Chapter 11

Personality

One’s characteristic pattern of behaving, thinking, feeling, attitudes, temperament, ideology, beliefs.

Personality Disorder

A type of mental disorder where individuals experience a rigid, dysfunctional, and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning, and behaving.

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality

Freud proposed three levels of consciousness - Conscious, Preconscious, and Unconscious.

Id

Contains life and death instincts, operates on the pleasure principle, and is the source of libido.

Ego

The rational part of personality that mediates between the id and superego, operates on the reality principle.

Superego

Moral system of personality formed around ages 5-6, judges behavior based on past experiences.

Defense Mechanisms

Used by the ego to maintain self-esteem and defend against anxiety.

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Developmental stages involving erogenous zones and conflicts, can lead to fixations if not resolved.

Neo-Freudians

Adler:Alfred Adler focused on the drive to overcome feelings of inferiority and unity of personality.

Horney:Karen Horney emphasized the need to overcome irrational beliefs about perfection and focused on feminine psychology.

OCEAN

Humanistic Theories

Maslow:Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy of needs with self-actualization as the highest need.

Humanistic Theories

Carl Rogers:Carl Rogers introduced conditions of worth and person-centered therapy.

Trait Theories

Allport:Gordon Allport proposed cardinal and central traits to explain personality differences.

Trait Theories

Cattell:Raymond Cattell identified surface and source traits to understand personality.

Five-Factor Model

Robert McCrae and Paul Costa's model includes openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Genetics in the Development of Traits

Behavioral genetic theory asserts that heredity plays a significant role in individual differences.

Personality and Culture

Cultural factors influence personality development, with individualist and collectivist cultures emphasizing different values.

Social-Cognitive Theory

Personality is influenced by learned behaviors acquired through interactions with others.

Bandura’s Reciprocal Determinism Model

Internal, environmental, and behavioral variables interact to influence personality.

Personality Assessment

Methods include observation, interviews, rating scales, and personality inventories like MMPI, CPI, and Myers-Briggs.

Projective Tests

Rorschach Inkblot Methods

Hierarchy of needs (Abraham Maslow)

physiological needs> Safety needs> Belonging and Love Needs> Esteem Needs> Need for self actualization

Exner's Comprehensive System

• (1993) developed the comprehensive system for scoring

  • provides normative data for comparison of responses

Components of Language

phonemes, morphemes, syntax, semantics, pragmatics

Projective Tests

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

• consist of inkblots, drawings of ambiguous human situation, or incomplete sentences

• no correct or incorrect responses

• the subject projects their inner thoughts, feelings, fears, or conflicts onto the test materials

• include Rorschach Inkblot Test and Thematic Apperception Test

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Critics of Projective Tests

• The test relies too heavily on the interpretation of the examiner

• Responses may reflect temporary states and may not indicate more permanents aspects of personality

Freud’s Defense Mechanisms