personality
individual's characteristic style of behaving, thinking, and feeling
four approaches to understanding personality
1. trait-biological
2. psychodynamic
3. humanistic-existential
4. social-cognitive
prior events
shape an individual's personality
anticipated events
motivate a person to reveal personality characteristics
self-reports
provides subjective information about a person's thoughts, feelings, or behaviours via questionnaire or interview
MMPI
clinical questionnaire used to assess personality and psychological problems
problems with self-report
-social desirability
-people are inaccurate in what they report
projective techniques
designed to reveal inner aspects of an individual's personality by analyzing responses to a series of ambiguous stimuli; assumes the projection of unconscious wishes/desires onto stimuli
rorschach inkblot
respondent's inner thought/feelings are revealed by analysis of responses to unstructured inkblots
thematic apperception test (TAT)
underlying motives, concerns, and way to view the world are revealed through analysis of stories about ambiguous pictures of people
problems of projective techniques
-open to biases of examiner
-have not been found to be reliable/valid
electronically activated recorder (EAR)
can study people as they behave when interacting with other people (vs. in a lab setting)
allport's view of traits
-people could be described in terms of traits
-traits as pre-existing dispositions; cause of behaviour that reliably triggers a behaviour
-use of personality inventories
trait
stable disposition to behave in a particular and consistent way; describes behaviour but doesn't explain it
murray's view of traits
-traits reflect motives (eat because of hungry motive not because predisposed to be hungry)
-use of projective tests
cattell
16 factor theory of personality
eysenck
-two (and then three) model of personality
-extroversion, neuroticism, and psychosis
extroversion
-sociability and activity
-processing areas for rewards
neuroticism
-emotional stability
-volume of brain regions involved with sensitivity to threat
psychosis
impulsivity and hostility
five-factor personality model (OCEAN)
1. openness to experience
2. conscientiousness (work ethic)
3. extraversion (highly stimulating environments)
4. agreeableness
5. neuroticism
genetic influence on personality
40% of the variability among individuals is genetic, 60% is from differences in environmental experiences
men
more physically aggressive, assertive, risk-taking
women
more verbally expressive, sensitive to nonverbal cues, nurturing
animal personalities
-extraversion
-agreeableness (absence of aggression)
-openness to experience
anthropomorphizing
attributing human characteristics to nonhuman animals
extraversion vs. introversion
arise from individual differences in cortical arousal
reticular formation (introverts/extroverts)
-introverts: very easily stimulated
-extroverts: not easily stimulated
behavioural activation system (BAS)
go system activating approach behaviours for reward; extroverts= highly reactive
behavioural inhibition system (BIS)
stop system inhibiting behaviour to avoid punishment; introverts= highly reactive
agreeableness
processing areas for assessing mental states of others
conscientiousness
self-regulation areas
psychoanalysis
theory of personality and method for treating patients
psychodynamic approach (freud)
personality is formed by needs, strivings, and desires operating outside of awareness- motives that can produce emotional disorders
structure of the mind
three independent, interacting, and conflicting systems governed by anxiety
anxiety
unpleasant feeling that arises when unwanted thoughts/feelings occur; use of defence mechanisms
defence mechanisms
unconscious coping techniques that reduce anxiety
Id
part of the mind containing the drives present at birth: source of bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses (sexual and aggressive)
pleasure principle (id)
tendency to seek immediate gratification of any impulses
superego
-mental system that reflects the internalization of cultural rules; learned from parents and role models
-set of standards of conduct, guilt when we do something wrong, pride when we live up to ideal standards
ego
developed through contact with external world and enables us to deal with life's practical demands
reality principle (ego)
regulating mechanism; mediator between id/superego
defence mechanisms
-repression
-rationalization
-reaction formation
-projection
-regression
-displacement
-identification
-sublimation
repression
removing painful experiences from the mind
rationalization
supplying a reasonable sounding explanation for unacceptable feelings/behaviour
reaction formation
unconsciously replacing threatening inner wishes with an exaggerated version of the opposite
projection
attributing one's own threatening feelings to another person/group
regression
reverting to an immature behaviour to feel more secure
displacement
shifting unacceptable wishes or drives to a neutral or less threatening alternative
identification
taking on characteristics of another person who seems more powerful
sublimation
channeling unacceptable sexual/aggressive drives into socially acceptable and culturally enhancing activities
psychosexual stage
early life stages through which personality is formed as children experience sexual pleasures from specific body areas; caregivers can redirect or interfere with those pleasures
fixation
pleasure-seeking drives become psychologically stuck
oral stage
associated with mouth, sucking, feeding; issues related to fullness and emptiness, taking from others
anal stage
associated with the anus, retention, and expulsion of feces and urine, and toilet training; rigidity, issues with control
phallic stage
associated with genitals and powerful incestuous feelings; identification with same-sex parent
latency stage
associated with the development of intellectual, creative, interpersonal, and athletic skills; no fixation issues
genital stage
associated of the personality with love, work, relations; issues with healthy adult sexuality and personality
humanistic approach
emphasized positive, optimistic, view of human nature that highlights people's goodness and potential for personal growth
existential approach
focused on the individual as a responsible agent who is free to create and live his or her life while dealing with the meaning and reality of death
humanistic-existential approach
integrates both components
self-actualizing tendency
human motive toward realizing inner potential; need to be good, fully active, and find meaning in life
flow
engagement in tasks that match one's ability creates a mental state of energized focus
tasks below our abilities
boredom
tasks above our abilities
anxiety
angst (anxiety of fully being)
-results from difficulties in finding meaning of life
-paradox of limitless goals but questions of life's purpose
social cognitive approach
personality as how the person thinks about the situations encountered in daily life and behaves in responses to them
person-situation controversy
is behaviour caused more by personality or by their situation factors?
