Term
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Definition
| "an individuals unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits" |
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Term
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Definition
| A durable disposition to behave in a particular way in certain situations. |
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Term
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Definition
-Robert McCrae and Paul Costa
O- Openness to experiences
C- Conscientiousness
E- Extraversion
A- Agreeableness
N- Neuroticism |
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Term
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Definition
- Sigmund Frued
-Somewhat Controversial
- Jung, Adler, Erikson are other well-known theorists |
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Term
| Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory |
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Definition
3 main assumptions:
1. Personality is governed by unconscious forces that we can't control.
2. Childhood experiences play a significant role in determining adult personalities.
3. Personality is shaped by the manner in which children cope with their sexual urges.
- Ongoing internal conflict
- Stems from sexual and aggressive urges
- Conflicts arouse anxiety so we use defense mechanisms |
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Term
| Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory Personality Division |
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Definition
1. The id: Instinctive component, pleasure principle, PRIMARY PROCESS THINKING
2. The ego- Decision maker, SECONDARY PROCESS THINKING
3. The superego- moral component, right from wrong |
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Term
| 3 Layers of Psychoanalytic theories |
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Definition
1. The conscious layer- full awareness of the outside world
2. Preconcious layer- beneath the surface of awareness
3. Unconcious layer- difficult to retrieve material (majority of personality) |
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Term
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Definition
| "Largely unconcious reactions that protect a person from painful emotions." |
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Term
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Definition
| Rationalization, Repression, Projection, Displacement, Reaction Formation, Regression, Identification, Denial, Fantasy, Intellectualization, Undoing, Overcompensation, Sublimation |
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Term
| Rationalization, Repression, Projection |
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Definition
Rationalization: Creating false but possible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior. (denying attraction from rejected date)
Repression: burying sitressing thoughts or emotions into the unconcious
Projection: Attirbuting personal thoughts and feelings to another person ( I hate her so she must hate me) |
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Term
| Displacement, Reaction Formation, Regression |
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Definition
Displacement: Taking out anger and frustration on less threatening targets (yelling at mom after school)
Reaction Formation: Behaving in a way opposite of you're actual feelings (being nice to someone you hate)
Regression: Reversal to immature behaviors |
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Term
| Identification, Denial, Fantasy |
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Definition
Identification: Forming an alliance with a group of people in order to boost self-esteem (becoming friends with uglier or cooler people)
Denial: Refusing to face unpleasant reality
Fantasy: Gratifying frustrating desires in imaginary achievements |
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Term
| Intellectualization, Undoing |
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Definition
Intellectualization: cutting off emotion from harmful situations (someone with cancer focusing on learning about the disease then on dying)
Undoing: Atoning for or trying to dispel unacceptable acts |
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Term
| Overcompensation, Sublimation |
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Definition
Overcompensation: Covering up weaknesses by emphasizing desirable characteristics ( I'm a lover, not a fighter)
Sublimation: Acting out unacceptable impulses in socially acceptable ways (kickboxing classes) |
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Term
| Freud's Personality Development |
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Definition
-Believed that personality development begins from age 5
- Results from the outcome of distinct sexual urges
- Various stages of development
- Fixation can occur if a child does not successfully move from one stage to another, as can occur when caused by frustration or need for gratification. |
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Term
| Jung's Analytical Psychology |
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Definition
-Focused on the role of the unconcious in shaping personality.
- He argued that the unconscious comprised of two layers:
1. The personal unconscious ( contains the same material as as Freud's unconscious)
2. The collective unconscious ( contains traces of memories, shared by the entire human race, inherited from our ancestors)
- Also developed the idea of introverted and extroverted |
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Term
| Collective Unconscious (Jung's Theory) |
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Definition
- Does not contain memories of distinct personal experiences
- It contains archetypes- "emotionally charged images and thought forms that have universal meaning". |
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Term
| Adler's Individual Psychology |
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Definition
- Our drive for superiority is the most important human drive, NOT SEXUALITY.
- We use compensation- "efforts to overcome imagined or real inferiorites by developing one's abilities.
- Inferiority complex- if we are unsuccessful, we have exaggerated fealings of weakness and inadequacy.
- Birth order might also contribute to personality. |
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Term
| Overall Psychodynamic Theory Contributions |
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Definition
- Role of unconscious forces contributes to the personality.
- Role of internal conflict plays a key role in psychological distress.
-Influence of early childhood experiences can influence personality.
