Maira Gilian R. Prado Seminar 2 / Fri- 3pm-6pmCAS-06-801A Prof Montalbo

THEORIES OF PERSONALITY: OUTCOME 1 QUESTIONS

1. Personality is best defined as an individual’sa. Characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and actingb. Most noticeable characteristicsc. Biologically inherited temperamentd. Hidden thoughts and emotions

Answer: a.Personality can be defined as relatively stable and distinctive styles of thought, behaviour, and emotional responses that characterize a person’s adaptations to surrounding circumstances. Thus, the concept of personality has been used to explain what causes people to behave differently in the same situation and to explain an individual’s consistency in responding across situations. Personality results from the interplay of biological and environmental factors. Different personality theorists emphasize different aspects of personality and its development. Choices b, c and d are all not applicable except for a. Choice a is the answer.-Feist−Feist.(2009). Theories of Personality (7th ed.). The McGraw−Hill Companies,

Inc.

2. The belief that some distressing physical symptoms made no neurological sense contributed most directly to

a. Allport’s interest in personality traitsb. Freud’s interest in unconscious conflictsc. Maslow’s interest in self-actualizationd. Bandura’s interest in personal control

Answer: b.Gordon Allport identified terms used to describe people which he believed could be grouped into central traits. These central traits characterize each person’s personality. Allport argued that each individual had a unique personality, regardless of any general traits shared with others. Thus, he is sometimes referred to as an idiographic theorist, a theorist who focuses on the unique cluster of characteristics that distinguish each person from others. Abraham Maslow believed that a person’s primary motivation was self-actualization, but a hierarchy of needs must first be satisfied. This hierarchy is a series of needs that all people have. When people have high levels of self-efficacy, are confident in their reliance on proxies, and possess solid collective efficacy, they will have considerable capacity to regulate their own behavior. Bandura (1994) believes that people use both reactive and proactive strategies for self-regulation and self-control. Choices

a, c and d are all inapplicable to the statement. Choice b is the correct answer because according Freud the unconscious is the major motivating force in human behavior. Although we cannot directly experience the contents of the unconscious, the contents can reveal themselves in unguarded moments through slips of the tongue, accidents, and revealing jokes.

-http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/intro/cafe/wort/olc/18454.htm

3. Free association is designed toa. Reduce anxietyb. Explore the unconsciousc. Give priority to group goalsd. Show total acceptance of another person

Answer: b.Free association is a technique used in Freudian psychotherapy in which the therapist instructs the patient to verbalize every thought that comes to mind, no matter how irrelevant or repugnant it may appear.This technique uncover repressed memories. The purpose of free association is to arrive at the unconscious by starting with a present conscious idea and following it through a train of associations to wherever it leads. On the other hand, choice a pertains to Defense Mechanism. A defense mechanism is a mental strategy that blocks the harmful id impulse while reducing anxiety, while choice c pertains to Collectivism. In sociocultural perspective, collectivists tend to define themselves in terms of the groups to which they belong and to give priority to the group’s goals. Hence, choice d pertains to Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR). Carl Rogers referred it to an attitude of total acceptance toward another person. Choices a, c and d are not applicable to the given question. Choice b is the answer.-Feist−Feist.(2009). Theories of Personality (7th ed.). The McGraw−Hill Companies,

Inc.

4. While attending to college, Eris impulsively and carelessly spends all his time and money on “wine, women, and song.” Freud would have suggested that Eris shows sign of a __________

a. Strong egob. Weak idc. Electra complexd. Weak superego

Answer: d. Person of strong ego can resist immediate environmental and social pressure while contemplating and choosing an appropriate course, and strong ego is further characterized in the person who is not overwhelmed by his or her drives (but instead can direct them into useful channels). The id is your infantile impulse which lacks social awareness and really doesn’t care what anyone thinks, as long

as the needs are met and the id is satisfied. Hence, person with weak id can resist impulses and will have control of it. The Electra complex is a psychoanalytic term used to describe a girl's sense of competition with her mother for the affections of her father. Choices a, b and c are all incorrect except choice d. A person with a weak superego will be a delinquent, criminal, or antisocial personality. Thus, a weak superego, developed as a result of abnormal relationships within the family, would result in a person with few if any of the usual inhibitions against antisocial behaviour. They would act in ways that gratified their id, regardless of the social restraints on doing so. Choice d is the correct answer.

