Psych 2 Principles of Psychology Christopher Gade … measures can‟t determine what we do all of...
Transcript of Psych 2 Principles of Psychology Christopher Gade … measures can‟t determine what we do all of...
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Psych 120
General Psychology
Christopher GadeOffice: 1030A
Office hours: MW 4:30-5:30
Email: [email protected]
Class MW 1:30-4:30 Room 2240
Personality
To effectively examine the
topic of personality, one
must ask a number of
questions…
How is an individual‟s
personality defined?
How do we determine
different personalities?
Can and do our personalities
change?
How does personality come
about?
What is personality?
Personality – all the consistent ways in which the behavior
of one person differs from and is similar to that of others,
especially in social situations.
Specific behaviors signify specific personalities
Personality measures can‟t determine what we do all of the time in
every social situation, but it can give us a good indication about
what we are likely to do.
Personality traits are often tough to define, but there are a number
of theories about how many, and what types of traits individuals
have.
Personality is said to be the product of experience and genetics.
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Freud and his psychodynamic
approach
Psychodynamic theory – personality is
based on the interplay of conflicting forces within the
individual. This includes forces that the individual is both
aware, and unaware of.
Our personality is a derivative of all of experiences of our past, as
well as the forces acting on the individual.
Abnormal personality is a result of pent up or conflicting forces
within the individual.
Catharsis – a release of pent up emotional tensions
What are these forces in conflict?
the „id‟: an unconscious force that
constantly seeks satisfaction of basic
needs (survival, sex, immediate
gratification).
The „superego‟: an unconscious force
that‟s only goal is to push us to do what
is „right‟ (society‟s standards).
The „ego‟: a conscious force that
operates on the reality principle. It
seeks to satisfy id‟s and the superego‟s
desires in realistic ways.
So what causes these emotional
tensions (according to Freud)?
A pent up store of unconscious
desires and experiences that have
a detrimental effect on the
individual.
Conscious – thoughts, memories,
and emotions that we are aware of.
Unconscious – thoughts, memories,
and emotions that we are unaware of
due to their traumatic or
unacceptable nature.
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How do we get at these unconscious
memories/emotions/thoughts?
Psychoanalysis
Hypnosis
Free association
Dream interpretation
“Freudian Slips”
Differentiation of Sexual Desires
Freud eventually went on to argue that children of all ages have some form of sexual tension. This tension was a result of libido (psychosexual energy), that comes in different forms throughout development.
Anal Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder stinginess
(18-36 months) elimination; coping with demands for control strict orderliness
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
Stage Focus FixationOral Pleasure centers on the mouth-- smoking,
(0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewing overeating
Phallic Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with penis envy
(3-6 years) incestuous sexual feelings castration fear
Latency Dormant sexual feelings
(6 to puberty)
Genital Maturation of sexual interests
(puberty on)
So what can we take from Freud?
Humans apparently have a mental life that is at
least partly unconscious.
People often have conflicting motives and
desires.
Childhood experiences contribute to the
development of adult personality and social
behavior.
Sexual development has an impact on
psychological development.
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Where was Freud just dead wrong?
Unconscious thoughts defined by Freud are very different from today‟s theories of unconscious.
Its not all about sex and psychosexual stages (if these stages even exist).
Almost all (if not all) forms of mental disorders have been only weakly linked to childhood experiences.
Then and now…
In the last part of this lecture, we began studying the field of personality psychology by discussing the personality theories proposed by Sigmund Freud.
Now we‟ll be continuing our exploration of personality psychology.
Other theories about personality formation
Other possible origins of personality (a slightly more scientific approach)
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Carl Jung (1875-1961)
Colleague of Freud‟s
Accepted many of Freud‟s beliefs about
the formation of personality.
Personality is formed from both conscious and unconscious forces
Our past experiences have an impact on our personalities
Broke with Freud‟s work because of his differing beliefs about
personality formation.
Our personal unconscious did not contain the basic instincts that Freud
proposed (primarily the id)
People possess personality traits as a result of a collective unconscious.
Archetypes – vague images of our personality. Some archetypes are
inherited from the experiences of our ancestors.
Alfred Adler’s
Superiority Theory
Another early student of Freud‟s, but broke
away because of differing theories (too
much focus on sex).
Formed a branch of psychology called individual psychology
Individual psychology – a psychology of the person as a whole rather than a
person in parts
Believed that personality was based on our attempts to pursue our
strengths and make up for our shortcomings.
Striving for superiority – a desire to seek personal excellence and fulfillment.
Inferiority complex – an exaggerated feeling of weakness, inadequacy, and
helplessness.
Carl Rogers’ Self
Actualization Theory
This theory is very similar in structure to
Adler‟s theory of striving for superiority.