- People often rely on defense mechanisms |
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Term
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Definition
1. Poor testability- too vague to subject to personal tests.
2. Inadequate evidence- much of the theories are based upon people maybe fit for the experiment
3. Sexism- Theories have a male-oriented bias and do address women's issues. |
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Term
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Definition
"theoretical orientation based on premise that scientific psychology should study observable behavior".
- Theorists view personality as a "collection f response tendencies that are tied to various stimulus situations".
-Theory that both situational factors and personality work together to shape behavior
- Focus on personality development and how children's response tendencies are shaped by classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning. |
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Term
| Pavlov's Classical Conditioning |
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Definition
- a type of conditioning in which an unconditional stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a conditional response that originally evoked by another stimulus.
-May explain how people aquire particular emotional responses such as anxiety or phobias.
- Salivating at the sound of a bell. |
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Term
| Skinner's Operant Conditioning |
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Definition
- A form of conditioning where voluntary behaviors come to be controlled by their consequences
- Favorable consequences, known as reinforcers, tend to increase the frequency of behaviors
- Unfavorable consequences, such as punishers, tend to decrease the frequency of behaviors. |
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Term
| Bandura's Operational Learning |
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Definition
- Learning which occurs when an organism's response is influenced by the observation of others, also known as models.
-Unique as it involves cognition:
1. We must pay attention to others actions
2. Understand the consequences that follow others behaviors
3. Remember this information in order to copy it. |
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Term
| Bandura's Theory Main Importance |
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Definition
- Stressed the importance of self-efficacy- ones belief about one's ability to perform that should lead to expected outcomes.
-High-self efficacy = confidence
-Low-self efficacy = doubt in oneself
-One of the most important personality traits- tied to success and resistance |
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Term
| Behavioral Theory Criticism |
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Definition
- Gives too much credence to the influences of cognition
-Relies too heavily on animal models |
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Term
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Definition
" a theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, espescially their free will and their potential personal growth."
Based on:
1. An innate drive towards personal growth
2. We exercise free will to control our actions.
3. We are rational beings driven by conscious needs. |
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Term
| Roger's Person Centered Theory |
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Definition
-Believed that personality contains only the self-concept- " a collection of beliefs about one's own nature, unique qualities and typical behavior."
- Our self-concept is congruent with reality if our ideas about ourselves match our actual experiences.
- If our ideas do not match reality, then this is called incongruency, and it undermines our well-being. |
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Term
| Roger's Self-Concept and Development |
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Definition
- All humans have a need for affection, and early life experiences are key.
1. If parents make affection conditional, then children feel unworthy and develop incongruent self-concept.
2. If parents make their love unconditional, their children will feel worthy and develop congruent self-concepts. |
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Term
| Maslow's Theory of Actualization |
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Definition
- Human motives are organized into a hierarchy of needs- "a systematic arrangement of needs in order of priority, in which basic needs must be met before less basic needs.
-Humans have an innate drive towards personal growth and the greatest need is for self-actualization- the fulfillment of one's potential.
-People with extremely healthy personalities are "self-actualizing people".
-They have demonstrated significant personal growth, and tend to share certain ideal characteristics |
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Term
| Humanistic Perspectives- Credits and Criticism |
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Definition
Credited with:
1. Identifying the role of self-concept as a key element of personality.
2. Placing emphasis on a more positive outlook on human bheavior and personality.
Criticisms:
1. Poor testability
2. Unrealistic view of human nature
3. Inadequate evidence |
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Term
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Definition
-Views personality as a hierarchy of traits
- Emphasized biological differences that occur along the extraversion-introversion dimension:
Introverts- higher baseline physiological arousal --> avoid overly stimulating social situations
Extroverts: lower baseline physiological arousal --> seek social stimulation |
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Term
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Definition
- A heritability ratio is "an estimate of the proportion of trait variability in a population that is determined by variations in genetic inheritance."
- Twin studies: Heritability of personality is close to 50%
-Shared family environment has little effect on personality.
- As a result, biology has a greater influence than environment on personality traits. |
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Term
| Evolutionary Approach to Psychology |
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Definition
Evolutionary Psychology- "examines the evolutionary processes in terms of their adaptive value for members of a species over the curse of generations.
