Theories of Personality Ch.13
Theories of Personality
Personality
Personality- the unique and relatively stable ways in which each individual thinks, feels, and behaves
Psychoanalytic Theory: Freud
Conscious mind- immediate awareness of surroundings and perceptions
Preconscious mind- information is available but not currently conscious
Unconscious mind- thoughts, feelings, memories not easily or voluntarily brought into consciousness
Psychoanalysis: Structure of Personality
Id- present at birth and unconsciousness
Libido- psychic energy that my conflict with society’s standards for behavior
Pleasure principle- immediate satisfaction of needs without regard for consequences
Ego- develops out of need to deal with reality; mostly conscious, rational, logical
Reality principle- realistic and practical satisfaction of id demands
Superego- moral center
Ego ideal- contains standards for moral behavior
Conscience- produces pride or guilt depending on the match between behavior and the ego ideal
Table 13.1
Psychoanalytic Stages of Personality Development
Psychosexual stages- five stages marked by biological needs for gratification and societal expectations
Fixation- unresolved conflict within a particular stage, results in immature traits associated with stage
Oral stage- 1st year, mouth the erogenous zone, weaning the primary conflict. Id dominated.
All psychic energy controlled by the id; humans are basically selfish and must be socialized
Anal stage- 1 to 3 years, anus the erogenous zone, toilet training source of conflict. Ego develops.
Anal expulsive personality- messy, destructive, hostile
Anal retentive personality- neat, fussy, stingy, stubborn
Phallic stages- 3 to 6 years, child discovers sexual feelings. Superego develops.
Oedipus complex- child develops sexual attraction to opposite-sex parent and jealousy of same-sex parent
Identification- child becomes like same-sex parent to “share” opposite sex parent
Latency- school years, sexual feelings repressed while child develops interpersonal skills.
Genital- adolescence through adulthood, sexual feelings reawaken with appropriate targets.
Healthy personality- to work and love
13.4 The Neo-Freudians
Modern Psychoanalytic Theory
Current research has found support for:
Defense mechanisms
Concept of the unconscious mind that can influence conscious behavior
Behaviorism and Personality
Behaviorists “personality” comprised of learned responses or habits
Habits- automatic sets of well-learned responses
Social cognitive view- focuses on cognitive processes such as anticipating, judging. Memory, and imitation of models
Neo-Freudians- followers of Freud who developed their own competing psychodynamic theories
Personal unconscious- Jung’s name for the unconscious mind as described by Freud
Collective unconscious- Jung’s name for the memories shared by all members of the human species
Archetypes- Jung’s collective, universal human memories
Basic anxiety- anxiety created when a child is born into the bigger and more powerful world of older children and adults
Neurotic personalities- personalities typified by maladaptive ways of dealing with relationships in Horney’s theory
Social cognitive learning theorists- theorists who emphasize the importance of both the influences of other people’s behavior and of a person’s own expectancies on learning
Reciprocal determinism- environment, personal characteristics, and behavior interact to determine future behavior (Bandura).
Self-efficacy- individual’s expectancy of success when they attempt something; ex. child expects she will earn an A on a math test (NOT the same as self-esteem) (Bandura).
