Unit 10 – Personality Overview
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Introduction
An individual’s
Characteristic pattern
of thinking, feeling,
and acting
-Tolkien’s Frodo and
Sam Gamgee
Psychoanalytic Theory’s Core Ideas
-Freud is creditedwith the discoveryof the un-conscious mind
-Lived in Victorianera- much sexualrepression andmale dominance
Psychoanalytic Theory’s Core Ideas
•Parts of the mind
–Conscious
–Preconscious – outside
of awareness but
accessible
•Repression
Freud’s Parts of the Mind
–Conscious
–Preconscious – outside of awarenessbut
accessible
–Unconscious – (Freud)- a reservoir ofmostly unacceptable thoughts, feelings,and memories; current psychologists =information processing of which we areunaware
Freud’s Parts of the Mind
•Free association- a method of exploring theunconscious in which the person relaxes andsays whatever comes to mind
•Psychoanalysis – Freud’s theory ofpersonality that attributes all thoughts andactions to unconscious motives and conflicts;technique to expose and interpretunconscious tensions
•Repression- banishing from consciousnessall anxiety-arousing thoughts and memories
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory-Personality Structure
•Human personality results from conflict betweenimpulse and restraint between the Id and theSuperego
•The Ego struggles to reconcile the Id and theSuperego
•Id = sexual and aggressive drives/immediategratification
•Ego = “executive” part of personality that strivesto realistically bring about pleasure
•Superego = internalized ideals and providesstandards for judgment and behaviour
Psychoanalytic Theory’s Core IdeasPersonality Development
Psychoanalytic Theory’s Core IdeasPersonality Development
Psychoanalytic Theory’s Core IdeasPersonality Development
•Erogenous zones - Oedipus
•and Electra complex
•Gender identity – identity
with same sex parent helps us
Identify as male or female
energies at an earlier psychosexual
stage due to unresolved conflict
Psychoanalytic Theory’s Core IdeasDefense Mechanisms
–Regression
–Reaction formation
–Projection
–Rationalization
–Displacement
–Sublimation
–Denial
Defense Mechanisms
–Denial – refusing to believe or evenperceive painful realities
–E.g. a partner denies evidence of his lovedone’s affair
Evaluating Freud’s PsychoanalyticPerspective
•Contradictory Evidence
•Modern challenges to repression
•Too much influence on parental identityand underestimated peer
•Influence
•Conscience and gender probably do notform completely by age 5
The Neo-Freudian andPsychodynamic Theorists
importance of childhood experiences
•Neo-Freudians: Adler, HORN-eye, andJung
–Adler’s inferiority complex
–Horney’s sense of helplessness
The Neo-Freudians
•Adler: individual feels his existence to beworthwhile & is overcoming feelings ofinferiority
•Horney: women are not infantile &emotional creatures with penis envy,incapable of independence & responsibility
•Jung: collective unconscious – a shared,inherited reservoir of memory traces fromour species’ history; creative impulses flowfrom the unconscious
Assessing Unconscious Processes
•Projective Test – “psychological x-ray” –personality test designed to triggerprojection of one’s inner dynamics
The Modern Unconscious Mind
-related anxiety; explores
emotional responses to
reminders of our
impending death
Humanistic theorists focused on the ways people strive
for self-determination & self-realization. In contrast to
behaviorism, they studied people through their own
self-reported experiences.
