Personality

Personality

• What is personality?• How does it develop?• Are we born with it?• Does experience shape the

qualities that make us who we are?

Personality• Various psychologists have

approached the previous questions from a variety of perspectives MANY personality theories!• Type, Trait, Psychodynamic, Neo-

Freudian, Humanistic, Social-Learning, Cognitive, & Biological

Personality

• Used to explain the stability in a person’s behavior over time & across situations, & behavioral differences among people reacting to the same situation (ex.- how 3 people stuck in an elevator act in different ways)

Personality• Personality- an individual’s

unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits

Personality Trait• Jane is conscientious, Bill is timid A personality trait is a durable

disposition to behave a particular way in a variety of situations• Most theories believe that some

traits are more basic than others

Personality Trait• A small number of traits determine

other, more superficial traits (ex- impulsive, restless, irritable, boisterous, impatient = all derive from excitability)• Many psychologists have tried to

identify basic traits forming the core personality

PsychologistsA. Gordon Allport (1937)- 171

personality traitsB. Raymond Cattell (1950)- used

factor analysis (correlations among many variables are analyzed to identify personality traits)- narrowed down to 16 traits

PsychologistsC. McCrue & Costa (1980s)- arrived at the 5-

factor model most accepted trait theory: (bipolar trait dimensions)1. Openness to Experience- creative, intellectual, open- minded, curiosity, flexibility

*(this trait is key to people’s political attitudes/ideology)

Psychologists2. Conscientiousness- diligent, disciplined, well-organized, associated with living longer3. Extraversion- outgoing, sociable, friendly, upbeat, assertive

Psychologists4. Agreeableness- sympathetic, trusting, cooperative, modest

*(may have roots in childhood temperament, biological?)5. Neuroticism- stable, calm, content

*OCEAN*

Psychologists• Critics of this model say that it just

describes personality, but does not explain development of personality• Others believe you need more than

5 traits to explain variability in human behavior

Personality• Are traits genetic? Some seem to be discussed in a biological approach - esp. friendliness,

risk-taking, worrying

Personality• Personality Types- distinct patterns of

personality characteristics used to assign people to categories

1.William Sheldon (1942)- a type theory based on body shape reflects temperament *little value in predicting personality, more based on stereotypes

Personality• ACTIVITY!• Fill in each blank with the terms

you feel, best fit the sentence• When finished, we’ll go over your

personality according to SHELDON!

Personality

Personality2. Frank Sulloway & Alfred

Adler (1990s)- birth order- 1st born: ready-made niche, immediately have parents’ attention & love identify with parents

Personality- later born: need to find a different niche; born to rebel; seek to excel in those domains where older sibling did not already est. superiority; more open to experiences

Personality• ACTIVITY!• You will be creating a Birth Order

Profile, based on your generalizations• When finished, we’ll go over your

birth order personality according to SULLOWAY & ADLER!

Psychodynamic Theories• These theories share the

assumption that personality is shaped & motivated by powerful inner forces; some conscious, preconscious, unconscious

Psychodynamic Theories• Freud:

- Motivation for human action is psychic energy inborn instincts or drives

- Self-preservation (meeting needs of hunger and thirst) & Eros (meeting needs of preservation of the species, starts at birth*)

Psychodynamic Theories- Libido- the nrg that drives individual toward sensual pleasures of all types, esp. sexual; satisfied through direct or indirect action (dreams & fantasies)

Psychodynamic Theories- too much gratification or frustration can lead to fixation (& inability to progress normally to next stage of development)

Psychodynamic Theories- This is why Freud emphasizes early experiences & early stages of psychosexual development impact personality formation- Psychic determinism- assumption that all mental & behavioral reactions are determined by earlier experiences

Psychodynamic Theories- Freud puts the unconscious at center stage; behavior can be motivated by drives that you are unaware of

Freud’s Structure of Personality:- Personality differences arise b/c of the different ways people deal with drives

Psychodynamic Theories- Freud came up with idea that

there are 3 parts (mental processes) to the structure1. Id- storehouse of fundamental drives; pleasure principle; immediate gratification

Psychodynamic Theories2. Superego- storehouse of individual values, society’s morals, inner voice of “should and should not’s” (ie conscience)3. Ego- reality based aspect of self that

arbitrates conflicts between the other two; governed by reality principle puts reasonable choices before pleasurable demands

Psychodynamic Theories

Iceberg Model

Psychodynamic Theories- sometimes the Ego has to “put a lid on” the Id & extreme desires are pushed into the unconscious repression- psychological process protecting an individual from experiencing extreme anxiety/guilt about impulses or memories that are unacceptable or dangerous to express

Psychodynamic Theories- Ego is unaware of content & process of repression, this is the basic way the Ego defends itself from being overwhelmed by Id- Ego defense mechanisms- mental strategies the ego uses to defend itself from Id & Superego (protecting from guilt or anxiety)

Psychodynamic Theories- anxiety is an intense emotional response triggered when a repressed conflict is about to emerge into consciousness

Psychodynamic Theories• Criticisms of Freudian Theory:1.Difficult to evaluate scientifically2.Good history; bad science- doesn’t

predict what will occur3.Overemphasizes historical origins &

directs attention away from current stimuli that is maintaining the behavior

Psychodynamic Theories4. Developmental theory but never

studied children5. Minimizes traumatic experiences by

reinterpreting them as fantasies6. Androcentric- male-centered

Psychodynamic Theories• Positive Aspects of Freudian Theory:1.Attention to the unconscious2.Evidence of Defense Mechanisms

