PersonalityChapter 12

AP PsychologyAlice F. Short

Hilliard Davidson High School

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• Psychodynamic Perspectives• Humanistic Perspectives• Trait Perspectives• Personological and Life Story Perspectives• Social Cognitive Perspectives• Biological Perspectives• Personality Assessment• Personality and Health and Wellness

Personality

• personality - a pattern of enduring distinctive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that characterize the way an individual adapts to the world

– Psychologist who study personality focus on the enduring traits and qualities we demonstrate over time.

Psychodynamic Perspectives

• personality is primarily unconscious– how the unconscious impacts personality

• understanding personality involves exploring the symbolic meanings of behavior and the unconscious mind

• early childhood experiences sculpt the individual’s personality

Psychodynamic Approach: Freud

• Known as the founding father of the psychodynamic approach

• Believed that there are unlearned biological instincts (especially of a sexual and/or aggressive nature) that can occur early in life and these instincts influence how a person thinks, feels, and behaves

• Had a couch

Freud Quotes

• “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.”

• “The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is 'What does a woman want?‘”

• “Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.”

• “The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind.”

• “America is the most grandiose experiment the world has seen, but, I am afraid, it is not going to be a success.”

• “Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy.”

• “I have found little that is 'good' about human beings on the whole. In my experience most of them are trash, no matter whether they publicly subscribe to this or that ethical doctrine or to none at all. That is something that you cannot say aloud, or perhaps even think.”

• Men are more moral than they think and far more immoral than they can imagine.”

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

• Freud and Psychoanalysis– sex drive – main determinant of personality

development– Freud: places stronger biological emphasis than

the sociocultural, humanistic and social cognitive• Hysteria– physical symptoms without physical cause– overdetermined – multiple unconscious causes

• Iceberg Analogy of Human Personality

• Freud

Personality Structure

Personality Structure• Id

– instincts and reservoir of psychic energy– pleasure principle

• can be the pleasure of punching someone in the face that annoys you

• Ego– deals with the demands of reality

• reality principle– balances the needs of id, superego and reality

• your internal referee

• Superego– moral branch of personality; “conscience”– can make you feel good or bad

A SHORT ACTIVITYActivity Handout 12.1

• Rachel is walking to class and the late bell rang two minutes ago. As she walks into her class, she stumbles and her books go flying everywhere. Out of one of the books is a note to a boy that Rachel has secretly liked for a long time. The boy picks up the note and reads the top line and then hands it back to Rachel. She is so embarrassed.– Id:– Ego:– Superego:

A SHORT ACTIVITYActivity Handout 12.1

• Rachel is walking to class and the late bell rang two minutes ago. As she walks into her class, she stumbles and her books go flying everywhere. Out of one of the books is a note to a boy that Rachel has secretly liked for a long time. The boy picks up the note and reads the top line and then hands it back to Rachel. She is so embarrassed.– Id: scream, runaway– Ego: calmly collect belongings and proceed to class– Superego: judge Rachel for being so foolish

A SHORT ACTIVITYActivity Handout 12.1

• Jake is going on his first date with a really popular girl. He still can’t believe that she agreed to go out with him. During the movie they are sitting so close that their legs are touching and he so badly wants to hold her hand and kiss her, but he isn’t sure how she would react. He takes a chance and does it and she looks at him and then gets up and walks out.– Id:– Ego:– Superego:

A SHORT ACTIVITYActivity Handout 12.1

• Jake is going on his first date with a really popular girl. He still can’t believe that she agreed to go out with him. During the movie they are sitting so close that their legs are touching and he so badly wants to hold her hand and kiss her, but he isn’t sure how she would react. He takes a chance and does it and she looks at him and then gets up and walks out.– Id: kiss her more– Ego: apologize to her– Superego: feel guilty

A SHORT ACTIVITYActivity Handout 12.1

• Jessica is babysitting for the same family she baby sits for every Friday night. This Friday night, however, she invited her boyfriend over and they are snuggled on the couch, watching a movie. The parents come home early and find Jessica and her boyfriend wrapped in each others’ arms and sound asleep. They wake them up and are so upset because they felt as though Jessica was irresponsible. Jessica is really upset and not sure what to think or say.– Id:– Ego:– Superego:

A SHORT ACTIVITYActivity Handout 12.1

• Jessica is babysitting for the same family she baby sits for every Friday night. This Friday night, however, she invited her boyfriend over and they are snuggled on the couch, watching a movie. The parents come home early and find Jessica and her boyfriendwrapped in each others’ arms and sound asleep. They wake them up and are so upset because they felt as though Jessica was irresponsible. Jessica is really upset and not sure what to think or say.– Id: spend more time with boyfriend– Ego: apologize to the parents and promise not to do it again– Superego: feel guilty

A SHORT Time to PonderSmall Group Discussion

• Do you think that the iceberg analogy works well to describe your personality. Why?

