Chapter 13 Personality Mr Bandy BVW S 15

Chapter 13 Personality Mr. Bandy BVW S 15

Clinical Realm: Psychodynamic / Humanistic: comes out of analysis of patients How can we explain PERSONALITY? Research Realm: Social Cognitive – influenced by learning, perception and social interactions All agree that our lives include past, present, and future; that our minds have both conscious and unconscious levels; and our behaviors are sometimes emotional and impulsive and at other times cooler and more calculated.

Overview: Ways of Looking at the Self § Freudian/Psychodynamic views of the Unconscious parts of the self § Humanistic view of the Self-Actualizing Person § Examining Traits, including the Big Five Factors/Dimensions § Social and Cognitive Influences on Personality § Self-Esteem and Self-Serving Bias These different perspectives and concepts can help us examine: § What we have in common: Personality components, basic drives, stages of development, categories of traits § Ways in which we differ: individual paths through stages, ways of managing basic drives and needs, levels of Trait dimensions

Personality: An individual’s characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors [persisting over time and across situations] Agreeable, Open Introverted Naïve Sensitive, Reactive Contentedly lethargic Neurotically Conscientious irritable

1 = strongly disagree 2 = disagree 3 = neutral 4 = agree 5 = strongly agree 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Events that occurred during childhood have no effect on one’s personality in adulthood. Sexual adjustment is easy for most people. Culture and society have evolved as ways to curb human beings’ natural aggressiveness. Little boys should not become too attached to their mothers. It is possible to deliberately “forget” something too painful to remember. People who chronically smoke, eat, or chew gum have some deep psychological problems. Competitive people are no more aggressive than noncompetitive people. Fathers should remain somewhat aloof ( uninvolved or unwilling to become involved )to their daughters. 9. Toilet training is natural and not traumatic for most children. 10. The phallus (a picture, sculpture, or other representation of a penis, especially one regarded as a symbol of the reproductive force of life) is a symbol of power. 11. A man who dates a woman old enough to be his mother has problems. 12. There are some women who are best described as being “castrating bitches. ” 13. Dreams merely replay events that occurred during the day and have no deep meaning. 14. There is something wrong with a woman who dates a man who is old enough to be her father. 15. A student who wants to postpone an exam by saying “My grandmother lied. . . er, I mean died, should probably be allowed the postponement In scoring your own responses, first reverse the numbers you placed in front of statements 1, 2, 7, 9, 13, and 15. Then, to obtain a total score, add the numbers in front of all 15 statements.

1 = strongly disagree 3 = neutral 5 = strongly agree 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 2 = disagree 4 = agree Fathers should remain somewhat aloof ( uninvolved or unwilling to become involved )to their daughters. Toilet training is natural and not traumatic for most children. The phallus (a picture, sculpture, or other representation of a penis, especially one regarded as a symbol of the reproductive force of life) is a symbol of power. A man who dates a woman old enough to be his mother has problems. There are some women who are best described as being “castrating bitches. ” Dreams merely replay events that occurred during the day and have no deep meaning. There is something wrong with a woman who dates a man who is old enough to be her father. A student who wants to postpone an exam by saying “My grandmother lied. . . er, I mean died, should probably be allowed the postponement In scoring your own responses, first reverse the numbers you placed in front of statements 1, 2, 7, 9, 13, and 15. Then, to obtain a total score, add the numbers in front of all 15 statements. Scores can range from 15 to 75, with higher scores reflecting greater agreement with a Freudian perspective.

Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Theories § These theories of human personality focus on the inner forces that interact to make us who we are. § In this view: behavior, as well as human emotions and personality, develop in a dynamic (interacting, changing) interplay between conscious and unconscious processes, including various motives and inner conflicts.

Freud’s Path to Developing Psychonalysis § Sigmund Freud (1856 -1939) started his career as a Vienna physician. § He decided to explore how mental and physical symptoms could be caused by purely psychological factors. § He became aware that many powerful mental processes operate in the unconscious, without our awareness. § This insight grew into a theory of the structure of human personality and its development. § His name for his theory and his therapeutic technique: psychoanalysis.

