PERSONALITY T

HEORIES

In your own words, what is personality?

Write down 5 traits/characteristics to describe YOUR personality.

Describe your best friend’s personality.

Explain why your friend is “the way he/she is”. For example, if she is shy…why? If he always is the center of attention…why?

Traits aspect of personality that is considered to be reasonably stable

oShyoOutgoingoHumorousTrait theorists assumed traits are fixed

& unchangingoWhere do they COME from?

HIPPOCRATESAncient Greeks believed the body

contains fluids called humorsTraits are a result of different

combinations of these bodily fluidsFOUR basic:Yellow bileBloodPhlegmBlack bileCertain diseases/disorders are a result

of a lack of balance in these humors

ALLPORT1930s – searched through a dictionary

to find every term that could describe a person

Found 18,000 human traits Traits can be inherited & are fixed in

the nervous systemTraits are the building blocks of

personality

CATTELLStudied groups of people Tried to find the number of basic traits

human personality boils down tooSurface traits – obvious traitsoSource traits – one trait gives rise to others in cluster

o16PF p. 510

ESYENCKFocused on relationships between 2 personality

dimensionsIntroversion – extroversion

Emotional stability – instability McCrae & Costa: THE BIG 5 – [CANOE or

OCEAN]Conscientiousness – carelessness

Agreeable – disagreeablenessEmotional stability – instability (neuroticism)

Openness to experience – new experience close-mindedness

Introversion – extroversion

The Trait PerspectiveThe “Big Five” Personality FactorsTrait Dimension DescriptionEmotional Stability Calm versus anxious

Secure versus insecure Self-satisfied versus self-pitying

Extraversion Sociable versus retiring Fun-loving versus sober Affectionate versus reserved

Openness Imaginative versus practical Preference for variety versus

preference for routine Independent versus conforming

Extraversion Soft-hearted versus ruthless Trusting versus suspicious Helpful versus uncooperative

Conscientiousness Organized versus disorganized Careful versus careless Disciplined versus impulsive

The Trait Perspective Minnesota Multiphasic Personality

Inventory (MMPI) the most widely researched and clinically

used of all personality tests originally developed to identify emotional

disorders (still considered its most appropriate use)

now used for many other screening purposes

PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACHAll people undergo inner strugglesPeople born with certain biological

drives aggression, sex, need for superiority

Drives may conflict with social rules/moral codesBehavior = inner contests between

drives & rules

FREUD (AGAIN?)Conscious ideas and feelings occupy only

a small part of the mindDeepest thoughts, fears, and urges

remain out of awareness unconscious part of brain

Psychoanalysis – “talking cure”oEncouraged to talk about anything that comes to mind

–Dream analysis – unconscious wishes–Hypnosis – better access to unconscious thoughts

Personality Structure

Freud’s idea of the mind’s structure

Id

Superego

Ego Conscious mind

Unconscious mind

THE MIND’S 3 BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL STRUCTURESId – basic drives; demands pleasure

through instant gratification and pays no attention to laws and rules

–Pleasure principleEgo – “stands for reason and good sense”–Reality principle – can’t always get what we want–Seeks to satisfy the id in ways that are consistent with reality

–Most conscious but also acts as censor that screens/represses indecent/improper id impulses

Superego – moral sense; moral principle–Conscience/floods ego with feelings of guilt and shame when we think or do something that society defines as wrong

Ego is caught between id’s demands and superego’s

warnings

Healthy ego = healthy personality(find the balance)

DEFENSE MECHANISMSMethod the ego uses to avoid recognizing ideas

of emotions that may cause personal anxietyoRepressionoRationalizationoDisplacementoRegressionoProjectionoReaction formationoIdentificationoSublimation

Compensation – AdlerDenial

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENTIndividual’s personality develops beginning

at birth through adolescencePeople instinctively seek to preserve/extend

lifeInstinctive forces are aided by psychological

energy labeled libido “desire”Oral – anal – phallic – latent – genital

Conflicts at each stage; if not resolved fixated

Adult psychological problems unresolved childhood conflicts

Personality DevelopmentFreud’s Psychosexual Stages

Stage FocusOral Pleasure centers on the mouth--(0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewingAnal Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder (18-36 months) elimination; coping with demands for

controlPhallic Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with (3-6 years) incestuous sexual feelings

