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Psych test 2

Terms

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Big Five personality traits
i.    Openness to new experience
ii.    Conscientiousness
iii.    Extraversion
iv.    Agreeableness
v.    Neuroticism

limitations of trait theory
i.    Problems with factor analysis
ii.    Little offered in terms of importance of organization
iii.    Lacking implications for therapy and change

Low self-monitoring
consistent across situations, does not adjust behavior according to the situation
High self-monitoring
you adjust your behavior to the situation
strengths of trait theory
i.    Simple, scientifically validated way of assessing individual differences in average psychological tendencies
ii.    Capacity to move from a psychological to a biological level of analysis

What did Allport mean by “The same fire that melts the butter hardens the egg”?
a.    The same environmental forces can have different effects on people depending on their nature
What are Eysenck’s three superfactors?
i.    Introversion/extraversion
ii.    Neuroticism
iii.    Psychoticism

Which of Eysenck's three superfactors has the strongest biological basis?
introversion/extraversion
What are some of the criticisms of the Big Five?
a.    Offers little insight into the causal dynamics underlying psychopathology and is more useful for clinicians to describe than explain disorders
b.    Has not generated unique therapeutic methods for helping people t
What is the fundamental lexical hypothesis, and how was it used to construct the Big Five model of personality? 
a.    Fundamental lexical hypothesis: most important individual differences in human transactions will come to be encoded in a single term in most languages; those terms were then pinpointed
Which three of the Big Five appear to be most universal?
c.    Most universal: Conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness
How do older adults differ from young adults on the Big Five?
d.    Older adults score lower in neuroticism, extraversion, and openness and higher in agreeableness and conscientiousness than adolescents and young adults
what are traits?
an enduring psychological characteristic of an individual; or a type of psychological construct (a “trait construct”) that refers to such characteristics
How does using traits to explain behavior run the risk of being tautologous?  What was Eysenck’s attempted solution to this problem?
Eyesenck’s attempted solution is that his research demonstrates biological reasoning (lemon drop test for intra/extraversion, autonomic nervous system for neuoriticsm), which removes the circular reasoningd.    Eyesenck’s attemp
What is the controversy in the person-situation controversy?
Person-sitaution controversy: a controversy between psychologists who emphasize the importance of personal (internal) variables in determining behavior and those who emphasize the importance of situational (external) influences
What arguments do trait theorists make in response to those who suggest that traits have little predictive value?
Situationists say .4 is small, trait theorists say traits do have predictive value because .4 is not that small, and trait theorists say situational effects are the same size, .3 to .4 which is not that small; also, traits are general trends, some behavio
What is meant by functional autonomy?
Allport’s concept that a motive may become independent of its origins; in particular, motives in adults may become independent of their earlier basis in tension reduction
Understand the technique and general logic of factor analysis as a method for identifying essential traits
Factor analysis: a statistical tool for summarizing the ways in which a large number of variables go together, or co-occur; people that answer one question one way are likely to answer another question one way
What are some pitfalls or limitations of factor analysis?
Criticisms of factor analysis: identifies patterns of covariation in test responses, but does not answer the question of why the responses covary
How many source traits did Cattell identify?
16
Geen's research (how does it support Eysenck's theory of optimal arousal)?
Extraverts and introverts differ in their physiological responses to the same noise level (introverts show a greater level of response) and each functions best at his or her preferred noise level
Eysenck's neurological explanation for intra/extraversion
Eysenck hypothesised balance regulated by ARAS (Ascending Reticular Activating System) which is a structure in the brain stem
arousal hypothesis
introverts are chronically over-aroused, thus they react sooner and more strongly to external stimulation; thus avoid stimulation (they already have plenty)
Kagan's inhibited child
Relative to the uninhibited child, the inhibited child reacts to unfamiliar persons or evens with restraint, avoidance, and distress, takes a longer time to relax in new situations, and has more unusual fears and phobias
Kagan's uninhibited child
The uninhibited child seems to enjoy these very same situations that seem so stressful to the inhibited child
function of amygdala in Kagan's findings
Amygdala is centrally involved in fear response; fMRI was used to determine the exact brain regions that became active as people viewed the familiar and novel faces; provided clear support for the hypothesis that uninhibited versus inhibited persons diffe
Kagan: is biology destiny?
Kagan claims “any predisposition conferred by our genetic endowment is far from being a life sentence; there is no inevitable adult outcome of a particular infant temperament”
Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory
According to Gray, people differ in the relative sensitivity of their BIS or BAS systems. The BIS is responsible for the personality dimension of anxiety and the BAS is responsible for impulsivity.
Behavioral Activation System (BAS)
is responsive to incentives
Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)
is responsive to cues for punishment, frustration, and uncertainty
What does research on brain asymmetry/hemispheric dominance have to say about vulnerability to experiencing positive or negative emotions?

