12.1 core dimensions

Question 1

personality

Answer 1

consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that define us across different situations and across time

Question 2

Idiographic approach to personality research

Answer 2

the goal is to develop a thorough understanding of the specific personality characteristics that make a person unique

Question 3

Nomothetic approach to personality research

Answer 3

the goal is to study aspects of personality across large groups to understand what features of personality distinguish different types of people
-ultimately, nomothetic research seeks to mathematically reveal the core personality traits that will allow us to categorize diff types of ppl

Question 4

Gordon allport

Answer 4

generated a list of thousands of words that we use to describe people in English and attempted to group them into a smaller number of personality dimensions

Question 5

later, psychologist relied on ppls responses to questionnaires

Answer 5

such questionnaires might require ppl to rate the extent to which diff personality attributes apply to them
others might have ppl rate the extent that they agree with different statements about themselves
on problem with relying on questionnaire responses is that ppl’s memory about themselves is not hundred percent accurate, so responses may not always be valid (also ppls perception of their own personality might be biased.)

Question 6

the barnum effect

Answer 6

any personality description presented to us can seem like an accurate description of our personality, because we tend to only think of instances in our lives when the description applied to us
-words best when personality attributes are so general they could apply to anyone

Question 7

Bertram forer’s study

Answer 7

research participants completed a personality test and then the researcher presented them with a personality description, deceiving them to think that the description was based on their answers to the personality test
all of the participants received the same personality description (regardless as to their responses on the personality test.)
later, participants rated the match bw the personality description they received and their actual personality
their average rating was 4.26 on a scale of 0 to 5

Question 8

raymond cattell

Answer 8

studied ppls responses to personality questionnaires and used the statistical technique of factor analysis to measure when people made similar responses to different personality attributes
by this method, he reduced hundreds of personality features to a smaller set of 16 categories that he viewed as the core dimension of human personality

Question 9

5 factor model

Answer 9

in the years after cattell developed his 16, subsequent research reduced these down to a smaller set of 5 core dimensions

Question 10

openness

Answer 10

ppl who are high on openness are very willing to pursue new experiences and are very creative and unconstrained by the views that are most popular in their society
ppl who are very low on openness are very cautious, very respectful of traditions and routines and they are not at all interested in expanding their horizons with new experiences

Question 11

conscientiousness

Answer 11

ppl who are very high on this are very reliable and insist on everything being organized, structured, and well planned out
ppl who are low on this go with the flow and dont really put much thought into planning or being organized

Question 12

extraversion

Answer 12

ppl who are very high are social and love the stimulation that being around other ppl provide
low end ppl prefer to be alone or to have one or two very close friends and are uncombable in groups of ppl

Question 13

agreeableness

Answer 13

high end ppl are friendly and accepting of others, they are never capable of an unkind act or saying mean or insensitive things
low end ppl are extremely selfish types who only act in order to further their own interests these are bullies who will use intimidation and aggression to get their way

Question 14

neuroticism

Answer 14

high end are often emotionally unstable, experiencing happiness one moment and extreme anxiety or despair the next
low end are emotionally calm ppl who have control over their emotional reactions a healthy self esteem and don’t let small problems bother them

Question 15

the horrors of world war II

Answer 15

provided the early impetus for research into human personality

Question 16

theodore adorno

Answer 16

suggested a personality dimension called authoritarian personality

Question 17

authoritarian personality

Answer 17

ppl high on this dimension cling stubbornly to their personal beliefs
they also have a tendency to view themselves as belonging to an inherently superior group, which is a bias called us vs. them thinking

• used to help explain:
• nazi atrocities against jews and others, as well as their military aggression during world war II
• the racial discrimination and human rights violations committed by south Africans nation party through their policy of apartheid
• the ongoing human rights violations and discrimination experience by black americans

Question 18

robert altemyer

Answer 18

right wing authoritarianism

1. the tendency to blindly obey the orders and rules developed by organizations of power within the society
2. a tendency to favour aggressive methods for suppressing the views and efforts of ppl who oppose authority figures
3. a belief that the existing structure of society should be maintained at all costs. as in the case of those who worked so aggressively to oppose women’s efforts to gain the right to vote

to gain power, politicians have exploited the discriminatory views of ppl high on this dimension

Question 19

altemeyer study

Answer 19

when low RWA ppl participated in a global simulation game
-the players worked peacefully together and achieved a world in which the environment was healthy, poverty was not a problem, and all citizens of the world had enough to eat
when high RWA ppl played
the players failed to cooperate and the game quickly descended into constant warfare, finally ending in a global nuclear war

Question 20

Hexaco model of personality

Answer 20

emphasized an honesty-humility dimension

• those who rate high on this dimension are honest and engage ppl authentically without ever tying to manipulate others or deceive them
• low on this dimension are prone to lie, cheat and steal to achieve their own selfish goals they also have the tendency to brag shamelessly about and exaggerate their abilities and accomplishments

Question 21

The dark triad

Answer 21

machiavellianism
psychopathy
narcissim

Question 22

machiavellianism

Answer 22

those rate high on this trait are very likely to use lies and to manipulate ppls emotions in pursuit of their own selfish goals

Question 23

psychopathy

Answer 23

ppl who rate high on this dimension lack emotional responses that make others remorseful for causing others pain and fearful of being punished for bad behaviour

Question 24

narcissism

Answer 24

people who rate high on this dimension consider themselves better than everyone and act as though the world should revolve around them

Question 25

temperament

Answer 25

the word that we use to describe differences in patterns of babies behaviour , on dimensions like energy level and moodiness

Question 26

3 year olds calssified as ..

Answer 26

well adjusted: good self control, higher confidence, and greater calmness when encountering new ppl or situations
under controlled: more impulsive, more restless, and more emotionally unstable
inhibited: high level of discomfort in social situations and fearful when encountering strangers

Question 27

10 yrs later under controlled children

Answer 27

most likely to express externalizing behaviours (fighting and disobeying) and they were somewhat more likely to engage in internalizing behaviours (expressions of anxiety and crying easily)

Question 28

10 yrs later inhibited children

Answer 28

internalizing behaviours

Question 29

young adulthood under controlled

Answer 29

more likely to have major conflicts in their relationships with friends and romantic partners

Question 30

temperament interacts with how ppl treat us

Answer 30

our tendencies as babies influence the behaviour of ppl around us, which helps to influence our personality development
-scores on the five personality dimensions tend to increase somewhat throughout early life and then stabilize during early or late middle age

Question 31

personality traits vs situational states

Answer 31

in particular situations, even ppl who are typically calm might get into intense emotional and behavioural states

Question 32

types of situations that control thoughts feelings and behaviours

Answer 32

locations
associations
activities
our own current subjective state

Question 33

the behaviourist attitude toward personality

Answer 33

our personality traits are actually just tendencies we learn from the history of rewards and punishments that we experience as consequences of our behaviour

Question 34

albert bandura

Answer 34

social cognitive theory of personality

Question 35

social cognitive theory of personality

Answer 35

rewards and punishments we receive as consequences for our behaviour are important and so are our own expectations about our own skills and abilities

reciprocal determinism
-the idea that our behavioural tendencies depend on
1 the history of rewards and punishments that we have experienced when engaging in behaviours
2 our internal thoughts/personal characteristics
3 external factors that are based on the situation we find ourselves in