Personality Chapter 14

Personality Pattern of feeling, motives, and behavior that set people apart from one another Psychologists describe personality characteristics and explain how personality develops Also try to predict how people will respond to life’s demands

Trait Approach Trait: aspect of personality that is relatively stable Where do traits come from?

Trait Approach Hippocrates Humors: yellow bile, blood, phlegm, and black bile Traits are a combination of different humors Gordon Allport Traits are building blocks of personality Behavior is result of specific combination of traits Traits are the predisposition to react in a specific way to a broad range of situation Helped identify over 18,000 words to describe personality

Trait Approach Hans Eysenck Introversion vs. extroversion and emotional stability vs. instability and impulse control vs. psychotic The first two factors create 4 combinations, related to the four basic temperaments recognized by ancient Greeks: Melancholic (introverted + unstable): sad, gloomy Choleric (extroverted + unstable): hot-tempered, irritable Phlegmatic (introverted + stable): sluggish, calm Sanguine (extroverted + stable): cheerful, hopeful

UNSTABLE STABLE INTROVERTED EXTRAVERTED choleric melancholic phlegmatic sanguine INTROVERTED EXTRAVERTED Moody Anxious Rigid Sober Pessimistic Reserved Unsociable Quiet Sociable Outgoing Talkative Responsive Easygoing Lively Carefree Leadership Passive Careful Thoughtful Peaceful Controlled Reliable Even-tempered Calm Touchy Restless Aggressive Excitable Changeable Impulsive Optimistic Active

Five-factor model Five basic personality factors OCEAN Suggests that people are born with their personality which matures But personality is still influenced by culture

Raymond Cattell Two categories of traits Surface traits: make up the visible areas of personality Source traits: are the underlying characteristics of personality 16 Personality Factors Test identifying 16 personality factors (source traits) Used factor analysis to discover the 16 personality factors

Cattell’s Personality Factors Warmth Abstractedness Reasoning Privateness Emotional Stability Apprehension Dominance Openness to change Liveliness Self-reliance Rule-consciousness Perfectionism Social Boldness Tension Sensitivity Vigilance

16 Personality Factors

Discussion Are personality traits set in stone or do they depend on the situation? Can we change our traits? Can we do it easily? Are our traits formed at birth? Or are they influenced by the environment?

Psychoanalytic Approach All people undergo inner struggles Humans have biological drives that conflict with laws and social conventions Psychological problems are rooted in the unconscious

Sigmund Freud Father of Psychoanalysis Used psychoanalysis to explore unconscious People talk about any ideas or memories that pop into their mind Also used hypnosis and dream analysis

Id, Ego, and superego Id-basic drives Wants immediate gratification Ego-reason Tries to satisfy the demands of id and the warnings of superego Mediator, balance id and superego Superego-moral sense/conscience Wants to act in socially appropriate manner

Stages of Development Freud’s Psychosexual Stages Stage Focus Personality develops in stages Children have conflicts at each stage Freud’s Psychosexual Stages Stage Focus Oral Pleasure centers on the mouth-- (0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewing Anal Toilet training; coping with demands for (18-36 months) control Phallic Sexual identity; physical differences; (3-6 years) coping with incestuous sexual feelings Latency Dormant sexual feelings (6 to puberty) Genital Maturation of sexual interests (puberty on)

Psychoanalysis Batman/Bruce Wayne What happened in his childhood? Why is this trauma important? How did this impact him? How did he handle it well? How did he handle it poorly? Is he more Batman or Bruce Wayne? Why is his bat phobia important? What is the impact of his relationship to his parents?

Defense Mechanisms Repression Rationalization Displacement Regression Projection Reaction Formation Denial Sublimation

Psychoanalytic Approach Carl Jung Collective unconscious-store of shared human concepts Archetypes-basic concepts in collective unconscious Hero, wise old man, trickster, etc. Alfred Adler Inferiority complex-feelings of inadequacy and insecurity Erik Erikson Eight stages of development Named after traits developed during each stage

Myers-Briggs Test Started as test during WWII to help women decide what job type would fit their personality Based on Jung’s four principal psychological functions: Sensation, Intuition, Feeling, Thinking Test has four pairs Extraversion-Introversion Sensing-Intuition Thinking-Feeling Judging-Perception

