Personality

Definition & Approach

BS(CS) 3rd Semester

2nd Week
 Scope of Presentation
 Every Person In Certain Ways
 Derivation Of Personality
 Definition Of Personality
 Approaches To Personality
 The Psychoanalytical Approach
 The Behaviorist Approach
 The Humanistic Existential Approach
 The Cognitive Behavioral Approach
 Therapeutic Interventions
 Every Person in Certain
Ways:
 Is like all other people…(Personality)
 Is like some other people…(sharing
some aspects of personality)
 Is like no other person (No two persons
have entirely similar personalities)
“If who I am is what I have and what I
have is lost, then who am i?”
(Anonymous)
 How do YOU define YOUR ‘SELF’??
 You are NOT exactly same to any other
person!!
 Derivation of Personality
 Derived From: Latin word
‘Persona’
 Means the ‘MASK’
 Understood As The Study Of
Masks That People Wear
 Reflects through our:
 Behavior
 Feelings
 Thoughts
 Social Interactions
 Definition of Personality
 “Personality is an
individual’s characteristic
pattern of thinking, feeling
and acting”
David G. Myers

 “Consistent behavior
patterns and intrapersonal
processes originating within
the individual.”
                             Burger, J. M. (1993)
Personality
 Approaches to
Personality
 The Psychodynamic/
Psychoanalytical Model

 Behaviorist Model

 Humanistic/Existential Model

 Cognitive Behavioral Model

 The Psychoanalytical
Approach
 Sigmund Freud (1896)
 Based On Inner Workings Of A Human
 A Method Of Understanding
 Mental Functioning
 Stages Of Growth & Development
 Explains The Complex Relationship Of:
 The Body
 Mind
 Role Of Emotions In Illness & Health
 Highly Individualized Therapy
 The Psychoanalytical
Approach…cont
States of Mind
Consciousness:
 An Awareness Of ‘Self’
 Thoughts
 Sensations
 Perceptions
 Moods & Emotions

 The Preconscious:
 Is A Structure Of The Mind
 Contains All Memories
 Easily Accessed By The Conscious Mind
 Are Not Conscious
 A Person Need Not Be Aware Of Them At
Any Given Moment
 The Psychoanalytical
Approach…cont
States of Mind..cont

The Unconscious/ Subconscious

 The unconscious contains thoughts,
feelings, desires, and memories of which
people have no awareness but that
influence every aspect of their day-to-day
lives.
 What Is Actively Repressed Conscious
Thought
 What The Person Is unwilling To Know
Consciously
 The Psychoanalytical
Approach…cont
The Personality: According to Freud, is
shaped by the interactions of:
The Id:
 Ruled By The ‘Pleasure Principle’
 It contains all the basic needs and feelings
 Demands Immediate Satisfaction Of Its Urges
 Regardless Of Undesirable Effects

The Ego:
 Ruled By The ‘Reality Principle’
 The Ego develops out of growing awareness
that you can’t always get what you want
 Operates Mainly In Conscious And
Preconscious Levels
 Evolved From The Id
 Takes Care Of The Id Urges
 Inappropriate Desires Are Not Satisfied But
Repressed
 The Psychoanalytical
Approach…cont
The Superego:
 It is the moral component of
personality.
 It contains all the moral standards
learned from parents and society.
 It stores and enforces rules
 The superego causes people to feel
guilty when they go against society’s
rules
 The Psychoanalytical
Approach…cont
Defense Mechanisms

 They Often Appear Unconsciously

 They Tend To Distort, Transform Or Falsify Reality

Compartmentalization
 Compensation
 Denial
 Displacement
 Fantasy
 Intellectualization
 Projection
 Rationalization
 Reaction Formation
 Regression
 Sublimation
 Repression
 Undoing
 The Behaviorist Approach
Pavlov (1890) J.B.Watson (’19)
B.F. Skinner (’53) A. Bandura (’69)

 Traditional Social Learning Approach

 The Study of Observable Behavior
 From Inner to Outer Behavior
 Objectively Observable
 Importance of Environment to the Learning Process
 Humans Learn to Adapt Behavior According to the
Environment
 Based on Experimentations Applicable to Humans
 The Behaviorist
Approach…cont
 Classical Conditioning