Latency Dormant sexual feelings(6 to puberty)Genital Maturation of sexual interests(puberty on)

Oral (age 1) – explore world through mouth; main source of pleasureFixations – smoking, overeating, excessive talking, nail biting

Anal (age 1 ½ - 2 ½ ) – learn can control bodily functions; self-control vital issue

2 sets of personalities – anal-retentive & anal-expulsive

Phallic (age 3) – discover physical differences; may develop strong attachment to parent of opposite sex; same-sex rival

depression, excessive guilt, anxiety

Latency (age 5-6) – represses aggressive urges; “hidden”

Genital (puberty) – aware of own gender identity; conflicts of earlier development stages resurface

OEDIPUS – GREEK MYTHOLOGYOedipus was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta. In the most well-known version of the myth, Laius wished to thwart a prophecy saying that his child would grow up to murder his father and marry his mother. Thus, he fastened the infant's feet together with a large pin and left him to die on a mountainside. The baby was found on Kithairon by shepherds and raised by King Polybus and Queen Merope in the city of Corinth. Oedipus learned from the oracle at Delphi of the prophecy, but believing he was fated to murder Polybus and marry Merope, he left Corinth. Heading to Thebes, Oedipus met an older man in a chariot coming the other way on a narrow road. The two quarreled over who should give way, which resulted in Oedipus killing the stranger and continuing on to Thebes. He found that the king of the city (Laius) had been recently killed and that the city was at the mercy of the Sphinx. Oedipus answered the monster's riddle correctly, defeating it and winning the throne of the dead king and the hand in marriage of the king's widow, his mother, Jocasta.

Oedipus and Jocasta had two sons (Eteocles and Polynices) and two daughters (Antigone and Ismene). In his search to determine who killed Laius (and thus end a plague on Thebes), Oedipus discovered it was he who had killed the late king: his father. Jocasta also soon realized that she had married her own son and Laius's murderer, and she hanged herself. Oedipus seized two pins from her dress and blinded himself with them. Oedipus was driven into exile, accompanied by Antigone and Ismene. After years of wandering, he arrived in Athens, where he found refuge in a grove of trees called Colonus. By this time, warring factions in Thebes wished him to return to that city, believing that his body would bring it luck. However, Oedipus died at Colonus, and the presence of his grave there was said to bring good fortune to Athens.

Personality Development Identification

the process by which children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos

Fixation a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking

energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, where conflicts were unresolved

Defense Mechanisms Defense Mechanisms

the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Repression the basic defense mechanism that

banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

Defense Mechanisms

Regression defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

Defense Mechanisms

Reaction Formation defense mechanism by which the

ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites

people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings

Defense Mechanisms Projection

defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Rationalization defense mechanism that offers self-

justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions

Defense Mechanisms

Displacement defense mechanism that shifts

sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet

REVIEW1. What is at the top of Maslow’s hierarchy?2. “My heart is racing, I must be anxious.” – Who’s theory would this statement align with?3. What nervous system is activated by emotion?4. What part of the brain is involved in emotion?5. Lucy cries when her mom gives her two chicken nuggets because she wants more than her

sister has. Her mom cuts the chicken nuggets in half and Lucy is happy. What milestone has Lucy not reached yet?

6. “Out of sight, out of mind” refers to what developmental milestone?7. Bob has a terrible habit of smoking – Freud would say what about Bob?8. Erikson developed the __________ stages of development.9. Barbara can’t stop eating, there is likely a problem with what part of her brain?10.Timmy walks into the Apple store and sees the newest cell phone. He has bills that are past

due but he buys the phone anyway. What mind structure is at work here?11.Lyndsay dyed her hair blue last week but now it’s purple. She often changes her style of

dress – preppy to goth and back again. Erikson would most likely say that Lyndsay is in what stage of development?

12.Most psychologists agree that we have _______ personality traits.

Assessing the Unconscious Projective Test

a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) a projective test in which people

express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

Assessing the Unconscious--TAT

Assessing the Unconscious

Rorschach Inkblot Test the most widely used projective test a set of 10 inkblots designed by

Hermann Rorschach seeks to identify people’s inner

feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Fe2OIpJMI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd2B6SjMh_w

NEO-FREUDIANS…JUNG, ADLER, HORNEY

THINK ABOUT IT…

Genuine and consistent love can temper the effects of even the most painful childhoods.

