PP Dispositional Perspective

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What are traits/dispositions?
Descriptive statements about core characteristics, relatively stable no matter the time or situation, and they depend on strength, amount and number to distinguish between individuals
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What don't traits/dispositions explain?
Don't explain WHY we have these individual differences. And they can't be observed directly, instead just inferring traits from behaviour
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Galen's type theory?
Four humours in the body influence four body types
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Choleric personality?
Yellow bile, short-tempered
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Melancholic personality?
Black bile, quiet and gloomy
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Sanguine personality?
Blood, optimistic
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Phlegmatic personality?
Phlegm, relaxed
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Strengths of type theories?
Explains how people differ, can predict behaviours, and can be useful to make a quick summary
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Weaknesses of type theories?
Too reductionist, may not be valid to categorise, can be depending on circumstances
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Traits as a continuum?
Continuum approach to personality eg. height - friendliness
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Allport and Odbert (1936)?
18,000 human traits, including physical, moral, and behavioural. 4,500 core traits
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Two types of traits?
Common (shared by members of groups), and individual (a single person's unique traits)
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Individual traits examples?
Cardinal (dominant traits), central (core traits, 5-10 each), secondary (all other traits)
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Idiographic VS nomothetic?
Idiographic= individuals, nomothetic= groups
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Factor analysis?
Based on correlations, to try figure out what things are answered the same way - indicating number of traits
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Orthogonal method (factor analysis)?
Results in small number of powerful factors, that are independent of eachother. Used by Eysenck
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Oblique method (factor analysis)?
Results in large number of less powerful factors, that can be connected. Used by Cattell
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Eysenck?
2/3 measures: irtoversion/extraversion, neuroticism (stability/instability), and later added psychoticism (anti-social tendencies)
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Hierarchal model of personality?
Eg. extroversion (type level) at top, then excitability and sociability (trait level) lower down, then behaviours (habitual response level) at bottom
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Cattell?
2 types: surface traits (visible) and source traits (underlying)
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How many surface traits and source traits?
Surface= 35. Source-16
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Five factor model of personality?
Openness, coscientiousness, extraversion, agreeabless, and neuroticism
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Openness?
Tendency to enjoy new experiences, espcecially intellectual experiences
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Conscientiousness?
Levels of responsibility, how hardworking and reliable and disciplined a person is
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Extraversion?
Tendency to seek new experiences and enjoy meeting new people and having company
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Agreeableness?
Sympathetic, and co-operative, good natured and trusting, usually high in empathy
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Neuroticism?
Tendency to experience unpleasant and negative emotions easily, prone to anxiety and insecuritiws
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Measuring the five factors?
Costa and McCrae (1988): used NEO personality inventory to measure the 5 factors
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Biological basis for personality?
Eyesenck: yes, personality is inherited
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Personality differences due to?
Differences in the CNS, different circuits of neurons in the brain are responsible for controlling behaviour
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Biological basis for extraversion/introversion?
Due to the balance between excitation and inhibition processes in the CNS, specifically those in the ARAS
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The ARAS?
Main function is to maintain an optimum level of alertness/arousal. Eg. excitation or inhibition of neural impulses
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Cortisol arousal theory of personality?
Extraverts have strong nervous systems, ARAS biased towards inhibition of impulses, and they are chronically under aroused. This is the OPPOSITE for introverts
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Evidence for cortisol arousal theory?
Behavioural and psychological studies eg vigilance tasks (introverts perform better) and in every day life.. Personality and conditionability
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Biological basis for neuroticism?
Due to the reactivity of the automatic nervous system
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Biological basis for psychoticism?
Male hormone angrogens
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Heredity and personality?
Eysenck: heredity estimates that genetic factors account for 56-72% of the variation in traits
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Evaluation of Eysenck's ideas?
Twin studies: found that MZ apart and together are often just as similar. May still be due to environment though
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What don't traits/dispositions explain?

Back

Don't explain WHY we have these individual differences. And they can't be observed directly, instead just inferring traits from behaviour

Card 3

Front

Galen's type theory?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Choleric personality?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Melancholic personality?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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