Abraham Maslow’s Self-ActualizingPerson
Abraham Maslow
Self-actualization – process of
fulfilling our potential, after
basic physical & psychologic
needs are met
–Self-transcendence –
meaning & purposebeyond
the self
–Peak experiences
Carl Rogers’ Person-CenteredPerspective
–Growth promoting climate – people arebasically good & show
•Genuineness
•Acceptance
•Empathy
Humanists: Assessing the Self
•Self-report tests
•Ideal versus actual self
•Standardized
questionnaires are
Depersonalizing; interviews
and intimate conversation
are better to understand
people’s experiences
Evaluating Humanistic Theories
•Renewed interest in self-concept
•Criticisms
–Vague andsubjective
–Individualistic andWestern biased
–Naïve
Traits are characteristic patterns of behavior/disposition
to feel & act, assessed by self-report inventories &
peer reports
Exploring Traits - Factor Analysis
•Isabel Myers & Katharine Briggs – Myers &Briggs Personality Type Indicator Test
•Factor analysis
–Eysenck & Eysenck
•Extroversion versus introversion
•Emotional stability versus instability
•Eysenck Personality Questionnaire
Exploring Traits - Factor Analysis
Exploring Traits - Biology & Personality
•Brain scans
–Brain arousal
•Genetics
–Autonomic nervoussystem reactivity
Assessing Traits
–Minnesota Multiphasic PersonalityInventory (MMPI) – personality inventory oftraits; used by employers
•Empirically derived test – test a pool ofitems & select those that discriminatebetween groups; scored objectively
•Objective test – computers can score
•Lie scale – assesses faking; answeringfalse to a universally true statement suchas “I get angry sometimes”
The Big Five Factors
•The Big Five
–Conscientiousness
–Agreeableness
–Neuroticism
•Emotional stabilityvs instability
–Openness
–Extraversion
Evaluating Trait TheoriesThe Person-Situation Controversy
•Person-situation controversy
–Are traits consistent?
–Can traits predictbehavior?
Social-Cognitive Theories
•Social-cognitive perspective – views behavior asinfluenced by the interaction between people’straits and
their social context (Bandura)
Personality development is
due to learning: we repeat
Behaviors due to observing
&imitating others
Social-Cognitive Theories: ReciprocalInfluences
The social-cognitive perspective proposes that our
personalities are shaped by the interaction of our
personal traits, environment & our behaviors
Social-Cognitive Theories - ReciprocalInfluences
•Ways individuals & the environment interact
–Different people choose different environments-schools, TV shows, music
–Our personalities shape how we interpret
& react to events: anxious people are attuned tothreatening events
–Our personality help create situations to whichwe react : how we treat people influences howthey respond to us
Social-Cognitive TheoriesOptimism versus Pessimism
•Optimism and Health
•Excessive Optimism
•Blindness to one’s ownincompetence
scientific study of optimal
human functioning; aims to
discover & promote strengths
Social-Cognitive TheoriesAssessing Behavior in Situations
•US Army spy training – use simulatedundercover conditions that better test ability tohandle stress than a paper test
•Business use of simulations – past behaviorpatterns reflect
behavior in new
similar situations
Comparing Major PersonalityTheories
Exploring the Self - The Benefits ofSelf-Esteem
self worth
sense of competence
& effectiveness
Exploring the Self: Self-Serving Bias
–People accept more responsibility forgood deeds than for bad, successesthan failures
–Most people see themselves as betterthan average
•Defensive self-esteem
Exploring the Self: Culture & the Self
•Individualism – priority for one’s own goalsover group goals & defining one’s identityin terms of personal attributes
•Western cultures
•Collectivism – giving priority to goals ofone’s group and defining one’s identityaccording to a group
•Eastern cultures
Exploring the Self- Culture & the Self
Personality
= an individual’s characteristic pattern ofthinking, feeling, and acting.
Free Association
= in psychoanalysis, a method of exploringthe unconscious in which the personrelaxes and says whatever comes to mind,no matter how trivial or embarrassing.
Psychoanalysis
= Freud’s theory of personality that attributesthoughts and actions to unconsciousmotives and conflicts; the techniques usedin treating psychological disorders byseeking to expose and interpretunconscious tensions.
Unconscious
= according to Freud, a reservoir of mostlyunacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings,and memories. According tocontemporary psychologists, informationprocessing of which we are unaware.
Id
= a reservoir of unconscious psychic energythat, according to Freud, strives to satisfybasic sexual and aggressive drives. Theid operates on the pleasure principle,demanding immediate gratification.
Ego
= the largely conscious, “executive” part ofpersonality that, according to Freud,mediates among the demands of the id,superego, and reality. The ego operateson the reality principle, satisfying the id’sdesires in ways that will realistically bringpleasure rather than pain.
Superego
= the part of personality that, according toFreud, represents internalized ideals andprovides standards for judgment (theconscience) and for future aspirations.
Psychosexual Stages
= the childhood stages of development,(oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) duringwhich, according to Freud, the id’spleasure-seeking energies focus ondistinct erogenous zones.
Oedipus Complex
= according to Freud, a boy’s sexual desirestoward his mother and feelings of jealousyand hatred for the rival father.
Identification
= the process by which, according to Freud,children incorporate their parent’s valuesinto their developing superegos.
Fixation
= according to Freud, a lingering focus ofpleasure-seeking energies at an earlierpsychosexual state, in which conflictswere unresolved.
Defense Mechanisms
= in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’sprotective methods of reducing anxiety byunconsciously distorting reality.
Repression
= in psychoanalytic theory, the basicdefense mechanism that banishes fromconsciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts,feelings, and memories.
Psychodynamic Theories
= modern-day approaches that viewpersonality with a focus on theunconscious and the importance ofchildhood experiences.
Collective Unconscious
= Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inheritedreservoir of memory traces from ourspecies’ history.
Projective Test
= a personality test, such as the Rorschach,that provides ambiguous stimuli designedto trigger projection of one’s innerdynamics.
Thematic Apperception Test(TAT)
= a projective test in which people expresstheir inner feelings and interests throughthe stories they make up about ambiguousscenes.
Rorschach Inkblot Test
= the most widely used projective test, a setof 10 inkblots, designed by HermannRorschach; seeks to identify people’sinner feelings by analyzing theirinterpretations of the blots.
False Consensus Effect
= the tendency to overstimulate the extent towhich others share our beliefs and ourbehaviors.
Terror-Management Theory
= a theory of death-related anxiety; explorespeople’s emotional and behavioralresponses to reminders of their impendingdeath.
Humanistic Theories
= view personality with a focus on thepotential for healthy personal growth.
Self-Actualization
= according to Maslow, one of the ultimatepsychological needs that arises after basicphysical and psychological needs are metand self-esteem is achieved; themotivation to fulfill one’s potential.
Unconditional Positive Regard
= according to Rogers, an attitude of totalacceptance toward another person.
Self-Concept
= all our thoughts and feelings aboutourselves, in answer to the question, “Whoam I?”
Trait
= a characteristic pattern of behavior or adisposition to feel and act, as assessed byself-report inventories and peer reports.
Personality Inventory
= a questionnaire (often true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respondto items designed to gauge a wide rangeof feelings and behaviors; used to assessselected personality traits.
Minnesota MultiphasicPersonality Inventory (MMPI)
= the most widely researched and clinicallyused of all personality tests. Originallydeveloped to identify emotional disorders(still considered its most appropriate use),this test is now used for many otherscreening purposes.
Empirically Derived Test
= a test (such as the MMPI) developed bytesting a pool of items and then selectingthose that discriminate between groups.
Social-Cognitive Perspective
= views behavior as influenced by theinteraction between people’s traits(including their thinking) and their socialcontext.
Behavioral Approach
= in personality theory, this perspectivefocuses on the effects of learning on ourpersonality development.
Reciprocal Determinism
= the interacting influences of behavior,internal cognition, and environment.
Positive Psychology
= the scientific study of optimal humanfunctioning; aims to discover and promotestrengths and virtues that enableindividuals and communities to thrive.
Self
= in contemporary psychology, assumed tobe the center of personality, the organizerof our thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Spotlight Effect
= overestimating other’s noticing andevaluating our appearance, performance,and blunders (as if we presume a spotlightshines on us).
Self-Esteem
= one’s feelings of high or low self-worth.
Self-Efficacy
= one’s sense of competence andeffectiveness.
Self-Serving Bias
= a readiness to perceive oneself favorably.
Narcissism
= excessive self-love and self-absorption.
Individualism
= giving priority to one’s own goals overgroup goals and defining one’s identity interms of personal attributes rather thangroup identifications
Collectivism
= giving priority to the goals of one’s group(often one’s extended family or workgroup) and defining one’s identityaccordingly.