Chapter 42: Personality Theories

Question 1

What is a personality theory

Answer 1

Is a system of concepts assumptions ideas and principles proposed to explain personality.

Question 2

What are trait theories

Answer 2

Are theories of personality concerned with describing people in terms of traits then explaining origin of traits

Question 3

What is Allports trait theory

Answer 3

Gordon Allports (1937) believed best way to understand and predict people’s behaviour was to find what they value of the things they will strive to attain. His view was that most important traits are motivational related to values

Trait theories believe one of the important aspect is way traits are organised or related to each other.

Question 4

What 3 aspects of traits did Allport describe?

Answer 4

Cardinal traits which are those very important to an individual that they dominate an individual’s life.

Central traits are important traits that influence and organise most of our behaviour. The desire for power being on of them

Secondary traits are more specific and less important as a description of behaviour

Question 5

What is Cattells source trait theory

Answer 5

Raymond B Cattell (1950) wanted to know the link between traits and observed surface traits often appeared in clusters or groups and appeared together so often they seemed to represent a basic trait or underlying personality characteristic called a source trait and he went on to develop 16 source traits

Question 6

What is the 5 factor model of personality

Answer 6

According to this theory personality can be understood in terms of 5 innate universal dimensions which are stable over time and have important consequences across our lifespan. These 5 traits are a reduction of cattells 16 source traits. It’s believed we all possess these traits to a different degree and a combination of them describe our personality.

Question 7

What are the 5 factors for 5 factor model

Answer 7

Extroversion : how introverted or extroverted one is

Agreeableness: how friendly nurturing and caring - cold indifferent spiteful or self centred

Conscientiousness : how self disciplined responsible and achieving- irresponsible careless and undependable

Neurocism : how negative or having upsetting emotions - to being calm even tempered and comfortable

Openness to experience: how intelligent imaginative and open to experience- conventional lacking curiosity and creativity.

Question 8

What is the psychodynamic approach

Answer 8

They try to probe under the surface of personality to examine what makes us behave the way we do.

Emerged from Sigmund Freud where the central theme of his theory is that behaviour is the outcome of the wishes desires and feelings that people are unaware of or their subconscious thoughts

Question 9

What are the 3 types of primative unconscious instincts

Answer 9

Sexual instincts: these influence the experience and behaviour that generates pleasure.

Ego instincts: influence experience and behaviour associated with preservation of the self

Hostility instincts: influence aggressive Experience and behaviour.

Question 10

What are the 2 principles regulating instinctual energy

Answer 10

Pleasure principle: directs energy in direction of immediate gratification of needs wishes and desires.

Reality principle: enables person to delay the immediate gratification of needs so that greater pleasure may be experienced later.

Question 11

What is the id

Answer 11

It refers to Innate biological impulses and urges which are unconscious irrational and self serving. It demands immediate gratification such as food sex or to cause harm.

Works on the pleasure principle- looks for expressions of pleasure seeking urges. This energy is called libido which underlies efforts to survive as well as sexual desires and pleasure seeking. Freud also described death instincts called Thanatos that produces aggressive and destructive urges.

Question 12

What is the ego

Answer 12

Refers to executive part of the self that regulates the Expression of ids instinctual energy. The ego in touch with reality and can foresee the consequences of behaviour. The ego is part of system of thinking planning and problem solving. It has conscious control of the self.

It directs the energies supplied by I’d which can be described as a blind king/queen who has power but must rely on others to carry out orders. Ego directs power by linking desires of id to external reality. Ego is guided by reality principle- delays action until activity is practical or appropriate.

Question 13

What is the superego

Answer 13

Refers to conscience. The superego is like a judge or cencor if someone doesn’t adhere to standards for acceptable behaviour the superego allows person to experience guilt feeling and anxiety.

The other part is the ego ideal which is a reflection of behaviour that has been approved or rewarded and is a source of goals and aspirations when they are attained we feel pride. Superego acts as a parent to bring behaviour under control.

People with weak superegos may be delinquent criminal or antisocial. A strict superego may result in too much control and lead to inhibition rigidity or excessive guilt.

Question 14

According to Freud how does personality develop

Answer 14

The core of an individual’s personality is formed before the age of 6 in a series of psychosexual stages. At each stage a different part of the body becomes primary area capable of producing pleasure.

Question 15

What does the behaviourist approach emphasize

Answer 15

It emphasizes that personality is no more or no less than a collection of learned behaviour and according to this approach personality is acquired through classical and operant conditioning, learning through observation, reinforcement, extinction, generalisation and stimulus discrimination.

They believe personality is acquired through learning and reject idea of personality traits. They are concerned about situational determinants ( external factors) of behaviour and prefer replacing traits with prior learning to explain behaviour.

Question 16

What is the social learning theory

Answer 16

It explains behaviour in terms of concept like psychological situation, expectancy, and reinforcement value.

Question 17

What is the psychological situation

Answer 17

Refers to a person’s particular interpretation or understanding of a situation

Question 18

What is expectancy

Answer 18

Refers to your anticipation that whatever you do will lead to reinforcement

Question 19

What is reinforcement values

Answer 19

Means that people attach different values to various activities or rewards

Question 20

What is self reinforcement

Answer 20

Refers to praising or rewarding yourself for having made a certain response. Equivalent to superego. It’s related to self esteem and is associated with less depression and greater life satisfaction.