personal constructs
dimensions people use in making sense of their experiences
construals
different constructs that lead people to engage in different behaviours
outcome expectancies
person's assumptions about the likely consequences of future behaviour; combine with goals to produce a style of behaviour
locus of control
person's tendency to perceive the control of rewards as internal to the self or external in the environment
internal
control their own destiny
external
outcomes are random, determined by luck, or controlled by other people
self-concept
what we think about ourselves; person's explicit knowledge of his or her own behaviours, traits, and other personal characteristics
self-schemas
-traits people use to define themselves
-goal of self-concept is to promote consistency in behaviour across situations
self-esteem
how we feel about ourselves; extent to which an individual likes, values, and accepts the self
self-verification
-tendency to seek evidence to confirm the self-concept
-comforting to have a sense of familiarity and stability in terms of who you are
how we gain self-esteem
-accepted/valued by significant others
-focus on self-evaluations in specific domains
benefits of high self-esteem
-happier/healthier lives
-cope better with stress
-more likely to persist with difficult tasks
self-serving bias
people tend to take credit for their successes but downplay responsibility for their failures
implicit egotism
not aware of the influence of the sounds of their name
social psychology
study of the causes and consequences of sociality
social behaviour
how people interact with each other
social influence
ability to change or direct another person's behaviour
social cognition
process by which people come to understand each other
survival
-the struggle for resources
-goal to survive/reproduce; sociality accomplishes this
ultrasocial
form societies and divide labour, cooperate for mutual benefit
problem of survival
hurting or helping behaviour
aggression
behaviour with the purpose of harming another
frustration-aggression hypothesis
animals aggress when their goals are frustrated
cause of aggressive behaviour
induced negative effect
testosterone and aggression
-aggression is strongly correlated with testosterone (typically higher in males, young men, and violent criminals)
-testosterone increases confidence in ability to succeed BUT makes people less sensitive to cues of retaliation
eliciting aggression in males
challenge dominance or status
covert aggression
-used more by females
-aggress by causing social harm
-focused on obtaining/protecting an actual resource
cooperation
behaviour by two or more individuals that leads to mutual benefit
group
collection of people who have something in common that distinguishes them from others
prejudice
-positive or negative evaluation of another person based on their group membership
-cognitive/active
ingroup favouritism
positively prejudiced toward fellow members of in-group
outgroup derogation
negatively prejudiced toward others (outgroup)
discrimination
-positive or negative behaviour toward another person based on their group membership
-behaviour/action
stereotypes
-cold/cognitive
-set of cognitive generalizations about characteristics shared by members of a group (can be negative or positive)
common knowledge effect
tendency for group discussions to focus on information that all members share (often unimportant); important information is only known to a select few (so often ignored)
group polarization
tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than any member would have made alone; exposure to many arguments for a single position
groupthink
tendency for groups to reach consensus in order to facilitate interpersonal harmony
deindividuation
immersion in a group causes people to become less concerned with their personal values
diffusion of responsibility
tendency for individuals to feel diminished responsibility for their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way
social loafing
tendency for people to expend less effort when in a group than when alone
bystander intervention
act of helping strangers in an emergency situation; people are less likely to help as size of group increases
altruism
intentional behaviour that benefits another at cost to oneself
kin selection
process by which evolution selects for individuals who cooperate with their relatives
reciprocal altruism
behaviour that benefit another with the expectation that those benefits will be returned in the future (aka cooperation over time)
mere exposure effect
tendency for liking increases with the frequency of exposure; people prefer familiar stimuli to unfamiliar stimuli
standards of beauty
body shape, symmetry, and age
body shape
-men: triangle shape which is attributed to testosterone/dominance
-women: hourglass shape which is attributed to estrogen/fertility
symmetry
bilateral symmetry, indicator of genetic health
age
-men: more attractive with mature features which is attributed to the ability to raise children
-women: more attractive with youthful, child-like features which is attributed to the ability to bear children
passionate love
-experience involving feelings of euphoria, intimacy, and intense sexual attraction
-brings people together, rapid onset, peaks quickly, and diminishes within a few months
companionate love
