The Pursuit of Personality

Psychology’s central quest?

personality

• • • • Again, a concept we’ve all discussed, wondered about, made predictions on ….

But we cannot readily agree as to is.

what

it Our characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting, or The stable ways in which our mood and behaviors differ from one another

Four major approaches

• • • •

Psychodynamic –

conflicting forces, many unrecognized, within us the interplay of

Trait –

the study of consistent personal characteristics

Humanistic –

we make conscious decisions about the direction of our lives

Learning –

reinforcement shapes us

psychodynamics

• • • • • • • Originated by Sigmund Freud (1855-1938) Dreamed of being a scientist Pushed into psychiatry Mainly treated middle-aged Jewish women Used “talking” therapy with patients Developed first theory of personality Unsurpassed fame but little current influence?

psychoanalysis

• • • A basic concept with two, related, meanings 1) An explanation for how conscious and unconscious forces interact to produce personality, and 2) A method to treat psychological problems

More basics

• • •

The Unconscious –

behavior a pool of memories, emotions and thoughts, many illogical and irrational, that unknowingly affect Like an iceberg below the water-line Many of these hidden memories and desires have been repressed ( purposely forgotten) due to their traumatic nature

Developmental stages

• • • • Psychosexual in nature Traces how our basic desires, sex/libido and aggression, are changed and expressed as we grow Freud claimed that we are obsessed with the pleasures of each stage If thwarted at a stage, trouble follows due to a fixation through at that stage , expressed defense mechanisms

At the beginning

• • • The Oral stage – pleasure derived through stimulation of the mouth The first year or so If fixated, problems show up through excessive talking, eating, smoking, or any other activity involving the mouth

The controversial anal stage

• • • Pleasure comes from retaining and expelling feces If there is psychic trauma from the course of toilet training ….

Two types of fixations: Retentive – excessively neat & controlling Explosive – just the opposite

much more controversy

• • • • The Phallic stage – genitals pleasure from our Infantile sexuality – the claim that at the age of 5 we have powerful sexual desires The Oedipus complex – boys lust for their mothers Dad, standing in the way, is both resented and feared – castration anxiety

But what about girls?

• • • • They are just as sexual The Electra complex – girl’s desire for dad and ill-will towards mom Girls also experience penis envy Freud was never satisfied with his explanation for female psychosexual development even though women were the great majority of his patients

A sudden halt

• From the ages of seven or eight, we suppress these raging desires and slowly begin to identify with our same-sex parent • From then until our early teens our sexual energies lie dormant in the Latent stage

Finally ..

• At 14 or 15 our sexual capabilities are ripe • • The Genital Stage But are we really ready for mature sexual relationships?!?

Could this be true?

• • • • • Questionable evidence Small, non-representative sample Very vague, cannot falsify Never really looked at real children No verification

Personality’s structure

• • • • •

The id

At birth, our considerable psychic energy resides in our id The inner reptile, composed of our basic biological drives Completely selfish, it demands immediate gratification Never constrained by the limits of reality

The ego

• • • • • Arises after the primal id The voice of reality Operates in the world of laws, morals and ethics Must postpone the id’s satisfaction to an appropriate time and place As if that weren’t enough, it must pacify it’s other demanding “boss”, the ….

The super-ego

• • • • Takes form during the long we assimilate our same-sex parent’s world view latent stage as The internalization of our parent’s and society’s morals Just as unreasonable and uncompromising as the id More tyrant than conscience

Freud reconsidered

• • Fraud or genius?

Shortcomings: 1) no empirical proof, not that he cared 2) too much unconscious and sex 3) male-oriented 4) derived from work with mentally ill 5) therapy – long and ineffective

A genius

• • • • • First integrated, comprehensive theory Superb ability to organize and synthesize First to pay attention to childhood and development Unrivalled in influence Recent findings support some concepts

• Stressed great care and • • • sensitivity towards patients A devoted son A father A motto that works for all of us: “ To love and to work.”

The neo-Freudians

• Theorists who accepted some aspects of Freud’s approach but modified others • Many fell under his magnetic influence only to drift (or be pushed) away • Sex and the id declined in importance

Karen Horney 1885-1952

• • • • • • A feminine perspective Rejected emphasis on sex – people talked to her about financial concerns Anxiety caused sex problems, not reverse Destroyed concept of penis envy Stressed the importance of society and culture “Hostility” – preshadowing attachment?

Anna Freud 1885-1982

“ • • Worked closely with her father Elaborated defense mechanisms • investigated childhood • Actually Coined the term separation anxiety”

Defense mechanisms

• • • • Maladaptive techniques we use to ward off anxiety Denial – refusing to believe information that causes anxiety Rationalization – nonsensically justifying bad decisions or outcomes Displacement – redirecting responses towards less threatening targets

More defenses

• • • • Regression – reverting to a more primitive level of behavior Projection – accusing another of having your faults Reaction formation – presenting yourself as the opposite of what you are Sublimation – channeling undesirable desires into good works

Carl Yung – 1875-1961

• Initially Freud’s “crown prince” • • • Later, a bitter split Much more positive Discussed the spiritual • and mystical Introduced intriguing concepts

The collective unconscious

• • • • From his exhaustive reading of world mythology, noticed similarities in many fundamental concepts Claimed that we all share a of images and ideas accumulated through the centuries common pool Fascinating, but contradicted by genetics The Mandala

Introversion vs. extroversion

• • • • Some people are just naturally outgoing Others are shy and reserved He thought we possessed both qualities, in differing degrees Now viewed as traits, corroborated by the most demanding of statistical criteria

The inner journey towards development

• • • • First to argue that we all strive to be more complete and unified A life journey changes from a “Quest for Becoming” to a “Quest for Meaning” Composed of opposing forces, we strive for reconciliation and the merging of these opposing currents His final dream

Alfred Adler 1870-1937

• • • The first to depart Again, sex Invented Individual

Psychology –

the study • • of a person as a whole First - mental health as a positive state

Social Interest –

others our desire for the welfare of

Striving for superiority

• • • • Adler, often injured as a child, claimed that we all possess a “Striving for

Superiority

” We all want to be better at what we do We are conscious of our needs and goal directed Trouble arises from “The Inferiority

Complex”

seeing ourselves as weak and ineffectual