ENROLL IN A DISCUSSION: 601-605
TA is Cory Patrick
Read:
Chapter 1 & 2
DEFINITION OF
PERSONALITY
Personality is a determinant of behavior. According to
Kurt Lewin’s formula:
BEHAVIOR (B) =
F[ PERSONALITY (P), ENVIRONMENT (E) ]
We can see that the determinants (causes) of BEHAVIOR can be separated into 2
classes of variables: PERSONALITY
AND ENVIRONMENT. The difference
is that PERSONALITY variables
are internal causes of behavior (inside the skin) and ENVIRONMENTAL variables are external causes of behavior.
When we ask why we do what we do (Why we behave the
way that we behave?), the answers are either personality variables or
environmental variables, or some combination of both.
A more complicated formula from Gustav Bergman, a
logical positivist philosopher, who played with Breuer’s grandchildren.
BEHAVIOR = F
[(A) HEREDITY/PHYSIOLOGY,
(B) PAST LEARNING,
(C) FLUCTUATING LEVELS OF
AROUSAL, &
(D) AND
THE ENVIRONMENT].
OR ANY
COMBINATION OF A, B, C, & D.
A, B, and C (above) are all internal, so
PERSONALITY variables can also be either PHYSIOLOGICAL
(biological) or LEARNED.
Also, it is generally agreed that a personality
variable must exert a relatively consistent influence on behavior over time.
Thus, PERSONALITY variables are both A) INTERNAL,
and B) RELATIVELY CONSISTENT OVER TIME. For this reason C above (fluctuating levels of arousal) is
excluded from the domain of personality.
This leads to your instructor’s favorite definition of
Personality which comes from
“PERSONALITY is a STABLE set of INTRAPSYCHIC
(INTERNAL) characteristics and tendencies that determines the
psychological behavior of people. The behavior determined by personality is RELATIVELY CONSISTENT over time.”
THE ESSENTIAL
ELEMENTS OF A GOOD THEORY
CORE: Those
elements or variables in a theory, which are assumed to be common to all
people. The ways in which we are all alike.
DEVELOPMENT: We are all
born with the same core, yet each person has a unique developmental course. The
unique experiences each one of us has in our development form our peripheral
personality characteristics.
PERIPHERAL CHARACTERISTICS: Elements
or variables of a theory, which are closer to being observable and are
generally learned, rather than inherent. We will often refer to this as the
adult personality characteristics of an individual.
A good theory should describe a core (e.g., Freud’s
Id, Ego, and Superego). A good theory should also describe developmental
experiences that may be beneficial or harmful (e.g., fixation during one of the
psychosexual stages). The theory should also describe specific adult peripheral
personality characteristics that would develop in individuals who have had
certain developmental experiences. For
example, compulsive characteristics should occur in adults that received harsh
toilet training at age 2.
Even though a theory may be “good” by these standards,
it does not make the theory “true” (valid).
Theories can be evaluated in one of three ways:
1.
Case Study Method, used most often by “traditional”
personality theorists.
2.
Correlational Research, R(response)-R(response)
relationships
3.
Experimental Research, S(stimulus)-R(response)
relationships
Correlational and Experimental Research
may often use Personality Tests or
Questionnaires. The usefulness of these tests depends on two issues:
Reliability, and
Validity
Personality Tests can be either
Projective tests, or
Objective tests
Most of the Personality Theorists we
will cover assume that human behavior is lawful. That is, it is possible to answer
the question, “Why do we do what we do?” Human behavior is assumed to be determined
by causal variables in the environment and personality. Most Personality
researchers search for R-R laws and S-R laws.
Gordon Allport
defines a PERSONAL DISPOSITION (PERSONALITY TRAIT) as: a general neuropsychic structure UNIQUE TO THE INDIVIDUAL with the
capacity to:
1. RENDER MANY
STUMULI FUNCTIONALLY EQUIVALENT, and
2. INSTIGATE
AND GUIDE CONSISTENT (EQUIVALENT) FORMS OF ADAPTIVE AND STYLISTIC BEHAVIOR
A PERSONALITY TYPE (BROADER CONCEPT) IS
MADE UP OF CORRELATED PERSONALITY TRAITS (NARROWER, MORE SPECIFIC CONCEPT).