-http://zazenlife.com/2013/08/01/idego-and-super-ego/-http://www.psychlotron.org.uk/newResources/

criminological/A2_AQB_crim_psychodynamicTheories.pdf

5. The person-centered view of human nature isa. Contends that people are basically competitiveb. Holds that humans are driven by irrational forcesc. Is rooted in a faith in the person's capacity to direct his or her own

lifed. Assumes that, while humans have the potential for growth, there is a

tendency toward remaining stagnantAnswer: c.Person-centered therapy, which is also known as client-centered, non-directive, or Rogerian therapy, is an approach to counselling and psychotherapy that places much of the responsibility for the treatment process on the client, with the therapist taking a nondirective role. Two primary goals of person-centered therapy are increased self-esteem and greater openness to experience. Clients in person-centred therapy are often perceived to move, then, in towards valuing the capacity to direct one's own life and rewards accepting and valuing one's self and one's feelings, whether they are positive or negative. Choice b pertains to Psychoanalysis, stating the Freud's notion that irrational forces drive human behaviour. Choice c is the answer.

-http://www.elementsuk.com/libraryofarticles/personcentred.pdf-http://www.minddisorders.com/Ob-Ps/Person-centered-therapy.html

6. According to Skinner what determines behavior?a. Angerb. Lovec. Our parentsd. Reinforcers, cognitive and thought processes

Answer: d.

B. F. Skinner was one of the most influential of American psychologists. A behaviorist, he developed the theory of operant conditioning -- the idea that behavior is determined by its consequences, be they reinforcements or punishments, which make it more or less likely that the behavior will occur again. According to his view, people have consistent behavior patterns because they have particular kinds of response tendencies. This means that over time, people learn to behave in particular ways depending on reinforcers, their cognitive and thought processes. Behaviors that have positive consequences tend to increase, while behaviors that have negative consequences tend to decrease. Choice d is the answer.

-http://www.psychologistanywhereanytime.com/famous_psychologist_and_psychologists/psychologist_famous_b_f_skinner.htm

7. A boy's sexual desires for his mother and feelings of hostility toward his father constitute what Freud called

a. reaction formationb. Oedipus complex c. reciprocal determinismd. an oral fixation

Answer: bChoices a, c and d are not applicable to the question. Reaction formation is a defense mechanism in which a person represses one impulse and adopts the exact opposite form of behavior, which ordinarily is exaggerated and ostentatious. Reciprocal determinism is a model composed of three factors that influence behavior: the environment, the individual, and the behavior itself. Essentially, Bandura believes that an individual's behavior influences and is influenced by both the social world and personal characteristics. While, oral fixation: Freud proposed that if there is any thwarting of the infant's libidinal desires in the oral stage, i.e. if the child's breastfeeding is neglected or over-provided, or if he or she is weaned too late or too early, he or she may become orally-fixated as an adult. This oral fixation can manifest itself in a number of ways. It may result in a desire for constant oral stimulation, such as through eating, smoking, alcoholism, nail-biting and thumb-sucking. Oedipus complex is the term used by Freud to indicate the situation in which the child of either sex develops feelings of love and/or hostility for the parent. In the simple male Oedipus complex, the boy has incestuous feelings of love for the mother and hostility toward the father. Choice b is the answer.-Feist−Feist.(2009). Theories of Personality (7th ed.). The McGraw−Hill Companies,

Inc.

