Theories of Personality & Filipino Personality Summary PDF

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THEORIES OF PERSONALITY Personality: derived from the Latin word (theatrical mask worn Roman actors in Greek pattern of relatively permanent traits unique characteristics that give both consistency individuality to a behavior Traits: contribute to individual differences in behavior, consistency of b...

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THEORIES OF PERSONALITY Personality: derived from the Latin word “persona” (theatrical mask worn by Roman actors in Greek drama); pattern of relatively permanent traits & unique characteristics that give both consistency & individuality to a person’s behavior Traits: contribute to individual differences in behavior, consistency of behavior over time, & stability of behavior across situations Characteristics: unique qualities of an individual that include such attributes as temperament, physique, & intelligence Behavior: any action/response to internal & external stimuli Theory: a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses Philosophy Theory is related to, & is a narrower concept than, philosophy Speculation Theories rely on speculation, but are much more than mere armchair speculation Hypothesis Theory is a broader term than hypothesis Taxonomy: mere classification doesn’t constitute a theory. can evolve into theories when they begin to generate testable hypotheses & explain research findings. Psychology of science empirical study of the personal traits of scientists (theorists); studies both science & the behavior of scientists; investigates the impact of a scientist’s psychological processes & personal characteristics on the dev’t of her/his scientific theories & research. Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity people’s behaviors are determined by forces over w/c they have no Determinism control vs. Free choice people choose to be what they wish to be people doomed to live miserable, conflicted, & troubled lives Pessimism people grow into psychologically healthy, happy, fully functioning vs. Optimism human beings behavior is a function of past experiences Causality vs. Teleology explanation of behavior in terms of future goals or purposes people are ordinarily aware of what they are doing & why they are Conscious doing it vs. Unconscious people act w/out awareness of underlying forces Biological vs. personal characteristics are result of heredity (Nature) Social personal characteristics are environmentally determined (Nurture) Influences Uniqueness focus on the individuality of the person vs. Similarities focus on the common characteristics of people Approaches of Personality Theories PSYCHODYNAMIC: behaviors are influenced by unconscious processes; assumed that childhood experiences shape our personality later in life. BEHAVIORAL/SOCIAL LEARNING: behaviors - influenced by rewards, punishments, & models through imitation; we act the way we do bec. of our environment, not bec. of our personal choice/direction. HUMANISTIC: people have the power to determine our own destiny & to decide our actions at almost any given moment; free will; behavior is response to the frustration of some basic needs. TRAIT APPROACH: identify types/categories of traits that describe a large no. of people w/c can be used to predict behavior; assumes that all people fit into one of the categories – people w/in a category are alike, & that the behavior of people in one type is distinct from that of people in the other categories. COGNITIVE APPROACH: diff. in personality as diff. in the way people process info. - the way they perceive the world & in the way they organize & utilize this information.

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES SIGMUND FREUD - PSYCHOANALYSIS I. PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY People are motivated primarily by drives of w/c they have little/no awareness. These drives include SEX & AGGRESSION (twin cornerstones of psychoanalysis). Nothing happened simply by chance – not even an accident. Psychoanalytic theory also place big emphasis on the influence of childhood experiences to the personality of man. II. SIGMUND FREUD: - worked w/ JOSEPH BREUER who developed a new method of treating HYSTERIA (disorder w/ a wide variety of symptoms e.g., paralysis, loss of sensation, disturbance of speech & sight) called CATHARSIS (symptoms of patients would disappear temporarily/permanently by encouraging them to express their feelings &

