PS271 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Gordon Allport, Thematic Apperception Test, Raymond Cattell
Document Summary
Ideniies personality characterisics that can be represented along a coninuum. Trait: categorizes people according to degree to which they manifest a paricular characterisic. Assumpions- personality characterisics are relaively stable over ime and across situaions. Acknowledged the limitaions of the trait concept: behaviour is inluenced by a variety of environmental factors. Traits have physical components in the nervous system. Nomotheic approach: people can be described along a single dimension according to their level of, for example, asseriveness or anxiety, common traits- applies to everyone. Idiographic approach: ideniies the combinaion of traits that best accounts for the personality of a individual, central traits- describe an individual"s personality, cardinal trait- single dominaing trait in personality, advantage- person determines what traits to examine. Personology: combinaion of psychoanalyic and trait concepts, needs- basic elements of personality. Focused on psychogenic needs: readiness to respond in a certain way under certain given condiions, largely unconscious, ex.
