Personality Part i b 3

7/28/2019 Personality Part i b 3

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PT10603 PERSONALITY

AND INDIVIDUAL

DIFFERENCES

PERSONALITY (PART II)

CURRENT DEVELOPMENTSOUTSIDE THE DISPOSITIONAL

PARADIGM


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Psychoanalysis and

personality theory Pioneer by Sigmund Freud

(1856-1939)

A therapeutic and methodtheory

Based on the idea that

unconscious motivations andneeds influence behavior


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Also known as Psychodynamic

theoriespersonality as the result

of dynamic conflict betweenunconscious and conscious

psychological forces

The conflict gives rise to a variety of

behavioral and psychologicaloutcomes such as symptoms,

dreams, and fantasies.


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Five propositions of

Psychoanalysis : Most of the thoughts, feelings and

motives underlying behavior are

unconscious to the individual Unconscious and conscious

motives operate in parallel

Nurture ( the childs experience

with his/her parents) impact on the

personality development


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An individuals representations of

other . Psychoanalysis seek toshow how unconscious factors

determine interpersonal relations,

which in turn determine mental

health. The normative development of

personality requires the

progressive transition from

instinctual to social behavior.

Critic : the propositions cannot

easily be tested


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Few personality researchers explainindividual differences in termspsychoanalytic principles, oftencompatible with empirical findings. Example : the idea that consciousness

and behavior are the result of a constanttrade-off between different autonomoussubsystems of mind is widely accepted

and explains how individuals may learnimplicitly or without awareness of theunderpinning cognitive and affectivepsychological processes


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Development during childhood

(relationship with the parents)

influence personality : Triandis and Suh (2002) :

Accepting

Rejecting


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Behaviorism and

Personality theory U.S Founder : John Watson

The study of observable behavior

that explains human behavior not interms of internal psychological

processes but as a result of

conditioning, or learning how to

respond in specific ways toappropriate stimuli


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Replace the construct of mind withobservable variables such as behavior.

Assumption : Behavior caused by externalstimuli .

Concerned with producing behavioralchange than with understanding behavior

Focus : The role of learning associationsas determinants behavioral outcomes andattempted to both identify existing

associations and create novel ones. Personality is the sum of all learned

associations.


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B. F Skinnerdeveloped radicalbehaviorism

Proposed that the variables of whichhuman behavior is a function lie inenvironment.

Tolman (1939)Everything

important in psychology can beinvestigated in essence through thecontinued experimental andtheoretical analysis .


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Less radical behaviorismin order tocharacterize behavioral patterns,propensities or capacities, we need not

only a suitable behavioristic vocabulary,but psychological terms as well.

While the moderate behavioristapproaches aimed at resurrectingunobservable variables such as memories,

emotions and perceptions to expand thetheoritical and explanatory scope ofbehaviorism


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Ironically, a large part of

behaviorist movement evolved

into the paradigm of cognitivepsychologythe study of

unobservable mental constructs

such as perceptions, thinking,memory and language.


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Phenomenological

Personality Theories Known as humanistic or

existential theory

Hybrid between psychology andphilosophy.

Phenomenologythe study of

things (phenomena) as they areperceived or represented.


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Life is experienced and interpreted

in a unique and subjective manner,

emphasis should be placed onindividuality and no two individuals

have the same perception of the

world.

All human beings are free to chooseand create their lives, making life a

self-determined enterprise


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Humanistic personality theories

consist :

Individuals, have a natural tendencytowards personal improvement and self-

perfectionevery person has the

potential for self-actualization or self

realization

Actualization is the capacity to enhance

the organism, gain autonomy and be

self-sufficient


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If individuals are unaware of their

potential for self-actualization or find

obstacle that stop them from unleashing

this potential, psychologists can guideand help them overcome obstacles

Selfactualized people tend to be happy

and enjoy life whereas failure to unleash

ones potential for growth can lead tomental health problems


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Failure to self-actualize may also lead to

state of reactance.

Self-actualization leads to congruence

between ones ideal and actual self.Incongruity between ones aspirations

and reality causes anxiety.

Most significant contribution : the

application of phenomenological/constructivist principles to the study

of cross-cultural.


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Social-cognitive

theories of personality Ramification of late behaviorist theories.

Emphasis is largely on subjectiveprocesses.

