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What is Personality?
Patterns of behaving and thinking that are consistent across a variety of situations
What do you see?
Assessing the Unconscious -- Rorschach Inkblot Test
• 10 inkblots designed by H. Rorschach– Most widely used Projective Test– Perhaps good for
identifying
compulsiveness &
expansiveness
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
People make up story for ambiguous scenes - may reveal patient’s motives, conflicts
Also a projective test
Sentence Completion Luscher Color
1) If only I could...2) People I know... 3) I can always... 4) I think guys... 5) What makes me sad is... 6) I think girls... 7) Where I live... 8) My mother was the type . . .
Sort colors by preference
Also projective tests
Personality Assessment
• Issue with any assessment technique:– Do they provide incremental validity?
• i.e. Do they add info about patient given other techniques available (e.g., clinical interview)
Personality Assessment
• Inventories– Numerous inventories in existence
• California Personality Inventory (CPI)• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator • Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)
– MMPI (1940): • empirically defined• tested with validity scales• 550+ questions• pathological criterion groups
– not great for subclinical assessment of personality variables
MMPI (Minnesota MultiPhasic Inventory)
• Hypochondriasis (Hs) - neurotic concern over bodily functioning
• Depression (D) - symptomatic depression.
• Hysteria (Hy) - hysterical reactions to stress situations
• Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) - psychopathy, asocial, amoral
• Masculinity-Femininity (Mf) - originally developed to identify homosexual invert males, now those who reject traditional gender roles.
• Paranoia (Pa) - paranoid symptoms
• Psychasthenia (Pt) - excessive doubts, compulsions, obsessions, and unreasonable fears (OCD).
• Schizophrenia (Sc) - identify schizophrenia
Hypomania (Ma) - hypomanic disturbances
•Social Introversion (Si) - person's tendency to withdraw from social contacts and responsibilities.
MMPI – Derived Empirically
• Developers used every personality question they could find
1. Tested on various clinical groups (depressive, schizophrenics, etc.)
2. Large pool of questions 3. Kept only those questions
that discriminated between groups
ExamplesSchizophrenia:
1) I often feel that things are not real (true)
2) I like parties (false)
Antisocial:1) I was suspended from
school at least once (true)2) If I could sneak into a
movie without paying and without being seen, I would definitely do so. (true)
MMPI (Minnesota MultiPhasic Inventory)
• Validity Scales:
• "Cannot Say" scale – 30+ omitted items invalidates test
• L Scale – Lie scale - not willing to admit even minor shortcomings.
• F Scale - detect atypical ways of responding to test items.
• K Scale – detect subtle attempts at denying psychopathology or, conversely, at exaggerating psychopathology; overall defensiveness
Theories of Personality: Psychoanalytic Theory
• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
– Austrian neurologist treating Victorian hysterics
– Women presented neurologically impossible symptoms and he recognized the psychogenic origins of hysteria
Personality Structure
• Freud’s structure of the mind
• Two primary instincts: sex and aggression
Id
Superego
Ego Conscious mind
Unconscious mind
Personality Structure• Id
– unconscious psychic energy
– strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive instincts, unacceptable wishes, desires, drives
– operates on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification
• Superego– our conscience– given to us by
family/society– operates on
morality principle, sets standards right vs. wrong
– Our idealized self
• Ego– conscious part of
personality– mediates conflict
between id and superego
– operates on the reality principle, delays gratification of id impulses
– negotiates reward in a world filled with other ids/egos
Psychodynamics• An elaborate, exhaustive paradigm of maladaptive
behavior stemming from unresolved childhood conflicts
– Theory: our actions are due to unconscious conflicts
– Evidence: speech slips, dream analysis, symbolism
– Therapy: treat psychological disorders by uncovering and interpreting unconscious conflicts by means of free association
• Client relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing. Eventually important conflicts will present themselves (A method to explore the unconscious)
– Catharsis – explosive release of dammed-up emotions
Psychosexual Development
• Fixations• Oedipal Complex• Electra Complex
Neofreudians:
more concerned with
social development
Defense Mechanismsreduce anxiety generated by conflicts
between id and superego by distorting reality• Regression
– retreat to behavior from an earlier stage of development
• Doug asks Carrie to help with a task. She acts helpless and says, "I can't. I don't know how to," then throws a tantrum
• Repression– push anxiety-producing thoughts into the
unconscious• John hates to be in debt, but has borrowed
money from Jane. When she asks for it back, he has no recollection of borrowing money.
