Personality

Theories of Personality What is Personality? The relatively stable patterns of thinking, feeling and acting possessed by an individual Theories of Personality Psychoanalytic approach Focuses on role of the unconscious in the development of personality Trait Approach Focuses on characteristic behaviors and conscious motives Behavioral Approach Focuses on behaviorism and social learning Humanistic approach Focuses on self-awareness and the development of the “self” Sociocultural approach Focuses on the role of gender, ethnicity and culture on the development of personality

Psychoanalytic Approach Suggests that inner conflicts and struggles of which people are unaware affect their personality Freud claimed that everyone is born with biological drives such as sex and aggression These drives conflict with society’s rules and laws One’s behavior at any given time is determined by these conflicts Freud proposed that the mind is like an iceberg-conscious at the surface, unconscious below The mass of unacceptable passions and drives in the unconscious are repressed but the unconscious exerts an important influence over our everyday behaviors

Id, Ego, and Superego Freud proposed 3 systems that take part in the conflict between our inner drives and external restraints The Id-the largest portion of the iceberg- hidden from view and from the conscious mind Contains the basic drives to survive, reproduce, and engage in mastery over others Without restraints, it would satisfy all needs (pleasure principle) Example: when an infant crying when hungry

Id, Ego, and Superego The Ego- contains our conscious perceptions that develop with maturity Operates on the reality principle- tempering the needs of the id with the reactions of the real world Understands what would happen if the id’s drive for certain satisfactions were reflected in one’s behavior without restraint The Superego- develops as the child absorbs the values of parents and society Rather than focusing on internal wants and needs, the superego is driven by what is perceived as ideal or right Operates from the morality principle- a combination of conscience and a chosen self-image of ourselves as moral Guilt over doing something wrong

Defense Mechanisms According the Freud, one of the ways that the ego avoids pain or reduces anxiety is by using defense mechanisms to distort reality Repression- pushes anxiety-producing ideas into the unconscious When a person “explodes”, repressed thoughts may have broken into consciousness Rationalization- involves making up a reason for your behavior or explaining away that of others Denied a raise, you may say “I really didn’t need the money” Projection- involves placing the cause of your problems on someone else or seeing your own faults in other people You assume there’s tension at home due to your siblings behavior, but really it’s your behavior causing the problem

Defense Mechanisms Displacement- the emotional version of “passing the buck” You’re angry with your teacher, so you yell at your best friend Denial- refusing to accept something that is upsetting A smoker may deny the risks of lung cancer Reaction formation- acting contrary to your true feelings You are “extra nice” to someone you can’t stand Sublimation- finding acceptable outlets for your feelings or desires An aggressive person might transfer that aggression into sports Regression- reverting to earlier, immature behaviors that once got you what you wanted Throw a temper tantrum to get your way

Neo-Freudians Alfred Adler- believed we are all born with feelings of inferiority and striving for superiority is the main motivational force in the development of personality We do this by actively developing talents, working toward improvement, and learning to cope with any weaknesses Overcompensation- people who are fanatical in their drive for perfection Inferiority complex- a person’s conscious thoughts are dominated by an inability to succeed Karen Horney- believed childhood experiences play a large role in the development of personality Anxiety could be overcome by learning to adjust to and cope with the social world

Ne0-Freudians Carl Jung- rather than the unconscious, he focused on the collective unconscious Within this are various archetypes-universal forms that we encounter in our lives- mother, father, god, hero, leader Being in touch with these archetype within us are important to a healthy personality Persona- the image we present to others Can be different than your real self and can create anxiety Erik Erikson- believed people were quite capable of making the right choices and focused on developmental tasks

The Trait Approach A trait is a characteristic of personality that remains fairly stable over time. May describe physical, social, or moral characteristics Trait theorists believe that social and moral characteristics are relatively unchanging and that they determine our behavior during various situations Gordon Allport- used a dictionary to identify words used to describe a person and classify traits (narrowed it down to 4,500) Common traits- one that is shared by most people (honesty) Cardinal trait- one an individual exhibits in all situations (this is rare) Central trait- exhibited in most situations Secondary trait- a trait whose presence in an individual depends on a situation

