Psychology 100 12 Chapter 12 Personality I Outline

Psychology 100: 12 Chapter 12 Personality I

Outline • The Psychodynamic • Approach Trait theories of personality – The Big Five • Psychobiology of personality • Situationism, traitism, and interactionism Study Questions: • According to Freud, what are fixations and when do they occur? How are fixations related to personality? • Describe the “Big 5” theory of personality traits

Psychodynamics • The mind is a battlefield for the warring factions of instinct, reason, & conscience Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939). – Obtained M. D. > Early training in Neurology with von Brück. > Dissection and observation – Unable to gain a position in a University. > Studied with Charcot in Paris. > Hypnotism – Opened up medical practice in Vienna.

Psychodynamics Freud’s Topography – The unconscious > Instincts, wishes, and impulses. > Many are socially unacceptable – Consciousness is the “tip of the iceberg” – Categories of instincts > Eros: The life force. > Thanatos: The death force. – Tension reduction principle. > Maintain psychic equilibrium

Psychodynamics • The preconscious and conscious – Libido: The primary source of motivation, which comes from the unconscious. > “Psychic Energy”. > Eros & Thanatos give rise to tension. > Reduce tension by attaching libido to objects (Carthexis). E. g. , You are hungry • Apply psychic energy to obtaining food (form a carthexis). • Tension is reduced. – The preconscious: Emotions, thoughts, and feelings that can be called up into consciousness. – The problem of limited libido > Struggle for limited resources involves the conscious as well as the unconscious § We need to operate on the external world

Psychodynamics Id: Unorganized, uninhibited, and irrational set of instincts. – Entirely unconscious Ego: Rational, mostly conscious aspect of a person – Partly pre and unconscious Superego: Societal prescriptions for appropriate behaviour – Partly conscious, pre and unconscious – From our parents

Psychodynamics • Psychosexual Development – The pleasure principle: Rule of the id: Gratify me! > Main drives: Hunger and sex > Development of digestive and sex organs are critical in the development of adult personality § Erogenous zones: instinctual sources of pleasure – Stage approach to psychosexual development > Each stage is linked to an erogenous zone > Conflicts occur over control of instincts at each stage > Excessive gratification or frustration results in fixation

Psychodynamics • The oral stage (0 -2 yrs) – Too much or too little attention -> oral fixation > Overgratification: Optimistic, gullible, and admiring > Undergratification: Pessimistic, suspicious, and envious

Psychodynamics • The anal stage (> 2 yrs) – Ego development – Conflict over the parent’s attempt to control when gratification can occur. > Strict training (Anal retentive): Obstinate, stingy, orderly, meticulous > Undergratification (Anal expulsive): Acquiescent, generous, messy

Psychodynamics • The Phallic stage (3 -5 yrs) – Superego development – The Oedipus Complex (boys) > Castration anxiety > Identification with the morals of the father reduces the anxiety – The Electra Complex (girls) > Believes mother is responsible for her castration > Develops penis envy. Wants to have a child by her father to indirectly acquire a penis. > Identifies with mother to gain vicarious satisfaction

Psychodynamics • The latency period (5 - 11) – A respite from conflict • The genital stage (Puberty) – Becomes an adult > No longer polymorpheus perverts > Some fine tuning of Ego > Can obtain gratification from others • Adulthood – Personality is riddled with unconscious conflicts > Leads to a rise in anxiety > Ego must defend the conscious mind from unconscious impulses

Psychodynamics • Defense mechanisms: controlling unconscious thoughts. – Repression: Bury them deep in the unconscious – Reaction formation: Replace a threatening idea with the opposite. > E. g, Homophobia – Projection: Deny your own desires, and perceive others as presenting them. > “I’M NOT THE ONE WHO’S ANGRY!!!!!” – Sublimation: Divert energy into something acceptable. > Sexual energy --> creative energy – Rationalization: Invent a reason for unacceptable behaviour > E. g. , only buying the magazines for the interviews…

Personality • Personality assessment – Objective tests of personality > Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) § Construction • Taken from previously published “inventories” § Scale items • Statistically reduced to 566 items; 10 scales • E. g, Depression, paranoia, introversion, etc.

