Theories of Personality Quiz

• Personality originates from the Latin word persona which refers to a theoretical mask worn by Roman actors during Greek dramas
• A persona is worn to project a role or false appearance
• Personality refers to a set of patterns of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior
• Traits may be unique, common to some group or shared by an entire species
• Unique qualities that include attributes like temperament, physique and intelligence are called Characteristics
• Theories are a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypothesis
• There are 4 Relatives of theory, (1) Philosophy (2) Speculation (3) Hypothesis (4) Taxonomy
• Philosophy deals with oughts, shoulds, and principles of how one should live life
• Theories in the other hand, deals with broad sets of if-then questions
• Speculation and empirical observations are two essential cornerstones of theory building
• Hypotheses is an educated guess or prediction specific enough for its validity to be tested through the use of scientific method
• Taxonomy is the classification of things according to their natural relationship
• Components of a theory are not yet proven facts, but they are accepted as if they were true
• There are 5 perspectives in ToP, (1) Psychodynamic (2) Humanistic-Existential (3) Dispositional (4) Biological-Evolutionary (5) Learning-Cognitive
• According to Psychodynamic theorists, the unconscious forces are most powerful
• In Humanistic-Existential, people are motivated by growth, health and happiness
• Famous Psychodynamic theorists are Freud, Jung, Horney
• In Dispositional, people are predisposed to behave in unique and consistent ways
• Humans are shaped by evolutionary forces. This is what Biological-Evolutionary theorists believe
• In Learning-Cognitive, conditions that create behavior are important
• A theory generates research because it stimulate and guide further research
• Being falsifiable means that it may either support or fail to support its major tenets
• When we organize data, we integrate what is currently known about human behavior
• Theories guide actions as it guide practitioners over the rough course of day-to-day problem
• A theory is internally consistent when it sticks true to its scope and limitations
• The Law of Parsimony tells us that simple straightforward theories are more useful
• There are 6 Basic Criteria in evaluating theories, (1) Generates Research (2) Is Falsifiable (3) Organizes Data (4) Guides Action (5) Internally consistent (6) Parsimonious
• The Six dimensions for a concept of humanity is (1) Determinism vs Free Choice (2) Pessimism vs Optimism (3) Causality vs Teleology (4) Conscious vs Unconscious (5) Biological vs Social Influences (6) Uniqueness vs Similarity
• The twin cornerstones of psychoanalysis is sex and aggression
• The main figure behind psychoanalysis is Sigmund Freud
• Sigmund Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia
• Freud relied more on deductive reasoning rather than the rigorous research methods
• Freud went to the University of Vienna to pursue his medicine dream
• Freud received a traveling grant from the University of Vienna that allowed him to study in Paris with famous neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot
• He learned a hypnotic technique which treats hysteria during his career
• Free association is Freud's main technique of psychoanalysis
• His major work, The Interpretation of Dreams, analyzed dreams in terms of unconscious desires and experiences
• Freud was appointed Professor of Neuropathology in the University of Vienna
• The first president of the International Psychoanalytic Association was Carl Jung, Freud's close associate
• Freud died from his illness, cancer in the jaw