Essay Questions Chapter 1
Essay Questions Chapter 1
Essay Questions Chapter 1
1. Define personality and explain the factors that influence one’s personality.
The socioeconomic status of the family, the educational level of the parents, and
other family members, as well as the order of birth, shape the personality of an individual
to a significant extent. Family members, particularly parents try to influence the behavior
of children to represent their own values, roles, dreams, etc.
People influence each other and such stimulus shape personality. For this reason,
one’s personality is constantly changing and is shaped throughout one’s life depending on
the relationships that we’ve had in our lifetime.
The following are other areas or fields of study that would relate to the study of
personality. Developmental psychology is a field that examines the changes that we
experience in our personality as we get older. Neuroscience seeks to analyze the brain
or the biological basis of personality and behavior. Clinical psychology is an area of
study to understand the relationship between personality traits and mental health issues.
Industrial-organizational psychology focuses on the behavior and personality of people
in the workplace. Social psychology is for understanding how people function within
small and large groups.
The person-situation dynamic is a debate between those who defended the idea
that stable personality traits could predict behavior versus those who argued that
personality didn't really exist and that the situation was much more important.
There are four factors that we need to consider as we negotiate the interaction
between the two. The first factor is personality can be impacted by experiences that
can be demonstrated in situations that last a long time, such as going to a certain school
or moving in with someone. It means that personality changes over time when the situation
that we’re in changes, too.
The second factor is people respond differently to the same situation. In this
sense, we can cite the scenario about going to parties. This proves that not everyone likes
or enjoys parties, some stay out of the limelight and sideways.
As for the third factor, people choose their situations, it denotes that people
choose situations that they are most comfortable with, whether it is cooking, playing
sports, reading a book, or just binge-watching Netflix shows. We can also say that
introverts would rather choose to stay home than attend a party compared to extroverts
who love to go out and enjoy moments with other people.
And lastly, the fourth factor is people change the situations they enter. This can
be manifested in instances when a situation is changed by the presence or the arrival of
another person with a different personality. The involvement of another person could result
in a change in the atmosphere and flow of a conversation or situation.