Personality An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. Each dwarf has a distinct personality.

p. 469

Personality Perspectives Psychoanalytic—importance of unconscious processes and childhood experiences Humanistic—importance of self and fulfillment of potential Trait—description and measurement of personality differences Social cognitive—importance of beliefs about self

Psychodynamic Perspective In his clinical practice, Freud encountered patients suffering from nervous disorders. Their complaints could not be explained in terms of purely physical causes. Sigmund Freud ( ) Culver Pictures

Psychodynamic Perspective Freud’s clinical experience led him to develop the first comprehensive theory of personality, which included the unconscious mind, psychosexual stages, and defense mechanisms. Sigmund Freud ( ) Culver Pictures

The Psychoanalytic Perspective  Psychoanalysis  Freud’s theory of personality that attributes our thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts  techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Exploring the Unconscious A reservoir (unconscious mind) of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. Freud asked patients to say whatever came to their minds (free association) in order to tap the unconscious.

Dream Analysis Another method to analyze the unconscious mind is through interpreting manifest and latent contents of dreams. The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli (1791)

Psychoanalysis The process of free association (chain of thoughts) leads to painful, embarrassing unconscious memories. Once these memories are retrieved and released (treatment: psychoanalysis) the patient feels better.

The Psychoanalytic Perspective  Unconscious  according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories  contemporary viewpoint- information processing of which we are unaware  Preconscious  information that is not conscious, but is retrievable into conscious awareness.

Model of Mind The mind is like an iceberg. It is mostly hidden, and below the surface lies the unconscious mind. The preconscious stores temporary memories.

Personality Structure Personality develops as a result of our efforts to resolve conflicts between our biological impulses (id) and social restraints (superego).

Id, Ego and Superego The Id unconsciously strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives, operating on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification. The ego functions as the “executive” and mediates the demands of the id and superego. The superego provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations.

Personality Structure  Id  contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy  strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives  operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification  THE ID (“It”): functions in the irrational and emotional part of the mind. At birth a baby’s mind is all Id - want want want. The Id is the primitive mind. It contains all the basic needs and feelings. It is the source for libido (psychic energy). And it has only one rule --> the “pleasure principle”: “I want it and I want it all now”. In transactional analysis, Id equates to "Child".  Id too strong = bound up in self-gratification and uncaring to others

Id: The Pleasure Principle Pleasure principle drive toward immediate gratification, most fundamental human motive Sources of energy  Eros—life instinct, perpetuates life  Thanatos—death instinct, aggression, self- destructive actions Libido—sexual energy or motivation

Personality Structure  Superego  the part of personality that presents internalized ideals  provides standards for judgement (the conscience) and for future aspirations  THE SUPEREGO (“Over-I”): The Superego is the last part of the mind to develop. It might be called the moral part of the mind. The Superego becomes an embodiment of parental and societal values. It stores and enforces rules. It constantly strives for perfection, even though this perfection ideal may be quite far from reality or possibility. Its power to enforce rules comes from its ability to create anxiety.  Superego too strong = feels guilty all the time, may even have an insufferably saintly personality

Superego: Conscience Operates on the Morality Principle Internalization of societal and parental values Partially unconscious Can be harshly punitive using feelings of guilt

Personality Structure  Ego  the largely conscious, “executive” part of personality  mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality  operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain  THE EGO: (“I”): functions with the rational part of the mind. The Ego develops out of growing awareness that you can’t always get what you want. The Ego relates to the real world and operates via the “reality principle”. The Ego realizes the need for compromise and negotiates between the Id and the Superego. The Ego's job is to get the Id's pleasures but to be reasonable and bear the long-term consequences in mind. The Ego denies both instant gratification and pious delaying of gratification. The term ego-strength is the term used to refer to how well the ego copes with these conflicting forces. To undertake its work of planning, thinking and controlling the Id, the Ego uses some of the Id's libidinal energy. In transactional analysis, Ego equates to "Adult".  Ego too strong = extremely rational and efficient, but cold, boring and distant

Ego: The Reality Principle Reality principle ability to postpone gratification in accordance with demands of reality Ego—rational, organized, logical, mediator to demands of reality Can repress desires that cannot be met in an acceptable manner

Personality Development Freud believed that personality formed during the first few years of life divided into psychosexual stages. During these stages the id’s pleasure- seeking energies focus on pleasure sensitive body areas called erogenous zones.

Psychosexual Stages Freud divided the development of personality into five psychosexual stages.

