Measuring Personality Traits

There (is, are) a number of standard techniques for measuring personality traits. Theories of personality are evaluated through the direct observation of behavior and through measurement of characteristics, such as intelligence, communication, leadership and so on. Such tests predict how well people will do in a number of situations.

Included among the most widespread methods for personality determination are personality scales and inventories. In personality inventories, individuals (give, are given) a number of items, usually questions, and are asked to write out their answers. An example is the following item: “I am shy: True, False, Cannot Say.” The person (testing, being tested) checks one of the choices. If this item is being used to measure introversion, the tendency to keep to oneself, one answer like this is not enough evidence for such a conclusion. There (can be, must be) a pattern of answers suggesting the same trait before the person can be said to possess the trait. The results may be used to measure a single personality characteristic or a number of different characteristics. Personality scales (base, are based) on the responses of general populations and other populations, including psychiatric patients and people with personality disorders. One of (the more, the most) widely used personality inventories is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).

UNIT 7

Text 1.

Physical Education and Health Education

Ex. 1. Learn the new words:

1. abuse – насилие;

2. to aim at – стремиться; целить (ся);

3. apt – склонный, способный;

4. to exist – существовать;

5. flexible – гибкий, податливый, легко приспосабливаемый;

6. to improve – улучшать; improvement – улучшение;

7. lack of – недостаток, нужда; отсутствие;

8. to link (to) – соединять, связывать;

9. to prevent (from) – предотвращать, предупреждать; не допускать;

10. to promote – способствовать, помогать, содействовать; продвигать;

11. well-being – благосостояние, достаток; благополучие.

Ex. 2. Read the following text:

 An individual's physical and mental well-being is the concern of two similar areas of education: health education and physical education. Both deal with habits of exercise, sleep, rest, and recreation. Since physical well-being is only one aspect of a person's overall health, physical education is often thought of as a part of health education.

Health education is an activity aimed at the improvement of health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. It is used in schools to help students make intelligent decisions about health-related issues. There are many ways to teach health in schools. Usually instructors create and facilitate learning experiences that develop the student's decision-making skills. Above all, teachers provide health information and a concern for factors that influence the quality of life.

Health behavior plays a major part in a person's overall well-being. Since health-related behaviors are both learned and amenable to change, formal health education usually begins when a child is most flexible—in primary school. This is also when a child is more apt to accept positive health behaviors. It is in these early years that the negative effects of a lifetime of health abuse can be prevented. Many health problems are known to be linked to smoking, poor nutrition, obesity, lack of exercise, stress, and abuse of drugs and alcohol.

Basic to health education is the principle of preventive care. Health educators attempt to teach people to be responsible for their own health and health care. They also discuss the benefits of medical technology and research. They often promote behavioral changes and modifications to improve health.

Health education and physical education programs exist throughout the world. In the United States, most health education and physical education programs are managed by governments (federal, state, and local), communities, schools, and organizations.

1. recreation – восстановление здоровья, душевных и физических сил

2. obesity – тучность; ожирение

Ex.3. Practice to pronounce the following words.

Knowledge, behaviour, behavioural, to prevent, preventive, through, throughout, major, to facilitate, obesity, nutrition, technology.

Ex. 4. Read and translate the following words and word-combinations:

Health education, health-related, to improve health, improvement, decision-making skills, the quality of life, overall well-being, lack of exercise, abuse of drugs, preventive care, medical research, to discuss the benefits.

Ex.5. Find English equivalents in the text:

Начальная школа, по всему миру, принимать решение, информация о здоровом образе жизни, негативное влияние, плохое питание, валеолог, забота о здоровье, изменение поведения, привычка, обучение здоровому образу жизни.

Ex.6. Complete the sentences:

1. Health education is aimed at …

2. Health education is concerned with…

3. Health education usually starts …

4. Health education prevents people from …

5. Health education teach people …

6. Health problems are linked to…

7. Health education programs are managed by …

8. Health education programs promote …

Ex.7. Match the terms with their definitions:

Perception	is a statistical technique, based on correlation to discover which items correlate with one another and which don’t
Learning	is the concentration of mental effort on sensory or mental events (by R.L.Solso)
Self-actualization	is the organisation and interpretation of incoming sensory information to form inner representations of the external world
Factor analysis	is yielding to group pressure (by R.S. Crutchfield)
Motivation	is a process which helps to adapt a changing and nonpredictable environment
Self-consciousness	refers to a general, enduring positive or negative feeling about some person, object or issue.
Attention	a tendency reflecting the desire to grow, develop and enhance our capacities
Attitude	is the basic human need for the company of other human beings
Conformity	refers to processes involved in the initiation, direction and energisation of individual behaviour (by R.G. Geen)
Affiliation	is the ability to experience oneself as an autonomous individual with subjective feelings

Ex. 8. Choose the right variant:

1. The problem (will, would) be very simple if that solution were possible.

2. If I only (know, knew) the facts, I could make an intelligent decision.

3. If the subject (solves, will solve) the problem, he proceeds to the next one at once.

4. If I were you I (will, would) take your supervisor’s advice.

5. If the chosen experimental condition (was, had been) equivalent to the present condition, the results would have been different.

6. If I (will have, have) tomorrow, I will write an article.

7. If she had kept only her promise we (might have succeeded, might succeed).

8. If our senses (didn’t work, doesn’t work) in harmony, we might not be given a complex, multi-dimensional impression of the world.

Ex.9. Make a discussion answering the following questions:

1. What do you understand by the terms “health” and “illness”? Are you healthy if you’re not ill, or is health a more positive state than this?

2. Can you remember when being ill was (partly) caused by psychological factors?

3. Think several ways you use to cope with moody temper?

Text 2.