-experience involving affection, trust, and concern for a partner's well-being
-keeps people together, grows slowly
social exchange hypothesis
people remain in relationships only as long as they perceive a favourable ratio of costs to benefits
comparison level
cost-benefit ratio people believe they could attain in another relationship
equity
cost-benefit ratio of two partners needs to be equal; upset when ratios are different (both favourable/unfavourably)
resources
once you've poured resources in, you're likely to stick with it
social influence
ability to change or direct another person's behaviour
motivations that make people more vulnerable
-hedonic motive (pleasure vs. pain)
-approval motive (accepted vs. rejected)
-accuracy motive (right vs. wrong)
hedonic motive
goal to create situations where others can achieve more pleasure by doing what we want them to do
approval motive
motivated to have others accept us, like us, and approve of us
norms
customary standards for behaviour that are widely shared by members of a culture
norms of reciprocity
unwritten rule that people should benefit those who have benefitted them
normative influence
another person's behaviour provides information about what is appropriate
door-in-the-face technique
large request you know will be denied, then follow-up with small request that will look good in comparison
conformity
tendency to do what others do simply because others are doing it
distortion of judgement (informational social influence)
conformity for information (want to be correct)
distortion of action (normative social influence)
being compelled to conform to the group's response and not violate norms
obedience
tendency to do what powerful people tell us to do
detached responsibility
increasing the participant's feelings of responsibility should lead to a change in the obedience rate (e.g. deindividualization, context, and lack of clear authority)
attitude
-enduring positive or negative evaluation of an object or event
-tells us what we should do
belief
-enduring piece of knowledge about an object or event
-tells us how to do it
informational influence
another person's behaviour provides information about what is true
persuasion
person's attitudes or beliefs are influenced by a communication from another person
systemic
appeals to reason, persuasion through strong arguments
heuristic
appeals to habit or emotion, persuasion through the use of shortcuts
foot-in-the-door technique
small request, then a larger request
cognitive dissonance
unpleasant state that arises when a person recognizes the inconsistency of his/her actions, attitudes, or beliefs
what alleviates cognitive dissonance?
-restore consistency (i.e. change in cognition), act consistent with beliefs
-add a justifying cognition
social cognition
processes by which people come to understand others; includes categories people belong to and the things they do and say
stereotyping
process by which people draw inferences about others based on their knowledge of the categories to which others belong
stereotyping trends
-inaccurate
-overused
-self-perpetuating
-unconscious/automatic
overused stereotypes
underestimate variability within groups; overestimate variability between groups
most effective method to stop stereotyping
read a story of those who defy stereotypes
self-fulfilling prophecy
tendency for people to behave as they are expected to behave
perceptual confirmation
tendency for people to see what they expect to see; leads us to believe individuals confirm stereotypes
sub-typing
people who receive disconfirming evidence to modify their stereotypes rather than abandon them; exceptions to the rule
attributions
inferences about the causes of people's behaviours; can be situational or dispositional
situational
aspect of situation
dispositional
personal characteristics
covariation model of attribution
-consistency (does the personal always do this?)
-consensuality (are other people doing this?)
-distinctiveness (does the person do other things like this?)
situational attribution
low consistency + high consensus + high distinctiveness
dispositional attribution
high consistency + low consensus + low distinctiveness
correspondence bias
tendency to make a dispositional attribution when we should instead make a situational attribution
actor observer effect
situational attributions for OUR behaviour and dispositional behaviour for identical behaviours of OTHERS
stanford prison experiment (bonus question)
-simulated prison environment for 2 weeks
-men randomly assigned guard or prisoner
-many ethical concerns, study cut short
-emphasizes the power of the situation
health psychology
concerned with way psychological factors influence the causes and treatments of physical illness and the maintenance of health
environmental psychology
scientific study of environmental effects on behaviour and health
stressors
specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or threaten the person's well-being
stress
the physical and psychological response to internal or external stressors
chronic stressors
-sources of stress that occur continuously or repeatedly
-can be linked to social relationships, environments, or impact of daily hassles
when are events most stressful?
when there is nothing that can be done- reduced perceived control
are daily hassles or major life events more stressful?
