Post on 01-Nov-2014
description
Heuristic Value of the Grand Theories in Five Important Areas
• Five important areas in contemporary personality theory and research:
– Focus on the special impact of biological factors on human personality development and functioning
– The necessity of incorporating a multicultural perspective into personality theory and research and psychotherapy
– The use of a trait taxonomy to increase our understanding of the role of traits within personality
– The role of positive psychology in promoting the study of human strengths and virtues in personality development and functioning
– The emergence of the study of personality differences as they relate differentially to Internet usage
Area 1: A Focus on Biological Contributions to Personality
• Behavioral genetics: scientific discipline that seeks to document the relative influences of heredity and environment on behavioral differences observed among individuals
• Quantitative genetics: study of the individual variations in traits through procedures that allow for the assessment of the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors
• Molecular genetics: field of biology which studies the structure and functions of genes at a molecular level
– Seeks to understand how genes at the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) level encode for sequences of amino acids that form thousands of proteins important for human functioning
– Findings in this discipline may directly impact theorizing and research in personality psychology
Area 1: A Focus on Biological Contributions to Personality (cont'd.)
• Human Genome Project: international scientific effort to map all of the genes in the human body
– Goal is to understand genetic basis of physical diseases and mental disorders so that scientists can work more effectively to reduce and eliminate them
– May provide greater insights into human evolution and behavior
Area 1: A Focus on Biological Contributions to Personality (cont'd.)
• Evolutionary theory: position that seeks to understand the development of human behavioral tendencies by focusing primarily on our animal heritage
– Broad-based temperaments: traits that we share with other primates
• Emotionality: high physiological arousal and generalized negative affect
• Fearfulness: tendency to be wary, run away, or cower; accompanying physiological arousal
• Activity: total energy output, as expressed in vigor or tempo
• Nurturance: tendency to help others; includes altruism
Area 1: A Focus on Biological Contributions to Personality (cont'd.)
– Broad-based temperaments (cont'd.)
• Sociability: preference for being with others rather than remaining alone
• Impulsivity: tendency to act on the spur of the moment without pause or reflection
• Aggressiveness: attacking or threatening
• Dominance: seeking and maintaining superior status over others
Area 1: A Focus on Biological Contributions to Personality (cont'd.)
– Evolutionary psychologists endorse an interactional temperament model: environment and temperament traits mutually influence each other
– Differential parental investment hypothesis: the conjecture that males and females will employ different mating strategies because of their differential investments in parenting
Area 2: The Need for a Multicultural Perspective on Personality
• Gender differences shaped by cultural socialization processes:
– Freudian view
– Chodorow's view
– Gilligan's view
– Looking to the future: androgyny-idea that males and females can possess both masculine and feminine characteristics
• Sensitivity to gender differences in therapy
– Early criticisms by feminists of traditional personality theories have changed the ways in which therapists see and treat their male and female clients
Area 2: The Need for a Multicultural Perspective on Personality (cont'd.)
• Racial/ethnic differences:
– Minority groups: stigmatized groups of people who face negative stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination by members of the larger society because of their physical or cultural characteristics
– Multiculturalism: efforts by racial/ethnic groups to gain recognition and respect for their distinctive cultural identities from the larger society
– Majority group: most dominant and powerful group in a society; members typically enjoy more privilege and advantages than members of minority groups
Area 2: The Need for a Multicultural Perspective on Personality (cont'd.)
• While many professional therapists are sensitive to the racial/ethnic identity of their clients, the ones who are insensitive often do considerable harm
• Therapists should taking into account their clients’ cultural norms when counseling
– Native American culture: listening is highly valued
– Asian culture: primary identity is collectivistic
– African American culture: strong identification with those who suffer from racism
– Hispanic culture: comfortable communicating at close proximities to others
– Puerto Rican culture (women): avoid eye contact
– Irish culture: lack of outward affection or praise for children
Area 2: The Need for a Multicultural Perspective on Personality (cont'd.)
