Chapter 10 Personality

Chapter 10: Personality Theories

Overview of Personality

• Definition: Personality is the unique set of attitudes, behaviors, and emotions that define an individual.

• Examples of Personality Types:

  • Type A: Individuals exhibit urgency, competitiveness, and are easily angered.

  • Type B: Individuals are more relaxed and easygoing.

Psychoanalytic Theory

Basic Principles

• Personality is shaped by early childhood experiences and remains largely unchanged throughout life.

• Dominant themes include:

  • Sex

  • Death

  • Childhood

  • Unconscious mind

Structure of the Mind

• Conscious Mind: Contains current thoughts.

• Preconscious Mind: Contains thoughts just below consciousness, accessible with focus.

• Unconscious Mind: Houses thoughts that are not accessible; behavior shaped by unconscious impulses.

Freud's Instincts

• Eros: Life instinct associated with desire for sex.

• Thanatos: Death instinct linked to aggression.

• Libido: Energy that drives Eros.

Components of Personality

• ID:

  • Unconscious, present at birth.

  • Seeks immediate gratification without considering reality.

• Ego:

  • Conscious and rational, develops between ages 2-3.

  • Operates on reality principle, navigating between ID and the real world.

• Superego:

  • Emerges between ages 3-5.

  • Represents internalized morals and ethics derived from society and caregivers.

Example of ID, Ego, and Superego Interaction

• As a student crams for an exam:

  • ID prompts to go to sleep or party.

  • Superego urges to study for the test.

  • Ego negotiates: study for two hours, then party, then sleep.

Defense Mechanisms

• Repression: Unconsciously keeping distressing thoughts out of awareness.

  • Example: Repressing aggressive thoughts during the Oedipus complex.

• Denial: Refusing to accept reality or fact.

  • Example: Smokers denying the dangers of smoking.

• Projection: Attributing one’s unacceptable thoughts to others.

• Regression: Reverting to earlier behaviors in response to stress.

• Sublimation: Redirecting impulses into socially acceptable activities.

  • Example: Engaging in sports to channel aggression.

• Reaction Formation: Acting oppositely to one’s unacceptable impulses.

• Rationalization: Justifying behaviors by creating excuses.

Criticisms of Psychoanalysis

• Lack of empirical support for many of Freud’s concepts.

• Overemphasis on early childhood and sexuality in shaping behavior.

• Feminist critiques highlight gender bias in theories; Horney and Chodorow argue against the notion of male superiority.

Neo-Freudian Theories

• Carl Jung: Suggested two parts to the unconscious:

  • Personal Unconscious: Personal experiences not consciously recalled.

  • Collective Unconscious: Shared human experiences across cultures.

• Archetypes defined by Jung include:

  • Shadow: Dark side of personality.

  • Persona: The public image created.

• Alfred Adler: Emphasized motivation driven by feelings of inferiority and the impact of birth order on personality.

Trait Theories

• Hans Eysenck: Proposed personality traits exist on two main axes: extroversion-introversion and stable-unstable.

• Raymond Cattell: Identified 16 basic personality traits through his 16 Personality Factor Test.

• Big Five Model (Costa & McCrae): Traits include:

  • Extraversion

  • Agreeableness

  • Conscientiousness

  • Neuroticism (Emotional Stability)

  • Openness to Experience

Idiographic vs. Nomothetic Approaches

• Idiographic: Focuses on individual uniqueness in personality descriptions.

• Nomothetic: Attempts generalizations across populations.

Gordon Allport's Traits

• Cardinal Traits: Dominant traits shaping behavior (e.g., sociability).

• Central Traits: General characteristics forming a person (e.g., honesty).

• Secondary Traits: Context-dependent traits (e.g., anxiety in specific situations).

Biological Theories of Personality

• Historical Perspective: Hippocrates posited personality is influenced by four bodily humors.

• Modern Understanding: Traits are influenced by genes, neurotransmitters, and hormones.

  • Heritability of Intelligence: Estimated at 50-70%.

• William Sheldon’s Somatotype Theory: Correlates body types with personality:

  • Endomorph: Relaxed and sociable.

  • Mesomorph: Assertive and vigorous.

  • Ectomorph: Sensitive and introverted.

Behavioral Theories

• Behaviorists view personality as a product of one's environment and reinforcement.

• B.F. Skinner: Criticized for overlooking cognition in personality development.

Social-Cognitive Theories

• Albert Bandura: Interaction of individual traits, behavior, and environment form personality (reciprocal determinism).

• Self-efficacy: Belief in one’s ability to succeed influences personal experience and behavior.

Personal-Construct Theory

• George Kelly: Suggests individuals create unique systems of personal constructs to understand experiences.

Locus of Control

• Julian Rotter: Differentiates between internal (personal responsibility) and external (luck and fate) locus of control.

Humanistic Psychology

• Humanistic theories stress inherent goodness and free will in personal development.

• Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs highlights stages leading to self-actualization:

  1. Physiological Needs: Food, water, warmth.

  2. Safety Needs: Security.

  3. Love/Belonging: Relationships.

  4. Esteem Needs: Prestige and accomplishment.

  5. Self-Actualization: Fulfilling one's potential.

Assessment of Personality

• Projective Tests: Involving interpretation of ambiguous stimuli (e.g., Rorschach inkblots, Thematic Apperception Test).

  • Observations during interpretation can reveal unconscious thoughts.

• Self-report Inventories: Questionnaires to evaluate personality traits (e.g., MMPI).

• Barnum Effect: Tendency for people to see themselves in vague personality descriptions.

Conclusion

• Understanding personality theories enriches our grasp of human behavior and individual differences.