CH 13 PERSONALITY

Unique way in which each individual thinks, acts, and feels throughout life

It is not Character – person’s value judgments made on a person’s

morals or ethical behavior Temperament – enduring characteristics with which each

person is born, such as irritability or adaptability Biology through genetic and prenatal influences

One’s larger personality is built on this

PERSONALITY

Psychodynamic Sigmund Freud role of the unconscious mind and biological causes of

personalityBehaviorist

Effect of environment on personalityHumanistic

Reaction against psychoanalytic and behaviorist Role of each person’s conscious life experiences and

choices Trait

End result, not focused on causes

PERSPECTIVES OF PERSONALITY THEORY

Born in 1856 Grew up in Vienna Jewish, so he then moved to England to escape NazisVictorian age, sex only in marriage, and you should

not like itMany of Freud's patients were wealthy women with

sexual repressionFreud was obsessed with sex being the explanation

for abnormal behaviors

SIGMUND FREUD

Three parts of a persons’ mind Preconscious, conscious, and unconscious mind

Unconscious mind Level of the mind that we keep thoughts, feelings and

memories. Not easily or voluntarily brought into consciousness

To Freud it is what makes up our personality and human behavior

UNCONSCIOUS MIND

ID-if it feels good do it Pleasure seeking, immoral Basic biological drives

Hunger, thirst, self preservation and sex Pleasure Principal – desire for immediate gratification with no

regard for the consequencesEgo-the Executive Director

Rational, logical and conning Reality Principal - satisfying the needs of the ID when

negative consequences will not resultSuperego- the moral watchdog

Moral Center Contains the Conscience, what makes up feel guilty

DIVISIONS OF PERSONALITY

Psychological defense mechanisms How our unconscious distorts our perception of reality to

reduce stress and anxiety Examples

Denial Repression rationalization

HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER

Freud determined 5 stagesDeveloping sexuality of the childEach stage focus on a different erogenous zoneFixation

Getting stuck in one stage Child will grow but will carry emotional baggage from one

stage

STAGES OF PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

Birth to 1 ½ years oldMouth is the erogenous zoneWeaning is the primary conflictFixation in adults

Overeating Drinking Smoking Excessive talking

ORAL STAGE

1 ½ - 3 years of ageErogenous zone is now the anusToilet training becomes an issueFixation

Anal Explosive Messiness is a statement of control Destructive Hostile

Anal Retentive Stingy Stubborn Excessively neat

ANAL STAGE

3-6 years oldErogenous zone is the genitalsRealizing differences between boys and girlsOedipus/Electra ComplexFixation

Immature sexual attitude Promiscuous “mama’s boys”

PHALLIC STAGE

6 – onset of pubertyChildren hide their sexual feelingsChildren grow and develop intellectually, physically

and emotionallyPlay with own gender, other gender is badFixation

Difficulty getting along with others

LATENCY STAGE

When puberty beginsSexual feelings can no longer be hiddenBodies are changingBegins adult social and sexual behaviorFixation

Immature love relationships

GENITAL STAGE

He did no experiments to arrive at his conclusions about personality Used observations and case studies

He used confirmation bias Memories and dreams would be put into his theory as he

neededNo scientific basis of dreams

CRITICISMS

His concepts remain usefulBasis for modern personality theoriesDefense mechanisms has drawn much researchUnconscious mind

PSYCHODYNAMIC TODAY

Watson and SkinnerOperant and classical conditioning influence our

personalitiesOur personality is just a set of learned habits

Social Cognitive learning Theorists Importance of both the influences of other people’s

behavior and of a person’s own expectancies on learning Observations Modeling

BEHAVIORIST

Three factors in the behaviors that make up a persons personality Environment Behavior itself Personal or cognitive factors

Reciprocal Determination The three factors affecting one another in a give-take relationship

BANDURA

Motivation People are driven to seek reinforcement and to avoid

punishment

Personality is a relatively stable set of potential responses to a situation

Locus of Control We assume we either have or do not have control, internal

or external

Expectancy An expectation that a behavior will lead to a reinforcement

ROTTER

LimitedDoes not take mental process into accountDoes not look at social influenceHas influenced therapies based on learning theories

BEHAVIORISTS TODAY

Maslow and RogersFocuses on what makes us human, unique

Feelings and freedom of choice

HUMANISTIC

We are striving to fulfill what our genetic makeup will allow us to

Self-actualization=fulfillmentSelf concept is our own image of who we are

Real self – who we are Ideal self – who we want to be

ROGERS

Positive regard Warmth, affection, love

Unconditioned positive regard No strings attached

Conditioned positive regard Strings

Fully functioning person In touch with their own feelings and abilities, trust

themselves

CONDITIONAL AND UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD

Ignores the negative aspects of human natureDifficult to testDevelopment if therapies to promote self growth and

a better understanding of self

HUMANISTIC TODAY

Concerned describing personality and predicting behavior Trait – is a consistent, enduring way of thinking, feelings, or

behavior

TRAIT

Found 200 traits in dictionaryPaired down to surface or source traits

Reserved vs outgoing Submissive vs dominant Shy vs bold

These traits were wired in the nervous system to guide our behavior Used in many different situations Persons “constellation” of traits are unique

Lack of scientific evidence However, behavioral genetics support heritability of

personality traits

ALLPORT & CATELL

5 trait dimensions Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism

THE BIG FIVE

Traits will not always be expressed the same Depends on situation

The big 5 has been tested Found in 11 different cultures

TRAIT TODAY

Interviews – asking questions of the person, structured or not Halo Effect – interviewer to allow positive traits to influence

the assessmentProjective tests

Psychoanalysts want to uncover the unconscious conflicts, desires and urges

These tests have the person project their “issues” unto harmless stimuli

Client responds to whatever comes to mind Uncovers problems in personality

ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY

Developed in 1921 by a Swiss Psychiatrist10 inkblots, 5 black and white, 5 colorUsing predetermined responses based on past

answers, people were given a scoreThey are still used todayNo right or wrong answers

Issues Subjective Not reliable

RORSCHACH INKBLOTS

RORSCHACH INKBLOTS

RORSCHACH INKBLOTS

Standardized test with yes or no questionsMore reliable as the questions are not open ended,

and everyone gets asked the same questionsMyers Briggs is used to assess personality to help

with career selectionMMPI-2 very common

True or false answers to statements

Issues Some people are able to fake the answers

PERSONALITY INVENTORIES