11/12/2024 Chapter 12----cognitive topics in personality Cognition and personality---Cognitive approaches focus on individual differences in patterns of information processing about people and events. More about thinking and not emotion Levels of cognitionPerception- how one organizes the information brought in from the senses Interpretation- how one explains events around one. Conscious goals- how one evaluates oneself and others-based one’s life priorities and standards. Field dependence---Degree to which one offends to environmental or contextual cues particularly when confronted with an ambiguous stimulus or situation People high in field dependence: Tend to choose careers in social sciences and education Are more attentive to social cues and more “other oriented” Are more distracted in situations with complex contextual stimuli George Kelly’s personal construct theory------Personal constructs- cognitive structures used to interpret and predict events Typically, dichotomous- categized into two extremes- either one way or the other Used to classify objects, people, and events- to make predictions EX- a professor that is either boring or engaging/ it’s either or not both or in the middle. The more constructs made, the more complex it becomes. Making a prediction based on the constructs. Each person constructs their own system (constructive alter nativism) Construct system----Constructs are organized into a system to provide some stability and consistency Core constructs----- central to ones functioning and self-concept. Resistant to change. Peripheral constructs---less related to self-definition, more easily changed. Construct styles----Cognitively simple people use very few constructs to focus on more similarities among people and events-seeing things in black and white- smaller groups leads to seeing similarities Cognitively complex people use many constructs to focus on distinctions among people and events- seeing things more thoroughly- dividing things up to see differences Experience cycle----- Explains how constructs are used and adjusted 1; anticipation of an encounter-upcoming events leading to expectations 2; investment in the outcome— 3; encounter with the investment4; confirmation or disconfirmation of anticipation— professor example-it will change in some way. 5; constructive revision leading to a different anticipation- if you had a negative expectation at thanksgiving but that year it went better than expected, you’d expect this year’s expectations for thanksgiving to be more positive Abnormal development--Healthy people test their constructs in their real experiences and then adapt them if needed. Unhealthy people refuse to change their constructs regardless of experience. Stubborn people. Submerged constructs- individual ignores one pole of a constructs. The pole is still either or. Example- lacking trust in people, leading to you ignoring the other side completely- can be dyfunctioning Suspended constructs- experiences unable to fit within construct system and held out until the system can be adjusted. Example- being married for 30 years and finding out they’ve been having an affair for 12 years. You don’t know how to classify it or think about it. Problematic constructs vs problems with prediction-------Problematic— Permeable constructs excessively flexible and allowing too much change Impermeable constructs excessively rigid and not allowing for change or new additions to the systems. Problems with prediction--Tightening- making the same prediction regardless of circumstances. -friend who goes back to cheating bf no matter what Loosening; making too many varied predictions with no consistency 11/14/2024 Other cognitive concepts-------different topics but not Kelly’s theory Locus of control— Meaning place of control, Jullian roader, extent to which people believe that what happens to them or other is due to factors within their control. Internal LOC: people attribute outcomes to their own efforts or ability External LOC: people attribute outcomes to other people or forces out of their control. LOC is fairly stable over time but also is somewhat situational. LOC and achievement— Internal LOC is related to higher academic achievement. Internal LOC is related to greater success and advancement in one’s career. Successful psychotherapy may also represent moving a client from an external LOC to an internal LOC Help them feel like they can success and do better. LOC and psychological health— Internal LOC Is related to better psychological well being External Loc is related to perceiving events as out of their control and thus more stress Depressed people tend to be external LOC for positive outcomes but internal LOC for negative outcomes. Internal LOC also is related to better physical health and to complying with health regimen Learned helplessness— An individual’s passivity and perception of being unable to control consequences is acquired though experiences in which this was true. Martin Seligman study of dogs in “shuttle box”-getting shocked Research confirms that humans also may develop learned helplessness. Helplessness also generalizes to other situations Explanatory style— Tendency that some people have to use certain attributional categories when explaining causes of events, often stable over time. Three broad categories: External vs Internal-stealing money- do they steal because they are a bad person or because