- David Buss: Cross-cultural presence of the Big-Five OCEAN traits are present across cultures because they had a significant adaptive value for humans |
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Term
| Evolutionary Psychology Criticisms |
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Definition
1. Statistical problems with the estimations of hereditary influence
2. Hindsight bias means we can observe the past, but not predict the future.
3. No comprehensive biological theory of personality. |
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Term
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Definition
-National Character- links between culture and personality, have been studied in order to determine if certain traits are more prevalent in certain cultures.
-Little to no support
- People's perceptions of national character seem to be rooted in stereotypes. |
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Term
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Definition
Standardization- are uniformity of procedures used to score and proctor a test?
Norms- Can we determine where a score ranks relative to other scores on a test?
Reliability- Provide a consistent measurement?
Vailidity- Does the test measure what its supposed to? |
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Term
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Definition
1. Self-report inventories ask individuals about their behavior.
(responses can be innacurate, wide range of traits can be measured)
Two kinds:
1. The Sixteen Personality Factor Test (16PF): measures 16 basic source traits
2. The NEO inventory is designed to measure the OCEAN traits |
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Term
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Definition
-Individuals respond to ambiguous stimuli in order to reveal aspects of their personality
(more difficult to decieve the tester but validity and and reliability are lower)
2 kinds:
1. The Rorschach test of inkblot pictures
2. The Thematic Apperception test (TAT) are pictures of various scenes- tell what's going on and tell a story. |
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Term
| Person Peception- 5 key sources of information (SAVANS) |
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Definition
| " The process of forming impressions of others" 1. Appearance 2. Verbal Behavior 3. Actions 4. Nonverbal Messages 5. Situations |
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Term
| Snap judgments vs. Systematic judgments |
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Definition
| Snap judgments: 1. Systematic Judgments: 1. Occurs when forming our impressions of others can affect our welfare and happiness |
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Term
| Attributions- what types/when they occurr |
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Definition
| 1. Internal/External 2. Stable/Unstable 3. Controllability/Uncontrollability Occurr when: 1. They behave in weird or unusual ways. 2. Events have personal consequences 3. Motives underlying someone's behavior are suspicious |
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Term
| Perciever Expectations- Confirmation Bias + Self-fulfilling prophecy |
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Definition
| Confirmation Bias- "behaving towards someone in a way that confirms your hypothesis about them" -Self-fulfilling prophecy- "expectations about a person cause the person to behave in that way to confirm expectations" Self-fulfilling prophecy: |
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Term
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Definition
| Cognitive shortcuts when we categorize people based on how similar they are to us. See similar individuals as being in the "in-group" and others different from us as being in the "out-group". -More favorable attitude towards our in-group. - See outgroup members as more similar than they really are (outgroup homogenity effect) -Out group members more visible when they are the minority in the crowd. |
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Term
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Definition
| "widely held beliefs about people's characteristics because of group membership" Exist because of: 1. Less thought process but innacurate 2. Confirmatory bias 3. Self-fulfilling prophecy |
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Term
| Fundamental Attribution Error/ Defensive Attiribution |
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Definition
| "explaining someone's behaviors as the result of something internal" 2 steps: 1. Focus on the person (initial attribution) 2. Taking the situation into account (personal attributions) - People often skip step 2 Defensive attribution: "tendency to blame victims for their distress so one feels less likely to be victimized in a similar way." |
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Term
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Definition
| Prejudice- a negative attitude towards members of a group. Discrimination- behaving differently, usually unfairly, towards a group of people. (often accompanied by prejudice) |
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Term
| Old Fashioned vs. Modern Discrimination |
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Definition
More blatant discrimination has declined while more private discrimination has emerged.
Modern discrimination: Privately harbor negative attitudes toward minority groups, but express them only when it is safe and justified to do so. |
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Term
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Definition
1. The authoritarian personality: characterized by prejudice toward any group different from one's self.
2. Cognitive distortions and expectations- fundamental attribution error.
3. Competition between groups- fear of losing status
4. Threats to social identity- group's collective identity is threatened (in-group favoritism, out-group denigration) |
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Term
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Definition
- Cognitive strategies- try to override stereotypes using cognitive effort
-Intergroup contact:
-Superordinate goals: goals that require two or more groups to work together to achieve a mutual goal. |
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Term
| Key Themes of Person Perception |
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Definition
-Efficiency: Default to quick judgment
-Selectivity: Focuses on aspects of others that influence our expectations
-Consistency: First impressions DO matter- we ignore subsequent info after intial info (primary effect) |
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Term
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Definition
Persuasion: involves the communication of arguments and information intended to change another person's attitudes.
