1. Myers’ EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY (5th Ed)
Chapter 12
Personality

2. What is Personality? Characteristics of behavior
Four basic perspectives:
psychoanalytic
humanistic
trait
social-cognitive

3. The Psychoanalytic Perspective
Freud’s theory
Personality influenced by:
childhood sexuality
unconscious motivations

4. The Psychoanalytic Perspective
Unconscious
Freud: Mostly unacceptable thoughts & wishes OR
Now (non-Freudian): information processing of which we are unaware
Preconscious
info that is not conscious but is retrievable into conscious awareness

5. Personality Structure (Freud)

6. Personality StructureId
Location: unconscious
Role: to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives.
Motto: “Pleasure Principle”

7. Personality Structure
Ego
Location: conscious
Role: “executive”; Mediates id & superego
Motto: “Reality Principle”

8. Personality Structure
Superego
Location: spans unconscious & conscious
Role: our ideals, conscience, judgment, guilt
Motto: “Perfection”

9. Personality StructureId
Superego
Ego
Conscious mind
Unconscious
mind
Freud’s idea of the mind’s structure

10. Psychosexual Stages (Freud)

11. Personality Development
Identification
Children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos.
Fixation: Arrested Development
(see previous slide)

12. Defense Mechanisms Protect the Ego Operate Unconsciously
Distort Reality

13. Defense Mechanisms Repression Reaction Formation
anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories are kept out of consciousness
Reaction Formation
unconscious switching of unacceptable impulses into their opposites

14. Defense Mechanisms Projection Rationalization
their own threatening impulses are attributed to others
Rationalization
self-justifying explanations in place of the real reasons

15. Defense Mechanisms Displacement Regression
aggressive impulses directed toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person
Regression
Reverting to older more immature behavior to express feelings

16. Assessing the Unconscious
Projective Test
Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

17. Assessing the Unconscious--TAT

18. Assessing the Unconscious
Rorschach Inkblot Test
Projective test.
a set of 10 inkblots designed by Hermann Rorschach

19. Assessing the Unconscious--Rorschach

20. The Trait Perspective Trait Personality Inventory
a characteristic pattern of behavior
A pre-disposition to feel and act
assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports
Personality Inventory
used to assess selected personality traits

21. The Trait Perspective The “Big Five” Personality Factors
Trait Dimension Description
Emotional Stability Calm versus anxious
Secure versus insecure
Self-satisfied versus self-pitying
Extraversion Sociable versus retiring
Fun-loving versus sober
Affectionate versus reserved
Openness Imaginative versus practical
Preference for variety versus
preference for routine
Independent versus conforming
Agreeableness Soft-hearted versus ruthless
Trusting versus suspicious
Helpful versus uncooperative
Conscientiousness Organized versus disorganized
Careful versus careless
Disciplined versus impulsive

22. The Trait Perspective
“Big Five” Personality Test online:
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests

23. Humanistic Perspective
Abraham Maslow ( )
Self-Actualization
the motivation to fulfill one’s potential

24. Humanistic Perspective
Carl Rogers ( )
focused on growth and fulfillment of individuals.
Self-Concept
all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in an answer to the question “Who am I?”
Ideal vs. Real Self

25. Humanistic Perspective
Carl Rogers
Unconditional Positive Regard
Ideal vs. Real self
an attitude of total acceptance toward another person
IDEAL VS REAL
GREATER DIFFERENCE -- LOWER

26. Humanistic Perspective
Individualism
Collectivism

27. Humanistic Perspective
Morality Defined by individuals Defined by social networks
(self-based) (duty-based)
Attributing Behavior reflects one’s personality Behavior reflects social
behaviors and attitudes and roles
Value Contrasts Between Individualism and Collectivism
Concept Individualism Collectivism
Self Independent Interdependent
(identity from individual traits) (identity from belonging)
Life task Discover and express one’s Maintain connections, fit in
uniqueness
What matters Me--personal achievement and We--group goals and solidarity;
fulfillment; rights and liberties social responsibilities and
relationships
Coping method Change reality Accommodate to reality
Relationships Many, often temporary or casual; Few, close and enduring;
confrontation acceptable harmony valued

28. Social-Cognitive Perspective
Personal Control
External Locus of Control
chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate
Internal Locus of Control
one controls one’s own fate

29. Social-Cognitive Perspective
Learned Helplessness (Seligman)
hopelessness and resignation
occurs when we are unable to avoid or control repeated negative events

30. Social-Cognitive Perspective- Learned Helplessness
Uncontrollable
bad events
Perceived
lack of control
Generalized
helpless behavior

31. Social-Cognitive Perspective
Positive Psychology
Martin Seligman
the scientific study of optimal human functioning

32. Personality- Summary The Four Perspectives on Personality
Perspective Behavior Springs From Assessment Techniques Evaluation
Psychoanalytic Unconscious conflicts Projective tests aimed at A speculative, hard-to-test
between pleasure-seeking revealing unconscious theory with enormous cul-
impulses and social restraints motivations tural impact
Trait Expressing biologically (a)Personality inventories A descriptive approach crit-
influenced dispositions, such that assess the strengths icized as sometimes under-
as extraversion or introversion of different traits estimating the variability
(b)Peer ratings of behavior of behavior from situation
patterns to situation
Humanistic Processing conscious feelings (a)Questionnaire A humane theory that
about oneself in the light of assessments reinvigorated contemporary
one’s experiences (b)Empathic interviews interest in the self; criticized
as subjective and sometimes
naively self-centered and
optimistic
Social-cognitive Reciprocal influences between (a)Questionnaire assessments Art interactive theory that in-
people and their situation, of people’s feelings of control tegrates research on learning,
colored by perceptions of (b) Observations of people’s cognition, and social behavior,
control behavior in particular criticized as underestimating
situations the importance of emotions and enduring traits