that’s how they can get money to eat Stable or unstableGlobal vs specificPessimistic explanatory style- emphasizes internal, stable, and global causes for negative events. Associated with feelings of helplessness and poor adjustment Cognitive social learning theory----Arose out of behavioral theory but includes “internal events” such as cognition and emotion Bandura: reciprocal determinism Functioning determined by mutual interaction of behavior, environment and personality Self- efficacy— Expectations of one’s ability to execute specific behavior necessary to achieve a specific outcome High self-efficacy= high confidence in one’s ability to perform a behavior Specific to both behavior and situation Not the same as expectations/outcomes expectations Effects of self-efficacy Activities chosen Effort expended Persistence when encountering obstacles Thought patterns during a task Emotional reactions before and during the task Regulatory focus--Two ways people regulate goal directed behaviors to meet needs Promotion focus: an approach orientation, designed to attempt to achieve regards and recognitions Characteristics of high extraversion and law neuroticism Prevention focus: an avoidance orientation designed to minimize risks and avoid negative outcomes and notoriety Characteristic of low extraversion and high neuroticism Summary— Cognitive models of personality focus on how individuals engage in different information processing of events and people Most cognitive approaches are based on research but are not well intergrated mofels Primary models convered in this chaote 11/19/2024 Approaches to the self---Terms to the selfSelf-concept- how one sees, understands, and defines oneself It is descriptive. Self-esteem- one’s perception of self, often relative to an ideal or aspirational version. It is evaluative Social identity- aspects of the self-one allows to be observed to others, thus shaping how one is defined and evaluated by others. Development of self-concept--- Self-concept in infancy with little more awareness than recognition of the boundaries between one’s own body and others. Earliest sense of identity involves name, sex, and age. During childhood, self-concept reflects one’s abilities and skills, particularly in terms of social comparison. Private self-concept- recognition of the ability to have a secret, inner world and can keep thoughts and feelings to oneself. Perspective taking- forms during teen years, the ability to see oneself as others do in situation or overall. Social anxiety develops here Self-schemas---Sets of organized knowledge and classifications of the self Effects include: Heighted sensitivity to and recall of self-relevant stimuli Cocktail party ph- hearing your name out of everything or something correlating you More efferent processing of info consistent with self-schemas More confident predictions on inferences about the self Resistance to info inconsistent with self-schemas-American idol Possible selves---Possible selves: ideas about one might become, both desirable and undesirable Self-ideal-idealized image of what one most wants to be Ought self- ones understanding or perception of what others want one to be Often there are discrepancies between self-concept, ideal self, and ought self. Self-esteem--Ones evaluates to their own self concept Global vs domain specific self esteem Self-esteem may fluctuate to a different degree in different people This fluctuation (or lack of self-esteem stability) may be in part due to how much people look to others for validation External locus of evaluation is related to less stable self esteem Effects of self-esteem— People with high self-esteem work harder after failure than those with low selfesteem work less hard In class, people with high self-esteem often do better after a poor first exam: people with low self-esteem tend to do poorly on the next exam as well People with low self-esteem are more likely to assume failure even not given feedback, and then react accordingly Motivation related to self-esteem--- People with different levels of self-esteem may be motivated by. SELF ENHANCMENT- desire to strive to enhance prestige and public image Most likely seen in those with high esteem Self-protection: concern about embarrassing one’s elf by failing publicly Most likely seen in those with low esteem Self-complexity--Meaning degree to which oneself as having multiple facets, which might be evaluated differently within a person Greater self-complexity seems related to more self-esteem stability, especially among high self-esteem individuals High self-esteem individuals tend to focus on other areas of success following a failure Defensive pessimism— A deliberate strategy to generate negative expectations to deal with upcoming events More commonly used by lower in self esteem Not the same as “self-handicapping” (which involves avoiding effort to succeed) Rationale is to prepare for failure (“worst case scenario”) as well to provide motivation to give more effort Social identity— Aspects of the self-ones allows to be observable to others, thus shaping how one is defined and evaluated by others Two aspects— Continuity: consistency/ reliability in who one is and how one presents to others Contrast: how one’s identity distinguishes one from others: how one’s characteristics make one unique Identity crises— Feelings of anxiety that occur when one attempts to define or change ones