PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 12 Personality

Personality: What It Is and How It Is Measured Schacter Gilbert Wegner PSYCHOLOGY 12.1 Personality: What It Is and How It Is Measured

12.1 Personality—What Is It? Personality— the study of relatively enduring patterns of behavior that may be said to characterize or differentiate an individual or a “type” of individual from others Paradox: Change and continuity

4 “Big Questions” addressed by most personality theories How much consistency is there in a person’s behavior across time and situations – how do we explain this? How do we explain individual differences between people in the same situation? How much does personality change across time and lifespan – how do we explain change? What constitutes psychological well-being, and how does one achieve it? Conversely, what are causes of psychological problems?

Approaches to Studying Personality Global Theory Approaches Taxonomic approaches – the study of individual differences Psychologically meaningful differences Why are people different? prior events anticipated events biologically based predispositions

Approaches to Studying Personality “Global” Theories of Personality: Big Picture Theories Psychodynamic or psychoanalytic – Freud, Jung, Erikson Behavioral or behaviorist – Watson, Skinner Humanistic – Existential – Rogers, Maslow, Csikszentmihalyi, May, Frankl Social – Cognitive - Cultural – Mischel, Kelly, Rotter, Markus & Kitayama, social psych influences – many others Biopsychological – neuroscientific – evolutionary - Eysenck Taxonomic approach to individual differences Trait (with or without biological basis assumed) e.g. The “Big Five” - Costa & McRae

The Psychodynamic Approach: Forces That Lie Beneath Awareness Schacter Gilbert Wegner PSYCHOLOGY 12.3 The Psychodynamic Approach: Forces That Lie Beneath Awareness

Many Psychodynamic Perspectives All assume behavior is primarily caused by unconscious processes, e.g. unconscious motives, conflicts Wide variety of psychodynamic theories: e.g. Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson Carl Jung Differ in assumptions about 1. the content and dynamics of the unconscious 2. How personality changes/develops over time 3. Views about psychological well-being and illness

12.3 Psychodynamic Approach Freud: “psychopathologies of everyday life” Freudian slips Psychodynamic approach dynamic unconscious emphasis on process conflict & tension within & among parts of self goal of tension reduction

Psychodynamic Perspectives Freud’s psychoanalytic theory Structure of personality Id - Pleasure principle Ego - Reality principle Superego - Morality Levels of awareness Conscious Unconscious Preconscious Conflict Sex and Aggression Anxiety Defense Mechanisms Psychodynamic theories include all the diverse theories descended from the work of Sigmund Freud, which focus on unconscious mental processes. Freud‘s psychoanalytic theory (1901, 1924, 1940) grew out of his decades of interactions with his clients. This theory focuses on the influence of early childhood experiences, unconscious motives and conflicts, and the methods people use to cope with sexual and aggressive urges. Freud divided personality into 3 components. The id is the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle, which demands immediate gratification and engages in primary-process thinking (primitive, illogical, irrational, and fantasy oriented). The ego is the decision-making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle, seeking to delay gratification of the id’s urges until appropriate outlets can be found, thus mediating between the id and the external world. The superego is the moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what represents right and wrong. The superego emerges out of the ego at around 3-5 years of age. Freud’s most enduring insight was his recognition that unconscious forces can influence behavior. Freud theorized that people have 3 levels of awareness, conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. Freud saw behavior as the outcome of an ongoing series of internal conflicts between the id, ego, and superego; with conflicts centering on sex and aggressive impulses having far- reaching consequences. These conflicts lead to anxiety, which causes the ego to construct defense mechanisms, exercises in self-deception, as protection. Defense mechanisms and examples of each are presented in table 11.1.

12.3 Psychodynamic Approach—Structure of Personality Three independent, interacting, and often conflicting systems Id—present at birth pleasure principle Ego—acquired through contact with reality reality principle Superego— internalized through identification with parents (usually same-sex parent – Freud) morality principle

Figure 11.2

Figure 11.3 Figure 11.3 Freud’s model of personality dynamics. According to Freud, unconscious conflicts between the id, ego, and superego sometimes lead to anxiety. This discomfort may lead to the use of defense mechanisms, which may temporarily relieve anxiety.

