Psychology of Personality & Human Dynamics FEM 4105 (3+0)

Psychology of Personality & Human DynamicsFEM 4105 (3+0) BS(PM) PJJ – FACE TO FACE 1 15 FEBRUARY 2015 INSTRUCTOR: SITI NOR BINTI YAACOB, PhD. sitinor@upm.edu.my/012-2841844

COURSE ASSESSMENT

Week 1: Introduction 1.1 Definition and Concept 1.2 Scope in Psychology of Personality 1.3 Theories of Personality 1.4 Study on Personality 1.5 Personality Assessment

What is personality? • Originates from Latin word persona, means “mask” • A dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behavior in various situations • The integrations of systems or habits that represent an individual characteristic adjustments to the environment, which includes the way(pattern) a person remembers(behavior), thinks(thoughts) and feels(feelings). • A person’s unique and relatively stable patterns of thoughts, feelings, and actions, which results from interaction between the human biological make-up and the environment that they live in.

What is personality? • PSYCHOLOGIST DEFINE…. • A distinctive and relatively stable pattern of behavior, thoughts, motives, and emotions that characterizes an individual. (Wade, C. & Tavris, C. (2011) Psychology. 10th Ed. Prentice Hall.) • The reasonable stable patterns of emotions, motives, and behavior that distinguish one person from another. (Rathus, S. A. (2012) Psychology: Concepts and Connections. 10th Ed. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.) • The unique collection of attitudes, emotions, thoughts, habits, impulses, and behaviors that define how a person typically behaves across situations. (Pastorino, E & Doyle-Portillo, S. (2012) What is Psychology? 3rd Ed. Wadsworth Cengage Learning).

What is personality? • PSYCHOLOGIST DEFINE…. • Some think of personality as consisting of the person’s most striking traits, as in “This person has an outgoing personality” or “That person has an agreeable personality.” • Others focus on how personality is shaped by learning. • Humanistic theorists, personality is not something people have but rather something they create to give their lives meaning and direction. • Sociocultural theorists - always consider the influences of culture, race, and ethnicity on personality. • Islamic theologian – tolerance; no person can have a complete view of the truth; therefore need to be flexible in thinking and open to new ideas.

What is human dynamic? • The concept of “human functioning” • Main focus on active social interactions and communications between people that might leave an impact on people’s behavior and personality development, which includes the interaction and dynamic interplay between elements in a person’s cognitive, emotions, and physical domain. • Cognitive: mental process (thinking values, structure, focus, objectivity, perspective) • Emotions: more subjective and concern to relationships (feelings, communication, organization, synthesis) • Physical: action process (doing and operational things)

What is human dynamic? • Each personality dynamic constitutes a whole way of functioning, and they differ distinctly (unique) from others in the way they process information, learn, communicate, solve problems, etc. • Human dynamic process are able to determine the personality dynamics. • Knowing a person’s personality dynamics = understanding about his or her personality.

Human Dynamics • Human Dynamics comprises the actions and interactions of personal, interpersonal, and social/contextual factors and their effects on behavioral outcomes. • Human Dynamics are influenced by factors such as economics, religion, politics, and culture. • A pivotal work describing human functioning that will impact management, education, and families. • Human Dynamics is a systemic approach to the complexities and wonders of how we process information, learn, communicate, maintain well-being, respond to stress, and develop as unique human beings, individually and collectively.

To know someone's personality dynamic, therefore is to know a great deal about that person. Each person constitutes a whole system, which might be illustrated this way:

Personality Disorders • Cluster A (odd/ eccentric disorders) • Paranoid personality disorder • Schizoid personality disorder • Schizotypal personality disorder • Cluster B (dramatic, emotional, or erratic disorders) • Antisocial personality disorder • Borderline personality disorder • Histrionic personality disorder • Narcissistic personality disorder • Cluster C (anxious or fearful disorders) • Avoidant personality disorder • Dependent personality disorder • Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

What is Personality Psychology? • A field that studies personality based on theories of individual differences. • Concern is to build a consistent image of an individual and their major psychological processes (Bradberry, 2007) • Focuses on the study of how and why of the similarities and differences human personality get developed.

Fundamental Issues • Individual Differences • Every person are unique and different from each other. Why and how are they unique are among the concern and interest in the study of personality. • Intra-personal functioning • A set of processes taking place within the person. According to Allport (1969), intra-personal functioning also refers to the dynamic organization in a person. It is a set of Personality functioning, i.e. a mechanism or process inside us that lead us to certain action.

Other Issues • Free will versus Determinism • Can control own behavior or get controlled? • Heredity versus Environment • Genetic or environmental influence? Or both? • Uniqueness versus Universality • Human are unique individuals or similar in nature? • Proactive versus Reactive • Act on own initiative or react only when there is stimuli? • Optimistic versus Pessimistic • Able to alter pers. or remain the same for whole life?

Basic Concepts • Characteristics of personality: patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique. 1. Consistency • People may act similarly in various situations 2. Psychological and physiological • Psychological construct but influenced by biological needs2 3. Impact behaviors and actions • Affect the way we act 4. Multiple expressions • Behaviors, also thought, feelings, and social relationships 5. Internal Causality • External influences, but also thinking and feelings

Theories in Personality Study • What is theory? • A set of logically related concepts or statements, which seeks to describe and explain development and predict what kinds of behavior may occur under certain conditions. • Functions of a personality theory: • To organize and clarify observations • To provide a sense of understanding of the subject matter understudied • To guide further research • Purpose of a personality theory: • Explain the meaning of an event / phenomena it addresses • Predict or suggest new information

Study on Personality • Uses of Personality Research: • Study the development and external factors and the role of personality play on individuals thought, attitude and behavior • Study people with specific psychological disorders, symptoms or characteristics. • Develop personality test, i.e. able to evaluate and measure specific psychological phenomenon • Develop treatment approaches to improve personality (especially for those suffering from personality disorder)

Study on Personality • 4 Fundamental Concern in Studying Personality: • A theory of Personality • An approach to the assessment (or measurement) of personality • Research Procedures for testing hypothesis (or implications derived from theory) • Application derived from the theory including methods of personality change (i.e. psychotherapy)

Personality Assessment • Assessing and measuring a persons’ personality • Qualitative methods: • Involves interview or careful observation of people • Followed by careful description and analysis • Quantitative methods: • Involves measurement or attempts to measure or record behaviors, thoughts, or feelings • Use personality tests or standard instruments • Examples of techniques: self-report inventories, projective techniques, clinical interview and behavioural assessment • Depend on research objective and theoretical perspective

Psychology of Personality & Human Dynamics FEM 4105 (3+0)