Test 3 Personality CH 12-14, 16-17(Allport, Psych of the individual, McCrae and Costa, 5 factor trait theory, Eysenck-Biologically based factor theory,

—after meeting wiith freud allport thought there may be another approach to personality, this meeting sparked his interest in personality theory

—he wanted psychoanalysis and animal driven learning but also more humanistic

—favored broad theories over specific theory even if less testable

more than any other theorist, he emphasized the uniqueness of the individual…

we are all completely different, no 2 clients the same, didn’t like trait and factor theories

attempting to describe ppl jus by general traits robs them of their unique individuality

morphogenic (idiographic-but he stopped using this word) science vs nomothetic methods

gathers data on a single individual vs groups of ppl

advocated for electic approach, argued against particularism

takes from multiple theories, no one theory can explain the total of personality. Particularism emphasize a single aspect of personality

“do not forget what you have decided to neglech

bio

born In indiana

youngest of 4

father became a physician and had patients in home

religious family, emphasize clear mind and religion

he was a nerd, walking dictionary, very isolated, didn’t see himself as a scholar

early interest in philosophy and religion

went to Harvard and had long association with the school

believed when he taught at Harvard that it was the first personalitty course taught In American college

wife was named Alda and had clinical psych degree and had more clinical research than allport and helped him especially with case studies

one child robert

received many awards and elected president of APAllA

Allports approach to personality: what is personality? what is the role of C motivation in personality theory? what are the characteristics of a psychologically healthy person?

“the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characterisittc behavior and thought”

-dynamic, always growing, not static

-psychophysical, both psychological and physical aspects

-expressive, we adjust to environment but also interact in a way where it can adjust to us

-determine, not just a mask, its the actual person

-characterisittc, unique and no one can duplicate

Emphasized importance more than anyone. healthly adults are usually aware of what they are doing and their reasons for doing it (didn’t agree that freud believed allport was talking abt his own phobia with the boy’s). doesn’t ignore UC, beleives compulsions came from here

proactive behavior, not only react to exernal stimuli but can C act on their environment, motivated by C, relatively trauma free childhood (age doesnt determine maturity btw). with this, there are 6 criteria for mature personality

1. extension of the sense of self: seek to identify and participate with events outside themselves

2. warm relating to self and others: love others intimately and compassionately

3. emotional security/self acceptance: emotional poise, accept themselves for what they are, not overly upset when a bad day

4. realistic perception of environment: no fantasy worlds or bending of reality

5. insight and humor: dont need to attribute own mistakes and weakness to others, nonhostile humor

6. unifying philosophy of life: clear view of purpose of life—felt mature religious orientation was crucial but doesnt have to be religious

most important structure of personality

personal dispositions—allows the description of the person in terms of individual characteristics

personal dispositions

common traits are held by everyone, like personality inventories, personal dispositions allow studying a single individual-peculiar to the individual

“generalized neurosphycic structure with the capacity to render many stimuli functionally equivalent..inittate and guide consistent forms of adaptive behavior”

we may have hundreds of personal dispositions

levels of perosnal dispositions

cardinal: most ppl dont have, possessing a characteristic that dominates their lives

central: eveyone has 5-10 central dispositons, how ppl would describe you

secondary: everyone has many that aren’t central to personality but occur regularly '

• Cardinal traits: Rare, but totally define a person’s life (e.g., Mother Teresa’s kindness).

• Central traits: 5–10 key traits that shape your personality (e.g., honest, friendly).

