personality and the self

personality

characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving

psychodynamic

• sigmund freud

• psychic energy moves among compartments of the personality: id, ego, superego

• extension of first law of thermodynamics: energy moves but does not get created or destroyed

hysteria

physical symptoms (paralysis, blindness, etc.) without medical cause, not known as somatic symptom disorder

psychoanalysis

• freud’s treatment approach

• used by those who believe psychodynamic theories

3 energy systems

id, ego, superego

id

• present at birth

• contains primitive drives as source of energy for personality

• ex. hunger, thirst, sex

• operates according to pleasure

ego

• readily seen by others

• develops when child begins interacting with others

• person’s “self”

• coordinates needs of id with reality

superego

• develops when child internalizes society’s rules for right and wrong

• develops conscience (not conscious of the id)

defense mechanisms

• when ego is faced with anxiety

• protective behaviors to reduce anxiety

sublimation

channeling negative energy into a socially acceptable activity

• ex. doing martial arts instead of fighting kids at school

psychosexual stages

• freud’s theory for developing personality in id stage

• oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital

oral stage

• birth to 1 year

• focus on mouth (sucking, eating)

anal stage

• 1-3 years

• focus on bladder/bowel control, indepedence, potty training

phallic stage

• 3-6 years

• focus on genitals, identifying with parents, Oedipus/Electra complex

latent period

• 6 to puberty

• dormant sexual feelings, focus on school, hobbies, same-sex friendships

genital stage

• puberty to adulthood

• mature sexual interest, focusing on intimacy/balance

neo-Freudian

• theorist who attempted to update freud’s original personality theory

• many replace pleasure/sexual motivation with social competence

inferiority complex

• can lead to overcompensation

• seeking appearance of superiority

• ex. buying a super expensive car

unconscious mind

part of mental actvitiy that cannot be voluntarily retreived

two components of unconscious mind

personal unconscious, collective unconscious

personal unconscious

forgotten/repressed experiences

collective unconscious

commons psychological predispositions as humans pass from generation to generation

MBTI

Myers-Briggs Type Indicators

does the MBTI hold up well to analyses of validity and reliability?

no

Jung’s concepts of personality characteristics

extroversion, introversion

extroversion

outgoing

introversion

relatively less outgoing

humanistic psychology

• humans are unique

• animal research is irrelevant

• different that psychodynamic/behavioralism

• human nautre is bascially good

carl roger’s humanistic theory of personality

• people who follow the path laid out by their feelings will lead productive, healthy lives, and their expectations will match reality

• people who expereince judgment and conditional acceptance often experience depression, anxeity

• people who experience unconditional, nonjudgemental acceptance, they reach self-actualization

trait

stable personality characteristic

five clusters formed by cattell’s identified 16 personality factors

extroversion, anxiety, self-control, independence, and receptivity

one of the earliest efforts to identify personality traits

• selection of 4,500 words to describe observable traits

• later, in 1940s, computers allowed to use original list and make extremes for each trait

  • ex. trait of suspiciousness ranged from “trusting” to “suspicious”

big five theory (OCEAN)

• individual differences in personality

• openness to experience

• conscientiousness (wishing to do right)

• surgency (extroversion)

• agreeableness

• neuroticism (chronic tendency to expereince negative emotions)

openness

• fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, values

• curious, imaginative

conscientiousness

• competence, order, dutifulness, striving, self-discipline, deliberation

• reliable, world hard

• low conscientiousness = hard to work with, lazy

extroversion

• warmth, assertiveness, activity, excitement seeking, positive emotion

• can be overbearing

introversion

• coolness, reserve, passivity, caution

• sensitive and reflective

agreeableness

• trust, straghtforward, altruism, compliance, modesty

• low in this trait = cynical, uncooperative, rude

neuroticism

• anxiety, angry hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsivity, vulnerability

