Personality

I. Read and learn the following words and phrases:

attempt – попытка

to involve – включать

personality – личность

subject-matter – тема

to identify – определять

consistency – постоянство

to take an interest – проявлять интерес

to suggest – предлагать

to advocate – защищать

to hold the view – придерживаться точки зрения

typology – типология

to put forward – предлагать, продвигать

rather – довольно, достаточно

attitude – отношение, мировоззрение

major – основной

orientation – ориентация

to be alike – быть похожим

stable – стабильный, постоянный

conscious – сознательный

adjustment – приспособление

unique – уникальный

environment – окружающая среда

to act – действовать

to relate – относить(ся)

to accept – принимать

II. Read the text.

PERSONALITY

Any attempt to understand human behaviour psychologically involves the study of personality. Research in the field of personality is difficult because the subject matter is complex and continually changing. Personality theories are attempts to identify and describe underlying consistencies in individual behaviour.

The Greek physician Galen began to take interest this problem. He suggested four main types of personality description: the melancholic, the choleric, the sanguine and the phlegmatic. He believed that a person was one or the other of these, never a combination of two or three. And we still characterize people in these terms.

The famous German philosopher Immanuel Kant advocated Galen’s system and also held this view. However this typology is not true.

W. Wundt, the famous German psychologist, put forward a rather different point of view. According to him there could be all possible combinations of all these type sand there was no question of fixed, unchanging categories. On the one hand the melancholics and the cholerics’ reactions were alike, because they were strong. And the reactions of phlegmatics and sanguines were rather weak. On the other hand the emotions of melancholics and phlegmatics were stable whereas the emotions of sanguines and cholerics were changeable.

Jung, the famous analytic psychologist, suggested two major “attitudes” or orientations of personality: these are extraversion and introversion. Both opposing attitudes are present in each personality at the same time. But usually one of them is dominant and conscious, the other is subordinate and unconscious.

Gordon Allport (1937) defined personality as “the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment”. This means that personality consists of interrelated forces that are continually changing and developing. And the ways in which these forces interact within any given person are what makes him unique.

This definition is widely accepted among psychologists.

III. Do the following exercises:

Exercise 1. Translate the following groups of words:

person-personality; complex-complexity; continue-continually; interest-interesting-interested-interestingly; to describe-description; character-characteristic- characterize; to advocate-advocate-advocacy; possible-impossible-possibility; change-changing-unchanging-changeable-unchangeable; to stabilize-stability- stable-unstable; to oppose-opposition-opposing; to dominate-dominant; to organize-organization-organized-organizing; to relate-relation-relationship-related-interrelated;to develop-development-developing-developed.

Exercise 2. Translate the following word combinations into English:

попытка понять человеческое поведение; изучение личности; определить и описать постоянство; главные виды; характеризовать терминами; поддерживать взгляды; выдвигать точку зрения; все возможные комбинации; неизменяющиеся категории; стабильные эмоции; аналитический психолог; уникальное приспособление; широко применяемые.

Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks with the proper prepositions:

1. Understanding human behavior involves the study … personality. 2. Galen began to take an interest … personality. 3. According … Wundt the reactions of sanguine and phlegmatic were rather weak. 4. Jung suggested two major “attitudes” …personality. 5. Personality is the organization of psychological systems determining one’s unique adjustment …environment. 6. Allport’s definition of personality is widely accepted …psychologists.

Exercise 4. Complete the sentences:

1. To understand human behavior psychologically means ….2. Research in the field of personality is difficult because…. 3. The Greek physician Galen suggested … . 4. The famous German phylosopher Kant … . 5. A rather different point of view was … . 6. According to Wundt there was no question about … . 7. The reactions of melancholics and cholerics were alike because … . 8. The changeble emotions were shown by … . 9. One of the attitudes is … and the other is…. 10. Gordon Allport described the personality as … .

Exercise 5. Make up a plan and speak on the topic “Personality”.