• Secondary traits: Many minor traits that show up in specific situations (e.g., getting nervous before speeches).

dispositions are unique to each person, but if you compare people too much, those unique traits start looking like common traits—broad traits used to classify groups (e.g., introverts vs. extroverts). Personal dispositions focus on what makes you unique, not how you fit into a general category.

motivational and stylistic dispositions

all personal dispositions have motivational power, they are dynamic , but some are felt more strongly than others (motivational dispositons) from basic needs and drives, INITIATE action-maslow coping

less intense=stylisic dispositions, GUIDE action, less intensely experienced-maslow expressive

were motivated to dress to stay warm-motivational, but the manner that we dress is stylistic. no distinct division between the 2

proprium

whether motivational or stylistic, these are perosnal dispositons that are close to the core of personality-this is me—these charactisicts and behaviors that are warm, central, and important to our lives-sense of self, not the whole personality. aspects of life important to self identity and enhancement. personas values and C

nonproportinate behaviors: basic drives and needs that are met without difficulty, tribal customs-clothes/saying hello, habitual behaviors-smoking/burhsing teeth

what are most ppl motived by

present drives rather than past events

theories of motives must understand difference between peripheral motives and propriate strivings

P motives: reduce a need

P strivings: maintain tension and disequilibrium E

Allport’s theory of motivation explains why people do things even when there’s no immediate reward. He separates motives into peripheral motives and propriate strivings:

• Peripheral motives = Reducing a need (e.g., eating because you’re hungry).

• Propriate strivings = Creating and maintaining tension to grow (e.g., studying hard not just to pass but because you love learning).

He also describes functional autonomy, meaning motives can become independent from their original reasons:

1. Perseverative functional autonomy – Based on habits and repetition. Example: A rat keeps running a maze even after the food reward is gone because it enjoys the activity. A student continues solving a puzzle after reaching their money limit because they now enjoy the challenge.

2. Propriate functional autonomy – More personal and tied to identity. Some motives become part of a person’s self-concept. Example: Someone starts exercising to lose weight but later does it because it’s part of who they are.

He did not like older theories that mainly addressed that ppl are only reactive and motivated by Needs and reduced tension. he said that a theory must allow for proactive behavior, which is?

ppl not only react to their environment but also shape their environment

psych studies behaviors patterns and laws but also must study growth and individuality. a mature person doesnt just seek pleasure and reduction of pain but to acquire new systems of motivation

functional autonomy and criteria for functional autonomy

his most controversial

a theory of changing rather than unchanging motives—his capstone for Ideas on motives

if a motive is functional autonomous (independent from original motive responsible for behavior) it explains the behavior and there no need to look for hidden motives

• Freud’s view: If someone hoards money, he might say it’s because of unresolved potty training issues in childhood (like being overly controlled or anxious about messes). Freud would look for a hidden psychological reason from early life.

• Allport’s view: He would say that if a person hoards money, it could simply be because they like money—not because of childhood conflicts. The behavior has become independent of any past experiences.

Example:

A child might have learned to save money because their parents taught them to. Later in life, they keep hoarding money not because of childhood training, but because they now genuinely enjoy accumulating wealth. There’s no need to dig into their past to explain it. or planting to avoid hunger but now u genuinly like to plant

“acquired system of motivation in which the tnesions involved are not of the same kind as the antecedent tensions from which the acquired system developed’

criteria for functional autonomy: a motive is functionally autonomous to the extent that it seeks new goals aka the behavior will continue even as the motivation for it changes

4 requirement for accurate theory of motivation according to Allport

1. "will acknowledge the contemporaneity of motives." In other words, "Whatever moves us must move now" : The past per se is unimportant. The history of an individual is significant only when it has a present effect on motivation.

2. "It will be a pluralistic theory-allowing for motives of many types" : Allport was critical of Freud and all theories that emphasize self-actualization as the ultimate motive. allport will not reduce all human motives to one drive aka diff motives for children adults neurotics some C some Uc some peripheral some propriate etc

3. "It will ascribe dynamic force to cognitive processes-e.g., to planning and intention' ; focusing on the future because we are planning and intending to a goal

4. "will allow for the concrete uniqueness of motives" some motives are simply unique and not generalized like sam wanting to get better at bowling, some see it fulfilling agressive need or sexual drive but allportt sees it as him simply wanting to get better at bowling, his unique and functionally autonomous motive

