Personality Chapter 10 Modules 31, 32, & 33 Shaldup Paljor Justin Pierce Caitlin Nasella testing-improvement-working-bstn236_low.jpg

Module 31 Psychodynamic Approaches to Personality

Personality Psychoanalytic theory is the concept that unconscious forces act as determinates of personality. Sigmund Freud began to look at the conscious vs. the unconscious mind and how they worked in sync to create the foundation of personality. He developed psychoanalytic theory by putting together a comprehensive breakdown of the structure of personality while exploring the developmental stages and defense mechanisms associated with the formation and change of psyche.

Structuring Personality Three separate, but interacting, pieces of the model foster the creation of what we know to be personality: Id: Raw, unorganized, inborn part of personality whose sole purpose is to reduce tension created by primitive drives related to hunger, sex, aggression, and irrational impulses. Ego: The part of the personality that provides a buffer between the id and the outside world. Superego: The personality structure that harshly judges the morality of our behavior

Psychosexual Stages Psychosexual stages are developmental periods that children pass through during which they encounter conflicts between the demands of society and their own sexual urges: According to Freud, if one finds himself with unresolved trauma while in a psychosexual stage one may find himself in fixation. Fixations are conflicts that persist beyond the developmental period in which they first occur.

Defense Mechanisms In Freudian theory, unconscious strategies that people use to reduce anxiety by distorting reality and concealing the source of the anxiety from themselves.

Module 32 Trait, Learning, Biological and Evolutionary, and Humanistic Approaches to Personality

Trait Approaches ➔ Trait Theory is “a model of personality that seeks to identify the basic traits necessary to describe personality” ➔ Traits are characteristics and behaviors of someone’s personality that remain consistent throughout different situations. ➔ Traits are expressed in varying degrees. ➔ Pros: straightforward approach to understanding behaviors ➔ Cons: many different theories and conclusions exist; only applies a label to behaviors

Allport’s Theory Gordon Allport came up with three categories of traits: ➔ Cardinal ◆ Single, overwhelming trait ◆ Not common ➔ Central ◆ 5-10 major characteristics ➔ Secondary ◆ Less influential traits that a person sometimes exhibits

Cattell and Eysenck: Factor Analysis ➔ Raymond Cattell used factor analysis (identifying trends in data sets) to determine 16 pairs of source traits. ◆ Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF) ◆ Basic dimensions of personality ➔ Hans Eysenck also used factor analysis, came up with very different results. ◆ Three major dimensions: ●Extraversion - sociability ●Neuroticism - stability ●Psychoticism - distortion of reality ➔ Fairly accurate way to predict behavior

The Big Five ➔ Most influential theory of recent years ➔ These five traits lie at the center of a person’s personality ◆ Openness to experience ◆ Conscientiousness ◆ Extraversion ◆ Agreeableness ◆ Neuroticism (emotional stability) ➔ Supported by factor analysis ➔ Seen across populations ➔ Evidence seen in studies of brain function

Learning Approaches ➔ “Outer person” ➔ Personality is a result of learned responses to a person’s environment. ➔ To understand personality, one must look to environment. ➔ Pros: objective and scientific study (observable behaviors); led to successful treatments to disorders ➔ Cons: oversimplified; behavior is a result of forces out of one’s control ak0.pinimg.com/236x/d1/9c/d5/d19cd58134d8f13f 6dc72990bc0f17d3.jpg

Skinner ➔ Humans can be changed through learning new behaviors ◆ Behaviors are not stable, can change ➔ Less interested in consistencies of behavior, more interested in ways to modify ◆ Optimistic view of resolving problems ➔ Personality is a collection of learned behaviors. ➔ Critique: oversimplifying behavior to stimuli and response Social Cognitive Approaches to Personality ➔ Albert Bandura ➔ Consider the “inner person” ➔ Cognitions and observed behavior of others influences personality ◆ Ex. Children observing adult behavior: the children’s behaviors are influenced by the adults’ behaviors and the resulting consequences, if any ➔ Reciprocity: environment affect personality, while behaviors affect the environment ➔ Walter Mischel: personality is more variable, less consistent ◆ Different environments influence different behaviors ◆ Importance of situationism (context) ◆ Personality as a product of prior experience

