Humanistic & Traits approaches.
Humanistic
Abraham Maslow (1970): wanted to explore how to make the average human being happier and healthier.
Instinctoid tendencies: innate tendency towards healthy grow. They are healthy and can be overcome by an hostile environment.
Hierarchy of need (Pyramid)
Security needs (law-abiding communities and a sense of order)
Self-actualisation principle: we start to focus in what we want from life.
Physiological needs (food, sleep, temperature, bodily excrate and sex)
Esteem needs:(to see our self as competent achieving individuals)
Carlo Rogers (1951): he developed a clinical therapy where individuals could play a large role in their own life. Against Psychoanalisis deterministic early age view.
Personality
Organismic Valuing: an innate bodily process for evaluating which experiences are right from wrong for the person.
Fully functioning person: open to experience and high self-acceptance
Conditions of therapy: Psychological contract, therapist congruent, client feel incongruence, therapist has an unconditional regard for client, client perceives positive regard.
Conceptualisation of psychological problems.The greater the conditions of worth associated with and individuals self-concept the less the psychological health. The individual is alienated from their true self.
Belonging / Love: We need to feel needed and accepted by others.
Trait Approach: What are traits? Burger (1997): is a dimension of personality used to categorised people according to the degree to which they manifest a particular characteristic. Assuming they are stable over time and stable across situation. Also, trait is taken as a continuum. Best definition by far ' conditional probability of a category of behaviour in a category of context.
Lexicall Hypothesis (Gordon Allport-1936): Important differences between people become coded as words in our language, Individuals are unique and is how the traits come together that generate this. Change is a part of personality. Mayor contribution included the self.
1965 Raymond Cattell Sixteen Personality Factor Inventory: Relied on factor analysis and empirical testing.Defined personality as the characteristics of an individual that allow one to predict their behaviour. Behaviour is motivated by “dynamic traits”
Hans Eysenck and the three-factor structure: Personality is largely the result of genetic inheritance. Defined personality as the way character, temperament, intelligence, physique, and the nervous system are organized into particular traits.Traits are relatively stable and long-lasting
The Big Five:
Evaluating trait approaches:
Emic apporaches are less concistent. only English and german.
Sheldon Somatotypes Personality considered the founder of trait psychology. Did the bodyshape types(rigid not continuum). Individuals are different in terms of which organs are more prominent.
Mesomorph: Large, bony with well define muscles.
Endomorphy: digestive system. rounded body tending towards fatness.
Ectomorph: light bone slight musculature
Cardinal: Single traits that dominate an individuals personality and heavily influence their behaviour. e.g. competitiveness.
Central:Five to ten traits that Allport felt best describe an individuals personality.
Secondary: individuals preferences and not core to his or her personality.
Factor Analysis: tool for exploring how a large number of variables or items fit into a few interpretable underlying factors
Intellect (instinctive vs. analytical)
Paranoia (trusting vs. suspicious)
Abstractness (practical vs. imaginative)
Emotional Stability (irratable vs. calm)
Introversion (open vs. private)
Aggressiveness (docile vs. tough)
Anxiety (confident vs. fearful)
Openminded (set in ways vs. exploratory)
Dutifulness (traditional vs. untraditional)
Independence (outgoing vs. loner)
Warmth (cold vs. supportive)
Social Assertiveness (shy vs. bold)
Neuroticism:
Psychoticism:
Extraversion:
Conscientiousness: tendency to display self-discipline, act dutifully, and strive for achievement against measures or outside expectations
Extraversion: is characterized by breadth of activities (as opposed to depth), surgency from external activity/situations, and energy creation from external means
Openness: is a general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience
Agreeabelness:trait reflects individual differences in general concern for social harmony.
Neuroticism: is the tendency to experience negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety, or depression