Question 20

What is self reinforcement

Answer 20

Refers to praising or rewarding yourself for having made a certain response. Equivalent to superego. It’s related to self esteem and is associated with less depression and greater life satisfaction.

Question 21

What is the behaviourist view of personality development

Answer 21

They see childhood as a time of active drives powerful rewards and punishment as well as frustrations. Social reinforcement based on praise attention and approval is also important as these forces are believed to shape core of personality through learning.

According to social learning theory the processes of identification and imitation contribute greatly to personality development. Identification refers to persons emotional attachment to someone they admire and encourages imitation or a desire to act like the admired person.

Question 22

What is the humanist approach

Answer 22

Believe human nature consists of traits qualities potentials and behaviour patterns considered most characteristic to human species. Humanism focuses on human experience problems potential and ideals. The theoretical orientation of humanists focuses on unique qualities of humans mainly freedom and potential for growth.

The core of humanism is positive image of what it means to be human. Humanists see people as creative beings capable of free choice see people as conscious and rational beings able to control innate impulses.

Humanists look for ways to encourage us to develop our potential and sees a person as the product of all choices he/ she has made.

Question 23

What is Carl Rogers person centred theory

Answer 23

Carl Rogers based theory on view that the vantage point for understanding behaviour is from the internal frame of reference of the individual himself.

Because of Emphasis on a person’s subjective point of view his theory was called person centred theory and developed term fully functioning person to describe someone who lives in harmony with deepest feelings and impulses. Fully functioning people are open to experience and trust their own inner feelings and intuition. Rogers believed that becoming fully functioning is likely to occur when a person receives love and acceptance from others.

Question 24

What was the main aspect of the person centred Theory

Answer 24

Is the concept of self a flexible and changing perception of personality identity. The self is made up of experience that fits own perception of ourselves and excludes experience that are labelled not means don’t fit perception of ourselves. This idea of self is known as self concept and refers to total subjective perception of belief about ones own nature unique qualities and behaviour.

When experience match self concept and are congruent they are admitted to awareness and contribute to gradual changes in self. Due to subjective nature it may not be consistent with experience as most people distort experience to suit positive self and this gap between self concept and reality of experience is incongruence.

Rogers believed it essential to have ideal self which is image of person we would like to be but never fully attain our ideal and the greater the gap the more tension and anxiety we experience. In order to develop potential we have to accept info honestly as possible and be realistic about who we can become.

Question 25

Discuss Abraham Maslow theory of self actualization

Answer 25

Referred to process of fully developing personal potential as self actualization. A self actualiser is someone who’s living creatively and fully using potential. Self actualization is a process that requires hardwork and patience.

Question 26

According to Maslow what is human behaviour motivated by

Answer 26

Behaviour is motivated by needs arranged systematically in a hierarchy. Basic needs must be met before a person can progress to meeting less basic needs. The most basic being physiological needs and once met will become aware of others needs like belonging or self esteem. When need is satisfied activates next level and if not satisfied once can regress.

Self sctualising people have a healthy personality and are characteristically open and spontaneous have clear perception of reality appreciate world around them are independent are sensitive to needs of others and have good interpersonal relationships.

Question 27

How can one develop potential

Answer 27

1. Be willing to change
2. Take responsibility and don’t blame others for shortcomings
3. Examine motives and try making decisions for sake of growth.
4. Experience honestly and directly not distorting info to fit own way.
5. Make use of positive experiences repeating them
6. Be prepared to be different and accept uniqueness
7. Get involved
8. Assess progress and renew efforts if needed.

Question 28

What is the biological approach to personality

Answer 28

It was believed that certain Brain regions controlled specific psychological function and assumed that shape of sites on skull indicated size of those brain areas. Intellectual and personality function were assessed by studying size and shape of skull.

Question 29

How does hereditary influence personality

Answer 29

Some theorists believed that heredity shaped personality based on idea that we have inborn behavioural tendencies that differ from one person to another.

Temperament can influence how infant respond to other people and how others respond to infant. Whether caregiver can cope influence kind of care infant will receive. Inherited difference in temperament contribute to development of difference in specific personality traits.

Question 30

What view did psychologist Hans Eysenck hold.

Answer 30

He believed personality was mainly determined by a person’s genes and his theory is based on idea that individual differences in physiological functioning results in some people being more easily conditioned than others. This influence personality traits people acquire through conditioning.

The closer the genetic relationship between 2 people the more they will be alike in terms of personality characteristics.

Question 31

What is the African perspective on personality

Answer 31

Cross cultural approach have focused on the way people define themselves in terms of relationships to others and groups implying fundamental differences in way people view themselves.

In traditional culture like African and Asian self is seen as an integral part of a social group called collectivist view which regards people as interdependent.

Question 32

What does interdependence refer to

Answer 32

It means people’s behaviour is guided by consideration for well being of others and the community. According to this view people take care of the needs of others by extension their own needs are taken care of as they are part of others.

African worldview implies people aren’t seperate from cosmos which includes spiritual world nature and living things and community they live in. The identity of traditional Africa is part of collectivist life a person exists only because he/ she is part of community: I am because we are and since we are therefore I am.