Lesson 11- Theories OF Personality Development PDF

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THEORIES OF PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

1. William Herbert Sheldon's Personality Theory 1898-1977 Intro In the 1940's, William Herbert Sheldon associated body types with human temperament types. He claimed that a body type could be linked with the personality of that person. He says that a fat person with a large bone structure tends to have an outgoing and more relaxed personality while a more muscular body-typed person is more active and aggressive. A slim or scrawny person with thin muscles is usually characterized as quiet or fragile. He split up these body/personality types into three categories called somatotypes.

1.Endomorphic An Endomorphic somatotype is also known as a viscerotonic. The characteristic traits of this somatotype usually includes being relaxed, tolerant, comfortable,

and sociable. Psychologically, they are also fun-loving, good humored,eventempered, and they love food and affection. The Endomorph is physically "round". They have wide hips and narrow shoulders that give a pear-shape. They tend to have a lot of extra fat on their body and on their arms and thighs. They have skinny ankles and wrists that make the rest of their body look even bigger. 2.Ectomorphic An ectomorph is the complete opposite of the Endomorph. Physically, they have narrow shoulders, thin legs and arms, little fat on the body, a narrow face and a narrow chest. They may eat just as much as the endomorph but never seem to gain any weight. They always stay skinny. Personality wise, they tend to be self- conscious, socially anxious, artistic, thoughful, quiet, and private. They always keep to themselves and are a afraid to branch out. Mesomorphic The mesomorph is in between the endomorph and thin ectomorph. They have an attractive and desirable body. Physically, they tend to have a large head and broad shoulders with a narrow waist. They have a strong muscular body and strong arms and legs and little fat on the body. They work for the body they have so that they could have an attractive body.Psychologically, the mesomorph is adventurous and courageous. They are not afraid to break out and do new things with new people. They are assertive

nd competative and have a desire to have power and be dominant. They love taking risks and chances in life. Is This True? Profiling psychologically based on physical features is very unreliable but these observations tend to be true. These patterns are noticed by society. Most of society would agree with these with these observations made by Sheldon. Try It Out! Next time you meet someone with one of the physical body types, observe what kind of personality they may have and see if the theory hold true. If you see someone with a larger stature, observe if they act carefree, relaxed, and outgoing. It may prove that this theory may hold some truth in it. Sheldon's Motives The original work of Sheldon was used to characterize criminals and he found that most of the criminals were mesomorphs because violent crimes were usually committed by big strong men. It makes sense because according to Sheldon's theory, people with a muscular and attractive body tend to be competative and want power and dominance. This also proved that mesomorphic people are usually criminal in nature 2. Hippocrates and Galen personality types / Temperaments (c. 460 – c. 370 BC

The concept of personality has been studied for at least 2,000 years, beginning with Hippocrates in 370 BCE. Hippocrates theorized that personality traits and human behaviors are based on four separate temperaments associated with four fluids (“humors”) of the body: choleric temperament (yellow bile from the liver), melancholic temperament (black bile from the kidneys), sanguine temperament (red blood from the heart), and phlegmatic temperament (white phlegm from the lungs) Centuries later, the influential Greek physician and philosopher Galen (210 -129 B.C) built on Hippocrates’s theory, suggesting that both diseases and personality differences could be explained by imbalances in the humors and that each person exhibits one of the four temperaments. For example, the choleric person is passionate, ambitious, and bold; the melancholic person is reserved, anxious, and unhappy; the sanguine person is joyful, eager, and optimistic; and the phlegmatic person is calm, reliable, and thoughtful Galen’s theory was prevalent for over 1,000 years and continued to be popular through the Middle Ages

3. Eysenck’s Traits Personality Theory- 1916-1997 Eysenck proposed a theory of personality based on biological factors, arguing that individuals inherit a type of nervous system that affects their ability to learn and adapt to the environment.

