AP Psychology AMSCO Guided Notes
4.5: Social-Cognitive and Trait Theories of Personality
AMSCO Guided Notes
AP Psychology Guided Notes
AMSCO 4.5 - Social-Cognitive and Trait Theories of Personality
Essential Questions
- How do social-cognitive and trait theories of personality define and assess personality?
I. Social-Cognitive Theory
1. How do social-cognitive theories differ from both psychoanalytic and purely behavioral approaches to personality?
2. What is reciprocal determinism and how do person, environment, and behavior interact to shape personality?
A. Self-Concept, Self-Efficacy, and Self-Esteem
1. What is self-concept and how does it both shape and get shaped by behavior and environment?
2. How does self-efficacy influence behavior and contribute to the development of self-concept?
3. What is self-esteem and how does high self-esteem influence interactions with the environment and reinforce self-perception?
II. Assessing Social-Cognitive Theory
1. What are the main strengths and limitations of social-cognitive theory in explaining personality?
III. Assessment of Personality
1. What methods do social-cognitive psychologists use to assess personality and what does each method reveal?
IV. Trait Theories
1. What is the fundamental focus of trait theories and how do they define personality?
2. How did Gordon Allport contribute to the development of trait theory and what did he propose about personality?
3. What is factor analysis and how did Raymond Cattell use it to organize personality traits?
4. What are the Big Five personality factors and what does each factor represent?
V. Assessing Trait Theories
1. What are the main strengths of trait theories in studying personality?
2. What are the major criticisms of trait theories and what do they fail to explain?
VI. Self-Report Personality Inventories
1. What are self-report personality inventories and how do they measure personality traits?
2. What are the strengths and limitations of self-report personality inventories as assessment tools?
Key Terms
agreeableness
Big Five theory
conscientiousness
extraversion
factor analysis
neuroticism
openness
reciprocal determinism
self-concept
self-efficacy
self-esteem
self-report personality inventory
social-cognitive theory
trait
trait theory