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UNT PSYC 4520 - What is Personality?
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PSYC 4520 1st Edition Lecture 1 Outline of Current Lecture I. The Person and the SituationA. What shapes our behavior?B. Social psychology vs. personality psychologyII. Defining PersonalityA. What does “personality” consist of?III. Six Approaches to PersonalityA. Psychoanalytic approachB. Trait approachC. Biological approachD. Humanistic approachE. Behavioral/social learning approachF. Cognitive approachG. How to reconcile the different approachesIV. Personality and CultureA. The role of culture in developing personalityV. The Study of Personality: Theory, Application, Assessment, and ResearchA. The first step to understanding personality: Developing a theoryB. The second step to understanding personality: Applying the theoryC. The third step to understanding personality: Assessing traits and behaviors D. The fourth step to understanding personality: Researching the theoryCurrent LectureI. The Person and the SituationA. What shapes our behavior?i. Our behavior is shaped by both the type of person we are and the situation we are in. Depending on the circumstances we are in (where we are, who else is present), we definitely do not act the same way. Our reactions and behaviors are tailored to our situations. On the other hand, different people also do not behave the same way in identical circumstances. For example, two people can attend the same event and These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.behave in completely different ways. In the end, our situations influence our behaviors, and our behaviors reflect us as individuals.B. Social psychology vs. personality psychologyi. Different types of psychologists have different approaches to determining how our situations influence our behaviors and how our behaviors reflect us as individuals. Most psychologists attempt to find general patterns of behavior that apply to most humans—how will most people respond to a certain environmental demand?ii. Different psychologists have different methods of answering this question. A social psychologist will create different scenarios in which participants encounter someone in need of help, in order to determine which situations promote or discourage helping behaviors from outsiders.Meanwhile, personality psychologists will ask why one person would choose to help in a certain situation while another would not. Personality psychologists wonder what makes you different from everyone else. Why is one person shy and another outgoing? Why is one person prone to depression and one prone to anxiety? Why do YOU behave in a certain way? II. Defining PersonalityA. What does “personality” consist of?i. Different types of psychologists constantly debate about the definition of “personality,” so there is no single definition. However, a basic definition of personality is: consistent behavior patterns and intrapersonal processes originating within the individual.ii. Personality is consistent. Someone who is outgoing today should be outgoing tomorrow. Behaviors can differ, as an outgoing person will not be genial and sociable all the time, but personality causes consistency in the way people behave.iii. Personality involves intrapersonal processes. While interpersonal processes occur between people, intrapersonal processes include the emotional and cognitive processes that occur inside of US that determine the ways we feel and behave.iv. These consistencies and intrapersonal processes originate within the individual. External sources, such as the way we were raised and the events we encounter throughout life, do affect personality; however, external sources are not the only determinant of our personalities. Thedifferent ways we each behave or express our emotions comes from within US.III. Six Approaches to PersonalityA. Psychoanalytic approachi. Psychologists who follow this approach argue that our unconscious mindslargely determine the important differences in our behavior styles.ii. For example, these psychologists argue that aggressive behavior stems from an unconscious death instinct (an unconscious desire to self-destruct). However, because individuals with a healthy personality do not hurt themselves, this instinct is unknowingly turned outward onto others.iii. Another example is depression. These psychologists argue that depression is anger turned inward—people suffering from depression hold unconscious feelings of hostility and anger. Also, they would say that we each have internalized values of society, which discourage the expression of hostility, so we unconsciously turn against ourselves.B. Trait approachi. Psychologists who follow this approach identify where a person may lie along a continuum of various personality traits. ii. In terms of the aggression example, these psychologists focus on individual differences and the stability of aggressive behavior; researchershave found that children who behaved aggressively in elementary school were more likely to become aggressive adults.iii. In terms of the depression example, these psychologists focus on identifying depression-prone individuals: a person’s general emotional level today is a good predictor of that person’s future emotions.C. Biological approachi. Psychologists who follow this approach argue that an individual’s inherited predispositions and physiological processes explain his or her individual personality. ii. In terms of the aggression example, these psychologists believe in a genetic predisposition to aggressive behavior. Other psychologists explainaggressive behavior in terms of evolution: they say that men tend to be more aggressive than women due to the men’s inherited need to exercisecontrol over his rivals so he can survive and pass on his genes. Still others point to the role that hormones and neurotransmitters play in aggressive behavior.iii. In terms of the depression example, these psychologists point to evidencethat some people may inherit a genetic susceptibility to depression. An individual like this would be more likely than an average individual react to stressful situations with depression.D. Humanistic approachi. Psychologists who follow this approach believe that personal responsibility and feelings of self-acceptance cause differences in personality.ii. In terms of the aggression example, these psychologists deny that some individuals are born aggressive; many say that humans


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UNT PSYC 4520 - What is Personality?

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