Personality

Chapter 11
Personality
Definition: the unique pattern of enduring thoughts, feelings, &
actions that characterize a person.
To fully understand an individuals personality you have to learn a
persons: developmental experiences, cultural influences, genetic &
other biological characteristics, perceptual and other information-
processing habits and biases, typical patterns of emotional expression
& social skills.
5 Elements of Personality:
Introversion versus Extroversion
Neuroticism
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Openness to new experiences
 Sigmund Freud and
the Psychodynamic theory
The 5 basic elements are:
Intrapsychic dynamics movement of psychic forces
within the mind.
Adult behavior and current problems are linked to early
childhood experiences.

Psychological development occurs in fixed

stages.
Psychic reality focus on fantasies & symbolic
meanings of events as motivators in behavior.
Reliance on subjective methods of getting to the
truth.
 Ego
Freuds Structure
Id
of Personality
Any action we take
or problem we have
are related to the
Super Ego interaction of these
3 systems:
Id unconscious, psychological
energies & instincts and operates on
the Pleasure Principles
a. Life or sexual instincts (Libido)
b. Death or aggressive instincts
Tension is the result of a build up of
energy in the Id.
Ex: Im so mad I could kill you.

ID
 Ego

Ego unconscious & conscious - based on Reality Principles.

a. Represents reason and good sense
b. Mediator between Id and Superego
Ex: Lets talk about this or uses denial, What, me angry?
 Superego little conscious but mostly unconscious,
is morality, rules of parents & authority.
a. Judges the activities and thoughts of the Id.
Ex: Thou shalt not kill.

A healthy personality keeps all 3 systems in check.

Super Ego
 Defense Mechanisms
Ego uses these weapons to release tension between Id
and Superego. The weapons deny or distort reality.
1. Repression blocking threatening memories,
emotions, or thoughts.
2. Projection own unacceptable feelings are attributed
to someone else.
3. Displacement putting emotions towards an animal,
person, object that is not the cause of the emotion.
4. Regression a reversal to a previous stage of
development.
5. Denial a refusal to admit that something unpleasant
is happening or are having forbidden thoughts or
emotions.
Personality Development
1. Oral stage first year of life. Life experienced through mouth.
Symptoms: nail biting, overeating, smoking, etc.
2. Anal stage about age 2 3 years. Starts ego development &
awareness of self.
a. Anal retentive holds everything in, neatness and cleanliness is
important.
b.Anal expulsive unorganized or messy.
3. The phallic or Oedipal stage ages 3 6. Awareness of sexual
sensations.
a. Desire to get rid of the parent of the same sex.
b. Superego is formed.
c. Age 5 6 personality pattern are formed at the end of stage.
4. The latency stage lasts from the end of phallic stage to puberty.
a. Sexual feelings are dormant and repressed.
b. Child settles down goes to school & learns social rules.
5. The genital stage begins at puberty & begins adult sexuality
Focus: intercourse
 Jungian Theory
Carl Jung was a friend of Freuds but they disagreed on
the Nature of the Unconscious.
Jungs theory: there is an individual unconscious and
a collective unconscious.
Collective unconscious - Universal myths, images,
symbols, art, & memories
 Archetypes
Common themes of the collective unconscious
Mandala is the wholeness or the totality of the self
Anima feminine side of men
Animus
male side of
women
Persona outward expression of
ones self
Shadow sinister, evil side of human
self
People are motivated by past conflicts
as well as by future goals and desires
to fulfill themselves. A more positive
idea of the Ego.
Carl Jung
People born w/ a general life force includes sex & creative drives,
conflict resolution, & blend impulses w/ real world demands.
People develop degrees of intro & extroversion.
Karen Horney
Argued against penis envy, females envious of men, with womb
envy, because men cant bear children they feel their lives have less
meaning.
Object Relation Theory
Childs early relationship w/ their love objects(mother or caregiver)
These relationships shape our social relationships later in life.
Attachment Theory
Infants form a secure bond to their mothers & gradually tolerate
separation from this attachment object & then relate to others as
independent, secure individuals.
Psychodynamic Theory: Criticisms & Applications
Criticisms:
Conclusions about personality are based on case studies of women w/
psych. Problems, rich & in a culture where discussing sex was
uncivilized.
Theory reflects W. European & N. American cultural values, not
necessarily helpful for people of other cultures.
May have modified reports of sessions to fit his theories.
May have asked leading questions & influenced recall of memories.
Applications:
Theories have shaped wide range of psychotherapy techniques &
stimulated development of several personality assessment.
Support from research on cognitive processes.
Others have used the defense mechanisms.
 Trait Approach
3 Main Assumptions
1. Personality traits are relatively stable & predictable over time.
2. Personality traits are relatively stable & predictable across situations.
3. Endless variety of unique personalities.

Trait Approach personality is a combination of stable characteristics that people

display over time and across situations.