Psychoanalysis: Techniques for revealing the unconscious mind: § He used creative techniques such as free association: he encouraged the patient to speak whatever comes to mind, then therapist verbally traces a flow of thoughts into the past and into the unconscious. § He also suggested meanings for slips of the tongue (as in this cartoon) and for the “latent” content of dreams.

Freud’s Personality/Mind Iceberg The Mind is mostly below the surface of conscious awareness Personality develops from the efforts of our ego, our rational self, to resolve tension between our id, based in biological drives, and the superego, society’s rules and constraints. The Unconscious, in Freud’s view: A reservoir of thoughts, wishes, feelings, memories, that are hidden from awareness because they feel unacceptable.

The Developing Personality We start life with a personality made up of the id, striving impulsively to meet basic needs, living by “the pleasure principle. ” In a toddler, an ego develops, a self that has thoughts, judgments, and memories following a “reality principle”, though still focused on serving the id’s needs. The ego works as the “executive” of this three-part system, to manage bodily needs and wishes in a socially acceptable way. Around age 4 or 5, the child develops the superego, a conscience internalized from parents and society, following the ideals of a “morality principle. ”

Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Stages § The id is focused on the needs of erogenous zones, sensitive areas of the body. § People feel shame about these needs and can get fixated at one stage, never resolve how to manage the needs of that zone’s needs.

Phallic Phase • Why do boys develop a masculine identity, even though they are raised by their mothers? • Why do girls develop sexual attraction toward males and boys to females? – Why do boys become “momma’s boys”? – Why do girls “marry their fathers”? – Why do some males exhibit homosexual behavior?

Freud’s Theories – rejected! • Oedipus complex – boys feel an erotic attraction towards their mothers. – Successful resolution at this stage requires a process of identification with father, displacing their attraction to females. • the Electra complex, as proposed by Carl Gustav Jung, is a girl’s psychosexual competition with her mother for possession of her father. In the course of her psychosexual development, the complex is the girl's phallic stage; formation of a discrete sexual identity, – Penis envy – because they don’t have one and become attracted to boys (who do).

Personality Development • Identification – the process by which children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos • Fixation – a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, where conflicts were unresolved

5 year old Hans was afraid to leave his house b/c of an irrational fear that a horse would bite him. Developed fear after watching horse fall down in street. Freud believed fear was coming from someplace else. Hans was a afraid of his erotic feelings toward his mother and aggressive wishes toward his father: Hans has said he wanted to sleep with his mother, “coax with” or caress her, be married to her, and have children “just like daddy”. Hans experience castration anxiety. feared his mother would prefer his father’s bigger widdler which was “like a horse. ” Hans was most afraid of horses with black muzzles, similar to his father’s black moustache. Hans had “accidentally” knocked a statue of a horse from its stand. When he saw a real horse fall down, he recognized his own aggressive impulse that his father fall down and die, an idea that frightened him and that he couldn't not consciously acknowledge. Horses, then, were symbolic substitutes for Hans’s father, whom he both feared and hated.

Male Development Issues § Freud believed that as boys in the phallic stage seek genital stimulation, they begin to develop unconscious sexual desires for their mothers and hate their fathers as a rival, feeling guilt and fearing punishment by castration. § He named these feelings “the Oedipus complex, ” after a story from Greek mythology. Resolution of this conflict: Boys identify with their fathers rather than seeing them as a rival.

Defending Against Anxiety Freud believed that we are anxious about our unacceptable wishes and impulses, and we repress this anxiety Sublimation- people rechannel their with the help of the strategies below. unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities

Which Defense Mechanism Am I? A politician gives anti-gay speeches, then turns out to have homosexual tendencies. Reaction Formation Someone with an anger problem accuses everyone else of being angry and threatening. Projection § These two are sometimes confused with each other. § The common theme, as with all defense mechanisms: they seek to prevent being conscious of unacceptable feelings. § The difference: the first one compensates, the second one distracts.

