Post on 22-May-2015
Chapter 10: Personality
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Personality
The pattern of enduring characteristics that differentiate people – those behaviors that make each of us unique
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Psychoanalytic Approaches
Psychoanalytic theory– Freud’s theory that our behavior is triggered by
forces within personality of which we are not aware
Unconscious– A part of the personality of which a person is
not aware
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Structuring Personality
Id– Raw, unorganized, inborn
part of the personality
– Libido
• Psychic energy that fuels primitive drives
– Pleasure principle
• Immediate reduction of tension and the maximization of satisfaction
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Structuring Personality
Ego– Strives to balance the
desires of the id and the realities of the objective, outside world
– Reality principle
• Instinctual energy is restrained in order to maintain the safety of the individual and help integrate the person into society
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Structuring Personality
Superego– The final personality
structure to develop that represents the rights and wrongs of society as taught and modeled by a person’s parents, teachers, and other significant individuals
– Conscience• Prevents us from
behaving in a morally improper way
– Ego-ideal• Represents the “perfect
person” we wish we were
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Developing Personality
Fixation– Refers to conflicts or concerns that
persist beyond developmental period in which they first occur
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Defense Mechanisms
Unconscious strategies that people use to reduce anxiety by concealing the source from themselves and others
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The Neo-Freudian Psychoanalyst
Jung’s Collective Unconscious– A set of influences we
inherit from our own relatives, the whole human race, and even nonhuman animal ancestors from the distant past
Adler’s inferiority complex– Situations in which adults
have not been able to overcome the feelings of inferiority that they developed as children
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Trait Approaches
Trait theory– Assumption that all people
possess certain traits Traits
– Enduring dimensions of personality characteristics along with which people differ
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Allport’s Trait Theory
Cardinal trait– A single characteristic that directs most of a person’s
activities Central trait
– The major characteristic of an individual Secondary trait
– Characteristics that affect behavior in fewer situations and are less influential than central or cardinal traits
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Trait Approaches
Cattell– Factor analysis
• A method of summarizing the relationships among a large number of variables into fewer, more general patterns
– Source traits
• Represent the basic dimensions of personality
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Trait Approaches
Hans Eysenck– Extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism
The “Big Five”– Openness to experience
– Conscientiousness
– Extraversion
– Agreeableness
– Neuroticism
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Learning Approaches
Social cognitive approaches– Emphasizes the influence of a person’s
cognitions – thoughts, feelings, expectations, and values – in determining personality
Self-efficacy– Belief in one’s personal capabilities
Self-esteem– Component of personality that encompasses
our positive and negative evaluations
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Biological and Evolutionary Approaches
Suggest that important components of personality are inherited
Temperament– A basic, innate disposition
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Humanistic Approaches
Emphasize people’s basic goodness and their tendency to grow to higher levels of functioning
Unconditional positive regard– An attitude of acceptance and respect on the part
of an observer, no matter what a person says or does
Self-actualization– A state of self-fulfillment in which people realize
their highest potential
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Assessing Personality
Psychological tests– Standard measures devised
to assess behavior objectively
Self-report measures MMPI-2
– A test used to differentiate people with specific sorts of psychological difficulties as well as predicting a variety of other behaviors
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Projective Methods
Projective personality test– A test in which a person is
shown an ambiguous stimulus and asked to describe it or tell a story about it
Rorschach test TAT
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Behavioral Assessment
Direct measures of an individual’s behavior used to describe characteristics indicative of personality