Psychology 3101: Introduction to Personality

Study Guide for Exam 3, November 13th, 2014, in class

ALL TOPICS listed here are fair game for exam questions

FROM PREVIOUS LECTURES:

You should still know the major dimensions of personality for material on this exam:
make sure you havent forgotten the traits/behaviors associated with the Big Five,
since these traits are discussed in Exam 3 material

Lecture 13: Freud, Psychoanalysis, & the Unconscious (3/25/13

& 3/27/13)
Freuds ideas based on:
Intensive case studies (20-30 people)
Freuds theory focuses on the interplay and tension between various combinations
of unconscious and conscious forces within people.
Behavior = the outcome of struggles and compromises between unconscious
motives, drives, needs, and conflicts that have been shaped by our
animal/evolutionary past.
Know Freuds stages of development.
For each of Freuds stages, know the corresponding aspects:
Physical focus
o Oral: mouth, lips and tongue
o Anal: anus and organs of elimination
o Phallic: sexual organs
o Latency: n/a
o Genital: sexuality in the context of a mature relationship

Psychological theme
o Oral: dependence, passivity
o Anal: obedience and self-control
o Phallic: gender identity ands sexuality
o Latency: learning and cognitive development
o Genital: creation and enhancement of life

Adult
o
o
o
o
o

character type
Oral: dependent or overly independent
Anal: obedient and obsessed with order, or anti-authority and chaotic
Phallic: over- or under-sexualized
Latency: n/a
Genital: a mature adult

Terms:
Psychic determinism

The assumption that everything that happens in persons mind, and therefore
everything that a person thinks and does, has a specific cause.
Id
Irrational and emotional part of the mind
Superego
The moral part of the mind
Ego
The rational part of the mind
Psychic conflict
Because the mind is divided into distinct and independent parts, it can
conflict with itself.
Defense mechanisms (what are they for? how do they work? what are some
examples we covered?)
Denial
o Failure to accept or acknowledge reality
o Powerless individuals who believe they are really powerful; individuals
who say Oh no! on hearing about the death of a friend; denying the
death of a pet; behavior of some Jews in WW2 concentration camps;
No! Thats not possible!
Rationalization
o Where behavior is reinterpreted so it appears reasonable and
acceptable is in line with self-concept. The action is understood, but the
true motive is not.
o You have to be cruel to be kind.
Repression
o Banishing the past from present awareness; more complex, farther
reaching and longer lasting than denial
o I forgot.
Displacement*
o Replace one object of emotion with a different (safer) object
o Professor dart boards
Intellectualization
o A process whereby the instinctual impulse is not denied access to
consciousness, but the impulse is denied the normal accompanying
emotion
o Mother who fantasizes about strangling her child without feelings of
anger or guilt; After a prolonged period of discomfort, the patient
expired.
Reaction Formation
o Where individuals defend against the expression of an unacceptable
impulse by expressing its opposite
o Homophobia, parents who are hostile toward their children become
extremely overprotective; Pornography is the biggest menace to
humanity there is!

Projection*
o Where internal, unacceptable qualities of oneself are seen as qualities
of others
o Hostility in oneself leads to seeing it in others
o Im surrounded by morons!
Sublimation
o Where the original object of gratification is replaced by a higher cultural
goal more removed from direct expression of the instinct
o Choosing an occupation that allows one to aggress (such as dentistry,
pro football, host of The Weakest Link); High art, other occupational
choices

Parapraxes
A leakage from the unconscious mind manifesting as a mistake, accident,
omission or memory lapse
Know the five critiques of Freud that we discussed
Excessive complexity
Case study method
Vague definitions
Untestability
Sexism
Know the five lasting contributions of Freud to psychological research (Five
Freudian ideas that have stood the test of time (and experiment).)
Much of mental life is unconscious
Cognitive, emotional, motivational
Ambivalence is common in human mental life
Parallel competition, compromise solutions
Stable personality patterns begin in childhood
Childhood experience shapes personality and social relationships
Mental representations of self, others and relationships
Guide interaction with others
Influence form and expression of psychopathology
Personality development entails
Management of sexual and aggressive feelings
Movement from immature dependence to mature interdependence
(you do not need to know about Freudian psychotherapy techniques)

