Theories of Personality (Trait and Psychoanalytic Approaches)

Personality

the patterns of feelings, motives, and behavior that set people apart from one another

Trait

an aspect of personality that is considered to be reasonably stable

Hippocrates: Yellow Bile

choleric or quick-tempered disposition (bad-tempered, irritable)

Hippocrates: Blood

sanguine, warm and cheerful temperament (cheerful, passionate)

Hippocrates: Phlegm

phlegmatic or sluggish and cool disposition (calm, unexcitable)

Hippocrates: Black Bile

melancholic, thoughtful temperament (gloomy, pessimistic)

Gordon Allport

cataloged 18,000+ traits using descriptive words; created three categories: cardinal, central, secondary traits

Hans Eysenck

focused on the relationship between two personality dimensions: Introverts/Extroverts and Stable/Unstable

Introvert (Eysenck)

tend to be imaginative and look inward rather than to other people for their ideas and energy

Extrovert (Eysenck)

tend to be active and self-expressive and gain energy from interaction with other people

Stable (Eysenck)

usually reliable, composed, and rational

Unstable (Eysenck)

agitated and unpredictable

Five-Factor Model Developers

Robert McCrae and Paul T. Costa Jr.

OCEAN: Extroversion

talkativeness, assertiveness, activity vs. silence, passivity, reserve

OCEAN: Agreeableness

kindness, trust, warmth vs. hostility, selfishness, distrust

OCEAN: Conscientiousness

organization, thoroughness, reliability vs. carelessness, negligence, unreliability

OCEAN: Emotional Stability-Instability

reliability, coping vs. nervousness, moodiness, sensitivity to negative events

OCEAN: Openness to Experience

imagination, curiosity, creativity vs. shallowness, lack of perceptiveness

Trait Approach: Positive Evaluation

matches people to education programs & jobs

Trait Approach: Negative Evaluation

does not explain where traits come from

Psychoanalytic Approach (Basic Idea)

people are born with certain biological drives such as aggression, sex, and the need for superiority which comes into conflict with laws, norms, and moral codes

Conscious (Freud)

ideas and feelings occupy only a small part of the mind

Unconscious (Freud)

deepest thoughts, fears, and urges remain out of awareness

Psychoanalysis

"talking cure"; developed by Freud

Id

represents basic drives; demands pleasure through instant gratification and pays no attention to laws, social customs, or the needs of others

Pleasure Principle

the urge for an immediate release of energy or emotion that will bring personal gratification, relief, or pleasure

Ego

develops because a child's demands for instant gratification cannot be met or may be harmful; stands for reason and good sense

Reality Principle

the understanding that in the real world we cannot always get what we want

Superego

develops throughout early childhood; acts as a conscience and floods the ego with feelings of guilt and shame when we do something wrong

Moral Principle

the standards and values of parents and members of the community

Defense Mechanisms

methods the ego uses to avoid recognizing ideas or emotions that may cause personal anxiety

Repression

removes anxiety-causing ideas from conscious awareness by pushing them into the unconscious (e.g., witness a murder - can't recall any details)

Rationalization

the use of self-deception to justify unacceptable behaviors or ideas (e.g., "I only cheated on a few questions")

Displacement

the transfer of an idea or impulse from a threatening or unsuitable object to a less threatening object (e.g., you yell at dog)

Regression

when under a great deal of stress, you return to behavior that is characteristic of an earlier stage of development (e.g., adolescent pouting when forbidden to go out)

Projection

deal with unacceptable impulses by projecting these impulses outward onto other people (e.g., a hostile person accuses others of being hostile towards them)

Reaction Formation

act contrary to their genuine feelings in order to keep their true feelings hidden (e.g., being mean to someone you're attracted to)

Denial

a person refuses to accept the reality of anything that is bad or upsetting (e.g., smokers ignore risks of cancer)

Sublimation

channel basic impulses into socially acceptable behavior (e.g., hostile student plays contact sports)

Defense Mechanisms: Positive Evaluation

protect people from painful feelings

Defense Mechanisms: Negative Evaluation

ignore the underlying issues causing those anxious feelings

Stages of Development

personality develops during five stages: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital

Oral Stage (Age)

birth to 12 months

Oral Stage Traits

dependency & overly emotional; fixations = smoking, nail biting, overeating, excessive talking, gum chewer, pen cap eater, etc.

