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First Messages

Week 1 First Messages

In your own words, describe each of the five basic dispositional traits. Then, see Table 1.2 on p. 7 of the text. Select one of the adjective pairs listed in the table for each of the five trait categories and describe where you think your personality falls in the spectrum of each adjective pair.

o For example: Extraversion: Talkative - Quiet; I am generally more talkative than I am quiet. I favor the talkative end of the spectrum. When I am at work, however, I tend to be quieter.

What is one of your dispositional traits? What is one of your characteristic adaptations? Identify one of your dispositional traits and one of your characteristic adaptations. Provide an example of how each influences your behavior. How has your life story changed over time? Explain.

In your own words, describe each of the three levels of personality. Illustrate the levels using personal examples.

What is the scientific process? In what ways does psychology exemplify the scientific process? Explain the extent to which you agree or disagree with those who criticize psychology as a “soft science.”

Week 2 First Messages

Explain the key concepts of behaviorism. Explain the connections between behaviorism and American social values.

Explain the key concepts of Bandura’s social-learning theory. Compare and contrast his views with those of Skinner. Do you agree with either theorist? Explain why or why not.

Drawing on your reading from Chapter 3, reflect on how your gender and race have affected your personality. Do your reflections support social-learning theory and/or behaviorism? Why or why not?

Week 3 First Messages

Locate and complete a free personality inventory online.

Which results of this personality inventory do you feel were accurate? Which do you feel were inaccurate? Share your critique of the inventory with the class and be sure to include a link to the website. Then, complete one of the personality inventory tests taken by a classmate. Critique it and explain whether you agree or disagree with his or her critique of the inventory. Based on this experience and the readings from your text, what qualities do you think make an effective trait inventory?

Compare mechanistic and reciprocal interactionism and provide an example of each. Do you support one view over the other? Explain your response.

Compare and contrast the views of several 20th-century theorists on the nature of traits. With which theorist(s) do you tend to agree? Why? Given the various positions on the nature of traits, what is the value of discussing or measuring traits?

Week 4 First Messages

• What is a trait cluster? How does it differ from a trait? Why is it useful to discuss trait clusters rather than individual traits.

Pick one of the Big Five trait clusters. Explain the characteristics associated with this trait clusters, as well as the general implications of this trait cluster on personality. Do the findings of research and theorizing about this trait cluster match up with your own personal experience? Why or why not?

Week 5 First Messages

What is the difference between absolute continuity and differential continuity? Do an individual’s experiences affect differential continuity? Provide specific examples.

How do traits change over time? How do traits stay the same from infancy through adulthood?

What do twin studies demonstrate about the relative strengths of genetic and environmental influences on trait origin and development? Research some specific examples and explain what they demonstrate regarding the relative influences of genetic and environmental influences.

What is the role of birth order in the origin and development of personality traits? To what extent does research on birth order and personality match up with your personal experiences? What do birth order studies demonsterate about the relative strengths of genetic and environmental influences on trait origin and development?

Week 6 First Messages

Explain the differences between dispositional traits and motivational concepts. Using personal examples, explain how these two levels of personality function.

Explain the psychoanalytic, humanistic and diversity views of human motivation. With which view do you most agree? Why? Provide personal examples to explain which is most consistent with your own motivational forces.

Week 7 First Messages

Describe how a person’s cognitive style influences learning style. How is personality influenced by inherent learning styles and learning environments?

Explain how having a negative self-schema affects one’s social interactions. How does social intelligence affect one’s responses in any given situation? How might a person’s self-guides affect his or her perspective of the world?

Week 8 First Messages

Explain Erik Erickson’s eight stages of life. What are the characteristics and challenges of each stage? Must everyone pass through each stage in succession? What is the effect of unsuccessfully negotiating a particular stage?

Explain Jane Loevinger’s stages of ego development. In what ways do Loevinger’s descriptions differ from those of Erickson?

Week 9 First Messages

Explain how narrative approaches to personality address the question of what a life means.

Explain Tomkins’s script theory of personaility. What is the difference between a commitment script and a nuclear script? How does the type of narrative one choses to write about one’s identity influence one’s life and personality?

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