Personality in Psychology Assignment
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Added on 2020-05-11
Personality in Psychology Assignment
Added on 2020-05-11
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Personality in Psychology 1Name:Lecturer:Course:Date of Submission:Personality in PsychologyQuestion 1: Idiographic and the nomothetic approaches to the study of PsychologyScholars of personality fall into two main categories, those that patronize the idiographic school of thought and the nomothetic. Proponents of the idiographic approach hold the view that certain traits are held uniquely by one individual and for this reason; it is not possible to comparepeople like for like. The nomothetic approach on the other hand studies traits that are assumed to have similar psychological impacts for everyone (Beltz et al., 2016). The distinctive feature of these approaches could be the natural sciences and the social sciences. Natural science is known to produce laws and can be equated to the nomothetic approach while natural sciences whose main pre-occupation is interpretation of laws is comparable to the idiographic approach. Both of these approaches are similar in the sense that they both seek to understand the personality traits in individuals.Question 2: reliability and validityIn research, reliability and validity are used together to refer the level to which the tools of research ensure credible data. However, reliability applies to the capacity of a tool of research to obtain the same results when used severally on the same case or phenomenon (Hellen and Smith, 2015). As such, a reliable tool of research should not vary the scores of research over time.Validity on the other hand is the extent to which a tool of research obtains a score that represents the variable they are intended to measure. One of the ways of gauging validity is the measure of reliability. When a tool passes the test-retest reliability, then it is considered to be valid. Both these terms, therefore, are used to deduce the extent to which tools of research can produce credible results.Question 3: Should intelligence be considered as a personality trait?The debate as to whether intelligence is a personality trait has dominated academic cyclesover the years; those that disagree hold the view that since it is a cognitive process, it cannot be apersonality trait (Di Fabio, 2016). However, a second school of thought opines that the
Personality in Psychology 2distinction between what is cognitive and what is not is vague. They base their argument on the fact that all personality traits have cognitive attributes.Intelligence has been tested by IQ tests and persons of a cross section of personality traitshave been found to score high on this test. This is because intelligence is an intrinsic ability that prepares an individual to make judgment in various situations. In certain circumstances, intelligence can influence the personality of an individual. For example, a highly intelligent person may take precaution when being rushed into a lucrative business deal. However, such traits may only be visible when crucial decisions have to be made and as such, intelligence should not be categorized as a personality trait.Question 4: Methods of reducing response setsResponse sets are scenarios where the respondents respond to questions in a way to portray the respondent in a certain light. The results of the survey in such cases do not portray the respondent’s actual behavoiur or feelings. To check this bias, instructors can either warn the respondents against inaccurate responses or they could request honesty. They could also ask them to take the test in a short time frame such that they only record their first thoughts (Johnsonand Wythe, 2013).Instructors could also employ the use of multiple questions while assessing the same attribute. A dishonest respondent will be detected easily because he/she is likely to average the positive and negative responses in a deliberate move to balance the answers. “Trick” questions can be applied by an instructor especially multiple choice questions that contain no right answer. This technique may be used to probe earlier responses.Question 5: Is Freudian Theory a good theory?Sigmund Freud is famous for his psychoanalytic theory of personality development. In his thoughts, personality is formed through conflict among the fundamental structures of id, ego and superego that exist in the mind of man. Freud postulated ideas about dreams stating that theyserve to preserve sleep (Alexander and Hanns, 2017). This, according to Freud, happens by repressing as fulfilled wishes that could awaken the dreamer. He saw dreams as products of the daily occurrences and thoughts of man. Freud also promoted views that portrayed femininity as inferior to the male through such concepts as the Oedipus complex (Flemming, 2016). It is a good theory for study.Although Freudian thinking is still part of academic discourse, it seems to have been overtaken by modern understanding of concepts. The science about dreams has been studied further and there is proof that not all dreams are as a result of the thought processes of individuals. Some people have had premonitions through their dreams about future events. Contemporary thinking has also proven that the development of female sexuality was a defensiveresponse that was based on the cultural structures during the Freudian era as opposed to the
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