History of Personality Psychology Personality Psychology (PSYCH154) Prof. Michael Botwin

Great Person Examining history as it revolves around the lives, works, and contributions of seminal individuals in a field.

Zeitgeist The spirit of the times. This approach is marked by an emphasis on the cultural, technological, political and scientific events of a time. The Extraction of the Stone of Madness (The Cure of Folly)

Thales ( B.C.) First Philosopher of Record Traveled to advanced civilizations (i.e. Egypt, Babylonia) Developed a theory know as Cosmology based on observation of nature

Water as Physis Many things in the universe consist of water or are part water Water exists in many forms: Ice Steam Hail Snow Clouds Fog Water is necessary for life

Empedocles ( B.C.) Four Elements make up everything in the universe: Earth, Water, Air, Fire

Empedocles ( B.C.) Human body also consists of a blend of these elements Earth Solid part of the body Water Liquids of the Body Air Breath of Life Fire Reasoning ability

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Theophrastus (?372-?287BC) Follower of Aristotle Botanist, developed taxonomies of plant life Characters (30 Personality Types)

Theophrastus’ Characters Gossip Gossip is the framing of fictitious saying and doings at the pleasure of him who gossips.

Theophrastus’ Characters Shameless Man Shamelessness may be defined as neglect of reputation for the sake of base gain.

Theophrastus’ Characters Penurious Man Penuriousness is too strict attention to profit and loss.

Theophrastus’ Characters Gross Man Grossness is not difficult to define; it is obtrusive and objectionable pleasantry Mr. Creosote, Monty Python’s Meaning of Life

Theophrastus’ Characters Stupid Man Stupidity may be defined as mental slowness in speech and action

Theophrastus’ Characters Surly Man Surliness is discourtesy in words.

Theophrastus’ Characters Ironical Man Irony, roughly defined, would seem to be an affectation of the worse in word or deed

Theophrastus’ Characters Flatterer Flattery may be considered as a mode of companionship degrading but profitable to him who flatters.

Theophrastus’ Characters Boor Boorishness would seem to be ignorance offending against propriety.

Theophrastus’ Characters Reckless Man Recklessness is tolerance of shame in word and deed.

Theophrastus’ Characters Chatty Man Chattiness, if one should wish to define it, would seem to be an incontinence of talk.

Plato Mettles Gold → Royalty Silver → Nobility Brass → Craftsman Iron → Peasants

Galen’s Four Temperaments Phlegmatic Melancholic Sanguine Choleric

The Humours To the ancients, the humours were representation of the four basic elements in the body. This idea placed the human as part of nature and led to the following suppositions.

The Humours The ancients believed the human form (body) was a group of open and porous organs and systems that were part of the broader world.

The Humours Having an understanding of the world the body was immersed in was crucial to understanding the inner workings of the human.

The Humours The humours reflected the elements in natural environment that surrounded an individual.

The Humours A person’s constitution (psychological and physical) was determined by the equilibrium of the substances (elements) inside the body.

The Humours “Misalignment” of (or a loss of equilibrium or homeostasis) of the elements could lead to illness, or even death.

The Humours The primary job of early physicians was to prevent or correct toxic imbalances of the humours in the body.

The Humours An excess of an element in the body could be corrected by purging the body or drawing out the excess element. This explains ancient practices that seem ridiculous to us in modern times like bloodletting

Theodoric of York live/video/theodoric-of-york/n8661

The Humours The elements were related to each season of the year. Spring, air Spring, air Summer, fire Summer, fire Autumn, earth Autumn, earth Winter, water Winter, water

The Humours The elements were also related to human development For example, old age was viewed as a cooling of the body.

The Humours The elements were also involved in astrology. Humans were a part of the cosmos that included the movement of the stars and planets throughout the cosmos.

The Humours Understanding the human body was just one part of an attempt to make sense of the universe.

The Humours Medicine was based on a balance of the humors within the individual.

