Personality Exam 1

01:830:338:02--Personality Psychology at Rutgers NB taught by Dr./Prof Herman

Personality psychology

studies how personality originates, develops, and functions

What is personality?

a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations

The study of personality

a scientific analysis of individual differences that help account for why and how people react uniquely to various situations

Primary focus in the study of personality

offer explanations for each individual’s unique ways of responding to his or her physical, social and cultural environments

free association

say the first thing that comes to your mind

therapeutic technique central to psychoanalysis in which the therapist encourages patients to report, without restriction, any thoughts that occur to them no matter how irrelevant, unimportant, or unpleasant

considered the fundamental role in psychoanalysis

Unconscious (Freud)

depository of hidden wishes, needs, and conflicts of which the person is unaware and filled with sexual / aggressive impulses and unresolved issues

Freud believed a great deal of our behavior is unconsciously driven

Resistance

in psychoanalysis, when unwilling to disclose painful memories

Freud believed resistance caused those memories to be repressed in the unconscious

Dreams

“royal road to the unconscious”

dream analysis

psychoanalytic technique used to probe the unconscious through interpretation of the patient’s dreams

Dream analysis process

analyze / interpret symbols present in the dream to (try to) discover the latent content or hidden meanings

Freud believed dream symbols had universal meanings

Conscious

the ideas and sensations of which we are aware

Preconscious

contains the experiences that are unconscious but that could be conscious easily

Unconscious

contains the experiences and memories of which we are not aware

instincts

the driving forces in personality, govern behavior, and motivate to seek gratification and homeostasis

two main instincts motivate us

life and death instincts

life instincts

instinctive urges to preserve life, includes basic needs (primarily our sexual drives or instincts)

libido (life instinct)

originally sexual instincts, later revised to psychic and pleasurable gratification of life instincts

death instincts

instincts to return to a state of balance, free of painful struggles before death…as a result, comes aggression

Freud believed that people hold an unconscious desire to die but that this wish is largely tempered by the life instincts — in his view, self-destructive behavior is an expression of the energy created by the death instincts

3 systems of the mind

id, ego, and superego

id

pleasure principle, original aspect of personality, rooted biologically, consisting of unconscious sexual and aggressive instincts

wants immediate gratification

Freud’s ego

the executive functioning of personality

aims to balance the needs of the id and the extremes of the superego in appropriate and realistic ways

superego

strives for perfectionism

internalization of societal values instilled primarily by parents to teach right and wrong responses in given situations results in satisfaction or guilt and same

where our conscience comes from

Psychotherapy

includes ALL types / modalities of therapy

Freud is considered

the first major force in psychology

strong superego results in…(3)

realistic anxiety, neurotic anxiety, and moral anxiety

realistic anxiety

fear of danger from the external world

degree of anxiety must be equal to the degree of harm

neurotic anxiety

when individuals fear that their instincts / id desires will get out of control and cause them to do smtn they’ll regret

result of conflict between id ego and superego

moral anxiety

when one does something against one’s own conscience or when one fears excessive criticism / demands from parents or society

psychosexual stages of development

1. oral

2. anal

3. phallic

4. latency

5. genital

each stage is characterized by an erogenous zone / area of the body through which child seeks gratification

fixation (in psychosexual stages)

defensive attachment to an earlier stage as a result of a traumatic experience in a particular stage

Freud considered fixation to be defense against anxiety

ex. an oral fixation

Oedipus complex / Electra complex

during phallic stage, children supposedly fall in love with the parent of the opposite sex and see the same sex parent as the rival

Freud only believed in the OC, Jung actually coined the EC and Freud fought it

OC results in development of superego, EC results in inadequate superego

Fixation at phallic stage

recklessness, narcissism, incapability of close love, excessive vanity or pride

Freud also theorized that this could be a cause of homosexuality

Fixation in anal phase

parent(s) forcing potty training too quickly

results in stinginess, constrictedness, and stubborness

Freudian outlook on life

Determinism

also very concerned about how one is raised

Freud’s age at which personality is set

age 6

oral stage fixation

parental deprivation or overindulgence

pessimism or optimism

suspiciousness or gullibility

self-belittlement or cockiness

passivity or manipulativeness

psychoanalytic thought suggests

we’re all “a little neurotic” and conflicts of childhood form the core of neurotic disorders

defense mechanism

an unhealthy, universal reaction people unconsciously use to protect themselves from pain and keep anxiety at bay

repression

Unconsciously banishing painful memories from consciousness

suppression

active and conscious attempt to stop anxiety-provoking thoughts by simply not thinking about them

stored in the preconscious

denial

refusal to perceive an unpleasant event in reality

rationalization

justifying / making excuses for maladaptive behaviors

e.g “I drink because my kid drives me crazy” or “my life is harder than everybody else’s”

displacement

unconsciously redirecting anger onto substitute objects or people

sublimation

(form of displacement) displacing anger on others in ways that are “socially acceptable”

e.g when it’s considered “okay” (say, in a tv show like The Sopranos) when someone kills / bullies / somehow mistreats someone else out of anger, when that other person “deserves it” or is considered a bad person

regression

mature behavior —> immature behavior

i.e backsliding, taking a step backwards, etc.