Personality – Objective tests of personality > Validity scales § The ? scale - Number of questions not answered § The L scale - Catch lies § The F scale - Frequency (90%) § The K scale - Defensiveness. > Predictive Validity § Criterion validity: r =. 3 § Less than other measures like past behaviour

Personality MMPI Profile for Kenneth Bianchi (The hillside strangler) Hypochondria Depression Conversion Hysteria Psychopathic deviate Masculinity-Feminity Paranoia Neurosis Schizophrenic Hypomania Introversion 30 50 70 90 (50 %) (97. 5 %) (99. 9 %) Standard Score

Personality • Projective tests of personality – The Rorschach inkblot test > Unstructured/subjective > Indices have no external validity

Personality – The thematic apperception test. > Tell a story about the picture § What is happening? What lead to the scene? § What will happen next? > No predictive value

Personality • Trait theories of personality – Personality. A pattern of behaviour and thought that prevails across time and situations that differentiates one person from another. – Personality type: Different categories into which personality characteristics can be assigned. > E. g. , Theophrastus -> Thirty personality types § Assumed to be consistent across settings.

Personality • Trait theories of personality – Hipprocates -> Four humours (basic substances) – Galen -> personality and the humours. 1) Blood -> Sanguine (active/ overconfident) 2) Yellow bile -> Choleric (quick to anger/violent) 3) Black bile -> Melancholic (sad/depressed) 4) Phlegm -> Phlegmatic (slow moving/emotionally flat)

Personality • Trait theory – Personality Traits: Enduring dispositions causing a person to behave in a certain way in a certain situation. > There also personality states: Temporary moods. Trait -> influences the likelihood of being -> State Brooding ----------> Miserable Submissive ----------> Resigned Aggressive ----------> Angry Emotionally Unstable ----------> Infactuated

Personality • Trait theory on limited dimensions. – Allport (1936) > Started with 18, 000 descriptive words § Cardinal traits: Rare, strong unifying effect. § Central traits: Less singular, capture important characteristics. § Secondary traits: Minor influences on behaviour.

Personality • Trait theory – Cattell’s theory > Used Allport’s list as a starting point, reduced to 171 § Reduced the list further and had 200 others rated § Performed Factor Analysis: • E. g. , Aggression, stubborn, leadership Dominant ----- Submissive § Developed 16 source traits § Developed the 16 PFQ • 200 questions I like to go to parties Yes. . . Occasionally. . . . No

Personality • Trait theory – Eysenck’s three factor theory > Collected large amount of data -> accounted for it with 3 factors § Introversion - Extroversion • (introspective vs. gregarious) § Neuroticism - Stability • (anxiousness, excitability vs. calmness) § Psychotocism - Self-control • (antisocial vs. considerate) > Developed Eysenck Personality Inventory

Personality • Eysenck’s two factor model and Galen. Moody unstable Touchy Anxious Restless Rigid Agressive Sober Excitable Pessimistic Changeable Reserved Impulsive Unsociable Optimistic Quiet Active Melancholic Choleric Introverted Extroverted Passive Sociable phlegmatic Sanguine Careful Outgoing Thoughtful Talkative Peaceful Easygoing Reliable Lively Even-tempered Carefree stable Calm Leadership

Personality • Trait theory – The Big Five > Dimension Extroversion - Introversion Neuroticism - Placidity Agreeable- Antagonistic Conscientious- Indirectedness Openness - Nonopenness Example fun-loving - sober worrying - calm selfless - selfish reliable - unreliable independent - conforming > Measured by Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness Personality Inventory ( NEO-PI) § Self ratings/ ratings by others

Personality • Brain mechanisms in Personality: Zuckerman – Extroversion -> High sensitivity to reinforcement > Infants with high activity levels ---> Extroverts show reinforcement seeking behaviour § Introverts have higher internal arousal levels § Extroverts have lower internal arousal levels – Neuroticism -> High sensitivity to punishment > Oversensitive amygdala – Psychopathy -> Low sensitivity to punishment > Cannot learn when NOT to do something § High tolerance (set point) for arousal and excitement

Personality • Situationism – Consistency > Mischel’s View: Traits are situation specific § Low consistency across situations § Honesty scale and cheating behavior: r =. 20 -. 30 > Interactionism § Behaviour is a product of disposition, situation, and the interaction between disposition and situation

Personality • Concordance rates for traits W. W. Norton

Personality – Heritability of personality traits > Twin studies (Compiled by Zuckerman (1991) § Heritability • Extroversion -> 70 % • Psychotocism-> 59 % • Neuroticism -> 50% § What about the rest of the variability? • Reared together/apart -> No difference • Adopted /Parents: 4 -7% of variability 50 + 7 = 57% § Where does the rest of the variability come from? • The interaction between nature and nurture

Personality • Three levels of personality(Mc. Adams) – Dispositional traits > Internal, global, and stable (e. g. , friendliness) – Characteristic adaptation > Personal adaptation to motivational, cognitive, developmental challenges – In ‘life stories’ people say their personality changes > Narratives of the self to integrate the past, resent and future.