Trait Theories

• Explain differences between people in terms of stable personality traits

• Modern day psychologists have found 5 personality dimensions that span cultures

The 5 Factor Theory

• Extraversion

• Neuroticism

• Conscientiousness

• Agreeableness

• Openness to Experience

The 5 Factor Theory

Extraversion

Outgoing Withdrawn

Neuroticism

Stable Unstable

The 5 Factor Theory

Agreeableness

Low High

Conscientiousness

Undependable Dependable

The 5 Factor Theory

Openness to Experience

Closed Open

The 5 Factor Theory

• Helpful in predicting general trends in behavior

• Too general to predict behavior in a specific situation

Personality & Heredity

Heritability can be calculated by comparing traits of twins reared together and twins reared apart

Heritability, Big 5 Traits

(Minnesota Study)

Heritability, Extraversion

(Minnesota Study)

Heritability, Neuroticism

(Minnesota Study)

Heritability, Conscientiousness

(Minnesota Study)

Heritability, Agreeableness

(Minnesota Study)

Heritability, Openness

(Minnesota Study)

Behaviorist Theory

Behavior determined by:

• Reward

• Punishment

• Classical conditioning

Social Cognitive Theory

• Bandura's Reciprocal Determinism and Self-Efficacy

• Rotter's Locus of Control

Reciprocal Determinism

EnvironmentPersonal

Cognitive

Factors

Behavior

Self-Efficacy

• One's perception of personal effectiveness

• One of Bandura's personal/cognitive factors

Self-Efficacy

Beliefyou will do

well

Greatereffort &

persistence

Success

Self-Efficacy

Beliefyou will do

poorly

Lesseffort &

persistence

Failure

Internal Locus

Belief you control your fate

Optimismabout the

future

Takingaction

Internal Locus

Belief you don’tcontrol your fate

Pessimismabout the

future

Doingnothing

The Person: Beliefs and Behaviors

• Humanistic psychology– Abraham Maslow

• Self-actualization

• Oceanic feelings (flow)

– Carl Rogers• Client-centered therapy

• Unconditional positive regard

The World: Social Influences on Personality

• Birth order• Peer relationships: Personality development by

peer pressure• Sex differences in personality: Nature and nurture• Culture and personality: Are there national

personalities?

Assessment

• Observation

• Interviews

• Rating Scales

• Inventories

• Projective Tests

Problems

• Observations, interviews, & rating scales suffer from reliability problems & the halo effect

• Halo Effect:

Assuming that someone with one favorable trait has many others as well

The MMPI-2

• The most widely-used inventory

• Consists of 567 true-false questions

The CPI

• An MMPI-like test designed for normal individuals

• The MMPI is more useful for clinical purposes, the CPI for normal populations

Projective Tests

• The Rorschach Inkblot Test

• The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

The Rorschach

Subject tells what each blot looks like and what aspect of the blot triggered that response

The Rorschach

• Responses scored on use of parts vs. wholes, movement, content, use of color

• Criticized for lack of reliability, low validity (inability to predict behavior)

The TAT

• Consists of 19 vague or ambiguous drawings

• Person describes what is happening in each

The TAT

A TAT-like picture:

Criticized for low reliability & for reflecting temporary states rather than long-term traits

Sentence Completion

• A projective test requiring completion of open-ended sentences

• May be more reliable than the TAT

Magazine Quizzes

• "Personality" tests in popular magazines often use vague terms and rely on the the "Barnum Effect"

"Always have a little something for everybody.” (Famed circus owner P.T. Barnum)

• In this case involves having everyone's assessment be vague (so it fits) but positive (so you'll believe it)

Sigmund Freud

Assumptions:

• Traits transcend situations

• Personality formed in childhood

Freud’s Model

Freudian Theory

Personality components

• Id: Concerned with drive satisfaction, provides the motive power; follows the pleasure principle (the horse)

• Ego: Rational thought; controls & channels id; follows the reality principle (the rider)

• Superego: Oversees balance between ego & id; internalized parental control; much like a conscience

Freudian Theory

• The Libido: The sexual life energy that drives the id; other researchers dispute Freud's sexual emphasis

• The Conscious: Consists of things you are currently aware of; constantly changing

• The Preconscious: Consists of things in long term memory that influence behavior; could be retrieved if desired

• The Subconscious: Consists of things you're unaware of but that influence you; the primary personality component

Freudian Theory

The Unconscious:

• The primary personality component

• Consists of things you're unaware of but that influence you

• Can't be tapped directly

• Reflected in slips of the tongue, dreams, etc.

