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7 pages/β‰ˆ1925 words
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APA
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Psychology
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English (U.S.)
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Topic:

Psychology of Personality: Self-Concepts, Traits, Brain, and Theories

Essay Instructions:

Approximately one page per Question.
Do not copy the questions in your responses. See APA style on how to create Topic Headings. Suggested Topic Headings follow each question. You may use them or create your own.
Question One: Consider the Research by Zhu, Ziang, Fan, and Han in the text on Cross-Cultural Differences in Brain Activation When Considering the Self. What does it mean to have a self-concept that is so fused with representations of others? What does it mean to have a self-concept that is NOT fused with representations of others? What might the behavioral implications be?
Suggested Topic Heading: Self-Concept and Cross-Cultural Differences
Question Two: Some psychologists have suggested that while individuals tend to use traits to describe themselves and others, this merely tells us something about the cognitive functioning of individuals and about their interpersonal perceptions-- it does not tell us that traits represent the best tools for the scientific analysis of personality. How important is the fact that the layperson finds the trait a useful construct? If we accept the importance of the layperson’s use of this construct for theory development, does this also commit us to accepting the specific trait names and categorizations used by the layperson (e.g., honest, aggressive, sympathetic)?
Suggested Topic Heading: Trait Constructs
Question Three: Big five terms are great for describing differences between people. But are they also good for explaining people’s behavior? Is it reasonable to say that “Liz smiled and greeted people happily because she is an extravert”? Or is that similar to saying “It is sunny and warm in San Diego this week because San Diego has nice weather”? In other words, is this sort of “explanation” one that just takes you around in circles?
Suggested Topic Heading: The Five-Factor Model
Question Four: The text discusses research on brain systems involved in higher-level psychological functions, such as self-concept. How much do we learn about such psychological functions by studying the brain? In other words, since we know that some systems in the brain have to be involved in any psychological function, does an analysis of underlying neuroanatomy answer the most pressing questions about personality? Or does it leave unanswered critical questions about the ways in which these psychological capacities develop and function in the social world? In short: Can there be a neuroscience of personality?
Suggested Topic Heading: The Brain and Psychological Functions
Question Five: Skinner suggests that since environmental control is ever-present, we should learn to make maximum use of these environmental influences. He also suggests that concern with internal variables, such as emotion and motivation, as explanations of behavior has led psychologists astray. Do you think this approach would lead to a more scientific psychology? Or might it instead create a psychology that fails to develop a science of important aspects of human experience?
Suggested Topic Heading: Skinner and Environmental Influences
Question Six: In considering Kelly’s constructive alternativism, does it seem odd to read about a theorist who holds little stock in idea that there is an objective reality or absolute truth to discover? Can we conduct a science of persons if there is no objective reality or truth to discover? How might Kelly’s constructive alternativism foster an even more fruitful scientific investigation of persons than other theories?
Suggested Topic Heading: Kelly's Constructive Alternativism
Question Seven: B. F. Skinner questioned people’s capacity for free will and self-control. In what ways does social cognitive theory, and its associated programs of research, provide a counter-argument to Skinner’s position? How does a focus on expectancies differentiate social-cognitive theory from behaviorism? How does this shift enable social-cognitive theorists to explain why two people react differently to the same environment?
Suggested Topic Heading: Skinner vs Social Cognitive Theory
Question Eight: People seem to differ in their “moods.” Some people are commonly “upbeat” and “lively.” Others seem lower in energy. Some people seem commonly to be depressed. How does social cognitive theory explain these individual differences? Or does it? Might this be a limitation to the social-cognitive approach? What are your thoughts about problem-focused and emotion-focused coping?
Suggested Topic Heading: Social Cognitive Theory, Problem-Focused and Emotion-Focused Coping

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Psychology of Personality.
Student’s Name:
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Question One: Self-Concept and Cross-Cultural Differences.
The question on the issue of a self-concept that is so fused with representations by others is explained with relation to the notion of self-complexity. There is an extent to which individuals have several different and figuratively independent ways of perceiving themselves. Therefore, having a self-concept that is relatively fused with representations of others is thinking about one self with a perspective that you belong to a particular self-identity and you are a group with similar characteristics of the self. An example of this is an individual who terms himself or herself as an artist, Jewish, Gay and others. Secondly, this relates to the thought of self-awareness and in this context, having a self-concept that is so fused with representations of others is called public self-consciousness where an individual serves to maintain a public image by meeting the standards and expectations of others.
On the other hand, having a self-concept that is not fused with representations of others means that an individual has a private form of self-awareness, the individual has embraced introspection and tend to think of themselves the way they want. These persons tell their inner thoughts and feelings some things like “I am generally not concerned with what people think of me”. People with a self-concept that is so fused with representations of others have a lower self-esteem compared to people whose self-concept is not fused with representations of others.
Question 2: Trait Constructs.
In the perspective of a layperson, trait is an important and useful construct because it summarizes a person’s typical behavior and it describes what a person is typically like. Therefore, to a layperson, traits are significant as they contain a predictive feature where one predict the daily activities of an individual and their aspects of personal environment. For instance, if I were a CEO of a company, I would use the trait construct to identify the best applicants for a job just by predicting and describing their specific personalities.
If we accept the importance of the layperson’s use of the trait construct for theory development, this commits us to accepting specific trait names and categorizations such as aggressive, gentle, timid and honest among others. However, in light to the explanations of Gordon W. Allport, in his Trait Theory, since a person does not behave the same way all the time, for effective results on the study of an individual’s behavior and personality, one should combine both, situation and trait. This is because traits are pertinent in explaining consistency while situations are significant as they describe the issue of variability. Finally, for the best results, it is paramount that one focuses on one person at a time. This should be a potentially unique individual whose general and in-depth studies are possible.
Question 3: The Five-Factor Model.
The five factors used to explain personality are described by the theories of extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism. These elements have, for a significan...
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