Two Broad Types “The first is the more active, zealous type…seek out stimulation, are highly extroverted, and tend to be spontaneous and fun-loving. The second type of self-healing personality is the calmer, more relaxed type – active, alert, involved, and responsive, but calm, philosophical, and bemused” (Friedman & Schustack, 2012, p. 401). What is … Continue reading
Mischel’s Critique
Is personality contained within the person or a result of situational influences? Trait theorists contend that personality traits inherent to the individual hold predominant predictive power, despite an inability to provide empirical support for same (Mischel, 2009). In fact, therein lays the focal point of Mischel’s critique of unilateral acceptance of broad trait theories … Continue reading
Apply It: Positive Psychology
Fiction writers, particularly successful fiction writers, create stories that resonate with the readers. This often occurs because the writers incorporate popular truths, concepts, or ideas in fictional settings. Orson Scott Card is one such fictional writer. In the early 1980’s Orson Scott Card created the Ender’s Game novel series, which has now become a … Continue reading
Free Will
Another tired morning. About 2:00 a.m., my 11-year-old son, Gabriel, woke up screaming from a nightmare. He tried to sleep in my room, but after a short period of comforting I helped him back to his own room to go back to sleep. This event occurred after three previous difficult nights. Gabriel has experienced … Continue reading
Positive Psychology
What is positive psychology? Human preoccupation with good versus evil is so pronounced that a large bulk of our entertainment is devoted to it in one form or another. Our movies, our books, and even our news are glutted with good overcoming evil. In fact, even movies and television serials with supposed evil everywhere … Continue reading
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Big Five
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Big Five One of my favorite long-time television series is Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran from 1997 through 2003. The main character was featured as an archetypal heroine, constantly battling evil and saving the world while at the same time struggling with typical female teen angst. I … Continue reading
Murray’s Psychogenic Needs
Murray’s Psychogenic Needs According to the website AllPsych Online, Henry Murray posited individual’s personality developed based upon satisfying psychogenic needs. The list of psychogenic needs include: abasement, achievement, acquisition, affiliation, aggression, autonomy, blame avoidance, construction, contrariance, counteraction, defendance, deference, dominance (power), exhibition, exposition, harm avoidance, infavoidance, nurturance, order, play, recognition, rejection, sentience, sex … Continue reading
Big Five Theory of Personality
Big Five Theory of Personality List and Define The Big Five Theory of Personality details five specific dimensions: Agreeableness “Agreeable people are friendly, cooperative, trusting, and warm. People low on this dimension are cold, quarrelsome, and unkind” (Friedman & Schustack, 2012, p. 260). Extroversion “Extroverted people tend to be energetic, enthusiastic, dominant, sociable, … Continue reading
Vicarious Learning in the Hunger Games
In the movie The Hunger Games, vicarious learning is demonstrated as both beneficial and deadly to different contestants. In this movie, 12 male and 12 female children known as tributes are put into a fabricated arena to fight to the death. The arena consists of wilderness, plains, water, and wildlife. They are given nothing … Continue reading
Locus of Control
Locus of Control: Internal v. External Locus of Control (LOC) refers to an individual’s tendency to attribute event causality internally or externally. An individual with an internal LOC believes their actions and behaviors have a direct impact on their lives, the events that occur in their lives, and their future. Good things happen because … Continue reading
Learning Theories and all Things Educational 