What is Personality The unique characteristic patterns of

What is Personality? * § The unique, characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors consistently exhibited by an individual over time (and across situations) that strongly influence our expectations, self-perceptions, values and attitudes, and predicts our reactions to people, problems and stress… § Key components n n n Distinctiveness and Uniqueness of character An enduring pattern of behavior (stability - consistency and predictability) An internal coherence or unified organization of character that embraces the whole person

Major Theoretical Perspectives n Personality theory has a long and complicated past with significant disagreement. It focuses on the study of individual differences, personality traits, and types. It is used to understand, assess, predict and treat behaviors n n n Psychodynamic (Freud, Jung, Adler, Erikson. . . ) Trait (Allport, Cattell, Eysenck) Humanistic (Maslow, Rogers) Behaviorist (Skinner) Cognitive-Social Learning (Bandura, Seligman, Mischel)

Psychodynamic Theories (Freud) n Personality is a product of psychological forces within the individual, often outside conscious awareness n Propositions common to psychodynamic theories n Mental processes such as emotions, motivations, and thought may conflict with one another n Early childhood experiences strongly affect personality development n Development of personality involves learning to regulate sexual and aggressive urges

The Psychodynamic Perspective The Unconscious n Mostly comprised of unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories of which we are unaware n Primary role of repression n Versus the contemporary view of the unconscious information processing (e. g. automaticity)

Psychodynamic Personality Structure § Id A reservoir of unconscious psychic energy § § Strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives Operates on the pleasure principle, demands immediate gratification and resides only in unconscious § Superego The source of moral behavior § § Represents internalized ideals (societal/parental) Provides standards for judgment (conscience) § Ego Conscious, “executive” part of personality § § Mediates the demands of the id, superego, and reality Operates on the reality principle

Personality Structure § Freud’s idea of the mind’s structure

Defense Mechanisms n When the ego cannot satisfy the id in ways acceptable to the superego, anxiety and uneasiness ensue (neurosis) n In response the ego may employ a number of defense mechanisms to protect the conscious mind

Defense Mechanisms – Examples? n Denial Refusal to acknowledge a painful reality n Repression Unpleasant thoughts are excluded from n n consciousness Projection Attributing one’s own feelings, motives, or wishes to others Identification Taking on the characteristics of other to avoid feeling incompetent Regression Reverting to childlike behavior Rationalization Self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions

Defense Mechanisms n Intellectualization Thinking about stressful problems in an abstract way to detach oneself from them n Reaction formation Expression of exaggerated ideas and emotions that are opposite of true feelings n Displacement Shift repressed motives from an original object to a substitute object n Sublimation Redirecting repressed motives and feelings into socially acceptable activities n Others?

Personality Development § Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development Stage Focus Oral (0 -18 months) Pleasure centers on the mouth-sucking, biting, chewing Anal (18 -36 months) Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control Phallic (3 -6 years) Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings Latency (6 to puberty) Dormant sexual feelings Genital (puberty on) Maturation of sexual interests

Psychosexual Stages n Oral Stage (birth to 18 months) n n Pleasure is obtained by sucking and swallowing Too much oral stimulation may result in an overly optimistic, gullible, and dependent adult - Dependent Too little stimulation can result in a pessimistic, sarcastic, argumentative adult – Aggressive Oral fixation

Psychosexual Stages n Anal Stage (18 months to 3 ½ years) n n Focus of pleasure is the controlling bowels Strict toilet training may result in anal retentive personality types as adults, i. e. , stingy and excessively orderly or anal expulsive (do the math…)

Psychosexual Stages n Phallic Stage (after age 3) n n n Erotic feelings center on genitals Boys experience the Oedipal complex where they are strongly attached to their mother and jealous of their father (castration anxiety) Girls experience the Electra complex, being strongly attached to their father and jealous of their mother These complexes are usually resolved by identification with the same-sex parent Fixation at this stage may result in vanity and egotism in adult life and difficulty in relationships

Psychosexual Stages n Latency Stage (5 or 6 to 12 or 13) n n Child appears to have no interest in the other sex Dormancy, repression and sublimation n Genital Stage (begins at puberty) n n Final stage marked by development of mature sexuality Fixation or repression

