Personality and Its Development

Personality and Its Development
Mr. Lema, Isaac Clinical Psychologist (MSc.) 07th December 2015

Personality and its Development
Outline Introduction and overview Personality theories Psychodynamic perspective Behaviorism perspective Humanistic perspective Trait perspective Personality assessment 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Learning Objectives Meaning of personality Understand development of personality in different theoretical perspective Explore different personality tests 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Definition of Personality
A pattern of enduring, distinctive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that characterize the way an individual adapts to the world (King, 2008) Sum total of all of the ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that make one person unique (Lahey, 2004) Consistency in who you are, have bee and will become 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Personality Theories Overview
Personality theory is a system of assumption, ideas and principles proposed to explain personality (Ryckman,1985) Personality theories share the basis assumption that personality is something that belongs to the individual 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Psychodynamic Perspectives
Views personality as being primarily unconscious (beyond awareness) and developing in stages Emphasize that early experience with parents play an important role in shaping the individual’s personality 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Psychodynamic Perspectives …
Freud developed psychoanalysis out of his work with patients who were suffering from hysteria Hysterical symptoms were caused by unconscious psychological conflict According to Freud personality is divided into three structures id, ego and superego 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Freud focused on early childhood experiences, especially parent-child relationships, believing that personality was formed in the first six years of life Personality is a conflict between unconscious id and superego (moral sense) and ego (sense of reality) 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Unconscious mind resulted from early experiences which we were unable to deal with at the time Encounter an experience in the present that is in any way similar to that past event, people experience anxiety Unconsciously reminded of the situation 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Id self serving, irrational, impulsive, totally unconscious source of basic biological needs and desire contain primitive drives i.e. hunger, thirst, aggression and sex operate on the pleasure principle 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Psychodynamic Perspectives ...
Ego conscious, rational part of personality redirect id’s impulses to acceptable times & places working under reality principle system of thinking, planning, problem solving, and deciding in some circumstances ego may rely on defense mechanism to cope with internal conflict or with demands from the environment 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Defense mechanisms: ego’s protective methods for reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality Repression - ego pushes unacceptable impulses into unconscious mind Denial – ego refuses to acknowledge anxiety producing realities Displacement – ego shifts feelings toward unacceptable object to another, more acceptable object 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Defense mechanism cont., Intellectualization – ego replaces an upsetting event and treating the situation as an intellectually interesting event Projection – ego attributes personal shortcomings, problems, and faults to others Rationalization – ego constructs a false but plausible explanation / excuse for an anxiety-arousing behavior / event 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Defense mechanism cont., Reaction formation – ego transforms an unacceptable motives into its opposite Sublimation – ego replaces an unacceptable impulse with a socially acceptable one Regression – ego seeks the security of an earlier developmental period in the face of stress Defense mechanism Unconscious and not necessarily unhealthy 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Super ego acts as judge or censor for the thoughts and actions of ego strives to control the instincts of the id strive for perfection the moral arm of the personality contains traditional, values and ideals of society act as internalized parent’s to bring behavior under control 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Id is present at births Ego develops as children experience the demands and constraints of reality Super ego develops between years of age individual learns the rules, regulations and moral values of society interactions with parents who insist that children conform to the values of society 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Freud argued mind is like an ice berg, most of it hidden beneath the surface 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

