Personality PsychologyThreat and Defense

Riders on the Storm

Hallelujah LyricsMemorial

Professor Ian McGregor

Existential Threat and Despair

Durkheim: “Suicide” horizons need limits James: “skull will grin in at banquet” (running boy) Gilgamesh; Tolstoy and “Death of Ivan Ilych” Kierkegaard: Existential guilt Sartre: “Existence precedes essence,” radical

freedom, nausea “bad faith,” “hell is others,” existential masochism and sadism

Fromm, Adorno: Authoritarian “Escape from Freedom” Becker: “Denial of Death,” Prophets of Unrepression;”

Worldview Defense

Angst (Munch,1893; Picasso, 1937)

Despair (Bacon, 1944)

Terror Management Theory

But Also Relatedness-Goal ThreatsExample: Cyberball Exclusion(Kip Williams)

Exclusion

Inclusion

And Competence Goal Threats

Where n (eta) is an m by 1 vector of latent endogenous variables; ξ (xi) is an n by 1 vector of latent exogenous variables; B (beta) is an m by m matrix of coefficients of the effects of endogenous on endogenous variables; r (gamma) is an m by n matrix of coefficients of the effects of exogenous variables (ξ’s) on endogenous variables (n’s); ζ (zeta) is an m by 1 vector of residuals, or errors in equations. It is assumed that the means of all the variables are equal to zero – that is, that the variables are expressed in deviation scores. Also, it is assumed that ζ and ξ are uncorrelated, and that B is nonsingular. The measurement model specifies the relations between unobserved and observed, or latent and manifest, variables. Two equations describe this model:

y = Λyn + є…x = Λrξ + δ

Uh-Oh!

Oh No!

Control Condition

To minimize uncertainty and maximize the availability of relevant information, scientists collect data (measurements from observations that are usually recorded using numbers). Whether in the context of formal research activity (“Is this advertising campaign working?”) or our personal lives (“Where should I go to college?”) the goal is to make as informed a decision as possible, backed up with as much relevant data as we can collect.

In a formal research setting, data are carefully collected under controlled conditions so that they will hold the promise of containing needed information. As sound and potentially valuable as data may be, however, they will not yield their information without a struggle. Information is coy. It likes to disguise itself and stay hidden in a jumble of numbers. We have to flush it out into the open using special tools— the tools that comprise statistical analysis. By subjecting the data to formal computational procedures, we can distill the information that is in the data into forms that can be understood, communicated, and used for practical purposes. Without the organizing and summarizing of information that is accomplished by statistical analysis, we would tend to be overwhelmed and confused—aimlessly adrift in a sea of numbers.

To understand the role of statistical analysis as an information-gathering tool, it helps to regard the numerical representation of data as a code. If numbers are the coded representations of our observations, we need to crack the code to make available all the information the numbers hold. The techniques of descriptive statistics are, in a sense, decoding devices that pull the information from the data and allow us to see properties and relationships that could otherwise go unnoticed.

Goal Threats and Vigilant Despair Attachment: Am I loved?

Social exclusion Rejection: nobody wanted to work with you Relationship dissolution Isolation: alone more and more in life

Self-Worth: Am I good enough? LISREL statistics False feedback on Intelligence Test

Uncertain Dilemmas and Identities Mortality Salience (Terror Management Theory)

Own physical death, decay, and feelings associated All of the above goals affected

Must be experiential threats to goals: not abstract or hypothetical threats, e.g., not dental pain

Thought Suppression: Ironic Processes and Rebound

Try to not think about a “white bear”

Distraction, time course White bear Rebound Same for threats Threat rebound and BIS

self-consciousness Threats are contagious

trait

attitude

relationship

culture

role

group

possible-self

goal

trait

attitude

relationshipdefining-memory

value

culture

role

grou

p

possible-self

defining-memorygoal

value

Goal Threat and Despair

traits groups

definingmemories

values

rolesrelationships

goals

possibleselves

Narrative Integrity, Meaning, and Resilience

Know thyself! …. But defenses easier in the short term… e.g.,…

Grandiose Ideals: Defensive Pride Become boastful, independent, arrogant, unlikable

Which relieve personal distress for the moment

Positive illusions? Self-delusion?

