Personality Psychological Perspectives Myers chapter 13 Introduction Personality

Personality Psychological Perspectives Myers, chapter 13

Introduction Personality: a unique pattern of consistent feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that originate within the individual Two methods to study personality: ü Ideographic method: method relies on collecting data from case studies that often include interviews and naturalistic observations ü Nomothetic Method: focuses on variables at the group level, identifying universal trait dimensions or relationships between different aspects of personality. Data comes primarily from tests, surveys, and observations.

Temperament is generally considered the inherited part of personality. It includes sensitivity, activity levels, prevailing mood, irritability, and adaptability. Twin and adoption studies are revealing in demonstrating the extent to which resemblance of behavioral traits results from shared genes or from shared environments.

Sigmund Freud 1856 -1939 Viennese doctor who specialized in nervous disorders. Found patients whose disorders made no neurological sense Freud and his followers believed that people have an inborn nature that shapes personality. Freud believed that sexual conflicts hidden from awareness caused many of his patients’ problems. Wrote 24 volumes espoused his psychoanalytic theories His first book: The Interpretation of Dreams (1900).

Psychoanalytic Perspective Psychoanalysis: (Freud) techniques used to treat psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions and motives. Free Association: method used to explore the unconscious. The person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing Conscious: Includes everything that we are aware of at a given moment. Preconscious: contains thoughts, memories, feelings, and images that we can easily recall. Unconscious: reservoir filled most unacceptable thoughts, wishes, impulses, memories, and feelings. Freud

Personality Structure (Freud) Personality is made up of three interacting systems Id: Contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. Operates on the pleasure principle, principle demanding immediate gratification (reduces tension) Ego: partly conscious and unconscious, mediates among the id, superego and reality. Contains our partially conscious perceptions, thoughts, judgments, and memories. Operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain. Superego: composed of the conscious and the egoideal. Represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgments and future aspirations.

Id, Ego, & Superego Which parts in the picture above identify Homer’s id, ego, and superego?

Development of Personality development begins with the Id – impulsively striving via the pleasure principle to satisfy basic needs. Development of the Ego as a toddler, following the reality principle, which strives to meet the id’s desires in a realistic way The Superego develops around age 45, the conscious forms by internalizing ideals from parents & society (morality principle)

Psychosexual Development The first five years of life are crucial to personality development. Freud believed that children pass through a series of psychosexual stages, stages during which the id’s pleasure seeking energies focus on different pleasure-sensitive areas of the body called the erogenous zones. At each stage an unconscious conflict occurs that if it is not resolved well, the libido (life energy) would become fixated at the pleasure center of that stage and become a permanent part of the adult personality. To avoid fixation, fixation parents need to be sensitive to the child’s needs at each stage.

Oral Stage Conflicts Pleasure derived from oral stimulation can lead to adult pleasure in acquiring knowledge or possessions. If weaning from the breast or bottle causes traumatic separation anxiety for the infant, Freud thought this could lead to: ü oral-dependent personality: characterized by gullibility, overeating, and passivity ü Oral-aggressive personality: characterized by sarcasm & argumentativeness

Anal Stage Conflicts Very strict & inflexible methods of toilet training may cause the child to hold back feces & become constipated. This can lead to: ü Anal Retentive Personality: marked by compulsive cleanliness, orderliness, stinginess, and stubbornness. Toilet training causes the child to become angry sand expel feces at inappropriate times, leading to: ü Anal-Expulsive Personality: marked by disorderliness, messiness & temper tantrums.

Phallic Stage Conflicts Conflict between child’s sexual desire for parent of the opposite sex and fear of punishment from the same sex parent. Known as the Oedipus Conflict in boys and the Electra Complex in girls. Resolution of conflict results in identification with the same sex parent In boys, repression of sexual desire for mother occurs due to fear of castration anxiety from the dominant rival (Dad), leading to male children identifying with their fathers. ü Resolution of the Oedipus Conflict causes the superego to develop and guard against incest and aggression.

Phallic Stage Conflicts (cont’d) Girls hold their mothers responsible for their castrated condition and experience penis envy, envy the desire for a penis that she wants to share with her father. If the Electra Complex is resolved, then the girl with identify with her mother to prevent the loss of her mother’s love.

Latency & Genital Stage Conflicts Latency Stage: sexual feelings are repressed during this period. Sexual energy is transformed into developing social relationships and learning new tasks. ü If child does not meet own expectations or those of others, child can develop into an adult with feelings of inferiority. ü Until puberty, child is primarily narcissistic, obtaining pleasure from his or her own body. Genital Stage: adolescents develop warm feelings for others and sexual attraction. Group activities, vocational planning, and intimate relationships develop. Particularly difficult time for teens with fixations in the phallic stage.

