| COU105: Psychology of Personality Development |
Question 1
Personality psychology is interested in the uniqueness of individuals and what it means to be a person. To find out more about how and why individuals behave as they do, personality psychology researchers conduct systematic observations of people, focusing on the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of real people. They use methods of scientific inference to test the theories. These scientific methods are meaningful ways to discriminate between one person’s and another’s personality. Various measures have been devised to assess behavior.
a) Identify and describe the TWO (2) most essential characteristics that all psychological tests must have in order to draw meaningful conclusions. Why do you think these TWO (2) qualities are essential for meaningful conclusions to be drawn?
b) Describe TWO (2) differences between subjective and objective methods of personality assessment. Provide ONE (1) example of a subjective method of assessment, and illustrate when it may be useful. Provide also ONE (1) example of an objective method to personality assessment, and illustrate when it may be useful.
c) Using the Freudian personality perspective, construct a three-item personality rating scale that assesses your friend’s personality in terms of his/her beliefs for his/her personality development and coping. Describe the measure you have constructed and provide the rationale for your selection of the particular test items. What would the scores indicate? Hypothesize on TWO (2) weaknesses of the above-constructed personality test in relation to the qualities of a good psychological test.
Question 2
The principles of controlling people’s behavior through structured reinforcement have often been debated. In spite of all these objections, these principles are frequently used in institutionalized settings such as for people with severe mental disorders and disabilities like developmental delay.
Unlike the e-vouchers or food vouchers given by the government to assist the lower-income individuals of our society, in these institutionalized environments, the interactions and interpersonal processes that may be present in any family setting are often absent.
According to Friedman & Schustack (2014), “in the case of children with severe developmental delay, they are unable to learn the skills of daily life through the formal and informal processes of instruction that work for most children (p.212)” who are in schools.
The parents of such disabled children may also lack the know-how and skills. For the severely disabled, exposure to highly structured training regiments may help them acquire the skills of independent living and may lighten the burden of their caregivers. a) Of the FIVE (5) major perspectives of personality psychology, which personality theory is correct in the provision of highly structured training and treatment plan for the above categories of institutionalized individuals, and why?
b) Compare and contrast critically the behaviourist theory with ONE (1) other major personality theory on any FOUR (4) different aspects of personality.
c) Evaluate the usefulness of the above TWO (2) major personality theories in the helping profession.
Question 3
In Singapore’s pluralistic society, culture, ethnicity, religion, language, gender, and socioeconomic status may have a dramatic impact on the formation of personality and behavioral functioning. Cultural issues may have to be carefully considered not only in political, educational, social, and economic policy planning but also in the construction, use, and interpretation of psychological assessment as well as in the counseling of clients.
a) What are cultural effects? What are not cultural effects? Give THREE (3) examples of cultural effects and describe how each of these cultural effects shapes your personality and influences your behavior functioning.
b) THREE (3) common types of test biases are language, ethnic and gender biases. For test-takers who come from low socio-economic home backgrounds and whose mother tongue is not the English language, how can unclear sentence structures, use of bombastic words, and words of ambiguous meaning in the test items threaten the validity of the test? Support your arguments by illustrating with ONE (1) example from your own educational experience, and elaborate on its effects on your personality and behavior functioning.
c) Of all the FIVE (5) major theories, which personality theory in your opinion best accounts for cultural influences on personality, and why?
