Personality

Empty out…

• Your pockets OR• Your purse OR• Your backpack• Really, just empty out one of your personal

items. If there is anything you don’t want us to see, definitely don’t take that out.

• In small groups discuss what your personal items “say” about your personality– Think about “common” items that may be

missing & what those items say about your personality as well

Personality

An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Psychoanalytic Perspective

In his clinical practice, Freud

encountered patients suffering

from nervous disorders. Their complaints could

not be explained in terms of purely physical causes. Sigmund Freud

(1856-1939)

Culver Pictures

Psychodynamic Perspective

Freud’s clinical experience led him to develop the first

comprehensive theory of

personality, which included the

unconscious mind, psychosexual stages, and

defense mechanisms.

Sigmund Freud(1856-1939)

Exploring the Unconscious

A reservoir (unconscious mind) of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and

memories. Freud asked patients to say whatever came to their minds (free

association) in order to tap the unconscious.

Dream AnalysisAnother method to analyze the

unconscious mind is through interpreting manifest and latent contents of dreams.

The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli (1791)

Psychoanalysis

The process of free association (chain of thoughts) leads to

painful, embarrassing unconscious

memories. Once these memories are

retrieved and released (treatment: psychoanalysis) the patient feels better.

Model of MindThe mind is like an iceberg. It is mostly hidden, and below the surface lies the unconscious mind. The preconscious

stores temporary memories.

Our Personality

• Conscious- things we are aware of.

• Preconscious- things we can be aware of if we think of them.

• Unconscious- deep hidden reservoir that holds the true “us”. All of our desires and fears.

Personality StructurePersonality develops as a result of our efforts to resolve conflicts between our

biological impulses (id) and social restraints (superego).

Fig. 12-2, p. 473

Id• Exists entirely in the

unconscious (so we are never aware of it).

• Our hidden true animalistic wants and desires.

• Works on the Pleasure Principle

• Avoid Pain and receive Instant Gratification.

Ego

• Develops after the Id• Works on the Reality

Principle• Negotiates between

the Id and the environment.

• In our conscious and unconscious minds.

• It is what everyone sees as our personality.

If you want to be with someone. Your id says just take them, but your ego does not want to end up in jail. So you ask her out and just try

really hard.

Superego• Develops last at

about the age of 5• It is our conscience

(what we think the difference is between right and wrong)

• The Ego often mediates between the superego and id.

Personality Development

Freud believed that personality formed during the first few years of life divided into psychosexual stages. During these

stages the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on pleasure sensitive body areas

called erogenous zones.

Psychosexual StagesFreud divided the development of

personality into five psychosexual stages.

Table 12-2, p. 477

Oedipus ComplexA boy’s sexual desire for his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the

rival father. A girl’s desire for her father is called the Electra complex.

Identification

Children cope with threatening feelings by repressing them and by identifying

with the rival parent. Through this process of

identification, their superego gains strength that

incorporates their parents’ values.

Defense Mechanisms

• The ego has a pretty important job…and that is to protect you from threatening thoughts in our unconscious.

• One way it protects us is through defense mechanisms.

• You are usually unaware that they are even occurring.

Scenario– Quarterback of the high school football team,

Brandon, is dating Jasmine. – Jasmine dumps Brandon and starts dating – Drew, president of the chess club.

Drew Brandon Jasmine

Repression

• Pushing thoughts into our unconscious.

• When asked about Jasmine, Brandon may say “Who?, I have not thought about her for awhile.”

• Why don’t we remember our Oedipus and Electra complexes?

Denial

• Not accepting the ego-threatening truth.

• Brandon may act like he is still together with Jasmine. He may hang out by her locker and plan dates with her.

Displacement

• Redirecting one’s feelings toward another person or object.

• Often displaced on less threatening things.

• Brandon may take his anger on another kid by bullying.

Projection

• Believing that the feelings one has toward someone else are actually held by the other person and directed at oneself.

• Brandon insists that Jasmine still cares for him.

Reaction Formation

• Expressing the opposite of how one truly feels.

• Cootie stage in Freud’s Latent Development.

• Brandon claims he hates Jasmine.