• opposite = emotional stablity

• sometimes beneficial in threatening environments

social-cognitive learning theories

features cognition and learning from social environment as important sources in individual diffs in personality

locus of control

• social-cognitive learning theory about source of individual outcome

• external and internal loci of control

external locus of control

most of your outcomes happen because of luck, chance, opportunity (not in ur control)

internal locus of control

your outcomes come from your talent and effort

reciprocal determinism

• albert bandura

• a person influences the situation as much as the situation influences that person

  • ex. observation of others’ behavior contributes to personality

• situation = external, environ. factors

• person = internal traits

self-efficacy

confidence in your abilities to gain reinforcement

temperament

child’s pattern of mood, activity, or emotional responsiveness

reactivity

differences in people’s responses to new/challenging stimuli

• children with high reactivity = high introversion and neuroticism later in life

self-regulation

ability to control attention and inhibit responding to perceived stimuli

GWAS

• genomewide association studies

• identified 6 genetic loci associated with Big Five traits

Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart

• thomas bouchard

• studied 59 pairs of identical twins and 47 pairs of fraternal who were raised in separate families, along with twins raised in same home

• identical twins were similar, regardless of where they were raised

how much heritability does the big five show?

0.50 in humans (certain trait have variations from high to low and are influenced moderately by both genetics and environmental factors)

population heritability for positive emotionality

between 0.46 and 0.52

which neurochemicals are related to extroversion?

dopamine and opiod activity

cortisol

hormone released at times of stress

have there been apparent differences in cortical thickness, volume of structures, or white matter related to any of the big five traits?

no

reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST)

explains differences in behavior based on sensitivity to rewards, punishments, and motivations

• three brain networks: behavioral approach system (BAS), fight-flight freeze system (FFFS), behavioral inhibition system (BIS)

three brain networks for individual differences in approach, avoidance, and inhibition of behavior

• behavioral approach system (BAS)

• fight-flight freeze system (FFFS)

• behavioral inhibition system (BIS)

behavioral approach system (BAS)

predict a person’s response to reward, or impulsivity

fight-flight freeze system (FFFS)

active when an organism experiences unlearned punishment or lack of reward

• diffs in FFFS activity correlate with reactivity

behavioral inhibition system (BIS)

active when an organism senses learned signals for punishment or lack of reward

• diffs in BIS associated with anxiety/neuroticism

what trait did humans lose found in chimpanzees?

dominance

valid test

• does the job it is supposed to do

• ex. if u conduct a creativity test, people with more creativity should score higher

reliable test

returns similar results when interpreted by diff observers or is taken repeatedly (measures consistency)

personality inventories

objective test, often with numbered scales/multiple choice, to assess personality

minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI)

• published in early 1940s, revised in 2020

  • revisions → assess eating concerns, impulsivity, compulsivity, and self-importance, more diverse

• compares responses to true-false items made by normal and psychological disorder people

  • demonstrates the differences in responses

projective tests

• derived from freud’s defense mechanisms: projection

• provides ambiguous stimulus into which test takers “project” their personality

rorschach inkblot test

• 10 diff inkblots

• participants describe what each inkblot looks like to them

• ex. participant looks at one part of inkblot rather than whole image

  • indicates concrete thinking instead of abstract

why do personality studies of diverse groups like native americans fail?

• confoudning variables (socioeconomic status and education)

• heterogeneity of large ethnic groups are often ignored

what did william james argue about the self?

"in favor of “the belief in a distinct principle of selfhood)

• such a principle could be studied scientifically

self

patterns of thought, feelings, and actions we perceive in our own minds

sense of embodiment

the self is embedded in the body

how do psychologists approach the study of the self?

ABCs: affect, behavior, cognition

affective (emotional) components of the self

evaluation of the self (level of self-esteem)

behavior and self-concept

• form reciprocal relationships

• we gain self-knowledge by observing our behavior

• thoughts about the kind of people we are influence our behavior

cognitive processes and the self

help us organize information and think about the self

self-concept

• description of your own self

• demographic factors

• personality

• relationships with others

• physical attributes

• other roles

self-schemas

organization that helps us think about the self and how you view and interact with others

self-reference effect

individuals remember things that are most relevant to them as compared to things that are not as relevant to them