Psychodynamic Theorists (Neo-Freudians) § Carl Jung – Analytical Psychology § § § Deemphasizes sexual and aggressive Emphasizes understanding the psyche through worlds of dreams, art, mythology, religion and philosophy Collective v. personal unconscious § A shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history. Archetypes Introversion v. extraversion Animus v. anima, the persona and shadow

Psychodynamic Theorists (Neo-Freudians) § Alfred Adler – Individual Psychology § § Importance of childhood social tension. Fuller break from Freud We are mainly conscious beings, not unconscious Inferiority v. superiority (inferiority complex) Role of birth order in personality formation (dethronement, compensation, regression, inferiority)

Neo-Freudians § Karen Horney § § § Importance of childhood and social relations Basic security vs Basic anxiety or Hostility Adult neuroses and coping strategies § Compliance – moving toward § Aggression – moving against § Isolation – moving away

Social Psychoanalytic Perspective (Review) n Erikson – Eight Ages of Man Emphasis on childhood social development n n n n trust v. mistrust autonomy v. shame and doubt initiative v. guilt industry v. inferiority identity v. role confusion intimacy v. isolation generativity v. stagnation integrity v. despair

Assessing the Unconscious - Projective § Projective Tests like the Rorschach or TAT versus objective tests § Rorschach Inkblot Test § Most widely used (and controversial) projective test utilizes a set of 10 inkblots. Reliability and validity § Seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing interpretations of the blots

Rorschach Inkblot 2

Rorschach Inkblot 9

Humanistic Perspective § Abraham Maslow § Studied self-actualization processes of productive and healthy people

Humanistic Perspective § Carl Rogers (1902 -1987) § Unconditional Positive Regard § An attitude of total acceptance toward another person as well aa oneself (v. Conditional PR) § Client Centered Therapy § Focused on growth and fulfillment of individuals focused on Genuineness, Acceptance, and Empathy

The Trait Perspective § Trait Theory § § A characteristic pattern of behavior that is stable Early contributor Gordon Allport identified 18, 000 words representing traits Allport & Odbert (1936)

Trait Theory § Factor analysis statistical approach used to describe and relate personality traits § Raymond Cattell used this approach to develop a 16 Personality Factor (16 PF) inventory § Surface v. source traits aka Superficial traits Boisterous Impatient Irritable Excitement Impulsive Basic trait

Trait Theory - The Big Five Factors Today’s trait researchers believe that Eysencks’ personality dimensions are too narrow and Cattell’s 16 PF too large. A middle range (5 factors) of traits does a better job of assessment (Goldberg) Conscientiousness Agreeableness Neuroticism Openness Extraversion

The Big Five (Goldberg)

Personality Inventories & MMPI Objective v. Projective Testing § Personality Inventory Objective v Projective § Questionnaires used to assess selected personality traits (MMPI-2, Kiersey/Myers-Briggs, Big 5 Inventories) § Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) § The most widely researched and clinically used. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders. Now used for many other purposes § Personality Tests and Tools Five Factor Test §

MMPI Clinically significant range Hypochondriasis 1 (concern with body symptoms) Depression 2 (pessimism, hopelessness) After treatment (no scores in the clinically significant range) Hysteria 3 (uses symptoms to solve problems) Psychopathic deviancy 4 (disregard for social standards) Before treatment (anxious, depressed, and displaying deviant behaviors) Masculinity/femininity 5 (interests like those of other sex) Paranoia 6 (delusions, suspiciousness) Psychasthenia 7 (anxious, guilt feelings) Schizophrenia 8 (withdrawn, bizarre thoughts) Hypomania 9 (overactive, excited, impulsive) Social introversion 10 (shy, inhibited) 0 30 40 50 60 T-score 70 80 § Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test profile

Enduring Issues in Trait Theory n To what extent are traits n Stable (person-situation vis a vis behaviors)? Influenced by biology (genetic predisposition)? Experienced across culture? Predictive of (other) attributes/behaviors? Truly indicated on trait inventories (self-report)? Limited to simply five general areas? Others? n Issue of Situationism and Person-Situation (Mischel) n n n

Social-Cognitive Perspective § Social-Cognitive Perspective Views behavior and personality as influenced by the interaction between persons and their social context (Mischel & Bandura) § Reciprocal Determinism The interacting influences between personality and environmental factors § § § People choose different environments (and our environments shape us). Examples? Our personalities shape how we interpret/react to events Our personalities help create situations to which we react