• Why do you think Freud came up with this personality structure with an id, ego and superego?

• How much do you think your childhood experience will influence your adulthood?

• How does Freud’s definition of sex differ from other people’s definitions? (reference textbook or notes)

A SHORT Task:Explaining the Id, the Ego and the Superego

Activity Handout 12.2

• Think of your three closest friends. Write down their names in the space provided and then put a check next to the space of the personality trait that your friend has. They can have more than one personality trait. After completing every one, go back, and in the space provided briefly explain what this tells you about your friends.– Name:– Neuroticism: ____– Extraversion: ____– Openness to Experience: ____– Agreeableness: ____– Conscientiousness: ____

– Explanation: Pay special attention to this part! You will be discussing this with a neighbor and they will be evaluating how accurate you are.

Explaining the Id, the Ego and the SuperegoActivity Handout 12.2

• Think of your three closest friends/Disney princesses/fictional characters/someone you create. Write down their names in the space provided and then put a check next to the space of the personality trait that your friend has. They can have more than one personality trait. After completing every one, go back, and in the space provided briefly explain what this tells you about your friends.– Name:– Neuroticism: ____– Extraversion: ____– Openness to Experience: ____– Agreeableness: ____– Conscientiousness: ____

– Explanation:

Explaining the Id, the Ego and the SuperegoActivity Handout 12.1

• Neuroticism: anxious, insecure, self-pitying• Extraversion: sociable, fun-loving, affectionate• Openness: Imaginative, interested in variety,

independent• Agreeableness: softhearted, trusting, helpful• Conscientiousness: organized, careful, disciplined

• IN CLASS ACTIVITY: Trade and discuss with a neighbor to see if they successfully explained the characteristics. (Alternate between people)

Defense Mechanisms

• conflict between the id, ego, and superego results in anxiety

• defense mechanisms reduce anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality– not necessarily unhealthy

• Repression (defense mechanism #1)– foundation for all defense mechanisms– push unacceptable impulses out of awareness

Defense Mechanisms

1. repression2. rationalization3. displacement4. sublimation5. projection6. reaction formation7. denial8. regression

Defense Mechanisms

1. repression– pushes unacceptable impulse

out of awareness– application: forgetting details of

traumatic event 2. rationalization– replace less acceptable motive with a more acceptable motive

3. displacement (feeling from unacceptable more acceptable)– shifts feelings toward an unacceptable object to another, more

acceptable object4. sublimation– replaces an unacceptable impulse with a socially acceptable one– application: taking socially unaccepted feelings (like aggression)

and putting them towards something socially accepted (sports)– application: liking violence becoming a soldier / playing video

games

Defense Mechanisms5. projection

– attributes personal shortcomings, problems, and faults to others

– application: you cheat you accuse significant other of cheating/wanting to cheat

6. reaction formation– transforms an unacceptable motive into its opposite– looking at pornography becoming a vocal advocate against

pornography– Eliot Spitzer

7. denial– refuses to acknowledge anxiety-producing realities– working on bomb squad not worrying about safety

8. regression– seeks the security of an earlier developmental period in the face of stress– seeking your parents / childhood bedroom for comfort in adulthood– adopting childlike characteristics

Defense Mechanisms

Defense Mechanisms

Defense mechanism can be beneficial to psychological health!

Psychosexual Stages

• Oral Stage: 0-18 Months– infant’s pleasure centers on the mouth

• Anal Stage: 18-36 Months– child’s pleasure involves eliminative functions

• Phallic Stage: 3-6 Years– child’s pleasure focuses on the genitals– Oedipal complex– castration anxiety– girls: castration complete

Psychosexual Stages

fixation - remaining locked in particular developmental stage (not a defense mechanism)sublimation – replacing an unacceptable impulse with a social acceptable onereaction formation – transforming an unacceptable motive into its opposite

Psychosexual Stages (cont.)

• Latency Stage: 6 Years - Puberty– psychic “time-out”– interest in sexuality is repressed

• Genital Stage: Adolescence and Adulthood– sexual reawakening– source of sexual pleasure is someone else

• fixation - remain locked in particular developmental stage (e.g., anal retentive)– CAREFUL: This is NOT a defense mechanism!

Mini-Presentation

1. State assigned definition and explanation.2. State any other defense mechanisms with

which yours may be confused (if any), and explain how you can identify yours in comparison.

3. Provide example(s) to class.– one narrative example per note card – don’t include

answer anywhere in narrative4. Answer any questions.

