Attitudes and the Spiritual Life-003 Personality; Attitudes; Review of The Big Five; Jung and the MBTI

Attitudes and the Spiritual Life-003

Personality; Attitudes; Review of The Big Five; Jung and the MBTI

Attitudes-003 LWBC 05-13-07 2

The Goal of the Attitudes Study

• We have identified 12 Spiritual Life Factors and introduced them in our SLB Series.

• The goal of the Attitudes and Spiritual Living Series is to make each of these steps “practice-able” in our daily confrontation with the World, the Flesh and the Devil, in the form of situations and people who afford us the opportunity to demonstrate the Nature of God that He has given us in our Regeneration - the Genetic Reservoir of Righteousness.


Unskilled and Unaware of It• Abstract

People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains.

• The authors suggest that this overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it.


Unskilled and Unaware of It• Matthew 13:13 (AMP)

•

• 13 This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because having the power of seeing, they do not see; and having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand.


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The Goal of the Attitudes Study• It is well recognized fact that every human being

has a personality.• It is not merely your consciousness. • It is not merely your behaviors. • It is not merely your physical expression. • It is not merely your style.• It is not merely your temperament.• But, they all, and many other characteristics, are

expressions of your personality.


The Goal of the Attitudes Study• Personality can be defined as a dynamic and

organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognition, motivations, and behaviors in various situations (Ryckman, 2004).

• The word "personality" originates from the greek persona, which means mask. Significantly, in the theatre of the ancient Latin-speaking world, the mask was not used as a plot device to disguise the identity of a character, but rather was a convention employed to represent or typify that character.


Attitudes

• Unlike personality, attitudes are expected to change as a function of experience. Tesser (1993) has argued that hereditary variables may affect attitudes - but believes that they may do so indirectly. For example, if one inherits the disposition to become an extrovert, this may affect one's attitude to certain styles of music. There are numerous theories of attitude formation and attitude change.


The Goal of the ASL Study

• A propositional attitude is a relational mental state connecting a person to a proposition. They are often assumed to be the simplest components of thought and can express meanings or content that can be true or false. In being a type of attitude they imply that a person can have different mental postures towards a proposition, for example, believing, desiring, or hoping, and thus they imply intentionality.Linguistically, they are denoted by an embedded "that" clause, for example, 'Sally believed that she had won'.Propositional attitudes have directions of fit: some are meant to reflect the world, others to influence it.



• Attitude is one of Jung's 57 definitions in Chapter XI of Psychological Types. Jung's definition of attitude is a "readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way" (Jung, [1921] 1971:par. 687).

• a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways; "he had the attitude that work was fun"



• Attitude: A relatively stable and enduring predisposition to behave or react in a characteristic way.

• The American Heritage ｨ Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 2nd Edition Copyright ｩ 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.



• Attitude: Definition Attitude can be defined as readiness to respond to a psychological object with some degree of favorableness.

• The evaluative reaction of favor or disfavor can range from extremely negative to extremely positive, through the neutral point, on a dimension such as: ﾒ good ﾐbad ﾓ , ﾒ pleasant ﾐ unpleasant ﾓ , or ﾒ in favor ﾐ opposed ﾓ .


The Goal of the ASL Study• Attitude:• Attitude is the affect for or against a psychological object

(Thurstone, 1932). • Attitude is a learned predisposition to respond in a

consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given object (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975).

• Attitude is a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993).


The Goal of the ASL Study• Early definitions of attitudes

• 1. COMPREHENSIVE DEFINITION

• An attitude is a mental or neural state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence on the individual's response to all objects and situations to which it is related (Allport, 1935).


The Goal of the ASL Study• 2. SET

• [An attitude] denotes the general set of the organism as a whole toward an object or a

• situation which calls for adjustment (Lundberg, 1929).

• 3. READINESS TO ACT

• [Attitudes connote] a condition of readiness for a certain type of activity (Warren, 1934).


The Goal of the ASL Study• 4. PERMANENCE • [Attitudes represent] a more or less permanently enduring

state of readiness of mental • organization which predisposes an individual to react in a

characteristic way (Cantril, 1934). • 5. AFFECT • Attitude is the affect for or against a psychological object

(Thurstone, 1931).


The Goal of the ASL Study• 6. EVALUATIVE NATURE • An attitude is a tendency to act toward or against

something in the environment, which becomes thereby a positive or negative value (Bogardus, 1931).