Freudian Theory: Stages

Psychosexual Stages(source of libido satisfaction)

Oral (0-1 year)

Anal (1-3 years)

Phallic (3-6 years)

Latency (6-puberty)

Genital (from puberty)

Freudian Theory: Stages

Oral Stage:• Libido gratification comes from oral

exploration of the world

• Infant learns to trust in others, esp. for food

Oral Personality:• Problems in the oral stage supposedly lead to

pessimism about the world, hostility or passivity

Freudian Theory: Stages

Anal Stage:• Kids learn about delay of gratification• Kids gain pleasure and libido satisfaction

from being in control

Anal Personality:• Problems in the anal stage supposedly lead

to either excessive orderliness or excessive messiness

Freudian Theory: Stages

Phallic Stage:• Freud believed sex-role identification occurred

• Mechanisms included castration anxiety (boys) & penis envy (girls)

Phallic Personality:

• Problems in the phallic stage supposedly lead to sex-role identification problems, promiscuity, vanity, or excessive chastity

Freudian Theory: Stages

Latency Stage:

• A time of focus on achievement and mastery of skills

• Libido is channeled into mastery activities

• Freud thought little of interest happened here

• Others have argued the sense of self-esteem is established here

Freudian Theory: Stages

Genital Stage:

• The time of mature personality, intimacy with others

• Libido satisfied by adult- type sexual activity

Freudian Theory: Defense

Defense Mechanisms• Methods for dealing with anxiety

• Freud thought some more mature than othersDenial Repression

Projection Formal Reaction

Rationalization Regression

Displacement Sublimation

Denial

• Refusing to accept that the feeling is present or that the event occurred

• A very primitive mechanism

• Example: preschoolers will convince themselves they didn't do something they wish they hadn't

"Firecrackers? No, I never use firecrackers!"

Repression

• Relegating anxiety- causing thoughts to the unconscious, refusing to think about them

• Example:

Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind -- "I won't think about that now, I'll think about that tomorrow.""I refuse to even think about

firecrackers."

Projection

• Attributing one's undesirable traits or actions to others, so they become the problem instead of you

• Example from a failing student:

"I'm not worried about me, but I'd hate to see Ellen flunk--she's so fragile"

"Okay, I played with 1, but Joe's always playing with firecrackers."

Reaction Formation

• Taking actions opposite to one's feelings in order to deny the reality of the feelings

• Freud thought many people fervently pursuing a cause were using this mechanism to hide their true feelings

"Hi! I'm the president of the local anti-fireworks club!"

Rationalization

• Creating intellectually - acceptable arguments for thoughts or behavior to hide the actual anxiety - causing impulses

• Examples:– "I only read Playboy for the articles."

– "I didn't get an A on my paper because I didn't want to make you feel inferior.""I wasn't playing with fireworks: I was

testing them to see if they're safe."

Regression

• Reverting to the comfort of behaviors of an earlier stage of development in order to cope

• Example:

Children who crawl around the floor and produce baby talk when a new baby enters the family "I couldn't be using fire-

crackers, I'm too little."

Displacement

• Substituting a less-threatening object for the subject of the hostile or sexual impulse

• A person mad at his boss might attack an underling instead--a person like the boss in some ways, but not as anxiety provoking

"I'm not afraid of firecrackers. I'm afraid of what will happen if mom finds out."

Sublimation

• The most mature mechanism

• Redirecting anxiety-causing impulses into socially acceptable actions

• Example:

Dealing with anxiety over a final by engaging in vigorous physical activity

"My puppet show is about kids who use firecrackers."

Problems with Freud

• Too general: Explains everything after the fact, but predicts nothing beforehand

• Key portions are contrary to recent data: There is no evidence for penis envy, castration anxiety, the latency period

• Biased against females: Freud's negative attitudes towards women colored his entire theory

• Relies on too many constructs: Relies on the existence of hypotheticals such as the id, ego, & superego

Contributions

• The discovery of unconscious processes

• His emphasis on childhood influences on adult behavior

Neo-Freudians

Former students of Freud who broke away from him (often acrimoniously) to create their own theories

– Carl Jung

– Alfred Adler

– Karen Horney

Carl Jung

Personality Theory:• Ego

• Personal Unconscious: Like a combination of Freud's preconscious and unconscious

• Collective Unconscious: Inherited tendencies to respond in a particular way (archetypes) shared by all humans

Alfred Adler

• Humans motivated by the need to overcome inferiority and strive for significance

• Inferiority Complex: Adler's term for feelings of inferiority that interfere with development

Karen Horney

• Stressed need for safety & satisfaction

• Childhood frustration may lead to development of basic anxiety & neurosis

Tyranny of the Should: Horney's term for focusing on an unrealistic, perfect self-image that leads to dissatisfaction