Psychology From Inquiry to Understanding 1e Scott O

Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding 1/e Scott O. Lilienfeld Steven Jay Lynn Laura Namy Nancy J. Woolf Prepared by Jennifer Sage This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Chapter 14: Personality Who We Are Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Lecture Preview n n n Discuss different approaches used to study personality Describe and evaluate psychoanalytic theories of the mind and of development Examine behavioral, social, and humanistic theories of personality Distinguish between what personality traits can and cannot predict Identify and evaluate different ways of measuring personality Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Personality: How Can We Study It? n Personality consists of traits - relatively n Two primary approaches: enduring predispositions that influence our behavior across many situations n n Nomothetic approach – focuses on identifying general laws that govern the behavior of all individuals (most modern research) Idiographic approach – focuses on identifying the unique configuration of characteristics and life history experiences within a person (most case studies) Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Causes of Personality Differences n Genetic factors n Shared environmental factors (e. g. , parents raise their children similarly) n Nonshared environmental factors (e. g. , parents treat one child more affectionately) Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Causes of Personality Differences n Birth order (nonshared environmental influence) n n n Twin studies n n Later-borns are 3 times more likely than firstborns to favor revolutionary scientific ideas Still controversial Genetic factors have a heavy influence on personality, but not complete control Identical twins reared apart are as similar as identical twins reared together Shared environment plays little to no role in adult personality Molecular genetic studies – pinpoint genes associated with specific personality traits n Remember that genes code for proteins, not specific behaviors Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Apply Your Thinking n Imagine a specific gene is found to be more prevalent in Christians than in Muslims. Does this mean that this gene could be considered the Christianity gene? Why or why not? n Absolutely not. While the popular media might publicize this finding in a skewed manner, good scientists will not. Remember that genes code for proteins, not behaviors. This gene may code for any number of behaviors closely related to Christianity. Also, this gene may be more prevalent in certain areas of the world where different religions are practiced. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Psychoanalytic Theory n Freud believed mental illness was psychogenic rather than somatogenic n n n Caused by psychological factors Evidence from glove anesthesia, hypnosis, and catharsis Core assumptions: n n n Psychic determinism – all psychological events have a cause Symbolic meaning – all actions are meaningful Unconscious motivation – we rarely understand why we do things Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Glove Anesthesia Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Three Agencies of the Human Psyche n Id – basic instincts; the reservoir of our most primitive impulses, including sex and aggression n n Ego – the boss; the psyche’s executive and principal decision maker n n Pleasure principle – the tendency of the id to strive for immediate gratification Reality principle – the tendency of the ego to postpone gratification until it can find an appropriate outlet Superego – our sense of morality Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Freud’s Model of Personality Structure Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Three Agencies in Conflict n n Freud believed that these three agencies interacted continuously Hypothesized that psychological distress is caused by disharmony between three agencies of the psyche n n All dreams are wish fulfillments – expression of the id’s impulses The superego commands the ego to convert these wishes into symbols Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Anxiety and Defense Mechanisms n Defense mechanisms – unconscious maneuvers intended to minimize anxiety n n n Repression – motivated forgetting of emotionally threatening memories or impulses Denial – motivated forgetting of distressing external experiences Regression – act of returning psychologically to a younger, and typically simpler and safer, age Reaction-formation – transformation of an anxietyprovoking emotion into its opposite Projection – unconscious attribution of our negative characteristics to others Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Defense Mechanisms n n n Displacement – directing an impulse from a socially unacceptable target onto a safer and more socially acceptable one Rationalization – providing a reasonable-sounding explanation for unreasonable behaviors or failures Intellectualization – avoiding emotions associated with anxiety-provoking experiences by focusing on abstract and impersonal thoughts Identification with the aggressor – process of adopting characteristics of people we find threatening Sublimation – transforming a socially unacceptable impulse into an admired goal Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Freudian Personality Development n n Personality develops in psychosexual stages differing in the erogenous zone, the sexually arousing area of the body: Oral stage (12 -18 months) - infants obtain sexual gratification by sucking and drinking Anal stage (18 months-3 years) - focuses on toilet training Phallic stage (3 -6 years) - focuses on genitals n n n Oedipus complex, Electra complex, and penis envy Latency stage (6 -12 years) - sexual impulses are submerged into the unconscious Genital Stage (12 years - adulthood) - sexual impulses awaken and begin to mature into romantic attraction toward others Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Apply Your Thinking n In a study entitled “Penis envy? Or pencil-needing? ” Granville B. Johnson (1966) examined 300 introductory psychology students who completed an exam with pencils provided to them by the instructor. At the end of the exam, students deposited their pencils in a box in the classroom. Johnson hypothesized that according to Freud’s concept of penis envy, women should keep more pencils than men, because pencils are phallic symbols. As predicted, fewer women returned pencils than men. Do these findings provide support for penis envy? Why or why not? n These results may seem to provide evidence for Freudian penis envy, but it is confounded in number of ways. For instance, one could easily imagine that women have a higher affinity for pencils because they enjoy the color of them, not because they remind them of a penis. Or perhaps girls took more notes during class and thus became more attached to the pencil and did not want to give it back. The possibilities are endless. Thus this study does nothing to rule out rival hypotheses and cannot be used to draw any conclusions. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Criticisms of Psychoanalytic Theory n n n n Unfalsifiability Failed predictions Lack of evidence for defense mechanisms Questionable conception of the unconscious Reliance on unrepresentative samples Flawed assumption of shared environmental influences Freud’s theories have exerted a profound influence on conceptions of the mind, but they are problematic, scientifically Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Freud’s Followers n Neo-Freudian theories - derived from Freud’s model: n n Emphasize unconscious influences on behavior Early experiences are important in shaping personality Place less emphasis on sexuality as a driving force in personality More optimistic regarding the prospects for long-term personality growth Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Neo-Freudians n Alfred Adler – striving for superiority (style of life) n n Inferiority complex – feelings of inferiority that can lead to overcompensation Carl Jung – the collective unconscious n Collective unconscious – shared storehouse of memories that ancestors have passed down to us • Contains archetypes – cross-culturally universal emotional symbols n n n Karen Horney – feminist psychology Erich Fromm – escape from freedom Object relations theorists – emphasized children’s mental representations of others, especially their parents Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Behavioral Views of Personality n Behaviorists believe personality is controlled by genetic factors and contingencies (reinforcers/punishers) n Determinists – believe all our actions are products of preexisting causal influences n Believe unconscious variables that play a role in causing behavior lie outside, not inside, us Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

