Psychology Chapter 14.2 Flashcards

Questions and Answers

How did humanistic psychologists view personality, and what was their goal in studying personality?

Humanistic psychologists viewed personality as the potential for healthy personal growth, striving for self-determination and self-realization.

How did humanistic psychologists assess a person's sense of self?

They relied on interviews and conversations, sometimes using questionnaires to compare ideal and actual selves.

How have humanistic theories influenced psychology, and what criticisms have they faced?

Humanistic psychology renewed interest in the self but faced criticism for being vague, self-centered, and overly optimistic.

How do psychologists use traits to describe personality?

Trait theorists see personality as a stable pattern of behavior, focusing on describing differences rather than explaining them. Signup and view all the answers

What are some common misunderstandings about introversion, and does extraversion lead to greater success?

Introversion is often misunderstood as shyness, but introverts seek low stimulation. They can achieve success, even in sales. Signup and view all the answers

What are personality inventories, and what are their strengths and weaknesses as trait-assessment tools?

Personality inventories are questionnaires gauging feelings and behaviors with objectively scored items. Signup and view all the answers

Which traits seem to provide the most useful information about personality variation?

The Big Five personality factors are conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion. Signup and view all the answers

Does research support the consistency of personality traits over time and across situations?

True Signup and view all the answers

What are humanistic theories?

Humanistic theories view personality focusing on the potential for healthy personal growth. Signup and view all the answers

What is Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

It describes a progression from physiological needs to personal safety, love, self-esteem, and finally self-actualization. Signup and view all the answers

What is self-actualization according to Maslow?

Self-actualization is the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic needs are met and self-esteem is achieved. Signup and view all the answers

How did Abraham Maslow develop his ideas about the self-actualizing person?

He studied healthy, creative people rather than troubled clinical cases. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Humanistic Theories of Personality

Humanistic psychologists emphasize potential for healthy personal growth and the quest for self-realization.
Abraham Maslow introduced a hierarchy of needs: individuals fulfill basic needs to achieve self-actualization and self-transcendence.
Carl Rogers highlighted the importance of a growth-promoting environment characterized by genuineness, acceptance, and empathy.
Self-concept is a pivotal aspect of personality according to both Maslow and Rogers.

Assessing Self-Concept

Some humanistic psychologists opted against standardized assessments, favoring interviews and discussions to evaluate personality.
Rogers utilized questionnaires where individuals compared their actual selves to their ideal selves to assess therapeutic progress.

Influence and Critique of Humanistic Theories

Humanistic psychology renewed focus on the concept of self, promoting personal development and positive human qualities.
Criticisms include vagueness and subjectivity of its concepts, perceived self-centered values, and overly optimistic assumptions.

Trait Theories of Personality

Trait theorists define personality as a stable and enduring pattern of behavior, focusing on describing differences rather than explaining them.
Factor analysis helps identify behavioral clusters that naturally occur together.
Genetic predispositions are believed to shape many personality traits.

Misunderstandings of Introversion

Introversion is often confused with shyness; introverts prefer low-stimulation environments rather than avoiding social interactions.
Contrary to beliefs that introversion hinders success, introverts can achieve high levels of accomplishment, particularly through strong listening skills.

Personality Inventories

Personality inventories, like MMPI, consist of questionnaires assessing a range of feelings and behaviors, using empirically derived test items.
They are objectively scored but can be manipulated by respondents to create favorable impressions, leading to potential misuse, especially with computerized versions.

The Big Five Personality Factors

The Big Five personality dimensions—conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion (often abbreviated as CANOE)—are essential for understanding personality variation.
These traits are stable across individuals and observable in various cultural contexts.

Consistency of Personality Traits

Average traits of individuals tend to endure over time and remain consistent across numerous situations, although they cannot accurately predict behavior in specific instances.

Historical Context of Humanistic Theories

Emerged in the 1960s as a response to the bleak perspectives of psychodynamic theories and the mechanistic views of behaviorism by B.F. Skinner.
Maslow and Rogers introduced a third-force perspective that highlighted human potential as a key area of focus in psychology.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

After meeting physiological needs, safety becomes a priority, followed by the pursuit of love and self-esteem.
Once self-esteem is established, individuals aim for self-actualization and self-transcendence.

Self-Actualization

Viewed as one of the highest psychological needs after fulfilling basic physical and psychological requirements along with self-esteem.
Represents the motivation to realize one's full potential.

Maslow's Study of Self-Actualizing Individuals

Maslow based his concept of self-actualization on observations of healthy, creativity-driven individuals rather than troubled cases.
He noted that self-actualized individuals exhibited distinct characteristics that contributed to their rich, fulfilling lives.

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Description

Explore the key concepts of humanistic and trait theories of personality in this quiz. Understand the views of humanistic psychologists and their emphasis on personal growth and self-realization. Test your knowledge and deepen your understanding of these important psychological theories.