Neo-Freudian, Psychodynamic Theorists Psychodynamic theorists, such as Adler, Horney, and Jung, accepted Freud’s ideas about: Psychodynamic theorists differed from Freud in a few ways: § Adler and Horney § The importance of the is a lack of self-worth, An inferiority complex a doubt and uncertainty, measuring that up to anxiety and unconscious and feelings of notbelieved standards. personality are a function childhood relationships in of social, not sexual shaping personality It is often subconscious, and is thought to drive afflicted tensions in childhood § The id/ego/superego individuals to overcompensate, resulting either in § Jung believed that we structurespectacular achievement or extreme asocial behavior. of personality have a collective § The role of defense The term coined to indicate a unconscious, containing lack of covert selfmechanisms inwas reducing esteem. For many, it is developedimages through a combination from our species’ anxiety about of genetic personality characteristics and personal not just experiences, uncomfortable ideas experiences. personal repressed memories and wishes

More About the Psychodynamic Theorists Carl Jung Alfred Adler Karen Horney Highlighted universal themes in the unconscious as a source of creativity and insight. Found opportunities for personal growth by finding meaning in moments of coincidence. Focused on the fight against feelings of inferiority as a theme at the core of personality, although he may have been projecting from his own experience. Criticized the Freudian portrayal of women as weak and subordinate to men. She highlighted the need to feel secure in relationships.

Assessing the Unconscious: Psychodynamic Personality Assessment § Freud tried to get unconscious themes to be projected into the conscious world through free association and dream analysis. § Projective tests are a structured, systematic exposure to a standardized set of ambiguous prompts, designed to reveal inner dynamics. Rorschach test: “what do you see in these inkblots? ” Problem: Results don’t link well to traits (low validity) and different raters get different results (low reliability).

Evidence has updated Freud’s ideas § Development appears to be lifelong, not set in stone by childhood. § Infant neural networks are not mature enough to create a lifelong impact of childhood trauma. § Peers have more influence on personality, and parents less, than Freud assumed. § Dreams, as well as slips of the tongue, have many possible origins, less likely to reveal deep unconscious conflicts and wishes. § We may ignore threatening information, but traumatic memories are usually intensely remembered, not repressed. § Still, sexual abuse stories are more likely to be fact, less likely to be wish fulfillment, than Freud thought. § Gender and sexual identity seems to be more a function of genetics than Oedipus conflicts and relationships with parents.

Unfalsifiability: He developed theories that are hard to prove or disprove: can we test to see if there is an id? Unrepresentative Post facto sampling: explanations He did not build his (hindsight bias) Flaws in theories on a broad rather than sample of Freud’s predictions: observations; he Whether or not a scientific described all of situation makes you humanity based on method anxious or not, you people with unusual could either be psychological fixated or repressing. problems. Biased observations: He based theories on his patients, which may give him an incentive to see them as unwell before his treatment.

The Unconscious As Seen Today: Processing, Perceptions, and Priming, But Not a Place Unconscious: a stream, not a reservoir The following processes operate at an unconscious level, not because they’re repressed, but because they are automatic: § Schemas guide our perceptions § Right hemisphere makes choices the left hemisphere doesn’t verbalize § Conditioned responses, learned skills and procedures, all guide our actions without conscious recall § Emotions get activated § Stereotypes influence our reactions § Priming affects our choices

Freud’s Legacy § Freud benefitted psychology, giving us ideas about: the impact of childhood on adulthood, and human irrationality, sexuality, evil, defenses, anxiety, and the tension between our biological selves and our socialized/civilized selves. § Most colleges have courses related to psychoanalysis outside of psychology departments! § Freud gave us specific concepts we still use often, such as ego, projection, regression, rationalization, dream interpretation, inferiority “complex, ” oral fixation, sibling rivalry, and Freudian slips. Not bad for someone writing over 100 years ago with no technology for seeing inside the brain.

Humanistic Theories of Personality Abraham Maslow Carl Rogers § In the 1960’s, some psychologists began to reject: § the dehumanizing ideas in Behaviorism, and § the dysfunctional view of people in Psychodynamic thought. § Maslow and Rogers sought to offer a “Third Force” in psychology: The Humanistic Perspective. § They studied healthy people rather than people with mental health problems. § Humanism: focusing on the conditions that support healthy personal growth.

Maslow: The Self-Actualizing Person In Maslow’s view, people are motivated to keep moving up a hierarchy of needs, growing beyond getting basic needs met. At the top of this hierarchy are self-actualization, fulfilling one’s potential, and self-transcendence. In this ideal state, a personality includes being self-aware, selfaccepting, open, ethical, spontaneous, loving caring, focusing on a greater mission than social acceptance.