Fixation

• Oral Stage Fixation– biting nails and pencils

• Anal Stage Fixation– keeping home and workspace spotless, arranged

in specific and organized way, agitated if something is moved

• Phallic Stage Fixation

Dissenters and Revisionists

• sexuality – not pervasive force behind personality

• early experience – not as powerful as Freud thought

• importance of conscious thought• sociocultural influences

Dissenters and Revisionists

• Karen Horney’s Sociocultural Approach– both sexes envy the attributes of

the other• women might envy the penis, but what

they really want is the status bestowed on those who have one

– need for security, not sex, is primary motivator• Carl Jung’s Analytical Theory– collective unconscious – the deepest, impersonal layer

of the conscious mind that is shared by all humans• archetypes – emotionally laden ideas and images that have

rich and symbolic meanings for all people are archetypes (expresses the collective unconscious)

– persona – can be adopted in different circumstances

Dissenters and Revisionists

• Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology– perfection, not pleasure, is

key motivator• people desire to overcome

their perceived shortcomings (replace feelings of inferiority with feelings of superiority)• compensation

– birth order = important to personality development

Evaluating Psychodynamic Theory

• Criticisms– too much emphasis on early experiences– too much faith in unconscious mind’s control– too much emphasis on sexual instincts– theory can not be tested– too much loyalty to Freud (serious)

• Contributions– importance of childhood experiences– development proceeds in stages– role of unconscious processes

Humanistic Perspectives

• humanistic perspective - emphasis on a person’s capacity for personal growth and positive human qualities– assumption: human nature = essentially good– innate ability to cope with stress, control lives, and

bring about positive outcomes– Individual = process of change– humanistic counseling• evaluate self• not depending on opinion of others

Humanistic Perspectives

• Abraham Maslow– third force psychology

• not Freudian drives• not behaviorism

(stimulus-response)– self-actualization – the

motivation to develop one’s full potential as a human being• peak experiences/moments – breathtaking moments of

spiritual insight• biased since focus was on highly successful individuals (Thomas

Jefferson, Eleanor Roosevelt, William James, etc.)

Humanistic Perspective

• Carl Rogers– research led to modern studies:

personal growth and self-determination

– unconditional positive regard • conditions of worth• self-concept

– empathy– genuineness– born with raw ingredients for fulfilling life need right

conditions to thrive

Evaluating Humanistic Perspectives

• Contributions– self-perception is key to personality– consider the positive aspects of human nature– emphasize conscious experience

• Criticisms– too optimistic about human nature– promotes self-love and narcissism

A SHORT Time to Ponder

• Can changing your feelings about yourself increase your happiness?

• Do you think that the humanistic approach promotes self-love and narcissism?

Trait Perspectives

• Trait– an enduring disposition that leads to characteristic

responses– traits are the building blocks of personality

• Trait Theories– people can be described by their typical behavior– strong versus weak tendencies

Trait Perspectives

• Gordon Allport– father of American personality psychology– personality understood through traits– behavior consistent across situations– lexical approach 4500 traits

• W. T. Norman– five factor model

• identifies which traits go together in terms of how they are related

– broad traits – main dimensions of personality

Five Factor Model of Personality

A SHORT Time to Ponder: Do you think that there should be another trait here?

Five Factor Model of Personality

• Do the big five show up in the assessment of personality in cultures around the world?

• Do the big five personality traits show up in animals?

Evaluating Trait Perspectives

• Contributions– traits influence health, cognitions, career success,

and interpersonal relations• Criticisms– ignores the role of the situation in behavior– ignores nuances of an individual’s personality

Personological Perspective

• personological perspective - focusing on an individual’s life history or life story

• Henry Murray– thank you for making Criminal Minds possible– personology: the study of the whole person

• created first profile: Hitler– motives are largely unconscious– thematic apperception test (TAT)

• need for achievement, affiliation, and power– less interested in specific traits

Life Story Approach

• Dan McAdams (in footsteps of Henry Murray)– our life story is our identity– intimacy motivation

• Psychobiography– applying personality theory to one person’s life

Evaluating Life Story Approach

• Contributions– rich record of an individual’s experience

• Criticisms– difficult and time-consuming • extensive coding and content analysis

– prone to bias– not easily generalized

Social Cognitive Perspective

• emphasize conscious awareness, beliefs, expectations, and goals– stresses the interaction of thought with social environment

• incorporates principles from behaviorism when exploring:– reasoning – Why do we behave differently in different

situations?– beliefs– self reflection– interpretation of situation

Social Cognitive Perspectives

• Albert Bandura– reciprocal determinism• behavior, environment, and cognitive factors interact to

create personality

• Key Processes and Variables– observational learning– personal control– self-efficacy

Self-Efficacy: Make a Life ChangeActivity Handout 12.3

• Steps for Self-Efficacy Success:– Select something you can reasonably expect to be

able to do– Don’t be discouraged by past failure– Pay attention to successes– Keep written records of performance– Make a list of situations that are both difficult and

not difficult. Begin by tackling the less difficult.

