Personality Psychology

Psychological Determinism

All psychological processes – thoughts, feelings, behaviors – derive causally from underlying forces (freewill is an illusion)

Internal Structure

Mind is compartmentalized into independent parts based on their functions (id, ego, superego)

Psychic Conflict and Compromise

Much of psychological involves competing drives (e.g., self-control)

Mental Energy

Drives, namely libido and Thanatos, use up psychic energy and “bottle up” if not released (catharsis)

Id

Unconscious, what “you” want to do

Superego

Preconscious, what a good “you” does, ideal self

Ego

Conscious/Preconscious, what “you” out to and end up doing

Doctrine of opposites

Eros needs Thanatos, good needs evil, love needs pain

Destres

wants and needs, where sex takes form

Fixation

psychologically “stuck” on a developmental stage, arrested development

Regression

reverting back to a particular stage in times of anxiety or stress

Oral stage

birth to 18 months

Oral stage focus

Id

Oral stage character

Level for interdependency develops

Anal Stage

1-3.5 years

Anal Stage focus

Ego

Anal Stage character

Level for self-control/social obedience

Phallic Stage

3.5-7 years

Phallic Stage focus

Penis, superego

Phallic Stage for women

penis envy

Latency

7-puperty

Latency focus

sexual concerns become dormant, kids get to be kids

Genital stage

puberty and beyond

Defense Mechanisms

Minimizes anxiety and guilt, usually without conscious awareness

Psychic Conflict

Coping mechanisms to avoid negative feelings

Discordant thoughts produce friction in the form of

anxiety

(DM) Repression

Unknowingly placing an unpleasant memory in the unconscious

(DM) Regression

Reverting to immature behavior from earlier development stage

(DM) Displacement

Redirecting feelings, taking out your anger on your kids instead of your boss

(DM) Sublimation

Replacing unacceptable impulse with acceptable behavior, channeling aggression into football

(DM) Reaction formation

Acting exactly opposite to one’s unacceptable impulse

(DM) Projection

Attributing unacceptable feelings to other instead of yourself

(DM) Rationalization

Creating false excuses for unacceptable feelings

Freudian slips

Mental leakage from the unconscious

Freudian lapse

forgetting as a means to avoid anxiety

Most psychology fields study , but personality psychology looks at _

behavioral consistencies, behavioral variability

Traits

Enduring dimensions of personality on which people differ

Trait Theory

People have “dispositional,” qualities that leads to predictable individual differences in behavior

Traits are

continuous

70% of people fall in IQ range

85-115

IQ is a

personality measure (individual differences)

Strengths of Big 5

the five factors combine characteristics that

commonly are associated with one another

Limitations of Big 5

There are more than 5 important personality traits

and studying anything ‘broadly’ has limitations

Big Five Personality

OCEAN – Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism

Eysenk’s Biological Model of Personality

Extraversion vs. Neuroticism

Eysenk’s Extraversion

Arousal tendencies toward positive stimuli

Eysenk’s Neuroticism

Arousal tendencies toward negative stimuli

Galen’s temperaments

Melancholic, phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine

Melancholic

Neuro/Intro

Phlegmatic

Stability/Intro

Choleric

Neuro/Extro

Sanguine

Stability/Extro

Inborn temperament

personality characteristics from birth

BF Skinner Personality

Stimulus -> response = personality

Self-perception theory

attitudes justifications of past actions; you like someone because you did a favor for them in the past

Self-efficacy

a belief in one’s personal capabilities to succeed

Self-esteem

personal gauge of self-worth

Internal Locus of Control

belief you have control of environment

External Locus of Control

belief you have little to no control of environment