Transcript Personality Psychology 2130 Section P

Personality Psychology
Threat and Defense
Riders on the Storm
Hallelujah Lyrics
Memorial
Professor Ian McGregor
Existential Threat
and Despair
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Durkheim: “Suicide” horizons need limits
James: “skull will grin in at banquet” (running boy)
Gilgamesh; Tolstoy and “Death of Ivan Ilych”
Kierkegaard: Existential guilt
Sartre: “Existence precedes essence,” radical
freedom, nausea “bad faith,” “hell is others,”
existential masochism and sadism
Fromm, Adorno: Authoritarian “Escape from Freedom”
Becker: “Denial of Death,” Prophets of
Unrepression;” Worldview Defense
Angst
(Munch,1893; Picasso, 1937)
Despair
(Bacon, 1944)
Terror Management Theory
But Also Relatedness-Goal Threats
Example: Cyberball Exclusion
(Kip Williams)
Exclusion
Inclusion
And Competence Goal Threats
Where n (eta) is an m by 1 vector of latent endogenous
variables; ξ (xi) is an n by 1 vector of latent exogenous
variables; B (beta) is an m by m matrix of coefficients of
the effects of endogenous on endogenous variables; r
(gamma) is an m by n matrix of coefficients of the effects
of exogenous variables (ξ’s) on endogenous variables
(n’s); ζ (zeta) is an m by 1 vector of residuals, or errors in
equations. It is assumed that the means of all the variables
are equal to zero – that is, that the variables are expressed
in deviation scores. Also, it is assumed that ζ and ξ are
uncorrelated, and that B is nonsingular. The measurement
model specifies the relations between unobserved and
observed, or latent and manifest, variables. Two equations
describe this model:
y = Λyn + є…
x = Λrξ + δ
Control Condition
To minimize uncertainty and maximize the availability of relevant information, scientists collect
data (measurements from observations that are usually recorded using numbers). Whether
in the context of formal research activity (“Is this advertising campaign working?”) or our
personal lives (“Where should I go to college?”) the goal is to make as informed a decision
as possible, backed up with as much relevant data as we can collect.
In a formal research setting, data are carefully collected under controlled conditions so that they
will hold the promise of containing needed information. As sound and potentially valuable as
data may be, however, they will not yield their information without a struggle. Information is
coy. It likes to disguise itself and stay hidden in a jumble of numbers. We have to flush it
out into the open using special tools— the tools that comprise statistical analysis. By
subjecting the data to formal computational procedures, we can distill the information that is
in the data into forms that can be understood, communicated, and used for practical
purposes. Without the organizing and summarizing of information that is accomplished by
statistical analysis, we would tend to be overwhelmed and confused—aimlessly adrift in a
sea of numbers.
To understand the role of statistical analysis as an information-gathering tool, it helps to regard
the numerical representation of data as a code. If numbers are the coded representations of
our observations, we need to crack the code to make available all the information the
numbers hold. The techniques of descriptive statistics are, in a sense, decoding devices
that pull the information from the data and allow us to see properties and relationships that
could otherwise go unnoticed.
Goal Threats and Vigilant Despair
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Attachment: Am I loved?
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Self-Worth: Am I good enough?
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LISREL statistics
False feedback on Intelligence Test
Uncertain Dilemmas and Identities
Mortality Salience (Terror Management Theory)
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Social exclusion
Rejection: nobody wanted to work with you
Relationship dissolution
Isolation: alone more and more in life
Own physical death, decay, and feelings associated
All of the above goals affected
Must be experiential threats to goals: not abstract or
hypothetical threats, e.g., not dental pain
Thought Suppression:
Ironic Processes and Rebound
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Try to not think about a
“white bear”
Distraction, time course
White bear Rebound
Same for threats
Threat rebound and BIS
self-consciousness
Threats are contagious
Goal Threat and Despair
group
goal
defining-memory
Narrative Integrity, Meaning, and Resilience
traits
goals
relationships
defining
memories
groups
values
roles
possible
selves
Know thyself! …. But defenses easier in the short term… e.g.,…
Grandiose Ideals: Defensive Pride
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Become boastful, independent, arrogant, unlikable
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Which relieve personal distress for the moment
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Positive illusions? Self-delusion?
