Ch1: What is Personality?

personality

consistent behavior patterns and intrapersonal processes originating within the individual; who you are

How did the following psychologists define personality?

Allport, Rogers, Freud, Skinner

• Allport - something real within the individual that leads to characteristic behavior and thought

• Rogers - “self”; an organized, consistent pattern of perception of “I” or “me” that lies at the heart of an individual’s experience

• Freud - unconscious, hidden, and unknown

• Skinner - unnecessary; behaviorist

Who studies personality?

• personality psychologist (PhD)

• clinical psychologist

• psychiatrist

What are the different personality approaches?

• psychoanalytic

• trait

• biological

• humanistic

• behavioral/social learning

• cognitive

psychoanalytic approach

emphasize the unconscious mind and how it influences behavior

trait approach

using personality traits/characteristics to understand personality

biological approach

the influence of nature and genetics on our personality

humanistic approach

emphasizes personality growth and development, the self-actualized person (people who strive to have a healthy personality)

• Rogers and Maslow

behavioral/social learning approach

involves different principles of learning/conditioning (classical, operant, observational learning) and how those processes influence who we are

cognitive approach

explains differences in personality as differences in how we process information

Give an explanation for aggressive behavior using each approach:

• psychoanalytic - unconscious death instinct turned outward

• trait - follow person over years to see this aggressive trait progress

• biological - brain structure, hormones, neurotransmitter

• humanistic - person is kept from reaching their full potential

• behavioral/social learning - learned to be aggressive

• cognitive - processes comment as threatening (where others wouldn’t)

How do scientists apply their knowledge in the real world?

• psychotherapy

• real world applications (ie education)

How do we measure personality?

• self-report

• behavioral observation - case studies and experimentation