2 levels of functional autonomy

perseverative functional autonomy ; animal and humans, based on neurological principles. a rat keeps running a maze even tho theres no cheese. why? because it fun. a college student is told for every piece of a puzzle they put together they get a dollar, their limit is 10 dollars. if its a 20 piece puzzle and they finish it, their motive is no longer money but to complete the task

propriate functional autonomy: master system of motivation, unity on personality, self sustaining motives related to the proprium aka means that some motives become part of a person’s sense of self (proprium) and help shape their identity. These motives are self-sustaining and give a person purpose and direction in life. like only playing piano because parents signed u up but now u love it and it’s part of u

processes NOT functionally autonomous aka still original motives and have not become independent from them

biological drives—eating breathing

motives directly linked to reduction of basic drives

reflexes

constitutional equipment —intelligence temperament physique

habits in the process of being formed

patterns of behavior that require reinforcement

sublimations that can be tied to childhood sexual desires—A person with repressed childhood sexual desires for control and dominance might become a strict, rule-enforcing boss.\

some neurotic or pathological symptoms—if a compulsion can be eliminated through therapy then it is not functionally autonomous vs those resistent to therapy

notes:

had a lifelong active interest in scientific study of religion more than any other personality theorist

did alot of work on prejudice through contact hypothesis—having contact and relationships with minority groups. hypothesized that discrimination may actually be because of ingroup favoritism rather than outgroup hatred

deep religious commitment =mature individual

forgivness and intrinsically motivated religion = greater mental health (iintrinsic = genuinely guides a person’s life, extrinsic = a means to external ends, such as social status or personal comfort.

he based his theory more on philosophical speculation and common sense rather than scientific investigation. his theory was not intended to be new but to be electic.

early childhood experiences are only important if they exist in the present

psychological growth can happen at any age

limited freedom, although free will exists some ppl are more capable of making choices, can be expanded through self insight and becoming objective, education and knowledge, open minded for diff modes of choosing

how we react to culture depends on personality

Ch 13- McCrae and Costa 5 factor trait theory

what are the Big 5

extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience

catwell indirectly influenced them and both used the inductive method…he did 16 personality factors, did Q,L,T data, common/unique traits, source/surface traits, temperament motivation ability

way of gathering data where there is no preconceived bias concerning the number or name of traits or types

Factor Analysis

mathematical technique: observe many ppl, quantify the observations (height measured in inches), then find which variables (scores) relate to which other variables and to what extent (correlation coefficient) -strength+direction, degree of correspondence, perfect is r=1 = too much data

factor analysis allows us to account for a large number of variables with a smaller number of more basic dimensions 2. identify factors (units of personality) 3.how does each score contribute to various factors (factor loadings) 4. is is unipolar (from a scale of 0 to some large amount like height and weight) or bipolar (extends from one pole to the opposite with the middle being the midpoint (liberalism vs conservatism) 5. use the orthogonal rotation to give is psychological meaning (assumes some pos or neg correlation + an angle of less or more than 90 degrees

bio:

mccrae youngest of 3, liked science and math, interested in philosophy in school, he didn’t like it was non empirical so he pursued psych and found catwell interesting for his mathematical methods. when doing his phd he began to work as a research assistant with a man who referred him to another psychologist, costa. after grad, costa hired mccrae, they worked on a project and both become hired by the gerontology research which gave them the tools to question of how personality is structured. costa was only son, he had 3 kids, taught Harvard, pres of apa. together they have much research, many books, and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. through using factor analytic techniques they found N AND E which led them to O. they analyzed almost all major personality inventories like Myer briggs

the 5 factor model’s (FFM) major contribution is being able to answer these questions…

