4.1 Introduction to personality Flashcards
why is defining personality such an issue
concerns PROPERTIES (e.g. extraverted, neurotic) - difficult to define because while we recognise properties easily, CONSTITUTION unclear
the definition
that which permits a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation
who thought about humors, name em
hippocrates (6thCE), blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm
Ego - the self (william james)
personal self rather than the though/consciousness migh be treated as the immediate datum in psychology –> fleeting, psychoanalytic, existentialist, humanist
Material self - me (william james)
bodily changes follow directly the perception of exciting fact, and that our feeling of the same changes as they occur is the emotion, we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble - biological, heuristic realism, complex systems
social - me (william james)
man has as many social levels as there are individuals who recognise him and carry an image of him in their mind - behavioural, cognitive behaviourism, social cognitivist
4 makeups of personality
- psychological in nature
- fall outside intellectual domain
- enduring dispositions rather than transient states
- form relatively broad or generalised patterns
biological methodologies
emphasises contribution of biological structures + processes to personality
enrionmental methodologies
emphasises contribution of environmental forces
forms of evidence for biological
neural networks, gut biomes, genes
forms of evidence for environmental
family, cultural norms, nationality
nomothetic
focus on universal laws for EVERYONE, general patterns, common characteristics + traits (e.g. Big 5 traits, IQ scores)
* hearts, lungs, immune systems
* vary in strength + sensitivity of function
idiographic
IDIOGRAPHIC = INDIVIDUAL
understanding INDIVIDUAL UNIQUENESS, distinctive characteristics, qualitative methods (case studies, interviews),
* interview, observation, focus groups + biological, behavioural
personality structures
most stable + enduring aspects of personality, traits, temperaments ets
personality processes
dynamic conscious + unconscious motivational concepts - efforts to reduce tension or achieve growth + self-fulfilment