The Humours This resulted in a complex view of the human as a part of the broader the world in a massively intertwined system of the elements in time and space.

amazon.com/images/I/61v6xqclWIL._SX330_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg Material Presented in the previous slides on the humours was based on material from: Medieval Bodies: Life, Death and Art in the Middle Ages by Jack HartnellMedieval Bodies: Life, Death and Art in the Middle Ages by Jack Hartnell Publisher: Wellcome Collection; Main edition (March 29, 2018)Publisher: Wellcome Collection; Main edition (March 29, 2018) ISBN-10: ISBN-10: ISBN-13: ISBN-13:

Sanguine Substance -- Blood Element – Air Body Organ – Liver Qualities – Hot & Moist Complexion: Red Cheeked Corpulent commons/6/6e/Charles_Le_Brun- Grande_Commande- Les_Quatre_temperaments.jpg

Sanguine Personality Amorous Happy Generous Optimistic Irresponsible Boisterous Bubbly Chatty Openly Emotional Social Extroverts /6/6e/Charles_Le_Brun-Grande_Commande- Les_Quatre_temperaments.jpg

Choleric Substance -- Yellow Bile Element – Fire Body Organ – Spleen Qualities – Hot & Dry Complexion: Red Haired Thin

Choleric Personality ‘Alphas' of Our Species Proud 'Hot-blooded‘ Brash Domineering Overbearing Extroverted Violent Vengeful Short-tempered Ambitious

Phlegmatic Substance -- Phlegm Element – Water Body Organ – Lungs Qualities – Cold & Moist Complexion: Corpulent edia/commons/6/6e/Charles_Le_Br un-Grande_Commande- Les_Quatre_temperaments.jpg

Phlegmatic Personality Meek Submissive Introverts Live To Please Others Difficulty Saying No Extremely Trustworthy Indecisive Calm Excellent And Attentive Listeners Hate to Offend or Hurt Others rles_Le_Brun-Grande_Commande- Les_Quatre_temperaments.jpg

Melancholic Substance -- Black Bile Element – Earth Body Organ – Gall Bladder Qualities – Cold & Dry Complexion: Sallow Thin

Melancholic Personality Emotional Sensitive Perfectionistic Introverts Self-deprecating Tenacious Cannot let things go Pessimistic Complain a lot Introspective Sentimental,

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Galen’s Humoural Theory Humour Body substance produced by ElementQualities C ompl exion and Body type Personality Sanguinebloodliverair hot and moist red- cheeked, corpulent amorous, happy, generous, optimistic, irresponsible spleen hot and dry red-haired, thin violent, vengeful, short- tempered, ambitious phlegmlungswater cold and moist corpulent Sluggish, pallid, cowardly black bile gall bladder earth cold and dry sallow, thin Introspective, sentimental, gluttonous Note: "lazy" is sometimes attributed to Phlegmatics and sometimes to Melancholics

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Very Quick Notes on Early Christianity, Dark Ages, Etc. Christian philosophers split the mind/soul from the body. Soul was pure Body the root of all evil

Renaissance Humanism. Humans become separated from nature Epitomized by Descartes’ dualism Animals, soul-less and mechanical Humans, body mechanical, soul ethereal and “pulls the strings” of the body

Charles Darwin Selection Natural Sexual

Charles Darwin Major Works Origin of Species (1869) Descent of Man (1871; sexual selection) Expression of Emotion in Man & Animals (1872)

Charles Darwin Major contributions: humans and animals share evolutionary past comparative psychology developmental psychology functionalism

Austin Powers Scientific Question

Male Irish Elk

Galton ( ) first to study individual differences Hereditary Genius (1869) Eugenics Statistics, first crude "co-relation" statistic

Galton ( ) Mental tests Anthropometric Lab (1884) first testing lab Sensory processes relate to intelligence

Wundt’s Model of Personality

Eysenck’s Model of Personality Each of the traits in this model have a biological basis

Eysenck’s Model of Personality The Quadrants formed by intersections of the vectors of each trait map on to the Empedocles, Hippocrates, Galen model of personality

Eysenck’s Model of Personality This shows a continuum from Thales idea of the physis to Eysenck’s modern model of personality

Eysenck’s Model of Personality First developed in the late 1940s and still considered one of the major models of personality

Eysenck’s Model of Personality Each of the traits in this model have a biological basis. Three main dimensions or traits: Extraversion vs. Introversion Neuroticism vs. Emotional Stability Psychoticism vs. Stability (not shown)

Relationship between Eysenck’s Model of Personality and Galen’s Humours