Andrew Brazzale

Period 4
Chapter 15 Personality Questions

1. Personality is the basic means determining who we are. Our personality is mainly he
psychological developments that take place throughout our early lives. Freud tried to link past
events to current personality traits, and this led him to believe that these traits were developed
in an untapped area of the mind called the unconsciousness.
2. Freud believed that personality was divided into three separate areas. The id was the basis of
our motivation, being the unconscious reservoir that strove to fuel or aggressive and sexual
urges. The ego was the conscious part of our personality, the part that tried to satisfy the the id's
desire in the most realistic way possible. The superego lastly represents the internal ideals and
works as the conscience to the personality.
3. Freud believed that there were five stages of psychosexual development. The stages of oral,
anal, phallic, latency, and genital take mainly take place throughout our early lives. Freud
believed that if we were to be differently stimulated during one of these stages our personality
may be effected and be fixated on the stage.
4. The human personality has the ability to throw up defense mechanisms in order to keep the
personality intact. These mechanisms do not have us come to terms with our anxiety, but simply
lessen the blow of them. This is not to say that they can be fixed at a later time.
5. Projective tests seek to analyze a personality by having the test taker project their personality
onto whatever the test giver is presenting. For example if given a picture and told to tell a story
about the picture, the test giver would analyze the story in order to get a hold on the test taker's
personality.
6. Neo Freudians were followers of Freud's ideals, but often had trouble with one or two of his
theories. For example Alfred Adler and Karen Horney made the point that Freud only focused
on parental childhood development and not the social aspect of childhood. Freud also had other
problems such as the fact that his theories only came after fact. His theories only cam to light
once the patient he had been studying had told Freud everything about them.
7. To counter Freud's theory on psychoanalysis psychologists like Maslow and Roger had the idea
that human personality was developed through the person themselves. The self was extremely
important in the theory of humanism as it was the self that dictated a personality. Since
personality depended on the self it was the person's own will that could dictate whether the
personality could change as well.
8. Humanists found it impersonal for tests to asses personality, they instead that personality was to
be assessed through questionares that compared the personality a person saw themselves as to
the personality that they actually had. Though humanism is not without it's fault, one criticism
comes from the problem of people being basically good. Humanism does not take into account
that people can be cruel or vindictive for no reason.
9. Throughout the years psychologists have attempted to put personality types on people. From
personality being measured by physical biles to your body type, psychologists tried to associate
personality with measurable traits. However personality types often come down to personality
traits that are certain emotions that people of certain types will exhibit. For example people that
are jittery and easily upset are perhaps of a mentally unstable personality type.
10. Personality inventories are used like literal inventories of personal traits. Abnormal ones are
taken out of the collective inventory and analyzed to figure out how they have become
abnormal. To better make use of these inventories “Big Five” personality factors are used.
These factors are given specific end points that are used to find the person's place on the
specific personality factor.
11. Personality may change over time in different situations. A person who likes to gamble and
drink may suddenly change their ways in order to give themselves a better life. The change of
personality may not be like the example, but these changes may be for either good or bad.
12. Socail cognitive, consequences of persona control, helplessness, and optimism.