Unit 10 Personality

Free association! zDo now: I will read a random list of words. zWrite down the first word that comes to mind when I read the word. Don’t stop and think. Just go with the very first thing that comes to mind, even if it doesn’t make sense. zDo any of these words seem to reveal any hidden feelings you might have about someone or something in your life? Why or why not? zWould you want people to read meaning into this list of freely associated words? Why or why not?

What is Personality?  Personality  an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting  basic perspectives covering how personality develops and is assessed  Psychoanalytic Childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations are the big influences  Humanistic Focuses on our inner capacities for growth and self-fulfillment

The Psychoanalytic Perspective  From Sigmund Freud’s ( ) theory which proposes that childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations influence personality  Freudian examples in film vid clip Freudian examples in film

zFreud’s theory of psychoanalysis grew from his early observation that some patients who consulted him seemed to have no physical cause. zFreud experimented with hypnosis, but found that some patients could not be hypnotized and thus developed the technique of:

The Psychoanalytic Perspective  Free Association  in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious mind  person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

The Psychoanalytic Perspective  Unconscious  according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, desires, & memories. If he could patients open the door to the unconscious mind, they could recover from painful childhood memories and heal.  contemporary viewpoint- information processing of which we are unaware zThe conscious mind are the thoughts and feelings that we are aware of. zThe preconscious mind consists of thoughts & memories not in our current awareness but easily retrieved. zFreud believed that our personality grows out of a basic human conflict. Each of us is born with aggressive, pleasure seeking biological impulses

zBut we live in a society that restrains these impulses. The way that each of us resolves the conflict between social restraints and pleasure seeking impulses shapes our individual personality. zThree forces interact during this conflict:

Personality Structure  Id  contains a reservoir of unconscious energy  strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives  operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification  Superego  the part of personality that presents internalized ideals and standards for judgement. It is the voice of conscience that focuses on what we should do.  Ego  the largely conscious part of personality  mediates among the demands of the id, superego,  operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain. Represents good sense & reason.

zFreud concluded that our personality is formed during the first 5 to 6 years of life. He believed that his patient’s problems originated in conflicts that had not been resolved during childhood years. zFreud believed the patient had become “FIXATED” or stuck on one of the psychosexual stages of development. Each stage is marked by the id’s pleasure seeking focus on a different part of the body.

Personality Development Freud’s Psychosexual Stages Stage Focus Oral Pleasure centers on the mouth-- (0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewing Anal Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder (18-36 months) elimination; coping with demands for control Phallic Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with (3-6 years) incestuous sexual feelings Latency Dormant sexual feelings (6 to puberty) Genital Maturation of sexual interests (puberty on)

DEFENSE MECHANISMS zAnxiety is the price that we pay for living in a civilized society. The conflict between the id’s wishes and the superego’s rules produces this anxiety. zHowever the ego has an arsenal of unconscious defense mechanisms to help us get rid of anxiety & tension.

Defense Mechanisms  Defense Mechanisms  the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Defense Mechanisms (Know these!) z Repression z Regression z Reaction Formation z Projection z Rationalization z Displacement z Sublimation z Denial Do now: Give a personal or real-life example for at least three of the Freudian Defense mechanisms

Neo-Freudians  Those people that agreed with Freud’s basic idea of psychoanalysis, but disagreed with specific parts.  Karen Horney ( )  sought to balance Freud’s masculine biases. Social expectations, not biological variables were the foundation of personality development.  Anxiety is the helplessness & isolation that people feel in a hostile world as a result of the competitiveness of today’s society.  She began the psychodynamic movement that is primarily used today.

 Alfred Adler ( )  importance of childhood social tension were crucial in the development of personality. Believed that psychological problems in personalities were based on feeling of inferiority (complex).

Carl Jung ( ) Believed that we have an individual unconsciousness as well as a:  the collective unconscious  concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history  Contemporary psychologists reject the idea of inherited memory.

Jungian Archetypes zCaroline Myss is known for her work with Jung’s archetypes, too. zIt’s the basis of the Myers- Briggs Test (validity?) om/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp zWhat’s yours? Check it out at m/ m/

PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT  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

zSheldon the TherapistSheldon the Therapist

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

Card 3: Most Popular Response: Two Humans Card III is typically perceived to contain two humans involved in some interaction, and may provide information about how the subject relates with other people (specifically, response latency may reveal struggling social interactions).

Card 4: Most Popular Responses: Animal hide, skin, rug Card IV is notable for its dark color and its shading (posing difficulties for depressed subjects), and is generally perceived as a big and sometimes threatening figure; compounded with the common impression of the subject being in an inferior position ("looking up") to it, this serves to elicit a sense of authority. The human or animal content seen in the card is almost invariably classified as male rather than female, and the qualities expressed by the subject may indicate attitudes toward men and authority.

Humanistic Perspective  Abraham Maslow ( )  studied self- actualization processes of productive and healthy people

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

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  Personality Inventory  a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors  used to assess selected personality traits

The Trait Perspective  Hans and Sybil Eysenck use two primary personality factors as axes for describing personality variation UNSTABLE STABLE choleric melancholic phlegmaticsanguine 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

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

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

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

Social-Cognitive Perspective  Social-Cognitive Perspective  views behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons and their social context  Reciprocal Determinism  the interacting influences between personality and environmental factors

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Julian Rotter- Locus of Control  Personal Control  our sense of controlling our environments rather than feeling helpless  External Locus of Control  the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate

Social-Cognitive Perspective  Internal Locus of Control  the perception that one controls one’s own fate

Martin Seligman  Learned Helplessness  the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

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

Social-Cognitive Perspective  Positive Psychology  the scientific study of optimal human functioning  aims to discover and promote conditions that enable individuals and communities to thrive

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  Self-Serving Bias  readiness to perceive oneself favorably

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

Exploring the Self 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; fullfillment; 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

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