According to the psychodynamic perspective on personality, what should a reader focus on to make inferences about the personality traits of individuals described in a text?

• A. The unconscious motives and conflicts revealed through the characters' thoughts and behaviors
• B. The physical descriptions and external appearances of the characters
• C. The chronological order of events in the narrative
• D. The frequency of positive and negative adjectives used to describe each character

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that the psychodynamic perspective in psychology emphasizes the role of unconscious motives, desires, and internal conflicts in shaping personality.
2. Recognize that to infer personality traits from a text using this perspective, one should look beyond surface-level descriptions such as physical appearance or chronological events.
3. Focus on the characters' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as these can reveal underlying unconscious motives and conflicts.
4. Analyze how these unconscious elements influence the characters' actions and interactions within the narrative.
5. Use this analysis to make informed inferences about the personality traits of the individuals described, based on the psychodynamic theory.