Regression

• Returning to an earlier, comforting form of behavior.

• Brandon begins to sleep with his favorite childhood stiffed animal, Sajalicious.

Rationalization

• Coming up with a beneficial result of an undesirable outcome.

• Brandon thinks he will find a better girlfriend. “Jasmine was not all that anyway!”

• I really did want to go to ______ anyway, it was too _____.

Intellectualization

• Undertaking an academic, unemotional study of a topic.

• Brandon starts doing a research paper on failed teenage romances.

Sublimation

• Channeling one’s frustration toward a different goal.

• Sometimes a healthy defense mechanism.

• Brandon starts to learn how to play the guitar and writing songs (or maybe starts to body build).

Table 12-1, p. 475

Fig. 12-3, p. 475

Defense Mechanisms in Movies

Neo-FreudiansPsychodynamic Theories

• Eric Erickson• Carl Jung and his

concept of the “personal” and “collective” unconscious.

• Alfred Adler and his ideas of superiority and inferiority.

• Adler also talked about birth order and how it played a part in personality.

The Neo-Freudians

Like Freud, Adler believed in childhood tensions. However, these tensions were social in nature and not sexual. A child struggles with an

inferiority complex during growth and

strives for superiority and power.

Alfred Adler (1870-1937)

National L

ibrary of Medicine

The Neo-Freudians

Like Adler, Horney believed in the

social aspects of childhood growth and development.

She countered Freud’s assumption

that women have weak superegos and suffer from “penis

envy.” Karen Horney (1885-1952)

The B

ettmann A

rchive/ Corbis

The Neo-Freudians

Jung believed in the collective

unconscious, which contained a common reservoir of images derived from our

species’ past. This is why many cultures share certain myths and images such as the mother being a

symbol of nurturance.

Carl Jung (1875-1961)

Archive of the H

istory of Am

erican Psychology/ University of A

kron

Psychoanalysis Today

• Couch sitting• Transference is

likely to happen.• The idea is to delve

into your unconscious.

• Pull out Manifest Content.

• Then talk about the Latent Content.

Getting into the Unconscious

• Hypnosis• Dream Interpretation• Free Association (having

them just randomly talk to themselves…and then interpreting the conversation).

• Projective Tests (and test that delves into the unconscious).

• Examples are TAT and Inkblot Tests.

Rorschach Inkblot TestThe most widely used projective test uses a set of 10 inkblots and was designed by Hermann Rorschach. It seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their

interpretations of the blots.

Lew

Merrim

/ Photo Researcher, Inc.

If you saw...1 X-ray: this suggests you have things welling up inside you that you want to express, but you'd prefer to suffer in silence and not rock the boat. You find it hard to say no in general.2 Professor: You are benevolent, self-effacing, and a very good friend and thinker.3 Stingray or skate: You tend to put yourself second, and are familiar, though not necessarily comfortable, with being elbowed aside by more powerful characters.

As a result you can sometimes be apologetic to a fault.

If you saw...1 emus: You feel the pull of the highlife - though, sometimes, you don't like how you feel the next day; you waver between extreme moods, taking yourself too seriously or just not caring.2 Beetle: You are very hard-working; success comes naturally to you. You lay your plans, and follow them through.3 sunglasses, bra or beard: You like dressing up, although you can worry excessively about what people think of you and seek external solutions - a new car, new clothes - to internal problems.

If you saw...

1 Strong man: this suggests you are highly capable, mastering everything you turn your hand to. You are naturally gifted and extremely determined. You pride yourself on always being equal to the challenge.2 Scorpion: You are highly tuned, like a gymnast, so diet and sleeping can be problematic, since you are physically very sensitive, but not emotionally; anything that smacks of therapy gets on your nerves.3 Fallopian tubes: You have a sense of stalled potential, of putting an enormous amount into life, yet still waiting for it to start. Your idea of how things should be - for instance, whom you should be with, what you should be doing - is very vivid, and if reality falls short of expectations, your considerable achievements provide little consolation.