Oral Stage Pleasure centers on the mouth– sucking, biting, chewing.

Personality Development  Oedipus Complex  a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father  Electra Complex  a girl’s sexual desires toward her father and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival mother

Personality Development Castration Anxiety boys feel guilt and fear that their father would punish them (castration) for sexual desires for their mother & jealousy of their father. Penis Envy women fixated in this stage symbolically castrate men through embarrassment, deception, and derogation.

Identification Children cope with threatening feelings by repressing them and by identifying with the rival parent. Through this process of identification, their superego gains strength that incorporates their parents’ values. From the K. Vandervelde private collection

Personality Development  Fixation  a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, where conflicts were unresolved

Personality Development Oral fixation possibly because of overindulging or depriving (abrupt, early weaning). They exhibit either passive dependence (like that of a nursing infant) or an exaggerated denial of this dependence--perhaps by acting tough and uttering biting sarcasm. They might also continue to seek oral gratification through excessive smoking or eating.

Personality Development Anal fixation never resolve anal conflict (Toilet training)  Anal expulsive– messy & disorganized.  Anal retentive– highly controlled and compulsively neat.

Defense Mechanisms  Defense Mechanisms  the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality  Repression  the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

Defense Mechanisms  Regression  defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

Defense Mechanisms  Reaction Formation  defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites  people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings

Defense Mechanisms  Projection  defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others  Rationalization  defense mechanism that offers self- justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions

Defense Mechanisms  Displacement  defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person  as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet

Defense Mechanisms Sublimation people rechannel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities. Freud suggested that Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of Madonna could be traced back to his desire for intimacy with his own mother.

Assessing the Unconscious  Projective Test  a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics  Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)  a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Developed by Henry Murray, the TAT is a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes. Lew Merrim/ Photo Researcher, Inc.

Assessing the Unconscious  Rorschach Inkblot Test  the most widely used projective test  a set of 10 inkblots designed by Hermann Rorschach  seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

A man goes to a Psychologist and says, "Doc I got a real problem, I can't stop thinking about sex." The Psychologist says, "Well let's see what we can find out", and pulls out his ink blots. "What is this a picture of?" he asks. The man turns the picture upside down then turns it around and states, "That's a man and a woman on a bed making love." The Psychologist says, "very interesting," and shows the next picture. "And what is this a picture of?" The man looks and turns it in different directions and says, "That's a man and a woman on a bed making love." The Psychologists tries again with the third ink blot, and asks the same question, "What is this a picture of?" The patient again turns it in all directions and replies, "That's a man and a woman on a bed making love." The Psychologist states, "Well, yes, you do seem to be obsessed with sex." "Me!?" demands the patient. "You're the one who keeps showing me the dirty pictures!"

Projective Tests: Criticisms Critics argue that projective tests lack both reliability (consistency of results) and validity (predicting what it is supposed to). 1.When evaluating the same patient, even trained raters come up with different interpretations (reliability). 2.Projective tests may misdiagnose a normal individual as pathological (validity).

Freudian Dissenters Carl Jung ( ) - Analytic Psychology Alfred Adler ( ) - Individual Psychology Karen Horney ( ) – Feminine Psychology Erik Erikson ( ) - Ego Psychology Harry Stack Sullivan ( ) Erich Fromm ( )

Neo-Freudians Accepted Freud’s basic ideas: the personality structures of id, ego, and superego; the importance of the unconscious; the shaping of personality in childhood; and dynamics of anxiety and the defense mechanisms. But they veered away from Freud in two important ways. 1.They placed more emphasis on the role of the conscious mind in interpreting experience and coping with the environment. 2. They doubted that sex and aggression were all- consuming motivations. Instead, they placed more emphasis on loftier motives and on social interaction.

The Neo-Freudians Jung believed in the collective unconscious, which contained a common reservoir of images derived from our species’ past. This is why many cultures share certain myths and images such as the mother being a symbol of nurturance. Carl Jung ( ) Archive of the History of American Psychology/ University of Akron

Carl Jung Collective unconscious memory traces from our human collective evolutionary history; the fears, behaviors, and thoughts that children and adults exhibit across time and culture. The collective unconscious is made up of archetypes.

Carl Jung Universality of themes- archetypes are inherited universal human concepts–“Mother” Archetypes are primordial images inherited from our ancestors and include mother, father, God, death, snakes, animus/anima, the persona, the shadow, and the self. The animus is the masculine side of the female. The anima is the feminine side of the male.

