Personality - Module 30 & 31

personality

personality

an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

free association

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which were unaware

psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

id

according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives; operates on the pleasure principle

ego

according to Freud, the ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain

superego

a moral compass, represents ideas and standards, strives for perfection conscience (the “should do” vs. actually do)

psychosexual stages

the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

Oedipus complex

according to Freud, a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

identification

according to Freud, the process by which children incorporate their parents; values into their developing superego

fixate

according to Freud, an unresolved conflict during the psychosexual stages

oral

time: 0-18 months

focus: pleasure centers on the mouth - sucking, biting, chewing

anal

time: 18-36 months

focus: pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control

phallic

time: 3-6 years

focus: pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings

latency

time: 6-puberty

focus: little or no sexual feelings present

genital

time: puberty on

focus: maturation of sexual interests

defense mechanisms

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

what are Freud’s thoughts on defense mechanisms?

repression underlies all the other defense mechanisms, each of which disguises threatening impulses and keeps them from reaching consciousness

what are the defense mechanisms?

repression, reaction formation, projection, rationalization, displacement, and denial

repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

ex: a child, who faced abuse by a parent, later has no memory of the events but has trouble forming relationships

reaction formation

switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites

ex: a young boy who bullies a young girl because, on a subconscious level, he's attracted to her

projection

disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

ex: you start to feel overwhelmed the night before your final exam that you have been studying for all year. you resort to projection. you might convince yourself that everyone else is feeling just as anxious and overwhelmed as you are

rationalization

offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s action

ex: a student who is rejected from her dream college may explain that she’s happy to be attending a school that’s less competitive and more welcoming

displacement

shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

ex: you are frustrated with your spouse because they have not been helping you with household chores. When you ask your kids to start their chores, and they respond by whining, your anger explodes. You yell at them and accuse them of never helping around the house

denial

refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

ex: someone denies that they have an alcohol or substance use disorder because they can still function and go to work each day

what are the similarities between Neo-Freudian and Freud?

• the personality structures of the id, ego, and superego

• the importance of the unconscious

• the shaping of personality in childhood

• the dynamics of anxiety and the defense mechanism

what are the differences between Ne-Freudian and Freud

• emphasize the importance of the conscious mind's role in interpreting experience and in coping with the environment

• emphasize social, not sexual, tensions as being crucial for forming personality

Alfred Adler

• Inferiority complex - used to describe people with intense feelings of inadequacy often resulting in extreme shyness, self-isolation, or social submissiveness

• Birth order theory - the ways we are raised shapes our personality (oldest, middle, and youngest theory)

Karen Horney

• Neurosis - an inability to adapt and a tendency to experience excessive negative or obsessive thoughts and behaviors

• Counters “penish-envy” with “womb-envy”

• Personality differences in gender are shaped by culture and expectations set by society, not biological differences

penis envy

theorized by Freud, a woman realizes she does not possess a penis and experiences envy of the male (simply men without penises)

womb envy

men envy women because of their capacity for motherhood

what did Alfred Adler and Karen Horney agree with Freud?

that childhood is important

what did Carly Jung agree with Freud?

that the unconscious exerts a powerful influence

what does Carly Jung believe in?

• believed that the unconscious contains more than our repressed thoughts and feelings

• we also have a collective unconscious

collective unconscious

Carly Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history

projective tests

a personality test, such as the Rorschach inkblot test, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics

Rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

thematic aptitude test

type of projective test that involves describing ambiguous scenes to learn more about a person's emotions, motivations, and personality

does development research support Freud’s Views of Childhood?

• some think Freud overestimated parental influence and underestimated peer influence (and abuse)

• today, we understand how Freud’s questioning might have created false memories of abuse, but we also know that childhood sexual abuse does happen

does memory research support Freud’s idea of repression?

• today, researchers acknowledge that we sometimes spare our egos by neglecting threatening information

• some researchers believe that extreme, prolonged stress, might disrupt memory by damaging the hippocampus

does cognitive research support Freud’s view of the unconscious?

• research confirms the reality of unconscious implicit learning

• researchers find little support for Freud’s idea that defense mechanisms disguise sexual and aggressive impulses

can Freud’s theory be tested scientifically?

• Freud's critics note that his theory rests on few objective observations, and parts of it offer few testable hypotheses

• Freud’s theory offers after-the-fact explanations of any characteristic yet fails to predict such behaviors and traits

self-actualization

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arise basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one’s potential

what does Carl Roger believe in a person-centered perspective?

believed that people are basically good and are endowed with self-actualizing tendencies

what are the three conditions of growth-promoting climate

• Genuineness: they are open with their own feelings,, drop their facades, and are transparent and self-disclosing

• Acceptance: they offer unconditional positive regard

• Empathy: they share and mirror other’s feelings and reflect their meaning

unconditional positive regard

according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves,, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”

what has influenced Maslow’s and Roger’s ideas?

influenced counseling, education, child-rearing, and management

trait

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that has been used to identify clusters of terms that tap basic components of intelligence

personality inventories

a questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits

Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI)

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders, this test is now used for many other screening purposes

empirically derived

a test developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups

big five

five trait groups that help understand an individuals personality

what are the big five trait groups?

conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion

conscientiousness

hardworking, dependence, organized

agreeableness

helpful, trusting, empathetic

neuroticism

anxious, unhappy, prone to negative emotions

openness

willing to try new things and explore new places

extraversion

outgoing, warm, seeks adventure

how heritable are traits?

varies per person with the diversity of people studied, but it generally runs about 50% of each dimension

what is the personal-situation controversy?

• In familiar situations, we feel less constrained, allowing our traits to emerge

• At any moment the immediate situation powerfully influences a person’s behavior, especially when the situation makes clear demands

in the view of social-cognitive psychologists, what mutual influences shape an individual’s personality?

at every moment, our behavior is influenced by our biology, our social and cultural experiences, and our cognition and disposition, including our feelings about our control over our environment

social-cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

what are the causes and consequences of personal control?

• self-control is turn predicts good adjustment, better grades, and social success

• in the long run, self-control requires attention and energy

• self-control also replenishes with rest and becomes stronger with exercise

personal control

the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

what is the difference between internal and external locus?

“Internal” achieve more in school and work, act more independently, enjoy better health and feel less depressed than do “external”

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

optimism vs. pessimism

• optimism - expecting a positive outcome

  • excessive optimism can blind us to real risks

• pessimism - expecting a negative outcome

• our ignorance of what we don’t know helps sustain our confidence in our own abilities

what underlying principle guides social-cognitive psychologists in their assessment of people’s behavior and beliefs?

to predict people’s behavior, social-cognitive psychologists often observe them in action in realistic situations

what has the social-cognitive perspective contributed to the study of personality?

• it sensitizes researchers to how situations affect individuals

• it builds from psychological research on learning and cognition

what criticisms have social-cognitive perspectives faced?

• critics charge that the social-cognitive perspective focuses so much on the situation that it fails to appreciate the person’s inner traits

• critics say that our unconscious motives, our emotions, and our pervasive traits shine through

self

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions

spotlight effect

overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)

self-esteem

one’s feelings of high and low self-worth

self-serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

defense self-esteem

focuses on sustaining itself, which makes failures and criticism feel threatening

secure self-esteem

to feel accepted for who we are, and not for our looks, wealth, or acclaim, relieves pressures to succeed and enables us to focus beyond ourselves