During 1940s Eysenck was working at the Maudsley psychiatric hospital in London. His job was to make an initial assessment of each patient before their mental disorder was diagnosed by a psychiatrist. Through this position, he compiled a battery of questions about behavior, which he later applied to 700 soldiers who were being treated for neurotic disorders at the hospital (Eysenck (1947). He found that the soldiers' answers seemed to link naturally with one another, suggesting that there were a number of different personality traits which were being revealed by the soldier's answers. He called these first-order personality traits He used a technique called factor analysis. This technique reduces behavior to a number of factors which can be grouped together under separate headings, called dimensions. Eysenck (1947) found that their behavior could be represented by three dimensions: Introversion / Extroversion (E); Neuroticism / Stability (N). Each aspect of personality (extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism) can be traced back to a different biological cause. Personality is dependent on the balance between excitation and inhibition process of the autonomic nervous system (ANS).

Extraversion/introversion

Extraverts are sociable and crave excitement and change, and thus can become bored easily. They tend to be carefree, optimistic and impulsive. They are more likely to take risks and be thrill seekers. Eysenck argues that this is because they inherit an under aroused nervous system and so seek stimulation to restore the level of optimum stimulation. Introverts on the other hand lie at the other end of this scale, being quiet and reserved. They are already over-aroused and shun sensation and stimulation. Introverts are reserved, plan their actions and control their emotions. They tend to be serious, reliable and pessimistic.

Neuroticism/stability A person’s level of neuroticism is determined by the reactivity of their sympathetic nervous system. A stable person’s nervous system will generally be less reactive to stressful situations, remaining calm and level headed.

Someone high in neuroticism on the other hand will be much more unstable, and prone to overreacting to stimuli and may be quick to worry, anger or fear. They are overly emotional and find it difficult to calm down once upset. Neurotic individuals have an ANS that responds quickly to stress.

Psychoticism/normality Eysenck (1966) later added a third trait / dimension - Psychoticism – e.g., lacking in empathy, cruel, a loner, aggressive and troublesome. This has been related to high levels of testosterone. The higher the testosterone, the higher the level of psychoticism, with low levels related to more normal balanced behavior. He was especially interested in the characteristics of people whom he considered to have achieved their potential as individuals. According to Eysenck, the two dimensions of neuroticism (stable vs. unstable) and introversion-extroversion combine to form a variety of personality characteristics a) Extroverts - The two main sub-dimensions are i) Sanguines ii) Cholerics

i) Cholerics (Emotional Characteristics)

1) Are aggressive 2) They are courageous and brave 3) They are optimistic 4) They are active / full of energy 5) They are changeable 6) They are rational 7) They are excitable 8) They are restless 9) They have leadership potential

ii) Sanguines (Emotional Characteristics) 1) They are the most sociable 2) Are very outgoing 3) Very easily to be offended 4) Gossipers 5) They are very talkative 6) They are warm 7) They are lively and good to be with 8) They are admirable as leaders 9) They are easy to excite 10)

They are easy going.

b) Introverts They can be subdivided into two i) Phlegmatics ii) Melancholics

i) Phlegmatics

1) Are very careful in whatever they do 2) They are passive 3) They are thoughtful 4) They are very cheerful – peace makers 5) They are extremely controlled 6) They are very disciplined 7) They are very organized 8) They are trust worth / very trusting 9) They are very faithful 10)

Loyal in friendship

11)

They are reliable

12)

They are calm

ii) Melancholics 1) Very moody 2) Very anxious and worrying a lot 3) Are rigid to change 4) They are bloody – negative self evaluation and criticism 5) Always have a sober mind 6) Are loyal and faithful 7) They are artistic 8) They are sometimes antisocial 9) Normally quiet / not talkative 10)

They are reserved

11)

They are pessimistic

This discussion is summarized below:

Psychoanalytic Theory Of Personality – Sigmud Freud (1956 – 1939). This theory was developed by Sigmund freud while working with his patients and is usually studied under 4 major aspects 1. Levels of the Mind 2. Agents/ personality constructs 3. Ego defense Mechanisms 4. Psychosexual stages of personality development 1. Levels of Mind According to Freud, the mind is divided into three components i) Conscious mind

ii) Sub-conscious mind iii) Unconscious mind i) Conscious mind Is the part of the mind where personal experiences of an individual are recorded and are very clear. These experiences include what is in our minds now.