Carl Jung A colleague of Freud’s, Jung later rejected Freud’s sex theory. Developed the Analytic Theory of Personality by studying mythology, religion, cultures, dreams, & symptoms of mentally ill patients o Collective Conscious: shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our ancestors. o Inherited memories are archetypes of common themes found in all cultures, religions, and literature, both ancient and contemporary.

Carl Jung (cont’d) Believed that the attitude of extroversion orients a person toward the external, objective world; introversion orients a person toward the inner subjective world. Individuation: psychological process by which a person becomes a unified whole (unconscious & conscious processes) The self is the middle of personality surrounded by all of the other systems of personality. “In addition to our immediate consciousness, which is of a thoroughly personal nature…there exist a second psychic system of a collective, universal, & impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals” Carl Jung

Alfred Adler Emphasized social interest as a primary determinate of behavior. Individual Psychology: consciousness is the center of personality. Inferiority Complex: Adler believed that each person suffers from a sense of inferiority. Striving for Superiority: from childhood, Adler asserted that people work toward overcoming their inferiority and believed that this drive was the motivating force behind human behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. Adler hypothesized that the oldest child is likely to develop- into a responsible, protective person, the middle child is likely to be ambitious, and welladjusted, and the youngest child is most likely to be spoiled.

Karen Horney Brought a feminist viewpoint to psychoanalytic theory She rejected the concept of penis envy and countered with the concept of ‘womb envy’, suggesting that males suffer from feelings of inferiority because they are unable to give birth to children. Horney also believed that it was social tensions were the most important for children in the forming of personality. She proposed that children feel helpless and threatened and learn how to cope by showing affection or hostility toward others or by withdrawing from relationships.

Projective Personality Tests Projective tests present ambiguous stimuli to stimulate test takers to make up stories that reveal their inner feelings and interests. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): consists of 20 cards (one blank) depicting people in ambiguous situations. Test takers are asked to make up stories about the pictures Objective is to learn about the participant’s inner self – the need for achievement motivation, sex, power, and/or affiliation. Example of TAT Card

Projective Tests (cont’d) Rorschach Inkblot Test: assumes that we see in its 10 inkblots reflects our inner feelings and conflicts. Due to the subjective nature of projective tests, critics have questioned their validity and reliability. What do you see?

Critique: Freud & Psychoanalysis Many of Freud’s ideas have been invalidated, contradicted, or found to be implausible based on modern research. Critics assert that Freud offers only “after the fact” explanations and have little scientific backing (hindsight bias) Theory rests in the idea of repression of painful experiences. ü Current research suggests that repression, if it occurs at all, is a rare mental response to extreme trauma Used case studies – cannot make generalizations from small, skewed sampling of his patient population.

Unconscious Mind Today, psychologists depict the unconscious as a stream, not a reservoir where automatic processing occurs in which: ü Schemas guide our perceptions ü Right hemisphere makes choices the left hemisphere doesn’t verbalize ü Conditioned responses, learned skills & procedures, all guide our actions without conscious recall ü Emotions get activated ü Stereotypes influence our reactions ü Priming affects our choices

Behavioral Perspective B. F. Skinner was one of the most influential behavioral psychologists in the last half century Developed his Operant Conditioning Theory which explained how we acquire the range of learned behaviors we exhibit on a daily basis. Believed that BEHAVIOR is PERSONALITY The environment shapes who we become. Who we become is determined by the contingencies of reinforcement we have experienced. Psychoanalysts criticize Skinner for not taking into account emotions. Cognitivists criticize Skinner for ignoring our thinking processes.

Humanistic Perspective In the 1960 s, some psychologists began to reject the dehumanizing ideas in Behaviorism & the dysfunctional view of people in psychodynamic thought. Abraham Maslow & Carl Rogers sought to offer a “Third Force” in psychology, The Humanistic Perspective, which focused on the conditions that support healthy personal growth. Abraham Maslow: Hierarchy of Needs ü Developed his ideas by studying healthy, creative people. ü Based his description of self-actualization on notable individuals who led rich and productive lives & shared common characteristics of being self-aware, selfaccepting, open and spontaneous, loving and caring.

