PSYC 2740 Lecture Notes - Oedipus Complex, Neuroticism, Castration Anxiety
15 Apr 2013
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Document Summary
Stable individual differences believed to be present early in life and are consistent across time and place. Two main approaches to the study of personality are: nomothetic : (groups) goal is to understand general themes and principles. Idiographic : (individuals) goal is to understand the complexity of the individual. Personality must be studied from a cross-cultural perspective. Findings are formed rom experimental and descriptive methods. Research must be done to determine if it is simply common sense. Sternberg found only 7% of his samples had high levels of common sense. Personality must be viewed from a critical thinking perspective. Increases critical thinking skills: decreases tendency to endorse false beliefs, decrease the barnum effect (tendency to accept general statements as applicable to oneself) Thompson and goodvin (2005) state that personality reflects a complex interplay of temperament, emotion, and self-development that further interact with the social environment. The role of culture is an important individual difference variable.
