Chapter Questions
We all know someone who seems to have "no personality," but the truth is that everybody has a personality; it is a matter of what personality characteristics they have.
According to modern versions of Freud's psychodynamic personality theory, our personality characteristics are influenced by the quality of our attachment to caregivers when we were infants.
Research in trait theory suggests that everyone's personality can be described in terms of just five main dimensions: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
We don't inherit particular personality traits, but we do inherit general temperament, and temperament in childhood provides a reasonably good predictor of adult personality.
According to social-cognitivetheories, it is through experiences with other people that we learn the thoughts and actions that become our personality.
Personality tests can be useful, but even the best ones cannot provide completely accurate descriptions of individuals or their future behavior.