Self-Efficacy ➔ Belief in ability to carry out a task ➔ Belief in one’s own capabilities. ➔ This confidence (or lack thereof) affects behaviors and personality ➔ Belief in and feelings of one’s self. ➔ Can vary (confidence in some things, lack of confidence in others) ➔ Cultural influence ➔ Again, these varying levels of confidence affect behavior and personality Self-Esteem

Biological and Evolutionary Approaches ➔ Inheritance of components of personality ➔ At least partially determined by genes ➔ “Survival” behaviors most likely to be passed on ➔ Twin studies ◆ Major similarities ◆ Certain traits were heavily influenced by genetics ➔ Temperament: seen in infants; things like activity level and mood ◆ Consistent into adulthood uploads/135012/dropbox/ /ear0717l[1].jpg

Biological and Evolutionary Approaches ➔ Some research points to certain genes influencing personality ◆ Larger dopamine-4 receptor = thrill-seeking ➔ Do genes create your destiny? No. ➔ Genes interact with environment ◆ Cannot totally separate nature from nurture ◆ Behaviors (think smiling!) influence the environment ➔ No widely accepted comprehensive theories regarding biological and evolutionary factors

Humanistic Approaches ➔ Focus on inherent goodness and desire to move towards higher levels of functioning ◆ Self-motivated drive ➔ Carl Rogers ◆ Self-actualization ◆ Need for love and respect, to be positively regarded by others ◆ Possibility for discrepancies between experience and self-concept - requires unconditional positive regard ➔ There exists a good deal of criticism of this approach ◆ Assuming people are inherently good ◆ Difficult to verify ◆ Does unconditional positive regard actually help make people better?

There is no “best” approach to viewing personality, rather we can consider the many different perspectives.

Module 33 Assessing Personality: Determining What Makes Us Distinctive

Intro Personality can be assessed through various methods. Psychologists use psychological tests, which are standard measures that assess behavior objectively. To assess your own personality, you could conduct a self-report measure. Another method is the projective method, and lastly a behavioral assessment.

Psychological Tests Psychological Tests: standard measures that assess behavior objectively Reliability: a test’s measurement consistency Validity: when tests actually measure what they are designed to measure Norms: standards of test performances that permit the comparison of one person’s score on a test with the scores of others who have taken the same test

Self-report Measures Self-report Measures: People answer questions about themselves to determine personality characteristics They ask people about a relatively small sample of their behavior which is then used to infer the presence of particular personality characteristics. Ex.: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) which uses the process of test standardization

Projective Methods: People are shown an ambiguous stimulus and asked to describe it or tell a story about it. The responses are considered to be “projections” of the individual’s personality. Ex.: -the Rorschach Test -the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Projective Methods

Behavioral Assessment Behavioral Assessment: Measures of a person’s behavior designed to describe characteristics indicative of personality This assessment can be conducted naturalistically by observing people in their own settings. An effort is made to ensure that behavioral assessment is carried out objectively and quantifies behavior as much as possible. Ex.: An observer records the number of social contacts a person initiates, the number of questions asked, etc.

Personality can be assessed in various ways, through primary methods; psychological tests, self-report measures, projective methods and behavioral assessment

Sources Hambleton, 2006; Miller, McIntire, & Lovler, 2011 Scheier, M.F., Carver, C.S., Bridges, M.W. 1994, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Butcher, 2005; Stein & Graham, 2005; Bacchiochi, 2006 Alloy, Jacobson, & Acocella, 1999 Weiner, 2004b; Silverstein, 2007 Weiner, 2004a; Langan-Fox & Grant, 2006 Garb et al., 2005; Society for Personality Assessment, 2005; Campos, 2011 Ramsay, Reynolds, & Kamphaus, 2002; Gladwell, 2004; Miller & Leffard, 2007 Feldman, Robert S., and Robert S. Feldman. Essentials of Understanding Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill, Print.