Obstacles to Self Actualization • • Self-actualization is at the top of the motivation hierarchy. This makes it the weakest of all needs and the most easily impeded. Maslow wrote, “This inner nature is not strong and overpowering and unmistakable like the instincts of animals. It is weak and delicate and subtle and easily overcome by habit, cultural pressure, and wrong attitudes toward it. ” Maslow identified the Jonah Complex as another obstacle to self-actualization. – We fear and doubt our own abilities and potentialities. To become self-actualized one must have enough courage to sacrifice safety for personal growth. Too often fear takes precedence over the challenge of self-actualization. • The cultural environment may also stifle self-actualization by imposing certain norms on major segments of the population. – Definitions of “manliness” may prevent the male child from developing traits such as sympathy, kindness, and tenderness, all of which characterize the selfactualized person. • Childhood experiences may inhibit personal growth. – Maslow observed that children from warm, secure, friendly homes are more likely to choose experiences that lead to personal growth. Excessive control and coddling is obviously harmful but so is excessive permissiveness. Too much freedom in childhood can lead to anxiety and insecurity, which can prevent further growth. Maslow called for “freedom within limits” in which there is the right mixture of permissiveness and regulation.

Rogers’ Person-Centered Perspective Rogers agreed that people have natural tendencies to grow, become healthy, move toward self-actualization Genuineness: Being honest, direct, not using a façade. The 3 conditions that facilitate growth (just as water, nutrients, and light facilitate the growth of a tree): Acceptance, a. k. a Unconditional Positive Regard: acknowledging feelings, even problems, without passing judgment; honoring, not devaluing. Empathy: tuning into the feelings of others, showing your efforts to understand, listening well (NOT sympathy: people need to be heard, not to be pitied)

Assessing the Self in Humanistic Psychology: Ideal Self vs. Actual Self § In the humanistic perspective, the core of personality is the self-concept, our sense of our nature and identity § People are happiest with a self-concept that matches their ideal self § Thus, it is important to ask people to describe themselves as they are and as they ideally would like to be. Questionnaires can be used, but some prefer open interview. Questions about actual self: How do you see yourself? What are you like? What do you value? What are you capable of? If the answers do not match the ideal, selfacceptance may be needed, not just self-change

Critiquing the Humanist Perspective What about evil? § Some say Rogers did not appreciate the human capacity for evil. § Rogers saw “evil” as a social phenomenon, not an individual trait: § “When I look at the world I’m pessimistic, but when I look at people I am optimistic. ” –Rogers Humanist response: Selfacceptance is not the end; it then allows us to move on from defending our own needs to loving and caring for others.

Critiquing the Humanist Perspective Too much self-centeredness? Some say that the pursuit of selfconcept, an accepting ideal self, and self-actualization encouraged not selftranscendence but selfindulgence, self-centeredness. Humanist response: The therapist using this approach should not encourage selfishness, and should keep in mind that “positive regard” means “acceptance, ” not “praise.

Person-Situation Controversy § Trait theory assumes that we have traits that are a function of personality, not situation. § There is evidence that some traits are linked to roles and to personas we use in different cultures, environments.

Personality Affecting the Situation, Not Just a Function of the Situation § Your Facebook timeline and profile picture, your website, music lists, choice of ringtone--these all reflect your personality. § These choices also may shape how others treat you, which may affect your personality This room may reflect the personality of the guy who lives there. The setup and contents of the room may also shape his personality.

Social-Cognitive Perspective Albert Bandura believes that Personality is: The result of an interaction that takes place between a person and their social context, involving how we think about ourselves and our situations. Questions raised in this perspective: How do we interpret and respond to external events? How do those responses shape us? How do our memories, expectations, schemas, influence our behavior patterns? How do the personality and social environment mutually influence each other?

Reciprocal Influences in Becoming “the Kind of Person Who Goes Whitewater Kayaking” Reciprocal: a back and forth influence, with no primary cause Example: a tendency to enjoy risky behavior affects choice of friends, who in turn may encourage kayaking, which may lead to identifying with the activity. Avoiding the highway today without identifying or explaining any fear: the “low road” of emotion.

