Chapter 14 Lesson 1 Personality is the consistent, enduring and unique characteristics of a person.

Transcription

1 Chapter 14 Lesson 1 Personality is the consistent, enduring and unique characteristics of a person. Purposes of Theories 1. To provide a way to organize the many characteristics you know about yourself and others. 2. Explain differences among individuals. 3. Explore the different ways people conduct their lives. 4. Determine how life can be improved.

2 Major Schools of Personality Theory This is a young field of study. There are still many developments and testing going on. We will talk about Freud and the importance of motives hidden in the unconscious. Skinner and the behaviorists study the war rewards and punishments shape our actions. Social learning theories examine the impact of observation. Cognitive theorists focus on how thoughts, perceptions, and feelings shape our personalities. Humanistic theorists stress ones potential for growth. Trait Theorists emphasize the importance of understanding basic personality characteristics.

3 If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measure or far away. Henry David Thoreau. Answer the questions: About what type of person was Thoreau writing? And..How might a team player view such a person? In your pair identify and research historical figures that marched to the beat od a different drummer. Prepare a short presentation of your findings to share with the class.

4 Chapter 14 Lesson 2 Psychoanalytic Theories Sigmund Freud and the Unconscious - Freud believed that the little slips that people make, the things they mishear, and the odd misunderstandings they have are not really mistakes at all. - He believed there was something behind the mistakes. - Freud also believed that dreams had some unconscious meaning, even though the people who dreamed them did not know what they meant. - Freud believed that some of the most powerful influences on human personality are things outside our conscious awareness. - Freud suggested that every personality has a large unconscious or unaware component. - Freud believed that all the experiences we have, even the painful ones from childhood, are not forgotten but are stored in the unconscious. - We do not consciously recall these experiences but they do influence our behaviors. - Preconscious is between the unconscious and conscious, these are thoughts that can be recalled with relatively little effort. These include memories, recollections, and simple facts.

5 The ID, Ego, and Superego Freud said that the personality is like a steam engine or an electric dynamo. The energy in personality comes from two kinds of powerful instincts- the life instinct and the death instinct. Freud described what become known as the structured concepts of personality: id, ego, and superego. These explain how the mind functions and how the instinctual energies are organized and regulated. ID is the reservoir or container of the instinctual and biological urges. Ego the personality process that is most conscious is the rational, thoughtful personality process that operates in terms of the reality principle. Super ego represents the learning and incorporation of your primary caretaker s ideals, is the part of your personality that would stop you. It is the source of your guilty feelings, or your conscience. The id and the superego come into conflict with each other

6 Defense Mechanisms Rather than face frustration, conflict or feelings of unworthiness, people deceive themselves into believing nothing is wrong. Defense mechanism is the ego unconsciously protecting itself from unpleasant impulses or circumstances. Defense mechanism is necessary for psychological well-being. Defense mechanism relieves intolerable confusion and stress, help people weather intense emotional crises and give individuals time to work out problems.

7 The Defense Mechanisms Rationalization- involves making up acceptable excuses for behaviors tht cause us to feel anxious. Repression- pushing the painful thoughts and feelings from the conscious to the unconscious. Denial- refusal to accept the reality of something that makes you anxious Projection- inner feelings are thrown or projected outside the self and assigned to others. Reaction formation- replacing an unacceptable feeling or urge with an opposite one. Regression- going back to an earlier and less mature pattern of behavior. Displacement- when you cannot take out your anger on the source of your frustration to you displace it or take it out on a less powerful person. Sublimation- redirecting a forbidden desire into a socially acceptable desire.

8 Evaluating Freud s Contribution Recognizing the forces in human personality and the difficulty handling them were Freud s greatest contribution. Freud was the first to claim that infancy and childhood are critical times for forming a person s basic character structure. In Freud s Footsteps Carl Jung was a close associate of Freud s. He disagreed with Freud on two points. Jung took a more positive view of human nature. Jung also believed in the collective unconscious- a storehouse of insticts, urges, and memories of the entire human species. He called these inherited universal ideas archetypes. Alfred Adler was another of Freud s associates. Adler believed that the driving force in people s lives is a desire to overcome their feelings of inferiority.