Left hemisphere= emotionally positive

Right hemisphere= emotionally negative

Which hemisphere do Kagan's inhibited babies show more activation in when aroused?
Inhibited babies showed more activation in right brain hemisphere
What are neurotransmitters and what role do they generally serve?
Neurotransmitters: chemical substances that transmit information from one neuron to another (ie: dopamine and serotonin)

Recognize which behaviors or personality factors appear to be related to: Dopamine, Serotonin, Cortisol, and Testosterone

Dopamine: associated with pleasure

Serotonin: increases social, affiliative behavior

Cortisol: associated with the stress response

Testosterone: associated with dominance, competitiveness, and aggression

heritability
Heritability: the proportion of observed variance in scores to a specific population that can be attributed to genetic factors
genotype
The entire genetic identity of an individual, including alleles, or gene forms, that do not show as outward characteristics.
phenotype
The observable traits or characteristics of an organism, for example hair color, weight, or the presence or absence of a disease.
common misconceptions about heritability
common misconceptions about heritability: heritability dictates how much of a trait is inherited; because a characteristic has an inherited component, it cannot be changed
facts about heritability
heritability index is an estimate of the proportion of the variance in a characteristic, measured in a particular way, in a specific population, that can be attributed to genetic variance; ie: height is significantly determined by genes but can be influen
benefits of twin/adoption studies
twins are genetically identical so any differences must be attributable to environment; particularly differences may result from being raised separately- adoption studies
three kinds of gene-environment interactions
a.    Same environmental experiences may have different effects on individuals with different genetic constitutions
b.    Individuals with different genetic constitutions may evoke different responses from the environmen
What is the central aim of evolutionary personality psychology?
to identify psychological mechanisms and behavioral strategies as evolved solutions to the adaptive problems our species has faced over millions of years
What does the socioevolutionary approach predict about sex differences in mating strategies? 

Male: Impregnate as many women as possible, Be assured of passing on your genes

Female: Be choosy, Look for mate to help in protecting and raising offspring, “Bad choice” can be dangerous

differences in sexual jealousy
i.    male: more jealous about physical affair
ii.    female: more jealous about emotional affair

How do socioevolutionary psychologists explain self-destructive behavior like overeating, lack of exercise?
A long time ago, it was adaptive to overeat or conserve energy and this is a remnant of these techniques
What is the sensation-seeking personality, and what is Zuckerman’s physiological explanation for it?
a.    Zuckerman -- “a trait defined by the need for varied, novel, and complex sensations and experiences, and willingness to take physical & social risks for the sake of such experience.”
b.    Low level
kelly's personal constructs
Personal constructs: our interpretations of the world that we use to perceive, construe, or interpret events
how are similarity and contrast necessary for the formation of a construct?
b.    Similarity pole: defined by the way in which two elements are perceived to be similar
c.    Contrast pole: defined by the way in which a third element is perceived as different from two other elements that are used
how did Kelly assess someone's constructs?
Role Construct Repertory Test (Rep Test): test-taker develops a list of people and constructs about how they are similar and different; used to elicit test-taker’s constructs
submerged pole
submerged pole: one end of a bipolar construct is not available for verbalization
range corollary
Range corollary:  “A construct is convenient for the anticipation of a finite range of events only.”  Each construct has a range and focus of convenience.
cognitive complexity
Cognitive complexity: an aspect of a person’s cognitive functioning that is defined at one end by the use of many constructs with many relationships to one another
how does kelly explain feelings of anxiety?
Anxiety: the recognition that the events with which one is confronted lie outside the range of convenience of one’s construct system; one is anxious when one is without constructs, when one has “lost his structural grip on events”, when
how does kelly explain feelings of fear?
Fear: fear occurs when a new construct appears to be about to enter the construct system
how does kelly explain feelings of threat?
Threat: the awareness of imminent comprehensive change in one’s core structure; a person feels threatened when a major shakeup is about to occur in the construct system
fixed-role therapy

a.    Fixed role therapy: the goal of fixed-role therapy is to enable clients to think about themselves in new ways; take on a new personality in a character sketch

b.    Helps clients adjust their personal construct

social cognitive theory: four components that make up the structure of personality?
a.    Competencies and skills
b.    Beliefs and expectancies
c.    Goals and intentions
d.    Evaluative standards

