Personality Types

Personality … …(Lat. persona= mask) is a socially developed person, possessing a relatively stable system of socially significant personal features and performing corresponding social roles.

Personality Types - Carl Jung In 1921, Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung proposed that people come in eight different psychological "flavors", depending on which of four mental "functions“. Jung's four functions include two "perceptive" functions and two "judgmental" functions.

Carl Gustav Jung Jung developed a personality typology that has become so popular that some people don't realize he did anything else!

Jungian typology

Personality Types - Myers and Briggs Building on the writings and observations of Carl Jung, in 1958, psychologist Isabel Myers and her mother Katherine Briggs wrote a landmark paper titled "Myers-Briggs Type Indicator" (MBTI for short).

"Myers-Briggs Type Indicator" two choices for orientation, introvert (I) or extravert (E); two choices for method of information intake, sensing (S) or intuition (N); two choices for method of judgment, thinking (T) or feeling (F); two choices as to which function is used in the outer world, judgment (J) or perception (P). Hence there are 2x2x2x2=16 different MBTI personality types

Personality Types - Carl Jung Extraverted Thinker Extraverted Feeler Extraverted Sensor Extraverted Intuitor Introverted Thinker Introverted Feeler Introverted Sensor Introverted Intuitor

Personality types theories Traits theories Psychodynamic theories Behavioral theories Social learning theories Humanistic theories

Allport's Trait Theory In 1936 Gordon Allport hypothesized that: “Those individual differences that are most salient and socially relevant in people’s lives will eventually become encoded into their language; the more important such a difference, the more likely is it to become expressed as a single word.” This statement has become known as the Lexical Hypothesis.

Allport's Trait Theory 1. Cardinal trait 2. Central trait 3. Secondary trait

16PF Questionnaire The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (or 16PF), is a multiple-choice personality questionnaire which was developed by Raymond B. Cattell and his colleagues.

Cattell's 16PF Warmth (A) Reasoning (B) Emotional Stability (C) Dominance (E) Liveliness (F) Rule-consciousness (G) Social Boldness (H) Sensitivity (I) Vigilance (L) Abstractedness (M) Privateness (N) Apprehension/Appreh ensiveness (O) Openness to change (Q1) Self-reliance (Q2) Perfectionism (Q3) Tension (Q4)

"Five Factor Model" The Big five factors are: Openness Conscientiousness Extroversion Agreeableness Neuroticism

Openness … … is a general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience.

Sample Openness items I have a rich vocabulary. I have a vivid imagination. I have excellent ideas. I spend time reflecting on things. I use difficult words. I am not interested in abstractions. I do not have a good imagination. I have difficulty understanding abstract ideas.

Conscientiousness … … is a tendency to show self- discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement.

Sample Conscientiousness items I am always prepared. I am exacting in my work. I follow a schedule. I get chores done right away. I like order. I pay attention to details. I leave my belongings around. I make a mess of things. I often forget to put things back in their proper place. I shirk my duties.

Extroversion … … is characterized by positive emotions, surgency, and the tendency to seek out stimulation and the company of others.

Sample Extroversion items I am the life of the party. I don't mind being the center of attention. I feel comfortable around people. I start conversations. I talk to a lot of different people at parties. I am quiet around strangers. I don't like to draw attention to myself. I don't talk a lot. I have little to say.

Agreeableness … … is a tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others.

Sample Agreeableness items I am interested in people. I feel others’ emotions. I have a soft heart. I make people feel at ease. I sympathize with others’ feelings. I take time out for others. I am not interested in other people’s problems. I am not really interested in others. I feel little concern for others. I insult people. I like being isolated.

Neuroticism … …is the tendency to experience negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety, or depression. It is sometimes called emotional instability.

Sample Neuroticism items I am easily disturbed. I change my mood a lot. I get irritated easily. I get stressed out easily. I get upset easily. I have frequent mood swings. I often feel blue. I worry about things I am relaxed most of the time. I seldom feel blue.

