Transcript Theories of personality

chapter 2
I. Personality
chapter 2
Defining personality and
traits
Personality
Distinctive and relatively stable pattern of
behaviors, thoughts, motives, and emotions
that characterizes an individual [p42]
Trait
A characteristic of an individual, describing
a habitual way of behaving, thinking, and
feeling [p42]
Are you introverted or
extraverted?
chapter 2
Big Five [pp50-51]
Openness vs resistance
Conscientiousness vs impulsiveness
Extroversion vs introversion
Agreeableness vs antagonism
Neuroticism vs emotional stability
II. The biological
contribution
chapter 2
Heredity and temperament
Temperaments [p54]
Physiological dispositions to respond to the environment in
certain ways
Present in infancy, assumed to be innate
Relatively stable over time
Includes
Reactivity
Soothability
Positive and negative emotionality
Genes [p53]
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Made up of deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA)
Units of heredity that make up the
chromosomes
Twins [p56]
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Identical twins develop
from a single fertilized
egg
– AKA: monozygotic
twins
Fraternal twins develop
from two separate
eggs that have each
been fertilized by a
sperm cell
– AKA: dizygotic twins
III. The learning
contribution
B.F. Skinner
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Radical behaviorism
Personality is ones behavior
Change environment to change
behavior
chapter 2
Albert Bandura’s social
cognitive perspective
Reciprocal determinism
Two-way interaction between aspects of the
environment and aspects of the individual in the
shaping of personality traits [p59]
IV. The cultural
contribution
chapter 2
Culture, values, and traits
Culture [p61]
A program of shared rules that govern the behavior of
members of a community or society
A set of values, beliefs, and attitudes shared by most
members of that community
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Culture, values, and traits
Individualist cultures
Cultures in which the self is regarded as autonomous, and
individual goals and wishes are prized above duty and
relations with others [p62]
Collectivist cultures
Cultures in which the self is regarded as embedded in
relationships, and harmony with one’s group is prized above
individual goals and wishes [p62]
V. The humanist
contribution
chapter 2
Humanists—the inner
experience [p66]
capacity
for personal growth
freedom
to choose
positive
qualities
chapter 2
Carl Rogers
Unconditional positive regard
A situation in which the acceptance and love one receives
from significant others is unqualified [p66]
Conditional positive regard
A situation in which the acceptance and love one receives
from significant others is contingent upon one’s behavior
[p66]
Carl Rogers [p66]
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Self concept: an individual’s overall
perceptions of their abilities,
behaviors, and personality
The self and the ideal self
chapter 2
Evaluating humanist
approaches [p67]
Hard to operationally define many of the
concepts
Added balance to the study of personality
Encouraged others to focus on “positive
psychology”
Fostered new appreciation for resilience
VI. The psychodynamic
contribution
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Psychodynamic theories
[p42]
Theories that explain behavior
and personality in terms of
unconscious dynamics within
the individual, with a focus on:
Early
life experiences
Stages of psychological development
Fantasies
Symbolic meanings
Sigmund Freud
chapter 2
The structure of
personality [p43]
Id: operates according
to the pleasure principle
Primitive, unconscious part of
personality
Ego: operates according
to the reality principle
Mediates between id and
superego
Superego: moral ideals,
conscience
chapter 2
Defense mechanisms
Methods used by the ego to
to prevent unconscious
anxiety or threatening
thoughts from entering
consciousness [p43]
chapter 2
Defense mechanisms
[pp43-44]
Repression
Rationalization
Displacement
Sublimation
Projection
Reaction formation
Denial
Regression
chapter 2
Repression
The basic defense mechanism that
banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts,
feelings, and memories from
consciousness [p43]
chapter 2
Rationalization
The defense mechanism that offers selfjustifying explanations in place of
the real, more threatening,
unconscious reasons for one’s
actions [not in textbook]
chapter 2
Displacement
A defense mechanism that shifts
sexual or aggressive impulses
toward a more acceptable or
less threatening object or person
[p44]
chapter 2
Sublimation
Occurs when the ego replaces an
unacceptable impulse with a socially
acceptable one [not in textbook]
chapter 2
Projection
A defense mechanism by which people
disguise their own threatening
impulses by attributing them to
others [p44]
chapter 2
Reaction Formation
A defense mechanism by which the ego
unconsciously switches unacceptable
impulses into their opposites [p44]
chapter 2
Denial
Occurs when the ego refuses to
acknowledge anxiety-producing
realities [p44]
chapter 2
Regression
A defense mechanism in which an
individual faced with anxiety retreats
to a more infantile stage of
development [p44]
Identifying defense
mechanisms in everyday
life
chapter 2
Personality development
Freud’s 5 stages of
psychosexual
development
[pp44-45]
Oral
Anal
Phallic
Latency
Genital
Fixation
occurs
when
stages
aren’t
resolved
successfully
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Evaluating psychodynamic
theories [p48]
Three scientific failings
1.
2.
3.
Violating the principle of falsifiability
Drawing universal principles from the
experiences of a few atypical patients
Basing theories of personality development
on retrospective accounts and the fallible
memories of patients