Carl Jung Persona A mask people wear to hide what they really are or what they really feel Jung was the first to describe introverts and extraverts The persona or mask represents a compromise between our true self and the expectations of society The shadow is the unconscious negative or dark side of our personality. The self archetype is the unifying part of all of us that finds balance in our lives. Works with the ego.

Carl Jung Jung’s thinking was dominated by the principle of opposites – human experience consists of polarities that oppose and balance each other. The mind is divided into 3 parts: 1. The conscious ego 2. The personal unconscious 3. The collective unconscious

The Neo-Freudians Like Freud, Adler believed in childhood tensions. However, these tensions were social in nature and not sexual. A child struggles with an inferiority complex during growth and strives for superiority and power. Alfred Adler ( ) National Library of Medicine

Alfred Adler Alfred Adler strove throughout his life to overcome a sense of inferiority. 1911: Left Freud’s analytic society Individual Psychology We all begin life with a sense of inferiority. Striving for superiority is the motivating force in life. If unsuccessful: inferiority complex Well-adjusted people express their striving for superiority through concern for the social interest.

Alfred Adler Birth Order The order in which you are born to a family inherently affects your personality: First born children who later have younger siblings have it the worst. Middle born children have it the easiest. The youngest child, like the first born, is more likely to experience personality problems during adulthood. Research examining birth order effects does not often support Adler’s predictions. The impact of birth order on personality is far more complex than Adler suggests.

The Neo-Freudians Like Adler, Horney believed in the social aspects of childhood growth and development. She countered Freud’s assumption that women have weak superegos and suffer from “penis envy.” Karen Horney ( ) The Bettmann Archive/ Corbis

Karen Horney ( ) Feminine Psychology Karen Horney changed the way psychology looked at gender differences. Disagreed with Freud's view of women Countered Freud's concept of penis envy with womb envy - men compensate for the inability to bear children by striving for achievement and success in other realms. Disagreed with Freud's belief that males and females were born with inherent differences in their personality – argued for a societal and cultural explanation.

Freud’s ideas in light of modern research Freud died in 1939 and did not have the benefit of all the modern-day research & tools that we have today.

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective 1. Personality develops throughout life and is not fixed in childhood. 2. Freud underemphasized peer influence on the individual, which may be as powerful as parental influence. 3. Gender identity may develop before 5-6 years of age. Modern Research

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective 4. There may be other reasons for dreams besides wish fulfillment. 5. Verbal slips can be explained on the basis of cognitive processing of verbal choices. 6. Suppressed sexuality leads to psychological disorders. Sexual inhibition has decreased, but psychological disorders have not. Modern Research

Is Repression a Myth? Many researchers now believe that repression rarely, if ever, occurs.

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective Freud's psychoanalytic theory rests on the repression of painful experiences into the unconscious mind. The majority of children, death camp survivors, and battle-scarred veterans are unable to repress painful experiences into their unconscious mind.

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective Freud was right about the unconscious mind. Modern research shows the existence of nonconscious information processing. 1. Schemas that automatically control perceptions and interpretations 2. Parallel processing during vision and thinking 3. Implicit memories 4. Emotions that activate instantly without consciousness

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective The scientific merits of Freud’s theory have been criticized. Psychoanalysis is meagerly testable. Most of its concepts arise out of clinical practice, which are the after-the-fact explanation.

Humanistic Perspective By the 1960s, psychologists became discontent with Freud’s negativity and the mechanistic psychology of the behaviorists. Abraham Maslow ( ) Carl Rogers ( )

Humanistic Perspective Carl Rogers– “Father of Humanism” Abraham Maslow Free will Self-awareness Psychological growth

Self-Actualizing Person Maslow proposed that we as individuals are motivated by a hierarchy of needs. Beginning with physiological needs, we try to reach the state of self-actualization—fulfilling our potential.

Humanistic Perspective  Self-Actualization  the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved  the motivation to fulfill one’s potential

Humanistic Perspective  Carl Rogers ( )  focused on growth and fulfillment of individuals  genuineness  acceptance  empathy

Humanistic Perspective  Unconditional Positive Regard  an attitude of total acceptance toward another person  Self-Concept  all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in an answer to the question, “Who am I?”

Fig. 12-9, p. 488

Assessing the Self In an effort to assess personality, Rogers asked people to describe themselves as they would like to be (ideal) and as they actually are (real). If the two descriptions were close the individual had a positive self-concept.

