Foundations of Personality: Personality + history

Question 1

what is personality?

Answer 1

first it meant real observable OR explicit features of the individual.
Then it included inner, less revealed qualities

Question 2

what are two related terms personality is confused for?

Answer 2

“character”: attributes acquired during our upbringing, and is associated with social standards. (Nurture/ the forces of socialization).
“temperament: biological disposition toward certain behaviours. (Nature)

Question 3

Importance of personality

Answer 3

• central to “personality disorders” and is involved in all “mental disorders” (affects the course, treatment, and prognosis)
• high incidence of mental disorders
  -1 in 7 involved in therapy
• for every 1 inpatient, 20 are distressed/ seeking help

Question 4

what is personology?

Answer 4

theorizing about persons that predates “personality disorders”

Question 5

what is Hippocrates Humoral notions and name the 4 temperaments associated with access humour.

Answer 5

explained personality using imbalances among 4 bodily fluids
1. Choleric (excess yellow bile)- irritability
2. melancholic (excess black bile)- sadness
3. sanguine (excess blood)- optimism
4. phlegmatic (excess phlegm)- apathetic/ indifferent

Question 6

Aristotle: Physiognomy

Answer 6

personality based on outward appearance ex. facial expression, ear shape, head shape.

Question 7

Gall: phrenology

Answer 7

claimed a direct relationship between the mind and body, studied the brains physical characteristics (size, shape, divers) directly as it correlates with the persons way of being.

Question 8

Allport: character writing

Answer 8

verbal portrait that exaggerates a central trait in a simplified and unidemnsional way that misleads us regarding the true nature of cause and correlation.

Question 9

Emil Kraeplin: “dementia” and “manic depression”

Answer 9

From whom our categorical system comes from. First in looking to formative years before the full onset of conditions

Question 10

Kurt Schneider

Answer 10

developed primary European classification of disordered personality.
Personality pathology covaried with mental disorders

Question 11

Kurt Schneiders types

Answer 11

Hyperthymic (mild mania)
Depressive (hypochondriacal)
Insecure (ruminate)
Fanatic (expansive and combative views)
Attention Seeking (delight in novelty/ vivid imagination)
Labile (volatile and impulsive)
Explosive (violent and combative)
Affectionless (indifferent)
weak willed (docile, fated to disillusionment)
Asthenic (intense hypochondriac)

Question 12

Ernst Kretschmer

Answer 12

supported notions empirically based on bodily build. related morphological differences to schizophrenia, manic depression and normal personality.
Psychotic disorders were accentuations of normal personality types

Question 13

Ernst Kretchmer: Pyknic/ endomorph

Answer 13

compact build with large torso
disposed towards manic-depressive

Question 14

Ernst Kretschmer: Asthenic/ ectomorph

Answer 14

fragile, with a thin build
disposed towards schizophrenia

Question 15

sjobring

Answer 15

termed various temperaments as 4 basic physiological constructs that underlie personality differences
capacity: genetic substrate for intellectual development
validity: degree of energy available for for nervous system functioning
stability: max potential given a persons’s nervous substrate
solidity: extent to which experience needs to be replenished to maintain max potential.

particular interest taken in those at extremes of normal distribution (prefixes: high= “super”, low=”sub”)