Locus of control- the tendency for people to assume that they either have control or do not have control or do not have control over events and consequences in their lives
Expectancy- a person’s subjective feeling that a particular behavior will lead to a reinforcing consequence
Figure 13.2
Roger’s Theory of personality
Positive regard- warmth, affection, love, and respect that come from one’s significant others
Unconditional positive regard- positive regard given without coercion or strings attached
Conditional positive regard- positive regard given only when person is doing what the providers of positive regard wish
Self-actualizing tendency- striving to fulfill one’s innate capacities
Self-concept- self image develops from interactions with significant people
Self- an individual’s awareness of his or her own personal characteristics and level of functioning
Real self- one’s perception of actual characteristics, traits, and abilities
Ideal self- one’s perception of whom one should be
Anxiety and neurotic behavior occur when there exists remarkable discrepancy between real and ideal self
Caused by repeated exposure to conditions of worth (versus more health unconditional positive regard)
Fully functioning person- a person who is in touch with and trusting of the deepest, innermost urges and feelings
Figure 13.3
Trait Theories of Personality
Trait theories- describe characteristics that comprise human personalities
Trait: consistent, enduring way of thinking, feeling, or behaving
Purposes: describe and predict behavior (versus explaining it)
Factor analysis- identifies items that cluster together to form factors that represent “traits”
Surface traits- aspects of personality that can easily be seen by other people in the outward actions of a person
Source traits- the more basic traits that underlie the surface traits, forming the core of personality
Trait-situation interaction- the assumption that the particular circumstances of any given situation will influence the way in which a trait is expressed
Introversion- dimension of personality in which people tend to withdraw from excessive stimulation
Extroverts- people who are outgoing and sociable
Introverts- people who prefer solitude and dislike being the center of attention
Cattell’s 16 Traits
The Big Five Theory
Five-factor model (Big Five)- five basic trait dimensions discovered by factor analysis
Openness- amenable to new experiences
Conscientiousness- organized and thoughtful of others
Extraversion- one’s news to be with other people
Agreeableness- easygoing, friendly, and likable; or opposite
Neuroticism- degree of emotional instability or stability
Table 13.4
Humanistic perspective- the “third force” in psychology that focuses on those aspects of personality that make people uniquely human, such as subjective feelings and freedom of choice
Behavioral genetics- studies impact of heredity and environment on personality
Measuring Personality: Behavioral Measures
Direct observation- professional observes client engaged in ordinary behavior in either a clinical or natural setting
Rating scale- observer assigns numerical values to specific behaviors listed in the scale
Frequency count- frequency of a particular behavior is counted
De Leon Al. (1997)
Measuring Personality: Projective Tests
Projection- placing unconscious wishes, attitudes, motivations, and emotional reactions onto ambiguous stimuli
Projective tests- present ambiguous stimuli within an open-ended response format
Ambiguous- unclear and can be interpreted in more than one way
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)- 20 interpersonal scenes to which person reports creative stories
Interview- method of personality assessment on which the professional asks questions of the client and allows the client to answer, either in a structured or unstructured fashion
Personality inventory- paper-and-pencil or computerized test that consists of statements that require a specific, standardized response from the person taking the test
Halo effect- tendency of an interviewer to allow positive characteristics of a client to influence the assessments of the client’s behavior and statements
Rorschach inkblot test- projective test that uses 10 inkblots as the ambiguous stimuli
Theories of Personality
Personality
Personality- the unique and relatively stable ways in which each individual thinks, feels, and behaves
Psychoanalytic Theory: Freud
Conscious mind- immediate awareness of surroundings and perceptions
Preconscious mind- information is available but not currently conscious
Unconscious mind- thoughts, feelings, memories not easily or voluntarily brought into consciousness
Psychoanalysis: Structure of Personality
Id- present at birth and unconsciousness
Libido- psychic energy that my conflict with society’s standards for behavior
Pleasure principle- immediate satisfaction of needs without regard for consequences
Ego- develops out of need to deal with reality; mostly conscious, rational, logical
Reality principle- realistic and practical satisfaction of id demands
Superego- moral center
Ego ideal- contains standards for moral behavior
Conscience- produces pride or guilt depending on the match between behavior and the ego ideal
Table 13.1
Psychoanalytic Stages of Personality Development
Psychosexual stages- five stages marked by biological needs for gratification and societal expectations
Fixation- unresolved conflict within a particular stage, results in immature traits associated with stage
Oral stage- 1st year, mouth the erogenous zone, weaning the primary conflict. Id dominated.
All psychic energy controlled by the id; humans are basically selfish and must be socialized
Anal stage- 1 to 3 years, anus the erogenous zone, toilet training source of conflict. Ego develops.
Anal expulsive personality- messy, destructive, hostile
Anal retentive personality- neat, fussy, stingy, stubborn
Phallic stages- 3 to 6 years, child discovers sexual feelings. Superego develops.
Oedipus complex- child develops sexual attraction to opposite-sex parent and jealousy of same-sex parent
Identification- child becomes like same-sex parent to “share” opposite sex parent
Latency- school years, sexual feelings repressed while child develops interpersonal skills.
Genital- adolescence through adulthood, sexual feelings reawaken with appropriate targets.