When dangerous id impulses threaten to get out of control or when danger from the environment threatens, the result is anxiety The psychoanalytic explanation for depression illustrates how repression can lead to symptoms Freud argued that at the root of depression is a deep rage against important people in your life 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Expressing or even consciously acknowledging this rage causes anxiety, however so the rage is repressed and made unconscious The ego turns this rage on itself, leading to the self criticism and even suicidal behaviors of depression 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Excessive super ego severity usually derived from excessive parental strictness determine excessive repressive mechanism and ego inhibitions irrational moralistic behavior or pathological activation of depression and loss of self esteem 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Psychosexual Stage of Personality development Each stage of development from infancy to maturity, new events and pressures challenge individual and require adjustment in their id, ego and super ego Successful adjustment lead to personal growth, if not the personal may become fixated at an early stage of development 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Stages Physical Focus Psychological Theme Fixations (King, 2008) Adult Character Oral stage: months Mouth, sucking Dependency Mistrust, fear of abandonment, thumb sucking, finger nail biting, pencil / pen chewing, smoking, over drinking / eating, kissing, oral hygiene, chewing gum Dependent or independent 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Stages Physical Focus Psychological Theme Fixations (King, 2008) Adult Character Anal stage: months Anus (elimination / toilet activities) Self control Notable interest in one’s bowel movements, love of bathroom humor, extreme messiness, stubborn, over controlling, stingy, obsessive-compulsive, too focused on order line & tidiness Upright vs. impulsive 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Stages Physical Focus Psychological Theme Fixations (King, 2008) Adult Character Phallic stage: years Penis Morality and sexuality identification Inappropriate gender roles, unhealthy superego, heavy reliance on masturbation, flirtatiousness, expression of virility Amoral vs. very rigid morals Latency stage: 6 - puberty Period of relative calm fully socialized, play with friends of the same sex, avoid opposite sex 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Stages Physical Focus Psychological Theme Fixations Adult Character Genital stage: adolescents and adulthood Genitals Maturity and creation / enhancement of life Balance of love 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Erikson view the ego as often operating independently of id emotions and motivations In his psychosocial theory, he emphasizes ego is a positive force in development at each stage it acquires attitude and skills that make the individual an active contributing member of society a basis psychological conflict which is resolved along the continuum from positive to negative determine healthy or maladaptive outcome at each stage 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Basic trust Vs Mistrust (birth – 1 year) Autonomy Vs Shame and doubt (1-3 years) Initiative Vs Guilt (3-6 years) Industry Vs Inferiority (6-11 years) Identity Vs Role confusion (12-19 years) Intimacy Vs Isolation (20-24 years) Generativity Vs Stagnation (25-64 years) Ego integrity Vs Despair (65 years-death) 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Other psychodynamic theorists Carl Jung thought Freud underplayed the unconscious mind role hence developed concept of the collective unconscious Alfred Adler’s theory stressed that people are striving towards perfection not pleasure Other prominent contributors include Harry Stack Sullivan, Theodore Reik, Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, Karen Horney and Eric Fromm 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Criticism of psychodynamic theories (strength) Recognizing the importance of childhood Conceptualizing development through stages Calling attention to the potential role of unconscious processes in behavior 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Weakness Overreliance on reports from the past Overemphasis of sexuality and unconscious mind Observations not representative of population (very sexist and not multicultural) Many of its concepts are ambiguous and difficult to operationally define and measure e.g. how can we measure the strength of an individual’s id impulses or unconscious ego defenses 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Behavioral Perspective
By the 1950s psychoanalysis seemed very unscientific Behaviorists will bring science back into psychology Behaviorism is NOT interested in the unconscious mind since it cannot be observed or measured in a laboratory 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Behavioral Perspective …
Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist He discovered classical conditioning associative learning B.F. Skinner is famous for operant conditioning (shaping) a learning through reinforcements (rewards) and punishments Albert Bandura explain behavior can simply observe behavior and copy it 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Behavioral Perspective …
Behavioral perspective can explain why People do what they do because of classical and operant conditioning or simply learn behavior from watching or copying it People get addicted to gambling (positive reinforcement) Many diet apps are based on behaviorist approach 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Humanistic Perspective …
Humanism came about in 1960s Person’s capacity for personal growth, freedom to choose one’s own destiny, and positive qualities (Gross, 2010) Self-awareness is at the core of humanity People are free to do as they choose with their lives and, as such, are responsible for the decisions they make - believe in free will 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Maslow’s approach Believed that humans are separated from lower animals because they recognize their desire to achieve self-actualization – to reach their full potential Human beings have two basic sets of needs that are rooted in their biology Basic or deficiency needs Growth or meta needs 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

People are unique – must follow their own paths to self-actualization Involves risk – easier to stay with the tried and true from basic needs he developed a “Hierarchy of Needs” – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Self - Actualization Self Esteem Belonging Safety Physiological
Pursue Inner Talent Creativity Fulfilment Self Esteem Achievement Master Recognition Respect Belonging Friends Family Spouse Lover Safety Security Stability Freedom from Fear Physiological Food Water Shelter Warmth 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Physiological Needs Needs for food, water, air, etc. One function of civilization is to satisfy these needs so we can focus on the higher ones Behavioral research usually studies at this level 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Safety Needs Need for safety, order, security, etc. Focused on after physiological needs met Most commonly seen in children Seen in some mental disorders (e.g., Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, Dependent Personality Disorder) 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Belongingness & Love Needs Need for affiliation, friends, supportive family, group identification, intimate relationships This level and higher ones often not satisfied even in affluent countries These needs being unfulfilled at the root of many mental disturbances (depression, Borderline Personality Disorder) Need to receive and to give love 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Esteem Needs Need to be held in high regard by self and others (not just “self-esteem”) Comes from mastery, achievement, adequacy, feelings of competence, confidence, independence Ideally this need met by the deserved respect of others 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Self-Actualization Needs A person must actualize, that is make real, what exists inside them as a potential Most other theorists wouldn’t see this as a need Freud would predict people would stop at lower needs Even Adler might predict stopping at esteem needs 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Self-Actualisers Efficient perception of reality Seeing the world accurately Judging people accurately/detecting deception More accepting More accepting of themselves & others Spontaneous Problem-centred Not self-centred; focus on problem’s outside of themselves e.g. environmental concerns 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Need privacy (solitude) Enjoy intimate relationships Act Independently of culture Non-conformists Peak experiences Intense experiential states of harmony, joy, beauty Creative Humor 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Carl Rogers: Person-Centered Approach Rogers believed that humans are basically good The self is the core of personality Include real self and ideal self He argued that we have an innate drive to reach an optimal sense of ourselves & satisfaction with our lives 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