1 Clown, face or someone sticking out their tongue: this suggests that you're social and seek out company - no one could cal l you a recluse. However, you do have aloof tendencies, a habit that will cause your friends concern.2 Lady above dolphins: You are charismatic, often in a darkly brooding way. this draws attention to you, which is good for your ego, but it does not necessarily add much to your self-esteem.3 Cuddly toy: sometimes, when things are difficult, you tend to dwell on your past, a time when you felt you belonged in the world and didn't have to fight constantly to prove yourself.

If you saw...

1 Mouth: You are a real force - your strength of character, accomplishments and expansiveness cause rooms (and lives) to rearrange themselves around you when you walk in.2 Fledglings pecking: You are very nurturing, lavishing such care on others that it sometimes seems you don't need any in return. You're not entirely sure you deserve to be loved at all.3 Cat or viper's mouth: Sometimes your relationships can seem like a bicycle tire with a slow puncture; you can give a huge amount, but still it's not clear that it's working for you. You feel inadequate, though you don't know why.

Thematic Apperception Test(TAT)

Developed by Henry Murray, the TAT is a projective test in which people express their

inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous

scenes.

Lew

Merrim

/ Photo Researcher, Inc.

Projective Tests: Criticisms

Critics argue that projective tests lack both reliability (consistency of results)

and validity (predicting what it is supposed to).

1. When evaluating the same patient, even trained raters come up with different interpretations (reliability).

2. Projective tests may misdiagnose a normal individual as pathological (validity).

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective

1. Personality develops throughout life and is not fixed in childhood.

2. Freud underemphasized peer influence on the individual, which may be as powerful as parental influence.

3. Gender identity may develop before 5-6 years of age.

Modern Research

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective

4. There may be other reasons for dreams besides wish fulfillment.

5. Verbal slips can be explained on the basis of cognitive processing of verbal choices.

6. Suppressed sexuality leads to psychological disorders. Sexual inhibition has decreased, but psychological disorders have not.

Modern Research

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective

Freud's psychoanalytic theory rests on the repression of painful experiences into

the unconscious mind.

The majority of children, death camp survivors, and battle-scarred veterans are

unable to repress painful experiences into their unconscious mind.

The Modern Unconscious Mind

Modern research shows the existence of non-conscious information processing. This

involves:1. schemas that automatically control perceptions and interpretations

2. the right-hemisphere activity that enables the split-brain patient’s left hand to carry out an instruction the patient cannot verbalize

3. parallel processing during vision and thinking

4. implicit memories

5. emotions that activate instantly without consciousness

6. self-concept and stereotypes that unconsciously influence us

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective

The scientific merits of Freud’s theory have been criticized. Psychoanalysis is meagerly testable. Most of its concepts arise out of clinical practice, which are

the after-the-fact explanation.

Humanistic PerspectiveBy the 1960s, psychologists became

discontent with Freud’s negativity and the mechanistic psychology of the

behaviorists.

Abraham Maslow(1908-1970)

Carl Rogers(1902-1987)

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Humanistic Theory of Personality

• Do not believe in Determinism (your actions are dictated by your past).

• They believe that humans have free will (our ability to choose your own destiny).

• We are innately good and as long as our self-esteem and self-concept are positive we will be happy.

Self-Actualizing PersonMaslow proposed that we as individuals are motivated by a hierarchy of needs. Beginning with physiological needs, we

try to reach the state of self-actualization—fulfilling our potential.

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Fig. 12-11, p. 489

Fig. 12-12, p. 490

Person-Centered PerspectiveCarl Rogers also believed in an

individual's self-actualization tendencies. He said that Unconditional Positive

Regard is an attitude of acceptance of others despite their failings.

Assessing the Self

All of our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in an answer to the question, “Who am I?” refers to

Self-Concept.

In an effort to assess personality, Rogers asked people to describe themselves as they would like to be (ideal) and as they actually are (real). If the two descriptions were close

the individual had a positive self-concept.

Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective

Humanistic psychology has a pervasive impact on counseling, education, child-rearing, and management with its emphasis on a positive self-concept, empathy, and the thought that people are basically good and can improve.

Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective

1. Concepts in humanistic psychology are vague and subjective and lack scientific basis.

2. The individualism encouraged can lead to self-indulgence, selfishness, and an erosion of moral restraints.

3. Humanistic psychology fails to appreciate the reality of our human capacity for evil. It lacks adequate balance between realistic optimism and despair.

Criticisms

The Trait Perspective

An individual’s unique constellation of durable dispositions and consistent ways of behaving (traits) constitutes his or her

personality.Examples of Traits

HonestDependable

MoodyImpulsive

Exploring Traits

One way to condense the immense list of personality traits is through factor analysis, a statistical approach used to describe and

relate personality traits.

Each personality is uniquely made up of multiple traits.

Allport & Odbert (1936), identified almost 18,000 words representing traits.

Factor AnalysisHans and Sybil Eysenck suggested that

personality could be reduced down to two polar dimensions, extraversion-

introversion and emotional stability-instability.

Biology and Personality

Personality dimensions are influenced by genes.

1. Brain-imaging procedures show that extraverts seek stimulation because their normal brain arousal is relatively low.

2. Genes also influence our temperament and behavioral style. Differences in children’s shyness and inhibition may be attributed to autonomic nervous system reactivity.

Assessing Traits

Personality inventories are questionnaires (often with true-false or

agree-disagree items) designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors

assessing several traits at once.

MMPI

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. It was originally developed to identify emotional

disorders.

The MMPI was developed by empirically testing a pool of items and then selecting

those that discriminated between diagnostic groups.

MMPI Test Profile

Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator

• Psychometric questionnaire to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world & make decisions

• 16 different personality types • Extrapolated from typological theories

of Carl Jung– Theorized that there are four psychological

types:• Sensations• Intuition • Feeling • Thinking

MBTI

• Overly simplified but, figuring out your preferences in the following categories determines your personality type– Favorite World: (E) Extroversion – (I)

Introversion– Information: (S) Sensing – (N) Intuition – Decisions: (T) Thinking – (F) Feeling– Structure: (J) Judging – (P) Perceiving

– http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

Estimations in U.S. Population

ST SF NF NT

ISTJ (6%) ISFJ (6%) INFJ (1%) INTJ (1%)

ISTP (6%) ISFP (6%) INFP (1%) INTP (1%)

ESTP (13%) ESFP (13%) ENFP (5%) ENTP (5%)

ESTJ (13%) ESFJ (13%) ENFJ (5%) ENTJ (5%)

Your MBTI Type asks for Help…

• ISTJ - Please help me to begin relaxing about little details tomorrow by 11:43:32 am.

• ISFJ - Please help me to be more laid back, and help me to do it exactly right!

• INFJ - Please help me not to be a perfectionist. (Did I spell that correctly?)

• INTJ - Please keep me open to others ideas, as wrongs as they may be!

• ISTP - Please help me to consider others feelings even if everyone is just hypersensitive.

• ISFP - Please help me to stand up for my rights (if you don’t mind…)

• INFP - Please help me to finish everything I star….

• INTP - Please help me to be less independent but just let me do it my own way.

• ESTP - Please help me to take responsibility for my own actions, even though it’s usually not my fault

• ESFP - Please help me to take things more seriously, right after I get back from the party.

• ENFP - Please help me to learn to pay attent – HEY, look a bird!

• ENTP - Help me to follow the established procedures, on second thought, I’ll just figure it out myself. 

• ESTJ - Please help me not to try to run everything today, but if anyone needs help, just ask! 

• ESFJ - PLEASE GIVE ME PATIENCE AND GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NOW! 

• ENFJ - Please help me learn how to trust that things will work out, actually could we put that in writing? 

• ENTJ - Please help me to slow down and notrushthrougheverythingallatonce, m’kay?

Your MBTI Type Asks For Help

The Big Five FactorsToday’s trait researchers believe that earlier trait

dimensions, such as Eysencks’ personality dimensions, fail to tell the whole story. So, an expanded range (five factors) of traits does a

better job of assessment.

Conscientiousness

Agreeableness

Neuroticism

Openness

Extraversion

Fig. 12-1, p. 471

Endpoints

Questions about the Big Five

These traits are common across cultures.3. How about other

cultures?

