Chapter 12: The Individual Mind: Personality and the Self

Serotonin transporter gene - which can come in two versions or alleles - short (S) and long (L)

SS (Two Short Alleles) - More negative reactions to bullying than SL (one short, one long) or LL (two long)

S Allele (Short Allele) - Greater attentiveness to negative stimuli (e.g., fear, anger, negative words/images)

L Allele (Long Allele) - Reduced stress response, possibly better suited for individualistic cultures

S allele sensitivity may be an advantage in collectivistic environments - better awareness of social cues

L allele carriers may be too insensitive for collectivistic settings but thrive in individualistic societies

S allele is a risk factor for depression - environment still plays a factor in it

Personality theories - our views of normal and abnormal behaviour

The study of personality for the first half of the 20th century - psychodynamic approaches of Sigmund Freud and his followers

The humanistic psychologists - actively rebelled against Freud's psychodynamic approach

Psychodynamic - A term first used by Ernst von Brücke in 1874 - extension of the first law of thermodynamics

Freud - became famous for his success in treating patients with hysteria

Hysteria - a condition characterized by physical symptoms without medical cause - known today as somatic symptom disorder

Freud’s treatment approach - psychoanalysis

Freud’s Model of Personality - closed energy system - psychic energy moves among id, ego, and superego

Id (Instincts & Pleasure Principle) - Present at birth, driven by hunger, thirst, and sex, seeks immediate gratification

Ego (Reality Principle) - Develops through social interaction, acts as the self, balances id’s impulses with reality

Superego (Morality & Conscience) - Internalizes society’s rules for right and wrong

Imbalance between id, ego, and superego - leads to anxiety

Defense mechanisms (unconscious coping strategies) include:

• Denial - Refusing to accept reality

• Repression - Pushing painful thoughts into the unconscious

• Projection - Attributing one's own feelings to others

• Displacement - Redirecting emotions to a safer target

Five psychosexual stages: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital

Personality forms through conflicts in the stages - id’s impulses and ego’s need for delayed gratification

Neo-Freudian Theories - humans seen as social animals, bringing the psychodynamic approach closer to modern psychology

Alfred Adler - Introduced the concept of the inferiority complex

Adler suggested that birth order matters - siblings, along with parents, influence personality development

Carl Jung - two types of unconscious mind - personal unconscious and collective unconscious

• Personal unconscious (similar to Freud’s concept)

• Collective unconscious - Inherited psychological predispositions from shared human experiences (e.g., darkness, power, death)

Karen Horney - criticized Freud’s views on women - emphasized cultural factors in women's feelings of inferiority - proposed male envy of women’s ability to bear children

B.F. Skinner - personality is shaped by learning - changes over time based on new experiences

Operant conditioning - leads to the development of stable "response tendencies" - may appear as traits - these tendencies are flexible

Humanistic Psychology - belief that humans are unique and inherently good

Abraham Maslow - focused on motivation rather than a full personality theory - observed that exceptional people had common traits

Carl Rogers - believed that humans strive toward self-actualization or maximizing their individual potential

Congruence - alignment between real self and ideal self

Traits - stable personality characteristics

Factor analysis - statistical technique that identifies clusters of related traits - helped narrow down 4500 traits to 16

Big Five Theory (OCEAN)

• Openness

• Conscientiousness

• Extraversion

• Agreeableness

• Neuroticism

Some psychologists argue that situations influence behavior more than stable personality traits

External Locus of Control - outcomes are determined by luck, fate, or external factors

Internal Locus of Control - Outcomes are a result of personal effort and talent

Albert Bandura: Personality = interaction between environment, behavior, and internal thoughts

Agreed with Skinner that the environment shapes behavior but added that people also shape their environment

High Self-Efficacy - confidence in abilities → effort → success

Low Self-Efficacy - doubt abilities → less effort → failure

Personality traits can be affected by biology - temperament, genetic predispositions, brain structure

Reactivity - Response to novel/challenging stimuli (linked to introversion and neuroticism)

Self-regulation - Ability to control attention & inhibit responses (linked to conscientiousness)

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) - identified six genetic loci associated with the Big Five traits

Hans Eysenck linked personality to biology - extraversion and neuroticism

• Extraversion → Reticular formation activity

• Neuroticism → Limbic system activity

Personality is shaped by three brain systems:

• Behavioral Approach System (BAS) - Linked to impulsivity & reward sensitivity

• Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS) - Responds to unlearned punishment & lack of reward

• Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) - Responds to learned punishment & lack of reward (linked to anxiety & neuroticism)

Neuroticism → Differences in prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus (sensitivity to stress/threat)

Conscientiousness → Linked to prefrontal cortex (planning & self-control)

Extraversion & Neuroticism found in many species: hyenas, octopuses, guppies, rats, pigs, dogs, cats, donkeys, monkeys, gorillas, chimpanzees.

Agreeableness observed in primates (basis for cooperative behavior)

Conscientiousness only found in humans & chimpanzees

Rorschach Inkblot Test → Participants describe what they see in ambiguous inkblots

Responses are scored using a manual (e.g., abstract vs. concrete thinking)

Controversial → Has misclassified normal children as near psychotic

The ABC Model

• Affect - Emotional aspects like self-esteem

• Behavior - Our actions shape our self-concept and vice versa

• Cognition - Organizes and processes self-related information

Self-Reference Effect (SRE) - Information about the self is processed more deeply

Spotlight Effect - Overestimating how much others notice us

Looking-Glass Self - Using others' reactions to define ourselves

Low self-esteem - Overgeneralizes failure (ex. failing one exam - failing everything)

High self-esteem - Shifts focus to strengths (ex. excelling in sports, looks, or social life)

Begins in early childhood and remains relatively stable across life

Social comparisons - Judging self-worth relative to others

Downward comparisons - Comparing to less successful others (common in high self-esteem)

Upward comparisons - Comparing to more successful others (common in low self-esteem)

Gender differences: Women have higher rates of depression - possibly linked to lower self-esteem

Socioeconomic status (SES) - education & occupational status impact self-esteem more than income - children from food-insecure households have lower self-esteem

Culture shapes self-esteem - by defining values that people use to evaluate themselves

Most people view themselves positively but often unrealistically

Self-enhancement is strongest in poor performers, who inflate self-perception

Self-handicapping - Creating excuses before failure

• Taking drugs, avoiding practice, complaining about stress/health

• Sandbagging - Publicly downplaying ability to lower expectations

Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRG) Effect - Associating with successful others to boost self-esteem

Nucleus accumbens (reward & addiction center) - Linked to self-control failures

Prefrontal cortex - Supports resisting temptation

Egocentric brain activity - Leads to impulsive/selfish decisions

Irony of Self-Regulation - Suppressing thoughts increases likelihood of acting on them

Default Mode Network (DMN) - Active when thinking about the self

Self also involves brain regions processing external information (social & environmental awareness)

Recognizing our own faces - Right hemisphere dominance

Right hemisphere damage - Changes in stable traits & attitudes

Influences on self-concept:

• Significant others (family, friends, co-workers) - Relational self

• Social groups - Collective self

Individualism (independence, self-reliance) vs. Collectivism (interdependence, cooperation)

Individualistic cultures - Self-worth from personal achievement

Collectivistic cultures - Self-worth from group success