Key Terms
Personality
Consistent patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving.
Trait
Relatively enduring characteristic influencing behavior across situations. Big Five (OCEAN): Openness, Conscientiousness
Barnum effect
People tend to accept vague personality descriptions as specifically accurate even though those descriptions could fit a
Projective test
Presents unstructured stimuli (inkblots, ambiguous pictures, incomplete sentences) and asks participants to freely respo
Advantage
Less direct, may bypass conscious defenses. Problem: low reliability (people respond differently across occasions) and w
Core idea
People have free will and an innate drive toward growth. Focus is on the self-concept (beliefs about who we are) and sel
Abraham Maslow
Hierarchy of needs. Lower needs (physiological, safety, belonging) must be met before higher needs (self-esteem, self- a
Carl Rogers
People are fundamentally moral and growth-oriented. Full potential is reached through unconditional positive regard: bei
Family study
Starts with one person who has a trait; examines how frequently that trait appears in first-degree relatives (parents, s
Twin study
Compares identical (monozygotic; 100% shared genes) and fraternal (dizygotic; ~50% shared genes) twins raised together o
Logic
If environment is held equal, greater similarity in identical twins = genetic influence.
Adoption study
Compares adopted children to biological vs. adoptive parents.
Molecular genetics
Identifies which specific genes are associated with which personality traits.
Findings
Genes have been associated with novelty-seeking, ADHD, and smoking behavior.
Leadership
The ability to direct or inspire others to achieve goals.