Personality Final Exam PDF

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Personality Final Exam: Ch.6-12 Chapter 6: Humanistic/Phenomenological Viewpoints Humanism -a belief that people: actively create their own reality live in the present Are good Are motivated toward personal growth and fulfillment Subjective experience: feelings and behavior are determined by how one interprets events -individual is “undisputed” expert on own feelings and behavior Carl Rogers Basic Assumptions Reality of subjective experience -importance of unique way each person perceives the world and experiences More important to know how event is viewed than the nature of the event itself -Emphasis on the here and now Importance of how things are perceived and experienced now, not how they were in the past The actualizing tendency is an individual’s motivation toward self-improvement, helps develop personal attributes and capabilities, moves us toward increasing autonomy through self-awareness. Is unique for each individual. The organismic valuing process: ● Guides the actualizing tendency ● Evaluates subjective experiences and judges whether it has short-term or long-term potential for helping the individual toward self-enhancement ● Emotionally healthy and highly self-aware individuals always freely choose

alternatives promoting the actualizing tendency The phenomenal field: all of the potential sensory experiences occurring in and around an individual at any single moment -includes reactions individual might have -constantly changing Subception: an emotional response to an event before you are consciously aware of it -emotional and mental factors can influence decisions and actions Self-concept -part of phenomenal field becomes part of the self -it is formed through encounters and interpretations of life’s events -how you FEEL about your experiences and the sense of who you are -dynamic interaction of two components: organism, self Organism: helps individual evaluate and categorize experiences -linked to organismic valuing process -experiences judged as beneficial become part of the self Self: makes it possible for you to distinguish yourself from all other individuals -sense of personal identity represented within phenomenal field -various aspects of self lead to unique patterns of behavior and attributes Labels -> opinions/attitudes-> activities Congruence: close match between feelings about experiences and sense of self Incongruence: not a close match between feelings about experiences and sense of self Incongruence-> anxiety Self-actualization: motivational process behind actualizing tendency -helps person to meet needs of personal growth and self-enhancement 4 features of Self-Actualization

1.Necessity of experiential freedom and openness: must be open to and experience events freely and feelings in phenomenal field Experiential freedom: honest and unbiased approach to events of one’s life 2.Ongoing process: innate desire for self-enhancement is continuous and never ending 3. Unique expression: each person seeks self-enhancement 4. Holistic nature:all aspects of individual are used in harmony in efforts toward self-enhancement Personality Development: reciprocal interaction b/w desire for regard of others and desire for personal regard Need for positive regard: need we have for others to accept us, to receive warmth, acceptance, sympathy, regard, and respect. ● Unconditional positive regard: positive regard WITHOUT limitations. Acceptance for who person is, not what others would like him/her to be -granting others freedom of experience w/o passing judgment -allows for experiencing true feelings openly and freely -helps self-actualization ● Conditional positive regard: positive regard with limitations/conditions. Giving esteem to others only when they meet certain expectations. Serious barrier to self-actualization. Need for Positive Self-Regard ● Desire we have to accept our sense of self ● We judge for ourselves what we like/dislike, will/will not incorporate into our sense of self ● Develop self-acceptance and unique identity ● Most likely when experiencing unconditional positive regard from others Conditions of worth: accepting your sense of self only when it meets expectation of others. Significant others give labels that become incorporated into self-concept. -problem of equating conditional positive regard and positive self-regard

-can undermine true organismic valuing process -threaten efforts toward self-actualization Personality adjustment: degree of personality adjustment directly related to amount of experiential freedom -experiential freedom maximizes possibility of maintaining congruence Personality adjustment Fully functioning person: constantly experiencing high degree of congruence. Has a high degree of mental health. Can incorporate diverse information about sense of self, tends to be open to new experiences, trusts own judgment Living “the good life”: greater degree of independence, creativity, trust by others, richness of experience Living “the incongruent life”: basing too much on conditional positive regard. Relying too much on external influences minimizes experiential freedom and maximizes possibility of incongruence. Incongruence can lead to anxiety and defensive coping. Distortions of awareness, denial, rigid behavioral patterns Reduces perceived incongruence, but actual incongruence produces anxiety and distress Too much anxiety-> disorganized- anxiety becomes conscious Too much disorganization-> motivated to seek help Person-centered psychotherapy Problem: incongruence in self-concept Solution: reintegrate self-concept by increasing experiential freedom Focus on individual Focus on working relationship between client and therapist People are motivated to seek therapy as part of self-actualization

