Chapter 11 Learning Objectives with SubQuestions As you review the various in this chapter, especially the strengths and weaknesses of each, make notes on the tables at the end of this document to use as study aids for comparing the. THE NATURE OF PERSONALITY # Define the construct (or concept) of personality in terms of consistency and distinctiveness (p 340) What is the definition of personality? What two qualities are central to the concept of personality? # Explain what is meant by a personality trait and describe the five-factor model of personality (pp 340-34 What is a personality trait? To discover the basic traits that form the core of personality, researchers use what type of statistical procedure to identify closely related clusters of variables? What are the Big Five personality traits identified in the Five-Factor Model of Personality, and what types of behaviors are associated with each trait? PSYCHODYNAMIC VIEWS OF PERSONALITY # List and describe the three components into which Freud divided the personality and indicate how these are distributed across three levels of awareness (pp 341-343 + Figure 11. According to Freud, what three components make up the structure of personality? o What principles do the first two components operate under? What are the three levels of awareness identified by Freud? o On which levels do the ego and superego operate? o On which level does the id operate? #4) Explain the preeminence of sexual and aggressive conflicts in Freud's and describe the operation of defense mechanisms (pp 343-345) Freud believed that people s lives are dominated by what? What two types of conflict did Freud believe were especially likely to have far-reaching consequences? What are defense mechanisms, and what do they typically work through?
#5) Outline Freud's psychosexual stages of development and their theorized relations to adult personality (pp 345-347 + Table 11. What is a psychosexual stage? What is fixation, and what is it caused by? What are the five psychosexual stages proposed by Freud, and what are the key developmental tasks and experiences associated with each stage? (refer to Table 11. o Fixation at the oral stage can result in what types of behaviors in later life? o What is the Oedipal complex, and at what stage does it emerge? #6) Summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach to personality (pp 348-349) Although psychodynamic personality yielded some bold new insights when they were first introduced, what four assumptions are now commonly accepted because they have been demonstrated in the research? What are three common criticisms of psychodynamic personality? BEHAVIORAL VIEWS OF PERSONALITY #7) Discuss how Skinner's principles of operant conditioning can be applied to the structure and development of personality (pp 349-35 Skinner viewed an individual s personality as being a collection of what? o How are these response tendencies acquired? Through what? According to operant conditioning, does the tendency to repeat a response increase or decrease when that response is followed by: o A favorable consequence, as in reinforcement? o A negative consequence, as in punishment? #8) Describe Bandura's social cognitive and compare it to Skinner's viewpoint (p 351 + your lecture notes) Did Bandura agree with the behaviorists that personality is largely shaped through learning? Unlike the behaviorists, though, what type of unobservable, internal events did Bandura bring into the picture as also being influential to personality? What term did Bandura use to describe his belief that internal mental events, external environmental events, and overt (or observable) behavior all influence each other and determine an individual s personality? (this should be covered during your class lecture)
#9) Identify Mischel's major contribution to personality and indicate why his ideas have generated so much controversy (pp 351-35 What was Mischel s chief contribution to personality? The debate surrounding Mischel s has led to a growing recognition that behavior is determined by what two factors? #10) Summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the behavioral approach to personality (p 352 + your lecture notes) A primary strength or contribution of behavioral personality is that they are firmly rooted in what? What are two criticisms of behavioral personality? o A third criticism that you should be aware of (something that is briefly mentioned on the Evaluating Behaviorism lecture slide) is that behaviorists not only carve personality up into stimulus-response bonds, they also fail to provide any unifying structural concepts (like Freud did with the ego ) that can be used to tie these fragmented pieces of personality together. HUMANISTIC VIEWS OF PERSONALITY #1 Explain how humanism was a reaction against both the behavioral and psychodynamic approaches and discuss the assumptions of the humanistic view (pp 352-35 What principal charge was hurled at the behavioral and psychodynamic models during the 1950s? o Critics also argued that both the behavioral and psychodynamic schools of thought were what? (there are two more criticisms here) Humanism is a theoretical orientation that emphasizes what? Humanistic theorists believe that a person s subjective view of the world is more important than what? #1 Identify the single structural construct (or concept) in Rogers's person-centered and summarize his view of personality development (pp 353-354) What does self-concept mean? What did Rogers call the gap (or difference) between a person s self-concept and his/her actual experience? What type of love from parents (conditional or unconditional) promotes: o Congruence between a child s self-concept and her actual experiences? o Incongruence between a child s self-concept and his actual experiences?
