Personality A person’s pattern of thinking, feeling and acting.

Early Perspectives Psychoanalytic theory (Freud)  proposed that childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations influence personality Humanistic approach  focused on our inner capacities for growth and self- fulfillment

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalysis Freud attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts

Freud’s “Iceberg” Conscious mind (our immediate awareness) Preconscious (not in awareness but easily accessible) Unconscious (hidden reservoir of unacceptable wishes, thoughts, and memories

The Id Present at birth Physiological drives Entirely unconscious Pleasure principle: the seeking of immediate gratification of instinctive needs or wants

The Ego Develops during 1 st year of life Reasoning, rationality, good sense Self-awareness, delay of gratification Reality principle: consideration of what is practical and possible in gratifying needs

The Superego Develops in childhood (age 5) Functions as a moral guardian Incorporates values of parents and members of the community

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages Children’s development stages in which the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

Oedipus Complex A boy’s sexual desire for his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father. A girl’s desire for her father is called the Electra complex.

Freudian Slip " A Freudian slip is when you mean one thing, but you say your mother."

Defense Mechanisms Unconscious function that protects mind from anxiety-evoking material Regression: returning to an earlier, more comforting form of behavior

Repression: pushing thoughts out of conscious awareness Rationalization: Generating self-justifying explanations instead of real reasons for action or event He broke up with me because he’s afraid of commitment Or is it because she calls him 20 times an hour….

Reaction formation: expressing the opposite of how one truly feels, often exaggeratedly Displacement: redirecting one’s feelings toward another person or object Bad day at schoolYell at little sister when you get home

Projection: disguises threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Sublimation: Channeling one’s impulses toward a different, more positive & acceptable goal or behavior Denial: not accepting the ego-threatening truth

Defense Mechanisms

Neo-Freudian & Psychodynamic Theories Emphasize social, not sexual, tensions for personality development Alfred Adler  behavior driven by efforts to conquer childhood feelings of inferiority (inferiority complex) Karen Horney  disagreed w/Freud’s assumption that women have weak superegos or “penis envy”

Psychodynamic Theory Carl Jung  agreed w/Freud that unconscious has powerful influence BUT Unconscious is more than repressed thoughts & feelings Collective Unconscious  common reservoir of images derived from species’ universal experiences

Jung’s Collective Unconscious

Assessing Unconscious Processes Objective tests  questionnaires (true/false, agree/disagree, etc.) Projective tests  provides ambiguous stimuli that triggers projection of inner unconscious conflicts

Projective Tests Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)  given ambiguous picture, make up a story

Projective Tests Rorschach Inkblot Test  describe ambiguous splotch of ink “It’s just a simple Rorschach ink-blot test, Mr. Bromwell, so just calm down and tell me what each one suggests to you.”

Criticisms of Projective Tests Critics argue that projective tests lack both reliability (consistency of results) and validity (predicting what it is supposed to). 1.When evaluating the same patient, even trained raters come up with different interpretations (reliability). 2.Projective tests may misdiagnose a normal individual as pathological (validity).

Humanistic Perspective

Maslow’s Hierarchy

Carl Rogers – Person-Centered Perspective Genuineness, acceptance, empathy needed for growth & fulfillment

Humanist Assessment of Sense of Self Actual self Ideal self

Criticism of Humanist Perspective Vague & subjective? Naïve? Can such individualism lead to self-indulgence, selfishness, and lack of moral restraints?

Social-Cognitive Perspective Different people choose different environments Personalities shape our interpretations & reactions to events Personalities lead to situations to which we react

Locus of Control

Optimism/Pessimism

Social-Cognitive Perspective Overview The good – Makes researchers more sensitive to how situations affect, and are affected by, individuals – Builds from learning & cognition research The bad – Too much focus on situation – What about biologically influenced traits?

Types of Personalities Type A Feel time pressure. Easily angered. Competitive and ambitious. Work hard and play hard. More prone to heart disease than rest of population. Type B Relaxed and easygoing. But some people fit in neither type.

MMPI 2 TEST QUESTIONS IN ORDER TRUE OR FALSE (567 QUESTIONS) 1. I like mechanics magazines 2. I have a good appetite 3. I wake up fresh & rested most mornings 4. I think I would like the work of a librarian 5. I am easily awakened by noise 6. I like to read newspaper articles on crime 7. My hands and feet are usually warm enough 8. My daily life is full of things that keep me interested 9. I am about as able to work as I ever was 10. There seems to be a lump in my throat much of the time 11. A person should try to understand his dreams and be guided by or take warning from them 12. I enjoy detective or mystery stories