Lecture 14 Neo-Freudian Theory

Neo-Freudians all tend to:
1. de-emphasize sexuality
2. less emphasis on unconscious, more emphasis on conscious thought processes
3. less emphasis on instinctual drives, focus more on importance and development
of interpersonal relationships

(Do NOT need to know Jungs life history)

Know about archetypes and be familiar with the examples we discussed
Ego: the conscious personality
Persona: the social mask, the public face
Shadow: the negative side of personality, errors
Anima: femininity, great mother, emotion, fantasy
Animus: masculinity, great father, unfounded opinion
Self: potential for unity, guiding force, totality
Terms:
Collective unconscious
A result of the history of the human species, all people share inborn racial
memories and ideas, most of which reside in the unconscious.
Archetypes
Go to the core of how people think about the world, both consciously and
unconsciously.
Inherited tendencies to produce certain types of symbols, fantasies and ideas
Neurotic needs (Karen Horney)
Needs that people feel but that are neither realistic nor truly desirable can
lead to self-defeating behavior and relationship problems because the needs are
contradictory
Know the difference between Jungs view of neuroses, compared to Freud
Neurosis -> emotional disturbances that signal need to transform ones
personality of the better
Know the basic difference between Freuds stages of development and Eriksons
stages of development (you do not need to know the list of Eriksons stages)
At each stage, he believed there was a crisis the potential to develop in a
healthy or pathological direction.
Know Karen Horneys ideas about power envy and her idea about basic anxiety
Power envy: women envy freedom to pursue interests and ambitions: which is
due to the structure of society, not womens bodies
Basic anxiety: fear of being alone
(you will not be asked about Jungs life and visions, and you will not be asked to
directly compare/contrast the overall structure of Jung vs. Freuds unconscious)

Lecture 14, part II Object Relations and Attachment Theory

Transference - applying old patterns of behavior and emotions to new relationships;
patterns of relationships with others that are consistently repeated with
different partners throughout life
What is Object Relations Theory?
The analysis of interpersonal relationships
Purpose

Minimize discrepancies between true and false selves

Help the rational resources of the mind work through irrational defenses
To help the client see important people in his life the way they actually
are
What purpose do transitional objects serve?
Used to bridge the gap between private fantasy and reality; source of comfort
when the adult is not available; help the child face the world alone
What purpose does the false self serve?
Similar to Jungs persona; to some degree, this is normal and necessary (basic
social etiquette and politeness)
What is Attachment Theory?
Focus on the history of experiences between individuals and their caretakers
(attachement figures)
What are the functions of attachment in infancy?
Proximity maintenance
Staying near the caregiver
Safe haven
Seeking out caregiver for comfort when distressed
What are the three stages of separation distress?
Protest: persistent attempts to re-establish contact
Despair: prolonged inactivity/helplessness
Detachment: withdrawal from/coolness toward parent/lover
Know the three main attachment styles seen in early childhood( as defined by early
attachment researchers)
Be able to define the three common attachment styles:
Secure
Parents are consistently responsive and caring
Trust that others will provide love and support
Anxious/Ambivalent
Parents are inconsistent or unpredictable
Fear abandonment; feel their needs might not be met
Avoidant
Parents reject childs need for care and comfort
Defensively detach/withdraw from others
Understand that in Ainsworths Strange Situation experiment, researchers
observe the way babies react when their parent returns to the room. The longer it
takes the child to be calmed by the presence of the mother/caregiver, the less likely
that baby is to be securely attached
What kinds of adult behaviors are related to each attachment style?
Secure
Find it easy to form long, secure, trusting relationships

easy to be with
Anxious/Ambivalent
Obsessed with romantic partners/close relationships
Extreme jealousy, more relationship failure
Low self-esteem
Describe parents as intrusive, unfair, inconsistent
Avoidant
Work alone
Withdraw from others when stressed; ignore/deny stress
Describe parents as either rejecting/cold or in vague language (nice)
Understand that attachment style is easy to talk about as a categorical type, but
has recently been reformulated in a dimensional model
Know the 2 dimensions and the attachment types produced by being high
and/or low in each

Understand that the Avoidance domain can be characterized as a working

model of what others are like (are others responsive caregivers?), whereas
the Anxiety domain can be thought of as a working model of self (am I
worthy of being loved?)

