1 Psychology 320: Psychology of Gender and Sex Differences Lecture 62.
AS Psychology The Core studies Individual Differences approach & Psychodynamic perspective.
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Transcript of AS Psychology The Core studies Individual Differences approach & Psychodynamic perspective.
AS PsychologyThe Core studiesIndividual Differences approach& Psychodynamic perspective
What IS personality?
• Write a definition of what YOU think personality means...
What IS personality?
• Personality is a hypothetical construct!
• We can never observe one
• We can only infer personality from behaviour
What IS personality?
• Personality is not a THING but can only be inferred from how we interact with other people and generally deal with the world
What IS personality?
• Baron & Byrne (1991)• Personality is …• ……the combination of those relatively
enduring TRAITS which influence behaviour in a predictable way in a variety of situations…...
Trait theories of personality..
• EYSENCK (1953)
• The INTROVERT personality• A typical introvert is quiet, retiring, introspective,
fond of books rather than of people, reserved & distant...
Trait theories of personality..
• EYSENCK (1953)
• The EXTROVERT personality• A typical extrovert is sociable, likes parties, has
many friends, needs people to talk to, craves excitement, and likes change…
The BIOLOGICAL basis for personality
• EYSENCK.. Biological differences in nervous systems
• Extroverts have STRONG nervous systems which tend to DAMP down incoming sensory data - thus they are UNDER AROUSED and need to ‘arouse themselves’ with activity’
• Introverts have SENSITIVE nervous systems which AMPLIFY incoming sensory data, thus they need to ‘reduce sensory input’...
Personality traits...
• Does the EYSENCK theory of a biological basis for personality predict
– STABLE personality traits?– VARIABLE personality traits?
– This is a reductionist theory of personality– What do we mean by ‘reductionist’
Freud ‘s psychodynamic theory of personality
The tripartite structure of personality
ID
EGO
SUPEREGO
The THREE faces of EVE
A case study
multiple personality disorder
Thigpen & Cleckley (1954)
The THREE faces of EVE
• This is a case study• and • a record of a therapeutic process
The THREE faces of EVE
• Who were Thigpen & Cleckley?
• They were psychiatrists• (medically qualified)• Their paper was published in the Journal of
abnormal & social psychology (1954)
The THREE faces of EVE
• Who was EVE?• A 25 year old woman who was referred• because of her SEVERE & BLINDING
HEADACHES and spells of amnesia
• Thigpen & Cleckley tested her with• Psychometric tests, projective tests,
The THREE faces of EVE
• In the initial interviews (EVE WHITE)• EVE complained of (symptoms)• Blinding Headaches• Blackouts• Marital Problems• Personal problems
The THREE faces of EVE
• What was EVE WHITE like?• IQ score 110• memory - excellent• repressive personality• conservative, shy, dutiful• loving wife and mother
The THREE faces of EVE
• THEN WHAT HAPPENED?
• EVE WHITE• EVE showed amnesia for a recent trip and was
HYPNOTISED in order to restore her memory
The THREE faces of EVE
• THEN WHAT HAPPENED?
• FIRST SIGN OF SOMETHING ODD!
• A letter arrived which was written in two kinds of handwriting!
The THREEfaces of EVE
The letter
is objective evidence
The THREE faces of EVE
• What did EVE say about the letter?
• She denied writing it, though she did say she had begun a letter which she had not finished
The THREE faces of EVE
• What happened then?• Eve became distressed and asked• “whether hearing voices in her head meant she
was insane” • she said that she had heard a voice in her
head speaking to her
The THREE faces of EVE
• This was a critical interview• Several times she put her hands
to her head as if in pain
• AND THEN...
The THREE faces of EVE
• THE TRANSFORMATION!
• EVE WHITE CHANGED and became EVE BLACK!
• 1st ‘alter-ego?
The THREE faces of EVE
• THE TRANSFORMATION!