psychological/physical impact of daily hassles is greater
fight or flight response
-an emotional and physiological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action
-activates hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis
HPA axis
-threat triggers brain activation in hypothalamus
-pituitary grand releases Ach
-ACh stimulates adrenal glands to release catecholamines (EP and NEP) and cortisol (increases [glucose] in blood)
-sympathetic nervous system activated
-parasympathetic nervou
general adaptation syndrome (GAS)
-three stage physiological stress response that appears regardless of the stressor that is encountered
-alarm, resistance, exhaustion
alarm
body mobilizes resources to respond to the threat; fight-or-flight response; pulls energy from stored fat/muscle
resistance
body adapts to high arousal state and tries to cope with the stressor; continues to draw on body's resources; stops other processes (digestion, growth, menstruation, etc.)
exhaustion
damage occurs; body becomes susceptible to infection, organ damage, premature aging, death, etc.; reserves become depleted
telomeres and stress
-telomeres aid in cell division by capping the end of chromosomes
-when a cell divides the telomeres become shorter
-too short= tumours/disease
-chronic stress leads to shorter telomeres and lower telomerase activity
telomerase
-enzyme that rebuilds telomeres
-cortisol causes reduced activity
immune system
complex response system that protects the body from bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances
white blood cells
produce antibodies that fight infection
psychoneuroimmunology
study of how the immune system responds to psychological variables (i.e. the presence of stressors)
stress and immune health
stressors cause hormones (glucocorticoids aka cortisol) to flood the brain wearing down the immune system and making it less able to fight foreign invaders
heart disease
narrowing of arteries; caused when fatty deposits (plaque) build up on the inner walls of arteries
heart attack
when an artery is blocked by a blood clot due to narrowed arteries reducing blood supply
stress and cardiovascular health
-activation of sympathetic nervous system increases blood pressure which damages blood vessels
-damaged blood vessels accumulate more plaque
-plaque blocks blood vessels which can lead to a heart attack
type A behaviour
tendency towards easily aroused hostility, impatience, time urgency, and competitive achievement strings
primary appraisal
interpretation of a stimulus as stressful or not
secondary appraisal
determining weather the stressor is something you can handle or not (aka level of control); determine if stressor is a threat or a challenge
threat
something you may not be able to overcome
challenge
confident you can control
burnout
physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion resulting from long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accompanied by lower performance and motivation
burnout symptoms
-overwhelming exhaustion
-deep cynicism
-detachment from the job
-sense of ineffectiveness
-lack of accomplishment
cause of burnout
defining yourself only by your career; gauging your self-worth only by success at work- nothing left when work fails
repressive coping
avoiding feelings, thoughts, or situations that are reminders of a stressor and maintaining an artificially positive viewpoint
rational coping
facing the stressor and working to overcome it; approaching rather than avoiding to minimize long term impact
rational coping steps
1. acceptance: realize that the stressor exists and won't go away
2. exposure: attending to the stressor, thinking about it, seeking it out
3. understanding: finding the meaning of the stressor in life
reframing
finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its threat
stress inoculation training (SIT)
reframing technique that helps people cope with stressful situations by developing positive ways to think about the situation
meditation
practice of intentional contemplation
relaxation therapy
reducing tension by consciously relaxing muscles of the body
relaxation response
a condition of reduced muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure
biofeedback
the use of an external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function and gain control over that function
aerobic exercise
-exercise that increases heart rate/oxygen intake for a sustained period of time
-promotes stress relief/happiness
-increases release of serotonin
social support
aid gained through interacting with others
religious experience
lower rates of heart disease, decreases in chronic pain, improved psychological health
humour
can reduce sensitivity to pain/stress and time it takes to calm down after stress
habitual procrastinators
-show higher levels of self-reported hypertension and cardiovascular disease
-associated with poorer academic performance and higher psychological distress
sickness response
coordinated, adaptive set of reaction to illness organized by the brain- keep you at home and not moving so energy can be spent getting you better
immune response to infection
-begins with activation of white blood cells that eat microbes and release cytokines
-activates vagus nerves that run from intestines, stomach, and chest to brain with the "I'm sick" message
sickness response and depression
depressed individuals have high levels of cytokines, so they have a heightened sickness response and don't feel well
psychosomatic illness
an interaction between mind and body that can produce illness
somatic symptom disorders
a person with at least one bodily symptom displays significant health related anxiety, expresses disproportionate concerns about their symptoms, and devotes excessive time and energy to their symptoms or health concern
sick role
social recognized set of rights and obligations linked with illness
malingering
feigning medical or psychological symptoms to achieve something desirable
factors that influence personal health
-health relevant personality traits
-engaging in positive health behaviours
hardiness
-commitment
-control
-challenge
commitment
ability to become involved in life tasks
control
expectation that their actions/words have a cause influence over their lives
challenge
embrace change and accept opportunities for growth
self-regulation
-voluntary control over the self to bring into line with preferred standards; reliance on willpower
-most effective when it focuses on what to do other than what not to do
illusion of unique invulnerability
a person's bias toward believing they are less likely to fall victim to a problem than others