9 Inferiority complex- a person who continually tried to compensate for his weakness and avoid feelings of inadequacy He believed that people set up patterns that compensate for their inadequacies and these patterns persist throughout life. These are called lifestyles.

10 Group Learning Activity: In your group you will create a skit illustrating the defense mechanism (assigned by teacher) in action. Your group will present the skit to the class today!

11 Chapter 14 Lesson 3 Learning Theories - Behaviorists look to the environment to see what is reinforcing behavior. - American Psychology has long been dominated by the study of human and animal learning. - Behaviorists believe that as individuals differ in their learning experiences, they acquire different behaviors and, hence, different personalities. B.F. Skinner - Behaviorism is not a theory of personality, but B.F. Skinner a behaviorists has a major impact on personality theory. - Skinner focuses on what causes a person to act in a specific way. - He is less concerned with understanding behavior than with predicting it and controlling it. - Skinner was interested in how aspects of one s personality are learned. - Contingencies of reinforcement are the occurrence of rewards or punishments following particular behaviors.

12 - This approach has become very popular among psychologists because it is so action oriented. - Behavior in general is a combination of specific behaviors that have been reinforced or learned. To change behavior, you change the reinforcer. Albert Bandura: Social Cognitive Theory - Albert Bandura and his colleague Richard Walters argued that personality is acquired not only by direct reinforcement of behavior but also by observational learning, or imitation. - Reminder from chapter 9: Observational Learning- a person acquires a new by watching the actions of another person. - Bandura and Walters believed that much of a young child s individual behavior and personality is acquired by exposure to specific everyday models. - Bandura believes that people direct their own behavior by their choice of models.

13 - His social cognitive theory recognizes the interaction called reciprocal determinism that occurs among the observing individual, the behavior of that individual, and the environment in which the behavior occurs. - An important concept that governs our behaviors is our view of our ability to succeed, this is self-efficacy. - This can lead to the development of an expectancy of success. - As the behavior unfolds, you also develop outcome expectation. - And as long as you remain positive you will keep trying.

14 Interpersonal Activity: Select one of the following topics: contingencies of reinforcement, observational learning, or reciprocal determinism. For the chosen topic, you should draw a cartoon that illustrates the appropriate learning theory. When you are finished turn it in to the basket.

15 Chapter 14 Lesson 4 Humanistic and Cognitive Theories - The idea that individuals perceptions of themselves can become their reality is part of Humanistic and cognitive theories of personality. Humanistic Psychology - Humanistic psychology emphasizes personal growth and the achievement of maximum potential by each unique individual. - Humanistic psychology objects to Freud and Skinner because the both demean human beings. - Freud by emphasizing irrational and destructive instincts and Skinner by emphasizing only external causes of behavior. - Humanists stress our ability to create and live by personal standards and perceptions. - Self-actualization is the realization of our potentialities as unique human beings. - It involves an openness to a wide range of experiences, an awareness or and respect for one s own and others uniqueness, accepting the responsibilities of freedom and commitment, a desire to become more and more authentic or true to oneself and ability to grow.

16 Abraham Maslow: Growth and Self-Actualization - Abraham Maslow was a guiding spirit of humanistic movement in psychology. - Maslow tried to base his theory of personality on studies of healthy, creative, selfactualization people who fully utilize their talents and potential rather then on studies of disturbed individuals. - Maslow studied people to see how well they handled everyday problems. - He noticed that people with great emotional difficulties could become highly productive. - Maslow found that self-actualized individuals share a number of traits. 1. perceive reality accurately 2. accept themselves, the environment, and others more readily 3. accept themselves as they are

17 - Because they are secure in themselves, self-actualizing individuals are more problem centered than self-centered. - They are more likely to base decisions on ethical principles rather than on calculations of the possible costs or benefits to themselves. - They have a strong sense of identity and sense of humor. - Self-actualizing people are exceptionally spontaneous, they do not try to be anything other than themselves, and know themselves well enough to maintain their integrity in the face of opposition, unpopularity, and rejection. - Self-actualizing people can appreciate even the simplest things. They approach their lives with a sense of discovery that made each day a new day. - Maslow believed that to become self-actualized, a person must first satisfy their basic, primary needs- for food and shelter, physical safety, love and belonging, and selfesteem.