Reciprocal Determinism: How personality, thoughts, social environment all reinforce/cause each other § Why is Jake a happy, smiley person? He may have started with an “Easy” temperament; § He may attract other happy people, and people are more likely to smile when around him, which reinforces his smiles; § His mind fills in the reasons why he’s smiling even if some of it was a reflection of his happy friends, and these happy reasons give him more reason to smile.

How personality, thoughts, social Reciprocal Determinism: How personality, thoughts, social environment all reinforce/cause each other • Social Cognitive theorists emphasize our sense of personal control - whether we learn to see ourselves as controlling, or controlled, by our environment. – Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments (Bandura, 1977, 1986, 1997). – Self-efficacy reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over one's own motivation, behavior, and social environment. • In general, do you feel in control of your life? Why or why not? • Do you feel you have more control in some areas of life than others? Describe and explain one difference.

External vs. Internal Locus of Control • To score, reverse the numbers they placed before statements 3, 6, 7, 8, and 10 (i. e. , 1 = 7, 2 = 6, 3 = 5, 5 = 3, 6 = 2, 7 = 1). • add the numbers in front of all 10 items. • Jerry Burger reports that for a recent sample of college students, the means were 51. 8 and 52. 2 for males and females, respectively

External vs. Internal Locus of Control Locus of control: Our perception of where the seat of power over our lives is located. Internal locus of control: we feel that we are in charge of ourselves and our circumstances. Too much internal locus of control: We blame ourselves for bad events, or have the illusion that we have the power to prevent bad events. External locus of control: we picture that a force outside of ourselves controls our fate. Too much external locus of control: We lose initiative, lose motivation to achieve, have more anxiety about what might happen to us, don’t bother developing willpower

Internals vs. Externals • Internals not only believe that they can control their own destinies, but in fact they are more effective in influencing their environments • Researchers consistently find that internals receive higher grades and better teacher evaluations than do externals. – the relationship is particularly strong for adolescents. – Internals feel more responsible for their achievements, – believe that studying will pay off, and – generally seem to have a better idea of how to prepare for an exam. – They are more likely to attribute their grades to their abilities or effort and thus are more likely to study for the next exam

Internals vs. Externals • Internals themselves seem to be less susceptible to control and influence from others. • They are particularly resistant to subtle forms of attempted influence. • Internals are less likely to conform and are not as likely to respond to the prestige of a message’s source as are externals. • Internals are, however, more accepting of information when it has merit.

Internals vs. Externals • Internals seem to exhibit greater self-control. – Among those who attempt to quit smoking, internals show fewer relapses. – They are also more likely to engage in physical exercise, better at losing weight, more apt to use seatbelts, and more likely to practice preventive dental care. – As hospital patients, they are likely to know more about their medical condition and to be less satisfied with the amount of information they receive from physicians and nurses

• Research suggests that family environments characterized by warmth, protection, and nurturance are likely to lead to an internal locus of control. – Consistent parental behavior is positively correlated with internality. – Ordinal position(birth order) in the family also seems to affect locus of control. • Generally, first-born and earlier-born children tend to be more internal. • Conversely, persons with limited access to social power or material resources often develop external orientations. Minority membership and lower socioeconomic status is associated with externality

Learned Helplessness vs. Personal Control Experiment by Martin Seligman: Give a dog no chance of escape from repeated shocks. Result: It will give up on trying to escape pain, even when it later has the option to do so. Normally, most creatures try to escape or end a painful situation. But experience can make us lose hope. Learned Helplessness: Declining to help oneself after repeated attempts to do so have failed. Personal Control: When people are given some choices (not too many), they thrive

Self-Control: Resource, Skill, Trait § The ability to control impulses and delay gratification, sometimes called “willpower” § This is a finite resource, an expenditure of brain energy, which is replenished but can be depleted short-term: People asked to resist eating cookies later gave up sooner on a tedious task § With practice, we can improve our selfcontrol § There seem to be individual differences in this trait in childhood § The Marshmallow study: Kids who resisted the temptation to eat marshmallows later had more success in school and socially

Social Cognitive – Shawshank Redemption • Film shows a good example of how differing perceptions of control can affect our physical and psychological wellbeing. • Find one example from the movie that portrays Albert Bandura’s concept of reciprocal determinism where our personal control is influenced by: – Thoughts or cognitions – The environment – A person’s behaviors • Find • Give one example in your life that exhibits Bandura’s concept of reciprocal determinism.

