Personality Psychology Final Exam

1. stable2. unstable3. introverted4. extraverted

1. evidence for a neuroticism dimension applicable to both neurotics and "normals"2. evidence for another dimension - Extraversion

Related to cortical arousalextraverts - low cortical arousal understimulatedintroverts - high cortical arousal overstimulated

1. less2. less3. more

Reactivity of the sympathetic nervous system or limbic system (responsible for the body’s fight-or-flight response to threat)

Emotional stimuli

Psychoticism refers to a person’s level of social cooperation, integration and empathy → includes traits aggression and impulsivity (it is generally treated as sociopathology)

Conclusion: People strive to find order in chaos

There is one “ultimate reality” in every situation, but we don’t see it because of our perspective → it shapes our interpretation of reality → it is never objective

Kelly saw all humans as scientists: Science is an attempt to set in order the facts of experience so that we can make predictions about the future

"A person's processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipates events“ → our experiences, emotions, thoughts, behaviors, etc. are influenced by both reality and our efforts to anticipate the world (expectations of reality)

We expect things to happen as they have before

If reality does not validate our construct system, we reconstruct it (change it) so we can better anticipate the world

We construe the world in terms of contrast - Our constructs are developed through the differences we see in the world

1) Peripheral: most of the constructs we have about the world → Do it without thinking 2) Core: constructs that are most significant to us, and are likely to define us (values)