PSYC 330 Study Guide - Final Guide: Ego Psychology, Jack Block, Role Theory
28 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Hermann Rorscharch - Inkblot test used for revealing the unconscious
Show ambiguous pictures and ask them to tell you a story about it
Called projective hypothesis - what a person sees in an inkblot or an image tells us about his
personality
Hans Eysenck
Devised a hierarchical trait structure. Based emphasis on biology and physiology of traits (they
should be heritable and physiologically measurable). Contains 3 traits - Psychotism (aggressive,
cold), Extraversion (sociable, lively), and Neuroticism (anxious, depressed)
Tested for extraversion/introversion and described introverts to have higher baseline levels of
ARAS (ascending reticular activating system) and thus, have higher cortisol levels and are already
aroused. When we put them in social situations, we are adding extra stimulation to somebody
who is already aroused.
Revised theory talks about how there are actually differences in arousal but not at baseline
levels. Introverts will perform just as well with less people and less noise as extroverts will perform
with more noise and people. Introverts have a lower threshold and thus, need less stimulation.
Extroverts have higher threshold and thus, require higher amounts of stimulation to reach their
max potential
Raymond Cattell
16 factor system to identify personality's basic units using hard science - used statistical
approach such as factor analysis but not the most parsimonious option
Gerry Wiggins
Defined personality using interpersonal traits and social exchanges. Placed people into two
quadrants - Love and Status and studied their relationship using adjacency (which traits are close),
bipolarity (which traits are opposite), and orthogonality (perpendicular traits have no relation)
Walter Mischel
Famous for marshmallow test with children (delayed gratification) - denying oneself an
immediate reward in return for a better reward in the future
Changed the notion from personality = behavior to personality = behavior x situation. Certain
situations provoke behaviors in people.
Myers & Briggs (MBTI)
Categorizes personality into 16 types using 4 dimensions and then tests the degree of each trait
exhibited. Commonly used in occupational and school settings
Not a good personality test - questions are forced choice and has low reliability, uses Barnum
phrases
Phineas Gage
Metal rod went through his head - prefrontal cortex damage but no changes in intellectual
capability
Behavior changed completely - more impulsive, couldn't control or inhibit emotions
Shows different brain areas are responsible for personality
Russell Geen
Based on Eysenck's intro/extraversion through arousal levels
Carried out an experiment where introverts and extraverts were allowed to pick their level of
noise to perform a learning task. Introverts always pick lower levels of noise and take longer when
they are assigned high levels of noise. Extraverts also take longer when they are assigned lower
levels of noise because they get bored with low stimulus
Differences emerge in reactions to situations
Donald Hebb
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Hermann rorscharch - inkblot test used for revealing the unconscious. Show ambiguous pictures and ask them to tell you a story about it. Called projective hypothesis - what a person sees in an inkblot or an image tells us about his personality. Based emphasis on biology and physiology of traits (they should be heritable and physiologically measurable). Contains 3 traits - psychotism (aggressive, cold), extraversion (sociable, lively), and neuroticism (anxious, depressed) Tested for extraversion/introversion and described introverts to have higher baseline levels of. Aras (ascending reticular activating system) and thus, have higher cortisol levels and are already aroused. When we put them in social situations, we are adding extra stimulation to somebody who is already aroused. Revised theory talks about how there are actually differences in arousal but not at baseline levels. Introverts will perform just as well with less people and less noise as extroverts will perform with more noise and people.
