Study Resources for the Personality Unit

As the results from Friday's quiz illustrated, this unit can be a challenging one for students. It's not enough just to know vocabulary, or to have a vague sense of the unit's concepts/research. You'll need to be able to distinguish between different major theoretical approaches to personality and to articulate their advantages and disadvantages.

If that seems daunting, don't forget that we still have one week to go (test on Monday, Feb 29). And, we have a scheduled study session on Sunday, Feb 28 at 5:00 PM.

When I've finished this unit's slides, I'll post them here (still a work in progress). I'll also post any resources we use at the study session (as it approaches). However, especially if the quiz was a rough one for you, it might be a good idea to check out some of these things:

• Your Multiple Choice study guide! (you got this after the quiz)
• Quizlet Flashcards for Personality Unit
• Review this list of the Unit Learning Objectives! Can you do all of these things?
• Here are the Slides we used at tonight's study session. You'll they are organized around this unit's learning objectives, so don't neglect those!
• Study Session Resources: Which One Doesn't Belong? (To check  your answers, click here)
• Study Session Resources: Kahoot - Defense Mechanisms
• Practice FRQ (sort of...a huge one, anyway)
• More practice MC Items on Personality
  

Slide Show from this Unit:

Crash Course Videos Missed class? Can't make sense of a specific personality theory? Maybe the nice folks at Crash Course can help. This first video addresses some of the more "historic" theories of personality (Psychoanalytic, Psychodynamic, and Humanistic): 

Trait Theory and Social-Cognitive Perspectives are addressed here: 

Personality Unit Project

As part of your studies this unit, you will be completing a personality profile project. You may choose to complete a self-analysis (option #1) or to assess the personality of some other individual (e.g., character in a novel, historical figure, or movie character; option #2).

Tools:

• Directions for Self-Assessment Project (Option #1)
• Directions for Character Analysis Project (Option #2)
• Rubric

You will very likely find your Personality Grid helpful as you organize your response. If completing the Self-Assessment Project, you'll also want to hang on to any self-assessments we complete in class over the course of this unit.

Social Cognitive Perspective Resources

Since I will be away at a meeting on Monday morning, I'm posting my video notes/lecture here for the benefit of hours 1-3, who will be watching this in class. Links for other aspects of the lesson are here as well.

Video Notes: Social Cognitive Perspective


Surprise Party Sue


FREAKIN' EXCITED SUE from Lilián López Camberos on Vimeo.

(Optional) Big Brother

Freud-tastic Friday

This past Friday, AP Psych students delved deeply into Freudian theory. After learning about his 3-part model of the Psyche, his controversial stages of Psychosexual Development, and beginning to explore defense mechanisms, I think students are beginning to understand why modern psychologists have a love-hate relationship with Freud.

Since we had quite a few folks who were absent on Friday for various reasons, I'm posting some of the resources we used in class below. Keep in mind the slides will continue to be updated as we progress through this unit.

NOTE: If you picked up a worksheet on Defense Mechanisms from me because of a planned absence on Friday, be aware that I decided not to hand it out to my classes on Friday. They weren't quite ready for it yet. So, don't hurt yourself trying to finish that thing, as you'll have until Tuesday to finish it.

Slides from 2/26-2/28


Also, I was able to find a playlist of the Freud documentary that I normally show in class (when snow days haven't forced revisions to my lesson plans). I've embedded it below here for your (optional) viewing fun!

Personality Unit Study Helps

Update - 7:24 PM 

I hope I've now fixed the problems with the link to Friday's notes. You won't be able to view them in Powerpoint, but I think this should work for those who were requesting them.

As for remaining study tools for this evening, I'd highly recommend checking out this unit's Quizlet to make sure you've got all of the Personality vocabulary nailed down.

Need some more practice multiple choice questions to test out your understanding? Try these.

Big Five Inventory

On Wednesday our class discussion will focus primarily on the trait theory of personality. In preparation for that discussion, students will be completing an online personality inventory that relies on one of the more popular trait models out there: the Big Five.

To complete the activity, take the Big Five Personality inventory and record your results using this form. You may also wish to print out your results for your own contemplation, but that is up to you. Bring your completed form with you to class on Wednesday, February 13th.

Have fun!

Note: If you do not wish to complete this inventory for yourself, you may opt to use it to rate someone else (a friend or relative). The site allows you to do that. Simply use the results from that (anonymous) other person when completing the form.

Practice: Applying Personality Theory

Today in class we will be practicing applying the four major personality theories we've discussed over the past couple of weeks. Here are some SNL videos with characters we'll use for analysis: Surprise Party Sue and The Googly Eyes Gardener.

Surprise Party Sue


FYI: Sue also gets excited about surprise proposals...


The Googly Eyes Gardener

Quizlet for Personality Theory

Greetings, all! As promised, here is the link to the Quizlet on Personality Theory for this unit.

From here on out it can also be accessed through the "commonly used course links" on the left hand side of the blog.

Happy studying!

<----P.S. Freud wants you to do well here. Don't let him down. He can be cranky about these things.

Dr. Freud

Whether you find his ideas intriguing or repulsive, it is impossible to deny that Sigmund Freud had an incredible impact on the early years of psychology. If you're looking for more information on this controversial figure, there is no shortage of documentation on his life. In addition to the A & E Biography production we watched in class, these websites provide a wealth of information.

PBS special: The Young Dr. Freud companion site.
The Freud Museum in London.
The Freud Museum in Vienna, Austria.

Below, another historical video about the man, the myth & the legend, Dr. Freud.

Confused about Defense Mechanisms?

Struggling to remember and differentiate between all those Freudian defense mechanisms we discussed in class? Michael Britt to the rescue again! Although this time we don't have a cool mnemonic video, Mr. Britt shares with us an audio podcast littered with examples of defense mechanisms in action.

The chart (provided by Britt) to the right organizes the info in the podcast for you quite nicely. Click on it for a larger image. It doesn't go over all of the nine I shared with you in class, but it's a good reference. To see show notes and more information about this episode of the PsychFiles, click here.

On a related note, check out this article on the neuroscience behind the Freudian concept of transference: "Are You My Mother? Psychological Transference May Be More Pronounced When We Are Tired"

An MMPI for your Puppy? Personality Tests for Pets

Bizarre as it seems, personality testing has now crossed the species line. Increasingly, animal shelters are attempting to match potential pet owners with their ideal companions on the basis of canine or feline personality tests. This article, which appeared in TIME Magazine in 2007, sites numerous benefits of the procedure, including fewer dogs and cats being euthanized (a 40% reduction)! For the full article from TIME Magazine, click here.

Psych students, your assignment is to post a comment here after reading this article. And not simply, "Yup, I read it." Some questions to fuel your thinking: If you were in the market for a new canine companion or feline friend, would you want to get information from a pet personality test to help you make your decision? Given how successful these tests seem to be in pets (and, some claim, internet dating sites like eHarmony and Chemistry.com) would you consider using the results from a (human) personality test to help select friends or a date? Are there any drawbacks to our continuing obsession with personality testing (in animals or in humans)?