Understand the following: studies show that there is substantial variability on how
much early attachment patterns influence adult outcomes so long as early
relationships werent pathologically bad (e.g. really bad, really neglectful/abusive),
attachment style seems much more likely to be a system that continually adapts
What is the average heritability of attachment styles?

40%
Which personality traits are related to the 2 dimensions of secure/insecure
attachment
Neuroticism & extraversion

Lecture 15 Humanism & Positive Psychology

Maslow & Rogers = Foundations of Humanistic psychology (positive psychology)
Emphasizes that psychological strengths are as interesting and worthy of
study as mental weakness/illness
2 basic assumptions
Humans have free will
Humans are basically good
Be able to fill in Maslows hierarchy of needs pyramid

What are the key elements of Client-Centered Therapy (Rogerian therapy)?

Empathy
See the world as the client experiences it
Importance of the self
I no longer have a sense of who I am or who I want to be.
Goal: achieve similarity between actual and ideal self
Accept/reduce incongruence and tension between actual and ideal

1. Actual Self: An organized body of perceptions that is normally available to

awareness. It includes attitudes and feelings about the self, which form the selfconcept.
2. Ideal Self: The self-concept an individual would ideally like to have.
Know about the idea that incongruence between selves can cause anxiety
Distortion
Denial
These defenses (defense mechanisms) preserve and maintain the existing
self-concept, even if it is negative.
Why is unconditional positive regard considered an important component of
Rogerian Therapy?
Humans need to be accepted by others and themselves
Know the personality change outcomes that are the main goals of Rogerian Therapy
Humanistic psychology led to positive psychology. What is positive psychology
interested in?
Study of the positive aspects of human mental life and abilities
Happiness
Flow
Meaning
Strengths/abilities
Resilience
Gratitude
What are the 8 components of flow?
1. challenging and requires skill
2. attention is absorbed
3. goal-directed
4. feedback informs us of progress
5. full concentration required
6. personal control
7. loss of self-consciousness
8. loss of sense of time
research shows that pursuing happiness/pleasure is nice and may boost well being
for a while, but meaning and balance appear more likely to cause long-lasting
happiness
Terms:
Phenomenology
Ones conscious experience of the world
Construal
Your particular experience of the world
Jonah Complex
Fear of achievement; success
Barrier to become self-actualized

If you try, you risk failing

Involves facing the unknown
Self-Actualization
Maintain and enhance life
positive psychology
study of the positive aspects of human mental life and abilities
flow
the subjective experience of an autotelic activity the enjoyment itself
Character strengths
Most fulfillment when behavior suits strengths

Lecture 16 Culture & Personality

What are display rules (in the context of culture and emotional display)?
Know what is meant by the following dimensions of cultural differences:
tightness vs. looseness
tolerance of deviation from proper behavior, cultures that are ethnically
homogeneous and densely populated tend to be tighter than cultures that are more
diverse or spread out
achievement vs. affiliations
the need to achieve could be assessed by looking at childrens stories; high
need for achievement is associated with faster industrial growth
tough vs. easy
variety/number of goals that can be pursued/valued, and ease and number of
ways of achieving goals
head vs. heart
emphasizing fairness, mercy, gratitude, hope, love and religion vs. artistic
excellence, creativity, curiosity, critical thinking and learning;
Collectivism-individualism is one of the most commonly studied dimensions of
cultural variation. What is it, and what does it mean? What are the behavioral,
emotional, and motivational correlates of collectivism-individualism?
Importance of needs and rights of the group vs. the individual
The self and others
Personality and collectivism
Different predictors of satisfaction with life
Harmony of relationships with others in collectivistic cultures
Self-esteem in individualistic cultures
Behavior, emotion and motivation
Social interactions
People in collectivistic cultures spend more time in social
interactions that are more intimate
Self-focused vs. other-focused emotions

