CHAPTER 11
Critical Thinking
LO 3 to 7
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Pages: 329-337
1. Psychodynamic theories have been criticized for their lack of empirical
evidence and poor testability. Are there some of Freud’s, Jung’s, and Adler’s
ideas that would be easier to test than others? How might you go about
designing research studies to test some of these ideas?
Answers should reveal students’ understanding of various research approaches as
well as several psychodynamic concepts or hypotheses. Answers should suggest
plausible ways to test these concepts or hypotheses. Some starting points might
include:
Using the interview or projective measures, you might be able to test Freud’s
hypothesis that sexual and aggressive drives are more often frustrated than other
basic, biological drives. The same means could be used to probe for the operation of
defense mechanisms. Modern longitudinal research techniques combined with
sophisticated behavioral coding might yield evidence relevant to Freud’s and
Adler’s assertions about childhood experiences molding adult personality. Jung’s
basic approach to testing his hypothesis about the existence of a collective
unconscious could be improved on. The presence of archetypes in the unconscious
of the individual could be probed using projective techniques. If commonalties
across individuals were found, then modern anthropological and archaeological
techniques could be used to search for corresponding symbols in other cultures and
time periods. The concepts of introvert and extravert have been fairly easy to test
using psychological tests.
Critical Thinking
LO 12 to 15
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Pages: 340-344
2. On first learning about the different theoretical perspectives on personality,
many people like the views of the humanistic theorists best. Why do you think
this is? Are these reasons sound, scientific criteria for evaluating a theoretical
perspective on personality?
Reasons for people preferring humanistic views will vary, though a common reason
will probably be the humanistic emphasis on free will and choice. More important
than the reasons students give for people’s preferring humanistic notions are their
views on the soundness of these reasons as scientific criteria for evaluating theories.
Since the scientific approach places a premium on objectivity, one’s merely “liking”
the idea of free choice, for instance, should be recognized as an inadequate
evaluative criterion. In a good answer, the student will separate preferences from
sound, scientific criteria, and recognize that an evaluative argument should be based
on the latter.
Integrative
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3. Discuss ways in which each of the major perspectives on personality has
influenced some aspect of everyday life in modern society.
Answers should demonstrate sound understanding of the broad principles underlying
each theoretical approach, and hypotheses about how these principles have
influenced everyday life should be well reasoned. Some possibilities include:
Psychodynamic: A tremendous number of notions that comprise “common
knowledge” in our society derive from this perspective, especially Freud’s work.
These include the beliefs that childhood experiences influence later personality and
psychological health, that dreams are meaningful, and that the contents of the
unconscious can influence behavior.
Behavioral: Behavior-modification techniques are widely used to change habits in
oneself and others. Our criminal justice system seems to be based on a belief in the
effectiveness of punishment in controlling behavior. Advertising counts on the
effectiveness of modeling to help sell products.
Humanistic: The notion of the self is prominent in our society. Most people agree
that high levels of self-esteem are important, especially in children, and people
sometimes go to great lengths to engender high self-esteem in themselves and
others. We greatly value the notion of free choice. Self-actualization is a highly
regarded and much sought-after achievement.
Biological: The idea that personality traits are strongly influenced by heredity has
become more popular, especially in the wake of the twin research reported in the
chapter. It has become more acceptable to hold this intuitively appealing view.