emotions); discovered TRANSFERENCE (patient responds to the therapy thinking as if he/she was an important person in the doctor’s life) &, COUNTER TRANSFERENCE (analyst forms an emotional attachment to the patient w/c can bring failure in treatment) - studied under JEAN CHARCOT: French psychiatrist who uses HYPNOSIS (induction of a state of consciousness in w/c a person apparently loses the power of voluntary action & is highly responsive to suggestion/direction) to treat hysteria - developed the technique FREE ASSOCIATION w/c he called the “the fundamental rule of psychoanalysis”: patients were encouraged to speak freely & to report whatever their thoughts were, regardless of the apparent relationship/lack of relationship to their symptoms. III. CONTRIBUTIONS TO PERSONALITY THEORY A. Levels of Mental Life/Parts of the Mind - division of the human mind into three parts. 1. CONSCIOUS: mental elements in awareness at any time; only lvl. of mental life directly available to us; changing constantly as new thoughts enter your mind & others pass out of awareness. 2. PRECONSCIOUS: contains all those elements that are not conscious but can become conscious either quite readily or w/ some difficulty. 3. UNCONSCIOUS: contains all those drives/urges/instincts that are beyond our awareness but that nevertheless motivate most of our words, feelings, & actions. B. Provinces of the Mind/ Structures of the Personality - personality consists of three interacting forces: 1. ID: concerned only w/ satisfying personal desires, regardless of physical/social limitations that might prevent us from getting whatever we want; actions are based on the pleasure principle; At birth, id is the only part of the human personality; uses wish fulfillment to satisfy its needs: If a baby is hungry & doesn’t see food nearby, the id imagines the food & thereby at least temporarily satisfies the need 2. EGO: primary job is to mediate/balance the demands of the Id & the outer forces of reality; important to emphasize that the ego’s job is not to frustrate the aims of the id; develops during the first two yrs of life as the child interacts w/ his/her environment 3. SUPEREGO: moral arm of the personality; represents society’s-, esp. the parents’, -values & standards; place more restrictions on what an individual can & can’t do; formed when a child reach the age of 5 & develops from the internalized patterns of reward & punishment received from the parents a. Conscience: punitive aspect of the superego; violation of the conscience makes the person feel guilty or ashamed. b. Ego-ideal: positive aspect of the superego; comprising the standards of perfection taught to the child by the parents; determine if a behavior is virtuous & therefore worthy of praise C. Dynamics of Personality Dynamic/motivational principle explain the driving forces behind people’s actions; People are motivated to seek pleasure & to reduce tension & anxiety DRIVES, German word Trieb, a stimulus w/in the person; operates as a constant motivational force; includes sex drive (libido) & aggression drive i. Instincts have FOUR BASIC CHARACTERISTICS: 1. a source in some bodily deficit; 2. an aim gratification of the need; 3. an impetus that propels the person to act; 4. an object through w/c the instinct achieves its aim. ii. KINDS OF INSTINCTS 1. SEX (EROS): pleasure aim; isn’t limited to genital satisfaction; entire body’s invested w/ libido; can take many forms: a. Narcissism: manifested during where infants are primarily self-centered - libido invested almost exclusively on their own ego b. Love: develops when people invest their libido on an object/person other than themselves c. Sadism: the need for sexual pleasure by inflicting pain/humiliation on another person d. Masochism: need for sexual pleasure from suffering pain/humiliation made either by themselves/others ** The latter two also possess generous components of the aggressive drive. 2. AGGRESSION (THANATOS): destructive drive; to return the organism to an inorganic state; ultimate inorganic condition is death, thus, the final aim is self-destruction; flexible & can take a no. of forms, e.g., teasing, gossip, sarcasm, humiliation, humor, & enjoyment of other people’s suffering; present in everyone & is the explanation for wars, violence, & religious persecution

