Theories Of Personality Exam 4

Morphogenic Science

Allport’s concept of science, which deals with various methods of gathering data on patterns of behavior within a single individual 

Eclectic Approach

Approach that allows selection of usable elements from different theories or approaches and combines them in a consistent and unified manner

What is personality according to Allport?

The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought

Personal Dispositions

a relatively permanent neuropsychic structure peculiar to the individual, which had the capacity to render different stimuli functionally equivalent and to initiate and guide personalized forms of behavior 

Common Traits

relatively permanent dispositions of an individual, which are inferred form behavior

Cardinal Dispositions

Personal dispositions so dominating that they cannot be hidden

Central Dispositions

the 5-10 personal traits around which a person’s life focuses

Secondary Dispositions

the least characteristic and reliable personal dispositions that appear with some regularity in a person’s life

Proprium

all those characteristics that people see as peculiarly their own and that are regarded as warm, central, and important

Propitiate Strivings

motivation toward goals that re consistent with an established proprium and that are uniquely one’s own

Propitiate Functional Autonomy

Allport’s concept of a master system of motivation that confers unity on personality by relating self-sustaining motives to the proprium

Core Components of Personality

• Dynamic Processes

• Basic Tendencies

• Characteristic Adaptations

• Self concept

Eysenck’s 3 dimensions of personality

1. extraversion/introversion

2. neuroticism/stability

3. psychoticism/superego

Extraversion

characterized behaviorally by sociability and impulsively and physiologically by a low level of cortical arousal 

Introversion

introverts are characterized by unsociability and caution and by a high level of cortical arousal 

Neuroticism

high scores may indicate anxiety, hysteria, obsessive-compulsive disorders, or criminality

Stability

emotional stability and greater capacity to resist a neurotic disorder

Psychoticism

high scores indicate hostility, self-centeredness, suspicion, and nonconformity

Superego Function

Not necessarily vulnerable to stress-related psychoses