Chapter 14: Personality structure through Trait Theories

Personality

an individual characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (Persisting over time and across situations)

Humanistic theories

focused on our inner capacities for growth and self fulfillment. (positive of self concept)

Trait theories

examine the characteristic patterns of behavior (traitss)

Social cognitive theories

explores the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context.

psychodynamic theories of personality view of human behavior

views them as a dynamic interaction between the conscious mind and unconscious mind including associated motives and conflicts

Psychoanalysis

Freud theory of personality and the associated treatment techniques.

Unconscious:

Freud’s discovery where it is a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. (processing information which we are unaware of)

Free association 

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

Freud view of personality

Personality develops from the efforts of our ego (rational self) to resolve tension between our id, based in biological drives, and the superego (society’s rules and constraints)

Id

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy including libido (sexual energy that fuels our pleasure seeking) that, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification. Ex: people who think about the present more than the future or ppl who misuse alcohol and would party sooner than later.

Ego

Partly conscious “executive” part of personality that mediates among the demands of the id, the superego and reality. It operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain. (ego retrains us from making unrestrained impulses)

SuperEgo

Around age 4 or 5. partly conscious part of personality that represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and future aspirations. It focuses on ho we ought to behave. It strives for perfection, judging actions and producing positive feelings of pride or negative feelings of guilt.

Psychoexual stages

A childhood stages of development during which the id’s pleasure seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones. (pleasure sensitive areas of the body)

Oral Stage:

Pleasure center on the mouth-sucking, biting, and chewing.

Anal Stage (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 incestous sexual feelings. 

Latency (6 to puberty)

A phase of dormant sexual feelings

Genitals (puberty on)

Maturation of sexual intersets.

Fixation

is a lingering focus of pleasure seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

Oedipus complex

is during the phallic stage a sexual desire toward their mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father found in boys.

Electra Complex

is a sexual desire toward their father and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival mother found in girls.

Identification process

which children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos. ( this leads us to gender identity that we have today

defense mechanism

the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality (all of them act indirectly and unconsciously)

Reaction formation

Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites.

Ex: Repressing angry feelings, a person displays exaggerated friendliness.

Regression 

is the basic defense mechanism that banishes form consciousness anxiety- arousing thoughts, feelings and memories. (underlies all the other defense mechanisms.)

Projection

Disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.

Ex: “The thief thinks everyone else is a thief” (an El Salvadoran saying)

Rationalization

Offering self- justifying explanation in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s actions

Ex: A habitual drinker says they drink with their friends “just to be sociable”

Displacement

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

Ex: After being put in time out, a child kicks the family dog

Denial

Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

Ex: A partner denies evidence of their loved one’s affair. 

Assumptions of Psychodynamic Theories:

The unconscious and conscious minds interact. Childhood experiences and defense mechanisms are important.

Projective tests 

structured systematic exposure to a standardized set of ambiguous prompts, designed to reveal inner dynamics

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.

Rorschach Inkblot test

a projective test that seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing how they interpret 10 inkblots

Humanism

Theories that view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth.

MAslow’ hierarchy of needs

what a human need to grow beyond the basic needs. bottom basic need and top self actualization

Self- actualization traits

self-aware, self- accpeting, open ethical, spotenous etc.

Self- Esteem

Respect, self-esteem, status, recognition, strength, freedom

Love and belonging

friendship, intimacy, family, sense of connection

Saftey needs

Personal security, employment, resources, health, and property  

Basic Needs (Physiological needs)

air, water, food, shelter, sleep, clothing, reproduction 

Three conditions of Rogers’ person- centered perspective

Acceptance (Unconditional Positive Regard)

Genuineness 

Empathy

Trait

an eduring quality that makes a person tend to act a certain way. Ex: Honest, shy, hard working

MBTI (Myer Briggs Type Indicator)

Where it study individual behaviors and statements to find how people differ in personality. A questionnaire categorizing  people traits. (NOT VAILD BUT VERY POPULAR)

Extroverts

their brains are typically lower in activity making it hard to suppress impulses likely to seek stimulation.

Introverts

their body have a high autonomic system reactivity, an easily triggered alarm system.

Eysenck’s Model

Extraversion-introversion and emotional-stability-instability

Factor Analysis

identifying factors that tend to cluster together.