2 questions were big at that time such has how to find a unified discipline (so may scales and traits) and what is the structure of personality—shows permeance with age and can be used across cultures in diff languages

personality traits follow a bell shaped distribution and most ppl score where

near the middle of each trait, only a few at the extremes

N and E are seen as 2 strongest and most common traits

Chart of the model

O = ppl prefer variety vs closure aka more likely to try new foods and restaurants vs sticking with the familiar, questioning traditional values vs sticking to tradition

it was time for them to change the FF taxonomy into the five factor theory-old therioes cannot just be abandoned but replaced-must create an alternative theory

core components are shown as ____ and peripheral as _____ the arrows as _____

rectangles

ellipses

dynamic processes (direction of causal influence, changes over time)

basic tendencies (personality traits)

one of the central components of personality, contain the 5 stable traits but also cog abilities, artistic talent, language, sexual orientation

universal raw material of personality capacities and dispositions…

core components of FFT

characteristic adaptations

self concept

acquired personality traits ppl develop as they adapt to environment like habits, skills, beliefs -more flexible and influenced by external than basic tendencies that are more stable. EX: how quick u learn to sing is basic tendency, what we learn when singing is the adaptation. these adaptations are the consequences of tendencies (smiling at strangers in the adaptation, the tendency is extraversion) varies from culture

characteristic adaptation “knowledge, views, evaluations of self…” the beliefs and attitudes someone has towards themselves, includes personal myths

peripheral components of FFT

biological bases (causes basic tendencies),

object biography (life experiences),

external influences

FFT rests on a single causal influence: biology. Genes, hormones, brain structure

“everything a person does, thinks, feels, across the whole lifespan”-the objective reality of what has happened in peoples lives rather than their perception of It

how we respond to physical and social situations: its abt characteristic adaptations and their interaction with external influences

bob is offered tickets to see the opera (external influence), but he hates opera (characteristic adaptation), he refuses the offer (objective biography)

each component of personality other than biological have core postulates

individuality

origin

development

structure

adults have a unique set of traits and each person exhibits a unique combo of traits patterns

all personality traits are the result of endogenous (internal) factors, like genetics hormones brain structure

traits develop and change through childhood but in adolencse the development slows then nearly stops in early-mid adulthood

traits are organized hierarchically from narrow and specific to broad and general

postulates for character adaptations

traits affect the way we adapt to the changes in our environment and our basic tendencies result in our seeking and selecting particular environments that match our dispositions

maladjustment: our responses are not always consistent with personal goals/cultural values: too much introversion can be carried to extreme shyness

basic traits may change over time due to maturation, environment etc. aka basic tendencies are stable but characteristic adaptations are not

don’t forget made NEO-PI

CH 14- Eysenck-Biologically based factor theory

focused on Factor analysis and BIOLOGY, creating only three, not 5 dimensions of personality which are

extraversion/introversion, neuroticim/stability, psychoticism/superego

easy summary of his theory

the key is that individual differences in ppls personality were biological, not just psychological. genetic differences lead to structural differences in the CNS (brain structures, hormones, neurotransmitters), these differences in biology lead to differences in the 3 factors of personality

what is the evidence of this biological basis of personality

temperament-bio based tendency to behave in certain way from very early in life, behavioral genetics-how heredity affects behavior/personality, brain measure research--eeg, fmri

EEG and fMRI

eeg electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imagining. EEG for electrical activity in brain: put electrodes on scalp-shows WHEN brain activity occurs, not where. fMRI tells us where activity in the brain is occurring during certain tasks: tracks blood+O2

extent to which a characteristic is influenced by genetics

heritability

bio

born in berlin, only child of theatrical family, mom was film start dad was comedian, singer, actor, barely saw his parents, felt they had no emotion towards him which he reciprocated, after divorce he lived with his g maw which he adored. he had no rules and permissive caregivers. he believes this neither impacted or hindered him because genetic factors are greater than childhood experiences, he always wasn't afriad to correct his teachers with his superior knowledge, when told he had to become part of the German secret police, he escaped Germany as the idea was disgusitng to him. received Bach in psych by accident, married got phd, worked in hospital and believed what 2 factors could account for all types of diagnosis. found clinical psych programs to be unscientific/imadequate . divorced and remarried, made his own clinical de[artment, most abundant writer in psych history, made many therapists mad because he said psychotherapy was no more effective than placebo

extra/intro, nuero/emo stability

personality dimensions through factor analysis must have a biological existence or they are useless. how do u identify a factory

psychometric evidence for the factors existence: reliable + replicable, other investigators from a diff lab must be able to find it

heritability: must fit a genetic model

make sense from a theoretical view: deductive method, start theory then gain data consistent with that theory

possess social relevance: mathematically derived factors have a relationship with socially relevant variables