8. Adler believed that human behavior is:a. Motivated by sexual urgesb. Motivated by rewardsc. Purposeful and goal-directed

d. All of the aboveAnswer: cChoice a is stated by Freud’s theory of Psychoanalysis which stated that libido or sexual urges motivates human behaviour. Freud believed that children are born with a libido – a sexual (pleasure) urge. Likewise, choice b is stated by Skinner theory of Reinforcement which include punishment and rewards. Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding. For example, if your teacher gives you £5 each time you complete your homework (i.e. a reward) you will be more likely to repeat this behavior in the future, thus strengthening the behavior of completing your homework.On the otherhand, choice c is the answer. According to Adler, humans are motivated primarily by social-relatedness rather than by sexual urges; behavior is purposeful and goal-directed; and consciousness more than unconsciousness is the focus of therapy. All human behavior has a purpose.  Humans set goals for themselves, and behavior becomes unified in the context of these goals.  The concept of the purposeful nature of behavior is perhaps the cornerstone of Adler’s theory.

-http://www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html-http://counsellingtheories.blogspot.com/2011/01/adlerian-therapy.html

9. The following are all key concept of Gestalt therapy except,a. Acceptance of personal responsibilityb. Intellectual understanding of one's problemsc. Awarenessd. Unfinished business

Answer: b.Gestalt therapy is a phenomenological-existential therapy founded by Frederick (Fritz) and Laura Perls in the 1940s. Patients and therapists in Gestalt therapy dialogue, that is, communicate their phenomenological perspectives. Differences in perspectives become the focus of experimentation and continued dialogue. The goal is for clients to become aware of what they are doing, how they are doing it, and how they can change themselves, and at the same time, to learn to accept and value themselves. Gestalt therapy focuses more on process (what is happening) than content (what is being discussed). The emphasis is on what is being done, thought and felt at the moment rather than on what was, might be, could be, or should be.Moreover, it emphasizes personal responsibility, and that focuses upon the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist–client relationship, the environmental and social contexts of a person's life, and the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of their overall situation. The key concepts of gestalt therapy include figure and ground, balance and polarities, awareness, present-centeredness, unfinished business, and personal responsibility. Internal processing occurs through focusing inwards. To engage in internal processing, attention has to be directed inwards. The processing in a

group can be assisted through the use of questions to increase awareness. The processing involved in the development of authentic living was compared by Perls (1973) to the peeling of an onion. This gradual unfolding can be viewed through five layers of functioning: the cliché or phony, the role playing or phobic, the impasse, the implosive, and the explosive. Choice b is the correct answer, thus it is not included as key concept of Gestalt therapy.

-O'Leary, E. (2013) Key Concepts of Gestalt Therapy and Processing, in Gestalt Therapy Around the World (ed E. O'Leary), John Wiley & Sons, Oxford.

doi: 10.1002/9781118323410.ch2

10. The basic goal of existential therapy is:a. To expand self-awarenessb. To increase choice potentialsc. To help clients accept the responsibility of choosingd. To help the client experience authentic existencee. All of the above

Answer: e.Existential therapy is best considered as an invitation to clients to recognize the ways in which they are not living fully authentic lives and to make choices that will lead to their becoming what they are capable of being.  An aim of therapy is to assist clients in moving toward authenticity and learning to recognize when they are deceiving themselves.  Existential therapy seeks to take clients out of their rigid grooves and to challenge the narrow and compulsive trends blocking their freedom.  Existential therapy aims at helping clients face this anxiety and engage in action that is based on the authentic purpose of creating a worthy existence.  “The purpose of psychotherapy is not to ‘cure’ the clients in the conventional sense, but to help them become aware of what they are doing and to get them out of the victim role.” (May, 1981, page 210).  Increased awareness is the central goal of existential therapy, which allows clients to discover that alternative possibilities exist where none were recognized before.  Clients come to realize that they are able to make changes in their way of being in the world.  This requires some time in existential therapy, for it is not a matter of solving problems.  Short-term applications of existential therapy require clearly defined and less ambitious therapy goals.

-http://counsellingtheories.blogspot.com/2011/01/existential-therapy.html