Optimism vs. Pessimism We can be optimistic or pessimistic in various ways: § Prediction: We can expect the best or the worst. At the extremes, we can get ourselves overconfident or simply depressed or anxious about the future. § Focus of attention: We can focus on what we have (half full) or what we don’t have (empty). § Attribution of intent: We can assume that people meant to hurt us or that they were having a bad day. § Valuation: We can assume that we or others are useless, or that we are lovable, valuable. § Potential for change: We can assume that bad things can’t be changed, or have hope.

Excessive Pessimism I can’t do it, might as well forget it. vs. Realism It might be hard; I’d better plan. Excessive Optimism It will be easy, I won’t think about it. I’m trapped, can’t get out of this I want to make changes or get out. Someone will rescue me. That person hates me, he is against me. I should ask what he feels about me, what he wants. I’m sure he just wants what’s best for me, I’ll trust him. Excessive pessimism can leave us depressed, inactive. Excessive optimism can leave us unprepared, unsafe.

A More Positive Psychology § Martin Seligman, who earlier kept dogs from escaping his shocks until they developed learned helplessness. § Developed Positive Psychology, the “scientific study of optimal human functioning, ” finding ways to help people thrive. § Focus: building strengths, virtue, emotional well-being, resilience, optimism, sense of meaning. Three pillars of Positive Psychology: 1. Emotions, e. g. engagement 2. Character, e. g. courage 3. Groups, Culture, Institutions

Evaluating Behavior in Situations: Blindness to One’s Own Faults § Donald Trump as the host of “The Apprentice” prided himself on assessing executive skills in others. § Assessments based on performance in such simulations predict future job performance better than interviews and questionnaires. § Donald Trump as a politician could not understand why more people didn’t join his candidacy, his debates, his “birther” theories.

Evaluating the Social-Cognitive Perspective § The social-cognitive perspective on personality helps us focus on the interaction of behaviors, thoughts, and social situations. § This focus, though, may distract us from noticing an individual’s feelings, emotions, inner qualities. § Critics note that traits may be more a function of genetics and upbringing, not just situation. § Example of two people with different reactions in the same situation: Two lottery winners sharing a jackpot; one sobbed, the other slept.

Exploring the Self, Viewing the Self • Research in personality includes the topic of a person’s sense of self. • Topics of research include self-talk, self-esteem, selfawareness, selfmonitoring, self-control. • The field has refined a definition of “self” as the core of personality, the organizer and reservoir of our thoughts, feelings, actions, choices, attitudes. • • • Topics for our study of people’s sense of self: The Spotlight Effect (self-consciousness) Self-esteem, low and high, benefits and risks Self-Serving Bias Narcissism Self-disparagement Secure self-esteem

Self-Consciousness: The Spotlight Effect Experiment: Students put on Barry Manilow T-shirts before entering a room with other students. (Manilow was not even cool “back in the day. ”) Result: The students thought others would notice the T-shirt, assumed people were looking at them, when this was not the case; they greatly overestimated the extent to which the spotlight was on them. The spotlight effect: assuming that people are have attention focused on you when they actually may not be noticing you. Lesson: People don’t notice our errors, quirks, features, and shirts as much as we think they do.

Self-Esteem: High and Low, Good and Bad § People who have normal or § Low self-esteem, even temporarily lowered by high self-esteem, feeling insults, leads to problems: confident and valuable, prejudice, being critical of get some benefits: others § Increased resistance to conformity pressure § Decreased harm from bullying § Increased resilience and efforts to improve their own mood § But maybe this “high” selfesteem is really realistic, and is a result, not a cause, of these successes.

Self-Serving Bias We all generally tend to think we are above average. This bias can help defend our self-esteem, as it does for the people in this wheel.

