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Control Example

Directions: Match the perspective to what it would say about control:

Perspectives
Psychoanalytic

Learning/Social Learning

Humanistic

 Cultural and Gender

Social Power and Race

Trait/ Behavior Genetic
  1. Human choice and freedom are at the heart of personality. It's a matter of turning inward and finding your inner voice.
  2. People can have control by arranging the right reinforcers and punishers in their life.
  3. Some groups of people would be socialized to emphasize what individuals can do, leading them to think about their personal control; other groups would be socialized to think about how they get things done as a member of a group, they would think more about the control a group has.
  4. Some people and groups are going to perceive more control because they are given more opportunities to be in positions of authority.
  5. People vary from each other on how much they see themselves controlling their lives, but a person may perceive more or less control than others across many situations, and that may predict how they act.
  6. People may perceive a lot of control because that helps them to control their own desires, so they often appear very rigid and moralistic.

  7. You either have total control of a situation, or the concept is not worth talking about. (this is more a philosophical statement, offerred by a student.)

Relationship Example

Perspectives
Psychoanalytic

Learning/Social Learning

Humanistic

Trait

Biological

 Behavior Genetic

Cultural

Race

Social Power

Gender

Steve has been having problems in his romantic relationships. Match the perspective/theorist to the question they would ask Steve:

  1. Identify how he responds to her behaviors -- e.g. does he back away every time she tries to get close?
  2. See if a tranquilizer will slow down his heart beat so he won't get so nervous on dates.
  3. See if there is a dynamic going on in his interactions, such as being overly stingy, that he is not aware of and that has existed in different forms in past relationships.
  4. Understand how he experiences a date. Is he fully expressing his uniqueness?
  5. Yell at him for not living up to his parents' expectations about finding a spouse.
  6. Determine if he and his wife differ on things like neuroticism, openness to experience, extroversion, and agreeableness. Give tests that measure their behavior across situations.

Another good example is in "Checking your trail 12.4".  There are answers at the end of the chapter.