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Transcript of “ Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Personality: Vive la Difference!
“Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Personality:Vive la Difference!
“Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
How would you define personality
• Describe your best friend’s personality
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Some questions that are addressed in the study of personality
• Are you born with a certain personality or is your personality learned?
• Is your behavior governed by conscious thoughts or by motives that you may not be conscious of?
• Does your personality stay constant or does it change in different situations?
• Are people basically good or basically bad?• Is your early history more important to the formation of
your personality or is your recent history more important?
• What is a “healthy” personality?
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The book’s definition of Personality
A set of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive tendencies that people display over time and across situations
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What is a theory of personality
• An explanation of how we got the personalities that we have.
• A theory that addresses many of the questions that I raised in the first slide.
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Freud’s theory: Assumptions
• Determinism– Major forces: Sex drive and aggressive drive– People basically bad and must strive to
overcome bad instincts.
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Freud: Consciousness
• Conscious level– Normal awareness
• Preconscious level– Easily brought to
consciousness
• Unconscious level– Hidden thoughts
and desires
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Freud: Structural Model
• The id– Unconscious level– Present at birth– Home to sexual and aggressive drive– Governed by the pleasure principle– Think Homer Simpson
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Freud: Structural Model
• The superego– Preconscious and unconscious levels– Develops in childhood– Home to morality and conscience– Governed by the ego ideal– Think Ned Flanders
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Freud: Structural Model
• The ego– Conscious, preconscious, and unconscious
levels– Develops in childhood (before superego)– Acts as a referee between id and superego– Governed by the reality principle– Think Lisa Simpson or maybe Marge
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Freud: Personality Development
• We must pass through psychosexual stages successfully– Each stage focuses on how we receive
pleasure
• Failure to pass through a stage leads to fixation– In times of stress, we regress to that stage
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Freud: Psychosexual Stages
• Oral stage (birth to 1 year)
• Anal stage (1 to 3 years)
• Phallic stage (3 to 6 years)– Oedipus and Electra complexes
• Latency period (6 to puberty)
• Genital stage (puberty onward)
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Freud: Defense Mechanisms
Unconscious attempts prevent unacceptable thoughts from reaching conscious awareness– Denial– Intellectualization– Projection– Rationalization– Reaction formation– Repression– Sublimation– Undoing
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DEFENSE DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
denial arguing against an anxiety provoking stimuli by stating it doesn't exist
denying that your physician's diagnosis of cancer is correct and seeking a second opinion
displacement taking out impulses on a less threatening target
slamming a door instead of hitting as person, yelling at your spouse after an argument with your boss
intellectualization avoiding unacceptable emotions by focusing on the intellectual aspects
focusing on the details of a funeral as opposed to the sadness and grief
projection placing unacceptable impulses in yourself onto someone else
when losing an argument, you state "You're just Stupid;" homophobia
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rationalization supplying a logical or rational reason as opposed to the real reason
stating that you were fired because you didn't kiss up the the boss, when the real reason was your poor performance
reaction formation taking the opposite belief because the true belief causes anxiety
having a bias against a particular race or culture and then embracing that race or culture to the extreme
regression returning to a previous stage of development
sitting in a corner and crying after hearing bad news; throwing a temper tantrum when you don't get your way
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repression pulling into the unconscious
forgetting sexual abuse from your childhood due to the trauma and anxiety
sublimation acting out unacceptable impulses in a socially acceptable way
sublimating your aggressive impulses toward a career as a boxer; becoming a surgeon because of your desire to cut; lifting weights to release 'pent up' energy
suppression pushing into the unconscious
trying to forget something that causes you anxiety
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Freud’s Followers
• Carl Jung– Collective unconscious– Archetypes
• Alfred Adler– Strive for superiority– Inferiority complex
• Karen Horney– Basic anxiety– Privilege envy (not penis envy)
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Critiques of Freud
• Not scientific– Hard to test
• Too broad – Claims are hard to falsify
• Based on limited sample– Female patients– Upper class– 19th-century Vienna
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Humanistic Theories
• Humanists focus on people’s positive aspects: their innate goodness, creativity, and free will
• Reaction to Freud’s emphasis on…– Hedonic tendencies– Unconscious basis of behavior
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Humanistic Theories
• Abraham Maslow– Hierarchy of needs– Self-actualization
• Carl Rogers– Unconditional positive
regard
• Criticisms– Difficult to test– Idealistic view
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Is there really such a thing as a personality?
Shyness? With your friends? Classmates? Teachers?
Honesty? Would you return change found in the phone
machine? Would you steal from a store?
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Personality:Traits or Situations?
• Trait view– We think and behave consistently across
situations
• Situationist view– Our thoughts and behaviors change with
the situation
• Interactionist view– Both traits and situations affect thoughts
and behavior
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Trait Theories: The Big Five
ExtraversionWithdrawn Outgoing
NeuroticismStable Unstable
AgreeablenessLow High
ConscientiousnessUndependable Dependable
Openness to experienceClosed Open
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Trait Theories: Eysenck’sThree-Factor Model
ExtraversionWithdrawn Outgoing
NeuroticismStable Unstable
Psychoticism/NonconformityLow High
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Measuring Personality:Interviews and Observation
• Interviews– Structured set of questions (can be modified)– Focuses on specific thoughts and behaviors– Hard to generalize beyond interview
• Observation– Focuses on behaviors, not thoughts– Works best if judge knows participant
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Measuring Personality:Inventories
• Questionnaires (paper or computer)
• Produce a personality profile
• Easy to score and statistically analyze
• Social desirability
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Measuring Personality: Projective Tests
• Include Rorschach and TAT
• Concerns about validity and reliability
What do you see?
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Myers-Briggs
• http://www.personalitytest.net/types/index.htm