1. The Origins of Personality

2. Learning Objectives: 1.Describe the strengths and limitations of the psychodynamic approach to explaining personality. 2.Summarize the accomplishments of the neo-Freudians. 3.Identify the major contributions of the humanistic approach to understanding personality.

3. Psychodynamic Theories of Personality: The Role of the Unconscious psychodynamic approach – founded by Freud – emphasizes the role of unconscious motivations – has had a huge impact on our everyday thinking about psychology – one of the most important approaches to psychological therapy

4. Id, Ego, and Superego ego controller based on reality uses unconscious defense mechanisms – psychological coping strategies id primitive sexual and aggressive impulses pleasure principle superego morality strives for perfection

5. Id, Ego, and Superego

9. Freud’s Followers: The Neo-Freudians neo-Freudian theories – retain Freudian emphasis on the importance of the unconscious and of early experience in shaping personality – place less emphasis on sexuality – are more optimistic concerning the prospects for growth and change in personality during adulthood

10. Freud’s Followers: The Neo-Freudians primary motivation in personality is the striving for superiority focused on inferiority complexes Adler argued for the collective unconscious, containing shared ancestral memories and archetypes, symbols shared across cultures underlying drive in personality development is self-realization – developing the self as fully as possible Jung underlying drive guiding personality development is the desire for security believed Freudian theory was biased against women Horney argued that technology leads people to feel increasingly disconnected Fromm

11. Strengths and Limitations of Freudian and neo- Freudian Approaches strengthslimitations The specifics of the theory are not supported empirically. Theory overemphasizes sex and aggression. Psychodynamic theory is hard to falsify. Research affirms importance of unconscious processes. Psychologists still believe in the role of childhood experiences. Psychodynamic concepts still inform therapy.

12. Focusing on the Self: Humanism and Self-Actualization humanistic psychology – developed during the 1950s and 1960s – embraced the notion of free – focusing on the self-concept – the set of beliefs about who we are – and self-esteem – our positive feelings about the self

13. Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy of motives. Only when people meet lower-level needs can they achieve higher-level needs. self-actualization: the drive to fulfill our innate potential

14. Focusing on the Self: Humanism and Self-Actualization Carl Rogers Best-known humanistic psychologist Unconditional positive regard – being genuine, open to experience, self- disclosing, and empathic – a foundation of psychological therapy Humanistic psychology has influenced today’s positive psychology movement. Research has affirmed the benefits of positive thinking for our relationships, life satisfaction, and health.

15. The Origins of Personality Key Takeaways – One of the most important approaches to understanding personality is the psychodynamic approach, developed by Sigmund Freud. – For Freud the mind was like an iceberg, with the unconscious being much larger, but also out of sight, in comparison to the consciousness of which we are aware. – Freud proposed that the mind is divided into three components: id, ego, and superego, and that the interactions and conflicts among the components create personality. – Freud proposed that we use defense mechanisms to cope with anxiety and to maintain a positive self-image.

16. The Origins of Personality Key Takeaways, continued – Freud argued that personality is developed through a series of psychosexual stages, each focusing on pleasure from a different part of the body. – The neo-Freudian theorists, including Adler, Jung, Horney, and Fromm, emphasized the role of the unconscious and early experience in shaping personality, but placed less evidence on sexuality as the primary motivating force in personality. – Psychoanalytic and behavioral models of personality were complemented during the 1950s and 1960s by the theories of humanistic psychologists, including Maslow and Rogers.