 Teaches New Reaction To Previously Neutral

Stimulus
 Stimulus Is A Physical /Environmental Event
That Excites A Receptor Or Sense Organ (Bell/
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
 Presentation Of The Significant Stimulus
Necessarily Evokes An Innate, Often Reflexive,
Response e.g. Salivation
 Salivation Is The Unconditioned Response (UR)
 The Food Served With The Sounding Of The
Bell Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
 The CS And The US Are Repeatedly Paired
 Eventually The Two Stimuli Become Associated
 Produces A Behavioral Response To The CS
 Pavlov Called This The Conditioned Response
(CR)
Picture demonstration
 The Behaviorist
Approach…cont
 Operant Conditioning

 Learning is Controlled by Its Consequences

 Reinforcer Strengthens And Maintains
Behaviors
 Positive Reinforcement: By Adding a
Positive Stimulus to the Environment
 Negative Reinforcement: By Removing a
Negative stimulus for Positive Impact
 Punishment: Weakens or suppresses a
behavior by Adding negative Stimulus
 Extinction: Gradual Disappearance of a
learned behavior when reinforcement is
withheld
 The Behaviorist
Approach…cont
 Modeling

 All Individuals Observe Each Other

 Most Powerful Method Of Learning
 When The Conditions Are Appropriate,
Imitate Or Perform Similar Behavior
 We Imitate Behavior of Those:

1. Nurturing & Rewarding

2. Powerful
3. Similar To Us
 The Humanistic/ Existential
Approach
Carl Rogers (’51); Allport (’55); Abrahim Maslow (’68)

Emphasis on:

 Perception (seeing the world through the person’s eyes)

 Reflection
 Human potential
 Reasoning
 Creative Imagination
 Humans Are Self-Aware & Evaluative
 Mind is Influenced by On-going Personal &
Social Forces
 Emphasizes on Self-Growth:
 Self Actualization
 Self-Mastery
 Self- Examination
 Creative Expression
 The Humanistic/ Existential
Approach…cont
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
 The Humanistic/ Existential
Approach…cont
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

 Physiological Needs: Basic Bodily Needs

 Safety Needs: For Protection From Bodily
Harm/Injury/Threat
 Love And Belongingness Needs:
Acceptance, Warmth, Affection &
Approval
 Esteem Needs: For Adequacy, Worth,
Status & Self-respect
 Self-actualization Needs: Personal
Growth & Realization Of Potentialities
 The Cognitive- Behavioral
Approach
Albert Ellis (50s); Aaron Beck (60s)
 Based On Modifying:
 Cognitions
 Assumptions
 Beliefs
 Behaviors
 Aims To Influence Disturbed Emotions
 Combines Working On Cognitions And
Improving Behaviors
 Identifies Irrational Maladaptive
Thoughts
 Replacing Them With More Positive And
Constructive Thought Patterns
 Evidence And Empiricism-Based
 The Cognitive- Behavioral
Approach…cont
The ABC Of Irrational Beliefs

 A - Activating Event
 An Objective Situation Or An Event
 That Leads To Some Type Of High Emotional
Response
 Negative Dysfunctional Thinking
 B - Beliefs.
 The Negative Thoughts That Occurred
 Could be Reflection of Past Experiences or
Beliefs
 C - Consequence.
 Negative Disturbed Feelings And Dysfunctional
Behaviors That Ensued
 Describing Emotions that are Caused…
Anger, Sorrow, Anxiety etc.
 Therapeutic Interventions
 The Psychodynamic Model
 Extended Sessions
 Searching Through Childhood Experiences
 Bringing Back Repressed Feelings, Thoughts &
Fears
 Reducing the Impact of the Past on the Present &
Future

 Behaviorist Model:
 Working on Expectancies
 Improving Self Efficacy
 Working Positively through Reciprocal
Determinism
 Therapeutic Interventions
 Humanistic/Existential Model:
 Humans Are Basically Good & Rational
 Inborn Potentials Are Constructive And Trust-worthy
 Reflect, Reason, Rationally Plan
 Free To Exercise Control Over Our Own Destinations
 We Are Responsible For Our Own Behavior

 Cognitive Behavioral Model

 Our thoughts cause our Feelings & Behaviors
 Undesirable situations need positive approach
 How & Why
 Here & Now of Thoughts
 Positive Thinking to Improve Life and Relationships