Transcript Introduction to Psychology

Myers’ EXPLORING
PSYCHOLOGY
(5th Ed)
Chapter 12
Personality
What is Personality?
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Characteristics of behavior
Four basic perspectives:
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psychoanalytic
humanistic
trait
social-cognitive
The Psychoanalytic Perspective
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Freud’s theory
Personality influenced
by:
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childhood sexuality
unconscious motivations
The Psychoanalytic Perspective
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Unconscious
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Freud: Mostly unacceptable thoughts & wishes
OR
Now (non-Freudian): information processing of
which we are unaware
Preconscious
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info that is not conscious but is retrievable into
conscious awareness
Personality Structure (Freud)
Personality Structure
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Id
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Location: unconscious
Role: to satisfy basic sexual and
aggressive drives.
Motto: “Pleasure Principle”
Personality Structure
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Ego
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Location: conscious
Role: “executive”; Mediates id & superego
Motto: “Reality Principle”
Personality Structure
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Superego
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Location: spans unconscious & conscious
Role: our ideals, conscience, judgment,
guilt
Motto: “Perfection”
Personality Structure
Ego
Conscious mind
Unconscious
mind
Superego
Id
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Freud’s idea
of the mind’s
structure
Psychosexual Stages (Freud)
Personality Development
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Identification
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Children incorporate their parents’ values into
their developing superegos.
Fixation: Arrested Development
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(see previous slide)
Defense Mechanisms
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Protect the Ego
Operate Unconsciously
Distort Reality
Defense Mechanisms
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Repression
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anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and
memories are kept out of consciousness
Reaction Formation
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unconscious switching of unacceptable impulses
into their opposites
Defense Mechanisms
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Projection
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their own threatening impulses are attributed to
others
Rationalization
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self-justifying explanations in place of the real
reasons
Defense Mechanisms
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Displacement
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aggressive impulses directed toward a more
acceptable or less threatening object or person
Regression
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Reverting to older more immature behavior to
express feelings
Assessing the Unconscious
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Projective Test
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Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous
stimuli designed to trigger projection
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Assessing the Unconscious--TAT
Assessing the Unconscious
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Rorschach Inkblot Test
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Projective test.
a set of 10 inkblots designed by Hermann
Rorschach
Assessing the Unconscious--Rorschach
The Trait Perspective
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Trait
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a characteristic pattern of behavior
A pre-disposition to feel and act
assessed by self-report inventories and peer
reports
Personality Inventory
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used to assess selected personality traits
The Trait Perspective
The “Big Five” Personality Factors
Trait Dimension
Description
Emotional Stability
Calm versus anxious
Secure versus insecure
Self-satisfied versus self-pitying
Extraversion
Sociable versus retiring
Fun-loving versus sober
Affectionate versus reserved
Openness
Imaginative versus practical
Preference for variety versus
preference for routine
Independent versus conforming
Agreeableness
Soft-hearted versus ruthless
Trusting versus suspicious
Helpful versus uncooperative
Organized versus disorganized
Careful versus careless
Disciplined versus impulsive
Conscientiousness
The Trait Perspective
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“Big Five” Personality Test online:
http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI)
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the most widely researched and clinically used of
all personality tests
Humanistic Perspective
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Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
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Self-Actualization
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the motivation to fulfill one’s potential
Humanistic Perspective
Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
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focused on growth and fulfillment of individuals.
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Self-Concept
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all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in an answer
to the question “Who am I?”
Humanistic Perspective
Carl Rogers
 Unconditional Positive Regard
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Ideal vs. Real self
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an attitude of total acceptance toward another
person
Humanistic Perspective
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Individualism
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Collectivism
Humanistic Perspective
Value Contrasts Between Individualism and Collectivism
Concept
Individualism
Collectivism
Self
Independent
(identity from individual traits)
Interdependent
(identity from belonging)
Life task
Discover and express one’s
uniqueness
Maintain connections, fit in
What matters
Me--personal achievement and
fulfillment; rights and liberties
We--group goals and solidarity;
social responsibilities and
relationships
Coping method
Change reality
Accommodate to reality
Morality
Defined by individuals
(self-based)
Defined by social networks
(duty-based)
Relationships
Many, often temporary or casual;
confrontation acceptable
Few, close and enduring;
harmony valued
Attributing
behaviors
Behavior reflects one’s personality
and attitudes
Behavior reflects social
and roles
Social-Cognitive Perspective
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Personal Control
External Locus of Control
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chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal
control determine one’s fate
Internal Locus of Control
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one controls one’s own fate
Social-Cognitive Perspective
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Learned Helplessness (Seligman)
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hopelessness and resignation
occurs when we are unable to avoid or control
repeated negative events
Social-Cognitive Perspective- Learned
Helplessness
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Learned Helplessness
Uncontrollable
bad events
Perceived
lack of control
Generalized
helpless behavior
Social-Cognitive Perspective
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Positive Psychology
Martin Seligman
 the scientific study of optimal human
functioning
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http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx
Personality- Summary
The Four Perspectives on Personality
Perspective
Behavior Springs From
Assessment Techniques
Evaluation
Psychoanalytic
Unconscious conflicts
between pleasure-seeking
impulses and social restraints
Projective tests aimed at
revealing unconscious
motivations
A speculative, hard-to-test
theory with enormous cultural impact
Trait
Expressing biologically
influenced dispositions, such
as extraversion or introversion
(a)Personality inventories
that assess the strengths
of different traits
(b)Peer ratings of behavior
patterns
A descriptive approach criticized as sometimes underestimating the variability
of behavior from situation
to situation
Humanistic
Processing conscious feelings
about oneself in the light of
one’s experiences
(a)Questionnaire
assessments
(b)Empathic interviews
A humane theory that
reinvigorated contemporary
interest in the self; criticized
as subjective and sometimes
naively self-centered and
optimistic
Social-cognitive
Reciprocal influences between (a)Questionnaire assessments
people and their situation,
of people’s feelings of control
colored by perceptions of
(b) Observations of people’s
control
behavior in particular
situations
Art interactive theory that integrates research on learning,
cognition, and social behavior,
criticized as underestimating
the importance of emotions
and enduring traits