Psych personality chapter PDF

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Personality: unique and relatively stable pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions Freud’s psychoanalytic theory ● Levels of consciousness ● Personality structure ● Defense mechanisms ● Psychosexual stages Freud’s levels of consciousness ● Although freud never used the analogy himself, his levels of awareness are often compared to an iceberg - The tip of the iceberg would be analogous to the conscious mind, which is above the water and open to easy inspection - The preconscious mind (the area only shallowly submerged) contains information that can be viewed with a little extra effort - The large base of the iceberg is somewhat like the unconscious, completely hidden from personal inspection Freud’s personality structure- three interacting components ● ID- the primitive, instinctive part of personality that works on the pleasure principle ● Ego- the rational, decision-making part of personality that operates according to the reality principle (delay gratification of the id’s impulses until it is appropriate) ● Superego- the “conscience”, or moral part of personality that incorporates parental and societal standards for appropriate behaviors (guilt if rules are violated) Defense mechanisms ● Strategies used by the ego to reduce anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality ● Unconscious conflicts→ anxiety/guilt→ defense mechanisms→ decreased anxiety/guilt Psychosexual stages of personality development ● Five developmental periods during which particular kinds of pleasures must be gratified if personality development is to proceed normally - Oral (0-18 months) - Anal (18 months- 3 years) - Phallic (3-6 years) - Latency (6 years - puberty) - Genital (puberty- adulthood) Psychodynamic/Neo-Freudian Theories ● Adler’s individual psychology - We are motivated by goals - Not motivated by unconscious forces - Goals address feeling secure and overcoming inferiority

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Inferiority complex - Feelings of inferiority - Develops from early childhood experiences of helplessness and incompetence - Can lead to overcompensation Carl Jung’s analytical psychology - Personal unconscious- From individual experiences (similar to freud) - Collective unconscious- collection of universal memories and archetypes shared by all people - Archetypes- collective, universal images and patterns that have symbolic meaning for all people Karen Horney’s blended psychology - Personality is shaped by the child’s relationship with his/her parents Basic anxiety - Feelings of helplessness and insecurity that adults experience because of their isolated and hostile environment as a child Methods of seeking security - Move toward people - Move away from people - Move against people

Evaluating psychoanalytic/psychodynamic theories ● Major criticisms of freud’s psychoanalytic theories - Inadequate empirical support- many psychoanalytic concepts cannot be empirically tested - Overemphasis on sexuality, biology, and unconscious forces- modern psychologists believe Freud underestimated the role of learning and culture in shaping personality - Sexism- many psychologists, beginning with Karen Horney, reject Freud’s theories as derogatory toward women Influences on Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic theories ● Enduring influences - Emphasis on the unconscious and its influence on behavior - Conflict among the id, ego, and superego and the resulting defense mechanisms - Encouraged open talk about sex in victorian times - Development of psychoanalysis, an influential form of therapy - Sheer magnitude of Freudian theory Humanistic theories ● Personality and behavior on how we perceive and interpret the world ● People are naturally good ● Self-actualization- inborn drive to realize one’s full potential and develop their talents and abilities

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Two major early theorists - Rogers - Maslow

Rogers’s theory ● Self concept- the image of oneself that develops from interactions with significant others and life experiences ● Unconditional positive regard love and acceptance with no contingencies attached - Important for healthy and full development - Behavior and value of a person are seperate Maslow’s hierarchy of needs ● Psychological needs: hunger, thirst, and maintenance of homeostasis ● Safety needs: to feel secure and safe, to seek pleasure and avoid pain ● Belonging and love needs: to affiliate with others, be accepted, and give and receive attention ● Esteem needs: to achieve, be competent, gain approval, and excel ● Self actualization needs: to find self-fulfillment and realize one’s potential Evaluating humanistic theories Three major criticisms ● Naive assumptions- unrealistic view; may contribute to narcissism ● Poor testability and inadequate evidence- concepts are difficult to operationally define and empirically test ● Narrowness-describe personality rather than explain it Early Trait theorists ● Allport, Cattell and eysenck ● Trait- relatively stable personal characteristic that can be used to describe a pattern of thinking, feeling and acting ● Factor analysis- statistical procedure for determining the most basic units or factors in a large array of data; used by cattell and eysenck Five basic personality traits ● Trait theory of personality that includes - Openness - Conscientiousness - Extraversion - Agreeableness - Neuroticism Evaluating trait theories ● Three major criticisms

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Lack of explanation Stability versus change- unsure which characteristics are more stable or are likely to change Ignoring situational effects- how the person and situation influence one another

Bandura’s approach ● Combines cognition and observation ● Self-efficacy - A person’s learned expectation of success; affects choices and efforts in reaching goals ● Reciprocal determinism - Cognitions, behaviors, and the environment interact to produce personality Reciprocal determinism ● Personality - Person (thoughts, feelings, expectations, personality traits) - Environment (social or physical effects, rewards, punishment) - Behavior (type, intensity, frequency) Rotter’s approach ● personality/behavior is determined by - Cognitive expectancies - Reinforcement value of outcomes ● Internal locus of control - Own efforts exert primary control - Higher achievement - Better mental health ● External locus of control - Environment and external forces have primary control Evaluating Social-Cognitive theories ● strengths - Emphasizes person-situation interaction - Construction allows empirical testing ● criticisms - Ignores the unconscious - Ignores environmental and emotional aspects of personality Biological contributors ● Brain structures - Damage to the brain can affect personality ● Neurochemistry - Neurotransmitter levels have been correlated with personality traits

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Genetics - Behavioral genetics finds some correlations with some personality traits

Multiple personality influences ● 40-50% genetic factors ● 27% nonshared environmental factors ● 7% shared environmental factors ● 16-26% unknown factors Personality assessment ● Today’s methods based on scientific research ● Used by helping professionals, such as clinical and counseling psychologists and psychiatrists, for diagnosis and assessing treatment outcomes ● Often use multiple measures Methods of measuring personality ● interviews - Structured and unstructured ● observations - Look for specific behaviors and interactions ● Objective tests - Standardized questionnaires (MMPI) ● Projective techniques - Use ambiguous stimuli, such as inkblots or drawings, which allow the test taker to project his or her unconscious onto the test material (Rorschach inkblot test, thematic apperception test) Are personality assessments accurate? ● Interviews and observations - Time consuming, expensive - Subjective - Involve unnatural settings ● Objective tests - Deliberate deception and social desirability bias - Diagnostic difficulties - Possible cultural bias and inappropriate use Evaluating personality assessment ● Projective tests - Time-consuming - Less likely to fake responses - Unstructured; may allow reluctant topics to come up - Subjective

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Low in reliability and validity

Fallacies and Pseudo-Personality tests ● Barnum effect - Readily accept ambiguous, broad statements that fit just about anyone ● Confirmation bias - Tend to notice and remember events that confirm our expectations and ignore those that don’t ● Self-serving bias - Prefer information that maintains our positive self-image...