01:830:338 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Social Learning Theory, Personality Psychology, Behaviorism

• School: Rutgers University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: 01:830:338
• Professor: J.Hudson

Document Summary

Definitions of personality- refers to an individual"s characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with the psychological mechanisms hidden or not behind those patterns. Basic approach to personality- limiting your observations to certain kind of patterns and certain ways of thinking about these patterns. Trait approach- when personality psychologists focus on traits to see how people differ. Biological approach- when personality psychologists focus on biological mechanisms, anatomy and their relevance to personality. Behaviorist approach- focusing on behavior and the ways it can be affected by rewards and punishments. Learning and cognitive approaches- behaviorism, social learning theory, and cognitive personality psychology comprise this approach. Funder"s first law- great strengths are usually great weaknesses, and can be the other way around as well. Barnum effect- the tendency to accept certain information as true, such as character assessments or horoscopes, even when the information is so vague as to be worthless. Scientific theories- needs to be distinguished from beliefs.