Theories of Personality Chapter 1 and 2

personality

originated from the Latin persona,

persona

referred to a theatrical mask worn by Roman actors in Greek dramas

personality

is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique

characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person's behavior

traits

contribute to individual differences in behavior,

consistency of behavior over time, and stability of behavior across situations.

characteristics

are unique qualities of an individual that include such attributes as temperament, physique, and intelligence.

jess feist, gregory j. feist, tomi-ann roberts

authors of theories of personality

theory

are tools used to generate research and organize observations, but neither "truth" nor "fact" has a place in scientific terminology

scientific theory

a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses

theory

a set of assumptions.

logical deductive reasoning

used by the researcher to formulate

hypotheses.

theory is a set of assumption, second a set of related assumptions, third is assumptions, fourth logical deductive reasoning, fifth testable

definition of theory

philosophy

means love of wisdom, and philosophers are people who pursue wisdom through thinking and reasoning

epistemology

the nature of knowledge. Theory relates most closely to this branch of philosophy, because it is a tool used by scientists in their pursuit of knowledge.

philosophy, speculation, hypothesis, taxonomy

what are the relatives of theory

speculation

They do not flow forth from the mind of a great thinker isolated from empirical observations. They are closely tied to empirically gathered data and to science.

science

is the branch of study concerned with observation and classification of data and with the verification of general laws through the testing of hypotheses

theories

are useful tools employed by scientists to give meaning and organization to observations.

hypothesis

is an educated guess or prediction specific enough for its validity to be tested through the use of the scientific method.

deductive reasoning

going from the general to the specific

inductive reasoning

going from the specific to the general

taxonomy

is a classification of things according to their natural relationships. Taxonomies are essential to the development of a science because without classification of data science could not grow.

psychodynamic theories, humanistic-existensial theories, dispositional theories, biological-evolutionary theories, learning-social cognitive theories

perspectives in theories of personality

Psychodynamic Theories

focused on the importance of early childhood experience and on relationships with parents as guiding forces that shape personality development.

psychoanalysis

traditionally used dream inter pretation to uncover the unconscious thoughts, feelings, and impulses as a main

form of treatment of neurosis and mental illness.

humanistic-existensial theories

approach is that people strive toward meaning, growth, well-being, happiness, and psychological health. States of positive emotion and happiness foster psychological health and pro-social behavior.

humanistic-existensial theories

positive psychology

dispositional theories

argue that the unique and long-term tendencies to behave in particular ways are the essence of our personality.

biological-evolutionary theories

they are based on evolved brain systems, human thought, behavior, and personality have been shaped by forces of evolution (natural and sexual selection) over millions of years.

learning-social cognitive theories

All behaviors are learned through association and/or its consequences (whether it is reinforced or punished).

psychology of science

studies both science and the behavior of scientists; that is,

it investigates the impact of an individual scientist's psychological processes and personal characteristics on the development of her or his scientific theories and

research

1. generates research 2. is falsifiable 3. organizes data 4. guides action 5. internally consistent 6. parsimonious

six criteria for a useful theory

generates research

ability to stimulate and guide further research.

descriptive research and hypothesis testing

two kinds of research

descriptive research

which can expand an existing theory, is concerned with the measurement, labeling, and categorization of the

units employed in theory building.

hypothesis testing

leads to an indirect verification of the usefulness of the theory. As we have noted, a useful theory will generate many hypotheses that, when tested, add to a database that may reshape and enlarge the theory.

is falsiable

its ability to be confirmed or disconfirmed

organizes data

able to organize those research data that are not incompatible with each other. It must be able to shape as many bits of information as possible into a meaningful arrangement.

guides action

ability to guide the practitioner over the rough course of day-to-day problems.

is internally consistent

need not be consistent with other theories, but it must be consistent with itself.

operational definition

one that defines units in terms of observable events or behaviors that can be measured.

parsimonious

When two theories are equal in their ability to generate research, be falsified, give meaning to data, guide the practitioner, and be self-consistent, the simpler one is preferred.

