Define personality
Enduring patterns of thought, feeling, motivation and behaviour expressed in different circumstances
List perspectives of personality
- Psychodynamic
- Behavioural
- Humanistic
- Cognitive social
- Genetic influences
- Trait theories
Describe the psychodynamic theory of personality
- behaviour is a result of clashing forces within personality
- a negative, pessimistic view of human nature.
Describe the humanistic theories of personality
The focus is on subjective experience and the drive for fulfilling human potential. Assumes free will and emphasises uniqueness.
Describe behaviourist theories of personality
Psychology should only focus on observable behaviour. Has a neutral, scientific and somewhat mechanistic view of human nature.
Describe the cognitive social approach
- brought thoughts and emotions into a previously behaviour based psych
- behaviour can be changed by changing our ways of thinking
- individuals are fluid and adaptive
- humans are unique and have unique ways of thinking
Define traits
Emotional, cognitive and behavioural tendencies that constitute underlying personality dimensions on which individuals vary
Walter Mischel’s contributions to personality psychology
- personality tests do not predict behaviour because individuals behaviour is inconsistent over time.
- situational context and previous learning history is also important
Describe personality consistency
Some personality characteristics are more stablle than others.
Define temperament
Basic personality disposition heavily influenced by genes
Define heritability
The portion of variance in a particular trait that is due to genetic influences
What percentage does heritability estimate for personality traits?
15-50%
What aspects of a theorist do their theories usually reflect?
Beliefs, experience, and personality
List the ways we can measure personality
- Introspection
- Self report tests e.g. Big 5
- Projective tests
- Naturalistic observation
- Observing reactions
- Rorschach inkblot
What are the basic assumptions of personality?
- Biological components
- Shared
- Inherited
- Innate components are affected by experience: early childhood, family, and culture
What can affect changes in personality?
- Hormonal changes
- Traumatic events
- Dementia
- Substance abuse
- Infections
- Brain injury
- Stroke
- Heart transplant
- Mental illness like anxiety and depression
What are the key questions in personality psychology?
- Good vs. evil
- Heredity vs. environment
- Conscious vs. unconscious
- Personality vs. situation
- Determinism vs. free will
- Uniqueness vs. similarity
Define grand theories
- Comprehensive theories that aim to explain all human behaviour
- Reflect the theorists’ beliefs, experience and personality
Studies of the FFM suggest that personality stabilises after this many years
30
What is an example of personality characteristics that are more stable over time
Inhibition to unfamiliar situations
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Week 1: Introductions20
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Week 2: Trait Models63
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Week 3: Cognitive-Behavioural Perspective65
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Week 4: Freud and post-Freudian theorists51
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Week 5: Humanistic theories37
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Week 6: Psych Assessment/Post-Freudian59
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Week 7: Ethics and Professional Issues35
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Week 11 and 12: Reliability and Validity52
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Week 8: Personality Assessment34
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Week 9: Intelligence Testing43
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Week 10: Measurement Error33