Anal Stage (Age)

18 months - 3 years old

Anal Stage: Too Strict

overemphasis on control, self-discipline, neatness, and stingy with money

Anal Stage: Too Lenient

messiness and lack of self-discipline, careless

Phallic Stage (Age)

3 - 6 years old

Phallic Stage Traits

initiative & aggressiveness; excess punishment leads to guilt; Oedipal Complex (boys); Electra Complex (girls)

Oedipal Complex

"Momma's boy" - boys love mom

Electra Complex

"Daddy's girl" - girls love dad

Latency Stage (Age)

6 years old - puberty

Latency Stage Traits

relative calm period; impulses and emotions remain "hidden"; child pursues school, friendships, and games

Genital Stage (Age)

puberty to adulthood

Genital Stage Traits

capacity for mature, intimate relationships; aware of your gender identity

Psychoanalytic Approach: Positive Evaluation

helped us recognize sexual and aggressive urges are common; pointed out difference between recognizing urges and acting on them; effects of childhood events; heightened society's awareness of the emotional needs for children; contributed greatly to the development of compassion for people with psychological disorders

Psychoanalytic Approach: Negative Evaluation

placed too much emphasis on unconscious motives and neglected the importance of social relationships

Carl Jung

intrigued by unconscious processes; developed analytic psychology

Analytic Psychology (Jung)

places a greater emphasis on the influences of mysticism and religion on human behavior

Collective Unconscious (Jung)

a storehouse of human concepts shared by all people across all cultures

Archetypes (Jung)

ideas and images of the accumulated experience of all human beings (e.g., fairy godmothers, wicked witches, the young hero, the wise old man, themes of rebirth or resurrection, the hostile brother, the supreme being, the fertile and nurturing mother)

Alfred Adler

believed that people are basically motivated by a need to overcome feelings of inferiority

Inferiority Complex (Adler)

inferiority based on physical problems and the need to compensate for them

Sibling Rivalry (Adler)

jealousies that are often found among brothers and sisters

Creative Self (Adler)

self-aware and strives to overcome obstacles and develop the individual's unique potential

Karen Horney

believed the greatest influences on personality are social relationships, especially parent-child relationships

Basic Anxiety (Horney)

occurs when parents treat children with indifference or harshness

Erik Erikson

believed social relationships are the most important factor in personality development; more emphasis on the mother-infant relationship; formed an eight stage psychosocial theory of development

Erikson's Stage 1: Infancy

trust vs. mistrust (0-1 year) = coming to trust mother & environment - to associate surroundings with feelings of inner goodness

Erikson's Stage 2: Early Childhood

autonomy vs. shame and doubt (2-3 years) = developing the wish to make choices & self control to exercise choice

Erikson's Stage 3: Preschool Years

initiative vs. guilt (4-5 years) = adding planning & "attacking" to choice; becoming active and on the move

Erikson's Stage 4: Elementary School

industry vs. inferiority (6-12 years) = absorbed in skills, tasks, and productivity; mastering the fundamentals of technology

Erikson's Stage 5: Adolescence

identity vs. role diffusion (13-18 years) = connecting skills & social roles to formation of career objectives

Erikson's Stage 6: Young Adulthood

intimacy vs. isolation (19-30 years) = committing the self to another with intimacy

Erikson's Stage 7: Middle Adulthood

generativity vs. stagnation (30-64 years) = needing to be needed; guiding and encouraging the younger generation

Erikson's Stage 8: Late Adulthood

integrity vs. despair (65+ years) = accepting the timing and placing of one's own life cycle; achieving wisdom & dignity