General Psychology - Theories of Personality

Psychodynamic Theory

  • Sigmund Freud (Psychoanalytic)

  • Two Instincts

    • Eros: Life and Love (sexual instincts)

    • Thanatos: Death (aggressive instincts)

  • Three Structures of Personality

    • ID:

    • Hedonistic, operates off the Pleasure Principle

    • Seeks pleasure and avoids pain to reduce tension

    • Ego:

    • Operates on the Reality Principle

    • Balances the demands of the ID and the expectations of the Superego

    • Uses defense mechanisms to manage anxiety

    • Superego:

    • Represents morality derived from societal and parental bases

    • Comprised of:

      • Ego ideal: pride derived from acting morally

      • Conscience: guilt from wrongdoing

  • Defense Mechanisms (unconscious distortions of reality)

    • Repression: Banning unpleasant thoughts from awareness

    • Suppression: Pushing unpleasant experiences out of consciousness

    • Regression: Reverting to earlier, acceptable behaviors

    • Projection: Attributing one’s unacceptable feelings to others

    • Rationalization: Justifying unethical conduct with logical reasons

    • Reaction formation: Changing feelings to their opposites

    • Denial: Refusing to acknowledge an issue

    • Intellectualization: Focusing on rational aspects and ignoring emotions

    • Displacement: Redirecting emotions to a safe target

    • Sublimation: Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities

  • Psychosexual Development:

    • Oral Stage: Mouth focus; learns trust and comfort through feeding.

    • Anal Stage: Anus focus; learns self-control through toilet training.

    • Phallic Stage: Genitals focus; identifies with gender role; leads to Oedipus/Electra complex.

    • Latency Stage: Sexual energy dormant; focus on social and academic skills.

    • Genital Stage: Sexual reawakening; awareness of self-interest and care for others.

Karen Horney

  • Basic Anxiety: Challenges penis envy and inferiority concepts, introduces womb envy.

  • Coping Mechanisms:

  • Moving toward others: Cooperation and interdependence.

  • Moving against others: Competition.

  • Moving away from others: Independence.

  • Balance among these types leads to healthy personality development.

Alfred Adler

  • Individual Psychology: Striving for superiority to overcome childhood inferiority.

  • Compensation: Developing strengths and accepting limitations.

  • Inferiority Complex: Developed through lack of parental support; can lead to oppression of perceived weaker individuals.

Carl Jung

  • Archetypal Psychology/Individuation:

  • Collective Unconscious: Memory shared across humanity containing archetypes.

  • Common Archetypes: Hero, wise old man, shadow, anima, and animus.

  • Psychological Functions:

    • Thinking: Logical analysis

    • Feeling: Value judgments

    • Sensation: Direct perception

    • Intuition: Insight based on hunches

  • Individuation: Quest for wholeness; self-fulfillment requires self-acceptance and may result from a midlife crisis.

Erik Erikson

  • Psychosocial Development:

  • Eight developmental tasks/crises:

    1. Trust vs. Mistrust

    2. Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt

    3. Initiative vs. Guilt

    4. Industry vs. Inferiority

    5. Identity vs. Identity Confusion

    6. Intimacy vs. Isolation

    7. Generativity vs. Stagnation

    8. Integrity vs. Despair

Behavioral and Social Learning Theories

  • Classical Conditioning (Pavlov/Watson):

  • Learning through pairing unconditioned stimulus with a neutral stimulus.

  • Operant Conditioning (Skinner):

  • Dependent on consequences; reinforcement increases while punishment decreases likelihood of behavior.

  • Social Learning Theory (Bandura/Mischel):

  • Behavior shaped by personal and environmental factors; learning through observation.

Humanistic Perspective

  • Carl Rogers: Focuses on conditions for personal growth and development.

  • Unconditional positive regard leads to healthy self-concept.

  • Abraham Maslow: Emphasizes self-actualization as the motivation to reach full potential.

Trait Theories

  • Gordon Allport: Defines cardinal, central, and secondary traits.

  • Big Five Factors: Assess personality based on extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness to experience.

Sociocultural Perspective

  • Individualism: Prioritizes personal goals over group goals, promoting independence and self-serving values.

  • Collectivism: Emphasizes group goals and harmony, encouraging interdependence among members.