Gordon Allports Trait Theory

Central Traits traits that are usually obvious to others & organize & control behavior.
Secondary Traits traits that are more specific to certain situations & control less
behavior.
Big Five Model (Five-factor Model) Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion,
Agreeableness & Neuroticism.
 Biological Trait Theory
Eysencks Biological Trait Theory
Focuses on 2 main personality dimensions:
1. Introversion-Extroversion
2. Emotionality-Stability

Personality can be described

by where a person falls on
the chart.

Differences in personalities
can be attributed to genetic
differences in their nervous
systems.
 Grays Approach-Inhibition Theory
Differences among people in introversion-extroversion &
emotionality-stability from 2 related systems in the brain:
BAS(Behavioral Approach System) is responsible for how impulsive or
uninhibited a person is.
BIS(Behavioral Inhibition System) is responsible for how fearful or
inhibited a person is.
Grays theory more acceptable then Eysencks because it is supported
by what neuroscientists have learned about brain structures,
neurotransmitters & how they operate.
Evaluating the Trait Approach
Better at describing people than understanding them.
Dont say much about how traits are related to the thoughts & feelings
that precede, accompany & follow behavior.
Provide a shallow description of personality that fails to capture the
complexities of an individuals personalities in different situations.
 Social-Cognitive Approach
Full set of behaviors people have acquired thru learning &
are displayed in particular situations.
Expands Behaviorist theory, learned behavior comes from
Classical & Operant Conditioning.
Learned patterns of thinking guide behavior
Personality learned in social situations, observing & interacting.
Rotters Expectancy Theory
What the person expects to happen following the behavior.
The value the person places on outcome.
Other aspects of Rotters Theory
Learn general expectancies about how rewards and punishments are
controlled.
Internal events under your control
External events out of their control, chance or luck
 Bandura and Reciprocal Determinism
Personality shaped by the way in which thoughts, behavior and
environment interact & influence each other.
Reciprical Determinism behavior changes environment and
which changes how we think which changes our behavior, so on
and so on.
Self-eficacy- the learned expectation of success.
The Little Engine That Could
Mischels Cognitive/Affective Theory if-then theory
Cognitive Person Variables
Encodings
Expectancies
Affects
Goals and values
Competencies and self-regulatory plans
The person and the situation interact to produce a behavior
 Mischel and Bandura
Personal dispositions influence behavior only in
relevant situations.
Personal dispositions can lead to behaviors that
alter situations & promote other behaviors.
People choose to be in situations that are in line
with their personal dispositions.
Personal dispositions are more important in some
situations than in others.
 Social Cognitive Approach
It blends behavioral learning with cognitive psychology and
applies them to socially important topics.
Have affected treatment procedures.
No role for unconscious thoughts and feelings effecting
behavior.
Focus on why traits are unimportant than why situations are
important.
Failed to identify what it is about certain situations that
brings out certain behaviors.
Some feel that it cant capture the richness, complexities
and uniqueness that are inherent in personalities.
 Humanistic Approach
Focus: self-awareness, creativity, planning,
decision making & responsibility
Behavior motivated by innate drive toward growth
to fulfill their potential.
Must understand personal perspective
(phenomenology) to understand behavior.
Carl Rogers Self Theory
self is center of his theory. Must accurately experience
your self
Actualizing tendency innate inclination toward growth
and fulfillment.
Self-concept the way one thinks of themselves.
Positive regard learn to need the approval of others. This
evaluation effects a childs own self-evaluations.
Socialization begins here.
Personality is view of self & evaluations of others.
Disorders can result when feelings we experience or express
are incongruent with our view of our self
Conditions of Worth when people are evaluated instead of
their behavior.
 Abraham Maslow
Personality is the expression of a basic human
tendency toward growth & self-actualization.
Most people controlled by a deficiency orientation
preoccupation with perceived needs for material
things- what is missing in their life.
Growth orientation focus on what is missing but on
what they have, what they are and what they can do.
Opens door to peak experiences feelings of joy, ecstasy
 Evaluating the Humanistic
Approach
Inspired other therapies; sensitivity training
Some view this approach as nave, romantic and
unrealistic.
Pay too little attention to role of inherited
characteristics, learning, situational influences &
unconscious motivations in shaping personality.
Define ideal personality development in terms of
personal growth, independence, & self-
actualization. Which may go against a collectivist
culture.
 Assessing Personalities
Four Methods
Life outcomes
Situational Tests
Observer Ratings
Self-Reports
Objective Personality Tests
Asks clear questions about a persons thoughts, feelings, or
behavior; MC or T/F
Efficient & Standardized
Subject to deliberate distortion
Projective Personality Tests
Items or tasks are ambiguous, no clear answer; Rorschach
Inkblot Test.
Correct answers not obvious
Designed to tap unconscious impulses