D. Concept of Anxiety a felt, affective, unpleasant state accompanied by a physical sensation warning the person against impending danger; unpleasantness is often vague & hard to pinpoint, but anxiety itself is always felt i. Three Kinds of Anxiety 1. NEUROTIC ANXIETY: apprehension about an unknown danger; may experience in the presence of a teacher/employer/some other authority figure bec. they previously experienced unconscious feelings of destruction against one/both parents. 2. MORAL ANXIETY: stems from the conflict b/w the ego & superego; After children establish a superego (usu. by age of 5/6), they may experience anxiety as an outgrowth of the conflict b/w realistic needs & the dictates of their superego. For ex., a failure to behave consistently w/ what they regard as morally right like failing to care for aging parents. 3. REALISTIC ANXIETY: defined as an unpleasant, nonspecific feeling involving a possible danger; closely related to fear. E. Defense Mechanisms The ego deal w/ (to reduce/avoid) anxiety-provoking material w/ many diff. techniques, known collectively as defense mechanisms, w/c can be used to deal w/ unwanted thoughts & desires. The principal defense mechanisms are: 1. REPRESSION: “cornerstone on w/c the whole structure of psychoanalysis rests”; active effort by the ego to push unwanted material out of consciousness or keep such material from reaching consciousness; wishes can find unconscious outlet is through one’s dreams/unconscious expressive gestures 2. SUBLIMATION: channeling/substituting of negative id impulses into socially acceptable actions – artistic, scientific, social work, religious activities etc.; a truly successful defense mechanism, the more we use it, the more productive we become. 3. DISPLACEMENT: channeling/substituting our impulses from an original target to another person/obj.; many of our apparently irrational fears (phobias), are merely symbolic displacements 4. DENIAL: insisting that something isn’t true, despite all evidence to the contrary; extreme form of defense; the more we use it, the less we’re in touch w/ reality, & the less likely we’re able to function fully. 5. REACTION FORMATION: concealing a motive by giving strong expression to the opposite 6. PROJECTION: attributing an unconscious impulse to other people instead of to oneself 7. RATIONALIZATION: justifying one’s conduct by offering socially acceptable reasons in place of real reasons; excuses are made up to hide/disguise the true motive; may take two forms: a. SOUR GRAPE: pretending to dislike what one really likes (taken from Aesop fable) b. SWEET-LEMON: pretending to like what one really dislikes 8. COMPENSATION: process of engaging in substitutive behavior in order to cover up/make up social/physical frustration or a lack of ability in a certain area of personality; covers the anxiety by focusing attention on other forms of behavior 9. REGRESSION: turns to an earlier stage of dev’t. when he/she experience stress; way of alleviating anxiety by w/drawing from realistic thinking into behaviors that have, in earlier yrs., reduced anxiety 10. INTROJECTION: incorporate positive qualities of another into their own ego; a normal part of growing up in children, but in adults w/ established life patterns, this is a cover up for unexpressed motives. 11. UNDOING: “cancel out”/“make-up” for a bad act by doing good F. Stages of Psychosexual Dev’t “The child is the father of man” – personality was due to our childhood experiences. Every child goes through a sequence of dev’tal. stages & that the child’s experiences during these stages determine adult personality characteristics. Each stage has an EROGENOUS ZONE (the part or area of one’s body that will satisfy the activity). The child must not be overgratified/undergratified bec. it can lead to either FIXATION (arrest on the dev’t on w/c the person doesn’t progress normally from stage to stage but remains overly involved w/ a particular stage) or regression. STAGES OF PSYCHOSEXUAL DEV’T Age Erogeno Activities (Physical Personality characteristics/ range Stage expressions) Fixations (approx. us zone ) 1. Oral Oral personalities: Over-eating, -Sucking excessive drinking, biting pencils, Mouth Birth-2 yr. -Biting putting some objects to their -Licking mouth, too much talking 2. Anal 2-3 yrs Anus Toilet training Anal retentive personalities: Orderly, organize/tidy; vain, meticulous or perfectionist;

3. Phallic 3-6 yrs 4. Latency 5. Genital

Genital area

Sexual desire to opposite sex parent (Oedipus complex, Electra complex) Socialization

stinginess Anal expulsive personalities: Messy, untidy; disorganize; stubborn; generous Anal Triad: orderliness, stinginess, & obstinacy - Sexual deviances (overindulging & avoidance) - Confused/weak sexual identity

6-puberty PubertyGenital Sexual intercourse area onwards A. ORAL STAGE: 1st pre-genital stage of psychosexual dev’t; primary gratifications – mouth 1. Oral aggressive character: fixated because of under-indulgence during feeding; envious, manipulative of others, & suspicious 2. Oral receptive character: fixated because of overindulgence during feeding; gullible, admiration for others, & excessive dependence B. ANAL STAGE: 2nd pre-genital stage of psychosexual dev’t.; primary gratification – anal cavity 1. Anal character: child is locked in a power struggle for control w/ parents C. PHALLIC STAGE: 3rd pre-genital stage of psychosexual dev’t.; main gratifications – manipulation of the genitals 1. Phallic character: needs to prove continually his/her sexual adequacy later in life D. LATENCY STAGE: libidinal energy lies dormant & primary focus is on the dev’t. of interests & skills through contact w/ childhood peers & teachers. E. GENITAL STAGE: final stage of psychosexual dev’t.; an attempt is made to conduct a mature love relationship w/ a member of the opposite sex 1. Genital character: mature, healthy individual who is sexually developed & capable of relating to members of the other sex