6 essential characteristics of therapeutic environment: 1. Presence of contact (interact meaningfully) 2. Client is incongruent (need to have significant anxiety to seek therapy) 3. Therapist is congruent (honest, no biases) 4. Therapist has unconditional positive regard (totally accepting) 5. Therapist-empathic understanding (step “in their shoes”) 6. Client perceives therapist’s unconditional positive regard and empathic understanding (client needs to be aware of it) Treatment Outcomes Effects/changes in client: -greater expression of feelings verbally and behaviorally -more references to self than others as time progresses -greater awareness of incongruence and feelings about this -reduction in distortion and denial of experiences related to feelings of incongruence -ability to experience unconditional positive regard of therapist Treatment outcomes Effectiveness of therapy: EMPATHY, WARMTH, GENUINENESS Q-Sort: personality assessment to measure personal world, how one views sense of self -self-descriptive statements on cards -sorted into limited number of piles -”least like me” to “most like me” Self-ideal sort-correlate the “self” sort with the ideal” sort Rogers’ phenomenological viewpoint Strengths: -emphasis on research -emphasis on person -impact of Rogerian viewpoint Limitations

-emphasis on subjective experience and self-report -theoretical simplicity -criticisms of person-centered therapy ABRAHAM MASLOW Maslow’s Basic Assumptions Positive view of the person -constantly striving for self-enhancement -conscious process -basically good, but can be easily distracted from self-enhancement Emphasis on investigating the healthy personality -study emotionally healthy people in detail “Best of the best” in various fields Motivational nature of personality and the dynamic satisfaction of needs -state of complete satisfaction is rare -constantly motivated to meet interrelated biological and psychological needs THERE ARE TWO CATEGORIES OF NEEDS Deficiency needs Being needs They lead us to a state of self-actualization (reaching full potential using talents and abilities to fullest extent) Deficiency needs: lower, more basic needs necessary for survival. Hunger, thirst, safety Motivational power=satisfying them -lack of something, need to supply it -more POTENT/POWERFUL, greater influence on behavior -generally satisfied first Being needs: higher needs necessary for state of self-actualization -desire for wisdom, sense of aesthetics

Both types of need are necessary Motivational power=fulfilling them -ongoing self-enhancement -not just satisfying them Being needs-Less potent, lesser influence on behavior Satisfied after deficiency needs Hierarchy of Needs Human needs organized into five groups Lower need has more power than one above -greater urgency to satisfy lower need Progressing up hierarchy=closer to state of self-actualization 5 groups: Physiological needs: the most basic needs directly related to survival, food, water, sleep, elimination. EXTREMELY POWERFUL/POTENT, especially when unmet. Safety needs: desire for stability, directly related to creating environment free from threat of danger. Order, predictability, structure. Life changes can threaten sense of safety, security-stress from disrupting routine. Belongingness and love needs: desire to feel accepted by others. -part of some group (family, gang, religious group, etc.) -desire to have meaningful relationships with others. Ability to give and receive love. Failure to meet this need is CORE of most, if not all, maladjustment -social support: network of friends and social contacts you can count on for help and support, pets too Esteem needs: desire to have self-respect and respect of others. Achieving status, recognition within group as worthy member. Self-confidence, self-esteem.