Trait Approach Raymond Cattell- narrowed Allport’s traits to 200 Identified traits that seemed obvious (truthfulness, tidiness, friendliness) and called them “surface traits” Noticed these traits fell into clusters- individuals who exhibited one, exhibited others Each cluster was the result of a single, more fundamental trait (a “source trait”) which seems to be at the core of personality

Trait Approach Hans Eysenck- categorized traits in 2 dimensions Introversion-extroversion- introverts tend to draw their ideas and energy from themselves and are often imaginative. Extroverts get their energy and ideas from others and tend to be active and self-expressive Emotional stability-instability- stable people tend to be calm, rational, and predictable, unstable people can become easily agitated and be unpredictable

Behavioral Approach Claim that there is no need to consider personality or traits because they are created by reinforcements (positive/negative) in the environment John B. Watson- theorized that we behave as we do because early behaviors have been reinforced Controlling a person’s environment from birth can make a person into anything you wanted People make fearful associated to objects or events that can affect them later in life

Behavior Theorists B.F. Skinner- believed that behaviors of later life were learned as children go through the process of socialization In an ideal society, everyone is happy because they have learned to contribute to society and therefore receives its benefits Albert Bandura- “social learning” theory- stresses the role of observation in development of personality People have free will, which allows them to act on and influence their environments Behavior is based both on what we observe other people doing and on internal factors

Behavior and Internal Factors Skills We have certain innate social and physical abilities Values We determine the relative worth of any behavior Goals We decide what we will work toward and how we will do it Expectations We predict what will happen as a result of behavior Self-efficacy We have certain beliefs about our own abilities to accomplish a task or reach a goal

Humanistic Approach Emphasize internal positive factors in motivation and personality that they see not only as uniquely human, but as unique to each individual Abraham Maslow- focused on an individual’s desire to reach his/her full potential and awareness of that desire Studying successful people, he determined that they shared certain characteristics Self-aware, open and friendly, and not unduly affected by the opinions of others Carl Rogers- noted that many people have conflicts between what they perceive as the ideal person and their real selves The unrealistic standards might have been imposed on these individuals as children and as adults thy never feel like they can live up to those standards Parents should give a child unconditional positive regard

Humanistic Rogers emphasized self-concept- our thoughts and feelings about the type of person we are Our self-concept and our experiences in the world must be in agreement for us to be happy and healthy Also emphasized self-esteem, or one’s respect for one’s self Parents help children establish self-esteem by giving them unconditional positive regard Conditional positive regard leads a child to believe that he/she is worthwhile only as a result of certain behavior

Sociocultural Approach Focuses on the effects of ethnicity, gender, and culture on the formation of personality The US and other western culture value individualism People in Africa, Asia and South America tend to define themselves as collective Power distance is the extent to which less powerful members of a culture expect and accept unequally divided power Having an assertive personality wouldn’t be valued if you were a member of a “lower caste” This can also affect self-concept and self-esteem

Sociocultural Uncertainly avoidance- the extent to which members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations One would be unlikely to develop an innovative personality in a culture that mistrusts and avoids uncertainty Masculinity/Femininity- the extent to which a culture has distinct roles for men and women If the roles are strongly maintained, a person’s gender will highly influence the personality characteristics that are developed Long-short-term orientation- the extent to which a culture values future rewards and determines personality traits such as perseverance and thrift

Other Theories Social Cognitive Approach- focuses on context or situation in which behavior occurs One important aspect of personality is one’s sense of personal control- whether one’s life is controlled by the individual or from outside Evolutionary- focuses on the role of adaptation in the development of personality Biological- focuses on the role of genetics in the development of personality

Personality Types A set of traits that an individual typically demonstrates Myers-Briggs Type Indicator- places individuals in one of 16 categories or types It is important to remember that not all “type” tests have much, if any, research data to back them up Even some scientific tests fail to take context or situation into account and imply that a person behaves in the same way in all situations