Bandura's theory of reciprocal determinism
The mutual, back and forth effects of variables on one another; in social-cognitive theory, a fundamental causal principle in which  personal, environmental, and behavioral factors are viewed as causally influencing one another
observational learning
a.    Observational learning/modeling: people’s cognitive capacities enable them to learn complex forms of behavior merely by observing a model performing these behaviors
b.    People learn general rules of behavio
importance of perceived self-efficacy
importance of perceived self-efficacy: perception influences a number of behaviors that are necessary for human achievement
Sources of self-efficacy

i.    Physiological and emotional states
ii.    Vicarious experiences (models)
iii.    Social persuasion
iv.    Mastery experiences – most influential source

internal/external locus of control
b.    Internal LOC:  my own actions determine whether or not desired outcomes occur
c.    External LOC:  things outside of me (luck or chance, powerful others) determine whether or not desired outcomes occur
Mischel's Cognitive-Affective Personality System
a.    CAPS: cognitive and emotional personality variables are seen as being complexly linked to one another; different aspects of social situations, or “situational features” activate subsets of the overall personality system; p
If...then contingencies
b.    If…then contingencies: investigators plotted an individual person’s behavior in each of a variety of different situations; captures idiosyncratic tendencies exhibited by unique individuals; individuals have distinctive pr
efficacy vs. outcome expectancies
i.    Efficacy: one’s confidence that he/she has the ability to perform certain tasks
ii.    Outcome: one’s prediction of the likely consequences of that behavior

What expectancies and attributions are associated with depression and learned helplessness, e.g., what constitutes the pessimistic explanatory style?  
a.    Pessimistic – emphasizes internal, stable, and global causes
i.    Linked to depression
ii.    Depressed also more likely to explain success w/ unstable and/or external attributions
i
entity and incremental implicit theories
i.    Entity theory:  characteristic or trait viewed as fixed
ii.    Incremental theory:  characteristic or trait viewed as malleable, changeable

self-discrepancies

cognitive mechanisms that contribute to emotional experience

People experience negative emotions when they detect a discrepancy between how things really are going for them (actual self) and a personal standard; discrepancies with different

real-ought/real-ideal discrepancies
c.    Real-ought discrepancy → anxiety, agitation
d.    Real-ideal discrepancy → sadness, dejection

self-regulatory style (prevention vs. promotion)
i.    Promotion: people who evaluate their actions primarily through ideal standards; motivated toward promoting well-being, which they do by focusing on positive outcomes (either attaining positive outcomes or avoiding their loss once they
implications of social-cognitive theory for clinical applications
a.    Cognitive therapy involves a collaborative effort between therapist and patient to determine which distorted, maladaptive cognitions are creating the difficulty and then to replace them with other more realistic, adaptive cognitions
According to Bandura, what are some of the cognitive mechanisms we use to avoid self-loathing when our behavior violates our moral standards?
a.    Redefine the behavior:  moral justification, palliative comparisons, use of euphemisms
b.    Displace or diffuse responsibility
c.    Disregard or distort consequences
d.   &
What are the goals of social-cognitive therapy? 
a.    Goal:  change dysfunctional cognitions (beliefs/expectancies, goals, self-evaluations)

sen loves
megumi
what are the motivational explanations for the effect?
-better than avg heuristic -selective memory and appraisal of self -biased view of referent group -person positivity bias.
what are the non motivational explanations for the effect?
-egocentrism -focalism -generalized group
What are the result of I, We and the effects of others on Me?
-"I": differentiation, contrast effect, espeially for downward comparisons. -"We": Integration, assimilation especially for upward comparisons.
what is the term that people tend to compare themselves from the recent and now?
temporal comparisons
what is The term refers to a process where we imagine how other people see us?
Reflected Appraisals
what are the evidence support symbolic interactionism?
-correlations between self views and others' view of self are small. -correlations between self views and how we think that others see us is very high.
what is the term that people attempt to convey info about or images of oneself to others?
self-presentation
what is the term that is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true.
self fulfilling prophecy
what is the "cold" perspective in which people are motivated to maintain consistent beliefs about themselves?
self-verification
what is the "hot" perspective in which people are motivated to maintain high self-esteem?
self-enhancement