module 9: Freudian and Humanist Theory

barnum effect

AKA forer effect. tendency to accept generalized personality description as accurate of own unique personality

Barnum statements

vague, positive statements about personality that are true for most people

Barnum statements: what personality sketches are people more likely to rate as accurate

• ones containing positive statements

• ones labelled specifically for them

personality trait

durable character to behave consistently across a variety of situations.

Personality

unique constellation of consistent behavioural traits.

Temperament

person’s characteristic physiological response to the environment (mood, activity level, emotional reactivity) from birth

Theory of Personality

model explaining how one comes to acquire their tendency to behave consistently

Personality Inventory

instrument used to measure/assess personality without considering its development

Situation

Social environment that influences behavior

Personality psychology

Field studying stable traits that influence behavior

Social psychology

Field studying how external situations influence behavior

2 components making up behavior

personality and situation (social psychology)

Extroversion

Tendency to be outward focused and seek stimulation. proposed by jung

Introversion

Tendency to be inward focused and prefer solitude. proposed by jung

Personality inventory

Questionnaire used to measure personality traits

Trait

Consistent characteristic influencing behavior

Informal theories

theories of personality lacking scientific evidence and testability

• eg zodiac, astrology, blood type personality, 4 temperaments

key shared characteristic of imformal theoryes

organise people into definite categories without degrees → bad; our personalities typically differ (quantitative) in degree than in kind (qualitative)

Formal theories

theories of personality that can be scientifically tested

2 main categories of formal theories

psychodynamic and humanistic

Psychoanalytic theory

Personality theory emphasizing unconscious conflicts

freud’s theory of personality

behaviour results from interactions of the id, ego, and superego

Id

instinctive, operates on pleasure principle → no concern for practicality or morals. doesn’t make decisions, present since birth

Primary process thinking

Irrational and fantasy-based thinking of the id

Ego

Decision-making component operating on reality principle → not moral and present since birth

Secondary process thinking

Rational thinking used by the ego. recognizes society has rules and consequences for breaking them

Superego

Moral component of personality. doesn’t make descisions but uses guilt. doesn’t develop until 3-5 yrs old

Guilt

Emotion used by superego to influence decisions of the ego

Intrapsychic conflict

Conflict among id (satisfy urges), ego (avoids negative consequence), and superego (does the right thing)

amoral vs immoral

amoral → absence of morality (infants before superego)

immoral → violating morality

Oedipal complex

Child’s desire for opposite-sex parent and rivalry with same-sex parent → resolution leads to developing superego

freuds Levels of consciousness

conscious, preconscious, and unconscious

freuds Levels of consciousness: Conscious

Thoughts currently in awareness (working memory)

freuds Levels of consciousness: Preconscious

Information not currently in awareness but easily retrieved (long term memory)

Freuds Levels of consciousness: Unconscious

warehouse for unresolved (usually dangerous) intrapsychic conflict

which levels of consciousness can the superego ego and id each access

superego and ego can access all 3 but id can only access the unconscious

Anxiety according to freud

occurs when the unconscious fills with unresolved conflict and starts overflowing into the preconscious

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious strategies to reduce anxiety

Repression

defense mechanism → pushing distressing thoughts back into unconscious

Projection

defense mechanism → Attributing one’s own impulses to others

Displacement

defense mechanism → Redirecting impulses to safer target

Sublimation

defense mechanism → Redirecting impulses to socially acceptable behavior

• eg engage in hobbies

Reaction formation

defense mechanism → Acting opposite to true feelings

• eg homophobia

reverse discrimination

prejudiced individuals publicly bend over backwards to accommodate minority → example of reaction formation

Regression

defense mechanism → reverting to immature patterns of behavior. caused by ego trying to avoid adult problems

Identification

defense mechanism → boosting self-esteem by aligning with others (irl and parasocially)

Rationalization

defence mechanism → creating excuses for unacceptable behavior

Psychosexual stages

Freuds developmental stages of characteristic sexual focuses → influence personality

5 psychosexual stages

oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage, latency stage, genital stage

Oral stage

0-1 year. focused on mouth and sucking. key task: weaning nursing

Anal stage

Stage (2–3) focused on bowel control. key task: toilet training

Phallic stage

Stage (4–5) focused on genitals. girls experience penis envy. key task: overcome Oedipal complex and develop superego