• 7. LEARNED NATURE • An attitude, roughly, is a residuum of experience,

by which further activity is conditioned and controlled ... We may think of attitudes as acquired tendencies to act in specific ways toward objects (Krueger & Reckless, 1931).


The Goal of the ASL Study• More recent definitions of attitudes

• 8. PREDISPOSITION

• An attitude is a predisposition to experience, to be motivated by, and to act toward, a class of objects in a predictable manner (Smith, Bruner, & White, 1956).


The Goal of the ASL Study• 9. UNI-COMPONENT

• Attitudes are likes and dislikes (Bem, 1970).

• 10. FUNCTIONAL DEFINITION

• Attitudes are summary judgments of an objector event which aid individuals in structuring their complex social environments (Fazio, 1986).


The Goal of the ASL Study• 11. RECENT DEFINITION

• Attitude is a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993).


The Appraisal Filters

Beliefs

Self Concept

Knowledge

Attitude

Attribution

Mood

Appraisal

BehaviorSelf Image

Self Esteem Affect

PhysicalEmotional

Cognition

Script

Values


The Appraisal Filters

Beliefs

Self Concept

Knowledge

Attribution

Mood

BehaviorSelf Image

Self Esteem Affect

PhysicalEmotional

Cognition

Script

Values

Attitude

Appraisal


The Five Factor Model -Review

• In psychology, the Big Five personality traits are five broad factors or dimensions of personality discovered through empirical research (Goldberg, 1993). They are:

• 1. Neuroticism• 2. Extraversion• 3. Agreeableness• 4. Conscientiousness• 5. Openness to Experience



• Each factor consists of a number of more specific traits.

• For example, extraversion includes such related qualities as sociability, excitement seeking, and positive emotions.

• The Big Five are a descriptive model of personality, not a theory, although psychologists have developed theories to account for the Big Five.



• Extraversion (also "extroversion") is marked by pronounced engagement with the external world.

• Extraverts enjoy being with people, are full of energy, and often experience positive emotions.

• They tend to be enthusiastic, action-oriented individuals who are likely to say "Yes!" or "Let's go!" to opportunities for excitement.

• In groups they like to talk, assert themselves, and draw attention to themselves.



• Introverts lack the exuberance, energy, and activity levels of extraverts.

• They tend to be quiet, low-key, deliberate, and less dependent on the social world.

• Their lack of social involvement should not be interpreted as shyness or depression; the introvert simply needs less stimulation than an extravert and more time alone to re-charge their batteries.



• Agreeableness

• Agreeableness reflects individual differences in concern with cooperation and social harmony.

• Agreeable individuals value getting along with others.

• They are therefore considerate, friendly, generous, helpful, and willing to compromise their interests with others’.



• Conscientiousness

• Conscientiousness concerns the way in which we control, regulate, and direct our impulses.

• Impulses are not inherently bad; occasionally time constraints require a snap decision, and acting on our first impulse can be an effective response.

• Also, in times of play rather than work, acting spontaneously and impulsively can be fun.



• Neuroticism

• Neuroticism, also known inversely as Emotional Stability, refers to the tendency to experience negative emotions.

• Those who score high on Neuroticism may experience primarily one specific negative feeling such as anxiety, anger, or depression, but are likely to experience several of these emotions.



• Openness to Experience

• Openness to Experience describes a dimension of personality that distinguishes imaginative, creative people from down-to-earth, conventional people.



• Heritability studies

• All five factors show an influence from both heredity and environment.

• Twin studies such as those of Kerry Jang (Journal of Personality, 64, 577-591) suggest that these effects contribute in roughly equal proportion.



• Change and development

• During young adulthood, a person's ratings on the five factors may change, with average levels of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness typically increasing, and with Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Openness generally decreasing.



• However, after age 30, researchers have found that stability, not change is the general rule.

• This is not to say that personality as measured on the Big Five cannot change, given life altering circumstances or efforts to do so.

• It does indicate, however, that after age 30, people generally do not change their personalities very much



• Gender differences

• Men and women show differences in Big Five scores across cultures, with women scoring higher in both the Agreeableness and Neuroticism domains.

• These findings may indicate innate gender differences in personality, but are not conclusive.


The Five Factor Model -Review• McAdams (1995) has called the Big Five a

"psychology of the stranger," because they refer to traits that are relatively easy to observe in a stranger; other aspects of personality that are more privately held or more context-dependent are excluded from the Big Five.



• In many studies, the five factors are not fully orthogonal to one another; that is, the five factors are not independent.

