The Individual in Modern Society - SAGE - the natural home for
The Individual & Society
description
Transcript of The Individual & Society
The Individual & Society
Personality
Today
• What is personality?
• What are some approaches to the study of personality?
Personality
• Personality: Total organization of the inherited and acquired characteristics of an individual as evidenced in the individual’s behavior
• Examples of personality traits: moody, impulsive, friendly, helpful, etc.
Some Approaches to the Study of Personality
• Psychodynamic
• Behavioralism
• Humanism
Psychodynamics
• Emerged with the work of Sigmund Freud
• Emphasizes unconscious motives and desires, childhood experiences in shaping personality
Example: Sigmund Freud• Personality has three components:
Id, Ego, Superego
• Defense mechanisms help individuals manage conflict between above and reduce anxiety
• Children pass through several stages of psychosexual development that influence personality
Example: Sigmund Freud
Example: Sigmund Freud
Critiques of Psychodynamic Approach
• Not falsifiable and therefore unscientific
• Based on generalizations made from a small number of patients (usually unhealthy) to the whole human population
• Not based on studies that follow people from childhood to adulthood – conclusions about influence of childhood experience based on adult’s unreliable memories
Behaviorism
• Emerged in the 1910s, led by John B. Watson
• Focuses on actions, not thoughts, which can be observed
• Unlike psychodynamic theorists, behaviorists study only observable behavior
• Major theorists: BF Skinner, Albert Bandura, and Walter Mischel
Example: BF Skinner• Strongly emphasized role of society on
the individual
• Personalities shaped by operant conditioning: altering habits by behaviors or operants that themselves have an observable effect on the environment– Positive and negative reinforcement and
punishment
• Worked with lab animals like rats and rabbits to test ideas
Example: BF Skinner
Example: BF Skinner
Critiques of the Behavioralist Approach
• Usually based on animal studies of behavior and then generalized to apply to human beings
• Emphasizes situational influences on personality, so underestimates the importance of underlying personality traits or biological factors
Humanistic Psychology• Emerged in the 1950s
• Focus on the ability of human beings to think consciously and rationally, to control their biological urges, and to achieve their full potential
• People are responsible for their lives and actions and have the freedom and will to change their attitudes and behavior
• Major theorists: Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
Example: Abraham Maslow• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs : Five levels
of human achievement each of which must be satisfied before moving up to the next to finally reach “self actualization”
• Studied exceptional historical figure, such as Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt whom he thought had exceptionally good mental health.
• Identified several characteristics that self-actualizing people share
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Critiques of Humanistic Approach
• Too naïvely optimistic and fail to provide insight into less pleasant side of human nature
• Cannot be easily tested.
• Concepts such as that of the self-actualized person are vague and subjective; may reflect Maslow’s own values and ideals
• Also biased toward individualistic values