The Study of Personality

Summary:

The notes provide a detailed overview of the study of Personality, covering all topics and weeks of the semester. The subjects discussed include an introduction to what Personality is, followed by an exploration of dominant theories of personality such as Biological, Trait, Social Learning, Self-Concept, Psychodynamic, and Motivation theories. The notes also delve into the methods of testing and measurement of personality, how personality evolves across the lifespan, and its impact on well-being, health, and illness. There is a dedicated section on Personality Disorders and the associated therapeutic approaches, extending to how personality influences cognition, behaviour in the workplace, and interactions within a cultural context.

Excerpt:

The Study of Personality

What Is Personality? – Week 1

Define personality

What Is Personality?
• Personality shapes our lives in many ways; determines whether you think skydiving or reading a book is more fun and predicts whether you usually arrive 5 minutes early or 15 minutes late.

• Personality can forecast who – at least on average – lives a long life and who doesn’t, who is successful at work and who isn’t, and who has a happy marriage and who doesn’t; it can suggest that certain careers might be a good fit or that certain romantic partners might not be

• Personality describes someone’s usual pattern of behaviour, feelings, and thoughts. By usual, we mean how someone acts across time or situations. For example, how would you react to skydiving? Most people will fear jumping out of an aeroplane, but the jump exhilarates some people while others are terrified. The same situation elicits different reactions in different people because people have different personalities. To be indicative of personality, this reaction should be fairly consistent: someone who is terrified of skydiving on Tuesday should also be terrified on Friday. If they’re not, their reaction might be due not to their personality but to a difference in the situation (maybe the plane on Tuesday was in great condition and flown by an experienced pilot, but the plane on Friday was a rusty claptrap flown by a high school student who just got his pilot’s license).