PERSONALITY Fast Track Chapter 10 (Bernstein Chapter 14)
PERSONALITY the unique and consistent pattern of behavior, thinking, and feeling that makes up an individual Major Research Approaches Psychodynamic (Freud, Jung, Adler, Horney) Trait (Allport, Cattell, Eysenck, Costa, McCrae) Social-Cognitive (Rotter, Bandura) Humanistic (Rogers, Maslow)
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH Sigmund Freud believed personality was influenced by the unconscious (made up of wishes, inner conflict, and memories we are unaware of but still affect our behavior) This influence enters conscious and preconscious awareness through symbolic thoughts, events, and actions. conscious awareness includes all the mental processes a person is aware of at any given moment preconscious awareness consists of memories and information that are not presently in conscious awareness but can easily be recalled.
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH The Development of Personality Freud believed psychological energy produced three distinct components of personality: the ID, the EGO, and the SUPEREGO. ID the unconscious portion of the personality present at birth primitive and unaffected by values, morals, and ethics governed by the pleasure principle which demands immediate gratification energy comes from two opposing instinctual drives Freud called Eros and Thanatos Eros purpose is to preserve life by alerting an individual to hunger, thirst, and sexuality (libido--psychological energy that is provided by the sex drive) Thanatos the death instinct responsible for aggressive and destructive behavior
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH EGO emerges from the psychological energy of the id The Development of Personality partly conscious and represents the rational, decision-making part of the personality relies on the reality principle which (when necessary) delays the demands and needs of the id until a more appropriate time SUPEREGO emerges around age 5 or 6 and represents the internal voice of reason comparable to a person s conscience violating the demands of the superego leads to guilt and anxiety governed by the perfection principle
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH Types of Ego Defense Mechanisms The role of the ego is to mediate intrapsychic conflicts between the id and superego. This conflict can lead to anxiety. To reduce this anxiety and protect itself against unpleasant impulses and circumstances, the ego relies on defense mechanisms. (SEE HANDOUT FOR FULL LIST)
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH Psychosexual Stages of Personality Development Freud believed personality development hinged on successful completion of five distinct psychosexual stages. Each stage is unconsciously associated with an area of pleasure (erogenous zone) in which the unconscious tries to achieve satisfaction. If the unconscious does not adequately satisfy the needs associated with a particular stage, then fixation occurs. fixation defense mechanism that occurs when an individual remains locked in an earlier developmental stage because his/her needs were either under- or over-gratified during that stage This can negatively affect an individual in adulthood if he/she unconsciously attempts to achieve pleasure through adult activities that were denied him/her in childhood.
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH Psychosexual Stages of Personality Development SEE HANDOUT
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH Neo-Freudian View of Personality Carl Jung introvert v. extrovert, collective unconscious Alfred Adler childhood inferiority complexes, compensation as adults Karen Horney social restraint and female inferiority, womb envy, and defensive personality styles (toward, against, away)
TRAIT THEORIES Personality Traits internal characteristics that are stable, consistent over time, and displayed through multiple situations predict how people will act or think based on their specific traits e.g., a person described as caring will be caring in the classroom as well as caring at home. no two people display the same list of traits TRAITS v. TYPES traits--specific descriptors used to describe a person types--address whether a person fits a particular type or group of characteristics; more vague and general than traits
TRAIT THEORIES Gordon Allport s Trait Theory central (source) traits, secondary (surface) traits (Figure 14.2 Bernstein and LINK) Raymond Cattell factor analysis, Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, or 16 PF (LINK) Hans Eysenck (Biological Trait Theory) factor analysis & introversion-extroversion, emotionality-stability (Figure 14.3 Bernstein and LINK) Paul Costa and Robert McCrae (The Big Five Model) factor analysis & openness (to experience), conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism (Table 14.2 Bernstein and LINK )
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"Personality is that which permits a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation" Cattell SOURCE: http://www.emergecoaching.co.uk/16_pf.aspx Return
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SOCIAL-COGNITIVE APPROACH explains personality by showing how conscious thoughts influence a person s actions (and vice versa) specifically believe personality to be the interaction of cognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors SOCIAL situations affect the way people think (COGNITION)
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE APPROACH Julian Rotter expectancies, internal/external locus of control (LINK) Albert Bandura reciprocal determinism, selfefficacy beliefs (LINK)
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Bandura s Reciprocal Determinism Next
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HUMANISTIC APPROACH explains personality by describing how people differ in terms of: self-awareness creativity decision-making responsibility believes all people have an innate drive that promotes and directs personal growth This growth process influences how a person will go about achieving his or her full potential.
HUMANISTIC APPROACH Carl Rogers actualizing tendency, self-concept, unconditional positive regard, congruence (LINK) Abraham Maslow self-actualization, deficiency orientation v. growth orientation (LINK)
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EVALUATING THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES APPROACHES PROS CONS PSYCHODYNAMIC brought about additional research on personality that could be quantified difficult to prove existence and influence of the unconscious; case studies cannot be generalized to a larger population TRAIT excellent at labeling behavior does not explain why a person acts a certain way SOCIAL-COGNITIVE HUMANISTIC includes cognitive, behavior, and environmental factors in describing personality; helps explain how social circumstances influence thought processes and the way a person acts sees each person as unique and inherently good does not discuss how how the unconscious affects personality too naïve and optimistic; does not factor in the role played by the situation
PERSONALITY TESTING personality tests better assessment tool than interviews due to tendency of subjects to distort answers in the presence of researchers interviews more time-consuming and expensive standardized personality tests--improves validity, easy to administer and score, time-saving two kinds of tests--objective or subjective (projective) SEE HANDOUT
Card V (Rorschach Inkblot Test) is an easily elaborated card that is not usually perceived as threatening, and typically instigates a "change of pace" in the test, after the previous more challenging cards. Containing few features that generate concerns or complicate the elaboration, it is the easiest blot to generate a good quality response about.
Thematic Apperception Test Sample Images