Chapter 1 Flashcards
Define: Personality
defined as the consistent behavior patterns and intrapersonal processes originating within the individual.
What are the two parts to personality?
- consistent patterns of behavior. (These are often referred to as individual differences. )
- Intrapersonal processes. (this includes all emotional, motivational, and cognitive processes that go on inside of us that affect how we act and feel)
What are the 6 general approaches to personality?
- Psychoanalytic approach
- Trait approach
- Biological approach
- Humanistic approach
- Behavioral/social learning approach
- Cognitive approach
Briefly describe the 6 general approaches to personality.
- Psychoanalytic approach: people’s unconscious minds are largely responsible for important differences in their behavior styles.
- Trait approach: identify where a person might lie along a continuum of various personality characteristics.
- Biological approach: point to inherited predispositions and physiological processes to explain individual differences in personality.
- Humanistic approach: identify personal responsibility and feeling of self-acceptance as the key causes of differences in personality.
- Behavioral/Social learning: explain consistent behavior patterns as the result of conditioning and experiences.
- Cognitive approach: looks at the differences in the way people process information to explain differences in behavior.
Two common examples to understanding personality are?
Ex) 1 Aggression
Ex) 2 Depression
What are individualistic cultures?
Includes most of Northern European countries and the United States. They place great emphasis on individual needs and accomplishments. People in these cultures tend to think of themselves as independent and unique.
What are Collectivist culture?
People in these cultures are more concerned about belonging to a larger group, such as family, tribe, or nation. They are most interested in cooperation than competition.
Explain Radical Behaviors?
our behavior is not freely chosen but rather the result of environmental forces and our accumulated history of experiences.
Does personality differ among generations?
personality may not change, but morals and values will might change.
What 4 psychologists deal with the Psychoanalytic approach?
- Sigmund Freud
- Alfred Adler
- Carl Jung
- Karen Horney
What 4 psychologists deal with the Trait approach?
- Gordon Allport
- Henry Murray
- Raymond Cattell
- McCraw & Costa
What psychologist deals with the Biological approach?
1.Hans Eysenck
What 2 psychologists deal with the Humanistic approach?
- Carl Rogers
2. Abraham Maslow
What 4 psychologists deal with the Behavioral/Social learning approach?
- John Watson
- BF Skinner
- Julian Rotter
- Albert Bandura
What psychologist deals with the Cognitive approach?
- George Kelly
What is the historical mission of personality psychology?
To provide an integrative framework for understanding the whole person.
What are the 19th Century Intellectual Antecedents?
Intellectual antecedents are something that has come before. Need it for personality to evolve.
- beliefs in individualism
- concern with irrationality and the unconscious
-emphasis on measurement
each of these 3 are important for personality to evolve.
Individualism
Fosters the idea that us individuals are unique and important.
-in the Middle ages people thought of themselves as members of some general category.
Individualism- Paradox
studies of bogus personality feedback suggests people readily accept standardized info as self-descriptive.
The Unconscious
- Romantic movement: irrational emotions, spontaneity, and impulsivity were encouraged in literature, the arts, and philosophy.
- Movement arose as a revolt against the 18th century “age of reason” (god created everything by number weight and measure: Newton)
The unconscious- Caution
Exclusive focus may underestimate/neglect the significance of rational planning, directed behavior.
Emphasis on measurement:
Constructs most easily measured become focus - complexity of personality overlooked.
- what happens with this is we measure the things that are easy to measure. Might not actually reflect how complex a person is, its just measuring for the sake of measuring.
- We look for things that are easy to look for, without appreciating how complex personality is.
What are the 2 ways personality psychologists approach the study of personality?
- study of the individual difference, or the dimensions along which people differ from each other. a: Homothetic approach b: quantitative method
- Study of individual persons as unique integrated wholes. a: Idiographic approach b: qualitative method.
- Homothetic vs Idiographic
- Quantitative vs Qualitative
Explain the critical period, 1921-1946: Allport, Murray, Cattell
- Allport advocates use of personality vs character. Character is not your personality; it’s how you emerge yourself in the world.
- Murray incorporates psychoanalytic theories and this brought a richer look at personality.