12.3 Psychodynamic Approach—Defense Mechanisms Repression Rationalization Reaction formation Projection Regression Displacement Identification Sublimation

Freud on Development: Psychosexual Stages Sexual = physical pleasure Erogenous zones (erotogenic) – bodily source of pleasure different emphasis with each stage Psychosexual stages Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latent, Genital Fixation = personality characterized by one of these stages results from excessive gratification or frustration Overemphasis on psychosexual needs during fixated stage Resolution of the Oedipal conflict & identification with same-same parent during the Phallic Stage assumed to be critical for a. the development of the superego b. incorporation/development of gender roles Freud believed that the foundation of personality is laid by the age of 5. He theorized that the ways in which children deal with immature sexual urges (sexual used as a general term meaning physical pleasure) during different stages of development shape personality. Psychosexual stages are defined as developmental periods with a characteristic sexual focus that leave their mark on adult personality. Freud theorized that each stage has its own unique developmental challenge. Fixation is a failure to move forward from one stage to another as expected. Fixation can occur due to excessive gratification or frustration during a particular stage, leading to an overemphasis on the psychosexual needs prominent during the fixated stage in adulthood. He proposed 5 psychosexual stages, each with a characteristic erotic focus and developmental challenge. These are presented in Table 11.2.

12.3 Psychodynamic Approach—Personality Development & Change Psychosexual stages of development Personality formed by age 6 through crucial experiences Fixation Oedipus conflict

Carl Jung’s Analytical Psychology and Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology Personal and collective unconscious Archetypes Introversion/Extroversion Alfred Adler Individual Psychology Striving for superiority Compensation Inferiority complex/overcompensation Birth order Carl Jung began to correspond with Freud in 1906, and they exchanged 359 letters before their friendship and alliance ended in 1913. Jung developed his own theory, calling it analytical psychology, in order to differentiate it from Freud’s theory. Jung proposed that the unconscious mind is composed of two layers: the personal unconscious, which houses material that is not within one’s conscious awareness because it has been repressed or forgotten; and the collective unconscious, a storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from people’s ancestral past. Jung called these ancestral memories archetypes – emotionally charged images and thought forms that have universal meaning. The mandala, or magic circle, for example, has served as a symbol of the unified wholeness of the self. Like Jung, Alfred Adler argued that Freud had gone overboard with his focus on sexual conflict. According to Adler and his individual psychology, the foremost source of human motivation is striving for superiority–a universal drive to adapt, improve oneself, and master life’s challenges. Adler asserted that everyone feels some inferiority and works to overcome it, a process he called compensation. Compensation involves efforts to overcome imagined or real inferiorities by developing one’s abilities. When the feelings are excessive, an inferiority complex can result. Adler was also the first to stress the possible importance of birth order as a factor governing personality. The contemporary psychologist Frank Sulloway (1995, 1996) has argued persuasively that birth order does indeed have an impact on personality.

Evaluating Psychodynamic Perspectives Pros Insights regarding The unconscious The role of internal conflict The importance of early childhood experiences Cons Poor testability, inadequate empirical evidence Lack of parsimony (unnecessarily complex theory) Sexism – esp. in Freudian version Overemphasis on early childhood experiences Psychodynamic theories have resulted in groundbreaking insights about the unconscious, the role of internal conflict, and the importance of early childhood experiences in personality development. On the down side, they have been criticized for their poor testability, inadequate evidence, and male-centered views.

The Humanistic-Existential Approach: Personality as Choice Schacter Gilbert Wegner PSYCHOLOGY 12.4 The Humanistic-Existential Approach: Personality as Choice

12.4 Humanistic-Existential Approach Assumes free will and responsibility Assumes basic motivation to “grow” Healthy choices Self-actualizing tendency Hierarchy of needs (chapter 10) Peak experiences Conditions for growth unconditional positive regard (Carl Rogers)

Humanistic Perspectives Carl Rogers Person-centered Theory Self-concept Conditional/unconditional positive regard Incongruence and anxiety Abraham Maslow Self-actualization theory Hierarchy of needs The healthy personality Carl Rogers was one of the fathers of the human potential movement. Rogers viewed personality in terms of the self-concept, a collection of beliefs about one’s own nature, unique qualities, and typical behavior–a person’s mental picture of themselves. Rogers stressed the subjective nature of the self-concept–it may not be consistent with your experiences. When self-concepts don’t match reality (incongruence), they are threatened, and anxiety results. Rogers believed that when parents make their affection conditional, that is, dependent on a child’s living up to expectations, the child may block out unworthy experiences from their self-concept. He believed that unconditional love from parents fosters congruence, or a self-concept which is reasonably accurate. Unconditional love is based in assurances that a child is worthy of affection, no matter what they do. Abraham Maslow proposed that human motives are organized into a hierarchy of needs–a systematic arrangement of needs, according to priority, in which basic needs must be met before less basic needs are aroused. Like Rogers, Maslow argued that humans have an innate drive toward personal growth, culminating in the need for self-actualization, which is the need to fulfill one’s potential (the highest need in his hierarchy). “What a man can be, he must be.” Maslow set out to identify people who had self-actualized, healthy personalities, for study. Self-actualizing persons, according to Maslow, are people with exceptionally healthy personalities, marked by continued personal growth. Maslow found that these people are tuned in to reality and at peace with themselves. They are open and spontaneous and sensitive to others’ needs, making for rewarding interpersonal relations. They are not dependent, however, on others for approval or uncomfortable with solitude. They thrive on work, and enjoy their sense of humor.

