Personality Theory amp; AssessmentChapter 14Part I.ppt

Humanistic Personality Theories Abraham Maslow Emphasized self-actualization and transcendence Found self-actualizers to be accurate in perceiving reality, able to judge honestly and to spot quickly the fake and the dishonest Carl Rogers Focus on self-worth, self-esteem Unconditional positive regard is designed to reduce threat, eliminate conditions of worth, and bring the person back into tune with his or her true self Major goal of psychotherapy is to enable people to open themselves up to experiences and begin to live according to their own values rather than according to the values of others in order to gain positive regard Humanistic Personality Theories Self-esteem One source of variations in self-esteem arises from comparisons of actual to desired traits Another source is achievement compared to expectations Self-esteem is fairly stable from childhood through the late adult years with the exception of early adolescence Learning Theories and Personality Locus of control A concept used to explain how people account for what happens in their lives internal locus of control—people see themselves as primarily in control of their behavior and its consequences external locus of control—people perceive what happens to be in the hands of fate, luck, or environment Learning Theories and Personality Social-cognitive theory Reciprocal determinism Bandura’s concept that behavior, cognitive factors, and environment all influence and are influenced by each other Self-efficacy A person’s belief in his or her ability to perform competently in whatever is attempted Trait Theories Early trait theories Gordon Allport Claimed that each person inherits a unique set of raw materials for given traits, which are then shaped by experiences Raymond Cattell Referred to observable qualities of personality as surface traits Found certain clusters of surface traits that appeared together time after time Believed these were evidence of deeper, more general, underlying personality factors,