personality PSYCH Final

Personality (def)

Stable ways of thinking, feeling, and acting

What is personality (3 concepts)

1. Describe a person or self

2. Personal characteristic ways of behaving, thinking, feeling.

3. Consistent, enduring idiosyncratic ways of interacting, reacting (to others or situations)

What are 2 different approaches to studying personality?

1. Describing the concept of personality

2. Explaining the source of personality

Who created the psychic determinism theories?

Sigmund Freud

What is psychic determinism

Current states determined by early life. (Unconscious conflicts)

What are the 3 basic personality structures

Id, Ego, and Superego

When is the Id developed?

At birth, the most primitive structure

Is the Id developed in conscious or unconscious state?

Unconscious

What are the 2 instinct drives from the Id?

1. Eros: drive towards sex and pleasure

2. Thanatos: drive destruction and death

Characteristic of the Id

Wanting immediate gratification, ignores logic to fulfill this.

When is the ego developed?

In the first year

Is the ego conscious or unconscious?

½ conscious and ½ unconscious

What is the ego responsible for?

Executive decisions

What is the egos initial job?

To satisfy the Id in safe ways

What are Freudian Slips? When do they happen?

Mistakes in speech, memory, or action that reveal the unconscious thoughts or feelings. They occur when the ego is present, but Id slips out.

What is the reality principle?

The egos way of operating based on what is actually possible in the real world, not just what feels good.

What is delay of gratification?

The ability to wait for a better reward instead of getting a smaller reward immediately.

When is the superego developed?

Later in life

What is the responsibility of the super-ego?

It should embody moral standards

What is the super-egos job?

Balance out Id and Ego, gratify Id without offending the ego

Defense mechanism: repression

Pushing unwanted thoughts into the unconscious

Defense mechanism: Reaction Formation

Action of expressing the opposite emotion than the unwanted one

Defense mechanism: projection

Sees threatening traits in others and reacts on it, takes focus away from own unwanted feelings

Defense mechanism: Displacement

Expressing feelings to a “safer”, less threatening target

Defense mechanism: Regression

Retreating to earlier stages

Why do adult fixations happen? (psychosexual stages)

Getting through a psychosexual stage too soon or too late

Stage 1: Freud’s psycho-sexual stages

Oral Stage: 1st year. Fixation: chemical abuse, eating disorders, sarcasm

Stage 2: Freud’s psycho-sexual stages

Anal Stage: 2nd year. Fixation caused by trauma in potty training.

Anal retentive (Anal Stage Freud’s psycho-sexual stages)

Develops when potty training is too strict or harsh. Creates very clean and organized personality, perfectionists, etc.

Anal Expulsive (Anal Stage Freud’s psycho-sexual stages)

Develops when potty training is too lenient or inconsistent. Creates messy, unorganized, rebellious personality.

Stage 3: Freud’s psycho-sexual stages

Phallic Stage: 3. Love for the opposite sex parent.

What is the Oedipus Complex? Who does this occur in?

A young boy who desires his mother and sees his father as a rival.

Castration Anxiety

Unconscious fear that a child will lose their genitals for their forbidden desires. In young boys, they fear their father will punish them for their desires towards their mothers.

What is the Electra Complex? Who does this occur in?

A young girl who desires her father and sees her mother as a rival.

Penis envy

When a young girl notices she doesn’t have a penis and feels envy.

What is the resolution of the Oedipus and Electra complex?

The adoption of gender roles and sexual attitudes

5 Positives for Freud

1. The first comprehensive theory of personality

2. Discovered personality is influenced by early experiences

3. Mental illness due to instinct AND experiences

4. Developed the sub-conscious

5. Developed defense mechanisms

2 problems with Frued’s theories

1. Not scientific: concepts vague, untestable, largely subjective, doesn’t predict well

2. Theory is sexist

Who is the most famous Freudian? What did they do?

Jung. Created collective unconscious, and archetypes, and persona

___is a reaction against Freud/Skinner

Humanistic Theories

What is the main ideas of Humanistic Theories?

People are good, striving for freedom/choice, and want to live up to full potential.

Who created the idea of self-esteem/regard?

Carl Rogers

What is Carl Rogers self esteem/regard?

Refers to how much a person values themselves and feels worthy, acceptable, and lovable.

Real self vs Ideal self

Your real self is who you actually are, your ideal self is how you want to/should be

How does congruence/incongruence relate to real and ideal self?

If you are congruence, your real self and ideal self are similar. If you are incongruence, your real self and ideal self are unbalanced.

5 Stages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

1. Physiological needs: Need to fulfill hunger and thirst

2. Safety: Need to feel safe and secure

3. Belongingness and love: Need to be loved and accepted

4. Esteem Needs: Needs for self-esteem and accomplishment

5. Self-actuaiazation: Need to live up to fullest potential

2 Insights about the Humanistic Theories

1. Point out the importance of self-esteem

2. Emphasizes positives of humans

What are trait (descriptive) theories?

Ways of classifying or categorizing people

How many traits are there?

Estimated 18,000. They can be overlapping and sub-traits

Define Core Traits

Most central personality characteristics of a person. Differs from person to person.

What is the oldest trait theory?

The Four Humors: Hippocrates and Galen, 500 BC

What are the four humors and their personality types

1. Blood: cheerful and active

2. Phlegm: apathetic, calm

3. Black bile: sad and brooding

4. Yellow bile: irritable, excitable

What are Eysenck’s 2 key traits?

1. Introverts/Extroverts

2. Stable/Unstable emotions

Big 5 Key Traits

1. Openness to experience

2. Conscientiousness

3. Extrorevtism

4. Agreeableness

5. Neurotism

2 Other Perspectives of Personality

1. Biology and genetics

2. Learning and social cognitive approaches

What is temperament?

The biologically based style of emotional and behavioral responding

What are reactivity and self-regulation in terms of temperament?

Reactivity is how strongly/quickly a person responds to stimulation. Self-regulation refers to the ability to control and manage these responses.

How do cognitive approaches relate to personality?

They are our initial tendencies to interact with the environment which can affect our pattern of behavior.

What is self-efficiency?

Your belief in your own ability to successfully complete a task or handle a situation.

What is locus of control?

Whether you believe your life outcomes are controlled by yourself or by external forces. Internal you believe it is controlled by yourself, external you believe it is controlled by external forces.

How can culture influence personality?

There are large regional differences in traits based on where you live or grew up.

Individualistic vs Collectivistic Cultures

Individualistic are independent, competitive, and personal achievements. Collectivistic are social harmony, respectful, and group achievements.

What are the 2 approaches to assessing personality?

Objective and Subjective

What are objective assessments?

They are standardized procedures in which you self-report with quantitative scoring.

MMPI as an objective assessment

Include forced choice options, measures several dimensions such as normal and pathological.

What are subjective assessments?

They include projective tests with vague stimulus in order to project personality onto it.

Rorschach Inkblot test

A set of inkblots tests in which you must determine what it is. Your answers are analyzed to understand personality.

Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT)

Telling a story to a set of pictures. Your answers are analyzed to understand your personality.

What is the problem with subjective tests?

You rely on subjective interpretation of answers.