Leadership skills. WICS model-wisdom, intelligence, creativity. Self-esteem-your evaluation of your own self-worth -general/global and specific -attributes more important to you-> greater impact on self-esteem Too much self-esteem (unrealistic)-> narcissism Happiness and success via self-confidence in approaching and engaging others Need for self-actualization: desire to develop abilities to fullest potential. Motivates people to express vital parts of their self/nature to fullest extent. Ongoing process. Least potential need (must be extremely motivated; few have internal desire to make commitment. FEW PEOPLE are able to successfully completely satisfy this Needs are not sequential -can experience more than one need at once -can satisfy more than one need at once -lower needs can be superseded by higher ones Self-actualizing people: eleanor roosevelt, Jane Addams, Beethoven, Einstein, Freud, Lincoln Common characteristics: ● More accurate perception of reality ● Greater acceptance of self and others ● Non-hostile sense of humor ● Being true to themselves ● Being other-centered rather than self-centered ● Autonomy in behavior and values ● Being selective in their interpersonal relationships ● Being creative ● Having peak experiences ● Not perfect ● Nothing to do with intelligence

Peak experiences: heightened sense of wonder, awe, ecstasy Similar to falling in love, giving a perfect performance Everyone has them, self-actualizing people have MORE Special moments: “natural high” Distinguishing characteristics of PEAK EXPERIENCES Fulfillment Significance Spirituality Flow: idea of Csikszentmihalyi, state of being so engrossed in an activity that nothing else matters -clear sense of action -blending of skills w/ challenges of activity -exclusion of distractions from consciousness -disappearance of self-consciousness -distortion of time Maslow’s motivational viewpoint Strengths: ● Studying the best of the best ● Realistic view of human nature ● Impact of Maslow’s ideas Limitations: ● Almost untestable theory ● Subjective nature of self-actualization ● Limited empirical research

Chapter 7: Trait Viewpoint

Traits: dimensions of personality that influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a particular way. They are also psychological structures and the fundamental elements of personality. Traits -account for individual differences in personality expression. People differ in both degree and type of traits they possess. -account for consistency of personality expression across situations. Each person’s unique trait structure determines personality

Gordon Allport Basic assumptions of Allport’s definition of personality ● Personality is a dynamic organization in a state of continuous growth. (Personality is an orderly system, but always in a state of change) ● Each experience modifies or strengthens personality in some way ● Personality is psychophysical in nature as it combines the mind and body. Psycho=mind (feelings, ideas, beliefs) & body (hormones). ● Personality is a determinant of behavior. Activating and directive function. (personality is something and does something) ● Personality is an expression of each person’s uniqueness. Characteristic behavior and thought. For Allport, the trait is the basic unit of personality. Consistently influence thoughts, feelings, and behavior across situations. Common trait: TRAITS ALL PEOPLE HAVE in varying degrees. Nomothetic approach: making comparisons of people or groups on certain common traits. I.e., survey college students on shyness.

Personal dispositions (individual traits): traits that are unique to the individual that create a personalized style of behavior. Explain uniqueness of each person and consistency of person’s behavior “Equalizing a variety of stimuli” means that the individual’s unique system of personal dispositions interprets a variety of info in a similar manner, resulting in a consistent pattern of behavior. Idiographic approach: study of personality is characterized by detailed study of one individual in a variety of different ways in different situations. Cardinal traits: represent the most significant and dominant features of the individual’s personality, expressing themselves in virtually all aspects of behavior. Central traits: less pervasive and dominant than cardinal traits. Outstanding characteristics of a person. I.e., what you would say in a letter of recommendation. Secondary traits: Personality features that express themselves in the context of specific situations and circumstances. For ex., being nervous when giving presentations. Proprium: all aspects of the individual’s personality that are considered “personally” his or her own Functional autonomy: the motivation behind current actions is independent of early childhood motivation ● Perseverative functional autonomy: a primitive motivational system that accounts for the expression of many repetitious behavior patterns and a desire for routine and familiarity ● Propriate functional autonomy: a higher level of motivation that helps people to develop beyond their original level those aspects of their lives most significantly related to their sense of self-awareness...