AS Psychology The Core studies Individual Differences approach & Psychodynamic perspective

AS PsychologyThe Core studiesIndividual Differences approach& Psychodynamic perspective

What IS personality?

• Write a definition of what YOU think personality means...


• Personality is a hypothetical construct!

• We can never observe one

• We can only infer personality from behaviour


• Personality is not a THING but can only be inferred from how we interact with other people and generally deal with the world


• Baron & Byrne (1991)• Personality is …• ……the combination of those relatively

enduring TRAITS which influence behaviour in a predictable way in a variety of situations…...

Trait theories of personality..

• EYSENCK (1953)

• The INTROVERT personality• A typical introvert is quiet, retiring, introspective,

fond of books rather than of people, reserved & distant...

Trait theories of personality..

• EYSENCK (1953)

• The EXTROVERT personality• A typical extrovert is sociable, likes parties, has

many friends, needs people to talk to, craves excitement, and likes change…

The BIOLOGICAL basis for personality

• EYSENCK.. Biological differences in nervous systems

• Extroverts have STRONG nervous systems which tend to DAMP down incoming sensory data - thus they are UNDER AROUSED and need to ‘arouse themselves’ with activity’

• Introverts have SENSITIVE nervous systems which AMPLIFY incoming sensory data, thus they need to ‘reduce sensory input’...

Personality traits...

• Does the EYSENCK theory of a biological basis for personality predict

– STABLE personality traits?– VARIABLE personality traits?

– This is a reductionist theory of personality– What do we mean by ‘reductionist’

Freud ‘s psychodynamic theory of personality

The tripartite structure of personality

ID

EGO

SUPEREGO

The THREE faces of EVE

A case study

multiple personality disorder

Thigpen & Cleckley (1954)


• This is a case study• and • a record of a therapeutic process


• Who were Thigpen & Cleckley?

• They were psychiatrists• (medically qualified)• Their paper was published in the Journal of

abnormal & social psychology (1954)


• Who was EVE?• A 25 year old woman who was referred• because of her SEVERE & BLINDING

HEADACHES and spells of amnesia

• Thigpen & Cleckley tested her with• Psychometric tests, projective tests,


• In the initial interviews (EVE WHITE)• EVE complained of (symptoms)• Blinding Headaches• Blackouts• Marital Problems• Personal problems


• What was EVE WHITE like?• IQ score 110• memory - excellent• repressive personality• conservative, shy, dutiful• loving wife and mother


• THEN WHAT HAPPENED?

• EVE WHITE• EVE showed amnesia for a recent trip and was

HYPNOTISED in order to restore her memory


• THEN WHAT HAPPENED?

• FIRST SIGN OF SOMETHING ODD!

• A letter arrived which was written in two kinds of handwriting!

The THREEfaces of EVE

The letter

is objective evidence


• What did EVE say about the letter?

• She denied writing it, though she did say she had begun a letter which she had not finished


• What happened then?• Eve became distressed and asked• “whether hearing voices in her head meant she

was insane” • she said that she had heard a voice in her

head speaking to her


• This was a critical interview• Several times she put her hands

to her head as if in pain

• AND THEN...


• THE TRANSFORMATION!

• EVE WHITE CHANGED and became EVE BLACK!

• 1st ‘alter-ego?


• THE TRANSFORMATION!

• The therapist noted

• A quick reckless smile…”HI DOC”

• Eve White now displayed

• a childishly daredevil air

• an erotic glance

• even her sitting posture changed

• Eve White became Eve Black


• What was EVE BLACK like?• IQ score 104• memory - poor• regressive personality• childish, extrovert, mischievous• denied being a wife & mother


• The therapy lasted 14 months and 100 hours of interviews

• Eve Black would sometimes ‘appear’ but could only be CALLED OUT under hypnosis


• Eve White was not aware of Eve Black• Eve Black was aware of Eve White

• Eve Black had existed since childhood• Eve Black - “would emerge, would behave badly

and then retreat and let Eve White take the blame…(parents verified incidents)


• How T & C described Eve Black

• “childish, irresponsible & shallow• “seeking pleasure & excitement• “denied marriage to EW’s husband

• whom she despised

• “denied relationship with EW’s daughter


• Did her family not notice ANYTHING odd

• When they observed EB they put her harshness & aggression down to ‘occasional temper tantrums in a normally gentle woman

How did the therapists measure the variables of personality?

