can find an appropriate outlet. - Defense Mechanisms = Unconscious maneuvers intended to minimize anxiety.- Repression = Motivated forgetting of emotionally threatening memories or impulses. - Reaction – Formation = Transformation of an anxiety-provoking emotion into its opposite.- Projection = Unconscious attribution of our negative characteristics to others. - Sublimination = Transforming a socially unacceptable impulse into an admired goal. - Anal Stage = Psychosexual stage that focuses on toilet training.- Social Learning Theory = Theorists who emphasize thinking as a cause of personality.- Reciprocal Determinism = Tendency for ppl to mutually influence each other’s behavior.- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) = Widely used structured personality test designed to assess symptoms of mental disorders. - Face Validity = Extent to which respondents can tell what the items are measuring.- P.T Barnum Effect = Tendency of ppl to accept high base rate descriptions as accurate.-1. Describe how twin and adoption studies shed light on genetic and environmental influences on personality (text p. 541);- Because identical (monozygotic) twins are more similar genetically than fraternal (dizygotic) twins, a higher correlation of a trait among identical than fraternal twins – assuming that the environmental influences on both sets of twins are comparable – suggests a genetic influence. - Brought up together:o From 1 study, we can conclude that numerous personality traits (anxiety proneness, impulse control & traditionalism) are influenced by genetic factors. o In an identical twin study, the results say that nonshared environment plays an important role in personality. - Not brought up together:o 1st, identical twins not brought up together tend to be strikingly similar in personality traits and also far more similar than fraternal twins that weren’t brought up together. o According to the results, identical twins reared apart were about as similar to identical twins reared together.o This finding shows that a shared environment plays little or no role in the causes of adult personality.- The correlations between biological parents & their adopted-away children in their sociability levels are slightly higher than the correlations b/w adoptive parents & their adopted children even though the biological parents had essentially no environmental contact w/ their children after birth. - Researchers using twin & adoption studies have found that genes influence a variety of behaviors often associated w/ personality traits. (divorce, religiosity, watching TV, etc.). 2. Describe the core assumptions of psychoanalytic theory (text p. 545);- Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory rests on 3 assumptions:o Psychic Determinism = The assumption that all psychological events have a cause.o Symbolic Meaning = No action, no matter how trivial it seems, is meaningless. o Unconscious Motivation = We rarely understand what we do, although we always have explanations for our actions. 3. Describe key criticisms of psychoanalytic theory (text p. 552); - Unfalsifiablity – Critics have noted that many hypotheses derived from Freudian theory are difficult or impossible to refute. - Failed Predictions – Although much of Freudian theory is difficult to falsify, those portions of the theory that can be falsified often have been. o Freud said that kids who experienced harsh toilet training would grow up to be rigid & perfectionistic, but no association b/w toilet training practices & adult personality has been found. - Questionable Conception of the Unconscious – Research does not support the existence of the “Unconsciousness” (a place where sexual & aggressive energies & repressed memories) let alone tell us where it’s located. - Reliance on Unrepresentative Samples – Freud’s theories may possess limited generalizability bc most of his patients that he studied were upper-class Viennese women.- Flawed Assumption of Shared Environmental Influence – Behavior-genetic studies have shown shared environment plays a role in adult personality, contradicting a key proposition of Freudian theory.4. Describe trait models of personality including the big five (text p. 562);- Trait theorists aim to understand the structure and major traits of the personality. - The Big Five model = 5 traits that have surfaced repeatedly in factor analyses of personality measures. o Openness to Experience – Open ppl tends to be intellectually curious & unconventional. o Conscientiousness – Conscientiousness ppl tend to be careful & responsible.o Extraversion – Extraverted ppl tend to be social & lively. o Agreeableness – These ppl then to be sociable & easy to get along with.o Neuroticism – Neurotic ppl tend to be tense & moody. - The Big Five predict important real world behavior:o High Conscientiousness, low Neuroticism are associated w/ successful job performance & good grades.o Extraversion has been positively correlated among salespersons. - The Big Five has been identified in China, Japan, Italy, Hungary & Turkey.o Openness to experience doesn’t emerge clearly in all cultures. o Individualism-Collectivism – Ppl from largely individualistic cultures like the US tend to focus on themselves & their personal goals, while those from largely collectivist cultures like Asia, tend to focus on their relations w/ others.- The Big Three Model can be an
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