Self and Personality

Subjective accounts of the self

How we perceive the world, people, and events from our own point of view. This is the focus of self psychology.

Ex: “I feel like everyone in class is judging me.”

Objective accounts of the self

Describing the actual, measurable qualities of a person and determining whether people can accurately report their own thoughts, emotions, and behavior. This is the focus of personality psychology.

Ex: A personality test shows someone scores high on conscientiousness.

Self-schema

An integrated set of beliefs, memories, and generalizations about ourselves. Processing self-relevant information activates the middle of the frontal lobes (Kelley et al., 2002).

Working self-concept

The immediate experience of the self in the here and now. It is accessed for a particular situation, impacts behavior, and emphasizes how we are different from others in that context.

Ex: At a job interview, you might think of yourself as "hardworking and professional" — not as a sister or a fashion person, even though those are all still part of you. That professional identity is what's accessible in that moment.

Self-esteem (SE)

The affective (emotional) aspect of the self — how positively or negatively we evaluate ourselves overall.

Reflected appraisal view of self-esteem

The idea that our self-esteem is based on our perception of how others judge us. Beliefs about what others think of us shape whether we hold positive or negative views of ourselves.

Sociometer Theory (Leary et al., 1995)

The theory that self-esteem functions as an internal monitor of perceived social acceptance or rejection — it rises when we feel included and falls when we sense rejection. There is a positive correlation between low SE and social anxiety.

Is high self-esteem always beneficial?

High SE is associated with greater perceived happiness, but it does not reliably lead to successful social relationships or life success. School bullies and violent individuals often have high SE.

How does self-esteem change across the lifespan?

SE tends to fall during adolescence and is lowest for people aged 18–22, especially young women. It typically increases across adulthood, peaks in one's 60s, and declines toward the end of life.

What affects self-esteem beyond age?

Social class also affects self-esteem levels.

Narcissism (definition and origin)

A personality style marked by self-centeredness, grandiose self-views, entitlement, manipulativeness, poor relations with others, and anger when challenged.

Narcissism trends in American college students

Narcissism has been increasing among American college students since 1979 — sometimes called the "Generation Me" phenomenon.

Grandiose narcissism

An approach-oriented form of narcissism characterized by boldness, extraversion, power-seeking, and sensitivity to rewards and opportunities (Krizan & Herlache, 2018).

Vulnerable narcissism

An avoidance-oriented form of narcissism characterized by neuroticism, paranoia, hypersensitivity to threats, and a focus on avoiding negative outcomes and protecting self-esteem (Krizan & Herlache, 2018).

Better-than-average effect

The tendency to overestimate one's own qualities and abilities relative to others. Related to unrealistic optimism — the belief that good outcomes are more likely to happen to us than to other people.

Ex: most drivers rate themselves as above average.

Self-serving bias

The tendency to attribute positive outcomes to our own abilities (internal causes) and negative outcomes to external factors, in order to protect self-esteem.

Ex: "I got an A because I'm smart; I got a C because the test was unfair."

Downward comparison

Comparing oneself to someone who is less successful on a given dimension in order to boost self-esteem.

Temporal comparison

Specific type of downward comparison. Comparing your current self to your past self.

Example: "I'm a much stronger writer than I was freshman year."

Upward comparison

Comparing oneself to someone who is more successful on a given dimension. Can motivate improvement but may also damage self-esteem.

Ex: comparing your GPA to a higher-achieving classmate.

Definition of personality

An individual's relatively stable traits and characteristics that persist over time and across different circumstances.

Situationism (Mischel, 1979)

The view that behavior is primarily determined by situational factors rather than stable internal traits.

Interactionist perspective on personality

The view that behavior results from the interaction between personality and situation. Weak situations allow personality to shine through; strong situations tend to override individual differences.

personality approaches

– Psychodynamic theory

– Humanistic approaches

– Trait approaches

– Social cognitive approaches

Freud's pleasure principle

The drive to seek pleasure and avoid pain, fueled by libido (psychosexual energy). It is the operating principle of the id.

Freud's reality principle

The control of pleasure-seeking impulses in response to the demands of the external world. It is the operating principle of the ego.

Cons of Freudian premises

hard to assess through scientific methods

The unconscious (Freud)

A reservoir of largely unacceptable thoughts, feelings, memories, and other information that lies beneath conscious awareness and, according to Freud, is the primary driver of behavior.

Psychodynamic Theory

The id

The fully unconscious structure of personality that operates on the pleasure principle — seeking immediate gratification without regard for reality or morality.

Example: "I'm hungry and I need to eat this entire pizza right now."

The superego

The structure of personality that represents the internalized standards of society and one's parents — the moral conscience.

Example: "It's against the rules to play with matches"

The ego

Satisfaction of the wishes of the Id adapted to the current demands of the Superego

It operates on the reality principle and uses defense mechanisms to manage anxiety (Anna Freud, 1936).

Example: "I want the whole pizza (id), and I know I shouldn't (superego), so I'll order a reasonable amount and save some for later."

Denial (defense mechanism)

Refusing to acknowledge the source of anxiety.

Example: a person diagnosed with cancer refuses treatment by insisting the symptoms must have another cause.

Repression (defense mechanism)

Excluding the source of anxiety from conscious awareness entirely.

Example: a person cannot remember the night they were mugged at gunpoint.

Projection (defense mechanism)

Attributing one's own unacceptable qualities to someone else.

Example: a highly competitive person accuses others of being the competitive ones.

Reaction formation (defense mechanism)

Warding off an uncomfortable thought by overemphasizing its opposite.

Example: a teen attracted to a classmate bullies that classmate instead.

Rationalization (defense mechanism)

Creating a seemingly logical excuse for behavior that might otherwise seem shameful.

Example: "Everyone drives after a couple of drinks."

Displacement (defense mechanism)

Shifting the emotional response from its true target to an easier one.

Example: having a terrible day at work and coming home and yelling at family members.

Sublimation (defense mechanism)

Channeling socially unacceptable impulses into constructive or even admirable behavior.

Example: someone with disordered eating becomes a nutritionist who helps others.

Projective personality measures

Personality tests that assess unconscious processes by having people interpret ambiguous stimuli, assuming their interpretations reveal hidden aspects of personality.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

A projective measure in which a person is shown symmetrical inkblots and asked what they see. Their responses are interpreted to reveal unconscious personality characteristics.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A projective measure in which a person is shown ambiguous scenes and asked to construct a story. The themes in their stories are interpreted to reveal unconscious needs and motivations.

Humanistic Approaches

Emphasis in people’s goodness

Self-actualization (humanistic approach)

The search for the fulfillment of one's potential through greater self-understanding. It is the central goal in humanistic approaches to personality.

Carl Rogers' conditions of worth

The belief that love and acceptance are conditional on behaving in certain ways. Rogers argued this leads to unhealthy personality development.

Unconditional positive regard (Rogers)

Acceptance and support that is not contingent on a person's behavior or performance. Rogers believed this is necessary for healthy personality development.

Maslow's deficiency needs

The lower four levels of Maslow's hierarchy: physiological needs, safety and security, love and belonging, and self-esteem. These must be met before a person can pursue growth.

Maslow's growth needs

The highest level of Maslow's hierarchy — self-actualization — which involves achieving one's fullest, most unique potential. It can only be pursued once deficiency needs are met.

Trait approaches to personality

Approaches that describe personality through stable characteristics — tendencies to act in certain ways consistently over time and across situations.

Traits exist on a continuum.

The Big 5

Five basic personality traits:

• Openness

• Conscientiousness

• Extraversion

• Agreeableness

• Neuroticism

Openness (Big Five)

The tendency to appreciate new art, ideas, values, feelings, and behaviors. High scorers are creative and imaginative; low scorers are practical, conventional, and rational.

Conscientiousness (Big Five)

The tendency to be careful, on-time, rule-following, and hardworking. High scorers are organized and self-directed; low scorers are spontaneous and may be prone to addiction.

Extraversion (Big Five)

The tendency to be talkative, sociable, and dominant. High scorers are outgoing and seek excitement; low scorers are aloof, quiet, and enjoy time alone.

Agreeableness (Big Five)

The tendency to go along with others rather than asserting one's own opinions. High scorers are trusting and empathetic; low scorers are uncooperative and hostile.

Neuroticism (Big Five)

The tendency to frequently experience negative emotions such as anger, worry, and sadness. High scorers are prone to stress; low scorers are emotionally stable but may take unnecessary risks.

self-report measures

Personality tests that use questionnaires to let people respond to items that reveal traits and behaviors

NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R)

A 240-item self-report measure used to assess all five dimensions of the Big Five personality model.

Observational methods and personality accuracy

Close acquaintances may predict our behavior more accurately than we predict it ourselves, because we have blind spots about our own personality due to our motivation to feel good about ourselves.

Social cognitive approaches to personality

Approaches that focus on how thoughts shape personality and the environment. People are seen as active agents — the situations they choose both affect and are affected by their personality.

Rotter's Expectancy Theory (1966)

The view that behavior is part of personality because it results from how one thinks about expectancies for reinforcement and the value placed on particular reinforcers.

Locus of control (Rotter)

A person's perception of whether they control what happens to them.

Internal locus: belief that outcomes result from one's own actions. External locus: belief that outcomes are controlled by outside forces like luck or other people.

Bandura's Reciprocal Determinism

The theory that personality is explained by the continuous interaction among three factors:

(1) the person's environment

(2) person factors such as characteristics, self-confidence, and expectations

(3) behavior itself.

Each factor influences and is influenced by the others.

Electronically Activated Record (EAR)

A device people wear that unobtrusively tracks real-world moment-to-moment interactions by picking up snippets of conversation and other auditory information, used to assess personality in everyday life.

Genetics and personality

Identical twins are more similar in personality than non-identical twins, with 40–60% of personality variation attributed to genetic differences. Novelty-seeking is linked to a dopamine-associated gene. Genes interact with the environment to produce general dispositions.

Can personality change?

Cross-cultural research shows age-related personality changes that appear independent of environmental influences. However, major life events can also lead to meaningful changes in personality.