Personality Terms
Personality is...
The organized, developing system within the individual that represents the collective action of their major psychological subsystems.
The two other trait approaches
HEXACO (Big 6) and Eysenck’s Biological Trait Theory (3-dimensions)
Openness
Imaginative vs. down-to-earth
Likes variety vs. likes routine
Independent vs. conforming
Hindsight Bias is...
tendency to overestimate the extent to which an outcome could have predicted
Implicit vs explicit attitudes
Implicit: attitudes we hold without realizing it (unconscious/automatic)
Explicit: attitudes we hold consciously
Traits are...
Consistent personality characteristics & behavior
Personality development over time
Maturation leads to change, consistency increases with age, small/gradual changes, consistency but not unchanging
Conscientiousness
Organized vs. disorganized
Careful vs. careless
Self-discipline vs. weak-willed
Components of the need to belong
1) Frequent personal contacts (mostly free from conflict)
2) Stable & affectively-oriented
Why do we conform?
Want to behave accurately, others are a source of info- ambiguous situations, want to fit in
Reciprocal determinism is...
Environments, situations, experiences, and social roles we choose that reinforce personality features. Feedback Loops!
Parts of personality
Values, Preferences (Conditioning), Needs and Motives, Mental Abilities (e.g., problem-solving), Language (and Communication) Patterns, Self-Control, Schemas, Self-Efficacy (e.g., locus of control), Attachment, Cultural Scripts, Emotional Expression, etc.
Extraversion
Social vs. retiring
Fun-loving vs. sober
Affectionate vs. reserved
Confirmation bias is...
Seek information to support theory/expectation and ignore information that will refute it
Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination...
Stereotypes: different expectations based on group membership
Prejudice: different valuing
Discrimination: different treatment
The Big Five Traits
Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism (O.C.E.A.N. or C.A.N.O.E).
Evidence for biological predispositions of personality and their influences
1) traits are visible early: temperament, change in toddlerhood (positive, negative, cuddliness, self-control), childhood and adolescence (Big Five, development of self-concept and identity)
2) Genetic Evidence: Twin studies, serotonin transporter gene, cross-cultural similarities
INFLUENCED BY THE SITUATION!
Agreeableness
Softhearted vs. ruthless
Trusting vs. suspicious
Helpful vs. uncooperative
Attribution theory and its two classifications
Explains causes of behavior, internal (personal) and external (situational)
In-groups vs. out-groups
us, we, our vs. they, them, theirs
Characteristics of traits/possible dynamics of personality
Comparative (role of others) and non-conditional (role of context)
Narrative Identities and Life Stories: What they tell us and their key components
Internalized, evolving story about the self; Reconstruct past + imagine future.
Create meaning; Both actors and authors (creates feedback loop).
Key components/themes:
Redemption→ Initial negativity salvaged by good that follows
Contamination→ Initial positivity destroyed by negativity that follows
Agency→ Ability to create desired change in own and others’ lives
Communion → Interpersonal connection
Neuroticism
Worried vs. calm
Insecure vs. secure
Self-pitying vs. self-satisfied
Self-serving attribution
credit our own successes to internal sources and our failures to external sources
In-group favoritism (social identity theory)
People seek to enhance their self-esteem by identifying with specific social groups and perceiving these groups as being better than other groups