BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVES ON

PERSONALITYBEHAVIORISM: a theoretical orientation based on

the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior

Determinism: behavior is fully determined by environmental stimuli

Skinner: personality is a collection of response tendencies that are tied to various stimulus situations

PERSONALITY STRUCTURE: A VIEW FROM THE OUTSIDE

Operant conditioning develops personality

Conditioning strengthens or weakens response tendencies

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT AS A PRODUCT OF CONDITIONING

Albert Bandura Advocates reciprocal

determinism: the idea that internal mental events, external environmental events, and overt behavior all influence one another

BANDURA’S SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Def: when an organism’s responding is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models

OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

Def: refers to one’s belief about one’s ability to perform behaviors that should lead to expected outcomes

SELF-EFFICACY

Walter Mischel Behavior is

characterized by more situational specificity than consistency

MISCHEL AND THE PERSON-SITUATION CONTROVERSY

HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVES

HUMANISM: theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal growth

People can rise above primitive nature

People are conscious and rational beings

Phenomenological approach: assumes that one has to appreciate individuals’ personal, subjective experiences to truly understand their behavior

HUMANISM

Carl Rogers Self-concept: a

collection of beliefs about one’s own nature, unique qualities, and typical behavior

Incongruence: the degree of disparity btwn one’s self-concept and one’s actual experience

ROGERS’S PERSON-CENTERED THEORY

Childhood has a strong effect on the self

The self-concept evolves throughout childhood and adolescence

Eventually it stabilizes

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF

Experiences that threaten people’s personal views of themselves cause anxiety

People act defensively to prevent anxiety

ANXIETY AND DEFENSE

Hierarchy of needs: a systematic arrangement of needs, according to priority, in which basic needs must be met before less basic needs are aroused

MASLOW’S THEORY OF SELF-ACTUALIZATION

Need for self-actualization: the need to fulfill one’s potential; it is the highest need in Maslow’s motivational hierarchy

SELF-ACTUALIZATION

Self-actualizing persons: people with exceptionally healthy personalities, marked by continued personal growth

THE HEALTHY PERSONALITY

BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

Hans Eysenck Suggests all aspects

of personality emerge from 3 higher-order traits:

Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Psychoticism (egocentric, impulsive, cold, antisocial)

EYSENCK’S THEORY

CONTEMPORARY EMPIRICAL APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY TRAITS

Def: a generalized preference for high or low levels of sensory stimulation

1st described by Marvin Zuckerman

Thrill and adventure seeking

Experience seeking Disinhibition Susceptibility to

boredom

SENASTION SEEKING

Mark Snyder Def: the degrees to

which people attend to and control the impression they make on others in social interactions

How do you feel you are perceived by others?

SELF-MONITORING