The Major Areas of Personality Theme and Variation on Topic 8. How the Parts Fit Together This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any image; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

The Lecture and the Book… Chapter 8: How the Parts Fit Together What is Personality Structure? How Are Personality Traits Structured? What Are Structural Models of Awareness? Are There More General Approaches to Structural Divisions? What Are the Structural Connections from Personality to the Environment? Lecture 8: The Major Areas of Personality Divisions of Personality Trait structures Divisions by Awareness Divisions by Processing Area

Personality Structure Considered Definition. Structure represents the relatively static, long term divisions of personality into areas according to specifiable rules. Divisions can be according to: Relatively stable, distinct functions (e.g., emotion functioning) Descriptive characteristics (e.g., awareness) Or other qualities (e.g., intercorrelations of traits) Contrast: Personality dynamics, which concern interactions among areas or parts

More than One Valid Map Is Possible… US: Geographical Contours US: National Capital

US: States’ Boundaries Different Maps; Different attributes… US: Time Zones US: States’ Boundaries

Without Maps, We’d Be Lost!

Structural Divisions Should… Be Comprehensive – cover much of personality Be Empirically Accurate – include proven areas Divide Well – create distinct areas Possess Utility – help with scientific research Keys to Good Structure

A Structural Model Highlighting Traits Big/Super traits: Traits made up of smaller, finer-grained traits Example: Neuroticism Mood swings Reactivity Anxiety

The Big Five Model Purpose: to organize all traits The lexical hypothesis: All important traits are to be found in the language Factor analyze trait words to discover important traits From 30,000 to 100 words… To Five Factors

The Big Five A wonderful model, but... Limited to 30 or so traits Traits based on lay perception rather than professional expertise Excluded: Verbal intelligence, internal-external locus-of-control, emotional intelligence, Machiavellianism, etc.

A Structural Model Highlighting Awareness Awareness models came first (i.e., Freud) Wrestle with what a person could reasonably know about him/herself Crucial to understand, in the context of answering “Who am I?”

The No-Access Unconscious Definition: Mental activities to which consciousness is simply not connected… Consider the neurons departing from the retina We have no idea how our visual system works (unless we take a course in it)! Its function is unconscious

No-Access Unconscious How many black dots do you count? (Version 1 of 2; better for some video environments)

No-Access Unconscious How many black dots do you count? (version 2 of 2; better for some video environments)

No-Access Unconscious Is the blue inside the cube or outside?

Unnoticed Unconscious Ken Bowers’ study on Unconscious influences Participants shown pairs of portraits and landscapes, and their customary preference was assessed (e.g., landscapes or portraits). Reinforced for choosing opposite type by smiles from experimenter

Unnoticed Unconscious Participants debriefed afterward Many claimed they were expressing their genuine preference throughout – were unaware of shift See the following example cited by Bowers…

Unnoticed Unconscious Exp: Did you pick the landscapes or portraits more often? Part: Landscapes. Exp: Did you notice whether I said anything during the course of the experiment? Part: You said "good" whenever I picked landscapes. Exp: Do you think your tendency to pick landscapes was influenced by my reinforcement of them? Part: Of course not! I picked the landscapes because I liked them better than the portraits. Besides, you only said "good" after I made my choice, so what you said couldn't possibly have influenced my selection of pictures.

The Dynamic Unconscious (Topological) Freud’s Topological Model Consciousness: internal “eye” or sense organ on the brain Preconcious: things which can become conscious Unconscious: matters one doesn’t know about

The Dynamic Unconscious (Topological) Freud’s Topological Model (Continued) Many human motives are unconscious Either: there is no access – as in the primary unconscious or, there is active repression – consciousness (or the ego) expels thoughts and feelings

The Dynamic Unconscious (Structural) Developmental Sequence Childhood (e.g., 5 years) Toddler-hood Infancy Note: Beginnings of Processing Model, i.e., Personality divided into areas of function

Structural Models Highlighting Processing Areas The most general of structural models They divide personality according to the processes they carry out They also organize traits According to which area of personality the trait describes (e.g., emotionality, cognition) Not according to correlational criteria

The Trilogy (Quaternity?) of Mind A. Motivation Emotion Cognition (Maybe…) Consciousness

Trilogy of Mind Cognition: Thoughts and reasoning about information Emotion: Feelings such as anger and happiness that communicate about relationships Motivation: Urges and desires that direct the individual

A Brain to Match? The Triune Brain MacLean Evolutionary Focus

A Brain to Match? Reptilian Brain Reproduction Territoriality Hunting for food Defense Thalamus Cerebellum Hypothalamus Amygdala Pons

A Brain to Match? Old Mammalian Brain Caregiving for the young Emotions Social Relationships Hippocampus Corpus Callosum Thalamus Cerebellum Hypothalamus Amygdala Pons

A Brain to Match? New Mammalian Brain Language Higher cognitive functions Hippocampus Corpus Collosem Cerebral Cortex Thalamus Cerebellum Hypothalamus Amygdala Pons

The Systems Set Executive Consciousness: Self awareness and self- control Energy Lattice: Motives and emotions Knowledge Works: Mental models and intelligence Role Player: Social roles and how to carry them out.

The full systems set diagram Are There More General Approaches to Structure? The full systems set diagram

A Structural Model Focused on Connecting Personality and Situations Mischel’s Cognitive-Affective Processing System Encodings – Categories into which people and the situation are divided Expectancies – Outcomes a person expects in a situation Affects – Emotions and related feelings in response to the above Goals – Desirable results the person hopes for Self-Regulatory Plans – What the person hopes to do, based on the above

~ End ~ Focus on Structure 8