Reading and Speech Practice

Task 8. Find information on different personality types and answer the following questions:

1. Is there a uniform classification of personality types?

2. Are there any classifications based on people’s psychological peculiarities?

3. Do any classifications take into account cultural differences?

4. What are the most popular classifications?

Task 9. A. Find the meaning of the following words and word-combinations:

Enculturation; bias of a culture; hard-wired (in); modal personality; conscience; infraction; ethos; personality traits, stereotypical behaviors.

B. Try to predict the contexts in which these words might occur or the problems which may be related to them.

Task 10. Read the text below. Here are the answers to some questions about the text. What are the questions?

1. ________1________? Personality traits are entirely learned and not biologically hard-wired in. 2. _______2______? If guilt oriented personalities deviate from a social norm, they feel guilt. 3. ______3______? It is other-directed personalities have ambiguous feelings about right and wrong. 4. _____4_______? Because personality patterns are culturally specific. 5. ______5______? Stereotypical behaviours are culture-oriented and therefore, they can be altered and even reversed. 6. _____6_____? People acquire personality traits as a result of enculturation. 7. _____7______? Normally, people share personality traits with members of their own family and community. 8. _____8______? The concept of national personality types primarily had its origins in anthropology in the 1920's.

Are there Personality Types?

(1) We often share personality traits with others, especially members of our own family and community.  This is probably due largely to being socialized in much the same way.  It is normal for us to acquire personality traits as a result of enculturation.  Most people adopt the traditions, rules, manners, and biases of their culture.  Given this fact, it is not surprising that some researchers have claimed that there are common national personality types, especially in the more culturally homogenous societies. 

(2) The concept of national personality types primarily had its origins in anthropology with the research of Ruth Benedict beginning in the 1920's.  She believed that personality was almost entirely learned.  She said that normal people acquire a distinct ethos, or culturally specific personality pattern, during the process of being enculturated as children.  Benedict went on to say that our cultural personality patterns are assumed to be "natural" by us and other personality patterns are viewed as being "unnatural" and deviant.  She said that such feelings are characteristic of all people in all cultures because we are ethnocentric. 

(3) Benedict's views were especially popular in the 1930's among early feminists such as her student Margaret Mead.  This was because if personality is entirely learned, it means that feminine and masculine personality traits are not biologically hard-wired in.  In other words, culture rather than genes, makes women nurturing towards children and passive in response to men.  Likewise, culture makes men aggressive and domineering.  If this is true, these stereotypical behaviors can be altered and even reversed. 

(4) In the early 1950's, David Riesman proposed that there are three common types of modal personality (the most common personality type) that occur around the world. He called them tradition oriented, inner-directed, and other directed personalities.  The tradition-oriented personality is one that places a strong emphasis on doing things the same way that they have always been done.  Individuals with this sort of personality are less likely to try new things and to seek new experiences.  Those who have inner-directed personalities are guilt oriented.  That is to say, their behavior is strongly controlled by their conscience.  As a result, there is little need for police to make sure that they obey the law.  These individuals monitor themselves.  If they break the law, they are likely to turn themselves in for punishment.  In contrast, people with other-directed personalities have more ambiguous feelings about right and wrong.  When they deviate from a societal norm, they usually don't feel guilty.  However, if they are caught in the act or exposed publicly, they are likely to feel shame. 

(5) While Riesman's analysis of personalities was insightful, critics have pointed out that individuals may have characteristics of all three of his identified modal types.  For instance, most North Americans probably do not feel guilty about exceeding speed limits when they are driving on freeways, however, they would feel very guilty hitting someone with their car and would likely call the police.  In other words, for some infractions of the law they are other-directed (or shame-controlled), and for others they are inner-directed (or guilt-controlled). 

Task 11. Find the English words or expressions that are used in the text to give the following meaning in Russian.