Heritability All five factors show an influence from both heredity and environment. An analysis of the available studies found overall heritabilities for the Big Five traits as follows: Openness: 57% Extroversion: 54% Conscientiousness: 49% Neuroticism: 48% Agreeableness: 42%

Psychoanalytic Theory Sigmund Freud explained human behavior in terms of interaction between the various components of personality.

The id, the ego, and the superego

The defense mechanisms Denial involves blocking external events from awareness. Anna Freud also mentions denial in fantasy: This is when children, in their imaginations, transform an "evil" father into a loving teddy bear, or a helpless child into a powerful superhero.

The defense mechanisms Repression, which Anna Freud also called "motivated forgetting," is just that: not being able to recall a threatening situation, person, or event.

The defense mechanisms Asceticism, or the renunciation of needs Anna Freud also discusses a milder version of this called restriction of ego

The defense mechanisms Isolation (sometimes called intellectualization) involves stripping the emotion from a difficult memory or threatening impulse.

The defense mechanisms Displacement is the redirection of an impulse onto a substitute target

The defense mechanisms Turning against the self is a very special form of displacement, where the person becomes their own substitute target.

The defense mechanisms Projection, which Anna Freud also called displacement outward, is almost the complete opposite of turning against the self.

The defense mechanisms Altruistic surrender is a form of projection that at first glance looks like its opposite: Here, the person attempts to fulfill his or her own needs vicariously, through other people.

The defense mechanisms Reaction formation, which Anna Freud called "believing the opposite," is changing an unacceptable impulse into its opposite.

The defense mechanisms Undoing involves "magical" gestures or rituals that are meant to cancel out unpleasant thoughts or feelings after they've already occurred.

The defense mechanisms Introjection, sometimes called identification, involves taking into your own personality characteristics of someone else, because doing so solves some emotional difficulty.

The defense mechanisms Identification with the aggressor is a version of introjection that focuses on the adoption, not of general or positive traits, but of negative or feared traits.

The defense mechanisms Regression is a movement back in psychological time when one is faced with stress.

The defense mechanisms Rationalization is the cognitive distortion of "the facts" to make an event or an impulse less threatening.

The defense mechanisms Sublimation is the transforming of an unacceptable impulse, whether it be sex, anger, fear, or whatever, into a socially acceptable, even productive form.

Behavioral theories Behaviorists explain personality in terms of reactions to external stimuli. This school was initiated by B.F.Skinner. According to these theories, people's behavior is formed by processes such as operant conditioning.

Social learning theories Albert Bandura, a social learning theorist suggested that the forces of memory and emotions worked in conjunction with environmental influences. Our habits, behaviors, and cognitions influence how we respond to others and to situations.

Self-efficacy … … is acquired through four factors: having experiences in mastering new skills and overcoming obstacles having successful and competent role models in one's life receiving feedback and encouragement from others self awareness and management of one's inner state (thoughts and emotions).

“Locus of control" … … is the degree to which people believe they have control over their lives.

Humanistic theories Humanistic psychology focuses on subjective experiences of persons instead of factors that determine behavior. This approach explores human potential and the strengths of the human being.

ABRAHAM MASLOW Maslow created hierarchy of needs. This approach dwells on the unique human capacity to shape one's own future through freedom of choice and free will.

Hierarchy of Needs

Self-actualizers Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Adams, William James, Albert Schweitzer, Benedict Spinoza, Alduous Huxley, plus 12 unnamed people who were alive at the time Maslow did his research.

Characteristics of Self-actualizers reality-centered and problem-centered different perception of means and ends enjoy solitude enjoy deeper personal relations with a few close friends and family members unhostile sense of humor acceptance of self and others spontaneity and simplicity humility and respect towards others strong ethics, etc

Personality tests … … aim to assess aspects of a person's character that remain stable across a variety of situations.