5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology, 2010-2011 Edition - Laura Lincoln Maitland [134]
8. B—According to Sheldon, Bertha’s profile is that of the ectomorph.
9. D—Self-report inventories used by humanists and cognitive theorists are the most common personality tests given.
10. E—According to Bandura, self-efficacy deals with our evaluation of our talents and abilities.
11. B—Altruism is a cardinal trait of Mother Theresa because it seems to encompass everything that she stood for—selflessness and devotion to others. Allport believed that most people have clusters of 5 to 7 central traits, but most do not have a cardinal trait.
12. E—Womb envy is a term coined by Karen Horney in her feminine rebuttal to Freud’s penis envy of females. All the other terms are concepts of Alfred Adler’s ego psychology.
13. B—Roberto has an internal locus of control. Rotter’s locus of control theory is part of his social cognitive theory that our perception of how much we are in control of our environment influences the choices we make and behaviors we follow.
14. D—South Korea. Collective efficacy is our perception that, with collaborative effort, our group will obtain its desired outcome. Some recent research studies indicate that high collective efficacy seems to be more beneficial in collectivistic societies such as Asian societies for achievement of group goals.
15. E—A trait is a relatively permanent and stable characteristic which can be used to predict our behavior.
Rapid Review
Personality—a set of unique behaviors, attitudes, and emotions that characterize a particular individual.
Idiographic methods—personality techniques that look at the individual, such as case studies, interviews, and naturalistic observations.
Nomothetic methods—personality techniques such as tests, surveys, and observations that focus on variables at the group level, identifying universal trait dimensions or relationships between different aspects of personality.
Biological approach—examines the extent to which heredity determines our personality.
• Temperament—an infant’s natural disposition includes sensitivity, activity levels, prevailing mood, irritability, and adaptability.
• Heritability estimates from twin and adoption studies suggest that both heredity and environment have about equal roles in determining at least some of our personality characteristics.
• Evolutionary psychologist David Buss attributes the universality of basic personality traits to natural selection because traits such as extraversion and agreeableness ensure physical survival and reproduction of the species.
Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic approach—originated with Sigmund Freud, who emphasized unconscious motivations and conflicts, and the importance of early childhood experiences.
Three levels of the mind:
• Conscious—includes everything we are aware of.
• Preconscious—contains information and feelings we can easily recall.
• Unconscious—contains wishes, impulses, memories, and feelings generally inaccessible to conscious.
Three major systems of personality:
• Id (in unconscious)—contains everything psychological that is inherited and psychic energy that powers all three systems. Id is “Give me, I want,” irrational, self-centered; guided by the pleasure principle.
• Ego (partly conscious, partly unconscious)—mediates between instinctual needs and conditions of the environment to maintain our life and ensure species lives on; guided by the reality principle.
• Superego (partly conscious, partly unconscious)—is composed of the conscience that punishes us by making us feel guilty, and the ego–ideal that rewards us by making us feel proud of ourselves.
Defense mechanisms—extreme measures protect the ego from threats; operate unconsciously and deny, falsify, or distort reality.
Some defense mechanisms:
• Repression—the most frequently used and powerful defense mechanism; the pushing away of threatening thoughts, feelings, and memories into the unconscious mind; unconscious forgetting.