Figure 11.7 Figure 11.7 Rogers’s view of personality structure. In Rogers’s model, the self-concept is the only important structural construct. However, Rogers acknowledged that one’s self-concept may not be consistent with the realities of one’s actual experience—a condition called incongruence.

Figure 11.9 Figure 11.9 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. According to Maslow, human needs are arranged in a hierarchy, and people must satisfy their basic needs before they can satisfy higher needs. In the diagram, higher levels in the pyramid represent progressively less basic needs. Individuals progress upward in the hierarchy when lower needs are satisfied reasonably well, but they may regress back to lower levels if basic needs are no longer satisfied.

Evaluating Humanistic Perspectives Pros Importance of subjective reality Developed self-concept construct Foundation for Positive Psychology Cons Difficult to test Overly optimistic More experimental research needed Humanistic theories deserve credit for arguing the importance of a person’s subjective view of reality. They also deserve credit for making the self-concept an important construct in psychology. Finally, their approach laid the foundation for the emergence of the positive psychology movement that is increasingly influential today. Critics argue that humanistic theory is difficult to test, that humanistic theorists are overly optimistic in their assumptions about human nature, and that more experimental research is needed.

12.4 Personality as Existence Rollo May & Victor Frankl—looked at specific aspects of human existence awareness of our own existence ability to make choices Finding meaning in life existential dread (if I can think about life, I realize I will die!) mortality salience (worldview defense)

Evaluating Humanistic Perspectives Pros Importance of subjective reality Developed self-concept construct Foundation for Positive Psychology Cons Some concepts difficult to test Overly optimistic More experimental research needed Humanistic theories deserve credit for arguing the importance of a person’s subjective view of reality. They also deserve credit for making the self-concept an important construct in psychology. Finally, their approach laid the foundation for the emergence of the positive psychology movement that is increasingly influential today. Critics argue that humanistic theory is difficult to test, that humanistic theorists are overly optimistic in their assumptions about human nature, and that more experimental research is needed.

The Trait Approach: Identifying Patterns of Behavior Schacter Gilbert Wegner PSYCHOLOGY 12.2 The Trait Approach: Identifying Patterns of Behavior

Trait Theories of Personality Emphasizes underlying, possibly innate, attributes (traits) that predispose one toward patterns of thinking and behavior These traits are assumed to explain patterns of individual consistency in behavior across time and situations Tend to examine the correlation between traits and behavior. Usually emphasize one trait (e.g. sensation seeking, or self-esteem) or, at most, a few personality traits (e.g. “The Big Five”

12.2 Personality—The Trait Approach A person’s special qualities? Gordon Allport (1937) —personality can be understood as a combination of traits Are the personalities of the two owners of the closets different? 29

12.1 Personality—How It Is Measured Personality inventories Self-report Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Easy to administer response style validity? 30

12.1 Personality—How It Is Measured Projective techniques Rorschach Inkblot Test Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Problems? always an interpretation reliable in predicting behavior? valid in predicting behavior? 31

12.2 The Search for Core Traits How is personality represented in our language (synonyms) Factor analysis Hierarchical structure of traits 32

12.2 The Big Five Dimensions of Personality Many factor analyses reveal the same “major” factors that seem to classify the personalities of most people The Big Five 33

12.2 Traits as Biological Building Blocks Do immutable brain and biological processes produce the stability of personality? Brain changes do sometimes bring on personality changes—Phineas Gage Traits do seem to have a heritability component 34

12.2 Do Animals Have Personalities? Gosling (1998) studied spotted hyenas. He: had human observers use personality scales to rate the different hyenas in the group did a factor analysis on these findings found five dimensions three closely resembled the Big Five traits of neuroticism, openness to experience, and agreeableness 35

12.2 Traits in the Brain Reticular formation of extraverts may not be as easily stimulated as that of introverts Gray (1970) suggests extraversion/ introversion and neuroticism reflect differences in two basic brain systems: behavioral activation system (BAS) behavioral inhibition system (BIS) 36

The Social Cognitive Approach: Personalities in Situations Schacter Gilbert Wegner PSYCHOLOGY 12.5 The Social Cognitive Approach: Personalities in Situations

12.4 Personalities in Situations Social cognitive approach social psychology cognitive psychology learning theory Situations cause behavior, too!

12.5 Consistency of Personality across Situations Person-situation controversy Walter Mischel (1968) measured personality traits do a poor job of predicting behavior George Kelly (1955)—people view the social world from different perspectives Personal constructs are key to personality differences can have the same traits but won’t act the same way if your perspective is different

12.5 Personal Goals and Expectancies Person’s unique perspective is reflected in personal goals Outcome expectancies Rotter (1966)—locus of control