The Individual & The Organisation

Lecture 4

Session Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to: Discuss the main tenets of the Psychoanalytic Approach Discuss the Trait and Type Personality Theories List some of the popular personality tests, and some of the factors they measure Define perception, list its main principles and identify some common perceptual distortions

Psychoanalytic Approach - The Work of Sigmund Freud

Freud believed there are three major elements of personality: Structure, Development and Dynamics (see pgs. 9091 of manual) Structure consists of:The id = primitive, pleasure seeking urges that require immediate gratification Ego = Mediator between the id and the real world Superego = Representation of Social Values & Morals

Personality Types and Traits

Refer to page 90 of your study manual for some of the main merits and critiques of the Psychoanalytic Approach Personality Types and Traits - attempts to classify features of the personality based on characteristic patterns of behaviour. E.g. Carl Jungs Introvert/Extrovert theory. Introvert shy withdrawn, prefers to work alone. Extrovert - sociable, seeks out others, works well with others

Understanding the Self

Refer to Pages 92-93 of manual for additional views of trait and type personality in the works of Steers, Eysenck. A different way to look at personality is in relation to how people see themselves to emphasise their own self concepts Carl Jungs Work - The Self = The Personal -the image we would like to present to the world + The Social - a combination of how others see us and our perception of their view.

Measures of Personality
A variety of standardised tests are available to assess the personality Most popular include paper & pencil tests that ask the respondent to agree or disagree with a statement or show some measure of agreement on some rating scale, or to choose between 2 or more paired items. Refer to page 96 of manual for difficulties/challenges with personality tests

Perception Definitions & The Process

Perception is: The process by which we extract meaning from what may appear to be a confused and confusing universe. It includes sensation which is then transformed by the receiver into meaningful information. Perception therefore is highly subjective Refer to pages 98-99 for an example of perceptual process

Perception The Process

Refer to Diagram on page 98 which maps the Perceptual Process using the Systems Approach Perception in this model=The middle box which takes the inputs (data from senses) and transforms them into outputs. For perception to occur, stimuli must be received, and correctly interpreted. People with relatively common culture & similar experiences may agree on the perception of events

Why We Perceive Differently

Processing of sensory stimuli involves classifying and fitting them into patterns and categories that we have learnt and recognise because of our cognitive development & experiences. Selectivity - Only certain stimuli are selected by us for processing (we would have sensory overload if we did not!)

Why We Perceive Differently

Perceptual Sets Individuals come to recognise events in certain ways, and organise experiences into a framework of familiar groupings Figure-Ground ambiguity Refer to the figures on Page 101 for examples. What is for one person a central feature of an issue is for someone else merely a background factor

Why We Perceive Differently

Stereotyping Predicting a series of traits from just one characteristic. Halo effect Use of a single trait or event to predict or assess other traits. (See Page 102 of manual for example) Locus of Control Different people may view the location of the source of control, the locus of control as being cited either within themselves (internals) or outside themselves (externals)

For Next Week

Complete Reading of Unit 5 Thank you for your attendance, participation & enthusiasm. Have a great week!