Personality :Personality “Characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting.” Four major perspectives on Personality Psychoanalytic - unconscious motivations Trait - specific dimensions of personality Humanistic - inner capacity for growth Social-Cognitive - influence of environment


Psychoanalytic Perspective :Psychoanalytic Perspective “first comprehensive theory of personality” (1856-1939) University of Vienna 1873 Voracious Reader Medical School Graduate Specialized in Nervous Disorders Some patients’ disorders had no physical cause!


Psychoanalytic Perspective :Psychoanalytic Perspective “first comprehensive theory of personality” Q: What caused neurological symptoms in patients with no neurological problems? Unconscious


The Unconscious :The Unconscious “the mind is like an iceburg - mostly hidden” Conscious Awareness small part above surface (Preconscious) Repression banishing unacceptable thoughts & passions to unconscious Dreams & Slips


Freud & Personality Structure :Freud & Personality Structure “Personality arises from conflict twixt agressive, pleasure-seeking impulses and social restraints”


Freud & Personality Structure :Freud & Personality Structure Id - energy constantly striving to satisfy basic drives Pleasure Principle Ego - seeks to gratify the Id in realistic ways Reality Principle Super Ego - voice of conscience that focuses on how we ought to behave


Freud & Personality Development :Freud & Personality Development “personality forms during the first few years of life, rooted in unresolved conflicts of early childhood” Psychosexual Stages Oral (0-18 mos) - centered on the mouth Anal (18-36 mos) - focus on bowel/bladder elim. Phallic (3-6 yrs) - focus on genitals/“Oedipus Complex” (Identification & Gender Identity) Latency (6-puberty) - sexuality is dormant Genital (puberty on) - sexual feelings toward others Strong conflict can fixate an individual at Stages 1,2 or 3


Defense Mechanisms :Defense Mechanisms Id Super Ego Ego When the inner war gets out of hand, the result is Anxiety Ego protects itself via Defense Mechanisms Defense Mechanisms reduce/redirect anxiety by distorting reality


Defense Mechanisms :Repression - banishes certain thoughts/feelings from consciousness (underlies all other defense mechanisms) Regression - retreating to earlier stage of fixated development Reaction Formation - ego makes unacceptable impulses appear as their opposites Projection - attributes threatening impulses to others Rationalization - generate self-justifying explanations to hide the real reasons for our actions Displacement - divert impulses toward a more acceptable object Sublimation - transform unacceptable impulse into something socially valued Defense Mechanisms


The Unconscious & Assessment :Thematic Apperceptions Test (TAT) Rorschach Inkblot Test The Unconscious & Assessment How can we assess personality? (i.e., the unconscious) Objective Tests? No - tap the conscious Projective Tests? Yes - tap the unconscious


Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective :Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective Were Freud’s theories the “best of his time” or were they simply incorrect? Current research contradicts many of Freud’s specific ideas


Freud’s Ideas as Scientific Theory :Freud’s Ideas as Scientific Theory Theories must explain observations and offer testable hypotheses Few Objective Observations Few Hypotheses (Freud’s theories based on his recollections & interpretations of patients’ free associations, dreams & slips o’ the tongue) Does Not PREDICT Behavior or Traits


Trait Perspective :Trait Perspective No hidden personality dynamics… just basic personality dimensions Traits - people’s characteristic behaviors & conscious motives How do we describe & classify different personalities? (Type A vs Type B or Depressed vs Cheerful?) Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - classify people based upon responses to 126 questions


Are There “Basic” Traits? :Are There “Basic” Traits? What trait “dimensions” describe personality? Combination of 2 or 3 genetically determined dimensions Expanded set of factors “The Big 5” Extraversion/Introversion Emotional Stability/Instability


The Big Five :The Big Five Emotional Stability Extraversion Openness Agreeableness Conscientiousness Calm/Anxious Secure/Insecure Sociable/Retiring Fun Loving/Sober Imaginative/Practical Independent/Conforming Soft-Hearted/Ruthless Trusting/Suspicious Organized/Disorganized Careful/Careless


Assessing Traits :Assessing Traits How can we assess traits? (aim to simplify a person’s behavior patterns) Personality Inventories MMPI most widely used personality inventory assess psychological disorders (not normal traits) empirically derived - test items selected based upon how well they discriminate twixt groups of traits


The Humanistic Perspective :The Humanistic Perspective Maslow’s Self-Actualizing Person Roger’s Person-Centered Perspective “Healthy” rather than “Sick” Individual as greater than the sum of test scores


Maslow & Self-Actualization :Maslow & Self-Actualization Self-Actualization the process of fufilling our potential Studied healthy, creative people Abe Lincoln, Tom Jefferson & Eleanor Roosevelt Self-Aware & Self-Accepting Open & Spontaneous Loving & Caring Problem-Centered not Self-Centered


Roger’s Person-Centered Perspective :Roger’s Person-Centered Perspective Given the right environmental conditions, we will develop to our full potentials Genuineness, Acceptance, Empathy Self Concept - central feature of personality (+ or -)


Assessing & Evaluating the Self :Assessing & Evaluating the Self ? Primarily through questionnaires in which people report their self-concept. ? Also by understanding others’ subjective personal experiences during therapy X Concepts are vague & subjective. Assumptions are naïvely optimistic.


Social-Cognitive Perspective :Social-Cognitive Perspective Behavior learned through conditioning & observation What we think about our situation affects our behavior Interaction of Environment & Intellect


Reciprocal Determinism :Reciprocal Determinism Personal/ Cognitive Factors Behavior Environment Factors Internal World + External World = Us


Personal Control :Personal Control Internal Locus of Control You pretty much control your own destiny External Locus of Control Luck, fate and/or powerful others control your destiny Methods of Study Correlate feelings of control with behavior Experiment by raising/lowering people’s sense of control and noting effects


Outcomes of Personal Control :Outcomes of Personal Control Learned Helplessness Uncontrollable bad events Perceived lack of control Generalized helpless behavior Important Issue Nursing Homes Prisons Colleges