Personality

Psychologists define personality as an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting.

As most areas of psychology, different psychologists have different ideas about how personality is developed.

What is it?

Have you ever heard of… Fixated Repressed Regressed Anal-retentive Rationalize Oedipus complex All of these terms can be

traced back to Sigmund Freud..

Freud and Psychoanalysis

The basis for Freud’s theories was that our behaviour stems from our unconscious minds: thoughts and feelings that we are unaware of, that usually come from our childhood experiences

He believed that a person’s personality comes from tensions generated by unconscious motives and unresolved childhood conflicts

To resolve these issues, the unconscious thoughts have to be explored and the feelings released

Examples of unconscious thoughts influencing our personality?

Freudian slips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLHr_S6_OX8

The Unconscious

Use your text pages 326-327, in your own words, create a written explanation of Freud’s three parts of personality and create a visual for each (or one general representation like above)

Include an example of how each part would respond in a fictional circumstance.

Id, Ego, Superego

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG7yosFQHP4

Psychosexual Stages

Anxiety results from conflict between the id and the superego. To deal with this the ego tries to protect itself through…

1. Repression Push down and banish anxiety provoking

thoughts, usually sexual in nature

Defense Mechanisms

2. Regression Retreat to a comfortable, infantile stage of life Eg. Older child using “baby talk”

3. Denial Refuse to admit that something unpleasant is

happening

4. Reaction Formation Reverse the unacceptable impulse and

express the opposite of the unconscious feeling

5. Projection Disguise own feelings by attributing the

problem to others

6. Rationalization Displace real explanations and replace with

comforting justification for actions.

7. Displacement Shift the unacceptable impulse toward a more

acceptable or less threatening object or person

In groups, create a brief skit for one of the seven defense mechanisms

Time for a skit….

Alfred Adler – agreed with importance of childhood, but thought social (not sexual) tensions were important for personality development - stressed the importance of an inferiority

complex

Neo-Freudians

Carl Jung – the collective unconscious, inherited memories from our ancestors - archetypes or universal symbols found in

myth, art, and stories

Karen Horney – objected to Freud’s male-dominated theories

- thought differences between men and women were socially created, not biological

Anxiety results from helplessness and isolation in a highly competitive world.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) – stories told about ambiguous image

Rorschach Test (inkblot) – what do you see in a ink image, and is it what everyone else sees?

Let’s create our own Rorschach Test and see who in our lives has issues in their unconscious!!!

Assessing Personality

Most modern psychologists don’t think sex is the basis of personality

Do agree that the unconscious makes up a significant amount of our mental life – our feelings and behaviour can be affected by things we can’t bring to mind or verbalise

Childhood is important to personality development Personality development is lifelong – not fixed in

childhood Oedipus complex is bunk His “defense mechanisms” have some validity Read the article and create a GIST

How valid is Freud’s view of personality?

In contrast to Freud's focus on unconscious thoughts, humanistic psychology focuses on: conscious experiences the individual’s freedom to choose the individual’s capacity for personal growth belief in the basic goodness and respect of

humankind. understanding and acceptance of one's own

existence and responsibility the present is the most important aspect of

the person

HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE

Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs to help explain personality and personal growth.

Maslow believed we must satisfy our basic physiological needs for food, water and air before attempting to meet the security and safety needs of the second level, and the love and belongingness of the third level, etc..

Abraham Maslow

Rogers agreed with Maslow that people are good and strive for actualization. Rogers viewed people, much like seeds that will thrive when they have the right mixture of ingredients. Rogers said that people need:

Acceptance Genuineness Empathy

Carl Rogers

So.. How do we nurture proper human growth in others? The answer is, by being accepting.

Ideally, through unconditional positive regard, or an attitude of total acceptance toward another person.

This attitude values others even though we are aware of their faults and failings.

Let’s read, “How Full is your Bucket?”

Lengthy therapy Western-centric perspective Individual needs and values above all else –

can lead to selfishness? Self-indulgence? Naïve – ignores human capacity for evil

Criticisms?

Complete the two quizzes on page 338-340 to check your understanding.

Review

Using your text pages 342-358, fully answer the 6 learning goals at the beginning of the chapter.

Make sure to include key people and terms.

The Trait and Social-Cognitive Perspectives

Culture is influential in shaping our self-concept, which plays a big role in personality

Western nations have a more individualistic self-concept

Asian and African cultures tend to have a more collectivistic self-concept

This can create different views on many things, like love and marriage. Dion and Dion argue that romantic notions of love flourish only in individualistic cultures – because it focuses on the need of the individual and not the family or society needs

Cultural Differences in the Concept of Self

http://www.ted.com/talks/thandie_newton_embracing_otherness_embracing_myself

Ted Talk!