Latency stage

Stage (6–12). marked by sexual repression → no erotic focus. key task: expanding social world

Genital stage

last stage, Puberty onward. key task: form on mature relationships and contribute to society

fixation

excessive gratification or frustration of sexual urges → Freud believed it influenced adult personality

• eg anal personality

anal personality

excessive gratification of retaining feces → obsessed with cleanliness, order and attention to detail

Carl Jung

psychodynamic psychologist. developed Analytical Psychology

Analytical Psychology

Jung’s version of psychoanalysis

2 parts of the unconscious according to Jung

personal unconscious and collective unconscious

Personal Unconscious

Jung’s concept of unconscious (like freuds) → contains repressed thoughts and memories from experience

Collective Unconscious

inherited layer of unconscious. contains universal human memories and archetypes

Archetypes

inherited symbolic patterns or themes found across cultures (e.g., hero, villain)

Alfred Adler

psychodynamic theorist. developed Individual Psychology. also suggested birth order influences personality

Individual Psychology

Adler’s theory of personality → central goal of development is striving for superiority (mastering life’s challenges)

Individual Psychology: compensation

overcoming inferiority with self-improvement

Inferiority Complex

exaggerated feelings of inadequacy caused by neglect or pampering → leads to overcompensation

Compensation

Efforts to overcome perceived weaknesses by improving skills or abilities

main psychodynamic theorists (frudients) and their core belief

freud, jung and adler → behaviour influences by unconscious

main humanist theorists and their core belief

rogers and maslow → humans have free will and desire for self improvement

Humanist Theory

Personality approach rejecting Freud and Behaviourism (no free will), focusing on free will and self-improvement

Carl Rogers

Humanist psychologist → developed Person-Centred Theory

Person-Centred Theory

Rogers’ theory of personality focused on self-concept and subjective experience

Self-Concept

Internal mental representation of who we think we are → “what would a person like me do”

Incongruence

Mismatch between self-concept and reality

what causes some people to have more incongruence than others

belief that love is conditional → large incongruence

love is unconditional → minimal incongruence

Self-Deception

Distorting reality to maintain a positive self-concept. leads to greater incongruence (positive feed back)

Anxiety (Rogers)

distress resulting from incongruence between self-concept and reality

Abraham Maslow

Humanist → developed Hierarchy of Needs and concept of self-actualization

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s model showing human needs from basic survival to self-actualization

Physiological Needs

Maslow’s most basic needs like food, water, and shelter → bottom of heirarchy of needs

self actualization

Highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy → high level of growth and fullfillment. finding passion

Regression in Hierarchy

Movement back to lower-level needs when basic needs are not met

• eg graduating from university, have to go back and pay debts

Objective Tests

Standardized personality measures → scored using fixed rules (not based on clinician judgment) → highly subjective responses

types of objective tests

self report measures and informant ratings

Self-Report Measures

objective personality tests → individuals report on themselves → high validity (good predictor of behaviour)

Self-Enhancement Bias

Tendency to focus on positive traits and downplay negative ones → bias on self-report testing

Reference Group Effect

People judge themselves based on comparison to their social group → causes bias on self-report testing

validity vs reliability

validity → ability to accurately predict future outcomes

reliability → consistency

Informant Ratings

Personality assessments completed by someone who knows the target person well → similar validity to self-report

sibling contrast effect

parents exaggerate the true magnitude of differences between their children by comparing them

Letter of Recommendation Effect

Tendency for informants to give overly positive ratings of people they like

Honeymoon Effect

Inflated positive ratings in newly formed relationships (e.g., newlyweds)

Comprehensiveness (Personality Tests)

Degree to which a test measures many traits vs a single trait

Omnibus Personality Inventories

Tests designed to measure many personality traits comprehensively (e.g.16 personalities)

Breadth of Traits

Level of generality of traits measured (broad traits vs specific facets)

Big Five Model

Trait model measuring 5 general traits

Projective Tests

Personality tests using ambiguous stimuli to reveal unconscious motives → thematic apperception test (TAT) and Rorschach inkblot test

Projective Hypothesis

Assumption that people project unconscious feelings onto ambiguous stimuli

downside of projective tests

hard to develop reliable scoring scheme for the extensive possible interpretations, hard to

Rorschach Inkblot Test

Projective test where people interpret inkblots