Transcript Personality - Central Connecticut State University

Personality
Carolyn R. Fallahi, Ph. D.
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Personality
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Questions about human nature are as old as
nature itself.
Theophrastus (372-287 BC) – a student of
Aristotle
Men and women fall into categories or
typologies.
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Examples of Typology
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The greedy man
The gossip
The patron of rascals
The slacker
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Personality
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Do categories like that capture the essence of
the person?
Reflect social stereotypes?
Personality refers to those psychological
characteristics of an individual that are
general, enduring, distinctive, integrated, and
functional.
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Personality
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Sometimes a particular combination of
qualities best characterizes your personality.
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Wild and crazy
Young and restless
Dazed and confused
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Personality = how we handle the
demands of the world
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Personality also refers to how we handle the
demands of the world.
Is it functional? Not functional? Why do
some people earn straight As when others go
straight to jail?
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Personality & Psychopathology
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Their theories of psychopathology have
become also theories of personality.
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An example
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For example, individuals who have borderline
personality disorder show marked fluctuations
in identity, mood, and behavior.
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Theories of Personality
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Sometimes personality psychology is called
personology.
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Psychodynamic Approach
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Sigmund Freud
Hysteria
Freud believed that sexual conflicts from
childhood caused this condition.
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Assumptions about human nature
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Energy = libido
Drives and instincts provide this energy
We are motivated to satisfy instinctive needs.
How do conflicts arise?
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Assumptions
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Unconscious motives.
Past events shape subsequent behavior.
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Sigmund Freud
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1856-1939
Viennese physician trained in neurology.
Joseph Breuer – hypnosis.
Technique of catharsis, the so-called talking
cure.
Free Association
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The Structure of Personality
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Freud proposed that the mind has 3 parts: the
conscious, the preconscious, and the unconscious.
The conscious is what we are aware of at a particular
moment: “My favorite television show is about to
start”.
The preconscious is whatever we can voluntarily call
into awareness, such as telephone numbers,
birthdays & definitions of psychology terms!
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Structure
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The unconscious contains thoughts, feelings,
and desires of which we are not aware.
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Revision to his view of the mind
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Later in Freud’s career, he revised his view of
the mind. He described mental functioning
with a new set of distinctions.
Id – pleasure principle. Dominated by wishes
and impulses.
The ego operates according to the reality
principle, which makes our thinking rational
and logical.
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Revision
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Superego - internalization of parental and
societal values.
Freud regarded the id, ego, and superego as
constantly interacting in a given situation.
How they blend together for an individual
explains his/her particular personality.
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The Psychosexual stages of Personality
Development
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Oral: B to 1 The child satisfies his/her need
through activities involving the mouth;
nursing, chewing, biting.
Anal: 1 to 3 Gratification centers on
elimination, either retaining or expelling
feces.
Phallic: 3 to 5 Satisifaction is achieved
through self-stimulation of the genitals.
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The Psychosexual stages of Personality
Development
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Latency 6 to puberty Gratification has no
particular focus.
Genital (puberty) Satisfaction is achieved
through sexual contact with others.
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Concepts to cover
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The Oedipus complex
Women do not resolve the Oedipal complex
as fully as men do.
During the phallic stage, at about 6 years old,
children enter the latency period where sexual
impulses are curbed. Development in other
domains – cognitive, moral, social become
important.
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Concepts to cover
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Fixation
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Fixation =we do not pass successfully through a
stage b/c we are either frustrated by not enough
satisfaction or indulged by too much.
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Problems with Freud
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Lack of research
Views about women
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