Week 1 What is personality?

Question 1

Explain Lewin’s formula (1936)

Answer 1

Behaviour is explained by the interaction of a person’s personality and the situation they are in at any given time.
B = f(P, S)

Question 2

Explain Allport’s defonition of personality (1961)

Answer 2

Defines personality as the dynamic organisation of an individual’s psychophysical systems, which shape their characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviour.

Question 3

Explain Cattel’s defonition of personality (1950)

Answer 3

Personality as a set of traits or characteristics that are consistent patterns of behaviour, emotions and thoughts in an individual.

Question 4

Summarise the psychoanalytic perspective of personality

Answer 4

Developed by Signmund Freud. Empahsises the role of the unconscious mind and early childhood experiences in shaping an individual’s personality. Made up of 3 parts: the id (basic instincts/desires), the ego (mediating between the id’s desires and external reality), and the superego (representing societal norms and values).

Question 5

Limitations of the psychoanalytic personality theory

Answer 5

Untestable concepts

Question 6

Summarise the Neoanalytical / psychosocial personality approach

Answer 6

Built upon Freud’s psychoanalutic approach, but emphaseise the importance of social and cultural factors in addition to the unconscious mind and early experiences.

Question 7

Summarise the biological approach to personality

Answer 7

Hans Eysenck’s biological approach suggests that individaual personality differences are largely determined by biological factors. Suggests thaht these traits are heritable and influenced by the functioning of the nervous system.

Question 8

Summarise the behaviourist approach to personality

Answer 8

Proposed by B. F. Skinner, suggests that personality is a collection of learned behaviours and habits that results from consequences of our actions. Empahises reinforcment and punishment in shaping personality.

Question 9

Summarise the cognitive approach to personality

Answer 9

George Kelly suggests that individual perception and interpretation shapes our personality. The way we mentally organise our experiences determines our actions and reactions to the world.

Question 10

Summarise the trait approach to personality

Answer 10

Proposed by Allport, triats are grouped into 3 categories: cardinal traits (rare, dominant traits that shape a person’s life), central traits (core characteristics of a person), and secondary traits (more specific and situational traits that may not be consistent across different situations)

Question 11

Summarise the humanistic approach to personality

Answer 11

Maslow suggests that everyone has an innate potential for personla growth and self-actualisation e.g., maslow’s heitachy of needs. Individuals seek to fufil their highest potential, leading to a unique and positive personality developement.

Question 12

Summarise the interactionist approach to personality

Answer 12

Henry Murray’s approach relies on the Lewin’s equation. It allows us to understand that we are different selves in different situations.