General Psychology General Psychology (PY110)(PY110)
Chapter 8
Personality Theories and Assessment
PersonalityPersonality
A person’s internally based characteristic ways of acting and thinkingAn enduring trait or characteristic such as extroversion or introversion
Freudian Classical Psychoanalytic Freudian Classical Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality Theory of Personality
Developed by Sigmund Freud inthe late nineteenth century◦Freud was a neurologist◦Had patients whose symptoms
could not be explained medically
◦Discovered that physical problems could have a mental cause (Mind/Body Connection)
Believed that people are driven to seek pleasure (sex) and avoid pain (aggression)
Freud’s Three Levels of Freud’s Three Levels of AwarenessAwareness
Freud’s Freud’s Three-Part Personality StructureThree-Part Personality Structure
•The conflict between Id and Superego anxiety•These can be temporarily resolved by Ego defense mechanisms
Id Superego Id Superego ConflictConflict
Freud’s Defense Freud’s Defense MechanismsMechanisms
Repression Unknowingly placing an unpleasant memory or thought in the unconscious
Not remembering a traumatic incident in which you witnessed a crime
Regression Reverting back to immature behavior from an earlier stage of development
Throwing temper tantrums as an adult when you don’t get your way
Displacement Redirecting unacceptable feelings from the original source to a safer substitute target
Taking your anger toward your boss out on your spouse or children by yelling at them and not your boss
Freud’s Defense Freud’s Defense MechanismsMechanisms
Sublimation Replacing socially unacceptable impulses with socially acceptable behavior
Channeling aggressive drives into playing football or inappropriate sexual desires into art
Reaction Formation
Acting in exactly the opposite way to one’s unacceptable impulses
Being overprotective of and lavishing attention on an unwanted child
Projection Attributing one’s own unacceptable feelings and thoughts to others and not yourself
Accusing your boyfriend of cheating on you because you have felt like cheating on him
Rationalization Creating false excuses for one’s unacceptable feelings, thoughts, or behavior
Justifying cheating on an exam by saying that everyone else cheats
Unhealthy PersonalitiesUnhealthy Personalities
Freud believed that:Defense mechanisms can provide
temporary relief from id < > superego conflict
Can also cause ‘unhealthy personalities’ when we become too dependent upon them
Usually when the id or superego is unusually strong or the ego unusually weak
Freud’s Freud’s Psychosexual Stage TheoryPsychosexual Stage Theory
Developed to explain personality development, divided childhood into 5 stages
Each stage has an erogenous zone where the id’s pleasure-seeking tendencyis focused
Fixation occurs when excessive or insufficient gratification occurs during a stage
This can impact their behavior and personality traits in later life
Freud’s Psychosocial States Freud’s Psychosocial States of Personality Developmentof Personality Development
Stage (age range) Erogenous Zone
Activity Focus
Oral (birth to 1½ years)
Mouth, lips, and tongue
Sucking, biting, and chewing
Anal (1½ to 3 years)
Anus Bowel retention and elimination
Phallic (3 to 6 years)
Genitals Identifying with same-sex parent to learn gender role and sense of morality
Latency (6 years to puberty)
No erogenous zone
Cognitive and social development
Genital (puberty to adulthood)
Genitals Development of sexual relationships, moving toward intimate adult relationships
Anal Stage - Potty TrainingAnal Stage - Potty TrainingParents try to get the child to have
self-control during toilet trainingHarsh toilet training can result in
◦ Child getting even by withholding bowel movements leading to an anal-retentive personality Orderliness, neatness, stinginess,
and obstinacy
◦ Child rebels and has bowel movements whenever and wherever leads to an anal-expulsive personality Conceit, suspicion, excessive ambition
Phallic Stage Conflicts Phallic Stage Conflicts Oedipus conflict:
little boy becomes sexually attracted to his mother and fears the father (his rival)
In the Electra conflict, the little girl is attracted to her father because he has a penis; she wants one and feels inferior without one (penis envy)
Both conflicts can result in difficulty in finding an appropriate partner later in life
Neo-Freudian Neo-Freudian Theories of Personality Theories of Personality
Agree with many of Freud’s basic ideas, but differ in one or more important ways
Carl Jung’s Collective
Unconscious
Carl Jung’s Collective
Unconscious
Alfred Adler’s Striving for Superiority
Alfred Adler’s Striving for Superiority
Karen Horneyand the
Need for Security
Karen Horneyand the
Need for Security
Carl Jung’s Carl Jung’s Collective Unconscious Collective Unconscious
Jung proposed two main personality attitudes, extraversion and introversion
