Personality Flashcards
Personality
According to Kunkel, refers to the long standing trails and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, and behave in specific ways; our personalities are thought to be long-term, stable, and not easily changed
Idiographic View
assumes that each person has a unique psychological structure and that some traits are possessed by only one person; and that there are times when it is impossible to compare one person with other. It tends to use case studies for information gathering
Nomothetic View
emphasizes comparability among individuals. This viewpoint sees traits as having the same psychological meaning in everyone
Type A
self driven, competitive
Type B
charismatic; easy-going
Type C
introverts; stress-pone
Type D
love routine; follow orders
Who studied personality first?
Hippocrates; personality has been studied for over 2000 years
What are the four fluids or “humors” of the body?
choleric temperament; melancholic temperament; sanguine temperament; phlegmatic temperament
Choleric Temperament
yellow bile from the liver
Melancholic Temperament
black bile from the kidneys
Sanguine Temperament
red blood from the heart
Phlegmatic Temperament
white phlegm from the lung
Alfred Alder
first major theorist to break away from Freud; founded school of psychology called individual psychology which focuses on our drive to compensate for feelings of inferiority; he proposed the concept of the inferiority complex
Inferiority Complex
refers to a person’s feelings that they lack worth and do not measure up to the standards of others or of society; Alder believed that feelings of inferiority in childhood are what drive people to attempt to gain superiority and that this striving is the force behind all of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
What are the fundamental social tasks that Alder said we all must experience?
occupation tasks (careers), societal tasks (friendship), and love tasks (finding an intimate partner for a long term relationship)
What was one of ALder’s major contributions to personality psychology?
the idea that our birth order shapes our personality
Erik Erikson
proposed a psychosocial theory of development, suggesting that an individuals personality develops throughout their lifespan (against freud); Erikson emphasized the social relationships that are important at each stage of personality development; said that there are eight stages and must successfully complete each task
Carl Jung
broke away from Freud, but still believed in the unconscious but thought it to be incomplete; focused on the collective unconscious; proposed two attitudes or approaches towards life: extroversion and introversion; also proposed the persona
Collective Unconscious
a universal version of the personal unconscious, holding mental patterns, or memory traces, which are common to all of us; these ancestral memories (which Jung called archetypes) are represented by universal themes in various cultures, as expressed throughout literature, art, and dreams. Jung said these themes reflect common experiences of people all over the world face such as facing death, becoming independent, and striving for mastery
Extrovert
you are a person who is energized by being outgoing and socially oriented: you derive your energy from being around others
Introvert
you are a person who may be quiet and reserved, or you may be social, but your energy is derived from your inner psychic activity
Persona
a mask that we adopt; according to Jung we consciously create this person; however it is derived from both our conscious experiences and our collective unconscious; Jung believed that it is a compromise between who we really are (our true self) and what society expects us to be; we hide parts of ourselves that are not aligned with society’s expectations
The Behavioral Perspective of Personality
behaviorists do not believe in biological determinism: they do not see personality traits as inborn; instead they view personality as significantly shaped by reinforcements and consequences outside of the organism; Skinner believed that environment was solely responsible for all behavior, including the enduring, consistent behavior patterns studied by personality theorists
The Social-Cognitive Perspective to Personality
Bandura agreed with Skinner that personality develops through learning, however he disagreed with Skinner’s strict behaviorist approach. Bandura believed that thinking and reasoning are important components of learning; he presented a social-cognitive theory of personality that emphasizes both learning and cognition as sources of individual differences in personality; reciprocal determinism, observational learning, and self-efficacy are part of it
The Humanistic Perspective to Personality
third force of psychology; focuses on how healthy people develop; Maslow hierarchy of needs; highest need is self actualization; one of Carl Rogers main ideas about personality regards self concept
Self Concept
our thoughts and feels about ourselves
Biological Approaches to Personality
believe that inherited predispositions as well as physiological processes can be used to explain differences in our personalities; implication is that some of our aspects of personality are largely controlled by genetics but not determined by a single gene; Raymond Cattell’s Trait Theory (OCEAN); Hans and Sybil Eysenck focused on temperament believed people had two specific personality dimensions: extroversion/introversion and neuroticism/stability
What is one of the most important environment factors that shape your personality?
culture
Culture
refers to all of the beliefs, customs, art, and traditions of a particular society
African Worldview
an African’s existential reality is one of collective being, they seek to understand the world through their intersection with all aspects of the world and other people
What is at the center of African worldview?
spirit or life itself, a vital force and animation of the universe; it imparts feeling to all things from God down to the smallest grain of sand
Hierarchy of African Worldview
Supreme God then Spirits then Earth and then the Underworld
What is the basic unit for Africans?
the tribe, not the individual; the tribe seeks collective survival, cooperation is valued over competition and individualism; an act of aggression towards other is considered an act of aggression against oneself
Marriage in African Culture
marriage is a unifying link in the rhythm of life: past, present, and future generations are all represented; having children is an obligation therefore a marriage is not considered complete until children have been born
Dr. Na’im Akbar’s Divine or Spiritual Core Model
the core of African American personality is divine substance it is defined by and reflects nature/natural order; Akbar proposes that the energy system of Black personality is rhythm; the drive for Black personality is to reaffirm oneness with nature
Divine Substance
spiritual substance having universal origin
Rhythm
is flow; the natural and unrestricted free flowing energy, and flow is interconnecting; it is the natural binding function of energy/spirit
According to Akbar, what must be done to keep African consciousness mentally alive and viable?
must be maintained and reinforced through creation and operations; for example: religious celebration, rituals, memorials, museums, books, etc will help to prevent the distortions of Western philosophy
What position does Dr. Kobi take?
that the uniting into holistic synthesis is the deriving energy of African American Personality
What are the three major construct’s of Kambon’s Model
African Self-Extension Orientation (ASEO), African Self Consciousness (ASC), and Cultural Misorientation (CM)
African Self Extension Orientation (ASEO)
refers to the deeply rooted unconscious, genetically based African Spirituality; reflects a continual, unending urge/striving for collective-communal expression of African cosmic (spiritual) wholeness or unity; it is the core of personality that is inherited in the bio-genetic condition of being born African American
African Self Consciousness
represents the conscious expression of African spirituality (ASEO) that affirms African life, survival and self determination
What are the four components of ASC (African Self Consciousness)
a collective African identity; prioritizing African racial cultural survival; advocacy for and active participation in the creation and perpetuation of African centered institutions and practices; a resolute posture of defense against anti-African forces in ones thought, attitudes and behaviors or in other individuals, groups or institutions
Cultural Misorientation
CM refers to the intense pervasive and prolonged condition of forced (imposed) cultural indoctrination by European Americans; focuses on the psychological orientation of all African diaspora descendants, reflecting the European survival thrust and emphasizing a materialistic, individualistic, alien and anti self destructive, and racial integration orientation in one’s thoughts, attitude, and behaviors from European cultural oppression
Western Society/Culture
such as the U.S., the individual not only has the freedom to seek purely personal achievement it is expected of them
Eastern Society/Culture
such as China, individuals are expected to subordinate their own desires and ambitions for the good of the family and their community
African Society/Culture
middle ground; there is significant individual freedom, but individuals are expected to serve their family and community; as a result the individual also benefits from the overall success of the family and community