ii) Sub-conscious mind - Consists of information we can remember only if we want to remember. - It’s not available in our minds currently. - One has to look for it in his/her mind if needed e.g. If asked to remember the name of your high school biology teacher.

iii) Unconscious mind - Consist of information whose remembrance may cause anxiety to us. - As a result such information is stored in the unconscious mind where it becomes difficult to remember. - Having no access to such information from our mind protects our ego from unnecessary anxiety. 2. Agencies of the Mind/ personality structure - Freud also developed another structure of personality that consists of 3 elements as follows: i) The Id ii) The Ego iii) The Super - Ego i) The Id - It is the reservoir of primitive instincts and drives - It’s present at birth

- Seeks immediate gratification of our desire without considering anything else. - The Id operates only on pleasure principle and it’s based on comfort. - The Id is common in childhood.

ii) The Ego - It develops when the Id realizes that all it’s desires can’t be met immediately. - Sometimes the gratification of our needs has to be delayed. - The Ego operates on reality principle and it’s always in touch with the environment and prevailing circumstances e.g. if a child is hungry and food is available; Id says, “I want food” but the Ego says, “is the food yours?” if the food belongs to someone else the ego says wait.

iii) The Super – Ego - It’s the highest level of personality development according to Freud in the structure of personality. - It’s guided by the society norms or rules. - Societal norms stipulates what’s right and what’s wrong. - The super-ego operates on morality principle. -

According to Freud there’s always a debate in the minds of an individuals between the Id, Ego and the super-ego on whether the needs are to be gratified or not.

3. The ego defense mechanism

Freud further explained that when the ego is unable to solve a conflict in the mind of a person, concerning the gratification of needs involving the Id, Ego and the Super- Ego. - The person therefore develops what is called Ego-defense mechanism. - These are behaviours directed towards protecting the Ego from anxiety. According to Freud, anxiety is an unpleasant inner state that people seek to avoid. Anxiety acts as a signal to the ego that things are not going right. As a result, the ego then employs a defense mechanism to help reduce these feelings of anxiety. Freud identified three types of anxiety; 1) Neurotic anxiety It’s the unconscious worry that we will lose control of the ID’s urge, resulting in punishment for inappropriate behavior. 2) Reality anxiety This is the fear of real world events. The cause of this anxiety is usually easily identified. For example, a person might fear receiving a dog bite when nearing a menacing dog. The most common way of reducing this anxiety is to avoid the threatening object. 3) Moral anxiety This involves a fear of violating our own moral principles. In order to deal with this anxiety, Freud believed that defense mechanisms help shield the ego from the conflicts created by the ID, SUPER EGO and the EGO.

Types of Long- term Defense Mechanisms

1) Denial This is an inability to face reality or admit an obvious truth. It is the outright refusal to admit or recognize that something has occurred or is currently occurring. For example victims of traumatic events, drug addicts or alcoholics refusal to admit that they have a problem. 2) Repression Repression acts to keep information out of the conscious awareness. However, these memories don’t just disappear; they continue to influence our behavior e.g. a person who has repressed memories of childhood abuse may later have difficulty forming relationships. 3.suppression Suppression is when we do this consciously by forcing the unwanted information out of our awareness.

However, this removal of anxiety

provoking memories from our awareness is believed to occur unconsciously in most cases. 4. Displacement It involves taking out our frustrations, feelings and impulses on people or objects that are less threatening. e.g. A teacher who has been annoyed by the head teacher displaces the anger on students. Or on a bad day at work, when one goes home, the frustration is taken out on family and friends. 5. Sublimation It’s a defense mechanism that allows us to act out unacceptable impulses by converting these behaviors into a more acceptable form.

