Chapter 10 Personality. Personality Personality: Psychological qualities that bring continuity to an individual’s behavior in different situations and

Chapter 10Chapter 10

PersonalityPersonality

PersonalityPersonality

PersonalityPersonality: Psychological qualities : Psychological qualities that bring that bring continuitycontinuity to an to an individual’s behavior in different individual’s behavior in different situations and at different timessituations and at different times

Theories – help understand the Theories – help understand the causes of similarities and differences causes of similarities and differences among peopleamong people

Psychodynamic TheoryPsychodynamic Theory

Psychoanalytic theoryPsychoanalytic theory: focuses on : focuses on early childhood experiences, early childhood experiences, unconsciousunconscious motives/conflicts, and motives/conflicts, and methods used to cope with sexual & methods used to cope with sexual & aggressive urgesaggressive urges

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Freud’s Psychoanalytic TheoryTheory UnconsciousUnconscious: thoughts, memories, : thoughts, memories,

desires well below the surface of desires well below the surface of conscious awareness, but still exert conscious awareness, but still exert great influence on behaviorgreat influence on behavior

Sexual & aggressive impulses – Sexual & aggressive impulses – major source of conflictmajor source of conflict– Ambiguous social norms – inconsistent Ambiguous social norms – inconsistent

messages about what is appropriatemessages about what is appropriate– Thwarted more often than other urgesThwarted more often than other urges

Drives and InstinctsDrives and Instincts

Eros (life instincts) – drives people Eros (life instincts) – drives people towards acts that are life giving towards acts that are life giving – Libido (energy behind eros) – drives people Libido (energy behind eros) – drives people

to experience sensual pleasureto experience sensual pleasure Thanatos (death instincts) – drives Thanatos (death instincts) – drives

people toward aggressive and people toward aggressive and destructive behaviorsdestructive behaviors

IdId

Superego

Ego

Primitive, unconscious portion of personality; houses most basic drives and stores repressed memories

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Freud’s Psychoanalytic TheoryTheory

Id

SuperegoSuperego

Ego

Mind’s storehouse of values, moral attitudes learned from parents and society; same as common notion of conscience


Id

Superego

EgoEgo

Conscious, rational part of personality; charged with keeping peace between superego and id


Freud’s Model of the Freud’s Model of the MindMind

Oral StageOral Stage Anal StageAnal Stage

Phallic StagePhallic Stage

LatencyLatency Genital StageGenital Stage


Psychosexual stagesPsychosexual stages: Successive, : Successive, developmental periods with a developmental periods with a characteristic sexual focus that leave characteristic sexual focus that leave their mark on adult personalitytheir mark on adult personality


Ego defense mechanismsEgo defense mechanisms: Largely : Largely unconscious mental strategies employed unconscious mental strategies employed to reduce the experience of anxiety or to reduce the experience of anxiety or guiltguilt– Repression: keeping distressing Repression: keeping distressing

thought/feelings in the unconsciousthought/feelings in the unconscious– Projection: attributing one’s own thoughts, Projection: attributing one’s own thoughts,

feelings, or motives to anotherfeelings, or motives to another– Regression: reversion to immature patterns Regression: reversion to immature patterns

of behaviorof behavior– Denial: arguing against an anxiety by stating Denial: arguing against an anxiety by stating

that it doesn’t existthat it doesn’t exist– Undoing: attempt to take back thoughts/ Undoing: attempt to take back thoughts/

behaviors that are unacceptablebehaviors that are unacceptable

More Defense More Defense MechanismsMechanisms

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

– Reaction Formation: acting in a way Reaction Formation: acting in a way opposite of one’s true feelingsopposite of one’s true feelings

– Sublimation: acting out unacceptable Sublimation: acting out unacceptable impulses in a socially acceptable wayimpulses in a socially acceptable way

– Rationalization: creating false, but Rationalization: creating false, but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behaviorbehavior

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Freud’s Psychoanalytic TheoryTheory Projective testsProjective tests: Personality : Personality

assessment instruments based on assessment instruments based on Freud’s concept of projecting hidden Freud’s concept of projecting hidden motives, interests, conflictsmotives, interests, conflicts– Rorschach inkblot techniqueRorschach inkblot technique– Sentence completionSentence completion– Free associationFree association– Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Rorschach InkblotRorschach Inkblot

Thematic Thematic Apperception TestApperception Test


Psychic determinismPsychic determinism: Freud’s : Freud’s assumption that all mental and assumption that all mental and behavioral reactions are caused by behavioral reactions are caused by unconscious traumas desires or unconscious traumas desires or conflictsconflicts– Nothing is accidentalNothing is accidental

Carl Jung: Extending Carl Jung: Extending the Unconsciousthe Unconscious

Believed that Freud overemphasized Believed that Freud overemphasized sexuality at the expense of other sexuality at the expense of other unconscious needs and desiresunconscious needs and desires

Disputed the structure of the Disputed the structure of the unconsciousunconscious– Personal unconsciousPersonal unconscious: Portion of the : Portion of the

unconscious corresponding roughly to unconscious corresponding roughly to Freud’s idFreud’s id

– Collective unconsciousCollective unconscious: Jung’s addition to : Jung’s addition to the unconscious, involving a reservoir for the unconscious, involving a reservoir for instinctive “memories” including the instinctive “memories” including the archetypes, which exist in all peoplearchetypes, which exist in all people