Certain periods in life lend themselves to such crises, such as adolescence, middle age, etc. Types of identity crises: Identity deficit: typical of those without adequate identity formation, leading to difficultly making decisions or making commitments Identity conflict: occurs when one perceives incompatible aspects of one’s identity, typically when one wishes to pursue differing goals. Resolving identity crises: Two typical steps: Prioritizing one’s values Translate values into specific behaviors and outcomes 11/21/24 Sex, gender and personality------Sex vs genderSex: the biological differences between males and females, such as the genitalia and genetic differences Gender: typically associated with one’s identity, including the typical behaviors and expectations associated socially with that identity Neither should be confused with sexual orientation Sexual orientation is independent from who you want to have sex with. Sex and gender are not the same thing. Studying sex differences--Sex is one of the most studied variables in psychological research Evaluating magnitude of sex differences involves calculation of effect size Most sex differences have a modest effect size Some argue those are insignificant and should be ignored Some argue those are relevant and cause practical distinctions Sex differences in childhood temperament----Temperament: individual differences evident early in life Few significant sex differences (ages 3-13) Inhibitory control: ability to exhibit appropriate behaviors is higher in girls Perceptual sensitivity: ability to detect subtle environmental stimuli is also higher in girls Surgency: activity level and taking initiative is higher in boys All differences are modest at best Sex difference in FFM Extraversion Women score high on: Gregariousness (enjoying company of others) Warmth Men score high on: Excitement seeking Agreeableness: Overall women score higher than men Women are higher on facets as well: Trust: tendency to cooperate and give the benefit of the doubt to others Tender mindedness: tendency to be nurturing and sympathetic Conscientiousness: Little to no sex differences Neuroticism: Largest sex differences: women score higher Women significantly higher on the anxiety facet Openness to experience No overall sex differences Women score higher on fantasy and ideas Sex differences in emotionality— Women exhibit higher levels of both emotional intensity and emotional expressiveness True overall for both positive and negative emotions Certain emotions (pride and guilt) show little sex differences Sex differences in sexual relationship--Men show greater desire for sexual activity and variety Men show more difficulty at maintaining friendships with the opposite sex without desiring sexual relationships Men are more likely to be sexually aggressive primarily men exhibiting hostile masculinity Characterized by misogyny and domineering style with women Women are higher in emotional investment in relationships Other sex differences— Men score slightly higher on measures of global self esteem This difference is more pronounced in adolescences than adulthood Occupational interests also fend to differ in sex: Women prefer more” people-oriented” professions Men prefer more “things oriented” professions Despite the smaller effect sizes, many of these things finding mirror sex stereotypes 11/26/24 Theories of sex differences-Sex differences may be attributes to several explanations Socialization theoriesHormonal/biological psychologyEvolutionary psychologyIntegrated perspectiveSocialization--Focus primarily on impact of teachers, parents, etc. in molding “appropriate” behaviors Social learning theory-emphasizes the process of observational learning (learning from watching a role model) Social role theory- suggests that social expectations place men and women in different occupational and family roles A problem for these theories is how to account for the origins of these practices Hormonal/biological theory— Emphasizes physiological differences, most especially hormonal ones Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (overactive adrenal glands in female fetus associated with later preference for masculine toys and occupations) is evidence of this. Sex differences in testosterone also may account for some differences in sex drive, aggression, and personality Evolutionary psychology— Focuses primarily on sex differences in adaptive problems Recall prior discussion of sex differences in mater preferences and sexual behaviors This approach nicely addresses why the sex differences exists. It doesn’t realty address why there’s exceptions or variations within each of the sexes Integrated perspective— Essentially reflects all the above factors as contributing to sex differences Socialization and biology might explain how sexes differ Evolution might help explain why they differ Gender and personality— Gender reflects identity based on socially derived expectations Masculinity: assertiveness, social dominance, self sufficiency Femininity- nurturance, emotional expressiveness, empathy Androgynous- high levels of masculinity and femininity Undifferentiated: low levels of masculinity and femininity Stress, coping, adjustment, and health Interactional modelSuggests personality factors determine how events impact a person through influencing how well one can cope. Events may influence people in different ways, depending on