Personality Theory Final Exam (Study Guide)

The final exam will be administered on Friday 6/27. You will need a blue book for the exam. A portion of the final is not comprehensive (that covering Rogers, Maslow, and May), whereas a portion is comprehensive and requires knowledge of the other theories that we discussed. The exam will contain 40 multiple choice questions and several short(ish) answer questions.

Short Answers (non-comprehensive). 3 will appear on the exam, you will choose 2 (5 points each)

1.     Describe the three selves in Rogers Person-Centered Theory.

2.     How does psychopathology arise according to Rogers?

3.     What did Rogers mean by incongruence and how does it arise?

4.     Describe the three necessary and sufficient conditions for personality change described by Rogers.

5.     Describe the basic assumptions of Holistic-Dynamic Therapy

6.     List Maslow’s five characteristics of a basic (instinctoid) need.

7.     Describe the hierarchy of needs (include a brief description of each type) and indicate how one progress through this hierarchy.

8.     List and describe Maslow’s four criteria for actualization.

9.     List and briefly explain 7 characteristics of a self-actualized individual.

10.   What is existentialism? (Explain the five basic assumptions)

11.   What are the three modes of the world that characterize us in our Dasein (Describe each briefly).

12.   According to May, how does psychopathology arise and how are anxiety and guilt produced?

Short(ish) Answers (Comprehensive). 1 will appear on the exam and will be worth 10 points

1.       Throughout the semester we have discussed five main classes of personality theories. Using the awesome knowledge that you have extracted compare and contrast the definition of personality in these five approaches.

2.       Some personality theorists assume that “personality” is biologically determined, whereas others believe it is a product of the environment. Provide an example of a theory that stresses the biological aspects and an example of a theory that stresses the environmental aspects. Where do you stand on this issue.

3.       As we have seen throughout the semester, sometimes things go array in personality development. Using the knowledge that you have gained discuss the view of psychopathology according to the five broad approaches discussed this semester.

Multiple Choice Concepts

·                     The comprehensive portion of the multiple choice questions will examine your knowledge of major and critical concepts associated with each of the theorists that we covered. Think of this as preparing a brief summary of the major points of the theory. I would suggest knowing the following for each theorist:

A.         Major personality structures or processes associated with each(e.g., self-efficacy with Bandura, Freud’s 3 part topographical model of mind, etc)

B.         What motivates the individual according to each (e.g., Adler’s striving, Freud’s unconscious impulses and defense mechanisms)

C.         How would each theorist define personality?

D.        Any major constructs associated with the theorist (e.g., Klein’s splitting and projective identification, Sullivan’s dynamism, Cattell’s source trait, etc).

E.         Any critical stages in their theories? (e.g., Erikson’s identity, Sullivan’s preadolescence, etc).