#1 Explain Maslow s hierarchy of needs and summarize his findings on the characteristics of self-actualizing people (pp 354-355 + Figures 11.9 & 11.10) In Maslow s hierarchy of needs, which needs must be met before higher (or less basic) needs are aroused? What is the sequence of needs (from most basic to highest) in Maslow s hierarchy? What is a self-actualizing person? o Which of the following characteristics are associated with self-actualizing people? (refer to the text and Figure 11.10) Realistic and at peace with themselves? Open and spontaneous? Not dependent on others for approval? Not uncomfortable being alone? Have mystical and peak experiences? Have a limited number of strong friendships? Strike a nice balance between being both childlike and mature, both rational and intuitive, both conforming and rebellious? #14) Summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the humanistic approach to personality (pp 355-356) What are three contributions (or strengths) associated with humanistic personality? Specifically, humanistic : o Emphasized the importance of what over objective reality? o Made what an important construct (or concept) in psychology? o Laid the foundation for the emergence of what movement in contemporary psychology? What are three common criticisms of humanistic personality? BIOLOGICAL VIEWS OF PERSONALITY #15) Describe Eysenck's of personality (p 357) According to Eysenck, personality is determined to a large extend by what? Like the behaviorists, did Eysenck also believe that personality is influenced by conditioning? (In other words, that personality is shaped just like other forms of behavior are shaped through reinforcing or punishing consequences.) So what is the link between genetics and the conditioning of personality traits? Specifically, why did Eysenck believe that some people can be conditioned more readily (or easily) than others? o Because these differences in physiological functioning are caused by a person s genetic makeup, Eysenck reasoned that genetics actually influenced a person s ease of conditioning (or conditionability ). So did Eysenck believe that variations in conditionability were inherited or not?
#16) Summarize behavioral genetics research on personality and its conclusions (pp 357-358) Recent research in behavioral genetics has provided impressive support for what idea? The Minnesota study found that which type of twins reared apart (identical or fraternal) were substantially more similar to each other in personality than fraternal twins reared together? Research on the heritability of personality inadvertently turned up what surprising finding? #17) Describe the evolutionary approach to personality (p 359) The evolutionary approach to personality suggests that what two factors ( various personality traits and ( the ability to do what regarding those traits may have contributed to reproductive fitness in ancestral human populations? According to Buss evolutionary approach to personality, why do the Big Five personality traits of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and neuroticism stand out as important dimensions of personality across a variety of cultures? #18) Summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the biological approach to personality (p 359 + your lecture notes) One contribution of the biological approach to personality that has been demonstrated in the research is that biological factors actually do help in the shaping of what? Referring to the Weakness in Biological Approach lecture slide, what are three weaknesses of biological approaches to personality? PERSONALITY TESTS #19) Describe self-report inventories and summarize the strengths and weaknesses of self-report inventories (pp 365-366) What is a self-report inventory? One strength of self-report inventories is that they provide a more (objective or subjective) and more (precise or vague) estimate of an individual s personality. Self-report inventories are susceptible to what three sources of error? #20) Describe projective tests and summarize the strengths and weaknesses of projective tests (pp 366-367 + Activity 11.1 in which you responded to ambiguous pictures) What is a projective test, and what is the projective hypothesis behind this type of test? What are two unique strengths of projective tests? What are five weaknesses that projective tests tend to be plagued by?
Type of Personality Development Theory Specific Theory Five-factor model of personality traits What does this believe about personality development? Psychodynamic Freud s psychoanalytic Skinner s principles of operant conditioning Behavioral Bandura s social cognitive Mischel s social learning Humanistic Rogers person-centered Maslow s of self-actualization Eysenck s biological Biological Behavioral genetics Evolutionary approach
Type of Personality Development Theory Psychodynamic Behavioral Humanistic 4) Strengths / Contributions / Assumptions Weaknesses / Criticisms Behaviorists fail to provide any unifying structural concepts (such as Freud s ego) to tie the fragmented pieces of personality together. Biological Type of Personality Test Self-report inventories Strengths / Contributions / Assumptions Weaknesses / Criticisms Projective tests 4) 5)