Personality II
1. Behavioral approaches to personality.
a. Radical behaviorism – B.F. Skinner; classical and operant conditioning
b. The social-cognitive approach – emphasis on the role of the situation; reciprocal determinism; locus of control; learned helplessness
c. Assessing behavior in situations
d. Evaluating the social-cognitive perspective
2. The humanistic perspective.a. Abraham Maslow – the hierarchy of needs and self-actualization
b. Carl Rogers -- the person-centered perspective; genuineness, acceptance (unconditional positive regard), and empathy; the self-concept.
CONCLUSION: Each perspective can teach us something.
- The psychoanalytic perspective draws our attention to the unconscious and irrational aspects of human existence.
- The trait perspective systematically describes and classifies important personality components.
- The behavioral perspective teaches us that we are creatures of learning and we always act in the context of situations that we also help create.
- The humanistic perspective reminds us of the importance of our sense of self and of our potential for self- actualization.