Myers

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Myers PSYCHOLOGY (7th Ed)

• Chapter 15
• Personality
• Humanistic Trait Perspective
• James A. McCubbin, PhD
• Clemson University
• Worth Publishers

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Humanistic Perspective

• Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
• studied self-actualization processes of
  productive and healthy people (e.g., Lincoln)

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Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
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Humanistic Perspective

• Self-Actualization
• the ultimate psychological need that arises after
  basic physical and psychological needs are met
  and self-esteem is achieved
• the motivation to fulfill ones potential
• Maslow is criticized for studying only healthy
  people, not those with problems

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Qualities of Self-Actualized People

• Self-aware
• Self-accepting
• Open and spontaneous
• Love and caring
• Not paralyzed by others opinions
• energies are problem centered, no self-centered
• Have/had a mission in life
• Have deep rather than superficial relationships

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Aldouos Huxley author of A Brave New World
Benedict de Spinoza author of Ethics
Albert Schweitzer German Dr. won Nobel Peace
prize for work in AFrica
Eleanor Roosevelt
William James
Jane Addams
Thomas Jefferson
Albert Einstien
Abraham Lincoln
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Predictors of Self-Actualization

• Likable and caring
• Truly affectionate to those of their elders that
  deserve it
• Uneasy about the cruelty, meanness, and mob
  spirit often found in young people.

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Humanistic Perspective

• Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
• Believed people are basically good and working
  toward self-actualization
• Central feature of personality is self-concept
• Nurture growth in all relationships through
• genuineness
• acceptance
• empathy

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Humanistic Perspective

• Unconditional Positive Regard
• an attitude of total acceptance toward another
  person
• Self-Concept
• all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in
  an answer to the question, Who am I?

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Evaluating the Humanist Perspective

• Ideas are widespread
• Emphasis is on the individual, reinforcing
  Western Cultural values
• Critics
• Concepts are vague and subjective
• Can lead to self-indulgence, selfishness, and
  erosion of moral restraints
• Doesnt admit to a capacity for evil

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The Trait Perspective Classification

• Body Type
• Endomorph
• Mesomorph
• ectomorph

• Ancient Greek
• Melancholic
• Sanguine
• Phlegmatic
• choleric

• Carl Jung Myers-Briggs most people agree with
  their type
• Thinking
• feeling

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Contemporary Research-- The Trait Perspective

• Trait
• a characteristic pattern of behavior
• a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by
  self-report inventories and peer reports
• Personality Inventory
• a questionnaire (often with true-false or
  agree-disagree items) on which people respond to
  items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings
  and behaviors
• used to assess selected personality traits

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Exploring The Traits

• Hans and Sybil Eysenck use two primary
  personality factors as axes for describing
  personality variation

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Exploring Traits

• Biology influences who you are (extroverts may
  seek stimulation due to low brain arousal)
• Kagan autonomic nervous system influences our
  responses
• Genetic influences is regarded as high

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Assessing Traits

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
  (MMPI)
• the most widely researched and clinically used of
  all personality tests
• originally developed to identify emotional
  disorders (still considered its most appropriate
  use)
• Used a mix of normal and disordered
• now used for many other screening purposes

• MMPI2 renormed
• Scored objectively
• Still popular, but may not be valid

Peer reports are considered the most trustworthy
assessment
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The Trait Perspective

• Empirically Derived Test
• a test developed by testing a pool of items and
  then selecting those that discriminate between
  groups
• such as the MMPI

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The Trait Perspective

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
  (MMPI) test profile

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The Trait Perspective
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The Big Five continued

• All are stable
• 50 are inherited
• They apply to more all cultures
• They are predictable

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Evaluating the Trait Perspective

• The Person-Situation controversy
• Look for traits that are the same time and
  situations
• Behaviors are not always constant
• You cant predict exactly how someone will
  respond in a situation
• Consistency of Expressive Style
• First impressions count
• Often they are correct due to expressiveness