People in individualistic cultures report more self-focused

emotions
Importance of love in marriage
Arranged marriages are more common in collectivistic cultures
What emotional experience depends on
More dependent on social worth, the nature of social reality and
relationships in collectivistic cultures
Fundamental motivations
Collectivist cultures focus more on avoiding loss of respect
because respect by others can be easily lost and is difficult to regain; individualist
cultures focus more on achievement of pleasure or reward; leads to selfenhancement in individualist cultures
Understand what is meant by vertical culture and horizontal culture. Be
familiar with the concept of crossing collectivism-individualism with verticalhorizontal.
Vertical cultures: are more competitive and entail dominance hierarchies with
more levels and fewer people near the top
Horizontal cultures: cultures people tend to feel more tightly bound to the
level at which their collective identity is located and thus less able to rise
Understand:
Honor Cultures
High honor is more common when laws and police are weak or nonexistent
and people must protect themselves, their families and their property; its
important to not appear vulnerable because this could put the person at risk
Face Cultures
High face is more common in societies with stable hierarchies based on
cooperation; high motivation to protect ones and others social image; high respect
for authority figures; avoidance of controversy
Dignity Cultures
Belief that individuals are valuable in their own right and this value does not
come from what others think of them
Know this: Individuals who more strongly accept the cultural norms are
more likely to behave in ways consistent with the cultural dimensions
Individual differences within a society are every bit as important, if not
more important, than the differences between them (p. 493)
Be familiar with the list and rationale behind the possible causes of
geographical differences in culture/personality
Patterns of migration
Social influence
Environmental influence
Why is it difficult to compare personality structure across cultures? Are there any
traits that seem to be truly universal?
Meanings may not be the same
Extraversion, agreeableness, (maybe) conscientiousness

Understand the idea that some traits may be more important in certain cultures
compared to others.
The HEXACO model is the second most popular after the Big Five. What are the six
traits within HEXACO? What is the specific definition of the Honesty/Humility
trait?
Extraversion
Conscientiousness
Intellect/imagination/unconventionality
Emotionality
Agreeableness
Honesty-humility
Honesty: sincerity and fairness
Humility: unpretentiousness, lack of greed
The search for universal values: goals everyone wants to achieve
Understand the basic implications of the search for universal values
What is deconstructionism as applied to cross-cultural research?
Reality has no meaning apart from what humans invent, or construct.
Be able to explain Bicultural Identity Integration
Continuum along which people with two cultural backgrounds differ in the
extent to which they see themselves as members of a combined joint culture that
integrates aspects of both cultures vs. experiencing conflict and stress from having
two cultures and being unsure about which one they really belong to
Terms:
Cross-cultural psychology
Research and theorizing that attempt to account for the psychological
differences between and within different cultural groups
Enculturation
The process of socialization through which an individual acquires his native
culture, mainly early in life
Acculturation
The process of partially or fully acquiring a new cultural outlook
Etics
The universal components of ideas across cultures
Emics
Components of ideas that are particular to certain cultures; what ones actual
duty is (what rules should be followed)
Holistic Thinking
Explain events in context rather than in isolation and seek to integrate
divergent points of view rather than set one against another
Independent Thinking

Ecological approach
Ecologyculture socializationpersonalitybehavior
Ecology
Physical layout and resources of the land; and the distinctive tasks and
challenges this culture has faced; for example, need for complex agricultural
projects and water systems in China, required coordination and results in
collectivism
Ethnocentrism
Observations of other cultures will be influenced by the observers own
cultural background
Cultural relativism
The idea that all cultural views of reality are equally valid