Post-Freudian Theories- State the unconscious urges conflict with

social values1.Adler- lives are dominated by search to

overcome feelings of inferiority; people develop lifestyles based on ways of overcoming feelings of inferiority- personality conflicts come from environ. pressures & internal feeling of adequacy strive for superiority

Post-Freudian Theories2. Karen Horney- focus on cultural factors

- Humanistic Theory: “real self” requires warmth, parental love, goodwill of others- absence of these nurturing conditions child develops anxiety that stifles expression of real feelings effects social relationships

Post-Freudian Theories3. Carl Jung- unconscious is filled w/

psychological truths shared by whole human race collective unconscious- storehouse of memory traces inherited from ancestral past explains intuitive understanding of archetype- rejects libido theory

Post-Freudian Theories- personal unconscious- material that has been repressed or forgotten- added 2 unconscious instincts: need to create & need to become a whole, coherent individual

Humanistic Theories• Created as backlash to Freud & Skinner• Emphasize unique qualities of humans, esp.

free will and potential for growth people can rise above animal urges & are conscious, rational beings• Motivation for behavior comes from

person’s unique ability to change & develop the goal of self-actualization

Humanistic Theories1. Carl Rogers- developed construct of

self-concept your own mental picture of who you are (may not be in line w/ your experiences)- stressed unconditional positive regard in children (they should feel they will always be loved & approved of)

Humanistic Theories- also important in adults, as well as the need to feel self-regard & acceptance- the subjective reality is more important than objective reality

2. See Karen Horney’s theory as well*

Social/Cognitive Theories• Humans are conscious, thinking,

feeling beings• Unlike other theories looks to

predict behavior• Personality is the sum of responses

that are elicited by individual’s reinforcement history or environment

Social/Cognitive TheoriesBandura (1990s):- Believes personality is largely shaped by learning BUT he believes the environment, our goal setting, self-reflection, planning (COGNITION) also plays a role

Social/Cognitive Theories1. Advocates reciprocal determinism-

environment determines behavior, behavior determines environment, & cognitive factors (ie. beliefs & expectancies) play into the equation & determine both the environment and behavior

Social/Cognitive Theories

Behavior

Personal Factors

(Thoughts & Feelings)

COGNITION

Environment

Social/Cognitive Theories2. Observational Learning – discussed in Chapter 73. Self-Efficacy- one aspect of personality that affects behavior;

- one’s belief about one’s ability to perform behaviors that should lead to expected outcomes

Social/Cognitive Theories- High self-confidence - Low worry one can’t do it- Perceptions about this are subjective

Social/Cognitive TheoriesWalter Mischel- 1970s-1980s-Agrees with Bandura, but his main idea is that situation factors govern behavior-People change their behavior to certain specific situation circumstances

Social/Cognitive Theories- People aren’t as consistent across

situations as we think (ex- you may be honest in one situation, but dishonest in another; shy in one, but outgoing in another)

- Controversial; many disagree- debate is it the person or the situation that determine behavior?

Social/Cognitive Theories- Answer = short term situational

long term people tend to be consistent & personality tends to be more influential

Social/Cognitive Theories- Mischel’s Cognitive-Affective Theory: • people actively participate in the

cognitive organization of their interactions in the environment• Certain variables define how you react in

situations• You track the way different situations

bring out different behaviors

Social/Cognitive TheoriesCriticisms of Social/Cognitive Theories:1.Overlook emotion as a component of personality (emotion is central to psychodynamic theory)2.Don’t recognize impact of unconscious motivation3.Vagueness of how personal constructs/competencies are created

Personality Tests

Personality Tests1. Objective Tests:

- scoring & administrations are simple & follow well defined rules- can be scored by a computer or non-psychologist- scores are reported in comparison with scores of normative sample

Personality Tests- Personality Inventory- self-report questionnaire used for personality assessment; includes items about personal thoughts, feelings, & behaviors- most common is the MMPI (used in clinical settings to aid in diagnosis of psychiatric patients)

Personality Tests• MMRI- has 10 clinical scales

differentiate a clinical group from a normal group; and validity scales detect suspicious response patterns (dishonesty, evasiveness)- pattern of scores forms MMPI profile individuals can be compared to others

Personality Tests- today, called the MMPI-2: added 15 content scales- benefits: cheap & easy to administer, enormous archives of MMPI profiles measure several aspects at once

Personality Tests- critics: people try to use for to many purposes (ex- predicting substance abuse- not that valid)*designed to test those with clinical problems*

Personality Tests• NEO-PI- most of pop. takes this

- designed to assess personality characteristics in nonclinical adults- measures 5-Factor Model (OCEAN)- has good validity

Personality Tests2. Projective Tests:

- have no predetermined range of responses- person given series of purposefully ambiguous stimuli asked to describe patterns, finish pictures, or tell stories about the drawings

Personality Tests- responses are determined by inner feelings, personal motives, & conflicts from prior life experiences- often used by psychologists• Rorschach (1921)- developed some

black/white, & some colored inkblots

Personality Tests- responses scored on 3 criteria:A. location (part of card mentioned in response- whole stimulus or part)B. content of responseC. determinants- which aspect of card promoted the response

Personality Tests• TAT- Henry Murray (1938)- people

shown picture of ambiguous scene asked to make-up stories, describe what people are doing/thinking- evaluated by structure/content of the story as well as behavior of individual

Personality Tests*Most clinicians in diagnosing

patients, use both types of personality tests (ex- TAT & MMPI)