Psych 4.2 Modules 56-59

personality

An individual’s characteristics of thinking, acting, and feeling, over a lasting period.

Sigmund Freud

Father of modern psychology

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Perspective

Key Ideas:

• Unconscious mind processes drives personality

• childhood experiences influence on later life

personality structure

Id, ego, superego

id

• instincts

• seeks immediate pleasure

ego

• deals with demands of reality

• regulates between id and super ego

superego

• moral branch of personality; “conscience”

• knows the ideals of behavior

preconscious mind

Lies just below the surface of consciousness. Ex: Birthday party. Info we are aware of but easily achieved.

unconscious mind

Thoughts “deep below the surface” that we are unaware of. Unacceptable thoughts… fears, shameful experiences, urges. These unconscious thoughts can cause psychological problems.

defense mechanisms

We unconsciously create behaviors to protect ourselves from conflicting thoughts.

denial, displacement, projections, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, sublimation

What are the 8 defense mechanisms?

denial

Refusing to accept reality. An alcoholic denies being an alcoholic.

displacement

Redirect your feelings onto a less threatening one. You get corrected by a teacher, you go home and get mad at your mom.

projection

Attributing your own unacceptable thoughts onto others. You cheated on your spouse, so you accuse your spouse of cheating on you.

Rationalization

Creating justifying explanations to rationalize your acceptable behavior. Cheating on a homework assignment and saying “everyone else does it.” Being denied a loan for your dream house, then saying it’s a good thing because the house was too big anyway.

reaction formation

Creating an extreme opposite behavior to one’s true feelings. Being overly nice to someone you really don’t like. Being sad about a recent divorce, but acting happy and giving yourself a “divorce party.” Ex: Tag Haggard.

regression

Reverting to a more comfortable childlike stage of behavior. You throw a fit and pout when you don’t get what you want. The pressure of college causes Tom to start sucking his thumb.

repression

Bury unpleasant thoughts into the unconscious to protect the ego. You were abused as a child, but you don’t remember it and now you have problems forming relationships as an adult. Stress can enhance memory. War veterans, rape victims.

sublimation

Transferring unacceptable impulses into socially accepted behavior. The retreat experience was sublime. You feel a lot of anger, so you unconsciously sublimate this anger and play football.

projective tests

Used by psychodynamic psychologists to unlock into the unconscious. A way to unlock the unconscious and preconscious mind. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). Rorschach Ink Blot Test.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

People express their inner feelings by creating stories about ambiguous scenes.

Ink Blot Test

Most widely used. People express inner feelings by analyzing ink blots.

humanistic perspective

emphasizes the whole person and the uniqueness of each individual

Self-Actualizing Tendancy

Out natural desire to achieve our full potential. It is the motivation behind our behavior. Self-actualizing people are self-accepting and open to others’ opinions.

unconditional positive regard

An attitude of total acceptance of another person without judgement. Empathy- listening and understanding.

Self Concept

• Who am I?

• The collective beliefs you have about yourself

• A cognitive process that develops over time

• I am nice, friendly, honest

• A healthy self-concept promotes physical and mental well-being.

Self-Image

• How do I see myself?

• qualities you use to describe yourself (appearance and traits)

• may or may not be true

• I see myself as a person with brown hair, brown eyes, and short

self-esteem

• How much do I like?

• how you evaluate yourself

• emotional component

• fluctuates

• I feel like I am determined

Traits

People’s characteristic behaviors. Focus on differences between individuals. Stabile over time. Conscious awareness of behavior.

personality inventories

Are tests used to measure personality traits. Self-reporting, standardized, valid, reliable.

self-reporting

individuals provide into about themselves

standardized

consistent procedures for administering

valid

measures what it intends to measure

reliable

consistent results over time

factor analysis

Is a statistical procedure that sorts underlying “factors” that explain how different personality traits are related. Find the hidden connections between different traits and organize them into meaningful groups. Extraversion- talkative, sociable, funny, energetic. Introversion- shy, avid reader, reserved, kind. Neuroticism- anxious, worried. Conscientiousness- self disciplined, assertive, helpful.

The Big Five Factors

• 5 super traits

• fall on the continuum

• traits are neither positive or negative

• OCEAN

conscientiousness

Organized, detail oriented, driven to succeed.

agreeableness

cooperative, empathetic and caring

neuroticism (emotional stability)

Emotional and anxious

openness

tries new things, creative

extraversion

Outgoing, gain energy from others

Objective (multiple choice). Quick and inexpensive.

Strengths of trait testing

Self-reporting. Too limiting; personality is complex.

Weaknesses of Trait Testing

Person-Situation Controversy

The debate if personality traits or situational factors are more important in influence behavior.

The “Person” Side

Person-Situation Controversy: Argues stable personality traits, (introverted or extroverted), predict how people will act. Personality influences behavior.

The “Situation” Side

Person-Situation Controversy: Argues the situation, (party or in class), influences on how people act.

socio-cognitive perspective

Our personality is influenced by the interaction between cognition (how we think) and environment. Cognitive factors- knowledge, expectations, attitudes. Behavior factors- skills, practice, self-efficacy. Environmental factors- social norms, access in the community.

reciprocal determinism

Is a concept that states internal factors, environment, and behaviors intertwine to determine personality. Three-way tug-of-war. Each one pulls the others and shapes who you are. Person factors- attitudes, values, self-efficacy, personality. Environment factors- actions of others, social context. Behavior factors- actions, effort, choices, statements.

self-efficacy

Belief in your own ability to succeed on specific tasks. High self-efficacy for playing a musical instrument but low self-efficacy for public speaking. Develops through experiences. Influences your persistence in the face of challenges. “I believe I can learn to play this new song on the piano.”