Carl Rogers Self-Concept: central feature of personality which encompasses all of our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question “Who am I? ” People nurture personality by being: Genuine: open with feelings, no facades, self-disclosing Accepting: offering unconditional regard Empathetic: tuning into the feelings of others, showing your efforts to understand, listening well (people what to heard, not pitied) To be fully functioning (selfactualized), we must learn to accept ourselves & unite our real and ideal selves.

Critique: Humanistic Perspective Although humanistic psychology helped to renew interest in the self. It’s theories have the following criticisms: ü Concepts are vague and subjective ü Values are individualistic and self-centered ü Assumptions optimistic; ignores reality of human capacity for evil.

Trait Perspective Trait and type psychologists attempt to describe basic behaviors that define personality and to create instruments that measure individual differences in order to understand predict behavior Trait: A relatively permanent characteristic pattern of behavior or conscious motive that can be assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports and used to predict our behaviors. Traits are often measured on a continuum (such as introvert -----extrovert), however not all traits can be classified in this manner.

Trait Theory - Gordon Allport (1867 -1967), who was more interested in describing traits than explaining them, developed a list of 4, 504 adjectives that could he used to describe specific personality traits which he arranged into 3 levels: Cardinal Traits • Dominates a person’s entire life • Person becomes known for these traits • Ex: Freudian, Machiavellian, narcissism, Don Juan, Christ-like. Central Traits • general characteristics that form the basic foundations of personality • Ex: honesty, intelligence, shyness, & anxiety Secondary Traits • characteristics that apparent in only certain situations. • Ex: being uncomfortable in confined spaces, getting or impatient while waiting in line

Raymond Cattell (16 personality factor model) Conducted nomothetic research, studying surface traits (visible areas of personality) Found that surface traits were either absent/present in clusters of people, indicating that they represented a single more basic trait. Cattell took the thousands of traits described by Allport and condensed them down to 16 source traits underlying personality, using factor analysis.

Hans & Sybil Eysenek o Using factor analysis, reduced description of personality to three major genetically influenced dimensions, which everyone has to varying degrees. o Proposed that only two factors were necessary to explain individual differences in personality: unstable …………. stable Introverted………extraverted o Developed a third factor, psychoticism, which dealt with a predisposition to be psychotic (not grounded in reality) or sociopathic (psychologically unattached).

The Big Five Personality Factors Toward the end of the 20 th century, trait psychologists believed that the three factor model was too simple and that 16 factors were too many. In 1990 Paul Costa and Robert Mc. Crae presented their FIVE FACTOR THEORY. In adulthood, these traits are quite stable, about 50% inheritable, and in cross-cultural studies, the same five factors have been identified in trait ratings.

The “Big Five”. Personality Dimensions C. A. N. O. E HIGH LOW

Assessing Traits Personality Inventory: a self-report questionnaire on which people respond true/false or agree/disagree items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors. Most inventories are scored objectively by computer, but in untrained hands, tests could be administered and interpreted incorrectly. Some psychologists believe that peer reports yield more valid information.

MMPI Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI & MMPI 2): most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally designed to identify emotional disorders, it is also used for other screening procedures. Empirically derived test: developed by testing a pool of items and selecting those that discriminate between groups. MMPI 2 has 10 clinical scales (i. e. – schizophrenia, depression), 15 content scales (i. e. anger, family problems) and validity scales to determine if the participant is lying. Patterns of responses reveal personality dimensions.

Sample MMPI Test Profile

Critique: Trait Perspective Person-Situation Controversy: although general traits may persist over time, their specific behavior varies from situation to situation. There is evidence that some traits are linked to roles and to personas we use in different cultures & environments. Trait theorists reply that despite these variations, a person’s average behavior across many different situations tends to be fairly constant.

Consistency of Expressive Style The trait of expressive styles refer to animation, manner of speaking, and gestures. Psychologists are interested in this trait since it demonstrates how consistent a trait can be despite situational variations in behavior. We have little voluntary control over our expressiveness. Observers can been able to judge the trait of expressiveness in video snippets as short as 2 seconds long. Consistency of expressive styles allows us to form a lasting impression of an individual within a few minutes of meeting him or her.

Social-Cognitive Perspective View that behavior is influenced by the interaction between people (and their thinking) and their social context. Cognitive Part: what we think out our situation affects our behavior. Social Part: we learn many of our behaviors through conditioning or by observing others and modeling our behaviors after them

George Kelly Personal-Construct Theory: one of the most well-known Cognitive theories on personality development Personal Constructs: we try to make sense of our world by generating, testing, and revising hypotheses about our social reality. Our pattern of personal constructs determines our personality ü Personal constructs are bipolar categories that we use as labels to categorize and interpret the world (i. e. : Self/genuine, happy/unhappy, energetic/inactive Developed the Role Construct Repertory Test ü People with too few constructs tend to stereotype others ü People with too many constructs have difficulty predicting the behavior of others.