Evaluating Humanism Difficult to test or validate scientifically Tends to be too optimistic, minimizing some of the more destructive aspects of human nature

A. Gordon Allport  Cardinal- strong personality traits that affect us the most  Central Traits- highly characteristic of a person B. Cattell  Surface Traits- easily observed by others  Source Traits- underlie surface behavior C. Eysenck  Extraversion- outgoing, sociable  Intraversion- shy

Contemporary Research– The Trait Perspective  Trait  a characteristic pattern of behavior  a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports Gordon Allport

Exploring Traits Factor analysis is a statistical approach used to describe and relate personality traits. Cattell used this approach to develop a 16 Personality Factor (16PF) inventory. Raymond Cattell ( )

Factor Analysis Cattell found that large groups of traits could be reduced down to 16 core personality traits based on statistical correlations. Impulsive Excitement Impatient Irritable Boisterous Basic trait Superficial traits

Raymond Cattell

The Trait Perspective Extroversion-Introversion Extroverts seek stimulation because their normal levels of brain arousal are relatively low. Emotional stability-instability Emotionally stable people react calmly because their autonomic nervous systems are not so reactive as those of unstable people.

Personality Dimensions Hans and Sybil Eysenck suggested that personality could be reduced down to two polar dimensions, extraversion-introversion and emotional stability-instability.

Assessing Traits Personality inventories are questionnaires (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors assessing several traits at once. The answers are then compared to established norms

Self-Report Inventory Psychological test in which an individual answers standardized questions about their behavior and feelings The answers are then compared to established norms

Strengths of Self-Reports Standardized—each person receives same instructions and responds to the same questions Use of established norms: results are compared to previously established norms and are not subjectively evaluated

Weaknesses of Self-Reports Evidence that people can “fake” responses to look better (or worse) Tests contain hundreds of items and become tedious People may not be good judges of their own behavior

The Trait Perspective  Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)  the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests  originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use)  now used for many other screening purposes

MMPI Originally designed to assess mental health and detect psychological symptoms Has over 500 questions to which person must reply “True” or “False” Includes “lying scales”

The Trait Perspective  Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test profile Hysteria (uses symptoms to solve problems) Masculinity/femininity (interests like those of other sex) T-score Hypochondriasis (concern with body symptoms) Depression (pessimism, hopelessness) Psychopathic deviancy (disregard for social standards) Paranoia (delusions, suspiciousness) Psychasthenia (anxious, guilt feelings) Schizophrenia (withdrawn, bizarre thoughts) Hypomania (overactive, excited, impulsive) Social introversion (shy, inhibited) Clinically significant range After treatment (no scores in the clinically significant range) Before treatment (anxious, depressed, and displaying deviant behaviors)

The Trait Perspective  Empirically Derived Test  a test developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups  such as the MMPI

Endpoints

Questions about the Big Five Yes. Conscientious people are morning type and extraverted are evening type. 4. Can they predict other personal attributes? These traits are common across cultures. 3. How about other cultures? Fifty percent or so for each trait. 2. How heritable are they? Quite stable in adulthood. However, they change over development. 1. How stable are these traits?

William Sheldon Somatotyping (body typing) 1.Endomorph— plump, relaxed, jolly (Santa Claus) 2. Ectomorph— high strung and solitary (Sherlock Holmes) 3. Mesomorph— bold and physically active (Superman)

The Trait Perspective Type A intense, driven, goal-oriented, successful, task-oriented Type B laid back, easy-going, procrastinator

Evaluation of Trait Perspective Doesn’t really explain personality, simply describe the behaviors Doesn’t describe the development of the behaviors Trait approaches generally fail to address how issues such as motives, unconscious, or beliefs about self affect personality development

Evaluating the Trait Perspective The Person-Situation Controversy Walter Mischel (1968, 1984, 2004) points out that traits may be enduring, but the resulting behavior in various situations is different. Therefore, traits are not good predictors of behavior. We look for genuine personality traits that persist over time and across situations. If you consider friendliness a trait, friendly people must act friendly at different times and places.

The Person-Situation Controversy Trait theorists argue that behaviors from a situation may be different, but average behavior remains the same. Therefore, traits matter.

The Person-Situation Controversy Traits are socially significant and influence our health, thinking, and performance (Gosling et al., 2000). Samuel Gosling

Consistency of Expressive Style Expressive styles in speaking and gestures demonstrate trait consistency. Observers are able to judge people’s behavior and feelings in as little as 30 seconds and in one particular case as little as 2 seconds.

