Introduction to Psychology

Personality

Plan for Today

• Psychoanalytic theory

• Cognitive and Social Learning theory

• Humanistic theory

• Trait theory

Personality Research

• Personality refers to enduring patterns of thought, feeling, motivation, and behavior that are expressed in different circumstances

• The aim of personality research is to– Construct general theories of personality– Assess individual differences in personality

Psychodynamic Views of Personality• Freud invoked a role of unconscious

processes in the control of behavior– Based on his observations of clients

• Topographical model: argued for 3 levels of consciousness– Conflict occurs between the different

aspects of consciousness

– Requires compromise formation

ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO

Freud’s Developmental Model• Human behavior is motivated by two drives

– Aggressive– Sexual

• Libido refers to pleasure-seeking and sensuality as well as desire for intercourse

• Libido follows a developmental course during childhood– Stages of development– Fixed progression of change from stage to stage– Notion of fixation at a particular libidinal stage

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages

ORAL 0-18 mos Dependency

ANAL 2-3 yrs Orderliness, cleanliness

PHALLIC 4-6 yrs Parental Identification Oedipal complex Penis envy, castration complex

LATENCY 7-11 yrs Sublimation of sexual and aggressive urges

GENITAL 12+ yrs Mature sexuality and relationships

STAGE AGE CONFLICTS AND CONCERNS

Ego Defense Mechanisms

• Defense mechanisms are unconscious mental processes that protect the conscious person from anxiety– Repression: anxiety-evoking thoughts are kept

unconscious- Denial: person refuses to recognize reality

- Projection: person attributes their own unacceptable impulses to others

Ego Defense Mechanisms

– Reaction Formation: person converts an unacceptable impulse into the opposite impulse

– Sublimation: person converts an unacceptable impulse into a socially acceptable activity

– Rationalization: person explains away their actions to reduce anxiety

– Displacement: diverting emotional feelings from their original source to a substitute target

Other Psychoanalytic Theorists

• Jung’s Analytical Psychology

• Adler’s Individual Psychology

• Anna Freud

• Erik Erikson

• Harry Sullivan

Evaluation of Freud’s Contributions to Personality Theory

• Contributions– Emphasis on unconscious processes

– Identification of defense mechanisms

– Importance of childhood experiences in shaping adult personality

• Limitations– Theories are not solidly based on scientific observation

– Excessive emphasis on drives such as sex and aggression

© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

Observational (Vicarious) Learning• people learn by merely observing what others do

and what happens to them• two processes:

– acquisition

– acceptance/performance

• consequences are an important influence

RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM

PERSON

(cognitions, expectations)

BEHAVIOUR ENVIRONMENT

(contingencies)

Albert Ellis: Rational Emotive Therapy (RET)

• Assumes that all humans have fundamental goals, purposes and values (e.g., stay alive, be satisfied)

• if people choose to stay alive & try to be happy/satisfied they are acting “rationally”

• when people think/emote/behave in a way that interferes with these goals, they act “irrationally”

Evaluation of Cognitive-Social Personality Theory

• Contributions– Provided emphasis on the role of thought and

memory in personality– Emphasized situational influences

• Limitations– Overemphasis of rational side of personality– Avoidance of explanations of unconscious

processes in personality

Humanistic Personality Approaches

• Humanistic personality theorists reject the behaviorist and psychodynamic notions of personality

• Humanists emphasize the notion that each person has a potential for creative growth

• The intent is to assist the person in developing to their maximal potential

Roger’s Person-Centered Approach

• Rogers believed that humans are good by nature (in contrast to psychodynamic view of human nature)

• Rogers emphasized the notion of self-concept

• Each person has multiple selves:– True-self: the core aspect of being– False-self: the self that is created by distortions from

interpersonal experiences– Ideal-self: what the person would like to be

Evaluation of Humanistic Personality Theory

© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• Contributions– Focus on how humans strive to determine the

meaning of life

• Limitations– Humanistic approach is not a complete

theoretical account of personality– The approach has not generated a body of

testable hypotheses and research

Trait Theories of Personality

• Trait: refers to emotional, cognitive, and behavioral tendencies as well as the underlying dimensions that form personality

• Traits can be measured by– Asking others to rate a person– Asking the person to fill out a questionnaire

• How many traits are required?– Allport noted some 18,000 traits– Cattell argued for 16 distinct traits (factor analysis)– Eysenck: extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism

Trait Approach

• ASSUMPTION 1: traits are stable over time• ASSUMPTION 2: traits are stable across situations• people differ on continuous variables or dimensions• traits exist on a continuum• basic differences between people are quantitative• traits are used to understand and predict behaviour• emphasizes measurement of traits through tests

TRAIT: Consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings, or actions that distinguish people.

The Big Five Factors of Personality

• Openness to experience

• Conscientiousness

• Extroversion

• Agreeableness

• Neuroticism

• OCEAN...