Personality Personality What is personality Personality the relatively

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Personality

Personality

Personality • What is personality? • Personality – the relatively enduring characteristics that differentiate

Personality • What is personality? • Personality – the relatively enduring characteristics that differentiate people-those behaviors that makes each individual unique 2

Psychoanalytic Approaches • Psychoanalytic theory – Freud’s theory that unconscious forces act as determinants

Psychoanalytic Approaches • Psychoanalytic theory – Freud’s theory that unconscious forces act as determinants of personality • Unconscious – a part of the personality of which a person is not aware, and which is a potential determinant of behavior 3

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Structuring Personality • Id • the raw, unorganized, inborn part of personality, whose sole

Structuring Personality • Id • the raw, unorganized, inborn part of personality, whose sole purpose is to reduce tension created by primitive drives related to hunger, sex, aggression, and irrational impulses – Libido • the “psychic energy” that fuels the primary drives – “Pleasure Principle” • immediate reduction of tension, maximization of satisfaction 5

Structuring Personality • Ego • the part of the personality that provides a buffer

Structuring Personality • Ego • the part of the personality that provides a buffer between the id and the outside world – “Reality Principle” • instinctual energy is restrained in order to maintain the safety of the individual and help integrate the person into society 6

Structuring Personality • Superego • the final personality structure to develop that represents the

Structuring Personality • Superego • the final personality structure to develop that represents the rights and wrongs of society as handed down by a persona’s parents, teachers, and other important figures 7

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Oral Stage – a stage from birth to

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Oral Stage – a stage from birth to 12 -18 months, in which an infant’s center of pleasure is the mouth – interested in oral gratification from sucking, eating, mouthing, biting 8

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Anal Stage – a stage from 12 -18

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Anal Stage – a stage from 12 -18 months to 3 years of age, in which a child’s pleasure is centered on the anus – gratification from expelling and withholding feces; coming to terms with society’s controls relating to toilet training 9

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Phallic Stage – a period beginning around age

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Phallic Stage – a period beginning around age 3 during which a child’s interest focuses on the genitals – Oedipal conflict • a child’s sexual interest in his or her opposite-sex parent, typically resolved through identification with the same-sex parent 10

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Latency Period – the period between the phallic

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Latency Period – the period between the phallic stage and puberty during which children’s sexual concerns are temporarily put aside – 5 -6 years to adolescence 11

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Genital Stage – the period from puberty until

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Genital Stage – the period from puberty until death, marked by mature sexual behavior – reemergence of sexual interests and establishment of mature sexual relationships 12

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Fixation – personality traits characteristic of an earlier

Developing Personality: A Stage Approach • Fixation – personality traits characteristic of an earlier stage of development due to an unresolved conflict stemming from the earlier period 13

Defense Mechanisms • Defense mechanisms – unconscious strategies that people use to reduce anxiety

Defense Mechanisms • Defense mechanisms – unconscious strategies that people use to reduce anxiety by concealing the source from themselves and others 14

Defense Mechanisms • Repression – unacceptable or unpleasant impulses are pushed back into the

Defense Mechanisms • Repression – unacceptable or unpleasant impulses are pushed back into the unconscious • Regression – people behave as if they were at an earlier stage of development 15

Defense Mechanisms • Displacement – the expression of an unwanted feeling or thought is

Defense Mechanisms • Displacement – the expression of an unwanted feeling or thought is redirected from a more threatening, powerful person to a weaker one • Rationalization – a distortion of reality in which a person justifies what happens 16

Defense Mechanisms • Denial – refusal to acknowledge an anxiety-producing piece of information •

Defense Mechanisms • Denial – refusal to acknowledge an anxiety-producing piece of information • Projection – attributing unwanted impulses to someone else • Sublimation – diversion of unwanted impulses into socially approved thoughts, feelings, or behaviors 17

The Neo-Freudian Psychoanalysts • Jung’s “collective unconscious” • a set of influences we inherit

The Neo-Freudian Psychoanalysts • Jung’s “collective unconscious” • a set of influences we inherit from our own particular ancestors, the whole human race, and even animal ancestors from the distant past • Adler’s “inferiority complex” • a situation in which adults have not been able to overcome the feelings of inferiority that they developed as children 18

Trait Approaches • Trait theory – a model of personality that seeks to identify

Trait Approaches • Trait theory – a model of personality that seeks to identify the basic traits necessary to describe personality • Traits – enduring dimensions of personality characteristics along which people differ 19

Trait Approaches • Allport’s trait theory – cardinal traits • a single characteristic that

Trait Approaches • Allport’s trait theory – cardinal traits • a single characteristic that directs most of a person’s activities – central trait • the major characteristics of the individual – secondary traits • characteristics that affect behavior in fewer situations 20

Trait Approaches • Cattell – factor analysis • a method of summarizing the relationships

Trait Approaches • Cattell – factor analysis • a method of summarizing the relationships among a large number of variables – surface traits • clusters of related behaviors – source traits • represent the basic dimensions of personality 21

Trait Approaches • Eysenck – extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism • The “Big Five” • •

Trait Approaches • Eysenck – extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism • The “Big Five” • • extraversion agreeableness conscientiousness neuroticism (emotional stability) • openness to experience 22

Learning Approaches • Cognitive-Social approaches to personality – emphasizes the influence of a person’s

Learning Approaches • Cognitive-Social approaches to personality – emphasizes the influence of a person’s cognitions in determining personality • Reciprocal determinism – the way in which the interaction of environment, behavior, and individual ultimately causes people to behave as they do 23

Biological and Evolutionary Approaches • Biological and evolutionary approaches to personality – theory that

Biological and Evolutionary Approaches • Biological and evolutionary approaches to personality – theory that suggests that important components of personality are inherited • Temperament – a basic, innate disposition that emerges early in life 24

Humanistic Approaches • Humanistic approaches to personality – theory that emphasizes people’s basic goodness

Humanistic Approaches • Humanistic approaches to personality – theory that emphasizes people’s basic goodness and their tendency to grow to higher levels of functioning • Self-actualization – a state of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potential 25

Assessing Personality • Psychological Tests – standard measures devised to assess behavior objectively and

Assessing Personality • Psychological Tests – standard measures devised to assess behavior objectively and used by psychologists to help people make decisions about their lives and understand more about themselves 26

Self-Report Measures of Personality • Self-Report measures – a method of gathering data about

Self-Report Measures of Personality • Self-Report measures – a method of gathering data about people by asking them questions about a sample of their behavior • MMPI-2 – a test used to identify people with psychological difficulties as well as predicting a variety of other behaviors 27

Projective Methods • Projective personality test – a test in which a person is

Projective Methods • Projective personality test – a test in which a person is shown an ambiguous stimulus and asked to describe it or tell a story about it • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) – a test consisting of a series of pictures about which a person is asked to write a story 28

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Behavioral Assessment • Behavioral assessment – direct measures of an individual’s behavior used to

Behavioral Assessment • Behavioral assessment – direct measures of an individual’s behavior used to describe characteristics indicative of personality 30