Extraverted Characteristics Introverted Characteristics Act first, think/reflect later Feel deprived when cutoff from interaction with the outside world Usually open to and motivated by outside world of people and things Enjoy wide variety and change in people relationships Introverted Characteristics Think/reflect first, then Act Regularly require an amount of "private time" to recharge batteries Motivated internally, mind is sometimes so active it is "closed" to outside world Prefer one-to-one communication and relationships  Choose which best fits:  Extraversion (E)  Introversion (I)

Sensing Characteristics Intuitive Characteristics Mentally live in the Now, attending to present opportunities Using common sense and creating practical solutions is automatic-instinctual Memory recall is rich in detail of facts and past events Best improvise from past experience Like clear and concrete information; dislike guessing when facts are "fuzzy" Intuitive Characteristics Mentally live in the Future, attending to future possibilities Using imagination and creating/inventing new possibilities is automatic-instinctual Memory recall emphasizes patterns, contexts, and connections Best improvise from theoretical understanding Comfortable with ambiguous, fuzzy data and with guessing its meaning.  Choose which best fits:  Sensing (S)  iNtuition (N)

Thinking Characteristics Feeling Characteristics Instinctively search for facts and logic in a decision situation. Naturally notices tasks and work to be accomplished. Easily able to provide an objective and critical analysis. Accept conflict as a natural, normal part of relationships with people. Feeling Characteristics Instinctively employ personal feelings and impact on people in decision situations Naturally sensitive to people needs and reactions. Naturally seek consensus and popular opinions. Unsettled by conflict; have almost a toxic reaction to disharmony. Choose which best fits:  Thinking (T)  Feeling (F)

Judging Characteristics Perceiving Characteristics Plan many of the details in advance before moving into action. Focus on task-related action; complete meaningful segments before moving on. Work best and avoid stress when able to keep ahead of deadlines. Naturally use targets, dates and standard routines to manage life. Perceiving Characteristics Comfortable moving into action without a plan; plan on-the-go. Like to multitask, have variety, mix work and play. Naturally tolerant of time pressure; work best close to the deadlines. Instinctively avoid commitments which interfere with flexibility, freedom and variety Choose which best fits:  Judging (J)  Perceiving (P)

Learning Approach Behaviorism John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner Outside forces (not traits or inner conflict) shape preferences and behavior Look at behavior instead of mind Environment shapes peoples wants Socialization-people learn what is acceptable and desired in their culture and adopt that as part of their personality

Stanford prison experiment Conducted by Philip Zimbardo; 1971 24 college students Planned 2 week experiment, ended after 6 days Psychological effects of being a prison guard or prisoner Goal was to prove that inherent personality traits are the source of abusive behavior in prisons Conclusion-the situation rather than personality caused the behaviors

Learning Approach Social-Learning Theory People act to influence the environment Learning through observation Internal Factors: Skills Values Goals Expectations Self-efficacy expectations Person Behavior Environment

Humanistic Approach Abraham Maslow Search for self-actualization Takes risks to reach self-actualization

Humanistic Approach Carl Rogers Self-Theory People shape their personality through free choice and action Self-Concept Viewing yourself as an individual Congruence-consistency between self-concept and experiences Cannot live fully according to the wishes of others and remain true to ourselves

Sociocultural Approach Individualism vs. Collectivism Individualists-identify self based on personal identity Collectivists-identify self based on group they belong to Helps account for personality differences between individualistic Western nations and collectivist nations elsewhere

Sociocultural Approach Acculturation Process of adapting to a new culture Culture influences personality

History of Personality Tests

Personality Tests Standardization-test administered and scored the same way every time Reliability-measure of consistency Validity-extent that a test measures what it is supposed to Objective test-has standardized set of items in form of questionnaire Projective tests-open-ended questions with no specified answers

Rorschach Ink Blots (projective test) Common responses: bat, butterfly, moth This is card 1 of 10 Reveals clues as to how people respond to new and stressful tasks

Rorschach Ink Blots (projective test) Common responses: human heads/faces This is card 7 of 10 Card is associated with femininity; Difficulty responding may relate to conflict with female figures in life

Accuracy

Questions to ask Is the test based on research? Who wrote the test? Why was the test created? Job hiring, psychological problems, therapy, entertainment? Do the questions relate to what is being measured? Do the results describe personality? Would people answer the questions falsely?

Good personality tests Myers-Briggs: MBTI Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory: MMPI 16 Personality Factors: 16 PF Questionnaire Big Five: Revised NEO Personality Inventory Bad personality tests