Psychology

The Science of Personality

Mr. Ring

Please answer the following questions while watching and following along with the
documentary.
What is Personality?
disposition of an individual, the way a person behaves and reacts to stimuli, things that socially
distinguish an individual from others, what causes a person to do what he does

Why is it so difficult to define?

No definition is entirely satisfying
Getting Along vs. Getting Ahead
What are the 3 constant characteristics of human behavior?
people always live in groups, groups always have a hierarchy; people need to have a system of
meaning that helps them make sense of the world
What are the 3 main motives that human have?
to get along with other, to get ahead, finding meaning in life
Group Dynamics
How did groups begin? Explain.
groups came about naturally, in order to survive people came together to make themselves less
vulnerable. some were better at accomplishing tasks and were more resourcefull than others,
and so the possibility of any such person helping out other people increase in groups
Explain the difference between competition within groups and competition between groups.
competition within groups was about status, and competition between groups was about
survival
How do group dynamics lead to the development of leadership?
some people know how to do something better than other, people who work together can
combine their skills in order for the purpose to survive
Theories of Leadership
What is the Great Man Theory?
the theory calls for one to look at characteristics of famous people who have already
demonstrated great leadership, and to see what the have in common. the commonalities will
help one to determine what makes someone a great leader

Psychology

The Science of Personality

Mr. Ring

What is Power? And how does it relate to leadership?

Power is when person A gets person B to do something they normally wouldnt do.

The Rise of Psychological Assessment

What impact did Freud have on the field of Psychology? Why?
Freud popularized psychology, invented the modern study of personality of psychology
What is Neurosis? (research if unknown)
mental illness involving systems of stress, but not a radical loss of touch with reality
Identity vs. Reputation
What is the difference between Identity and Reputation?
Identity is how you see yourself, reputation is how other people see you
How does both Identity and Reputation impact your career success?
One's own reputation can have a extreme impact on career success, as the leader or
management promotes people based on reputation. Identity can have an indirect role on career
success, because what someone veiws themselves as can affect their work ethic
How did military leadership assessment identify good leaders?
their assessment is based on intelligence, practical judgement, action, stress-tolerance,
expressiveness, reactionary body language, life history, worldviews and education.
Assessment Comes to the United States
How were German military leadership assessments instituted in the United States?

During the 1930s, a psychiatrist named Morton Prince went to teach personality
psychology to Harvard Undergrads. He hired two germans, these two were sent to
Germany to learn about German psychological military assessments and leadership
assessments. The two Germans brought back what they learned. Then WWII happened
and the establishment of the Office of Strategic Services was formed. The instituted
used the two germans knowledge to develop psychological assessments
The Five Factor Model
What is the Five Factor Model of Personality?
the idea that there are five basic dimensions which can be used to describe normal people, and
the idea that all adjectives can be simplified down to these five scales
Measuring Traits and Predicting Performance
What are the two main approaches to personality assessment?

Psychology

The Science of Personality

Mr. Ring

measuring traits, predicting outcomes

How can a bad leader impact an organization? (Chainsaw Al)
Chainsaw all became the CEO of sunbeam products, he fired so many people he caused
spikes in unemployment in many towns and cities where sunbeam factories were held

The Dark Side

What is a dark side? And when does it show up?
unfavorable or undesirable traits, shows up in stressful situations
The Bright Side
What is the bright side? And when does it show up?
strengths and good attributes
A New Way to Think
Can people change their personality?
possibly, they can change the way they act which may lead to a change in personality, but its
hard to change personality and takes a lot of energy