determinism versus free choice

first dimension

pessimism versus optimism

second dimension

causality versus teleology

third dimension

causality

holds that behavior is a function of past experiences

teleology

explanation of behavior in terms of future goals or purposes.

conscious versus unconscious determinants of behavior.

fourth consideration

biological versus social influences on per

sonality

fifth question

uniqueness versus similarities.

sixth issue

reliability

instruments to be useful they must be both reliable and valid.

validity

the degree to which an instrument measures what it is supposed to measure.

construct validity

is the extent to which an instrument measures some hypothetical construct.

convergent validity, divergent validity, and discriminant validity.

three important types of construct validity

predictive validity

the extent that a test predicts some future behavior.

personality

includes all those relatively permanent traits or characteristics that render some consistency to a person's behavior.

theory

a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to

formulate testable hypotheses.

march 6 or may 6, 1856

when was sigmund freud born?

in freiberg, moravia

where was sigmund freud born?

sigismund freud

full name of sigmund freud

jacob and amalie nathanson freud

freud's parents

hysteria

a disorder typically characterized by paralysis or the improper functioning of certain parts of the body.

catharsis

breuer taught freud what

catharsis

the process of removing hysterical symptoms through "talking them out."

hypnotic technique and free association technique

two principal therapeutic techniques of freud

studies on hysteria

whats the name of the book breuer and freud wrote

Interpretation of Dreams

freud's greatest work

unconscious and the conscious

mental life is divided in two levels what are they

unconscious proper and the preconscious

unconscious has two different levels what are they

unconscious

all those drives, urges, or instincts that are beyond our

awareness but that nevertheless motivate most of our words, feelings, and actions.

repression

for the meaning behind dreams, slips of the tongue, and certain kinds of forgetting,

repression

Freud believed that childhood experiences can appear in adult dreams even though the dreamer has no conscious recollection of these experiences.

primary censor and final censor

To enter the conscious level of the mind, these unconscious images first must be sufficiently disguised to slip past the what

suppression

before repression

repression

that is, the forcing of unwanted, anxiety-ridden experiences into the unconscious as a defense against the

pain of that anxiety.

phylogenetic endowment

He called these inherited unconscious images our

preconscious

contains all those elements that are not conscious but can become conscious either quite readily or with some difficulty

conscious

as those mental elements in awareness at any given point in time.

perceptual conscious system

which is turned toward the outer world and acts as a medium for the perception of external stimuli.

within the mental structure

The second source of conscious elements

id, ego, superego

provinces of the mind

id

the core of personality and completely unconscious is the psychical region

pleasure principle

its sole function is to seek pleasure, we say that the id serves the

primary process

the id operates through the?

secondary process

this process functions through the ego

the ego

the only region of the mind in contact with reality. It grows out of the id during infancy and becomes a person's sole source of communication with the external world.

reality principle

the ego is governed by what?

partly conscious, partly preconscious, partly unconscious

the ego can make decisions on each of these three levels

the superego

represents the moral and ideal aspects of personality and is guided by the moralistic and idealistic principles as opposed to the pleasure principle of the id and the realistic principle of the ego.

moralistic and idealistic principles

the superego is guided by what

the conscience and the ego-ideal

the superego has two subsystems what are they

dynamics of personality

Freud postulated a -------, or motivational principle, to explain the driving forces behind people's actions.

drives

operate as a constant motivational force.

drive

Freud used the German word Trieb to refer to?

sex or eros and aggression, distraction, thanatos

the various drives can all be grouped under two major headings:

libido

Freud used the word ------ for the sex drive, but energy from the aggressive drive remains nameless.

impetus

the amount of force it exerts

sex

but this pleasure is not limited to genital satisfaction.

erogenous zones

Besides the genitals, the mouth and anus are especially capable of producing sexual pleasure and are called

narcissism, love, sadism, and masochism

Sex can take many forms, including

primary narcissism

Infants are primarily self-centered, with their libido invested almost exclusively on their own ego. This condition, which is universal, is known as