What is Personality DR SUMAYA BATOOL DEPARTMENT OF
What is Personality? DR. SUMAYA BATOOL DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF SARGODHA
Points to be discussed • Personality • Approaches to personality • Personality and culture • Positions of approaches on personality on three theory issues
Defining personality • Personality can be defined as consistent behavior patterns and intrapersonal processes originating within the individual. • So, personality s two main components: 1. Patterns of behavior which are consistent. 2. Intrapersonal processes.
Approaches to personality: Approaches Definition Psychoanalytic approach This approach argues that people’s unconscious minds are largely responsible for important differences in their behavior styles. Trait approach Psychologists, who favor the trait approach, identify where a person might lie along a continuum of various personality characteristics. Biological approach Psychologists advocating the biological approach point to inherited predispositions and physiological processes to explain individual differences in personality. Behavioral/ social learning approach Behavioral/social learning theorists explain consistent behavior patterns as the result of conditioning and expectations. Cognitive approach look at differences in the way people process information to explain differences in behavior. Humanistic approach identify personal responsibility and feelings of self-acceptance as the key causes of differences in personality.
Example: Depression This example will show that how six approaches work: • According to Sigmund Freud, the founder of the psychoanalytic approach, depression is anger turned inward. That is, people suffering from depression hold unconscious feelings of anger and hostility. Psychoanalysts also argue that each of us has internalized the standards and values of society, which typically discourage the expression of hostility. This process takes place at an unconscious level. • Trait theorists are concerned with identifying depression-prone individuals. Researchers find that a person’s general emotional level today is a good indicator of that person’s emotions in the future. • Biological personality psychologists point to evidence that some people may inherit a genetic susceptibility to depression. A person born with this vulnerability faces a much greater likelihood than the average individual of reacting to stressful life events with depression. Because of this inherited tendency, these people often experience repeated bouts of depression throughout their lives.
• Humanistic personality theorists explain depression in terms of self esteem. That is, people who frequently suffer from depression are those who have failed to develop a good sense of their self-worth. • The behavioral/social learning approach examines the type of learning history that leads to depression. Behaviorists argue that depression results from a lack of positive reinforcers in a person’s life. That is, you may feel down and unmotivated because you see few activities in your life worth doing. • Cognitive personality psychologists argue that whether people become depressed depends on how they interpret their inability to control events. Other cognitive psychologists propose that some individuals use something like a depressive filter to interpret and process information. That is, depressed people are prepared to see the world in the most depressing terms possible. For this reason, depressed people can easily recall depressing experiences.
Personality and Culture Change of cultures affect personality. Nature and nurture also have impact on personality. There are two types of cultures. • Individualistic culture It include most Northern European countries and the United States, place great emphasis on individual needs and accomplishments. People in these cultures like to think of themselves as independent and unique. • Collectivistic culture People in collectivist cultures are more concerned about belonging to a larger group, such as a family, tribe, or nation. These people are more interested in cooperation than competition.
Positions of approaches on personality on three theory issues
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