Barnum Effect believing a horoscope describes you when its very generic. "There's a Sucker Born Every Minute"

Social-Cognitive Perspective Bandura believes that personality is the result of an interaction that takes place between a person and their social context. Albert Bandura

Social Cognitive Perspective Social cognitive theory— the importance of observational learning, conscious cognitive processes, social experience, self-efficacy and reciprocal determinism in personality Reciprocal determinism--model that explains personality as the result of behavioral, cognitive, and environmental interactions Self-efficacy—belief that people have about their ability to meet demands of a specific situation

Bandura called the process of interacting with our environment reciprocal determinism. The three factors, behavior, cognition, and environment, are interlocking determinants of each other. Reciprocal Influences

Individuals & Environments How we view and treat people influences how they treat us. Our personalities shape situations. Anxious people react to situations differently than calm people. Our personalities shape how we react to events. The school you attend and the music you listen to are partly based on your dispositions. Different people choose different environments. Specific ways in which individuals and environments interact

Behavior Behavior emerges from an interplay of external and internal influences.

Personal Control External locus of control refers to the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate. Internal locus of control refers to the perception that we can control our own fate. Social-cognitive psychologists emphasize our sense of personal control, whether we control the environment or the environment controls us.

Social-Cognitive Perspective  Learned Helplessness  the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events Martin Seligman’s research in the late 1960s addressed the question of how we react to repeated and unavoidable shocks or torture. In particular, Seligman studied the ability of dogs to learn avoidance behaviors when given an electric shock. He placed dogs into harnesses (much as Pavlov had done) then gave them a series of shocks paired with a conditioned stimulus (also similar to Pavlov’s experiment). He gave the dogs no opportunity to escape the shock.

Martin Seligman: Methodology and Results Thought dogs would learn to avoid shock Dogs placed in harness and given shocks

Seligman: Methodology and Results When able to avoid the shocks, the dogs cowered in the box Hypothesis not confirmed

Learned Helplessness Dogs learned that they couldn’t control or avoid the shocks, so didn’t even try to avoid them Significant in the study of depression in humans

Learned Helplessness: Implications Learned helplessness is related to depression Nursing home studies Totalitarian governments

Learned Helplessness When unable to avoid repeated adverse events an animal or human learns helplessness.

Assessing Behavior in Situations the best means of predicting future behavior is neither a personality test nor an interviewer’s intuition. Rather, it is the person’s past behavior pattern in similar situations.

Evaluation of Social Cognitive Perspective Well grounded in empirical, laboratory research However, laboratory experiences are rather simple and may not reflect the complexity of human interactions Ignores the influences of unconscious, emotions, conflicts Critics say that social-cognitive psychologists pay a lot of attention to the situation and pay less attention to the individual, his unconscious mind, his emotions, and his genetics.

Positive Psychology and Humanistic Psychology Positive psychology, such as humanistic psychology, attempts to foster human fulfillment. Positive psychology, in addition, seeks positive subjective well-being, positive character, and positive social groups. Martin Seligman

Exploring the Self  Spotlight Effect  overestimating others noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders  Self Esteem  one’s feelings of high or low self-worth

Benefits of Self-Esteem Maslow and Rogers argued that a successful life results from a healthy self-image (self-esteem). The following are two reasons why low self- esteem results in personal problems. 1. When self-esteem is deflated, we view ourselves and others critically. 2. Low self-esteem reflects reality, our failure in meeting challenges, or surmounting difficulties.

Exploring the Self Possible Selves  Your possible selves include your visions of the self you dream of becoming – the rich self, the successful self, the loved and admired self.  They also include the self you fear becoming – the unemployed self, the lonely self, the academically failed self.

The Benefits of Self-Esteem People who feel good about themselves have fewer sleepless nights, succumb less easily to pressures to conform, are less likely to use drugs, are more persistent at difficult tasks, are less shy and lonely, are less likely to see rejection where none exists, and are just plain happier.

Self-Serving Bias We accept responsibility for good deeds and successes more than for bad deeds and failures. Defensive self-esteem is fragile and egotistic whereas secure self-esteem is less fragile and less dependent on external evaluation.

Exploring the Self  Individualism  giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications  Collectivism  giving priority to the goals of one’s group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly

Culture & Self-Esteem People maintain their self-esteem even with a low status by valuing things they achieve and comparing themselves to people with similar positions.

Culture and Self-Esteem Ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and women do NOT live lives of lower self- esteem. They all report levels of happiness roughly comparable to others. Blacks have a slightly higher self-esteem scores than Whites.

The Modern Unconscious Mind  Terror-Management Theory  Faith in one’s worldview and the pursuit of self-esteem provide protection against a deeply rooted fear of death