• The therapist noted
• A quick reckless smile…”HI DOC”
• Eve White now displayed
• a childishly daredevil air
• an erotic glance
• even her sitting posture changed
• Eve White became Eve Black
The THREE faces of EVE
• What was EVE BLACK like?• IQ score 104• memory - poor• regressive personality• childish, extrovert, mischievous• denied being a wife & mother
The THREE faces of EVE
• The therapy lasted 14 months and 100 hours of interviews
• Eve Black would sometimes ‘appear’ but could only be CALLED OUT under hypnosis
The THREE faces of EVE
• Eve White was not aware of Eve Black• Eve Black was aware of Eve White
• Eve Black had existed since childhood• Eve Black - “would emerge, would behave badly
and then retreat and let Eve White take the blame…(parents verified incidents)
The THREE faces of EVE
• How T & C described Eve Black
• “childish, irresponsible & shallow• “seeking pleasure & excitement• “denied marriage to EW’s husband
• whom she despised
• “denied relationship with EW’s daughter
The THREE faces of EVE
• Did her family not notice ANYTHING odd
• When they observed EB they put her harshness & aggression down to ‘occasional temper tantrums in a normally gentle woman
How did the therapists measure the variables of personality?
• Personality tests (psychometric tests)• Rorschach ink blot tests• EW = repressive (FREUD)• EB = regressive (FREUD)
• Electroencephalograms (EEG) to record brain activity)
How did the therapists measure the variables of personality?
Rorschach ink blot test = a projective test
Discussion:
• What do you see?
• Is what you see a projection of your unconscious mind?
• Is this a quantitative or qualitative measure?
• How valid is this measure?
How did the therapists measure the variables of personality?Thematic Apperception Test = a projective test
Write a storyline for the pic:
• What has been happening?
• What is happening?
• What will happen?
Is your story a projection of your unconscious fears/desires?
How valid is this measure?
As treatment progressed
• EW headaches recurred & got worse• Blackouts increased• Both EW & EW denied awareness in these
blackouts• EW state of mind deteriorated
• (confinement was considered)
• THEN WHAT HAPPENED!!
Another personality appears!
• A THIRD personality
• who called herself JANE
• JANE had full awareness of EW and EB • Neither EW nor EB were aware of JANE
What did Thigpen & Cleckley do?
• All THREE personalities were tested by electroencephalogram
• clear differences were recorded
• therapy continued to treat all THREE women in the ONE body
The decision of Thigpen & Cleckley
• Jane seemed to be • the person most likely• to bring a solution• to the troubled mind
• She was increasingly dominant over the other personalities
The moral dilemma (ethics)
• They noted the moral problem re:
• the problem of killing one or more of the personalities
Other explanations?
• Was the woman a very good actress • (were T & C conned?)
• Was the woman psychotic (schizophrenic?)
• Could the hypnotism have caused the multiple personality effect?
What did T & C conclude?
• They did wonder whether they had become so involved that they ‘lost their sense of judgement and over dramatised the case’
• They remain convinced that they witnessed a case of multiple personality
• Note: A film was made!
Another strange case
The multiple personalities of SYBIL
(see SCHREIBER 1973)
Back to the question?
• What do we mean by personality?• Is personality a stable trait?
• What do we mean by – not like himself/herself – s/he’s a changed person– acting out of character
The Three faces of Eve - postscript
• In 1975 a woman came forward and said SHE was EVE White
• said she had experienced many other personalities both before therapy and since (22 in all)
• that the fragmentation of her personality had been to protect herself from ‘unbearable experiences’
Ethical problems
• Killing one/more of the personalities - who should decide this?
• Making a film for profit - who benefits & what about patient confidentiality?
• During the treatment Eve White got worse• ‘Who’ gives informed consent for the
treatment procedures ?
Ethical problems
• Which personality do you think T & C approved of most?
• Might there be a ‘culture & gender bias issue here? Were their judgements biased by the ‘social norms’ of the 1950s
Questions you should be able to answer• What were the similarities & differences
between Eve White and Eve Black?• What is the main difference between multiple
personality disorder & schizophrenia?• What problems with the case study method
does this study highlight?• What factor(s) may have influenced their
diagnosis?
A question to think about
• If Eysenck’s theory of biological basis for personality is CORRECT could Eve have had multiple personalities?
• Note: These days MPD is called DID !
Disassociative Identity Disorder
Multiple Personality Disorder
• Frequency distribution• 14 cases between 1944 - 1969• 50 cases in the 1970s ! (6 by Sybil’s therapist)• even more in the 1980s (an epidemic)• the rise & fall correlates with the
impact of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
• MOSTLY in the USA
The three faces of Eve
• There is NO universally accepted definition even among psychiatrists in the USA
• Read the study & read up about HYPNOTISM – is this an altered state of consciousness or an extreme case of demand characteristics?
• Draw up a table of similarities and differences between EW, EB and Jane