Personality Psych Review  What is personality? - Can be defined as consistent behavior patterns and intrapersonal processes originating within the individual. - We identify these consistent behavior patterns across time and across situations. - Intrapersonal processes include emotional, motivational, and cognitive processes that go in of us that affect how we act and feel. Main idea of each of the 6 theories (what sets it apart from the others)?- Psychoanalytic approach: argue that people’s unconscious minds are largely responsible for important differences in their behavior styles. Aggression from this point of view points to an unconscious death instinct(self-destruct) and this would then turn into aggression. - Trait approach: identify where a person might lie along a continuum of various personality characteristics. Aggression from this point of view focuses on individual differences and the stability of aggressive behavior.- Biological approach: point to inherited predispositions and physiological processes to explain individual differences in personality. Aggression from this point of view is focused on stable patterns of behavior. They point to a genetic predisposition to act aggressively as on person reason for stability. Some people are born or inherit aggression.- Humanistic approach: personal responsibility and feelings of self-acceptance as the key causes difference in personality. Aggression from a humanistic view is that they that some deny that individuals are born to be aggressive. Problems occur when interruption of natural growth process.- Behavioral/social approach: theorist s explains consistent behavior patterns as the result of conditioning and expectations. According to them people learn to be aggressive the same way they learn other behaviors.- Cognitive approach: look at differences in the way people process information to explain differences in behavior. Psychologists here main focus is on the way aggressive people process information Two types of cultures – how do these influence personality?- Individualistic cultures: include most Northern European countries and the United States, place great emphasis on individual needs and accomplishments.- Collectivist’s cultures: are more concerned about belonging to a larger group, such as a family, tribe, or nation. Cooperation then competition. Self-esteem is based on assumptions about personal goals and feelings of uniqueness. Main questions in personality theory – genetic vs. environmental, conscious vs. unconscious, free will vs. determinism- Genetic vs. Environmental: Psychoanalytic theorists also emphasize innate needs and behavior patterns, albeit unconscious. Humanistic, behavioral/social learning and cognitive theorists are less likely to emphasize inherited influences on personality. They don’t deny the role ofgenetics, but they place focus on their attention on other determinants of personality- Conscious vs. Unconscious: Much of what we do is under the control of unconscious forces, which by definition are outside of our awareness.- Free Will vs. Determinism: Theorists from the behavioral/social learning approach called radical behaviorists. Behavior is not freely chosen, but rather the result of environmental forces and our accumulated history of experiences. What is a theory? What are two characteristics of a good theory? - A general statement about the relationship between constructs or events. One good theory is parsimonious. This theory “law of parsimony” the simplest theory that can explain the phenomenon is best. The second theory is useful. This theory  What is a hypothesis? Terms to know – manipulated independent variable, nonmanipulated independent variable, dependent variable Case studies◦ What are they? What do they include?◦ What are the strengths?◦ What are the