myers for ap, unit 10 personality!!!. free association! do now: i will read a random list of words....
TRANSCRIPT
Free association!
Do now: I will read a random list of words. Write down the first word that comes to mind
when I read the word. Don’t stop and think. Just go with the very first thing that comes to mind, even if it doesn’t make sense.
Do any of these words seem to reveal any hidden feelings you might have about someone or something in your life? Why or why not?
Would you want people to read meaning into this list of freely associated words? Why or why not?
Two Broad Theories
Psychoanalytic – Childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations are the big influences
Humanistic– Focuses on our inner capacities for growth and self-fulfillment
Freud! (Gotta start here!) 1856-1939
Most well-known dead psychologist
Technically a physician Studied neurology Hit a roadblock when he couldn’t
explain things. Father of psychoanalysis Id-Ego-Superego theory Psychosexual stages & fixations Oedipal Complex/Electra Complex Female inferiority/penis envy Believed that we were
unconsciously driven by dark, unacceptable motivations, which created anxiety
Defense Mechanisms (Know these!)
Repression Regression Reaction
Formation Projection
Rationalization Displacement Sublimation Denial
Do now: Give a personal or real-life example for at least three of the Freudian Defense mechanisms
Neo-Freudians and beyond
Accepted id, ego, superego Agreed that personality is shaped in childhood More emphasis on conscious mind More emphasis on social influences Doubted sex and aggression were the big
motivations Adler: Concept of inferiority complex Horney: Childhood anxiety triggers need for love
and security; argued with his sexism and tried to balance the bias
Jung: Collective unconscious concept; personality archetypes
Today’s psychodynamic theory: We struggle with inner conflicts, about fears,
wishes and values Much of our mental life is unconscious Childhood shapes personality and attachment to
others.
Jungian Archetypes
Caroline Myss is known for her work with Jung’s archetypes, too.
It’s the basis of the Myers-Briggs Test (validity?)
What’s yours? Check it out at https://www.archetypes.com/
Assessing the Unconscious
Projective tests – apply feelings to a picture; reveal hidden feelings/experiences
Rorshach -- inkblots Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT) – ambiguous
pictures Reliability: Results are consistent over time. Validity: It measures what it says it measures. A great question over whether repression is real. A different idea of what the unconscious does
(review p. 488) Corresponds to Unit 3B and Unit 5
What about defense mechanisms?
Research indicates there’s some support – just not quite the way Freud saw it:
False consensus effect We do seem to be motivated to use
defenses to protect our self-image We do seem to defend ourselves against
anxiety Terror-management theory Freud also criticized for being non-scientific
—few testable hypotheses
The Humanistic Perspective
Third-force perspective (Skinner and Freud being the first two)
Focus on healthy people striving to be better people and accomplish goals (self-determination; self-actualization)
Maslow – self-actualizing person Rogers – Person-centered perspective
Growth promotion requires genuineness, acceptance and empathy
Unconditional positive regard When our ideal self and actual self are closely aligned,
we have a good self-concept
Evaluating Humanism
Do now: Is a positive self-concept the key to happiness and success? How Important is self-esteem?
What is the difference between self-concept, self-esteem and self-efficacy?
Pervasive influence Huge impact on popular psychology “Happy” a PBS show argues that. Criticized for being vague and subjective Can being true to oneself lead to negative aspects
such as selfishness? Criticized for being naïve (neglecting capacity for evil)
The Trait Perspective
Do now: Make a list of at least 15 personality traits
Mark whether they are negative or positive
Group with three or four other people and compare lists
Make a class list Are these traits inborn or learned? Do you strive to cultivate any of them?
Why and how?
Contemporary Research-- The Trait Perspective
Trait a characteristic pattern of behavior a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report
inventories and peer reports Personality Inventory
a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors
used to assess selected personality traits
The Trait Perspective- Factor Analysis
Hans and Sybil Eysenck use two primary personality factors as axes for describing personality variation
The Trait Perspective
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) the most widely researched and clinically used
of all personality tests originally developed to identify emotional
disorders (still considered its most appropriate use)
now used for many other screening purposes
The Trait Perspective
Empirically Derived Test a test developed by testing a pool
of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups
such as the MMPI
The Trait Perspective
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test profile
Hysteria(uses symptoms to solve problems)
Masculinity/femininity(interests like those of other sex)
T-score
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
100 30 40 50 60 70 80
Hypochondriasis(concern with body symptoms)
Depression(pessimism, hopelessness)
Psychopathic deviancy(disregard for social standards)
Paranoia(delusions, suspiciousness)
Psychasthenia(anxious, guilt feelings)
Schizophrenia(withdrawn, bizarre thoughts)
Hypomania(overactive, excited, impulsive)
Social introversion(shy, inhibited)
Clinicallysignificant
range
After treatment(no scores
in the clinicallysignificant range)
Beforetreatment(anxious,
depressed,and
displayingdeviant
behaviors)
Social Media personality
Discuss in small groups “ONLINE RELATIONSHIPS” Do you start or maintain relationships (friendly or
otherwise) with people you do not know in “real” life WHY OR WHY NOT?
How can you tell if someone is being genuine online? What are some of your own criteria for determining someone’s personality?
What are some etiquette rules for communicating your desires? Joking around with others? Expressing your anger or displeasure? Using sarcasm?
Social-Cognitive Perspective
Social-Cognitive Perspective views behavior as influenced
by the interaction between persons and their social context or situation
Reciprocal Determinism the interacting influences
between personality and environmental factors
Social-Cognitive Perspective Personal Control
our sense of controlling our environments rather than feeling helpless
External Locus of Control the perception that chance or
outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate
Social-Cognitive Perspective Internal Locus of Control
the perception that one controls one’s own fate
Learned Helplessness the hopelessness and passive
resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
Social-Cognitive Perspective Learned Helplessness
Uncontrollablebad events
Perceivedlack of control
Generalizedhelpless behavior
Social-Cognitive Perspective
Positive Psychology The scientific study of optimal
human functioning Aims to discover and promote
conditions that enable individuals and communities to thrive
Exploring Self
Write down your possible selves: The self you hope to become The self you fear you will
become The self you think you are to
your friends The self you think you are to
your family The self you are at school
Exploring the Self
Spotlight Effect Overestimating the extent to which others
notice and evaluate our appearance, performance, and blunders
Self Esteem One’s feelings of high or low self-worth
Self-Serving Bias Readiness or tendency to perceive oneself
favorably
Exploring the Self
Individualism Giving priority to one’s own goals over group
goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications
Collectivism Giving priority to the goals of one’s group
(often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly