1. Personality

2. 2 What is personality? Personality –the relatively enduring characteristics that differentiate people-those behaviors that makes each individual unique

3. 3 Psychoanalytic Approaches Psychoanalytic theory –Freud’s theory that unconscious forces act as determinants of personality Unconscious –a part of the personality of which a person is not aware, and which is a potential determinant of behavior

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5. 5 Structuring Personality Id the raw, unorganized, inborn part of personality, whose sole purpose is to reduce tension created by primitive drives related to hunger, sex, aggression, and irrational impulses –Libido the “psychic energy” that fuels the primary drives –“Pleasure Principle” immediate reduction of tension, maximization of satisfaction

6. 6 Structuring Personality Ego the part of the personality that provides a buffer between the id and the outside world –“Reality Principle” instinctual energy is restrained in order to maintain the safety of the individual and help integrate the person into society

7. 7 Structuring Personality Superego the final personality structure to develop that represents the rights and wrongs of society as handed down by a persona’s parents, teachers, and other important figures

8. 8 Developing Personality: A Stage Approach Oral Stage –a stage from birth to 12-18 months, in which an infant’s center of pleasure is the mouth –interested in oral gratification from sucking, eating, mouthing, biting

9. 9 Developing Personality: A Stage Approach Anal Stage –a stage from 12-18 months to 3 years of age, in which a child’s pleasure is centered on the anus –gratification from expelling and withholding feces; coming to terms with society’s controls relating to toilet training

10. 10 Developing Personality: A Stage Approach Phallic Stage –a period beginning around age 3 during which a child’s interest focuses on the genitals –Oedipal conflict a child’s sexual interest in his or her opposite-sex parent, typically resolved through identification with the same-sex parent

11. 11 Developing Personality: A Stage Approach Latency Period –the period between the phallic stage and puberty during which children’s sexual concerns are temporarily put aside –5-6 years to adolescence

12. 12 Developing Personality: A Stage Approach Genital Stage –the period from puberty until death, marked by mature sexual behavior –reemergence of sexual interests and establishment of mature sexual relationships

13. 13 Developing Personality: A Stage Approach Fixation –personality traits characteristic of an earlier stage of development due to an unresolved conflict stemming from the earlier period

14. 14 Defense Mechanisms Defense mechanisms –unconscious strategies that people use to reduce anxiety by concealing the source from themselves and others

15. 15 Defense Mechanisms Repression –unacceptable or unpleasant impulses are pushed back into the unconscious Regression –people behave as if they were at an earlier stage of development

16. 16 Defense Mechanisms Displacement –the expression of an unwanted feeling or thought is redirected from a more threatening, powerful person to a weaker one Rationalization –a distortion of reality in which a person justifies what happens

17. 17 Defense Mechanisms Denial –refusal to acknowledge an anxiety-producing piece of information Projection –attributing unwanted impulses to someone else Sublimation –diversion of unwanted impulses into socially approved thoughts, feelings, or behaviors

18. 18 The Neo-Freudian Psychoanalysts Jung’s “collective unconscious” a set of influences we inherit from our own particular ancestors, the whole human race, and even animal ancestors from the distant past Adler’s “inferiority complex” a situation in which adults have not been able to overcome the feelings of inferiority that they developed as children

19. 19 Trait Approaches Trait theory –a model of personality that seeks to identify the basic traits necessary to describe personality Traits –enduring dimensions of personality characteristics along which people differ

20. 20 Trait Approaches Allport’s trait theory –cardinal traits a single characteristic that directs most of a person’s activities –central trait the major characteristics of the individual –secondary traits characteristics that affect behavior in fewer situations

21. 21 Trait Approaches Cattell –factor analysis a method of summarizing the relationships among a large number of variables –surface traits clusters of related behaviors –source traits represent the basic dimensions of personality

22. 22 Trait Approaches Eysenck –extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism The “Big Five” extraversion agreeableness conscientiousness neuroticism (emotional stability) openness to experience

23. 23 Learning Approaches Cognitive-Social approaches to personality –emphasizes the influence of a person’s cognitions in determining personality Reciprocal determinism –the way in which the interaction of environment, behavior, and individual ultimately causes people to behave as they do

24. 24 Biological and Evolutionary Approaches Biological and evolutionary approaches to personality –the theory that suggests that important components of personality are inherited Temperament –a basic, innate disposition that emerges early in life

25. 25 Humanistic Approaches Humanistic approaches to personality –the theory that emphasizes people’s basic goodness and their tendency to grow to higher levels of functioning Self-actualization –a state of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potential

26. 26 Assessing Personality Psychological Tests –standard measures devised to assess behavior objectively and used by psychologists to help people make decisions about their lives and understand more about themselves

27. 27 Self-Report Measures of Personality Self-Report measures –a method of gathering data about people by asking them questions about a sample of their behavior MMPI-2 –a test used to identify people with psychological difficulties as well as predicting a variety of other behaviors

28. 28 Projective Methods Projective personality test –a test in which a person is shown an ambiguous stimulus and asked to describe it or tell a story about it Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) –a test consisting of a series of pictures about which a person is asked to write a story

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30. 30 Behavioral Assessment Behavioral assessment –direct measures of an individual’s behavior used to describe characteristics indicative of personality