Personality, 9e

Jerry M. Burger

2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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What is Personality?
Chapter 1

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Chapter Outline
The person and the situation
Defining personality
Six approaches to personality
Personality and culture
The study of personality:

Theory, application,
assessment, and research
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.

The Person and the

Situation
Both the situation and the

person influence behavior

Individual's personality
determines:
How different he/she is from

others
How he/she behaves in the
different situations
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Personality
Consistent behavior patterns and

intrapersonal processes originating

within the individual
Consistent patterns of behavior
To an extent, individual behavior is
consistent across time and situations
Intrapersonal processes
Emotional, motivational, and cognitive

processes that influence individual's

feelings and actions
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.

Approaches to
Personality

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Approaches to
Personality

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Approaches to
Personality

2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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Aggression
Psychoanalytic approachs

explanation
People possess an unconscious

desire to self-destruct
Self-destructive impulses are expressed

against others in the form of aggression

Aggression occurs when people are

blocked from reaching their goals

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Trait approachs explanation

Focusses on individual differences and

Aggression
the stability of aggressive behavior
Aggressive children are most likely to

become aggressive adults

Biological approachs explanation

Genetic predisposition towards

aggression
Evolutionary theory
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Aggression
Humanistic approachs explanation
People are basically good
Aggression arises when something

interferes with natural growth process

Inadequate basic needs, poor self-image

Behavioral/social approachs

explanation
People learn to be aggressive
Aggressive behavior that is rewarded will

be repeated
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Aggression
Cognitive explanation
Certain cues in the environment
trigger a network of aggressive
thoughts and emotions

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Depression
Psychoanalytic approachs explanation
Depression is a result of holding

unconscious feelings of anger and hostility

Trait approachs explanation
Focuses on identifying depression-prone

individuals
Persons general emotional level at
present can indicate that persons
emotions in the future

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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.

Depression
Biological approachs explanation
Certain people inherit a genetic
susceptibility to depression
Humanistic approachs

explanation
People frequently suffering from

depression are those who have low

self-worth

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Depression
Behavioral/social approachs

explanation
Depression results from a lack of

positive reinforcers in a persons life

Cognitive approachs explanation
Depression depends on how people

interpret their inability to control events

Certain individuals use a depressive
filter to interpret and process
information
2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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Personality and Culture

Cultural context influences an

individuals personality
Individualistic cultures:
Emphasize on individual needs
and accomplishments
Individuals perceive themselves as

independent and unique

Includes Northern European
countries and the United States
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Personality and Culture

Collectivist cultures: Emphasize

on belonging to a larger group

Family, tribe, or nation
Includes Asian, African, Central

American, and South American

countries
Cultural context influences

interpretation of an individual's
behavior
2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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Study of Personality:
Theory
Genetic versus environmental

influences
Biological and trait theorists argue that

psychologists fail to recognize the

significance of inherited predispositions
Psychoanalytic theorists emphasize innate
needs and unconscious behavior patterns
Humanistic, behavioral/social learning,
and cognitive theorists rarely emphasize
inherited influences on personality
2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.

Figure 1.1 - Position of the Six

Approaches to Personality on Three
Theory Issues

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Study of Personality:
Theory
Conscious versus unconscious

determinants of behavior
Psychoanalyst view asserts that

much of what people do is without

awareness
Behavior perspective asserts that
people assume they understand
the reasons for their actions but in
reality they do not
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Study of Personality:
Theory
Trait and cognitive theorists

assume people can identify and

report their level of social anxiety
Humanistic theorists argue that
people do not understand why
they act the way they do

2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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Study of Personality:
Theory
Free will versus determinism
Behaviorists argue that behavior is not

freely chosen but it is the result of

environmental forces and accumulated
history of experiences
Psychoanalytic theorists emphasize innate
needs and unconscious mechanisms
Humanistic theorists identify personal
choice and responsibility as the basis of
mental health
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Study of Personality:
Theory
Trait theorists and biological

theorists emphasize genetic

predispositions
Cognitive psychotherapists
encourage their clients to
recognize the cause of their
problems and help them to
develop strategies to avoid future
difficulties
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Study of Personality:
Application
Psychoanalytic therapists attend to

unconscious causes of the problem

behavior
Humanistic therapists provide the
atmosphere for clients to explore
their feelings
Cognitive therapists try to change
the way their clients process
information
2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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Study of Personality:
Application
Behaviorists structure the

environment to increase the

frequency of desired behaviors
and decrease undesired behaviors
Personality theory and research is
used by psychologists in
educational, organizational, and
counseling settings
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Study of Personality:
Assessment
Researchers use self-report

inventories to measure personality

Psychoanalytic psychologists focus
on learning unconscious thoughts
Require test takers to respond to

ambiguous stimuli
Behavioral psychologists observe

behavior to determine consistent

behavior patterns
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Study of Personality:
Research
Test principles and assumptions of

certain researches are central to

the theory
Few researches are focused on the

concepts introduced by personality

theory
Psychology researchers employ

several methods to uncover

information about personality
2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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