Do you agree or disagree? Why?

JUNGAnalytic psychology – greater emphasis on the influences

of mysticism and religion on human behaviorIntrigued by unconsciousPeople have personal AND collective unconscious

(shared by all people across culture)Archetypes – components of collective unconsciousoIdeas/images of the accumulated experiences of all human beings

(supreme being, fairy godmother, young hero)oThese images remain unconscious but appear in our dreams and influence

our thoughts/feelingsoForm foundation on which personality developsoSense of self – unifying force of personality that gives people direction and

completeness (individuation)

ADLERPeople motivated by a need to overcome

feelings of inferiorityInferiority complex – physical problems;

sibling rivalry (birth order)Self-awareness plays major role in

personality formationCreative self self-aware and strives to

over come obstacles and develop the individual’s unique potential

HORNEY- Childhood experience- Social relationships – greatest influences- Importance of parent-child relationships •Basic anxiety – develops when children are treated with indifference by their parents •Issue with Freud’s assertion that men have stronger superegos•Womb envy

ERIKSON-8 stages named after traits that may develop-Mother-infant relationship; basic trust- Seek self-enhancement and intellectual pleasures

Humanistic Perspective Abraham

Maslow (1908-1970) studied self-

actualization processes of productive and healthy people (e.g., Lincoln)

Humanistic Perspective

Self-Actualization the ultimate psychological need

that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved

the motivation to fulfill one’s potential

Humanistic Perspective Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

focused on growth and fulfillment of individuals genuineness acceptance empathy

Humanistic Perspective

Unconditional Positive Regard an attitude of total acceptance

toward another person Self-Concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in an answer to the question, “Who am I?”

ROGERS“self-theory”Shape personalities through free choice and actionSelf-concept view of oneself as an individualGuiding principle behind both personality and behaviorRecognizing one’s values and establishing relationshipsKey to happiness congruence between self-concept &

experienceSelf-esteemPositive regard (unconditional)Touch with genuine feelings

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Social-Cognitive Perspective views behavior as influenced

by the interaction between persons and their social context

Reciprocal Determinism the interacting influences

between personality and environmental factors

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Personal Control our sense of controlling our

environments rather than feeling helpless

External Locus of Control the perception that chance or

outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Internal Locus of Control the perception that one controls

one’s own fate Learned Helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

Social-Cognitive Perspective Learned Helplessness

Uncontrollablebad events

Perceivedlack of control

Generalizedhelpless behavior

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Positive Psychology the scientific study of optimal

human functioning aims to discover and promote

conditions that enable individuals and communities to thrive

Exploring the Self

Spotlight Effect overestimating others noticing and

evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders

Self Esteem one’s feelings of high or low self-worth

Self-Serving Bias readiness to perceive oneself favorably

Exploring the Self Individualism

giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

Collectivism giving priority to the goals of one’s

group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly

Exploring the Self

Morality Defined by individuals Defined by social networks (self-based) (duty-based)

Attributing Behavior reflects one’s personality Behavior reflects socialbehaviors and attitudes and roles

Value Contrasts Between Individualism and CollectivismConcept Individualism Collectivism

Self Independent Interdependent (identity from individual traits) identity from belonging)

Life task Discover and express one’s Maintain connections, fit in uniqueness

What matters Me--personal achievement and We-group goals and solidarity; fullfillment; rights and liberties social responsibilities and

relationshipsCoping method Change reality Accommodate to reality

Relationships Many, often temporary or casual; Few, close and enduring;confrontation acceptable harmony valued

The Modern Unconscious Mind

Terror-Management Theory Faith in one’s worldview and the

pursuit of self-esteem provide protection against a deeply rooted fear of death

Behaviorism-Watson/Skinner-Discarded ideas of personal freedom-Socialization Sociocultural- Individual vs. collective

Social-learning-Importance of learning by observation -People act intentionally to influence the environment

ASSESSMENTSMMPI MMPI 216PFRorschach Testshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Fe2OIpJMI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd2B6SjMh_w Handwriting AnalysisDoodling Analysis