IV. APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY 1. DREAM ANALYSIS: DREAMS - “royal road to the unconscious”; provide the id impulses w/ a stage for expression; a type of wish fulfillment (a representation of what the individual would like to have) **Dreams of patients suffering from traumatic experience follow the principle of REPETITION COMPULSION – repeatedly dream of frightening/traumatic experiences 2 Contents of Dream: a. Manifest Content: what the dreamer sees & remembers. b. Latent Content: meaning of the manifest content: unconscious interpretation of the said dream. 2. PROJECTIVE TEST: subj. is presented w/ ambiguous stimuli & asks the person to respond w/ a story, the identification of objs, or perhaps a drawing – there are no right/wrong ans.; responses are individual & indicative of something going on deep inside the mind, something the person may not be aware of 3. FREE ASSOCIATION: whatever comes into your mind; even if it isn’t expected & even if surprising/embarrassing; free-flowing ideas into awareness 4. FREUDIAN SLIPS (PARAPRAXES): commonly called slips of the tongue or pen, misreading, incorrect hearing, misplacing objects, & temporarily forgetting names or intentions that aren’t chance accidents but reveal a person’s unconscious intentions; may be loaded w/ underlying feelings 5. HYPNOSIS: provided proof for the existence of the unconscious 6. HUMOR: for a joke to be funny, it must contain anxiety provoking material. We laugh only at the things that bother us. According to Freud, if you want to know what has been repressed in a person’s mind, examine what he/she finds humorous. 7. SYMBOLIC BEHAVIOR: daily behaviors can be taken as symbolic gestures of unconscious thoughts ALFRED ADLER’S INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY I. INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY Each person is an integrated whole, striving to attain future goals & attempting to find meaning in life while working harmoniously w/ others. It presents an optimistic view of people while resting heavily on the notion of GEMEINSCHAFTSGEFÜHL/SOCIAL INTEREST (a feeling of oneness w/ all humankind). In the end, Adler’s position was almost the complete antithesis of Freud’s w/c emphasized that our behavior is largely determined by forces of w/c we are unaware. II. ADLER’S CONTRIBUTION TO PERSONALITY THEORY The following represents the final statement (tenets) of individual psychology.

1. One dynamic force behind people’s behavior is the striving for success or superiority. 2. People’s subjective perceptions shape their behavior & personality 3. Personality is unified & self-consistent 4. The value of all human activity must be seen from the viewpoint of social interest 5. The self-consistent personality structure develops into a person’s style of life 6. Style of life is molded by people’s creative power 1. STRIVING FOR SUCCESS/SUPERIORITY: sole dynamic force behind people's actions - unifies personality & makes all behavior meaningful; as Compensation because people are born w/ small, inferior bodies, they feel inferior & attempt to overcome these feelings through their natural tendency to move toward completion. Striving for Personal Superiority: Psychologically unhealthy individuals strive for personal superiority w/ little concern for other people; basic motivation is personal benefit. Striving for Success: psychologically healthy people strive for the success of all humanity, but they do so w/out losing their personal identity. 2. People's subjective view of the world shapes their behavior. a. FICTIONALISM: Fictions are people's expectations of the future; guide behavior, bec. people act as if these fictions are true. Adler emphasized TELEOLOGY (explanations of behavior in terms of future goals rather than past causes) b. PHYSICAL INFERIORITIES: all humans are "blessed" w/ physical inferiorities; stimulate subjective feelings of inferiority & move people toward perfection or completion. 3. Personality is unified & self-consistent. All behaviors are directed toward a single purpose. When seen in the light of that sole purpose, seemingly contradictory behaviors can be seen as operating in a self-consistent manner. a. ORGAN DIALECT: people often use a physical disorder to express style of life, also called organ jargon b. Conscious & Unconscious: unified & operate to achieve a single goal. The part of our goal that’s not clearly understood is unconscious; that part of our goal we fully comprehend is conscious. 4. The value of all human activity must be seen from the viewpoint of SOCIAL INTEREST (a feeling of oneness w/ all of humanity) *Social interest exists as potentiality in all people; must be fostered in a social environment *Social interest is "the sole criterion of human values," & the worthiness of all one's actions must be seen by this standard. W/out social interest, societies could not exist; individuals in antiquity could not have survived w/out cooperating w/ others to protect themselves from danger. Even today an infant's helplessness predisposes it toward a nurturing person. a. Three Major Tasks in Life to be able to Develop Social Interest: i. Occupational Tasks: thru constructive work, the person helps to advance society ii. Social Tasks: this requires cooperation w/ fellow humans (division of labor). iii. Love & Marriage Tasks: relationship b/w this tasks & the continuance of society is clear. b. Four Types of People according to their Degree of Social Interest: i. Ruling-Dominant Type: attempts to rule/dominate people ii. Getting-Learning Type: expects everything from others & gets everything he/she can from them iii. Avoiding Type: such a person avoids failure by never attempting anything iv. Socially Useful Type: confronts problems & attempts to solve them in a socially useful way **The first three types have faulty lifestyles bec. they lack proper social interest. Only the socially useful type can cope to live a rich, purposeful life. 5. The self-consistent personality structure develops into a person’s STYLE OF LI...