Self-Focus and Narcissism § Since 1980, song lyrics have become more focused on the self, both gratification and self-praise. § Empathy scores and skills are decreasing, being lost; people increasingly don’t bother trying to see things from the perspective of others. § There is a rise in narcissism (self-absorption, selfgratification, inflated but fragile self-worth). § Narcissists see themselves as having a special place in the world. § Danger, especially in narcissism: When self-esteem is threatened, it can trigger defensive aggression. § Preventing this aggressive defense of self-esteem: not raising self-esteem, but reinforcing it, having people state their own values and qualities

Self-Disparagement, Self-Acceptance Left behind in the supposed increase in egotism: those who feel worthless, unlovable. Some people have a habit of self-disparaging self-talk: “I’m no good. I’m going to fail. ” Sometimes such remarks are a sign of depression or at least feeling inferior. Sometimes such remarks may elicit pity, or prepare us for possible bad events, or help us learn from mistakes (people are more critical of their past selves). Moving from defensive to secure self-esteem requires realistic expectations and self-acceptance.

Trait Theory of Personality § Gordon Allport decided that Freud overvalued unconscious motives and undervalued our real, observable personality styles/traits. § Myers and Briggs wanted to to study individual behaviors and statements to find how people differed in personality: having different traits. § The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a questionnaire categorizing people by traits. Trait: An enduring quality that makes a person tend to act a certain way. Examples: “honest. ” “shy. ” “hard-working. ” MBTI traits come in pairs: “Judging” vs. “Perceiving. ” “Thinking” vs. “Feeling. ” Trait theory of personality: That we are made up of a collection of traits, behavioral predispositions that can be identified and measured, traits that differ from person to person.

Factor Analysis and the Eysencks’ Personality Dimensions § Factor Analysis: Identifying factors that tend to cluster together. § Using factor analysis, Hans and Sybil Eysenck found that many personality traits actually are a function of two basic dimensions along which we all vary. § Research supports their idea that these variations are linked to genetics.

Traits: Rooted in Biology? § Brain: Extraverts tend to have low levels of brain activity, making it hard to suppress impulses, and leading them to seek stimulation. § Body: The trait of shyness appears to be related to high autonomic system reactivity, an easily triggered alarm system. § Genes: Selective breeding of animals seems to create lifelong differences in traits such as aggression, sociability, or calmness, suggesting genetic roots for these traits.

Assessing Traits: Questionnaires § Personality Inventory: Questionnaire assessing many personality traits, by asking which behaviors and responses the person would choose § Empirically derived test: all test items have been selected to because they predictably match the qualities being assessed. § Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): Designed to identify people with personality difficulties § T/F questionnaire; items were selected because they correlated with various traits, emotions, attitudes § Example: depressed people tend to answer “true” to: “Nothing in the paper interests me except the comics. ”

Sample MMPI Test Profile

Personality As Seen in Palms and Stars And handwriting, and crystal balls, and tea leaves, and scattered bones By saying something that is vague and likely to be true of you, then following up on comments that you reinforce by nodding, someone can appear to see into your soul. You too can turn your keen sense of the obvious into a career in predicting the present! I see by your handwriting you like bananas.

The “Big Five” Personality Factors § The Eysencks felt that people § Conscientiousness: varied along two dimensions self-discipline, careful § Current cross-cultural research and pursuit of delayed theory supports the expansion goals from two dimensions to five § Agreeableness: factors: helpful, trusting, friendliness to help us § Neuroticism: anxiety, remember insecurity, emotional the five instability factors, § Openness: flexibility, remember nonconformity, that the first variety letters spell § Extraversion: “CANOE”… Drawing energy from others, sociability

The “Big Five”/ C. A. N. O. E. Personality Dimensions Impulsive Trusting Anxious Conforming Fun-Loving

Questions about Traits These topics are the subject of ongoing research: Stability: Does one’s profile of traits change over the lifespan? No, one’s distinctive mix of traits doesn’t change much over the lifespan. However, everyone in adulthood becomes: § More conscientious and agreeable, and § Less extraverted, neurotic/unstable, and less open (imaginative, flexible). Predictive value: Can we use these traits to predict behavior? levels of success in work and relationships relates to traits. Heritability: Are traits learned or genetic? in general, genes account for 50% of the variation for most traits

Change vs. Consistency: Shifts with Age Over years of development, we change interests, attitudes, roles, jobs, relationships; we develop skills, maturity. Do traits stay stable through all this change? The evidence shows that it takes time for personality to stabilize. Traits do change, but less and less so over time. We change less, become more consistent.

Biopsychosocial Approaches to Personality