UWRF Psych: Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theories of Personality

Personality

An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Etiology

What is the origin of mental disorders

Psychodynamic theories of personality

Freud’s theories: Theory of human consciousness and theory of personality

Freud’s theory of consciousness

Conscious mind, subconscious/preconscious mind, unconscious mind

Conscious mind

What you are aware of

Subconscious/preconscious mind

What you can be aware of with minimal effort

Unconscious mind

What we are unaware of

Freud’s theory of personality

Id (instincts), ego (reality), superego (morality)

Defense mechanisms

In psychoanalytic theory, an unconscious psychological mechanism that reduces anxiety arising from unacceptable or potentially harmful stimuli

Pleasure principle

Instincts and urges for things that bring pleasure

Types of Freud’s defense mechanisms

Denial, displacement, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, sublimation

Denial

Refusal or inability to accept reality

Displacement

Taking unacceptable feelings and exerting them unto a more acceptable target

Repression

Unknowingly putting an unpleasant memory or thought in the unconscious

Regression

Reverting back to immature behavior from an earlier stage of development

Sublimation

Replacing socially unacceptable impulses with socially acceptable behavior

Reaction formation

Acting in exactly the opposite way to your unacceptable impulses

Projection

Attributing your own unacceptable feelings and thoughts to someone else

Rationalization

Creating false excuses for your unacceptable feelings, thoughts, or behavior

Projective test

A personality test that provides stimuli designed to trigger projection of someone’s inner dynamics

Thematic apperception test (TAT)

A projective test where people express their inner feelings through the stories they make up about the scene

Rorschach inkblot test

The most widely used projective test, designed by hermann rorschach, seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretation of the blots

Humanistic theories

View of personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth

Self actualization

According to Maslow, one of the ultimate needs that arises after basic needs are met, motivation is to fulfill one’s potential

Self transcendence

Level past self actualization, when someone can look outward and help others

Peak experiences

Moments of euphoria associated with self actualization and transcendence

Carl rogers’ person centered perspective

Accepting people as they are as a therapist and in general

Unconditional positive regard

According to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person

How to help someone reach their potential

Growth promoting climate, genuineness, acceptance, empathy

Real self

Based on actual experiences, how we see ourselves

Ideal self

Based on hopes, how we want to see ourselves

Social cognitive perspective

Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits and their social context

Reciprocal determinism

The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

Self

Assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions

Kinds of self esteem

Secure and internal or defensive and external

Trait

A characteristic pattern of behavior or disposition to feel and act

Gordon Allport

Developed modern trait theory, focused on describing personality in terms of traits vs motives

Types of traits

Common traits, central traits, secondary traits, cardinal traits

Common traits

Traits that are part of a culture, norms

Central traits

The root of your personality

Secondary traits

Traits that aren’t obvious or consistent

Cardinal traits

These traits define a person, few people develop them and they usually happen later in life

Personality inventory

A questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors, used to assess specific traits

Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory

Most widely researched and clinically used of all personality test, originally developed and still used to identify emotional disorders

Empirically derived test

A test developed by testing a pool of items and then choosing those that discriminate between groups

Hans eysenck

Believed personality can be measured and placed on three personality dimensions

Eysenck’s personality dimensions

Extroversion vs introversion, emotional stability vs instability (neuroticism), psychoticism (varies between lack of conscience and empathy

The big five (Costa and McCrae)

Conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, extraversion