Evaluating Personality Theories Flashcards
It is difficult to define because there is little common agreement on how the term should be used; someone’s public image
Personality
According to _____, Personality is something real within an individual that leads to characteristic behavior and thought
Gordon Allport
According to _____, Personality or Self is an organized consistent pattern of perception of the I or Me that lies at the heart of an individual’s experiences
Carl Rogers
According to ____, Personality is an unnecessary construct
B.F. Skinner
According to, _____, Personality is largely unconscious, hidden, and unknown
Sigmund Freud
refers to the act of viewing, contemplating, or thinking about something.
Theoria
a set of abstract concepts developed about a group of facts or events in order to explain them
Theory
Two traditions inform contemporary theories of personality. One stems from ____ and ____. The other stems from _____ and _____.
PL AR PA CP
Psychological Laboratories & Academic Research; Psychoanalysis & Clinical Psychology
Study of personality usually focused on uncovering general principles of personality through research methods such as correlations and experiments
Academic Psychology
it is typically conducted in an academic setting
Precursor: Wilhelm Wundt
Academic Psychology
Study of personality primarily through research on individuals by way of methods such as case histories
Clinical Practice
it is typically conducted in a psychotherapeutic or clinical environment
Precursor: Sigmund Freud
Clinical Practice
Personality theorists work out of three complementary orientations: PSA
Philosophy, Science, and Arts
personality theorists seek to explore assumptions about what it means to be a person
Philosophers
they hope to develop a workable set of hypotheses that will help us understand human behavior
Scientists
they seek to apply what is known about people and behavior to foster a better life
Artists
The very act of theorizing, or thinking about what we see
Philosophical Assumptions
some theorists believe that individuals basically have control over their behaviors and understand the motives behind them. Others believe that human behavior is basically determined by internal or external forces over which individuals have little, if any, control.
Freedom vs. Determinism
theorists differ over whether inherited and inborn characteristics or factors in the environment have the more important influence on human behavior
Heredity vs. Environment
some theorists believe that each individual is unique and cannot be compared with others. Others contend that people are basically very similar
Uniqueness vs. Universality
proactive theories view human beings as acting on their initiative rather than simply reacting. The sources of behavior are perceived as lying within the individual, who does more than just react to stimuli from the outside world.
Proactivity vs. Reactivity
do significant changes in personality and behavior occur throughout the course of a lifetime? If an individual is motivated, can genuine changes be affected in personality? Can we help others to change by restructuring their environment? Some personality theories are decidedly more optimistic and hopeful than others concerning these possibilities.
Optimism vs. Pessimism
______ suggest that things are not necessarily what they appear to be. They are based on a special Epiphany, or a perception of essential meaning
Philosophical assumptions
_______ tend to be global and do not allow for any exceptions. They often are implicit rather than explicit
Philosophical statements
What are the criteria for Evaluating Philosophical Assumptions? CRCC
Coherence
Relevance
Comprehensiveness
Compellingness
based directly on observation
Empirical
referring to the object of experience
Objective
referring to an experience of seeing
Subjective
A conclusion that something is true about many or all of the members of a certain class
Generalization
specifies which behaviors are included in the concert
Operational definitions
are imaginary or hypothetical and cannot be seen with the naked eye or even with sophisticated optical equipment, in order to explain what we observe
Scientific construct
What are the Criteria for Evaluating Scientific statements? VUCPpS
Verifiability Usefulness Compatibility Predictive power Simplicity
What are the three applications of Personality theory? ARP
Assessment
Research
Psychotherapy
Two major approaches to assessing personality are: P & PT
Psychometric & Projective Techniques
Three Primary Research Approaches used in personality are the: CA, PA, & EA
Clinical Approach, Psychometric Approach, and Experimental Approach
the effort to apply the findings of personality theory in ways that will assist individuals and meet human goals
Psychotherapy
means attending and healing
Therapeia
Three major motives or goals of Psychotherapy: SM, EM, CM
Scholarly motive, Ethical motive, & Curative motive
It considers therapy as a means of understanding the self and human nature
Scholarly motive
was the tool of Freud for discovering truths about human nature
Psychoanalysis
His goal was to help the individual acquire self-understanding and to develop a comprehensive theory of human nature. He developed Psychoanalysis as a method of research aimed at these ends and for discovering truths about human nature.
Sigmund Freud
considers therapy as a means of helping the individual to change, improve, grow, and better the quality of life
Ethical motive
His emphasis is on a climate created by the therapist that permits change to occur within the client rather than on cognitive understanding or the manipulation of behavior.
Carl Rogers
aims directly at eliminating troublesome symptoms and substituting more suitable behavior.
Curative motive
a model or concept of the world that is shared by the members of a community and that governs their activities
Paradigm
- Scholarly therapies should be evaluated on the basis of their contributions to the understanding of the self and human nature
- Ethical therapies should be evaluated in terms of the suitability of the climate they create for fostering change and life improvement
- Curative therapies should be evaluated on the basis of symptom remission and number of cures
Evaluating Psychotherapy
appearance, or manifestation
Epiphaneia
