PSYC 370 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: 16Pf Questionnaire, Gordon Allport, Twin

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 370
• Professor: Norahope

Document Summary

Definition of personality: personality is the dynamic organization whithin the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine characteristic behaviour and thoughts. Personality is the product of both heredity and environment. Emphasized conscious processes, present, and future rather than the past in determining human behaviour. Allport is the only one who pereferd idiographic approach over nomothetic. Allport"s trait categories common traits(nomothetic): characteristic of all people to some degree. Individual traits (personal dispositions): unique to the individual: cardinal trait: a single dominant trait of the individual that influences behavior in many situations. Not everyone has a cardinal trait: central traits: distinguishing traits that influence behavior. Everyone has several: secondary traits: minor individual traits, such as preference in dress or food. His influence: motivated future trait psychologists, allport use of questionare to study personality, more data-driven approach followed allport, interactionist view: characteristics of the person and the situation influence behaviour, complex and sophisticated picture of the individual.