People do not behave irrationally, as psychoanalysis assumed but move with ordered complexity toward their goals This tendency leads to complexity, independence, and social responsibility The motivation intrinsic to each person is basically good and healthy 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Rogers argues that most of people grow up in an atmosphere where they are given love and support as long as they behave the way they are expected to This is what he calls conditional positive regard - the emphasis is that love is given conditionally (with a string attached) 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Conditional positive regard: Children accepted by parents when ‘good’ & rejected when ‘bad’ We develop the view ‘I ought to be good’, ‘I have to be good’ We lose touch with our true nature (‘real self’ & actualizing tendency) Develop an Ideal self who we feel we should be (superego) 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Rogers argued that in these cases, parents withhold their love from children As a result of this, children learn to abandon their true feelings, wishes, & desires, for those of their parents This paves the way for them to become alienated from their true selves 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Incongruity Conflict between real & ideal self ‘I am this but I should be that’ Real self evaluated as a threat Psychopathology & defense mechanisms Defensive masks (False selves) Repression/denial 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Unconditional positive regard We need this to accept all parts of personality With this people know they are loved & valued for being who they are Parents can do this, by it clear that their love is not contingent on the child’s behavior Outcome: Fully functioning person 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Direction comes from the client rather than from the therapist’s insights, so referred to as nondirective therapy, later client-centered therapy Empathy Congruence/Genuineness Unconditional Positive Regard 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Critics - Strength Sensitize importance of subjective experience of consciousness, self conception, consideration of the whole person, and innate positive nature Calls attention to the positive capacities of human beings Weakness Tendency to be too optimistic Inclination to encourage excessive self love 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Trait Perspective Trait Theory - understand individuals by breaking down behavior patterns into observable traits (Gross, 2010) A trait is an enduring personality characteristic that tends to produce certain behavior (King, 2008) 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Trait Perspective… People who have a strong tendency to behave in certain ways termed as high on the traits and those who have a weak tendency termed as low on the traits Traits theorists Differ about which traits make up personality Agree that traits are the fundamental building blocks of personality 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Trait Perspective … Personality refers to both unique and common characteristics Gordon Allport distinguished two approaches: Idiographic approaches are “person centered” Nomothetic approaches examine characteristics common to all persons, but on which people vary, and focus on differences between persons 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Trait Perspective… Many psychologists believe that 5 basic dimensions of personality can be used to explain most of the variations among human and even nonhuman mammal animals They are known as big 5 personality test 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Extroversion Extroverted People Energetic Enthusiastic Dominant Sociable Talkative Introverted People Shy Retiring Submissive Quiet Reserved 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Agreeableness High Agreeableness Friendly Cooperative Trusting Warm Low Agreeableness Cold Quarrelsome 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Conscientiousness Conscientious Cautious Dependable Organized Responsible Impulsive Careless Disorderly Undependable 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Neuroticism Emotionally Unstable Nervous High-strung Tense Worrying Emotionally Stable Calm Contented 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Openness High on Openness Imaginative Witty Original Artistic Low on Openness Down to earth Conventional Conformist Simple 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Big Five Personality Dimensions
Openness to Experience intellect, imagination, curiosity, creativity Conscientiousness order, duty, deliberation, self-discipline Extraversion sociability, assertiveness, activity, + emotions Agreeableness trust, nurturance, kindness, cooperation Neuroticism anxiety, depression, moodiness, vulnerability to stress 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Trait Perspective… Critics strength Allow prediction of the person’s health, thinking, job success, and interpersonal skills Weakness Focusing on broad dimensions Not attending to each person’s uniqueness 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Personality Assessment
The most widely used method of personality assessment is the interview We can use objective and projective methods to assess personality 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Personality Assessment …
Projective Test - elicits an individual’s response to abstract stimuli Behavioral Measures - personality assessments that involve observing an individual’s behavior in a controlled situation Self-Report Questionnaire - assessment involving an individual’s responses to questions i.e. MMPI widely used for research 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Assessment methods often vary with theoretical preferences Psychodynamic theorists like projective methods more than trait theorists who use objective methods Objective methods use self-reports Projective methods purport to tap the unconscious using ambiguous stimuli 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Projective Test Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Based on Freud’s defense mechanisms (repression, projection) Projective tests designed to assess the unconscious aspects of personality, present individuals with an ambiguous stimulus and then ask them to describe it or to tell a story about it 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Personality Assessment
Rorschach Ink Blot test 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

References Berger, K. S (1994) The Developing Person Through the Life Span 3rd Edition, Worth Publishers King, L.A (2008) the Science of Psychology, McGraw-Hill Lahey, B.B (2004) Psychology An Introduction 8th Edition; McGraw-Hill Ryckman, R.M (1985) Theories of Personality 3rd Edition Brooks / Cole Publishing Company Gross, R. (2010) Psychology the Science of Mind and Behaviors 6th edition; Macmillan Company 7 December 2015 Personality and its Development

Personality and Its Development

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