Highlights of what you may have learned from General Psychology 202?

Psychology of Learning: · There is a tendency to use punishments. o What are the problems with using punishments? o What are the alternatives to punishments? · Why do we have such strong feeling towards political candidates and controversial issues? (also related with Motivation and Emotion, Chapter 8) · What is learned helplessness? o How does learned helplessness affect behavior? o Why do people feel helpless? o How can you reduce the perception of helplessness? o What specific behaviors can learned helplessness explain? o How is learned helplessness related to racial, religious, gender discrimination? o Why do voters feel helpless when electing politicians (which may explain low voter turnout)? Psychology of Memory: · How much of success in life being organized, influenced by mental representations, genetics or environmental (also related with Thinking Language and Intelligence, Chapter 7), or personality (Personality, Chapter 11)? · How reliable is eyewitness testimony? · What factors affect eyewitness testimony? · What are the problems with “recovered memory therapy”? · What techniques can you use to improve your memory? · What are schemas and how do they affect memory? · Father Pagano was convicted of armed robbery due to many factors such as source confusion, schemas, and leading questions. What other issues involve these factors that can affect memory and public policy?

Psychology of Thinking, Language and Intelligence: · What are some reasons why questionable beliefs persist? · Why do people have such extreme beliefs on such “hot topics” such as gun control, abortion, politics, the death penalty, etc. (in addition to Chapter 5, Chapter 8)? · Is intelligence due to genetics or environment? Why does it matter (related to motivation and emotion—self efficacy, Chapter 8)? · How is it possible for two people to believe that they contributed a majority of work to a relationship? · Is there such a thing as a culture free intelligence test? · How does mental representation affect thinking and problem solving? Psychology of Motivation and Emotion: · Do subliminal messages affect and motivate your behavior? · How effective are lie detectors? What are the outcomes of a lie detector that is ____% accurate? · What are biological and behavioral reasons why it is difficult to lose weight? · What are step you can take to improve your self-efficacy? · What factors predict happiness? · Why are people tuning out to the political process? · Why do voters feel helpless when electing politicians? · Why do issues like furloughs and flags comprise a political debate, rather than issues like the environment and deficit? What are some issues that General Psychology 203 can directly or indirectly address?

· How do some people rationalize stealing, abusing or murdering others (we tend to make personality attribution for others and situational explanations for ourselves)? · What thinking processes affect social perception? · What thinking processes keep people from learning from experience? · What factors predict helping behavior and aggressive behavior? o Will placing the Ten Commandments in public schools prevent school shootings or make it worse? Does posting the corporate mission and rules increase the likelihood that you will abide by them? (what is aggression and what factors affect helping behavior, what factors affect whether or not we will comply with social rules?) · What factors increase the likelihood of a school shooting? · What factors are irrelevant for understanding school shootings? · According to Freud's catharsis theory, watching violent cartoons will reduce a child's need to commit acts of violence and aggression. It sounds reasonable, but is this supported by research? · What are the causes of mental illness? Is it immoral behavior like some people suggest? What implications does this belief have on treatment strategies? · When do beliefs, knowledge and attitudes predict behavior? General Psychology 203 The Psychology of Personality

What is personality? · The Psychoanalyst Perspective o Freud (what is the structure of personality, psychosexual stages of development, and defense mechanisms) o Neo-Freudians § Carl Jung: archetypes and collective unconscious § Karen Horney: basic anxiety § Alfred Adler: striving for superiority · The Humanist Perspective o Carl Rogers: unconditional positive regard; self- concept o Abraham Maslow: hierarchy of needs · The Social Cognitive Perspective o Albert Bandura: reciprocal determinism · The Trait Perspective o Raymond Cattell o Hans Eysenck: E/I, P, N o The Five-Factor Model or “The Big Five”: (OCEAN) · What are the strengths and weaknesses of each perspective? Assessing Personality · Projective Tests (Rorschach Inkblot Test and Thematic Aptitude Test) · Self-report Inventories (MMPI, CPI, 16PF) · What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? The Pseudoscience of Personality Assessment · Phrenology, Astrology and Graphology Personality is an individual’s unique and relatively consistent pattern of thinking, feeling and behaving.

The two big questions addressed in this chapter are: · What is personality? o Freudian / Neo-Freudian perspective o Humanist perspective o Social cognitive perspective o Trait perspective o Strengths and weaknesses of each perspective · How do we assess/measure it? o Projective tests o Self-report inventories o Strengths and weaknesses of each method

There are four basic groups of theorists who try to describe and explain individual similarities and differences and why individuals are unique. As you read through the theories of personality, remember, NO SINGLE theory of personality explains all aspects of human personality. Every personality theory has it’s own unique contribution to our understanding of personality and weaknesses in its approach to explain personality. Summary of the Major Personality Perspectives

Perspective and Key Key Themes and Ideas Theorists Psychoanalytic: Emphasizes the importance of unconscious determinants of behavior, sexual and aggressive drives, and the effects of early childhood experience on later personality development. · Freud Influence of unconscious psychological processes; importance of sexual and aggressive instincts; lasting effects of early childhood experiences · Carl Jung The collective unconscious, archetypes, and psychological harmony · Karen Horney Importance of parent-child relationship; defending against basic anxiety; womb envy · Alfred Adler Striving for superiority, compensating for feelings of inferiority Humanistic: It represents an optimistic look at human nature, emphasizing the self and the fulfillment of a person’s unique potential. · Carl Rogers Emphasis on the self-concept, psychological growth, free will, and inherent goodness · Abraham Maslow Behavior as motivated by hierarchy of needs and striving for self-actualization; focus on psychologically healthy people Social Cognitive: Emphasizes learning and conscious cognitive processes, including the importance of beliefs about the self-goal setting, and self-regulation. · Albert Bandura Reciprocal interaction of behavioral, cognitive, and environmental factors; emphasis on conscious thoughts, self-efficacy beliefs, self-regulation, and goal setting Trait: Emphasizes the description and measurement of specific personality differences among individuals. · Raymond Cattell Emphasis on measuring and describing individual differences; 16 source traits of personality · Hans Eysenck Three basic dimensions of personality: introversion—extraversion, neuroticism—emotional stability, and psychoticism · Robert McCrae Five-factor model: five basic dimensions of personality: and Paul Costa, openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, Jr. agreeableness, neuroticism (use the mnemonic OCEAN) TABLE 11.4 The Major Personality Perspectives Summary Strengths Weaknesses