The traits that seem to provide the most useful information are often referred to as
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Show CHAPTER Personality Preview Personality is one’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. Psychodynamic theories focus on the unconscious and early childhood experiences. Sigmund Freud, in his psychoanalytic perspective, proposed that childhood sexuality and unconscious motives influenced personality. For Freud, conflict between pleasure-seeking biological impulses and social restraints centered on three interacting systems: id, ego, and superego. Freud believed that children develop through psychosexual stages and that people’s later problems are rooted in how they resolve conflicts associated with those stages. The neo-Freudians agreed with Freud’s basic ideas but placed more emphasis on the conscious mind and on social influences. Although contemporary research disputes many of Freud’s ideas, it does confirm that, more than most of us realize, our lives are guided by unconscious information processing. The humanistic perspective emphasizes our potential for healthy personal growth. Abraham Maslow believed that if basic human needs are met, people will strive to actualize their highest potential. Carl Rogers suggested that being accepting, genuine, and empathic helps others to develop a positive self-concept. The trait perspective attempts to describe the predispositions that underlie our actions. Through factor analysis, researchers have isolated five distinct dimensions of personality. People’s specific behaviors vary across situations as their inner dispositions interact with particular environments. The social-cognitive perspective emphasizes how internal personal factors combine with the environment to influence behavior. More than other perspectives, it builds from research on learning, cognition, and social behavior. Researchers assess how people’s behaviors and beliefs both affect and are affected by their situations. Currently, the self is one of Western psychology’s more vigorously researched topics. Studies confirm the benefits of positive self-esteem but also point to the possible hazards of unrealistically high self-esteem. Compared with defensive self-esteem, secure self-esteem depends less on external evaluations and enables us to lose ourselves in relationships and purposes larger than self. Introductory Exercise: Fact or Falsehood? The correct answers to Handout 14–1 are as follows: 1. T 2. T 3. F 4. F 5. F 6. T 7. T 8. T 9. F 10. F What was Freud's view of personality and its development?Freud proposed that the mind is divided into three components: id, ego, and superego, and that the interactions and conflicts among the components create personality (Freud, 1923/1949). According to Freudian theory, the id is the component of personality that forms the basis of our most primitive impulses.
What three ways are our personality traits expressed in?There are three criteria that are characterize personality traits: (1) consistency, (2) stability, and (3) individual differences. To have a personality trait, individuals must be somewhat consistent across situations in their behaviours related to the trait.
Which of the following best describes personality quizlet?Which of the following best defines personality? It is our characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
What personality perspective focuses on patterns of behavior and characteristics?Personality traits reflect people's characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Trait theory in psychology rests on the idea that people differ from one another based on the strength and intensity of basic trait dimensions.
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