18 Carl Rogers: Self Theory -Carl Rogers began to call the people he counseled clients and not patients. - He said that patient implies illness. - Rogers was concerned with the path of self-actualization or full functioning. -Rogers believe that many people suffer form a conflict between what they value in themselves and what they believe other people value in them. - Rogers believes that each person is constantly struggling to become more and more complete and perfect. - Rogers said that each person has self- your image of who you are and what you valuein yourself, in others, and life in general. - Self is acquired gradually over time. Positive regard is the observing of how others react to you. - Conditions of worth- the conditions a person must meet in order to regard themselves positively - Unconditional positive regard- the perception that individuals significant others value them for what they are, which leads the individuals to grant themselves the same regard.

19 - Fully functional- when the person and the self are one, individual is free to develop all of their personalities. - Humanistic approaches to personality emphasize that life is a conscious experiencethat is; we freely choose how we spend our lives. Cognitive Theory -Cognitive theory is based on analysis of our own perceptions, thoughts, and feelings. - The emphasis is on the individual and their plans- including biases, errors, mistakes, and dales conclusions. - The primary feature of these personally constructed ideas about the world and how to behave in it is the individual s anticipation or predictions. - All of this is focused on governing the individual s behavior in real events. In effect, our ideas of ourselves, of others, and of our world shape our behavior and our personalities. - Our personal constructs are basically our schemas. - Our constructs may bias our thoughts or distort our perceptions. - In George Kelly s theory we are masters not victims of our own destiny.

20 Interpersonal Activity: Review Carl Rogers s ideas on self-image. Then complete the following statement: My greatest potential as a person lies in my skill/ability/talent to. List as many examples of potential as possible. Then write a description of yourself based on your list and Rogers s definition of positive self-worth. Turn in to the basket when you are finished.

21 Chapter 14 Lesson 5 Trait Theories Nice, smart, and arrogant all refer to personality traits. A trait is any relatively enduring way in which one individual differs from another A trait is a predisposition to respond in a certain way in many different kinds of situations. What is the Trait Theory of Personality? Trait theorists make two assumptions about the sources of consistency. 1. Every trait applies to all people. 2. Descriptions can be quantified. Every trait can be used to describe people. We understand people by specifying their traits, and we use traits to predict people s future behaviors. Trait theorists try to discover the underlying sources of the consistency of human beings. Most trait theorists believe there are a few basic traits are central to all people.

22 Gordon Allport: Identity Traits Allport said that traits make situations functionally equivalent - a person s traits will be consistent in different situations. Allport and H.S. Odbert found 18,000 words in the English dictionary that describe personality traits. Allprort described common traits as those what apply to everyone and individual traits as those that apply more to a specific person. Allport described three kinds of traits. Cardinal traits- one that is so pervasive that the person is almost identified with that trait. Central trait makes us predictable in most situations. Secondary traits are our preferences in food and music, they are least important.

23 Raymond Cattell: Sixteen Trait Theory Recent theorists have tried to qualify common trait in a scientific manner. Factory analysis is the tool they have used that describes the extent to which different personality variables are related. Surface traits are 46 observable traits that are in certain situations. These traits make up behavior that is based on people s perception of personality. Through further research Cattell found 16 more traits called source traits, these are considered to be at the source of a person s personality.

24 Hans Eysenck: Dimensions of Personality Eysenck said there were two basic dimensions of personality. Stability v. instability- the degree to which people have control over their feelings. Extroversion v. introversion- socially outgoing people that who are active and lively versus more reserved, passive, unsociable people. Later Eysenck added a third. Psychoticism. On one end of the spectrum- people who are self-centered, hostile, and aggressive, who act without much though At the other end of the spectrum- tend to be socially sensitive, high on caring and empathy, and easy people with whom to work.

25 The Robust Five Trait psychologists have shown that five traits appear repeatedly in different research studies. They are often called the Five Robust Factors 1. Extroversion 2. Agreeableness 3. Conscientiousness 4. Openness to experience 5. Emotional stability Trait theorists assume that traits are relatively fixed, or unchanging. The advantage of trait theories is that by identifying a person s personality traits, that person s behavior can be predicted.