Discovering Psychology

Discovering psychology

Chapter 1

Exposing the authoritarian personality.

Aims and objectives from this chapter

* Outline what psychologists mean when they refer to the term personality.

* Describe the notion of authoritarian personality and how it has been measured.

* Discuss the methodical problems of using scales to measure personality.

* Outline alternative approaches which have sort to explain autotarian personality.

Introduction

A central task for psychology is to try to explain people's behaviour. Why do people do the things we do? Psychologists have been traditionally interested in is personality. There are many definitions of personality but in general terms it refers to a set of stable and enduring individual characteristics or inner dispositions that lead people to behave in a steady way over time and maintain a consistent orientation to other people and the world around them.

Activity 1.1

Spend a few minutes thinking about someone you know. How would you describe their personality? Do you think their personality influences the way they behave? Think about some of the things they do that you consider to be a part of their personality.

How would you describe their personality?

I would describe their personality as quirky, great sense of humour, lovable, can be very defensive at times. Also can be very moody if he can't get his own way. He is very stubborn and set in his ways, he always thinks he is right all the time and hates to be proven wrong.

Do you think their personality influences the way they behave?

Yes I believe that his personality influences his behaviour. I believe this because his personality defines who he is as a person and his actions in any circumstance. For example in a heated situation because he is stubborn, it would prove hard to get him to walk away from the situation or to get him to change his mind to calm the situation down. Having said that because he is a generally happy person if a heated situation was to arise as long as he was in a happy mood it may prove easier to convince him to walk away or stay calm.

Think about some of the things they do that you consider are down to their personality.

Certain parts of his personality creep through in the things he does, e.g. he can be very exstravagant with his reactions to things. I would put this down to him being stubborn and his lack of ability to accept when he is wrong. This can create a very hostile environment because he doesn't wish to accept the truth. On the other hand he can be a very lovable person and