1. Явиться с повинной______________________________________________ 2. Указывать, подчеркивать_________________________________________ 3. Делать особый упор на __________________________________________ 4. Повернуть в противоположном направлении ________________________ 5. Превышать скорость _____________________________________________ 6. Разоблачать ____________________________________________________ 7. Устанавливать, определять _______________________________________ 8. Иметь истоки/восходить к ________________________________________ 9. Утверждать, заявлять ____________________________________________ 10. Предполагать, допускать ________________________________________ 11. Удостовериться ________________________________________________ 12. Усвоенный в процессе обучения__________________________________ 13. Тип личности__________________________________________________ 14. Встречаться___________________________________________________

Task 12. Match the words and phrases with similar meanings.

1. to share something with others	A. deep
2. to adopt	B. to control
3. views	C. to look for
4. entirely	D. to change
5. to nurture	E. to have something in common with others
6. to alter	F. to suggest
7. to propose	G. to accept
8. to seek	H. fully
9. to monitor	I. to raise
10. insightful	J. beliefs

Task 13. Replace the words in bold with their opposites from the text.

1. Culture makes men aggressive and submissive. 2.Other-directed personalities have clear-cut ideas of right and wrong. 3. Feminine personality traits are aggressiveness and dominance. 4. The behavior of inner-directed personalities is strongly controlled by their conscience, that’s why they normally break the law. 5. National personality types tend to be more varied in the more culturally heteroogenous societies. 6. Ruth Benedict believed that personality was almost entirely inherited. 7. Our cultural personality patterns are assumed to be deviant. 8. People often differ in personality traits with members of our own family.

Task 14. Derive nouns from the following verbs. Check the answers in the dictionary if necessary.

1. to acquire___________; 2. to enculturate___________; 3. to punish________; 4. to socialize___________; 5. to assume_________; 6. to respond__________; 7. to emphasize ________; 8. to expose________; 9. to identify________; 10. to infract_________.

Task 15. A. Study the following patterns:

To be likely to do sth; to be unlikely to sth; to be less likely

E.g. If they are caught in the act or exposed publicly, they are likely to feel shame.

B. Replace the italicized words with to be (less) un/likely to do sth:

1. If they break the law, they will probably turn themselves in for punishment. 2. Individuals with this sort of personality will hardly try new things and to seek new experiences. 3. This criminal will hardly feel guilty afterwards. 4. Most North Americans probably do not feel guilty about exceeding speed limits when they are driving on freeways. 5. Police will hardly need to make sure that they obey the law. 6. This type of personality may occur in eastern communities. 7. People will probably adopt the traditions, rules, manners of another culture if they happen to live in another country. 8. A number of environmental influences may help to shape personality. 9. In China children will hardly be allowed to act somewhat like equals to their parents. 10. If you regularly get bad grades in school, you will probably be labeled by your teachers as someone who is a failure to some degree.

Task 16. Use the prompts below to answer the question: Which things can a person share with:

a) friends;

b) parents

c) spouses;

d) colleagues;

e) people belonging to the same culture;

f) fellow students;

g) brothers and sisters.

Prompts: personal belongings; a room; values; beliefs; ideas; personality traits; workplace; a bathroom; dinner; profits; a cake; a house; a textbook; housework; a secret; news; a desk/table; handouts; responsibility; money; toys; views; enthusiasm; information.

Task 17. Describe the modal personalities below using the pattern:

… personality places/does not place a strong emphasis on …

Use the following prompts: societal norms, conscience, seeking new experiences, ambiguous feelings about right and wrong, doing things the same way, feeling of guilt.

The tradition-oriented personality …

The inner-oriented personality…

The other-directed personality…

Task 18. Agree or disagree with the statements below. Give your reasons. Use the patterns provided.

Personality is entirely learned.

Feminine and masculine personality traits are biologically hard-wired in.

Nature makes men aggressive and domineering.

People in Russia always feel guilty about exceeding speed limits and jumping red lights.

People in all cultures are ethnocentric and cannot think global.

Patterns: