personality

Psychodynamic Theory

• Unconscious processes drive personality

• Our brains subconsciously defend our egos from threats

• We can use projective tests to determine someone’s personality

• 3 parts of our personality

  • Id

  • Superego

  • Ego

projective tests

tests involving the interpretation of ambiguous stimuli like inkblots

Id:

impulsive, rash, selfish

Superego:

selfless, moral, conscientious

Ego:

balances the id and superego

Ego defense mechanisms

• Denial

• Displacement

• Projection

• Rationalization

• Reaction Formation

• Regression

• Repression

• Sublimation

Denial

Insisting that something isn’t actually true or real when it is

Displacement

Redirecting an emotional reaction from one object or person to another

Projection

Convincing yourself that your own actions or mental processes also apply to other people to protect yourself from internal discomfort

Rationalization

Justifying your behavior/mental processes or those of others by creating seemingly logical explanations to avoid confronting the actual reason

Reaction Formation

Acting in a way opposite of your true feelings

Regression

Reverting to more childlike behaviors in response to stress or an overwhelming situation

Repression

Putting distressing thoughts or memories out of your mind

Sublimation

Channeling unacceptable or uncomfortable emotions or impulses into constructive, socially acceptable activities

Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development

• We go through different stages of development in childhood related to unconscious sexual behaviors and mental processes

• If someone becomes “fixated” in a stage, it could have adverse effects for them as an adult

Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development At The Oral Stage

Age: 0-1

Description: Babies like to put things in their mouth

Results of Fixation:

• Oral passive

• Oral aggressive

Oral passive

Trusting, dependent

Oral aggressive

Aggressive, dominating

Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development At The Anal Stage

Age: 2-3

Description: children begin potty training

Results of Fixation:

• anal retentive

• Anal expulsive

Anal retentive

Tidy, obsessive, perfectionist

Anal expulsive

Untidy, generous

Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development At The Phallic Stage

Age: 3-6

Description: Children become more attached to their opposite-sex parent

Results of Fixation: Vain, self-obsessed, envious, feelings of inadequacy, sexual anxiety

Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development At The Latency Stage

Age: 6-puberty

Description: No psychosexual impulses in this stage

Results of Fixation: N/A

Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development At The Genital Stage

Age: puberty and beyond

Description: Teens begin experiencing sexual attraction and wanting to have sex

Results of Fixation: well-balanced, warm, caring

Humanistic Theory

• We aim to self-actualize:

• We want to grow and fulfill our potential

• Humans are intrinsically good

• Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow were big proponents of this theory

self-actualize:

become the best people we can be

Social-Cognitive Theory

• “Reciprocal determinism” shapes personality

• Reciprocal determinism

• Self-concept

• Self-esteem

• Self-efficacy

• Albert Bandura was a proponent of this theory

Reciprocal determinism

behavior, personal factors, and environmental factors mutually influence each other

Self-concept

how we view ourselves, made up of self-esteem and self-efficacy

Self-esteem

our view of our own worth and value

Self-efficacy

our view of our own competence

Person Factors

Attitudes, values, self-efficacy, personality

Behavioral Factors

Actions, effort, choices, statements

Environment Factors

Actions of others, social context

Trait Theory

• Our personalities are made of mostly stagnant traits

• Our traits determine our behavior

• “Big Five” theory:

“Big Five” theory:

• our personalities are governed by 5 main traits

• Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism (OCEAN)