Reciprocal Determinism

Social Cognitive Perspectives

• Walter Mischel– criticism of Gordon Allport/trait perspective

• should be cross-situational consistency– situationalism

• behavior and personality vary considerably across context– CAPS Model of Personality

• stability over time rather than across situations• interconnections among cognitions and emotions affect

our behavior

Evaluating the Social Cognitive Theory

• Contributions– focuses on interactions of individuals with their

environments– suggests people can control their environment

• Criticisms– too concerned with change and the situation– ignores the role of biology– very specific predictions hinder generalization

Biological Perspectives

• Personality and the Brain– brain damage alters personality– brain responses correlate with personality

• Eysenk’s Reticular Activation System Theory– extraverts and introverts have different base-line

levels of arousal

Biological Perspectives• Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory– neuropsychology of personality– affective style: amygdala, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulated

cortex (esp. BAS/extraversion)– behavioral activation system (BAS)

• sensitive to environmental reward• seek• extraversion

– behavioral inhibition system (BIS)• sensitive to environmental punishment• avoid• neuroticism

Biological Perspectives

• Role of Neurotransmitters– growth of dopamine receptors stimulated by

warm care-givers• disposes person to reward-sensitivity (extraversion)

– less serotonin in circulation leads to negative mood (neuroticism)• serotonin: aggressive behavior; depression

– interaction b/w behavior and brain activity

Biological Perspectives

• Behavioral Genetics– twin studies reveal substantial genetic influence

on Big Five traits– most traits influenced by multiple genes

• Evaluating the Biological Perspective– ties personality to animal learning, brain imaging,

and evolutionary theory– criticisms (e.g., biology may be the affect, not the

cause, of personality)

Personality: Stability vs. Change

• Traits are stable by definition yet positive traits increase across adulthood (social maturity).

Personality Assessment

• Self-Report Tests (objective test, inventory)– beware social desirability

• questions to catch social desirability answers– empirically-keyed tests used to get around social

desirability problem• a type of self-report test the presents my questionnaire

items to two groups that are known to be different in some central way• test takers do not know what is being measured• test items not related to purpose of test• MMPI is an example

Personality Assessment

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) – most widely used and researched empirically keyed test– 567 items– controls for social desirability– assesses mental health and used to make hiring decisions

and to determine criminal risk• Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Personality

Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R)– assesses the big five factors and 6 subdimensions– face validity – the extent to which a test item appears to

be a good fit to the characteristic it measures

Personality Assessment

• Myers Briggs Type Indicator– four dimensions used to make personnel decisions:

• extraversion-introversion • sensing-intuiting• thinking-feeling• judgment-perception

– not empirically supported– Barnum effect – the tendency to see ourselves in

vague descriptions

Personality Assessment• Projective Tests– psychodynamic approach– project own meaning on ambiguous stimuli– Rorschach inkblot test

• personality score based on description of inkblots• questionable reliability and validity

– Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)• developed by Henry Murray and Christiana Morgan (1930s)• series of ambiguous pictures viewed one at a time• elicited stories reveal an individual’s personality• research on people’s needs

Rorschach Inkblot Test

Thematic Apperception

Test

Other Assessment Methods

• direct behavioral observation• cognitive assessment of attention and

memory• peer ratings• psychophysiological measures (e.g.,

polygraph)• brain imaging

Personality and Health and Wellness

• Personality traits correlated with health– conscientiousness– personal control– self efficacy– optimism– type A/type B behavior pattern

Personality and Health and Wellness

• Subjective Well-Being– …person’s assessment of own positive affect

relative to negative affect, and evaluation of own life in general

Chapter Summary• Define personality.• Discuss the following perspectives on personality

– psychodynamic– humanistic– trait– personological and life story– social cognitive– biological

• Characterize the main methods of personality assessment.• Summarize how personality relates to health and wellness.

Chapter Summary

• Psychodynamic Perspectives– focus on unconscious determinants– personality structure and defense mechanisms– psychosexual stages of development

• Humanistic Perspectives– Maslow and self-actualization– Rogers and unconditional positive regard

Chapter Summary

• Trait Perspectives– traits are stable over time and situations

• Personological and Life Story Perspectives– personology - study the whole person– identity can be understood through life stories

• Social Cognitive Perspectives– behavior, environment, and cognitive factors– self-efficacy and personal control

Chapter Summary

• Biological Perspectives

• Personality Assessment– self-reports tests– projective tests– other assessment techniques

• Personality and Health and Wellness– healthful personality traits