ArchetypesArchetypes

AnimusAnimus

AnimaAnima

Shadow


The male archetype

The female archetype

Animus

Anima

ShadowShadow


Archetype representing the destructive and aggressive tendencies we don’t want to recognize in ourselves

Humanistic TheoriesHumanistic Theories

Third ForceThird Force Focus on mental capabilities that set Focus on mental capabilities that set

humans aparthumans apart Innate drive to grow and fulfill potentialInnate drive to grow and fulfill potential How people view the world and How people view the world and

respondrespond Humanistic Theories includeHumanistic Theories include

– Gordon Allport’s trait theoryGordon Allport’s trait theory– Abraham Maslow’s self-actualizing Abraham Maslow’s self-actualizing

personalitypersonality– Carl Roger’s fully functioning personCarl Roger’s fully functioning person

Gordon Allport and the Gordon Allport and the Beginnings of Beginnings of Humanistic Humanistic

TraitsTraits: Stable personality : Stable personality characteristics that are presumed to characteristics that are presumed to exist within the individual and guide exist within the individual and guide his or her thoughts and actions under his or her thoughts and actions under various conditionsvarious conditions– Central traitsCentral traits form the basis of personality form the basis of personality– Secondary traitsSecondary traits include preferences and include preferences and

attitudesattitudes– Cardinal traitsCardinal traits define peoples lives define peoples lives

Abraham Maslow and Abraham Maslow and the Healthy the Healthy PersonalityPersonality Self-actualizing personalitiesSelf-actualizing personalities: :

Healthy individuals who have met Healthy individuals who have met their basic needs and are free to be their basic needs and are free to be creative and fulfill their potentialscreative and fulfill their potentials

Carl Rogers’s Fully Carl Rogers’s Fully Functioning PersonFunctioning Person Fully functioning personFully functioning person: Term for a : Term for a

healthy, self-actualizing individual, healthy, self-actualizing individual, who has a self-concept that is both who has a self-concept that is both positive and congruent with realitypositive and congruent with reality

Carl Rogers’s Fully Carl Rogers’s Fully Functioning PersonFunctioning Person Phenomenal fieldPhenomenal field: Our psychological : Our psychological

reality, composed of one’s reality, composed of one’s perceptions and feelingsperceptions and feelings

Unconditional positive regardUnconditional positive regard: Love : Love or caring without conditions or caring without conditions attachedattached

Evaluating Humanistic Evaluating Humanistic TheoriesTheories Positive psychologyPositive psychology: Movement : Movement

within psychology focusing on the within psychology focusing on the desirable aspects of human desirable aspects of human functioning, as opposed to an functioning, as opposed to an emphasis on psychopathologyemphasis on psychopathology

Social-Cognitive TheoriesSocial-Cognitive Theories More scientific; driven by expectations, tooMore scientific; driven by expectations, too Based on principles of learning (Bandura)Based on principles of learning (Bandura)

– Observational learningObservational learning: Process of : Process of learning new responses by watching the learning new responses by watching the behavior of othersbehavior of others Personality is a collection of learned behavior Personality is a collection of learned behavior

patterns (skills, attitudes, beliefs, fears)patterns (skills, attitudes, beliefs, fears)

– Reciprocal determinismReciprocal determinism: Process in which : Process in which the person, situation and environment the person, situation and environment mutually influence each othermutually influence each other

Reciprocal Reciprocal DeterminismDeterminism

Cognition

Environment

Behavior

What Persistent What Persistent Patterns are Found in Patterns are Found in Personality?Personality?

Another approach describes personality in terms of stable

patterns known as temperaments, traits, and

types

Patterns in PersonalityPatterns in Personality

The Big Five (McCrae) - The Big Five (McCrae) - handouthandout TypeType: Clusters of traits that are not only : Clusters of traits that are not only

central to a person’s personality but are central to a person’s personality but are found with essentially the same pattern in found with essentially the same pattern in many peoplemany people– Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Person-situation controversyPerson-situation controversy: Theoretical : Theoretical dispute concerning the relative dispute concerning the relative contribution of personality factors and contribution of personality factors and situational factors in controlling behavior situational factors in controlling behavior (criticizes trait theory)(criticizes trait theory)

Assessing TraitsAssessing Traits

NEO-PI (Big Five Inventory)NEO-PI (Big Five Inventory) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Minnesota Multiphasic Personality

Inventory (MMPI-2)Inventory (MMPI-2) Must be valid and reliable!!!Must be valid and reliable!!!

– Measure what it is supposed to and be Measure what it is supposed to and be consistent!consistent!

What “Theories” Do People What “Theories” Do People Use to Understand Each Use to Understand Each Other?Other?

People everywhere develop implicit assumptions (“folk

theories”) about personality, but these assumptions vary

in important ways across cultures

Implicit Personality Implicit Personality TheoriesTheories

Implicit personality theoriesImplicit personality theories: : Assumptions about personality that Assumptions about personality that are held by people to simplify the are held by people to simplify the task of understanding otherstask of understanding others

Fundamental attribution errorFundamental attribution error: : Assumption that another person’s Assumption that another person’s behavior (especially undesirable behavior (especially undesirable behavior) is the result of a flaw in the behavior) is the result of a flaw in the personality, rather than in the personality, rather than in the situationsituation

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Chapter 10 Personality. Personality Personality: Psychological qualities that bring continuity to an individual’s behavior in different situations and