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Narcissism as an addiction to self-esteem
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Becomes unconscious form of repression
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No awareness because Operant Conditioning (recall
video: Motivation & Reward Learning)
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Dangerous when one is unaware of illusions
Other Forms of Compensatory Idealism
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Opinion Convictions
 Idealistic
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Values and Worldview
 E.g.,
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moral outrage,
Attachment Relationships
 Idealized
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love
Goup-Identification and Consensus
 My
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Opinions: capital punishment, Iraq, terrorism
group is better than your group and we all agree
Political Conservatism and Authoritarianism
 Stability
and power (simple structure…Need for Closure)
 All of the above are psychologically conservative
Eager Displacement Goals
Eager Displacement Ideals?
Ideals As Abstract Goals
(Carver & Scheier; Powers; Higgins; Vallacher & Wegner)
Ideals, Meanings, Values,
Worldviews, Self-Guides
Concrete Goals
Goal Regulation
Approach
Uh-Oh! Oh No!
Approach /Avoid
Anxious
vigilance
Scans for viable
alternatives
Resume eager
absorption in
approach
Motivational For Extremes
Possible
Threat
Approach
Avoid
Eager
Approach
Ideal
Extremes
Threat and Exaggerated Goal-Approach
List 10 personal projects and rate them on:
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Determination: Are you firmly determined to complete it, even
if it requires sacrifices?
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Outcome: Will you succeed at it?
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Value-Congruence: Does it reflect your important life values?
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Self-Identity: Does it reflect who you truly are?
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Promote ideals: Does it promote your ideals?
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Prevent fears (reversed): Does it prevent your fears?
Study:
Relationship Threat after Goal Prime
Displacement Goal Approach
1.2
1
0.8
Academic Goal Prime
0.6
Relationship Goal Prime
0.4
Neutral Prime
0.2
0
Study:
Mortality Threat after Goal Primes
Displacement Goal Approach
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
Academic Goal Prime
Relationship Goal Prime
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Neutral Prime
Displacement Goal Approach
Study 5b:
Relationship and Academic Threats
after Goal Primes
1.2
1
Match
0.8
Mismatch
0.6
No Threat
0.4
0.2
0
Who is Defensive?
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Highly Approach-Motivated People
 High
Self-Esteem, Narcissism, Dismissive Attach,
Aggression, Promotion-Focus, BAS, Extraversion
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Highly Avoidance-Motivated Vulnerable People
 Low
implicit self-esteem, uncertainty aversion, Need for
Closure/Structure, Preference for Consistency,
Depressed, Anxious, Low Self-Control, Anxious Attach,
Prevention-Focused, BIS, Neuroticism
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Low Self-Compassion
 Self-Kindness,
Common-Humanity, Mindfulness
Threat on Goal Approach
8.5
Dental Pain
8
Dilemma
Uncertainty
Displacement
Goal
7.5
Approach
Mortality
Salience
7
Low
High
Self-Esteem
Implicit Self-Esteem
Implicit Self-Esteem
Fascist Consensus (at low implicit)
(McGregor, Nail, Marigold, & Kang, 2005, JPSP)
80
Consensus
Estimate
(%)
Stats Threat
Control
40
Low Explicit
High Explicit
Fascist Consensus (at high implicit)
(McGregor, Nail, Marigold, & Kang, 2005, JPSP)
80
Consensus
Estimate
(%)
Stats Threat
Control
40
Low Explicit
High Explicit
Rigid Conviction (at low implicit)
(McGregor & Marigold, 2003, JPSP)
9
8.5
8
Opinion
7.5
Conviction
7
6.5
Relationship
Uncertainty Threat
Control
6
Low Explicit
High Explicit
Rigid Conviction (at high implicit)
9
8.5
8
Opinion
7.5
Conviction
7
6.5
Relationship
Uncertainty Threat
Control
6
Low Explicit
High Explicit