chapter 10 personality

Copyright McGraw-Hill, Inc. 2010

Chapter 10Personality


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Psychodynamic Perspectives Humanistic Perspectives Trait Perspectives Personological and Life Story Perspectives Social Cognitive Perspectives Biological Perspectives Personality Assessment


Personality

Pattern of enduring, distinctive . . . Thoughts

Emotions

Behaviors

. . . that characterize how an individual adapts to the world


Psychodynamic Perspectives

Emphasize that personality is primarily unconscious, or beyond awareness

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory Sexual Drive

Most important human motivator Main determinant of personality

Hysteria Physical symptoms that have no physical cause Hysterical symptoms as overdetermined, or having

multitude of causes in unconscious


Structures of Personality

Id Consists of unconscious drives Reservoir of sexual energy Works according to pleasure principle

Ego Deals with demands of reality Abides by reality principle

Superego Evaluates morality of behavior Reflected in “conscience”


Iceberg Model


Defense Mechanisms

Tactics ego uses to reduce anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Displacement Directs unacceptable impulses at less threatening target

Repression Pushes unacceptable back into unconscious mind Foundation for all psychological defense mechanisms

Sublimation Transforms unconscious impulses into beneficial activities


Psychosexual Stages

Universal stages of personality development

Erogenous Zones Parts of body that have especially strong pleasure-

giving qualities at particular developmental stages

Adult personality as determined by way conflicts resolved between early sources of pleasure and demands of reality


Psychosexual Stages

Oral Stage (first 18 months) Pleasure centers around mouth Chewing, sucking, biting reduce tension

Anal Stage (18 to 36 months) Pleasure centers around anus and urethra and

their functions Toilet training

Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)


Phallic Stage

Pleasure focuses on genitals Discovery that self-stimulation is enjoyable

Oedipus Complex Boy’s intense desire to replace father and enjoy

affections of mother Castration Anxiety

Boy’s intense fear of being mutilated by father Identifying with father and adopting male gender role

to reduce conflict, as foundation for superego Without experience of castration anxiety, girls cannot

develop superego like boys


Psychosexual Stages

Latency Period (6 years to puberty) Setting aside all interest in sexuality No real development, according to Freud

Genital Stage (puberty to adulthood) Sexual reawakening Source of sexual pleasure outside family

Fixation Particular psychosexual stage colors adult personality


Defense Mechanisms & Freudian Stages


Critics & Revisionists

Sexuality not pervasive force behind personality Oedipal complex not universal

First five years not as powerful in shaping adult personality

Ego and conscious thought more dominant Ego with separate line of development from id

Sociocultural factors more important


Horney’s Sociocultural Approach

Freud’s hypotheses lacking support of observable data

Sociocultural influences on personality development

Both sexes envy attributes of other Women Status bestowed upon men Men Reproductive capabilities of women

Need for security, not sex, as prime motive


Jung’s Analytical Theory

Collective Unconscious Impersonal, deepest layer of unconscious mind Shared by all human beings because of ancestral past

Archetypes Emotionally-laden ideas and images that have rich

and symbolic meaning for all people Anima & Animus Mandala Persona


Adler’s Individual Psychology

People motivated by purposes, goals Perfection, not pleasure, as key motivator

Compensation Attempt to overcome inferiorities by developing abilities

Style of Life Each person’s unique striving for superiority

Birth order Could influence success of striving for superiority



Personality determined by current and early life experiences

Personality as developmental (stages) Mental transformation of experiences for meaning Mind as not all conscious Inner world conflicting with outer demands of

reality, creating anxiety Personality and adjustment as psychology topics



Criticisms Overly negative and pessimistic views Too much faith in unconscious mind Too much importance on sexuality Not a theory that can be tested empirically

Contributions Childhood as crucial to later functioning Development understood in terms of stages Unconscious processes playing a significant role


Humanistic Perspectives

Person’s capacity for personal growth Positive human qualities Ability to . . . .

control our lives achieve what we desire

Abraham Maslow (1908-1870) Carl Rogers (1902-1987)


Maslow’s Approach

Humanistic psychology as ‘third force’

Focus on very best examples of human beings: Self-actualizers Motivated to develop full potential as human beings At optimal level of existence Capacity for ‘peak experiences’

Maslow’s list of self-actualized individuals as biased, in terms of gender and culture


Rogers’ Approach

Unconditional positive regard Being accepted, valued, and treated positively

Conditions of worth Standards to meet to receive positive regard from others

Self-concept Representation of who we are and who we wish to be

Healthy human relations Unconditional positive regard Empathy Genuineness


Humanistic Perspectives

Perceiving self and world as essential element of personality

Consider whole person and positive bent of human nature

Emphasis on conscious experience

Criticisms Too optimistic, overestimating freedom and rationality Promoting excessive self-love and narcissism Not holding people accountable for behaviors


Trait Perspectives

Broad, enduring dispositions (traits) that tend to lead to characteristic responses

Gordon Allport (1897-1967) Focus on healthy, well-adjusted individuals Uniqueness of each person and capacity to adapt Traits

Mental structures that make different situations same

Lexical approach & factor analysis


Five-Factor Model

Supertraits thought to describe main dimensions of personality

Neuroticism (Emotional Instability) Extraversion Openness to Experience Agreeableness Conscientiousness


Five-Factor Model


Five-Factor Model

Evidence of five factors of personality in . . . Different cultures Animals

Strong relationship between personality traits and well-being Extraversion Higher levels of well-being Neuroticism Lower levels of well-being


Five-Factor Model

Subjective well-being Person’s assessment of own level of positive affect

Traits, as enduring characteristics States, as briefer experiences, such as mood

Enhancing positive mood Spending more time with loved others Savoring

Attending to positive experiences and appreciating them


Trait Perspectives

Practical value of personality traits Connections between personality traits and . . .