Jung also proposed four functions/styles of gathering information◦ Sensing is the function where the world is carefully
perceived◦ Intuiting is more subjective perception◦ Thinking is logical deduction◦ Feeling is the subjective emotional function
The two personality attitudes and four functions are the basis for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, still in wide use today
Alfred Adler’s Alfred Adler’s Striving for SuperiorityStriving for Superiority
Saw main motivation as “striving for superiority” overcoming a sense of inferiority that we feel as infants
A healthy person learns to cope with these feelings, becomes competent, and develops a sense of self-esteem
Inferiority complex is the strong feeling of inferiority felt by those who never overcome this initial feeling of inferiority
Karen Horney and Karen Horney and The Need for Security The Need for Security
Focused on dealing with our need for security
If security is not achieved then three neurotic personality patterns could develop◦Moving toward people
A compliant, submissive person◦Moving against people
An aggressive, domineering person◦Moving away from people
A detached, aloof person
The Humanistic The Humanistic Approach to Personality Approach to Personality
Abraham Maslow is considered the father of the humanistic movement ◦Humanists emphasizes conscious free will
in one’s actions, the uniqueness of the individual person, and personal growth
◦Maslow studied the lives of very healthy and creative people to develop his theory of personality
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs arranges the needs that motivate our behavior, from the strongest needs at the bottom to the weakness needs at the top
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Maslow’s Hierarchy of NeedsNeeds
The needs of each level must be reasonably met to progress to next
Self-ActualizationSelf-ActualizationMaslow saw Self-Actualization as the peak
of human achievementCharacteristics of
self-actualized people ◦ Accepting of themselves,
others, and the nature of world
◦ Need privacy and onlya few close, emotional relationships
◦ Being autonomous and independent, democratic, and very creative
◦ Having peak experiences – Experiencing whatever you are doing as fully as possible
Roger’s Self TheoryRoger’s Self TheoryCarl Rogers dealt with college
students with adjustment problems◦Believed that people need positive regard – to be accepted by and have the affection of others
Our parents set up conditions of worth - behaviors and attitudes for which gave us positive regard
Unconditional positive regard – acceptance and approval without conditions◦Empathy from others, and having genuine
respect for your own feelings is necessary for self-actualization
Note that neither Maslow nor Roger’s theories are research-based
Unconditional Positive Unconditional Positive Regard?Regard?
“Just remember son, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose – Unless you want
Daddy’s love.”
Personality AssessmentPersonality AssessmentPersonality tests are used to aid
in diagnosing people’s problems, counseling, and making personnel decisions
There are two main types:
PersonalityInventories
PersonalityInventories
ProjectiveTests
ProjectiveTests
Personality InventoriesPersonality InventoriesDesigned to measure multiple traits of
personality, and in some cases, disordersResults are objective and tests can be
administered by anyone
MMPIMMPIMinnesota Multiphasic
Personality InventoryUses “True/False/
Cannot Say” questions ◦ “I like to cook”◦ “I like to speak in public”
Measures abnormal personality, with 10 clinical scales including depression and schizophrenia
Also includes questions designed to catch lies and people trying to cover up their problems
Used worldwide – translated into over 100 languages
Projective TestsProjective TestsContain a series of ambiguous stimuli,
such as inkblots, to which the test taker must respond about his perceptions of the stimuli
Sample tests◦ Rorschach Inkblots Test ◦ Thematic Apperception
Tests (TAT) Tests are highly subjective and
can only be administered by trained mental healthprofessionals
Rorschach Inkblots TestRorschach Inkblots Test10 symmetric inkblots which the
examiner asks “what do you see?” then asks for explanation of interpretation.
Assumes the test taker’s responses are projections of their personal conflicts and personality dynamics
Widely used but not demonstrated to be reliable and valid
Thematic Apperception Tests Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT)(TAT)20 cards with ambiguous
black and white picturesTest taker asked to make up
a story for each card◦ What happened before,
is happening now, and how things will turn out
Looks for recurring themes in the responses
Scoring has yet to be demonstrated to be either reliable or valid
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