Lecture 1 (Chapter 1) Questions
Review the section in your lecture notes and textbook called “Questions about Human Nature”.
If you were a personality theorist, explain which position you would take on each of the following questions about human nature and explain why for each.
| A. Free Will or Determinism? |
| Free Will Our individual characters are mostly determined by the choices that we make in life. For instance, people who decide to go to school become intellectuals. |
| B. Inherited Nature or Nurturing Environment? |
| Both Inherited Nature and Nurturing Environment Some behavior is inherent while others are acquired as a result of interaction with the environment. |
| C. Dependent or independent of childhood? |
| Dependent on childhood A significant part of personality forms during childhood, and the individual spends a lot of their time in later life defending the personality. |
| D. Unique or Universal? |
| Unique. Personalities are unique, with elements of universality. This is because some characteristics are determined by the environment, which is unique for every individual. The inherited trait may be universal |
| E. Satisfaction or Growth? |
| Major motivation results from the need for satisfaction This is because individuals are naturally deprived of basic needs. It is only after obtaining pleasure, escape pain, and stress that individuals can pursue growth. |
| F. Optimism or Pessimism? |
| Both optimism and pessimism People exhibit both positive and negative outlook towards life. While attributes such as social consciousness are evident, negative attributes such as jealousy and hatred are highly present. |
| G. Cultural Influences on Human Nature |
| I believe that people are in control of what happens to them. This is because most events are triggered by others in the manner of action and reaction. Actions have consequences. |
Lecture 2 (Chapter 2) Questions
Review the section in your lecture notes and textbook called “Defenses against Anxiety”. Then, for each one, describe a time that you, or someone you observed, used each defense mechanism listed below.
| Repression |
| Repression involves suppressing negative thoughts unconsciously. I encountered this mechanism during a conversation with a friend who participates in a dancing competition. I asked her whether she thought her race would affect how people judged her performance. By instinct, she dismissed my concern. |
| Denial |
| Denial involves blocking one’s awareness of an external event. For instance, I informed my brother that smoking is bad for his health, but he could not admit it. |
| Reaction Formation |
| Reaction formation entails forming an opposite impulse. My experience with this mechanism is when I reminded my brother that smoking affects his health. He responded by claiming he takes a lot of milk that neutralizes the effect and makes him even healthier. |
| Projection |
| Projection involves attributing undesirable attributes to another person. I used this mechanism when I realized that my hatred for one of the student leaders was baseless. I then believed that it was he who hated me, and I felt okay. |
| Regression |
| Regression refers to retreatment to an earlier psychological time. I observed this mechanism in my younger brother, who started sucking his thumb when he could no longer access breast milk. |
| Rationalization |
| Rationalization entails distorting or reinterpreting facts to make it more acceptable. At one time, when I reprimanded my younger brother for consuming too many sweets, which could affect his health, he defended himself by saying that he only took one sweet. |
| Displacement |
| This involves directing feelings to a less threatening substitute. I experienced this mechanism when I started blaming my elder sister for reporting deviant behavior to my mother leading to a reprimand from the later. |
| Sublimation |
| Sublimation involves transforming an impulse into a socially acceptable activity. My experience with this mechanism is when a friend found solace and pleasure in beating me in a game of chess following a confrontation that he lost. |
Lecture 3 (Chapters 3, 4, 5) Questions
Review the lecture notes and textbook chapters that correspond to the Neo-psychoanalytic approaches. Then, answer the following questions.
| 1. What did you like the most and the least about Carl Jung’s theory? |
| What I like most about Carl Jung’s theory is his idea of personal unconscious. This is because I can identify with the idea. As I have observed, I have experienced dreams about subjects that once made me worried but are no longer in my memory, probably as a result of repression. What I liked the least about Carl Jung’s theory is the belief that libido is general energy in life that also drives one’s personality. The reason why I do not like this belief is that libido appears to be separate from general life energies and do not determine personalities. |
| 2. What did you like the most and the least about Alfred Adler’s theory? |
| What I liked most about Alfred Adler’s theory is the belief that everyone has an inherent sense of inferiority that influences the behaviors as individuals try to overcome it and become superior. As such, it helps to explain why we always want to compare with others and become better. What I like least about the theory is the nature of theory that makes it hard to verify scientifically. Aspects such as the desire for perfection, creativity, social, interest, and inferiority complex are difficult to measure. |
| 3. What did you like the most and the least about Karen Horney’s theory? |
| What I liked most about Horney’s theory is the belief that early childhood has a tremendous influence on an individual’s personality even during adulthood. According to the theorists, social support, and love from close family members may help overcome trauma, which makes it easy to apply. What I liked least about the theory is its inability to appreciate the role of biological factors in personal behaviors. |
| 4. Overall, whose theory did you like the most – Jung’s, Adler’s, or Horney’s – and why? |
| Horney’s theory is the approach that I liked the most among the three. There are several reasons why I prefer the theory. First, it recognizes the role of childhood in shaping behavior. Secondly, it explains individual motivation. According to the theory, motivation is attributed to safety a need, which makes individuals seek freedom and security. Thirdly, the theory approaches the topic of feminism with respect and dignity. It uses “womb envy” to explain the relationship between men and women compared to Freud’s theory which uses “penis envy.” |