projection

attributing our own undesirable traits on to others

reaction formation

converting undesirable traits to their opposites

intellectualization

dissociation between thoughts and feelings with elaborate rationale to explain unbearable pain

e.g when a person comes up with a justification for their partner hitting them

undoing

performing an act to nullify or make amends for an undesirable one

e.g when a cheating spouse returns home with flowers for their partner

Freud’s assessment techniques

• free association

• dream analysis

• analysis of resistance

  • transference

transference

ambivalence (attitudes of both affection and hostility) toward “parents” that are displaced onto therapist

positive transference

special affection toward the therapist; usually develops first (praise, trust, falling in love)

counter transference

therapist’s reaction with personal feelings towards patient

negative transference

showing anger and hostility towards therapist

Jung’s “psyche”

the total personality — all of the interacting systems within human personality which accounts for all mental life & behavior

Psychic energy

energy that flows continuously from consciousness to unconsciousness and back

manifests itself in our various feelings, thoughts, and behaviors and is considered an outcome of the conflict between forces within the personality

Jung believed without psychic energy there is no life

Self-realization & individuation

integration of all aspects of the psyche and is the aim of individual development

ultimate goal is to fulfill our unique potentials and natures—continues all throughout life

humanism

individuation

the process of becoming the individual you are meant to be

ego (Jung)

in the center of consciousness…it’s the unifying force in the psyche

contains thoughts including behavior, feelings, and memories

Jung’s psyche

includes personal unconscious and collective unconscious

differs from Freud

personal unconscious

in the psyche; contains all the forgotten experiences that have lost their intensity often due to unpleasantness or just weak impressions and only accessible under certain circumstances

collective unconscious

a storehouse of latent memories of our human and prehuman ancestry consisting of instincts and archetypes that we inherit as possibilities and that often affect our behavior

Jung’s four archetypes

• self

• shadow

• persona

• anima/animus

archetypes

universal themes or symbols that can be activated by forces operating in the psyche, thereby generating visions that are projected onto current experiences

universal theme or an idea which is common to all of mankind

persona

archetype consisting of the role humans play in order to meet the demands of others

shadow

archetype consisting of the inferior, evil, and repulsive side of human nature

• personal unconscious: all experiences humans reject on moral or aesthetic grounds

• collective unconscious: universal personifications of evil within our psyches

the selfishness, repressed instincts, and “unauthorized” self that your conscious mind rejects

anima & animus

elements of the opposite sex within us — the feminine archetype in a man (anima) and masculine archetype in a woman (animus)

they are the abstract symbol sets that formulate the archetype of the Self

• in a woman her contra sexuality is masculine and governs her rational thinking function and we call this the Animus

  • in a man his contra sexuality is feminine and governs his irrational feeling function and we call this the Anima

self

archetype that leads people to search for ways of maximizing the development of their potential

• the destiny of realizing who we are, the “way to individuation”

psychological types

basic attitudes and functions towards life

extraversion

outgoing and relatively confident approach to life

introversion

retiring and reflective approach to life

the four functions (ways people relate to the world)

sensing, thinking, feeling, and intuiting

sensing

initial, concrete experiencing without reason or evaluation

thinking

understand events through the use of reason and logic

feeling

gives us an evaluation of events by judging whether they are good or bad

intuiting

rely on hunches whenever we have to deal with strange situations with no established facts

the “rational" (judging) functions

thinking and feeling

the “irrational” (perceiving) functions

sensation and intuition

Jung’s dreams

involuntary and spontaneous eruptions of repressed materials rooted in the personal and collective unconscious

method of amplification

method used to interpret dreams and reveal their meanings…starts with a symbol and followed by giving numerous associations to it

word association test

patients are presented with stimulation words and asked to respond…records time it took between word and response

painting therapy

believed paintings must be expressions of their innermost selves

individual psychology

theory which seeks to understand the behavior of each person as an organized entity and focuses on the whole personality

teleological

power, will, or belief that individuals are guided to move towards goals

teleological position

belief that goals determine behavior and behavior is directed and shaped by a designing force

Adler believed all behavior is directed by…

future goals

our purpose is to attain perfection and all driven by feelings of inferiority

(Adler) ultimate goal is […]

superiority; the striving to attain perfection

done so to make up for feelings of inferiority

2 paths to superiority & when they’re determined

constructive & destructive

determined by age 5

constructive path to superiority

healthy

destructive path to superiority

personal superiority at the expense of others

organ inferiority

when one organ, or portion of the body, is weaker than the rest

the body’s other organs would work together in order to compensate for the weakness of this “inferior” organ

caused exaggerated strivings as the result of feeling unmanliness

not the defect itself that produces striving but the person’s attitude toward it

replaced with feelings of inferiority

masculine protest

attempt to compensate for feelings of inferiority by acting as though superior to others

overcompensation

exaggerated attempts by individuals to overcome feelings of inferiority by action as though they are personally superior to others

Adler believed women were […] and therefore […]

1) placed in an inferior position by society

2) take on masculine behavior

Adler saw lesbianism as…

an extreme manifestation of the masculine protest

opposite extreme = super-feminine

[result of overcompensation]

Adler’s male equivalent of lesbianism

“Don Juan” type

proving manhood by seducing women

[result or overcompensation]

normal perception to Adler: all should acknowledge […] and use these feelings […]

1) some feelings of inferiority

2) as motivators

Adler’s compensation

other areas of the body making up for the function lacking in the inferior portion

in some cases the weakness may be overcompensated transforming it into a strength

if an individual overcompensates, then an […] would occur, fostering the danger of the individual becoming […]

1) inferiority complex

2) egocentric, power-hungry, aggressive and/or worse

1) to be “perfectly thin”

2) overcompensation

3) a feeling of inferiority

e.g in anorexia nervosa, the fictive final goal is […], which is an […] on the basis of […]