Psychology 80272: Essays and study sheet for The Final Exam. Essays: You will be given a choice of 2 essay questions from the following. You will be asked to answer only 1 of them on the exam (30% of your grade on the exam). I will be more than glad to go over drafts of any/all of the essays with you beforehand.

1. Summarize Mischel’s critique of personality psychology. Be sure to specifically address the following concepts: predictive validity of trait measures, the ".3" barrier, and "r²." Further, in your answer, describe what Mischel’s critique implies about the tendency of personality psychologists to make trait measures. Finally, address what his reasoning implies about "situational specificity" of behavior as opposed to behavior being determined by internal, dispositional factors.

2. Generally describe McCrae and Costa’s (1987) notion of the Five-Factor (i.e., Big 5) model of personality. In your answer, be sure to define each of the Big 5 dimensions. Also, explain what it means to conceptualize these five dimensions as "comprehensive." Next, using the trait of "extraversion" as an example, explain how an individual score on a trait measure is interpreted. In your explanation, be sure to describe the concepts of "mean," "standard deviation," and "normal distribution."

3. Briefly describe Freud’s "structural" model of the psyche. In your answer, be sure to describe the id, ego, and superego. Next, describe Freud’s concept of "defense mechanisms of the ego" as they relate this structural model. Be sure to include the notion of "anxiety" in your answer. Finally, describe and give an example of one specific Freudian defense mechanism. Be sure that the example is one that YOU CREATE (i.e., not one from the class notes or the books).

4. Explain what is meant by the "social construction of psychological disorders." In your answer, briefly describe Rosenhan’s (1973) study on "being sane in insane places." Next, describe the ideas of "confirmation biases" and "expectation effects." Finally, explain how, when taken together, Rosenhan’s findings, confirmation biases, and expectation effects suggest that psychological disorders may be "socially constructed."

5. Briefly describe how the etiology of mood disorders is thought to be multifactorial. In your answer, discuss genetic, neurochemical, and cognitive factors associated with depression. When describing cognitive factors, specifically address Abramson, Seligman, and Teasdale’s (1978) attributional theory of depression. Next, describe the attributional dimensions of "internal/external" and "stability." Finally, in terms of these two attributional dimensions, describe how a depressed person (according to Abramson et al., 1978) would explain his or her failing a math test.

6. Briefly describe the "fundamental attribution error." Next, briefly summarize ONE study that relates to this particular attributional bias. In your summary of that study, be sure to address the methodology, results, and, importantly, the way in which the findings from the study demonstrate the fundamental attribution error. Finally, briefly address what the fundamental attribution error implies about how people perceive others.

7. Describe the main ideas of cognitive dissonance theory. Next, briefly describe ONE specific study designed to test this theory (e.g., Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959). Be sure to explain HOW the results of the study you describe relate to the fundamental ideas of cognitive dissonance theory.

8. Briefly describe Milgram’s results from his research on obedience to authority. What do these results have to say about human nature? Describe how the situation created by Milgram may have been parallel to situations in Nazi Germany. In your answer, explain what this analogy implies about the role of social influence in the Holocaust. Finally, describe what Milgram’s findings suggest about the "person/situation" debate.

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Study Sheet: While you are responsible for all of chapters 12, 14, and 16, the corresponding Sources articles, and all the notes, you may want to concentrate on more detailed aspects of the following topics when studying for the final exam.

-- Freud’s ideas on personality (including the structural model of the psyche, the topographical model, defense mechanisms, and the psychosexual stages)

-- General ideas of the neo-Freudian theories of Jung and Adler

-- Mischel’s critique of trait (person) psychology

-- General ideas of humanistic perspectives of personality (Maslow and Rogers’ theories)

-- The Big 5 personality traits

-- Interpreting individual scores on a trait measure (including "the normal curve," "mean," and "standard deviation")

-- Reliability and Validity of a psychological measure

-- Rotter’s notion of "Locus of control"

-- Markus and Kitayama’s conceptualizations of the "self" across cultures

-- Defining features of the different models of psychological abnormality

-- General reasoning of the DSM-IV

-- Defining features of, possible causes of, and research surrounding the following disorders:

dissociative identity disorder, the different kinds of schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, Major depression, Bipolar disorder, and Somatoform disorders

-- Rosenhan’s (1973) research on psychological assessment and treatment (including results from his study and implications regarding the "social construction of psychological disorders)

-- Rosenthal and Jacobson’s (1968) research on expectation effects (the nature of their research, implications for education, and implications regarding the labeling of psychological disorders)

-- Cognitive underpinnings of depression (learned helplessness, depressive realism, and "attributional" research)

-- Attribution theories (Kelly’s model, the distinction between "internal" and "external" attributions)

-- Attributional biases (including the fundamental attribution error, actor/observer bias, and defensive attribution)

-- Social psychological theories of attractiveness and intimate relationships

-- Social psychological theories of love (attachment theory and Sternberg’s triangular theory)

-- Evolutionary accounts of the mate selection process

-- Theories of attitude formation and attitude change

-- Cognitive dissonance theory (the main ideas of the theory; the details of studies designed to test this theory (e.g., Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959); the importance of "counter-attitudinal behavior" and "manded" behavior; Bem’s (1967) self-perception theory as an alternative explanation for Festinger and Carlsmith’s (1959) findings)

-- Social influence research

-- Milgram’s research on obedience to authority (his methods, results, and how he related his research to the Holocaust)