e.g. A person experiencing extreme anger might take up boxing as a means of venting out frustrations. Freud believed that sublimation was a sign of maturity that allows people to function normally in socially acceptable ways. 6. Projection This involves taking our own unacceptable qualities or feelings and ascribing them to other people. e.g. if you have a strong dislike for someone, you might instead believe that he or she does not like you. 7. Intellectualization This works to reduce anxiety by thinking about events in a cold and a clinical way. This defense mechanism allows us to avoid thinking about the stressful, emotional aspect of the situation and instead focus only on the intellectual component. e.g. A person who has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness might focus on learning everything about the disease in order to avoid distress and remain distant from the reality of the situation. 8. Rationalization It involves explaining an unacceptable behavior or feeling in a rational or logical manner, therefore avoiding the true reasons for the behavior e.g. a person who is turned down for a date might rationalize the situation by saying they were not attracted to the other person anyway. A student might blame a poor exam score on the instructor rather than his/her lack of preparation. Rationalization not only prevents anxiety, it may also protect self-esteem and self – concept.

9. Regression When confronted by stressful events, people sometimes abandon coping strategies and revert to patterns of behavior used in earlier stages of development e.g. crying or sulking upon hearing unpleasant news.

10.Reaction formation This involves reducing, anxiety by taking up the opposite feeling, impulse or behavior. e.g. treating someone you strongly dislike in an excessively friendly manner in order to hide your true feelings. This is behaving in the exact opposite manner.

Short term- Defense Mechanisms Since Freud first described the original defense mechanisms, other researchers have continued to describe other methods of reducing anxiety. Some of these defense mechanisms include:1) Acting out In this type of defense, the individual copes with stress by engaging in actions rather than reflecting upon internal feelings. 2) Affliction This involves turning to other people for support 3) Aim inhibition characterizes those situations in which an instinct fails to achieve direct satisfaction of its aim but obtains reduced gratification through activities or relationships similar to the original aim.

4) Altruism Satisfying internal needs through helping others. 5) Avoidance Refusing to deal with or encounter unpleasant objects or situations.

6) Compensation Over achieving in one area to compensate for failures in another area.

7) Humor Pointing out the funny or ironic aspects of a situation

8) Passive aggression Indirectly expressing anger. 4. Stages Of Development According To Sigmud Freud - He said that personality is shaped in the life of a person through 5 stages of development.

1) Oral stage (Birth – 1 year) At this stage the focus of the child’s mind is in the mouth. The mouth is the source of pleasure at this time. It’s not in the mouth alone but the pleasure the child gets in sucking the mother’s breasts. At this stage the child is dependent on its mother and as it grows up to its independence. If the child is fixated at this stage, (Fixation means one’s mind didn’t exhaust doing what one was supposed to do during a certain stage of development.)

1) A person may develop a dependent character such that even as an adult he/she depends on others e.g. economically, socially and emotionally. 2) May develop to be too friendly and generous especially if the mother was so. 3) One may develop a characteristic of seeking the whole world as a mother and expecting the whole world to mother him/her 4) They also hold on optimistic world few.

2) Anal stage ( 1-3 years) - The focus of the child’s mind is at the anal zone. - The pleasure zone/erogenous zone shifts to the anus. - The child drives a lot of pleasure in eliminating and holding feaces. - Feaces are viewed as possessions and valuable things to the child at this stage. Fixation at this stage may result to - A person may become excessively clean as an adult. - Some extreme cases of shyness especially with issues about the toilet.

3) Phallic stage (3-6 years) - The pleasure zone shifts to the genitals - A child may develop Oedipus complex in case of boys. - The boy possesses the mother as she is possessed by the father. - The boy becomes very protective to the mother. - Girls develop a similar complex known as electra complex. - The girl possesses the father as he is possessed by the mother and therefore she becomes very close to the father. 4) Latent stage (6 – 11 years) - They lose identification with the opposite sex parent

- Girl becomes attached to the mother - Boy attaches to father - This is the time of moral development 5) Genital stage (11-18 years) - Focus in this stage is on sexual pleasure, gratification and desire which come up with full force. Boys gets interested to girls and the vice versa. - Freud says that this is normal because biologically they are now ready to marry and create another family union....