Narcissism as an addiction to self-esteem

Becomes unconscious form of repression

No awareness because Operant Conditioning (recall video: Motivation & Reward Learning)

Dangerous when one is unaware of illusions

Other Forms of Compensatory Idealism

Opinion Convictions Idealistic Opinions: capital punishment, Iraq, terrorism

Values and Worldview E.g., moral outrage,

Attachment Relationships Idealized love

Goup-Identification and Consensus My group is better than your group and we all agree

Political Conservatism and Authoritarianism Stability and power (simple structure…Need for Closure) All of the above are psychologically conservative

Eager Displacement Goals

Eager Displacement Ideals?

Ideals, Meanings, Values, Worldviews, Self-Guides

Ideals, Meanings, Values, Worldviews, Self-Guides

Ideals As Abstract Goals(Carver & Scheier; Powers; Higgins; Vallacher & Wegner)

Concrete Goals

Goal Regulation

Approach

Uh-Oh! Oh No! Approach /Avoid

Anxious vigilance

Scans for viable alternatives

Resume eager absorption in

approach

PossibleThreat

Approach

IdealExtremes

EagerApproach

Motivational For Extremes

Avoid

Threat and Exaggerated Goal-Approach

List 10 personal projects and rate them on:

Determination: Are you firmly determined to complete it, even

if it requires sacrifices?

Outcome: Will you succeed at it?

Value-Congruence: Does it reflect your important life values?

Self-Identity: Does it reflect who you truly are?

Promote ideals: Does it promote your ideals?

Prevent fears (reversed): Does it prevent your fears?

Study:Relationship Threat after Goal Prime

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

Dis

pla

cem

en

t Go

al

Ap

pro

ach

Academic Goal Prime

Relationship Goal Prime

Neutral Prime

Study: Mortality Threat after Goal Primes

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Dis

pla

cem

en

t Go

al A

pp

roa

ch

Academic Goal Prime

Relationship Goal Prime

Neutral Prime

Study 5b: Relationship and Academic Threats after Goal Primes

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

Dis

pla

cem

en

t Go

al A

pp

roa

ch

Match

Mismatch

No Threat

Who is Defensive? Highly Approach-Motivated People

High Self-Esteem, Narcissism, Dismissive Attach, Aggression, Promotion-Focus, BAS, Extraversion

Highly Avoidance-Motivated Vulnerable People Low implicit self-esteem, uncertainty aversion, Need for

Closure/Structure, Preference for Consistency, Depressed, Anxious, Low Self-Control, Anxious Attach, Prevention-Focused, BIS, Neuroticism

Low Self-Compassion Self-Kindness, Common-Humanity, Mindfulness

7

7.5

8

8.5

Low High

Self-Esteem

Displacement Goal

Approach

Dental Pain

DilemmaUncertainty

MortalitySalience

Threat on Goal Approach

Implicit Self-Esteem

Implicit Self-Esteem

Fascist Consensus (at low implicit)(McGregor, Nail, Marigold, & Kang, 2005, JPSP)

40

80

Low Explicit High Explicit

Consensus Estimate

(%)Stats Threat

Control

Fascist Consensus (at high implicit)(McGregor, Nail, Marigold, & Kang, 2005, JPSP)

40

80

Low Explicit High Explicit

Consensus Estimate

(%)Stats Threat

Control

Rigid Conviction (at low implicit)(McGregor & Marigold, 2003, JPSP)

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

Low Explicit High Explicit

Opinion Conviction

Relationship Uncertainty Threat

Control

Rigid Conviction (at high implicit)

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

Low Explicit High Explicit

Opinion Conviction

Relationship Uncertainty Threat

Control