Fifty percent or so for each trait.2. How heritable are they?

Quite stable in adulthood. However, they change over development.

1. How stable are these traits?

Evaluating the Trait Perspective

The Person-Situation Controversy

Walter Mischel (1968, 1984, 2004) points out that traits may be enduring, but the

resulting behavior in various situations is different. Therefore, traits are not good

predictors of behavior.

The Person-Situation Controversy

Trait theorists argue that behaviors from a situation may be different, but average behavior remains the same. Therefore,

traits matter.

The Person-Situation Controversy

Traits are socially significant and influence our health, thinking, and

performance (Gosling et al., 2000).

Samuel Gosling

John Langford Photography

Consistency of Expressive Style

Expressive styles in speaking and gestures demonstrate trait consistency.

Observers are able to judge people’s behavior and feelings in as little as 30 seconds and in one particular case as

little as 2 seconds.

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Bandura (1986, 2001, 2005) believes that

personality is the result of an

interaction that takes place

between a person and their social

context. Albert Bandura

Individuals & Environments

How we view and treat people influences how they treat us.

Our personalities shape situations.

Anxious people react to situations differently than relaxed people.

Our personalities shape how we react to events.

The school you attend and the music you listen to are partly based on your dispositions.

Different people choose different environments.

Specific ways in which individuals and environments interact

Behavior

Behavior emerges from an interplay of external and internal influences.

Personal Control

External locus of control refers to the perception that chance or outside forces

beyond our personal control determine our fate.

Internal locus of control refers to the perception that we can control our own

fate.

Social-cognitive psychologists emphasize our sense of personal control, whether

we control the environment or the environment controls us.

Learned Helplessness

When unable to avoid repeated adverse events an animal or human learns

helplessness.

Optimism vs. Pessimism

An optimistic or pessimistic attribution style is your way of explaining positive or

negative events.

Positive psychology aims to discover and promote conditions that enable

individuals and communities to thrive.

Positive Psychology and Humanistic Psychology

Positive psychology, such as humanistic psychology, attempts to foster human

fulfillment. Positive psychology, in addition, seeks positive subjective well-being, positive

character, and positive social groups.

Martin Seligman

Courtesy of M

artin E.P. Seligm

an, PhD D

irector, Positive Psychology C

enter/ University of Pennsylvania

Assessing Behavior in Situations

Social-cognitive psychologists observe people in realistic and simulated

situations because they find that it is the best way to predict the behavior of others

in similar situations.

Evaluating the Social-Cognitive Perspective

Critics say that social-cognitive psychologists pay a lot of attention to the

situation and pay less attention to the individual, his unconscious mind, his

emotions, and his genetics.

The social-cognitive perspective on personality sensitizes researchers to the

effects of situations on and by individuals. It builds on learning and cognition research.

Exploring the Self

Research on the self has a long history because the self organizes thinking, feelings,

and actions and is a critical part of our personality.

1. Research focuses on the different selves we possess. Some we dream and others we dread.

2. Research studies how we overestimate our concern that others evaluate our appearance, performance, and blunders (spotlight effect).

Benefits of Self-Esteem

Maslow and Rogers argued that a successful life results from a healthy

self-image (self-esteem). The following are two reasons why low self-esteem

results in personal problems.1. When self-esteem is deflated, we view

ourselves and others critically.2. Low self-esteem reflects reality, our

failure in meeting challenges, or surmounting difficulties.

Culture & Self-Esteem

People maintain their self-esteem even with a low status by valuing things they achieve and comparing

themselves to people with similar positions.

Self-Serving Bias

We accept responsibility for good deeds and successes more than for bad deeds and failures.

Defensive self-esteem is fragile and egotistic whereas secure self-esteem is less fragile and

less dependent on external evaluation.

Self-handicapping is how many protect their self-image by creating a ready excuse for failure.

We protect our self-image by attributing our failure to external factors rather than to

ourselves, creating a no-lose situation for our self-esteem. .

The U Test

Be careful of the Barnum Effect!!!“There’s a sucker born every minute”