1 Psychology 305A: Personality Psychology November 25 Lecture 21.

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Psychology 305A: Personality Psychology

November 25

Lecture 21

Reminders

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1. Paper due date: November 27.

Questions?

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2. Tutorial 5 of the Peer Mentor Program is scheduled at the following times:

November 27, 1:00-“2:00PM, SWING 122November 28, 4:30-€“5:30PM, SWING 122

The discussion questions for Tutorial 5 will be posted on the course website (see Peer Mentor Program).

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3. Please complete your evaluation for this course. Your evaluation will be anonymous and secure.

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To date, 25% of students have completed the evaluation.(Goal: 70% completion rate!)

New for 2014-2015: Evaluations for Psychology courses have been shortened to 15 questions!

A little R&R ….(Review and Reflect)

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1. What factors predict happiness?

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The Self-Actualization/Determination Perspective

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1. summarize research regarding sources of happiness.

2. discuss personality characteristics related to happiness.

By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

3. define the terms autotelic personality and flow.

4. identify character strengths and virtues documented by researchers.

What factors predict happiness?

• Research suggests three broad sources of happiness:

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Sources of Happiness (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005)

Heritability (reflects “trait” happiness).

Aked et al. (2008):Connecting with others, physical activity, “savouring,” learning, giving.

Income, educational attainment, marital status, parental status, religiosity, health.

Diener & Biswas-Diener (2008): Attention, interpretation, memory.

Causes or consequences?

• Research has identified a number of personality characteristics that are related to happiness:

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1. The Big 5 (Shiota et al., 2006): Extraversion: Positively correlated with happiness. Neuroticism: Negatively correlated with happiness.

2. Attachment styles (Hefferon & Boniwell, 2011): Secure attachment: Positively correlated with

happiness.

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3. The autotelic personality (Csikszentmihalyi, 2002, 2009):

Motivated by intrinsic rewards. Characterized by curiosity, need to achieve, enjoyment

of activities, persistence, narrow concentration, independence, and cooperation.

Has frequent “flow” experiences: • Intense experiential involvement in moment-to-moment

activity, attention is fully invested, person functions at fullest capacity.

• Associated with a sense of control, distortion of time, and a balance between challenge and skill.

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"An autotelic person needs few material possessions and little entertainment, comfort, power, or fame because so much of what he or she does is already rewarding. Because such persons experience flow in work, in family life, when interacting with people, when eating, even when alone with nothing to do, they are less dependent on the external rewards that keep others motivated to go on with a life composed of routines. They are more autonomous and independent because they cannot be as easily manipulated with threats or rewards from the outside. At the same time, they are more involved with everything around them because they are fully immersed in the current of life” (Csikszentmihalyi, 2007).

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4. Character strengths (Dahlsgaard et al., 2005; Peterson & Seligman, 2004):

Identified through an analysis of philosophical, religious, and scientific text across cultures and centuries.Twenty-four character strengths, organized into six virtues:

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The Values in Action Questionnaire (VIA) assesses respondents’ signature strengths. The VIA can be completed online at: www.authentichappiness.org.

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Use of “signature” strengths in daily activities can foster happiness:

“Research has demonstrated that by simply following our strengths we can gain insight and perspective …. generate optimism, confidence, and even enhanced sense of vitality” (Hefferon & Boniwell, 2011)

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1. summarize research regarding sources of happiness.

2. discuss personality characteristics related to happiness.

By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

3. define the terms autotelic personality and flow.

4. identify character strengths and virtues documented by researchers.

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Psychology 305 19

Analysis of the Personality of a Civil Rights Leader: Malcolm X

Discussion Questions

1. What learning processes (e.g., classical conditioning, operant conditioning, observational learning) do you think shaped Malcolm X’s personality? Identify specific examples to illustrate how these learning processes shaped his personality.

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2. Prior to imprisonment, Malcolm X did not adhere to a separatist view regarding race relations. However, after imprisonment, he did adhere to this view, ultimately joining the Nation of Islam. How can Dollard and Miller’s learning theory be used to explain this change in Malcolm X’s attitudes and behaviour?

3. Mischel proposed 5 “cognitive-social learning person variables” to describe personality: competencies, encoding strategies/personal constructs, expectancies, subjective values, and self-regulatory systems/plans. Use these variables to describe Malcolm X’s personality when he was in Boston.

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4. Speculate on Malcolm X’s dominant needs. Consider Murray’s needs and the “Big Three” dimensions.

5. Maslow maintained that, in the hierarchy of conative needs, lower-order needs have greater strength, potency, and priority than higher-order needs. Were Malcolm X’s actions consistent with this assertion?

6. Would Maslow’s hierarchy of conative needs adequately explain motivation among collectivists?

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7. How does Maslow’s notion of the self-actualizer differ from Rogers’ notion of the fully functioning person? Can both concepts be applied to Malcolm X?

8. Deci and Ryan emphasized the importance of “self-determination” in determining well-being. At what point in his life do you believe that Malcolm X achieved self-determination?

9. Research has identified a number of personality characteristics that are related to happiness. Which of these characteristics did Malcolm X display, if any?

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