True or False? Both Freudian psychologists and pure behavioral psychologists believe in free will. FALSE. Freudian psychologists and behaviorists both believe in determinism, that every action is brought upon as the result of something else. Thus, they do not leave room for free will. This is one of the very few ideas that they agree upon. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Social Learning Theories of Personality n Emphasize thinking as a cause of personality Reciprocal determinism – mutual influence of personality and cognitive factors, behavior, and environment n Observational learning – learning can occur by watching others n Locus of control – extent to which people believe that reinforcers and punishers lie inside or outside of their control n Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Humanistic Model of Personality n Core motive in personality is self-actualization: the drive to develop our innate potential to the fullest possible extent n Carl Rogers – personalities consist of three major components: organism, self, and conditions of worth • Incongruence – inconsistency between our personalities and innate dispositions n Abraham Maslow – studied the characteristics of selfactualized people • Prone to peak experiences – transcendent moments of intense excitement and tranquility marked by a profound sense of connection to the world Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Trait Theories of Personality n Factor analysis – statistical technique that analyzes the correlations among responses on personality inventories n n n Used to reduce a large diversity of personality traits into as few as three to five factors Walter Mischel – argued that personality traits did not predict behavior very well Seymour Epstein – demonstrated that while Mischel was correct for specific events, personality traits can predict aggregated behaviors Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Trait Theories n Big Five - traits that have surfaced repeatedly in factor analysis of personality measures n n n Uncovered using lexical approach – most crucial features of personality are embedded in language Extraversion – social and lively Neuroticism – tense and moody Conscientiousness – careful and responsible Agreeableness – friendly, and easy to get along with Openness – intellectually curious Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Evaluating the Big Five n Able to predict real-world behaviors n Some question the lexical approach because there may be unconscious features of personality There appear to be limits to the cross-cultural universality n Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Other Considerations n Cultural influences on personality: n n n We can express our personality traits in different ways: basic tendencies vs. characteristic adaptations n n n Individualistic vs. Collectivistic societies National character? No evidence to support Sensation seekers - firefighting vs. crime Most personality traits don’t change much after age 30 Trait models focus on description, rather than explanation, of individual differences Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

William Sheldon: Personality Assessment from Body Types? Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Personality Assessment n Structured personality tests – paper-and-pencil tests consisting of questions that respondents answer in one of a few fixed ways n Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) – widely used structured test designed to assess symptoms of mental disorders n Built using empirical method of test construction: an approach in which researchers begin with two or more criterion groups, and examine which items best distinguish them • Results in low face validity – the extent to which respondents can tell what the items are measuring Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Apply Your Thinking n What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of having low face validity? n Advantages: • Does not allow people to consciously skew results toward a positive or negative diagnosis • May add unconscious feelings to the evaluation that cannot be done with direct questions n Disadvantages • Questions without direct relevance may not be helpful in evaluating personality • Subjects may think questions are not important and give random answers Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

MMPI-2 Profile Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Personality Tests n California Psychological Inventory – offspring of MMPI n Primarily assesses traits in the normal range n Rational/theoretical method of test construction – requires test developers to begin with a clear-cut conceptualization of a trait and then write items to assess that conceptualization n Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) – assesses positive emotions, negative emotions, and impulse control • MPQ has strong validity, but not all rational/theoretical tests do, such as the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Personality Assessment n n Projective tests - consist of ambiguous stimuli that examinees must interpret Projective hypothesis – examinees project aspects of their own personality onto the ambiguous stimulus • • n Rorschach Inkblot Test Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Human figure drawings Graphology Lack incremental validity Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

Pitfalls in Personality Assessment n P. T. Barnum effect – tendency of people to accept high base rate descriptions as accurate n Demonstrates that personal validation (subjective judgments of accuracy) are a flawed method for evaluating a test’s validity n Illusory correlation – the perception of nonexistent statistical associations between variables in personality test results Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009