Attitudes: beliefs and feelings about people, objects and ideas. |
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Term
| Elements of the Persuasion Process |
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Definition
1. The source: the communicator
2. The reciever: recieves the information
3. The message: information transmitted by the source
4. The channel: the medium |
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Term
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Definition
- More effective when:
-Source has high credibility, have expertise or are believable.
-The source is likable- increased when the source is similar or the same as the reciever. |
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Term
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Definition
-Two-sided arguments are more effective and increase credibility.
-Emotional appeals shift attitudes.
-When they create positive feelings in the reciever.
-Senders encode ideas into messages |
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Term
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Definition
1. Mood (optimistic or pessimistic)
2. Reciever's need for cognition
3. Forewarning, reducing the impact of the argument on the reciever.
4. Harder to persuade when the message is incompatible with existing beliefs. |
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Term
| Elaboration Likelihood Model |
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Definition
| -our feelings about a persuasive message are most important in determining whether attitudes will change. |
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Term
| Two ways to recieve a message |
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Definition
1. Peripheral route: most commonly used, is easier changed and not based on logic
2. Central route: usually more effective but more durable and difficult to change. Involves a lot of thinking and processing.
For central to override peripheral:
1. Reciever must be willing to process the message
2. Reciever must be able to understand the message |
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Term
| Conformity vs. Compliance pressures |
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Definition
Conformity: yielding to real or imagined social pressure
Compliance: Yielding to social pressure in public behavior without changing private beliefs. |
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Term
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Definition
-COnformity to wrong answers in mock perceptions test- group size influenced conformity with a peak of 7.
(line test) |
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Term
| Why do people conform? 2 types of influence/ bystander effect |
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Definition
Normative Influence- occurs when people conform to social norms for fear of negative social consequences.
Informational Influence: Operates when people look to other people in how to behave in ambiguous situations.
- Type of informational: Bystander Effect: the tendency for people to be less likely to provide help when others are around |
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Term
| Resisting Comformity Pressures |
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Definition
- Can come from either types of influences
- Try to pay more attention to social forces operating on you.
-Identify someone in the group whose views match yours.
-Bring along a friend with similar views |
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Term
| Obediance/Authority Figures/Milgram Study |
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Definition
Obediance- "a form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct demands, usually from an authoritative figure."
Milgram- shock test- 65% of people went to the highest shock level. |
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Term
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Definition
Strongest when:
- Demands increase gradually
- Others take responsibility for your actions
- We are motivated to meet the authority figure's expectations
CONCLUSION:
human behavior is determined more by the power of the situation than by personal character |
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Term
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Definition
"Once people agree to do something, they tend to stick with it"
foot-in-the-door technique: getting people to agree to a small request so they will agree to a larger one later
lowball technique: getting someone to agree to a proposition before the hidden costs are revealed |
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Term
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Definition
"Exploits the tendency for people to think they should pay back in kind what they recieve from others"
Door-in-face technique: Involves the act of making a large request that will presumably be turned down in order to increase the chance that they will agree to a smaller request later. |
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Term
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Definition
If people believe that something is scarce, then they will be more likely to want to buy it.
Ads that say: Limited time only, time is running out, etc. |
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Term
| Interpersonal Communication |
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Definition
"An interactional process in which one person sends a message to another."
-must involve two or more
- involves a series of actions and is a process
-not "one way" but bi-directional |
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Term
| 3 New elements of the commucation process |
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Definition
Channel- refers to the sensory channel through which a message is recieved.
Noise- anything interfering with the act of expressing or recieving a message.
Context- The situation in which communication takes place |
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Term
| Communication Positives and Negatives |
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Definition
-Good communcation enhances satisfaction in relationships.
- Poor communication is a major cause of break-ups. |
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Term
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Definition
- the transmission of meaning from one person to another through symbols and means other than words.