their personality characteristics Transactional modelSuggests that personality influence coping skills, events, or the appraisal process Includes interactional model, but goes beyond it as well Appraisal refers to the process in which an individual evaluates the level of the stressor and one’s own ability to cope. This appraisal may differ depending on one’s personality- neuroticisms Health behavior model Suggests that personality has an indirect impact on health by affecting health related behaviors Personality characteristics might induce one to be more or less likely to follow healthy lifestyle, such as exercise, diet, doctors’ recommendations. For example, conscientiousness is correlated with health behaviors and life span Predisposition model— Suggests that both personality and health are the products of an existing predisposition within an individual For example, biological mechanisms might influence susceptibly to drug use as well as addictive personality chara. Thus, personality and health do not affect one another but merely result of some other factors more likely genetic Illness behavior model-Suggests that personality affects how much one attends to physiological sensations and how more likely to interpret them as a sign of illness or injury For example, one high in neuroticism may be more sensitive to bodily to interpret them as a sign of illness or injury. 12/3/2024 StressIs typically experienced as a subjective feeling produced by events perceived as uncontrollable and threatening. Types of stressors— Daily hassles- everyday stress, aren’t a big deal. Getting the kids ready for school in the morning Major traumas- large scale events, major impact on our lives, PTSD Life changes- any significant change in our lives, positive or negative events. Getting a new job or getting fired. Stress process— Stress is a physiological and emotional response of the body when demands are placed on it. Stages of it----Environmental demand: may be physical or psychological Perception of demand: to what extent the demand is perceived as threatening to overwhelm one’s capabilities. Stress response: if perceived to be beyond one’s resources, arousal, state anxiety, etc. Behavioral consequences: performance or behavior while under stress. Stress response— Flight or fight response: increase of sympathetic nervous system activity. General adaption syndrome (GAS)— Alarm stage- fight or flight response. If stressor continues, the resistance stage begins; body uses it resources at above an average stage, even through fight or flight response has subsided. If stressor is constant, the person enters the stage of exhaustion; person is susceptible to illness, because physiological resources are depleted. Appraisal— Appraisal reflects an evaluation of one’s capability of handling stress. Primary appraisal: perception of degree to which an event is a threat or obstacle. Secondary appraisal: perception of degree to which one has the resources to overcome the threat or obstacle. Impact of stress on health— Stress has an additive effect, so chronic low levels of stress can have an impact similar to one high-stress event. Stress can lead to immunosuppression through taxing bodily resources over time. Stress can also affect functioning in cardiovascular system, mood, sex drive, muscle tension, and sleep/appetite Coping with stress— Coping strategies; efforts to deal with anxiety in the face of a perceived threat. Problem-focused strategies attempt to directly address source of anxiety in attempts to resolve it and eliminate the threat Emotion focused strategies attempt to reduce distress accompanying the problem. Avoidance strategies attempt to keep the source of anxiety out of awarenessignoring it Effectiveness of coping strategies: Overall, avoidance strategies are less effective at reducing anxiety then the other types They may also lead to other dysfunction or allow a problem to worsen Problem focused strategies are best when the source of anxiety can be eliminated Emotional focused strategies are best when the source of anxiety cannot be eliminated. Optimism and pessimismTendency to expect the outcomes to be positive or negative Optimists tend to see life events as unstable, specific, and largely controllable (pessimists believe the opposite) Often this is situational or domain specific Dispositional optimism: personality characteristics to be predominately optimistic ot not High do= tendency to approach life challenges with a helpful optimism and stress--Overall, all optimists experience less stress and anxiety then pessimists Optimists less likely to experience depression and ptsd Optimists are more likely to use active (problem or emotion focused) coping strategies s rather than avoidance ones. Health belief model— Adherence with treatment/exercise depends on Perception of one’s susceptibility to and severity of illness Perception of effectiveness and feasibility of treatment or compliance Influence of internal and external cues Demographic and personality variables Steps to behavior change: Precontemplation: no intention to change Contemplation: aware of problem and considering changes in behavior. Preparation: strong intention to change Action: implementation of changes, including relapses and such Maintenance: changed have persisted for 6 months or more Termination: became part of one’s routine and thus no longer considered in the process of change.
