Personality Theories and Assessment

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Slide 1

Personality Theories and Assessment

12


Slide 2

Personality

• Definition– Sum total of all typical ways of acting,

feeling, and thinking that makes a person different from all others



Slide 3

Personality• Trait theories

– Traits are characteristics, aspects of personality

– Allport: traits can be ranked

• Motivational traits related to one’s values

• Cardinal traits dominate one’s life (ie: desire for social justice)

• Central/secondary traits are more common (ie: obtaining sexual gratification)



Slide 4

Personality• Trait theories

– Five-factor model of personality traits• Five dimensions measured in personality tests

– Neuroticism (anxious, worrisome)

– Extraversion (outgoing, social)

– Openness (creative, daring)

– Agreeableness (selfless, forgiving)

– Conscientiousness (reliable, hardworking)



Slide 5

Personality

• Validating personality traits– Eysenck’s introverts and extraverts

• Brain’s neural systems may work different– Tests:

• Classical conditioning• Functional MRI



Slide 6

Human Diversity

• Personality and culture– Personality influenced by culture – Individualistic culture (ie: U.S.) – emphasize

individual rights and characteristics• Feeling of pride, superiority• Seek own goals over those of others• More willing to use embarrassment and

aggression to prove oneself right• Free time often spent in solitary pursuits



Slide 7

Human Diversity• Personality and culture

– Collective cultures (ie: Japan, China, India) – emphasize individual in terms of rights, duties, and expectations as member of a group

– Leisure time more often spent with family– Less aggressive in conflict; say things to avoid

embarrassment of others– Characterized as having close ties, respectful,

and friendly



Slide 8

Human Diversity• All personality theories must consider effects

of culture

• People of different cultures tend to differ in some important ways

• There is tremendous variation within cultures

• Collective and individualistic traits are found among members of all cultures



Slide 9

Psychoanalytic Theory

• Freud’s theory and views– Original interest in conversion disorder– Case of Anna O.– Three levels of consciousness

• Mind is iceberg; conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind are levels

• Repression pushes thoughts into unconscious



Slide 10

SuperegoMoral imperatives Ideals

EgoReality principleSecondary process thinkingUnconscious

Well below surfaceof awareness; difficult to retrieve

ConsciousContact with outside world

PreconsciousMaterial just beneath surface of awareness

IdPleasure principlePrimary process thinking


Slide 11

Psychoanalytic Theory

• Freud’s theory and views– Personality has 3 parts– Displacement

• Sometimes, ego must substitute a goal of the id

• Sublimation – best kind of displacement– Identification

• Superficial act of imitation



Slide 12Freud: Personality has 3 parts

SuperegoId Ego

Life and death instincts

Sexual, aggressive

urges

The selfish beast

Libido

The executive

Pleasure principle

Primary process thinking

Ego Ideal

The conscience

Reality principle


Slide 13

Freud: Psychosexual Theory• Fixation – stuck in one stage • Five stages of developmental theory:

– Oral stage (birth to 1 year) – • Erogenous zones• Oral dependent oral personality• oral aggressive personality

– Anal stage (1 to 3 years) • Anal retentive personality• Anal expulsive personality



Slide 14

Freud: Psychosexual Theory

– Phallic stage (3 to 6 years)• Oedipus complex• Castration anxiety• Electra complex• Phallic personality

– Latency stage (6 to 11 years)– Genital stage (11 years on)



Slide 15

Theories Derived from Psychoanalysis

• Carl Jung– Questioned Freud’s sexual motivation emphasis– Opposites in all elements of mind (ie: selfish and

generous, good and evil)– Known for introversion and extraversion– Personal unconscious: motives, conflicts,

information repressed as threatening– Collective unconscious: all humans born with it



Slide 16

Theories Derived from Psychoanalysis• Alfred Adler

– Struggle with sexual and hostile impulses not primary factor in personality development

– Primary struggle: overcome inferiority feelings, develop superiority feelings in social relationships (later seen as unhealthy)• Outgrow childhood inferiority, become

competent adult– All born with positive motive, social interest– People’s lives governed by their goals



Slide 17

Theories Derived from Psychoanalysis• Karen Horney

– Unconscious conflicts – source of most human misery and maladjustment

– Freud overemphasized sexual conflicts, penis envy, and criticized his views of women

– Conflicts result from inadequate child-rearing experiences (love and security produce no conflicts, positive personality results)



Slide 18

Theories Derived from Psychoanalysis

• Others– Erich Fromm, Harry Stack Sullivan, Erikson

• Revised Freud’s image of women• De-emphasized importance of sexual and

aggressive motivation• Emphasized positive aspects of personality• Asserted importance of adequate social

relationships



Slide 19

Social Learning Theory• Social learning: sum total of all ways one to

act, think, and feel as s/he does• Albert Bandura

– People play active role in selecting behavior– Cognition is important in personality – Reciprocal determination (ie: social learning)– Personality is learned behavior– Behavior influences future learning experiences



Slide 20

Role of Cognition in Personality• Helping others makes one more reliable

and less stingy?– Self-efficacy: subjective perception of what

one is capable of• High self-efficacy: accepts more challenges

– Bandura: emphasizes learning of personal standards (self-regulation) of reward and punishment from experience and watching others



Slide 21

Percentage of subjects stopping to help after finding a dime

25

50

75

100

0Female Male

Subjects

Perc

ent s

topp

ing

to h

elp

Found a dime

Perc

ent s

topp

ing

to h

elp

25

50

75

100

0Female Male

Subjects

Did not find a dime


Slide 22

Situationism and Interactionism• B.F. Skinner –

– argued against idea of traits; behavior determined by situations one is in (situationism)

– People behave in ways to suit their situations– Behavior cannot be consistent enough to be traits

because situations change– Solution: behavior influenced by both person and

situation (person X situation interactionism)– One situation influences people in different ways



Slide 23

Percent of pedestrians stopping to help

Low noise

High noise

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

10

Percentage of pedestrians stopping to help man in high and low

noise conditions


Slide 24

Humanistic Theory

• Third force in psychology; historically deep roots in philosophy (lack of unity)– Inner-directedness (innate internal force

pushing for growth); positive view of humans• Personality develops from this and can only

be understood by the individual (subjective reality) – everyone’s views are different

– Self-concept (subjective perception) is central to Roger’s personality theory



Slide 25

Roger’s Self-Concept

Ideal self the person I think I am

Self the person I think I am

The larger the discrepancies between the two, the more psychological problems one experiences

Congruence – consistencies

between the two


Slide 26

Humanistic Theory• Feelings and information are mentally

symbolized• Reactions of others create one’s conditions

of worth – Self-actualization

• Maslow’s ultimate level of growth– High level of moral development– Open, honest, have courage– Accurate and positive view of life

• Maslow’s peak experiences



Slide 27

Comparing the Theories


Personality Psychoanalytic Humanistic Social Learning

unconscious yes yes noLearn what is good yes yes yesInnate knowledge of good and bad

yes yes yes

Innate selfishness yesInnate goodness yes

Innate: neither good or bad

yes yes

Society influences yes yes yes yes


Slide 28

Psychological Methods• Interviews and observations• Projective personality tests

– Thematic Apperception test (TAT)– Rorschach Inkblot Test

• Objective Personality Tests– Minnesota Multiphasic Personality

Inventory (MMPI and MMPI-2)• Evaluation of personality tests



Slide 29

Amount of aggression

Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov DecJan

Aggressive crimes Wife beatingRapes

Assaults

Relationship between types of physical aggression and the month of the year


Slide 30

The End

12Personality Theories and Assessment

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Personality Theories and Assessment