• Negative correlations often appear between Neuroticism and Extraversion, for instance, indicating that those who are more prone to experiencing negative emotions tend to be less talkative and outgoing.



• Orthogonality is viewed as desirable by some researchers because it minimizes redundancy between the dimensions.

• This is particularly important when the goal of a study is to provide a comprehensive description of personality with as few variables as possible.



• Methodological issues

• The methodology used to identify the dimensional structure of personality traits, factor analysis, is often challenged for not having a universally-recognized basis for choosing among solutions with different numbers of factors.

• That is, a five factor solution depends on some degree of interpretation by the analyst.

• Also, a larger number of factors may, in fact, underlie these five factors.


Psychology Terms

• Passive - Repressed feelings or preferences. • Resigning decisions and preferences to the whims of

others. • Not acknowledging one's own viewpoints, likes, dislikes, or

ideas. • Emotionally hiding. • A need to become inconspicuous or "invisible." • A fear of self-expression.


Psychology Terms

• Aggressive - A direct attempt to control and influence others and situations by threatening words, posture, innuendos, anger, or bullying.

• An invasion of the personal space of others.


Psychology Terms

• Passive/aggressive - A resistance to expectations or demands made in an indirect way so the person cannot be directly blamed.

• Manipulation through procrastination, dawdling, stubbornness, intentional inefficiency, and forgetfulness.

• Indirect attacks made by vague or intentionally misunderstood comments.

• Attempts to indirectly control others and situations.


Psychology Terms

• Borderline - Mood and self-image problems resulting in depression, amounts of anger, problems in coping with being alone, feelings of emptiness or boredom.

• This type can become enraged and violent.

• They are dangerous to those who live with them.


Psychology Terms

• Narcissistic - A grandiose sense of self-importance or success.

• Self-centered behavior and a feeling the rules do not apply to them.

• Preoccupation and an exaggerated view of their beauty, wealth, status, power, or achievements.


Psychology Terms

• Narcissistic (continued)• Fantasies involving unrealistic goals. • A sense of entitlement and self-importance

leading to a lack of empathy, exploitation of relationships, and devaluing others.

• This describes the attitude of the Inherited Genetic Human Nature.


Psychology Terms

• Antisocial - Violating the rights of others. Lying, cheating, stealing, fighting, truancy, aggressive sexual behavior, abuse of children and/or spouse, drug abuse, drunkenness, inability to hold down a job, and/or the inability to keep a meaningful personal relationship.

• Feeling that others are against them ... they are probably correct as no one in their right mind would like them.


Psychology Terms

• Sociopath - Having no moral compass. • Having no empathy. • Unable to feel for or with others. • Having no conscience. • Most sociopaths are outgoing, friendly,

manipulative, and very self-concerned. • Many counselors feel this is one of the two

incurable conditions, pedophilia being the other. • On the other hand, many politicians fall into this

category.


Psychology Terms

• Assertive - Usually considered a healthy stance in which a person asserts and protects the right to have ideas, opinions, and personal space that does not violate the rights of others.


MBTI• Another personality typing system is the

MBTI, which was based on the work of Carl Jung.

• The MBTl is based upon Carl Jung's notions of psychological types.

• According to Jung, some of us are extraverts and some are introverts.

• (Most of these information is taken from McGuire and Hull - 1997.)


MBTI

• These labels refer to the way information is processed.

• They do not necessarily indicate how a person acts directly, although action must be a by-product of thought.

• Each type can be classified into this matrix of archetypes and planes.


MBTI

• The information adds insight into the ways a person thinks and perceives.

• Keep in mind these are simply ways to group certain types of personalities together according to a common mode or function.

• Although the basic typing system was conceived by Carl Jung, the data was adapted years later by Myers and Briggs.


MBTI

• The MBTI was first developed by Isabel Briggs Myers (1897-1979) and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs.

• Myers had a bachelor's degree in political science from Swarthmore College and no academic affiliation.


MBTI

• The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an instrument for measuring a person's preferences, using four basic scales with opposite poles.

• The four scales are:• 1. Extraversion/Introversion• 2. Sensate/Intuitive• 3. Thinking/Feeling• 4. Judging/Perceiving


MBTI

• The four planes can be understood by saying that a person can see things with his sensations, can classify things with his thinking, evaluate things with his feelings, and estimate possibilities with his intuition.

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Attitudes and the Spiritual Life-003 Personality; Attitudes; Review of The Big Five; Jung and the MBTI