1. Major Theories of Personality: Nature and Nurture
EQ: How can we define personality, and how do the major theories of personality differ on how our personality is formed?

2. What is a Personality?
Personality has to do with individual differences among people in behavior patterns, cognition, and emotion.
This can be defined in many different ways using many different criteria
Personality is definitely unique

3. Another Definition of Personality:
The individual’s unique ways of
thinking
feeling
behaving
experiencing the environment

4. Functions of Personality Theory:
There are tests, like the one linked here, that can help assess our personality
What kind of personality did you come up with?? (answer in your notes)
Personality can also be studied through observation of behavior, self assessments, and experimentation

5. Assessing Personality: Objective tests
Standard written format
Select from provided choices
Also called self-report

6. Assessing Personality: Projective Tests
Free response format
Relatively unstructured stimuli which can be perceived in many ways
Theoretically, the individual “projects” personality onto task

7. Research Issues in Personality:
Nature vs. Nurture
Trait vs. Situation
Stability vs. Change
Nomothetic vs. Idiographic

8. Theories of Personality: Sigmund Freud
People are born with psychic energy that is transformed and redirected during the normal course of social development
This creates conflict

9. Theories of Personality: Sigmund FreudId
Latin for “it’
Unconscious and without specific direction
Immediate gratification
Pleasure principle

10. Theories of Personality: Sigmund Freud
Ego
Under the influence of external reality
Mediates between Id and SuperEgo
Reality principle
Delayed gratification

11. Theories of Personality: Sigmund Freud
Superego
The moral system
Conscience
Not really operating in reality system
Incorporates the morals and values of parents and society

12. Theories of Personality: Anna Freud
Defense Mechanisms- the ego’s method to resolve conflicts with the Id and the Superego to guard against anxiety created by instinctual wishes
Denial
Displacement
Identification
Projection
Rationalization
Etc…

13. Theories of Personality: Carl Jung
Two separate unconscious regions of the mind
-Personal Unconscious
-Collective Unconscious
Universal archetypes
Complexes
Concepts of introversion and extroversion

14. Theories of Personality: Alfred Adler
Inferiority Complexes
Compensation/Overcompensation

15. Theories of Personality: Karen Horney
Childhood anxiety caused by a sense of helplessness triggers a desire for life and security
The parent child relationship is critical to successful development

16. Theories of Personality: B. F. Skinner
Personality is viewed in terms of observed behavior
Behaviors are under the control of contingencies of reinforcement
Behavior Therapy is an attempt to modify behavior through systematic alteration of undesired behavior

17. Theories of Personality: Albert Bandura
Personality is acquired, or learned, behavior taking place in a social context
Key concepts:
Reciprocal determinism-overt behavior, cognition and the environment influence each other
Observational Learning- learning by watching and imitating others including vicarious reinforcement and punishment
Self Efficacy- a learned expectation of success, confidence in your ability to be successful

18. Theories of Personality: Hans Eysenck

19. Theories of Personality: Abraham Maslow
If basic needs are fulfilled, people will strive to actualize to their actual potential
Self Actualization is the final psychological need and cannot be attained until basic needs are met