Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Personality Chapter 10

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Personality An individual's unique pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that persists over time and across situations Two key components Personality refers to unique differences Personality is presumed to be stable and enduring

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Psychodynamic Theories Five propositions common to all psychodynamic theories Much of mental life is unconscious Mental processes such as emotions, motivations, and thought may conflict with one another Childhood experiences Our mental representation of ourselves and others guides our interactions with others Development of personality involves learning to regulate sexual and aggressive urges

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Sigmund Freud Best known of psychodynamic theorists Freud was first to stress the unconscious Psychoanalysis

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Structure of Personality

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Id Operates according to the pleasure principle, i.e., seeks immediate pleasure and to avoid pain Operates entirely in the unconscious mind Reflex Actions Wish Fulfillment

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Ego Mediates between reality, conscience (superego), and instinctual needs (id) reality principle Operates at the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious levels

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Superego The social and parental standards that have been internalized Conscience Our sense of morality Ego ideal The standard of what one would like to be We are not born with the superego, but it develops over time Operates at the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious levels

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Defense Mechanisms Anxiety is produced when the ego cannot satisfy the demands of the id in a way acceptable to the superego This anxiety causes feelings of uneasiness and worry

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Defense Mechanisms Denial Refusal to acknowledge a painful reality Repression Unpleasant thoughts are excluded from consciousness Projection Attributing one’s own feelings, motives, or wishes to others Identification Taking on the characteristics of other to avoid feeling incompetent Regression Reverting to childlike behavior

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Defense Mechanisms Intellectualization Thinking about stressful problems in an abstract way to detach oneself from them Reaction formation Expression of exaggerated ideas and emotions that are opposite of true feelings Displacement Shift repressed motives from an original object to a substitute object Sublimation Redirecting repressed motives and feelings into socially acceptable activities

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Development of Personality Freud believed that personality development is the result of various ways in which the sexual instinct (also called the libido) is satisfied during the course of life There are several stages, each focusing on different bodily areas These stages are called the psychosexual stages

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Psychosexual Stages Oral Stage (birth to 18 months) Pleasure is obtained by sucking and swallowing Too much oral stimulation may result in an overly optimistic, gullible, and dependent adult Too little stimulation can result in a pessimistic, sarcastic, argumentative adult Anal Stage (18 months to 3 ½ years) Focus of pleasure is the anus, especially controlling bowels Strict toilet training may result in anal retentive personality types as adults, i.e., stingy and excessively orderly

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Psychosexual Stages Phallic Stage (after age 3) Erotic feelings center on genitals Boys experience the Oedipal complex Girls experience the Electra complex Fixation at this stage may result in vanity and egotism in adult life

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Psychosexual Stages Latency Stage (5 or 6 to 12 or 13) Child appears to have no interest in the other sex Genital Stage (begins at puberty) Final stage marked by development of mature sexuality

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Carl Jung Shared Freud’s emphasis on unconscious processes Personal unconscious That part of the unconscious mind containing an individuals thoughts and feelings Collective unconscious The part of the unconscious that is inherited and common to all members of a species

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Archetypes Ideas/categories in the collective unconscious Examples of archetypes Persona Our public self Anima Female archetype as expressed in male personality Animus Male archetype as expressed in female personality

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Attitude Types Extroverts Focus on external world and social life Introverts Focus on internal thoughts and feelings Jung felt that everyone had both qualities, but one is usually dominant

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Personality Types Rational individuals People who regulate their actions through thinking and feeling Irrational individuals People who base their actions on perceptions, either through their senses or intuition

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Alfred Adler Compensation Our efforts to overcome real or perceived weaknesses Inferiority complex Fixation on feelings of personal inferiority that can lead to emotional and social paralysis

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Karen Horney Viewed anxiety as a powerful motivating force Neurotic trends Moving toward people (submission) Moving against people (aggression) Moving away from people (detachment)

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Erik Erikson Eight stages of personality development Trust vs. mistrust Autonomy vs. shame and doubt Initiative vs. guilt Industry vs. inferiority Identity vs. role confusion Intimacy vs. isolation Generativity vs. stagnation Ego integrity vs. despair

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Humanistic Personality Theories Humanistic view asserts the fundamental goodness of people and their constant striving toward higher levels of functioning Does not dwell on past occurrences, but rather focuses on the present and future

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Carl Rogers All organisms have an actualizing tendency Humans also have a self-actualizing tendency Unconditional positive regard Acceptance of another regardless of person’s behavior Conditional positive regard Acceptance is dependent upon certain ways of behaving

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Evaluating Humanistic Theories The basic tenets of humanistic theory are difficult to test scientifically Some view these theories as overly optimistic and that they ignore the nature of human evil Some argue that humanistic view lead to narcissism and self-centeredness

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Trait Theories People differ on personality traits such as dependency, aggressiveness, or anxiety The “Big Five” traits currently thought to be central to describing personality Extroversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Emotional stability Culture, intellect, openness

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Are the “Big Five” Traits Universal? Evidence point to the presence of the big five traits across cultures Findings suggest a genetic basis for traits

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Evaluating Trait Theories Unlike some other theories, trait theories can be studied scientifically Merely descriptive Traits represent statistical averages of populations rather than individuals Disagreement over minimum number of traits needed to fully describe variety of human behavior

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Cognitive-Social Learning Theories Hold that people’s behavior is guided by thought, expectancies, learning, and the environment Expectancies What a person anticipates in a situation or as a result of behaving in certain ways Performance standards Individually determined standards by which to judge one’s own behavior

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Cognitive-Social Learning Theories Self-Efficacy Expectancy that one’s efforts will be successful Locus of control Expectancy about whether reinforcement is under internal or external control

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Evaluating Cognitive-Social Learning Theories Affirms role of cognition in development of personality Focuses on conscious behavior and experience Can be studied scientifically Has led to many useful therapies

Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Personality Assessment The personal interview Direct observation Objective tests Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI- 2) Projective tests Rorschach test Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)