• Personality tests (psychometric tests)• Rorschach ink blot tests• EW = repressive (FREUD)• EB = regressive (FREUD)

• Electroencephalograms (EEG) to record brain activity)

How did the therapists measure the variables of personality?

Rorschach ink blot test = a projective test

Discussion:

• What do you see?

• Is what you see a projection of your unconscious mind?

• Is this a quantitative or qualitative measure?

• How valid is this measure?

How did the therapists measure the variables of personality?Thematic Apperception Test = a projective test

Write a storyline for the pic:

• What has been happening?

• What is happening?

• What will happen?

Is your story a projection of your unconscious fears/desires?

How valid is this measure?

As treatment progressed

• EW headaches recurred & got worse• Blackouts increased• Both EW & EW denied awareness in these

blackouts• EW state of mind deteriorated

• (confinement was considered)

• THEN WHAT HAPPENED!!

Another personality appears!

• A THIRD personality

• who called herself JANE

• JANE had full awareness of EW and EB • Neither EW nor EB were aware of JANE

What did Thigpen & Cleckley do?

• All THREE personalities were tested by electroencephalogram

• clear differences were recorded

• therapy continued to treat all THREE women in the ONE body

The decision of Thigpen & Cleckley

• Jane seemed to be • the person most likely• to bring a solution• to the troubled mind

• She was increasingly dominant over the other personalities

The moral dilemma (ethics)

• They noted the moral problem re:

• the problem of killing one or more of the personalities

Other explanations?

• Was the woman a very good actress • (were T & C conned?)

• Was the woman psychotic (schizophrenic?)

• Could the hypnotism have caused the multiple personality effect?

What did T & C conclude?

• They did wonder whether they had become so involved that they ‘lost their sense of judgement and over dramatised the case’

• They remain convinced that they witnessed a case of multiple personality

• Note: A film was made!

Another strange case

The multiple personalities of SYBIL

(see SCHREIBER 1973)

Back to the question?

• What do we mean by personality?• Is personality a stable trait?

• What do we mean by – not like himself/herself – s/he’s a changed person– acting out of character

The Three faces of Eve - postscript

• In 1975 a woman came forward and said SHE was EVE White

• said she had experienced many other personalities both before therapy and since (22 in all)

• that the fragmentation of her personality had been to protect herself from ‘unbearable experiences’

Ethical problems

• Killing one/more of the personalities - who should decide this?

• Making a film for profit - who benefits & what about patient confidentiality?

• During the treatment Eve White got worse• ‘Who’ gives informed consent for the

treatment procedures ?

Ethical problems

• Which personality do you think T & C approved of most?

• Might there be a ‘culture & gender bias issue here? Were their judgements biased by the ‘social norms’ of the 1950s

Questions you should be able to answer• What were the similarities & differences

between Eve White and Eve Black?• What is the main difference between multiple

personality disorder & schizophrenia?• What problems with the case study method

does this study highlight?• What factor(s) may have influenced their

diagnosis?

A question to think about

• If Eysenck’s theory of biological basis for personality is CORRECT could Eve have had multiple personalities?

• Note: These days MPD is called DID !

Disassociative Identity Disorder

Multiple Personality Disorder

• Frequency distribution• 14 cases between 1944 - 1969• 50 cases in the 1970s ! (6 by Sybil’s therapist)• even more in the 1980s (an epidemic)• the rise & fall correlates with the

impact of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory

• MOSTLY in the USA

The three faces of Eve

• There is NO universally accepted definition even among psychiatrists in the USA

• Read the study & read up about HYPNOTISM – is this an altered state of consciousness or an extreme case of demand characteristics?

• Draw up a table of similarities and differences between EW, EB and Jane

Documents

AS Psychology The Core studies Individual Differences approach & Psychodynamic perspective