It postulates that people are constantly striving for betterment and to
reach a point of self actualization.
self actualization – the achievement of one‟s full potential (note: this stage is
said to rarely be met by individuals)
Our personality is based on a number of selves that we have, and the
discrepancy between these selves.
Actual self – the person that we are
Ideal self – the person that we want to be
Aught self – the person that we feel we “should” be (not really Rogers‟ idea)
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Abraham Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow was
another
psychologist that
believed in the
concept of self
actualization. However, he
believed that self actualization
was met through another
mechanism… The fulfillment of
needs.
Maslow proposed that each of
us has a hierarchy of needs, and
once all of those needs are met,
we are able to reach a state of
self actualization.
What does it mean to reach a point of
self actualization?
According to humanistic psychologists (Rogers and Maslow), once a person reaches self actualization, a number of recognizable behaviors take shape.
Unconditional positive regard
An accurate perception of reality
Independence, creativity, and spontaneity
Acceptance of oneself and others
Enjoyment of life
A good sense of humor
***Note: Skeptics have questions whether or not
this was a sign of self-actualization, or just a list
of characteristics that Rogers and Maslow valued.
The “Learning Approach” to
Personality
Our personality is
primarily the result of
learned responses and
behaviors. These learned
behaviors and responses
allow us to follow group
norms.
Gender roles
Class norms
Racial norms
Family standards
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Other determinants of personality
Genes!!! Twin studies have
allowed us to conclude that genetic influence has a large impact on our personality.
However, specific genes have not been linked to specific personality characteristics (at least they haven‟t been linked yet).
And now…
In the final section of
class, we‟ll be discussing
the state trait issue,
different ways of
determining traits, and
different personality
measures.
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The final look at personality…
In the two previous sections of lecture, we‟ve looked two topic relating to the concept of personality.
The definition of personality
The causes of personality
Theoretical
Proven
Today, we‟re going to address three of the most prominent concerns of today‟s personality psychologists.
The definition of traits
The correct number of traits
Measures to determine these traits
The state/trait issue
When looking at the concept of personality, psychologists attempt to maintain a clear cut distinction between traits and states when describing people and behaviors.
Traits – a consistent, long-lasting tendency in behavior. Much more consistent over time
Less influenced by social cues (supposedly)
e.g. kindness, shyness, hostility, laziness
States – a temporary activation of a particular behavior The result of social cues
Short-lived and slightly more influential while they are experienced
e.g. fear, excitation, sorrow, surprise
So how many traits do we have?
The best answer for that question is...
It depends.
When looking for a way to define a large group of individuals, the amount of personality traits that can be useful to describe these people can range anywhere from 2 – ??? traits.
When looking to predict a specific behavior, only one or two defining traits might be necessary to describe an individual.
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The Big 5 Model of Personality When just looking at people as a whole,
psychologists attempt to describe personality based on the premise of parsimony (remember parsimony?). Parsimony (AKA Occam‟s Razor): Results
should be explained through the most consistent and simplest conclusion that can be drawn in the context of the situation.
So to do this, psychologists began looking for ways to describe personality in the most parsimonious fashion possible. And how did they do it?
The Big 5 Model of Personality (cont.)
The dictionary… Looked in dictionaries to find every word in the English language
that related to personality
18,000 words were found
Comparing words for synonyms and antonyms… Similar to each other (e.g. nice and friendly)
Opposite of each other (e.g. nice and mean)
This search reduced the list down to 35 traits
Conducting “factor analyses” to see which remaining words/traits emerged… Found the ones that overlapped with each other in response
frequency.
This reduction left us with a total of 5 personality traits… the big 5.
So what are the big 5?
(O)penness to experience – a tendency to enjoy new intellectual experiences and new ideas.
(C)onscientiousness – a tendency to show self-discipline, to be dutiful, and to strive for achievement and competence.
(E)xtraversion – a tendency to seek stimulation and to enjoy the company of others.
(A)greeableness – a tendency to be compassionate toward others.
(N)euroticism – a tendency to experience unpleasant emotions relatively easily.
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So what are some of the
shortcomings of the big 5?
Might not be a good predictor of other cultures. Remember, this grouping was based on the English language.
However, modest supportive evidence has shown that the big five might have some value in other cultures.
Might have too few variables.
Religiosity, to name one variable, might also be an important aspect of personality not covered in the big 5.
Might have too many variables. Some variables are modestly positively correlated (E with O), while others are
modestly negatively correlated (both E and O with N).
Might not be a good predictor of the situation that you are examining. Some situations might not be predicted by big 5 measures, others might just be
better predicted by different, more specific personality traits.
Ways to look at personality
Observations Delay of gratification video
Questionnaires Big Five Inventory
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
Peer/family ratings
Projective measures Rorschach Inkblots
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Implicit tests The emotional Stroop task
IAT
The MMPI
The most widely used personality test.
567 T/F statements.
Tests for personality, disorders, and deception.