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Neal Miller discusses how individuals can change the functioning of their own internal organs
through biofeedback。
Thomas Coates discusses how the bination of medical and psychological research can improve the
understanding of the AIDS virus。
Canadian physician Hans Selye studies how stress can affect physical functioning。
FILMS AND VIDEOS
City Spaces； Human Places （1985）。 PBS （WBGH）； 58 minutes
If you are planning a lecture on environmental psychology； this videotape provides a humorous view of the
urban environment and how people make use of a city。 A NOVA presentation。
Health； Stress； and Coping （1990）。 Insight Media； 30 minutes
Explores a variety of stressors including daily stress； loss of a love relationship； and posttraumatic stress
disorder。 Includes information on Norman Cousins and the work of Hans Selye。
Learning to Live with Stress： Programming the Body for Health （1976）。 DOCA； 20 minutes
Doctors Hans Selye and Herbert Benson discuss the study of stress and its effects on the human brain and
body。 Describes how stress contributes to psychosomatic illnesses； such as heart problems； hypertension；
high blood pressure； and ulcers。
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CHAPTER 13： EMOTION； STRESS； AND HEALTH
CHAPTER14
Understanding Human Personality
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
On pletion of this chapter； students should be able to：
1。 Describe the constructs of personality and self
2。 Identify the various sources of data on personality
3。 Differentiate between type and trait theories of personality
4。 Define traits； as operationalized by Allport
5。 Explain the five…factor model of personality
6。 Understand the significance of the consistency paradox
7。 Describe the major theories of personality and identify important differences between them
8。 Explain the criticism of each theory of personality
9。 Explain the significance of the reciprocal relationship between self…esteem and self…
presentation
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I。 Definitions
A。 Personality is the plex set of unique psychological qualities that influence an
individual’s characteristic patterns of behavior； across different situations and over time。
B。 Core aspect of the self is the subjective； private aspect of personality that gives coherence
and order to behavior。
II。Type and Trait Personality Theories
A。 Categorizing by Types。 Some personality theories group people into distinct
nonoverlapping categories that are called personality types
1。 One early type theory proposed by Hippocrates； positing humors
associated with particular temperaments
a） Blood： Sanguine temperament； cheerful and active
b） Phlegm： Phlegmatic temperament； apathetic and sluggish
c） Black bile： Melancholy temperament； sad and brooding
d） Yellow bile： Choleric temperament； irritable and excitable
2。 Sheldon related physique to temperament； assigning people to one of
three categories； based on body build
a） Endomorphic： Fat； soft； round
b） Mesomorphic： Muscular； rectangular； strong
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CHAPTER 14： UNDERSTANDING HUMAN PERSONALITY
c） Ectomorphic： Thin； long； fragile
3。 Sulloway proposed a theory of personality based on birth order
a） Each child fills a niche within the family
b） Firstborn children fill the most convenient niche； they identify
with their parents
c） Laterborn children must find different niches； and； thus； are
usually more open to experience and deviance
B。 Describing with Traits
1。 Traits are enduring qualities or attributes that predispose individuals
to behave consistently across situations
2。 Allport’s trait approach
a） Allport posited that each individual has a unique
bination of traits； the building blocks of personality。 Three
kinds of traits have been identified：
（i） Cardinal traits are those around which the individual
organizes his or her life
（ii） Central traits represent major characteristics of the
individual
（iii） Secondary traits are specific； personal features that
help predict the individual’s behavior； but are less
useful for understanding personality
b） Allport’s interest was in discovery of the unique binations
of these traits that made each individual a singular entity。 He
viewed personality structures rather than environmental
conditions to be the critical determinants of individual
behavior
3。 Identifying Universal Trait Dimensions
a） Cattell proposed that 16 factors provide the underlying source
of the surface behaviors that we think of as personality
b） Eysenck derived three broad personality dimensions：
（i） Extroversion： internal vs。 external orientation
（ii） Neuroticism： emotionally stable vs。 emotionally
unstable
（iii） Psychoticism： kind and considerate vs。 aggressive and
antisocial
c） Eysenck proposed that personality differences on these
dimensions were caused by genetic and biological differences
4。 Five…Factor Model： Recent research indicates that five factors overlap
Eysenck’s original three； best characterize personality structure
a） The five…factor model （the Big Five） brings categories having a
mon theme together in the following dimensions：
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PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
（i） Extroversion： Talkative； energetic； and assertive vs。
quiet； reserved； and shy
（ii） Agreeableness： Sympathetic； kind； and affectionate vs。
cold； quarrelsome； and cruel
（iii） Conscientiousness： Organized； responsible； and
cautious vs。 careless； frivolous； and irresponsible
（iv） Neuroticism （emotional stability）： Stable； calm； and
contented vs。 anxious； unstable； and temperamental
（v） Openness to experience： Creative； intellectual； and open
minded vs。 simple； shallow； and unintelligent
b） Factors are not intended as replacement for specific trait
terms； rather they outline a taxonomy that better describes
individuals in capturing the dimensions on which they differ
C。 Traits and Heritability
1。 Behavioral genetics： The study of the degree to which personality traits
and behavior patterns are inherited
2。 Heritability studies show that almost all personality traits are
influenced by genetic factors
D。 Do Traits Predict Behaviors？
1。 The consistency paradox refers to the observation that personality
ratings across time and different observers are consistent； while
behavior ratings of a person across situations are not consistent
2。 Paradox refers to levels of analysis； the use of specific vs。 summary
types of data； rather than to actual consistency
3。 Different situations are more or less likely to “allow” expression of
traits； with those situations most likely to influence behavior occurring
when：
a） Situations are novel
b） Situations are ill…defined； offering multiple alternatives but
without guidelines on propriety
c） Situations are stressful or challenging
4。 Forced definition of traits in a more precise manner resulted in the
observation that personality is not about behavioral consistency；
rather it is a matter of patterns of behavioral coherence
E。 Evaluation of Type and Trait Theories
1。 Criticism based on fact that these theories do not generally explain
how behavior is generated； or how personality develops； they only
identify and describe characteristics correlated with behavior
2。 Trait theories typically portray a static （or at least stabilized） view of
personality structure； as it currently exists
III。 Psychodynamic Theories
A。 mon to all psychodynamic personality theories is the assumption that powerful inner
forces shape personality and motivate behavior
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CHAPTER 14： UNDERSTANDING HUMAN PERSONALITY
B。 Freudian Psychoanalysis
1。 Freud’s theory attempts to explain：
a） Origins and course of personality development
b） Nature of mind
c） Aspects of abnormal personality
d） Ways personality can be changed by therapy
2。 Presumes the core of personality to be the events within a person’s
mind （intrapsychic events） that motivate behavior
3。 Freud presumed all behavior was motivated； that so…called chance or
accidents did not cause behavior； but were determined by motives
4。 Drives and Psychosexual Development
a） Postulating a