• Reaction Formation – express feelings opposite to the anxiety-
arousing unconscious feelings • The mother of an unwanted child feels guilty
about not welcoming the child so she overindulges and overprotects him
• Intellectualization/Isolation– Distance oneself mentally
• Billy wants to talk about his dissatisfaction with his marriage to his wife. She responds "Statistics show that most couples have these kind of problems."
• Projection – disguise one’s impulses by attributing
them to others • Tony is angry when he runs into his old
friend and says, “I know you're mad at me.”
• Rationalization – falsely justify one’s actions
• Lisa accuses Robert of drinking too much. Robert says he drinks only to be social with his colleagues.
• Displacement– shift unacceptable impulses toward a
less threatening object/person• Tom gets yelled out by his boss so he
goes home and kicks the dog.
• Sublimation– channel unacceptable impulses into
socially-acceptable activities • Todd likes to hurt people so he joins the
football team so he can tackle people
Critique of Psychodynamics
• (+) Understand ego defenses used by everyone• (+) Alerts us to unconscious causes of behavior• (-) Subjective assessment only (TAT, Rorschach)• (-) Reliability and validity problematic
If often he was wrong and, at times, absurd, to us he is no more a person now but a whole climate of opinion – WH Auden after Freud’s death in 1939
Trait Theory
• Trait – a characteristic pattern of behavior– usually assessed by self-report inventories,
which allow objective scoring (no subjective interpretation of responses)
Eysenck’s Trait Theory
• Two Factor Trait Theory of Personality
UNSTABLE
STABLE
cholericmelancholic
phlegmatic sanguineINTROVERTED EXTRAVERTED
MoodyAnxious
RigidSober
PessimisticReserved
Unsociable
Quiet
SociableOutgoing
TalkativeResponsiveEasygoing
LivelyCarefree
Leadership
PassiveCareful
Thoughtful
Peaceful
ControlledReliable
Even-temperedCalm
TouchyRestlessAggressive
ExcitableChangeable
ImpulsiveOptimistic
Active
Axes in terms of susceptibility to Reward and Punishment
The “Big Five” Personality Factors
Trait 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
Agreeableness Soft-hearted versus ruthless Trusting versus suspicious Helpful versus uncooperative
Conscientiousness Organized versus disorganized Careful versus careless Disciplined versus impulsive
Critique of Trait Theory• (+) categorize and predict others’ behavior • (+) aid in self understanding• (+) reliable measurement of traits • (-) traits describe behavior, but don’t explain it• (-) underestimates situational power in determining
behavior
Humanistic Theory: Emphasis on the Self
• Self-Esteem – one’s feelings of high or low self-worth
• Physical• Intellectual• Social
• Peak experiences
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Humanistic Perspective
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; fulfillment; rights and liberties social responsibilities and
relationships
Coping method Change reality Accommodate to reality
Relationships Many, often temporary or casual; Few, close and enduring;confrontation acceptable harmony valued
Critique of Humanistic Theory
• (+) makes self central to understanding our behavior• (-) culture-bound theory (reach potential within one’s
culture, be in individualistic or more collective)• (-) very subjective• (-) overly optimistic view of human nature
– Are we all really working toward self-actualization?
• 1907-1990
Social Learning Theory Also called Social-Cognitive Theory
• Behavior is due to – Social influences
(other people)– Cognitive influences
(how we perceive ourselves and our social environment)
Social Influences:“My friends dowell in school.”
Behavior(I perform well
in school)
Cognitive Influences:“I know if I work hard,
I can do well in school)
Locus of Control
• Internal Locus of Control – perception that one controls one’s own fate
• External Locus of Control – perception that outside forces determine fate
Critique of Social-Cognitive Theory
• (+) Based on solid research
• (+) Takes into account both personality and social situation
• (-) Underemphasizes importance of traits
SIGNIFICANT RELATIONS
8. Integrity vs. Despair humankind (my kind)
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation divided labor, shared household
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation partners 5. Identity vs. Role Diffusion peer and other groups
4. Industry vs. Inferiority neighborhood, school
3. Initiative vs. Guilt basic family
2. Autonomy vs. Shame parental persons
1. Trust vs. Mistrust maternal person
Birth Order
• Born to rebel?
• First born often maintain status quo, defend parent’s world
• Later born often rebel against current institutions, scientific paradigms, etc– Darwin and his early supporters
• Mediated by gender