Original Notes for Unit 10 Part 1 *some links may no longer be valid as this was made in the summer and will be updated and condensed for class

Unit 10: Personality This unit encompasses 5-7% of the AP Exam you will ace next May…that means 5-7 questions will be on this topic. Therefore, we can only spend 6% of our time on it (that’s not even 3 days…good grief!). Good news: it’s less than 40 pages of your book. Personality in 40 pages… How is THAT possible?

Personality An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. Each dwarf has a distinct personality.

Psychoanalytic Perspective

Exploring the Unconscious Parts of the mind –Conscious –Preconscious –UnconsciousUnconscious Free association Psychoanalysis Repression

Exploring the Unconscious Personality Structure Personality structure –IdId Pleasure principle –EgoEgo Reality principle Functions as the “executive” and mediates the demands of the id and superego. –SuperegoSuperego Conscience

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 ( ) 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 ( ) Culver Pictures

Exploring the Unconscious Personality Development Psychosexual stages –Oral –Anal –Phallic –Latency –Genital

Exploring the Unconscious Psychosexual Stages

BREAK: Activity

Exploring the Unconscious Personality Development Erogenous zones –Pleasure sensitive areas of the body Oedipus complex Electra complex Identification –With “rival” parent Fixation –Conflict from unresolved energy from an earlier stage of development

Exploring the Unconscious Defense Mechanisms Defense mechanisms –RepressionRepression banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness. Underlies all other defense mechanisms –RegressionRegression Retreating to earlier stage of development –Reaction formationReaction formation Ego unconsciously changes unacceptable impulses to look like their opposite –Low self esteem becomes bragging

–ProjectionProjection Seeing in others your own short comings –RationalizationRationalization Justifications to hide real reasons for actions –DisplacementDisplacement Sends aggressive actions toward a more acceptable person / thing than the actual target –SublimationSublimation Unacceptable impulses become socially acceptable motivations –DenialDenial Rejecting or diminishing seriousness of something Which one is this?

The Neo-Freudian Theorists Neo-Freudians –Adler’s inferiority complex From parental attention –Horney’s sense of helplessness Social influences –Jung’s collective unconsciouscollective unconscious Psychodynamic theory –Assumes that much of our mental life is unconscious –Childhood has a huge impact on our personality and attachment to others Neo Freudians disagreed with Freud in 2 ways: Social interactions replaced sexual motivation and the conscious mind had more influence

Assessing Unconscious Processes Projective Test –Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)Thematic Apperception Test View ambiguous picture and make up a story about it –Rorschach Inkblot TestRorschach Inkblot Test View inkblot and report what is seen

Most Popular Responses: Bat (53%), Butterfly (39%) When seeing card I, subjects often inquire on how they should proceed, and questions on what they are allowed to do with the card (e.g. turning it) are not very significant. Being the first card, it can provide clues about how subjects tackle a new and stressful task. It is not, however, a card that is usually difficult for the subject to handle, having readily available popular responses. Card 1:

Card 3: Most Popular Response: Two Humans Card III is typically perceived to contain two humans involved in some interaction, and may provide information about how the subject relates with other people (specifically, response latency may reveal struggling social interactions).

Card 4: Most Popular Responses: Animal hide, skin, rug Card IV is notable for its dark color and its shading (posing difficulties for depressed subjects), and is generally perceived as a big and sometimes threatening figure; compounded with the common impression of the subject being in an inferior position ("looking up") to it, this serves to elicit a sense of authority. The human or animal content seen in the card is almost invariably classified as male rather than female, and the qualities expressed by the subject may indicate attitudes toward men and authority.

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective Contradictory Evidence –Modern technology –False memories –Different times Is repression a myth? The modern unconscious mind –Terror management theory examines emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of deathTerror management theory Freud’s ideas as scientific theory

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective Crash Course:

The Humanistic Perspective By the 1960s, psychologists became discontent with Freud’s negativity and the mechanistic psychology of the behaviorists

Abraham Maslow’s Self-Actualizing Person Abraham Maslow –Self-actualizationSelf-actualization Fulfilling potential –Self-transcendence Finding meaning, purpose and communion beyond oneself –Peak experiences Beyond an ordinary conscious experience- some consider it spiritual

Self-Actualizing Person (17 min) Maslow 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 (Note the reclined position below). Ted Polumbaum/ Time Pix/ Getty Images

Carl Roger’s Person-Centered Perspective Carl Rogers –Growth promoting climate Genuineness Acceptance Empathy –Unconditional positive regardUnconditional positive regard –Self-conceptSelf-concept All the response and feelings that accompany the answer to “Who are you?”

Assessing the Self Self-report tests –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. –The closer the ideal self is to the actual self, the more positive the self-concept.

Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective Humanistic psychology has had 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. Criticisms Vague and subjective Individualistic and Western biased Naïve and rose colored glasses

Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective Activity: Discuss FRQ!!!

The Trait Perspective Day 2 Examples of traits: Honest Dependable Moody Impulsive An individual’s unique constellation of durable dispositions and consistent ways of behaving (traits) constitutes his or her personality.

Traits Trait –Describing rather than explaining –What traits would you ascribe to Jon Stewart? –Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Let’s take it! LAB –

Exploring Traits Factor Analysis Factor analysis –Eysenck and Eysenck (Hans and Sybil) Extroversion versus introversion Emotional stability versus instability Eysenck Personality Questionnaire –If interested: – –

Exploring Traits Factor Analysis

Exploring Traits Biology and Personality Brain scans –Do extraverts seek stimulation because their brain arousal is relatively low as studies suggest? –Extraverts tend to have higher levels of dopamine and dopamine-related neural activity…is this natural or is it caused by nurturing? Genetics –Is shyness or fearlessness attributed to autonomic nervous system reactivity? –I repeat: Is this natural or is it caused by nurturing?

Assessing Traits: Personality Inventories Have you taken one? They are empirically derived…which means? Objective test –Even a computer can score it –For fun –Lie scale –Scores faking…how? –If interested, you could try OR Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) – BREAK ACTIVITY