Discuss ways in which each of the major perspectives on personality (psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, and biological) has influenced some aspect of everyday life in modern society

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

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 the following.
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.