• Religious differences
– Mature religious orientation: use of religion as an end in itself
• Greater positive moods or feelings, higher self-efficacy, higher self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, and greater longevity
– Immature religious orientation: use of religion as a means to an end
• Less psychologically healthy; more authoritarian, neurotic, rigid, and prejudiced
• Sensitivity to religious differences in therapy
– Therapists typically fail to meet the needs of their religious clients
– Those who become familiar with the religious background of their clients may incorporate the clients’ beliefs into the therapeutic process in a way that promotes personal growth
Area 3: The Use of the Big Five Super-Traits to Increase Our Understanding of Personality
• Use of a trait taxonomy (classification system) to increase our understanding of the role of traits within personality
– Big Five Factors: major, broad dimensions of personality, which have been derived largely from analyses of the language people use to describe themselves and others
• Surgency (extraversion)
• Agreeableness
• Conscientiousness
• Neuroticism
• Openness to experience (intellect)
Area 3: The Use of the Big Five Super-Traits to Increase Our Understanding of Personality
• Criticisms of the Big Five Factors:
– Factor analyses has not been based on a comprehensive list of personality traits
– Researchers do not agree on the factor labels
– Original measures were too lengthy
– There are more than five factors
– Need to clarify the meaning of the five factors
Area 4: The Role of Positive Psychology in Promoting Strengths and Virtues in Personality
• Positive psychology: science of positive emotions, positive individual traits, and positive institutions that attempt to improve the quality of life for everyone
• Seeks to promote human strengths and virtues:
– Courage, humility, gratitude, loyalty, altruism, compassion, hope, social responsibility, politeness, forgiveness, and self-control
• Psychology should articulate a vision of the good life that is empirically grounded, while being understandable and attractive
Area 4: The Role of Positive Psychology in Promoting Strengths and Virtues in Personality
(cont'd.)
• Strength of forgiveness
– Letting go of anger, hostility, and resentment, as well as thoughts of revenge, against a wrongdoer
– Forgiveness generally has a beneficial impact on people’s behaviors and performances
– Lack of forgiveness has negative consequences for the mental health of individuals
• Strength of self-control
– People’s ability to alter their own cognitive processes, feelings, and behavior to achieve healthier functioning
– Frees individuals from being driven by external stimuli and automatic, impulsive, or instinctual processes
Area 5: Increasing Understanding of Personality Differences Through Analyses of Internet Use
• The number of Internet users has exploded to approximately 1.1 billion people worldwide
• Although the majority of Americans use the Internet as a learning tool and for social networking, there is a dark side:
– Internet addiction: preoccupation with the Internet; persistent and indiscriminant use of Internet to escape from problems
– Potentially destructive behaviors are quickly reinforced and even encouraged online
• Examples: suicide, bomb-making, anorexia, gambling, binge drinking, and self-cutting
Area 5: Increasing Understanding of Personality Differences Through Analyses of Internet Use
(cont'd.)
• How do different personality characteristics use the Internet?
– Internals versus externals
• Externals engage in more cyber loafing: non-work related use of company-provided e-mail, mobile cell phones, and the Internet while working
– Introverts versus extraverts
• For introverts, the Internet is a safe environment to overcome their shyness
• Surprisingly, introverts may become more addicted to Internet use than extroverts, and with many negative consequences
Area 5: Increasing Understanding of Personality Differences Through Analyses of Internet Use
(cont'd.)
• How do different personality characteristics use the Internet? (cont’d.)
– Nonneurotics versus neurotics
• Neurotics are more likely to use the Internet to resort to plagiarism than nonneurotics
• Neurotic men use the Internet more for leisure and entertainment
• Neurotic women use the Internet more for social networking
– May disclose very revealing personal information and photos
Future of Personality Psychology
• Personality psychology is currently a thriving discipline
• Much of its foundation rests on, and will continue to rest on, the wisdom embedded in many of the current grand theories of personality
• Personality psychology will continue to borrow knowledge, principles, and procedures from other disciplines (cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology, and biological psychology)
• Personality psychologists will continue to enjoy a much-needed infusion of energy and enthusiasm, and to expand their range of ideas, issues, and phenomena
Future of Personality Psychology (cont'd.)
• There are many challenges for personality psychologists in their quest for a fuller understanding of personality development and functioning
– Example: self-reports are limited because people are imperfectly trustworthy when it comes to describing themselves
• It is important to use several actual life-outcome techniques to gather data
– Examples: health records, job performance evaluations, criminal records, peer reports, life story techniques, diaries, and direct behavioral observations
– These methods will help personality psychologists know what people actually do, think, or feel in various situations in their lives
Future of Personality Psychology (cont'd.)
• An exciting development in the last decade or so is the use of the Internet as a research instrument
– Provides easy access to and the collection of data from large groups of people nationally and internationally from a variety of ages and diverse cultural backgrounds
• The future of personality psychology in the 21st century is promising