Healthy personality- to work and love
13.4 The Neo-Freudians
Modern Psychoanalytic Theory
Current research has found support for:
Defense mechanisms
Concept of the unconscious mind that can influence conscious behavior
Behaviorism and Personality
Behaviorists “personality” comprised of learned responses or habits
Habits- automatic sets of well-learned responses
Social cognitive view- focuses on cognitive processes such as anticipating, judging. Memory, and imitation of models
Neo-Freudians- followers of Freud who developed their own competing psychodynamic theories
Personal unconscious- Jung’s name for the unconscious mind as described by Freud
Collective unconscious- Jung’s name for the memories shared by all members of the human species
Archetypes- Jung’s collective, universal human memories
Basic anxiety- anxiety created when a child is born into the bigger and more powerful world of older children and adults
Neurotic personalities- personalities typified by maladaptive ways of dealing with relationships in Horney’s theory
Social cognitive learning theorists- theorists who emphasize the importance of both the influences of other people’s behavior and of a person’s own expectancies on learning
Reciprocal determinism- environment, personal characteristics, and behavior interact to determine future behavior (Bandura).
Self-efficacy- individual’s expectancy of success when they attempt something; ex. child expects she will earn an A on a math test (NOT the same as self-esteem) (Bandura).
Locus of control- the tendency for people to assume that they either have control or do not have control or do not have control over events and consequences in their lives
Expectancy- a person’s subjective feeling that a particular behavior will lead to a reinforcing consequence
Figure 13.2
Roger’s Theory of personality
Positive regard- warmth, affection, love, and respect that come from one’s significant others
Unconditional positive regard- positive regard given without coercion or strings attached
Conditional positive regard- positive regard given only when person is doing what the providers of positive regard wish
Self-actualizing tendency- striving to fulfill one’s innate capacities
Self-concept- self image develops from interactions with significant people
Self- an individual’s awareness of his or her own personal characteristics and level of functioning
Real self- one’s perception of actual characteristics, traits, and abilities
Ideal self- one’s perception of whom one should be
Anxiety and neurotic behavior occur when there exists remarkable discrepancy between real and ideal self
Caused by repeated exposure to conditions of worth (versus more health unconditional positive regard)
Fully functioning person- a person who is in touch with and trusting of the deepest, innermost urges and feelings
Figure 13.3
Trait Theories of Personality
Trait theories- describe characteristics that comprise human personalities
Trait: consistent, enduring way of thinking, feeling, or behaving
Purposes: describe and predict behavior (versus explaining it)
Factor analysis- identifies items that cluster together to form factors that represent “traits”
Surface traits- aspects of personality that can easily be seen by other people in the outward actions of a person
Source traits- the more basic traits that underlie the surface traits, forming the core of personality
Trait-situation interaction- the assumption that the particular circumstances of any given situation will influence the way in which a trait is expressed
Introversion- dimension of personality in which people tend to withdraw from excessive stimulation
Extroverts- people who are outgoing and sociable
Introverts- people who prefer solitude and dislike being the center of attention
Cattell’s 16 Traits
The Big Five Theory
Five-factor model (Big Five)- five basic trait dimensions discovered by factor analysis
Openness- amenable to new experiences
Conscientiousness- organized and thoughtful of others
Extraversion- one’s news to be with other people
Agreeableness- easygoing, friendly, and likable; or opposite
Neuroticism- degree of emotional instability or stability
Table 13.4
Humanistic perspective- the “third force” in psychology that focuses on those aspects of personality that make people uniquely human, such as subjective feelings and freedom of choice
Behavioral genetics- studies impact of heredity and environment on personality
Measuring Personality: Behavioral Measures
Direct observation- professional observes client engaged in ordinary behavior in either a clinical or natural setting
Rating scale- observer assigns numerical values to specific behaviors listed in the scale
Frequency count- frequency of a particular behavior is counted
De Leon Al. (1997)
Measuring Personality: Projective Tests
Projection- placing unconscious wishes, attitudes, motivations, and emotional reactions onto ambiguous stimuli
Projective tests- present ambiguous stimuli within an open-ended response format
Ambiguous- unclear and can be interpreted in more than one way
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)- 20 interpersonal scenes to which person reports creative stories
Interview- method of personality assessment on which the professional asks questions of the client and allows the client to answer, either in a structured or unstructured fashion
Personality inventory- paper-and-pencil or computerized test that consists of statements that require a specific, standardized response from the person taking the test
Halo effect- tendency of an interviewer to allow positive characteristics of a client to influence the assessments of the client’s behavior and statements
Rorschach inkblot test- projective test that uses 10 inkblots as the ambiguous stimuli