self and personality psych

Distinction subjective and objective psychological accounts of the self

Subjective accounts: refers to self psychology, how we perceive the world, people, and events

objective accounts: refer to personality psychology, how we describe, establish the actual qualities of the self, how we determine if people can provide accurate accounts of their thought, emotion, and behavior

Self-schema

integrated set of beliefs, memories, and generalizations about ourselves. Processing information about ourselves activates the middle of the frontal lobes

working self-concept

Immediate experience of the self in the here and now

- Accessed for particular situation

- Impacts behavior

- Emphasis on being different from others

• ex, only thing of self as young when around old people

self & culture

how cultural context shapes an individual's self-concept, identity, and behavior. ex, western individualism vs eastern collectivist

self-esteem

Affective aspect of the self

self esteem - Reflected appraisal view

• SE based on perception of others’ judgement of oneself

• Beliefs of positive/negative things about oneself while low/high SE

self esteem - Sociometer theory

• SE as monitor of perceived social acceptance or rejection

• Positive correlation between low SE and social anxiety

Value of high/low self-esteem?

High SE associated with higher level of perceived happiness, BUT does not lead to successful social relationships or life success

• School bullies, violent individuals often have high SE

Narcissistic individuals

• Self-centered

• View themselves in grandiose terms

• Feel entitled to special treatment

• Manipulative

• Poor relations with others

• Angry when challenged

Increasing narcissism among American college students since 1979

• due to a societal shift toward extreme individualism, the rise of image-focused social media, and cultural reinforcement of self-entitlement

• self-esteem-focused parenting, a decline in community bonding, and increased social comparison

• Key consequences include social media addiction, higher divorce rates, increased workplace fraud risk, and intensified interpersonal conflict

self-esteem statistics

• men higher than women

• Tends to fall during adolescence and is at its lowest for people, especially young women, aged 18 to 22 years

• Typically increases across adulthood, peaking when people are in their sixties and falling off toward the end of life

• Higher social class is generally associated with higher self-esteem

better-than-average-effect

Overestimation of one’s quality and abilities relative to others

• Unrealistic optimism / perceived control

self-serving bias

the cognitive tendency to attribute personal successes to internal traits (intelligence, effort) while blaming failures on external factors (luck, unfairness)

downward comparisons

• Comparing oneself to another person who is less successful on a given dimension 

• Temporal comparison : comparing our current self to our prior self 

upward comparisons

comparing oneself to another person who is more successful on a given dimension 

social comparisons

individuals evaluate their own abilities, attitudes, and worth by comparing themselves to others (upward, temporal, downward under this category)

personality

An individual's traits and characteristics that are relatively stable over time and across circumstances 

Personality and behavior

Person/situation debate (is behavior is primarily driven by internal personality traits (person) or external context (situation)

Situationism

situationism

argues that human behavior is determined more by immediate environmental factors and social situations than by stable, internal personality traits.

Interactionist perspective

emphasizes role of interaction of personality and situation

– Weak and strong situations

• weak enivornments = unstructued / no set expectations = personality traits revealed

• strong enviornments = structured / expected behavior = personality traits masked

psychodynamic theory

sigmund Freud (1856-1939), Theory according to which unconscious forces determine behavior

psychodynamic theory : unconscious

Reservoir of largely unacceptable thoughts, feelings, memories and other information

that lies beneath conscious awareness

psychodynamic theory : pleasure principle

seeking pleasure and avoiding pain; Libido as energy promoting this

psychodynamic theory : reality principle

control of the pleasure-seeking activity b/c of external world’s demands

structures of psychodynamic theory

Id: Submerged in the unconscious; Operates according to the pleasure principle (ex, instant urges)

Superego: Internalization of societal and parental standards of conduct (ex, morality, guilt)

Ego: Satisfaction of the wishes of the Id, adapted to the current demands of

the Superego; Operates according to the reality principle

• defense mechanisms as mediators to anxiety

defense mechanisms

• Denial: Refusing to accept reality or facts, such as ignoring a diagnosis.

• Repression: Unconsciously pushing threatening thoughts or memories into the subconscious.

• Projection: Attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts or feelings onto someone else.

• reaction formation: Acting in the exact opposite manner of one’s true, unconscious feelings.

• Rationalization: Creating logical justifications for unacceptable behavior or feelings.

• displacement: Redirecting emotions from the original source to a safer, less threatening target

• sublimation: channeling socially unacceptable behaviors into constructive, admirable behaviors

protective measures

personality tests that examine unconscious processes by having people interpret ambiguous stimuli

• Rorschach Inkblot Test (see images in ink)

• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) (make story from picture shown)

humanistic approaches

• Emphasis in people’s goodness

• Ways of studying personality that emphasize self-actualization, the

  search for fulfillment of potential through greater self-understanding

carl rogers

• introduced a person-centered approach to understanding personality and human relationships

• Conditions of worth: implicit "rules" we follow to gain positive regard from parents, peers, and society.)

• Unconditional positive regard : a core component of person-centered therapy involving total acceptance and support for a person without judgment or evaluation. It means valuing the client as a human, regardless of their actions

maslows hierarchy of needs

• deficiency and growth needs

• deficiency needs are driven by deprivation (fear of not having), while growth needs are driven by the desire to grow and fulfill potential.

• D-needs are foundational, survival-based requirements (physiological, safety, social, esteem)

• Growth needs, specifically self-actualization, arise from a desire to reach personal potential rather than a lack of something

descriptions of characteristics

• Ways of studying personality that are based on people’s characteristics - i.e., tendencies to act in a certain way over time and across circumstances

• Traits exist on a continuum

the big five (traits)

Openness; Conscientiousness;Extraversion; Agreeableness; Neuroticism

openness

the tendency to appreciate new art, ideas, values, feelings, and behaviors

high score: creative, imaginative, eccentric, open to new experiences

low score: practical, conventional, sceptical, rational

Conscientiousness

The tendency to be careful, to be on-time for appointments, to follow rules, and to be hardworking

high score: organized, successful, controlling

low score: spontaneous, careless, can be prone to addiction

extraversion

The tendency to be talkative, to be sociable, and to enjoy others; the tendency to have a dominant style

high score: outgoing, active, enthusiastic

low score: aloof, independent, cautious

agreeableness

The tendency to agree and go along with others rather than to assert ones own opinions and choices

high score: trusting, empathetic, slow to anger, compliant

low score: uncooperative and hostile, find it hard to empathize with others

Neuroticism

The tendency to frequently experience negative emotions such as anger, worry, and sadness; the tendency to be interpersonally sensitive

high score: prone to stress, worry, negative emotions

low score: emotionally stable but can 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 assesses the Big Five Personality factors with 240 items

observational methods

How well do observers’ personality judgments predict others’ behavior?

• close acquaintances may predict our behavior more accurately than we do ourselves

• Blind spots about various aspects of our personality because we want to feel good about ourselves

Certain genes can be linked with some personality traits

• Identical twins more similar than non-identical twins in

  personality traits described by the five-factor theory

  • 40% to 60% of personality variation as product of genetic

    variation

• Novelty seeking linked to a gene associated with dopamine levels

• Genes interact w/ environment to produce general dispositions

• Cross-cultural findings on age-related changes in personality independent of environmental influences

• Major life events can lead to changes in personality though