General Principles:
1. It conveys emotions- facial expressions and body posture can convey without words
2. Multi-channeled- anything from facial expressions to body language.
3. Ambiguous- can be difficult to read.
4. May contradiuct verbal messages- we may say one thing but our body says something different.
5. Culture-Bound- nonverbal signs can vary from one culture to another. |
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Term
| Nonverbal communication- Personal Space/Proxemics |
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Definition
Proxemics- The study of personal space
Personal Space- a zone of space surrounding that person that is felt to belong to that person
Preference for amount of personal space:
1. Culture
2. Status of an individual
3. Familiarity of a person |
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Term
| Nonverbal Communication- Facial Expression |
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Definition
-Convey emotions, recognized by people around the world (fear, disgust, surprise, anger, happiness, sadness)
-Display rules: Govern the expression of emotion to what is appropriate to innappropriate
-Males show less expression than females |
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Term
| Nonverbal Communication- Eye Contact |
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Definition
- Duration of eye contact is extremely important- high levels are associated with attentiveness, credibility, and social skills
-Some offensives judge eye contact as offensive (Native Americans)
- Also conveys intensity of feelings ( affected by gender |
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Term
| Nonverbal communcation- Body Language (Kinesics) |
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Definition
Kinesics- the study of communication through body movements.
- Open posture: arms uncrossed and at side conveys a relaxed feeling
-Closed posture: arms crossed indicates stress or tense
Hand gestures emphasize the words we speak |
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Term
| Nonverbal Communication- Touch |
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Definition
Where and whom we touch conveys a variety of meanings, especially status and power.
- strong norms that govern where we touch friends
-Female to female touch each other more than male to male.
-Females regard cross-gender touch as support, while males regard it as sexual interest or power. |
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Term
| Nonverbal communication- Paralanguage |
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Definition
Paralanguage- Refers to how something is said rather than what is said.
-Variations in vocal emphasis can give words different meanings.
-Variations in speech also convey emotion (talking quicker or slower) |
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Term
| Nonverbal Messages- Detecting Deception |
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Definition
-Liars often say less, not more.
-Liars are not necessarily good story tellers, include less unusual content
-Liars are more tense and make a more negative impression.
-Excessive hesitations, blinking, dialated pupils
Use of polygraph-
Really an emotion detector- indicate emotional arousal |
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Term
| Significance of Nonverbal Communication |
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Definition
Nonverbal sensitivity-" the ability to accurately encode (express) and decode (understand) nonverbal cues.
-Women tend to be better encoders and decoders.
- May stem from higher motivation.
-Anyone can improve nonverbal skills |
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Term
| Effective Communication: Positive Interpersonal Climate |
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Definition
1. Learn to feel and communicate empathy (adopting another's fram of reference so you can understand their point of view).
-Being sensitive to other's need and being accepting
-Providing support does not mean you must also agree with that individuals behavior.
2. Withhold judgment.
3. Strive for honesty.
4. Approach others as equal.
5. Express your opinions tentatively |
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Term
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Definition
1. Indicate your open to conversation by commenting on surroundings.
2. Introduce yourself.
3. Select a topic others can relate to.
4. Keep the convo ball rolling.
5. Make a smooth exit. |
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Term
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Definition
Self-Disclosure- Sharing info about yourself with another (imp. to adjustment)
1. Sharing info plays a key role in mental health.
2. EMotional self-disclosures leads to closeness.
3. In romantic relationships, highly associated with relationship satisfaction. |
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Term
| Reducing risks of self-disclosure |
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Definition
1. Gradually disclose information
2. Dont disclose more info than others are willing to disclose.
3. Watch for nonverbal "stop cues"
4. Be aware of the risks of electronic disclosures. |
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Term
| Self-Disclosure and Relationship Development |
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Definition
-Self-disclosure changes over the course of relationships
-Beginning: high levels of mutual self-disclosure-ultimately tapers off
-In established relationships, disclosures are no necessarily reciprocated. |
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Term
| Self-Disclosure and Established Relationships |
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Definition
Movement away from self-disclosure:
1. More of a need for support rather than recirpocal disclosure.
2. Need for privacy outweighs need for mutual disclosure. |
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Term
| Culture, gender, and self-disclosure |
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Definition
-Personal self-disclosures occur more in inidivudalistic cultures
-Disclosures about group memberships are the norm in collectivist cultures
-Females tend to disclose more than males
-Strongest within same sex friendships |
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Term
| Tips for Effective Listening: SOLER |
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Definition
- Face the other person SQUARELY
-Adopt an OPEN posture
- LEAN toward the other person
-Maintain good EYE contact
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Term
| Continued tips for effective listening |
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Definition
1. Hear the other person out before you speak
2. Engage in active listening by asking for clarification and paraphrasing what the person said
3. Pay attention to the other's nonverbal cues. |
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Term
| Communication Apprehension |
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Definition
| Communication Apprehension- or anxiety cause byu |
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