Alfred Bandura Social Cognitive Theory: we learn more by observation than by operant conditioning Reciprocal Determinism: the interacting influences between personality and environmental factors “Behavior, internal personal factors, & environmental influences all operate as interlocking determinants influence each other” Bandura Example: a tendency to enjoy risky behavior affects choice of friends, who may then encourage rock climbing, which may lead to identifying with the

Bandura (cont’d) Self-Efficacy: our belief that we are competent and can perform behaviors necessary to accomplish tasks. ü Supports the idea of cultural individualism Collective Efficacy: Efficacy our perception, that with collaborative effort, our group will attain its desired outcome ü more beneficial in Asian societies (collectivism) The goals of the group become the individual’s goals.

Locus of Control (Julian Rotter) ü Locus of Control: (personal control) whether we learn to see ourselves as controlling our environment rather than being helpless. ü Our perspective of control influences both how we think about ourselves and the actions we take. 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. Too much external locus of control: We lose initiative, motivation to achieve, & have more anxiety about the future. If given a limited number of choices (some personal control) then people tend to thrive.

Self Control Self Control: the ability to control impulses and delay gratification, predicts good adjustment, better grades, and social success This is a finite resource, an expenditure of brain energy, which is replenished but can be depleted short-term With practice, we can improve our self-control. Children who resisted the urge to eat marshmallows later had more success in school as well as socially

Learned Helplessness Learned Helplessness: when repeatedly faced with traumatic events over which one has no control, the person comes to feel helpless, hopeless, & depressed. Martin Seligman: Dogs strapped into a hammock were given mild, repeated electric shocks with no chance to avoid them. When then placed into another situation where they could avoid punishment by jumping the hurdle, the dogs cowered without hope. o The dogs had formed the expectation that they could control their environment Generalized Helpless Behavior: When people are given limited choices (some loss of control) , they thrive

Optimism vs. Pessimism Optimistic or Pessimistic Attribution Style: individual’s way of explaining events and is a measure of how helpless or effective a person feels Students who express an attitude of hopeful optimism tend to get better grades than those who are pessimistic. Excessive optimism can foster feelings of invincibility that can expose a person to unnecessary risk. Which way do you tend to think…. Is the glass half empty or half full?

Assessing Behavior in Situations Social-Cognitive researchers are interested in how people’s behaviors and beliefs affect and are affected by their surroundings. Observe people in realistic settings because they have found that the best way to predict someone’s behavior in a specific situation is to observe that person’s behavior in similar situations. Hawthorne Effect: when people know they are being observed, they change their behavior to what they think the observer expects or to make themselves look good.

Critique: Social-Cognitive Perspective Critics assert that the social-cognitive perspective focuses too much on the situation and fails to appreciate a person’s inner traits By focusing so much on the situation, this perspective loses sight of the person. Also criticize this perspective for slighting unconscious dynamics, emotions, and biologically influenced traits.

Positive Psychology Developed by Martin Seligman (also studied learned helplessness) the “scientific study of optimal human functioning, ” finding ways to help people thrive. Focus: building strengths, virtue, emotional wellbeing, resilience, optimism, sense of meaning. Based on three major pillars: Positive Emotions: happiness is a by-product of a pleasant, engaged and meaningful life Positive Character: creativity, courage, compassion, integrity, leadership, selfcontrol, Positive Groups, Communities & Cultures: fostering of a positive social

The Self-Concept: Overall view of our abilities, behavior, and personality. Self-Esteem: one part of our self-concept; deals with how we evaluate ourselves. Affected by our emotions and comes to mean how worthy we think we are Whether high or low, self-esteem reflects reality. In other words, it is a side effect of our successes or failures in meeting challenges and surmounting difficulties. In this view, the best boost to self-esteem would be to help children meet challenges, not rewarding them despite their failures.

The Self (cont’d) Spotlight Effect: overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders Self-Serving Bias: our readiness to perceive ourselves favorably includes our tendencies: ü To more readily accept responsibility for good deeds and for successes than for bad deeds and failures. ü To see ourselves as better than average. Defensive Self-Esteem: Self-Esteem takes the form of egotism focused on sustaining itself at any cost, so failures and criticisms feel threatening. Correlates with aggressive and antisocial behaviors. Secure self-Esteem: less fragile since it is less dependent on external evaluations.