personality theories. in your own words, what is personality? write down 5 traits/characteristics to...
DESCRIPTION
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?TRANSCRIPT
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