Health Ways of thinking Career success Relations with others

Criticisms Missing importance of situational factors Painting personality with very broad strokes


Personological Approach

Henry Murray (1893-1988)

Personology Study of the whole person “The history of the organism is the organism.”

Analysis of Hitler as first “offender profile”

Thematic Appercetion Test (TAT) Measure of motives, which are largely unknown


Life Story Approach

Dan McAdams Our life stories are our identities. Life Story Interviews

Coded for themes relevant to life stages and transitions Intimacy Motive

Enduring concern for warm interpersonal encounters

Psychobiography Means of inquiry that applies personality theory to

single person’s life


Life Story Approach

Extraordinarily rich opportunity for researcher

Criticisms Difficult and time-consuming

Collecting interviews and narratives Extensive coding and content analysis

Psychobiographical inquiries . . . More prone to biases May not serve scientific goal of generalizability


Social Cognitive Perspectives

Emphasize . . . conscious awareness beliefs expectations goals

Incorporate principles from behaviorism Explore ability . . .

to reason to think about past, present, and future to reflect on self


Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

Reciprocal Determinism Interaction of behavior, environment, and

person/cognitive factors to create personality

Observational Learning

Personal Control Internal Locus of Control External Locus of Control

Self-Efficacy Belief that one can master situation and produce

positive change


Reciprocal Determinism


Mischel’s Contributions

Critique of consistency in behavior No evidence of cross-situational consistency Situationism

Personality and behavior often vary from one context to another Controversial among personality psychologists

CAPS Theory Cognitive Affective Processing Systems Thoughts and emotions about self/world affect behavior Concerned with how personality works: “It depends”


Social Cognitive Perspective

Focuses on interactions of person with environment Highlights observation of behavior Emphasizes influence of cognitive processes

Criticisms Too concerned with change and situational influences,

rather than enduring qualities of personality Ignores role of biology in personality Tends to lead to very specific predictions, making

generalizations impossible


Biological Perspectives

Hippocrates Personality based on bodily fluids, or humours

Freud Connection between mind (personality) and body

Allport Traits as “neuro-psychic,” personality as “psychophysical”

Murray “No brain, no personality”


Eysenck’s RAS Theory

Reticular Activating System (RAS) Located in brain stem Plays role in wakefulness or arousal

Eysenck’s Theory All share optimal arousal level RAS of extraverts and introverts may differ in

baseline levels of arousal, with behaviors aimed at regulating arousal around these baselines

But introverts may just be more sensitive to stimuli


Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity

Behavioral approach system (BAS) and behavioral inhibition system (BIS) underlie personality

Differences in sensitivity to rewards and punishers BAS

Sensitive to rewards Predisposition to positive emotion Underlies extraversion

BIS Sensitive to punishers Predisposition to fear Underlies neuroticism


Role of Neurotransmitters

Dopamine Function in experience of reward Factor in BAS or extraversion

Serotonin Related to neuroticism Less serotonin More negative mood Inhibition of serotonin reuptake . . .

Decreases negative mood Enhances feelings of sociability

Does not tell us about potential causal pathways


Behavior Genetics

Study of inherited underpinnings of behavioral characteristics

Twin Studies Genetic factors explain differences in big five traits Autobiographical memories influenced by genetics

Role of genetic factors enormously complex Genes and environments intertwined Traits influenced by multiple genes


Biological Perspectives

Tie personality to . . . Animal learning models Advances in brain imaging Evolutionary theory

Cautions Biology can be effect, not cause, of personality Issue of whether personality can change throughout life


Personality Assessment

Rigorous methods for measuring mental processes Assess personality for different reasons

Self-Report Tests Projective Tests Other Assessment Methods


Self-Report Tests

Directly ask people whether different items describe their personality traits

Social Desirability Motivates individuals to respond in ways that make

them look better

To address social desirability . . . Give questionnaire designed to tap into tendency

Design scales so it is impossible to tell what is being measured

Use empirically-keyed test to distinguish known groups


Self-Report Tests

MMPI Most widely used and researched empirically-keyed

self-report personality test

Used to assess personality and predict outcomes

NEO-PI-R Geared toward assessing five-factor model

Includes items with face validity


Projective Tests

Present individuals with ambiguous stimulus Ask them to describe it, or tell a story about it

Especially designed to elicit unconscious feelings and conflicts

Theoretically aligned with psychodynamic perspectives on personality


Projective Tests

Rorschach Inkblot Test Ten inkblots, when described, scored for indicating

underlying psychological characteristics

Reliability and validity criticized

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Designed to elicit stories that reveal personality

Higher reliability and validity


Rorschach Inkblot Test


Thematic Apperception Test


Other Assessment Methods

Measuring behavior directly Cognitive assessments Friend or peer ratings Psychophysiological measures

Choice depends greatly on theoretical perspective

chapter 10 personality

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