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Mini-Theories: Exploring Facets of Personality

1. The document discusses several mini-theories related to personality, including locus of control, sensation seeking, learned helplessness, optimism/pessimism, and happiness. 2. Julian Rotter introduced the concept of locus of control, referring to whether people believe their reinforcements are controlled by their own actions or external forces outside their control. 3. The document also summarizes research findings related to each theory and the traits of people who score high or low on measures of each concept.

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183 views8 pages

Mini-Theories: Exploring Facets of Personality

1. The document discusses several mini-theories related to personality, including locus of control, sensation seeking, learned helplessness, optimism/pessimism, and happiness. 2. Julian Rotter introduced the concept of locus of control, referring to whether people believe their reinforcements are controlled by their own actions or external forces outside their control. 3. The document also summarizes research findings related to each theory and the traits of people who score high or low on measures of each concept.

Uploaded by

Jonna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Mini-Theories: Exploring

Facets of Personality
Locus of Control, Sensation Seeking,
Learned Helplessness, Optimism/
Pessimism, Positive Psychology,
and Happiness and Success
Julian Rotter: Locus of Control
people believe that their reinforcers depend on their
own actions and that other people believe that their
reinforcers are controlled by other people and by
outside forces. He called this concept locus of control
internal locus of control personalities believe that
the reinforcement they receive is under the control of
their own behaviors and attributes.
external locus of control think that other people,
fate, or luck control the rewards they receive
HIGHLIGHTS: Research on Rotters Ideas
People with high internal locus of control tend to:
Live in wealthy individualistic cultures
Perform well in school
Not become addicted to Internet use
Score high in job satisfaction and life satisfaction
Score low in anxiety and depression
Cope better with stress
Be physically healthy
Have parents who score high in internal control
Marvin Zuckerman: Sensation Seeking
Sensation Seeking - This trait has a large hereditary
component initially noted by Eysenck. Zuckerman
describes sensation seeking as a desire for varied,
novel, complex and intense sensations and experience,
and the willingness to take physical, social, legal, and
financial risks for the sake of such experience

To measure sensation seeking, Zuckerman constructed


the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS), a 40-item paper-
and-pencil questionnaire
Using the method of factor analysis,
FOUR COMPONENTS OF SENSATION SEEKING.
1. Thrill and adventure seeking : A desire to engage in physical
activities involving speed, danger, novelty, and defiance of
gravity such as parachuting, scuba diving, or bungee jumping.
2. Experience seeking : The search for novel experiences
through travel, music, art, or a nonconformist lifestyle with
similarly inclined persons.
3. Disinhibition : The need to seek release in uninhibited social
activities.
4. Boredom susceptibility : An aversion to repetitive experiences,
routine work, and predictable people, and a reaction of restless
discontent when exposed to such situations.
HIGHLIGHTS: Research on Zuckermans
People who score high in sensation seeking tend to:
Score high in adventure-seeking, disinhibition, and susceptibility to
boredom
Live in westernized cultures
Takes risks, do drugs and alcohol, drive fast, and engage in frequent
sex
Spend a lot of time playing computer games
Be extraverted, open to new experiences, conscientious, and
emotional
Be interested in the helping professions (such as psychologist or
social worker)rather than in business
Have liberal political and religious views
Be the only child or the first-born child in their family
Have more body piercings and tattoos
Martin E. P. Seligman: Learned Helplessness and
th Optimistic/Pessimistic Explanatory Style
learned helplessness - condition resulting from the
perception that we have no control over our environment
explanatory style - way of explaining to ourselves our
relative lack of control over our environment.
optimistic explanatory style can prevent learned
helplessness;
pessimistic explanatory style spreads helplessness to
all facets of life
Positive psychology deals with happiness, excellence,
and optimal human functioning
Seligman posited three components or types of
happiness:
1. the pleasant life consisting of a great deal of
positive emotion;
2. the engaged life consisting of engagement,
commitment, and absorption in work;
3. the meaningful life consisting of committing ones
talents and abilities in the service of a cause or
purpose larger than oneself.

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