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THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSON ALIT Y: SO YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS A SCIENCE?

A

For students who are interestcd in studying personality psychology, there are certain concepts that arc csscntial to undcrstand and form opinions about. These are issucs that occur in many of the theorics about personality that you will cncountcr.

B

The qucstion of which is moro important in personality, the conscious or the unconscious, is one important area of study. Psychological research has tricd to determine how much influence the unconscious has ovcr human bchaviour. Do people rcally havc control over thcir own actions and are they responsible for their choices? General ly, people assume that they use conscious thought to make decisions and choices on a daily basis. But what about the phenomenon of women who marry men that exhibit similar characler traits to thcir own fathers? A woman doesn t consciously look for a man that reminds her of her father, yet research shows that this is often what happens. So. docs the unconscious play a morę active role than we think?

C

One problem that is yet to be solved in the study of personality psychology is the issue of whether the research studics in this area can be applicd to all people or not. Psychological research tends to look for generalities. common trends and characteristics among groups of people. Yet there is a belief amongst sonie psychologists that the only way to study personality is to look at individuals and focus on individual cascs. As each individual’s personal history is uniquc, so we must deal with cach case as unique. In this context, how can we generalisc about anything?

D

It is no coincidencc that many comedians still find humour in observing the diffcrences between men and women. Personality research has succeedcd in exploring the relevant issucs that are related to this qucstion. Although there are no definitive answers, there are many insights which can help us understand the difTerenccs and suggest reasons why. Why are men generał ly morę dominant and aggrcssive when women are morę sociable, caring and nurturing?

E

In personality research, one recurring problem is the issue of inconsistcncies in individuals’ behaviour. In other words, although a person may fali into a particular pattem of behaviour that matches certain character types one day, the following day, they may display vcry different characteristics. Indeed, depending on the situation that a person finds him or herself in, most people are capablc of exhibiting an extraordinary rangę of personality characteristics. So is it really the personality that matters, or should we look morę at the behaviour of individuals in particular situations?

F

To conclude, for any student who is considering entering the inconclusive world of personality research, he or she will havc to make decisions about issucs such as these. Such decisions, although they may be informed by research studies, may ultimately be subjective.

B bind words in the text with the following meanings. (14 marks)

1.    a formal vcrb that means ‘to meet’ (paragraph 1) -------

2.    a formal vcrb that means ‘to discover (a fact by investigating it)' or 'to dccide something

(paragraph 2)________

3.    a verb that means ‘to say something is true in most situations or for most people’ (paragraph 3)