4 levels of the hierarchy of behavior

1. specific acts/cognitions: individual behaviors/thoughts that my/may not be characteristic of that person (student finishing a reading assignment )

2. habitual acts/cognitions: responses that recur under similar conditions (keep doing an assignment till its done), reliable//consistent SEVERAL RELATED HABITUAL RESPONSES FORM A TRAIT “sig intercorrelations between different habitual behaviors)

3. trait: “important semi-permanent persoanlity dispositions”(student would have trait of persistence if they habitually complete the assignment) trait level behaviors extracted through factor analysis of habit level responses

4. he concentrated here. Types or superfactors: type is made up of several traits-persisnence may by related ti inferiority shyness and other traits which the entire cluster = introverted type

remember that cattell found 35 traits and are all at level 3, but eye found three N, E, P. E and P are not limited to ___ ppl, although tend to score higher on these scales, all 3 traits are ___ (from one end to the other, I listed them before with slashes, and all part of ____ personality. each factor usually has a midpoint (____) rather than from one end or the other (bimodally)

pathological

bipolar

normal

unimodally

primary difference between E and I is not behavioral but__. Eye believed that each of his superfactors met his 4 criteria. What did he believe was the primary cause of differences between intro and extra

biological

cortical arousal level: psychological condition inherited. E have Lower level of arousal = higher threshold for stimulation. Intro have higher level of arousal = lower sensory threshold, greater reactions to stimulation. Goal is to maintain optimal level of stimulation.

cuz of this E more likely to have more sex, drug, do crazy stuff etc

Superfactor N also has a heredity component, evidence from anxiety, hysteria, OCD, crime, antisocial behaviors, homosexuality, alcoholism. Ppl that score high on N are more likely to…and where genetically in the body does it come from?

overreact emotionally + have difficulty returning to emotional state after arousal, worries and anxiety, complain of back and head aches. due to highly reactive limbic system + amygdala and hypothalamus. u can score high on N and still be free from psychological issues

diathesis-stress model of psychiatric illness for both N and P

some ppl are predisposed to an illness because of a genetic/inquired weakness. The predisposition (diathesis) can interact with stress to make a neurotic disorder (higher the N, the Lower amount of stress needed to create disorder) scoring high on P and experiencing stress = increase chance of developing psychotic disorder

characteristics if those who score extreme on the scales

scores can be plotted in 3 dimensional space, all independent of each other, thats why they make right angles and are perpendicular to each other

Eye made 4 ways to measure personality

MPI (maudsley personality inventory): assess N and E, some correlation

Eysenck personality inventory EPI, contains a L scale, lie scale, to detect lying: measures N and E w/o any correlation, children 7-16 can use (created by BG Eysenck)

Eysenck personality questionnaire EPQ: included P, adult and junior version

Eysenck personality questionnaire-revised

believed the 3 factors are ¾ genetic, ¼ environment: identical factors of peeps around the world, maintain personality over time, identical twins have high correlation. image shows consequences and antecedents of personality. E and P likely to cause trouble, but teachers tend to forgive E because of their charm but see be as spiteful and disruptive-grow into productive adults vs getting into crime+can’t make friends. high in P can resist criticisms of parent and teacher and emerge to be creative. also found that personality factors interact with bio factors and contribute to heart disease (score low on N=more likely diagnosed with lung cancer or high P who smoke and react to stress w/anger=heart disease)