Higgins (1999) studied is concerned withself-comparative processes by whichindividuals contrast their aspirations.

The bigger the difference between

individuals self-views and aspirations, thehigher the likelihood of experiencinganxiety and even depression


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Baldwin (1999)relational schemasas a representational form of self-image that arises from socialinteraction.

SchemaKnowledge structure thatguides individual expectations andbeliefs, helps make sense of familiarsituations, and provides a frameworkfor processing and organizing newinformation.


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These schemas not only self-fulfilling butmay also fluctuate accordingly to thesituation, notably depending of other

individuals. The implications are that individuals may

have several, and often plenty of, relationalschemas, and idea that is in direct conflictwith trait theories of personality.

Criticism : there is only one self that canvisualize different futures and selectcourses of action.


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Recently, theorists also focused onself-perceptions with regard tointellectual competencefixed

entity or incremental in nature.

Incremental believerset highergoals and work much harder toaccomplished them.

Fixed entity believerself-defeatingcognition and strive less forsuccess.


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Biological approaches

to personality theory Aim to identify observable links

between physical and psychologicalvariables.

Focusing on the relationshipbetween psychometrically assessedpersonality traits and nervoussystem.

Trait and biological approaches arenot mutually exclusive butcomplimentary


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Showing progress in identifyingbiological correlates of

personality traits. Findings in anatomical studies

of brain ;

Frontal lobesexecution of

planning and behavioral guidance

Amygdaladetermining levels ofaggression and emotionality


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Finding in Psychologicalstudies:

Hormone testosterone is relevantin regard to social interactionagreeable or aggressive mannerand sexual behavior

Neurotransmittersserotonin anddopamineemotional regulationand sociability


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Behavioral genetics

Assesses the impact of genetic (inherited)and non-genetic (environmental) factors,not only on personality traits but also on

intellectual abilities. Provided compelling evidence in support of

the hypothesis that those generaldispositions used to describe, classify, andcompare individuals refer to as personality

traits are, to a great and observableextent, biologically transmitted andinherited


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Two similarities between

behavior-genetic and biological

approaches; Attempt to explain psychological

outcomes in terms of physical

causes

Rely on psychometrically assessed

traits.

Emphasizes the important of trait

approaches to personality as aubiquitous method and framework

at centre of personality theories


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Evolutionary and cultural

approaches to the study of

personality Known as sociobiology

Based on the identification of the

biological variables underlyingpersonality and behavior and howthese evolved from other species

More concerned with similaritiesthan differences between individuals

and should not, accordingly, beconsidered part of individualdifferences


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Identification of the most basicaspects underlying human behavior,thought and emotionality also

provide information on individualdifferences

Useful to mark the boundaries ofindividual differences and moreimportantly to scrutinize thebiological roots of the majorpsychological aspects of humanbehavior


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Example : womens tendency to preferwealthy men and mens tendency to preferfaithful women, are influence by biological

instinct rather than learned cultural andnorms.

Gosling & John (1999) - human personalitydimension such as Extraversion and theminor trait of dominance can be accurately

used to described and predict individualdifferences in animals too.


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Useful to explain findings from other

studies ;

Research into the personalitycorrelates of interpersonal

relationships and marital status

suggests that there are mediating

gender differences underlying therelationship between personality and

propensity to marry.


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Cultural approaches to personality

traits argue quiet emphatically for

cross-cultural differences inpersonality.

These differences would affect the

distribution of scores at levels of

each trait, but also the very validityof dispositional and situational

frameworks.


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Triandis & Suh (2004)traitsexist in all cultures, but account

for behavior less in collectivistthan in individualist cultures.

Situational determinants ofbehavior are important

universally but more incollectivist than in individualistcultures.

Collectivistic cultures tend to bemore homogeneous

Individualistic cultures moreheterogeneous.


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Evolutionary and cultural

approaches are not always

incompatible. Cultural effects can be

understood as the result of

evolutionary changes


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Limitations to evolutionary

approach :

Provides little opportunity forempirical testing of the theory

Open to reductionismtendency

to explain a complex set of facts

or ideas by using a simpler set of

facts or idea.


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Summary

Personality also associated with grandtheories of psychology.

Grand theories tend to highlight

similarities rather than differencesbetween individual and concerned withuniversal aspect of human behavior.


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Thank You

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Personality Part i b 3