Psychology 305B: Theories of Personality Lecture 11 Psychology 305

Questions That Will be Answered in Today’s Lecture Neoanalytic Perspective on Personality 1. How do neoanalytic theories differ from psychoanalytic theory? 2. According to Jung’s theory, what are the major components of the mind? What personality types did Jung propose? Psychology 305

How do neoanalytic theories differ from psychoanalytic theory? Similarities between neoanalytic theories and psychoanalytic theory: 1. Both maintain that early childhood experiences influence personality development. 2. Both maintain that psychological conflicts and the success with which we resolve these conflicts influence personality development. Psychology 305

Differences between neoanalytic theories and psychoanalytic theory: 1. Neoanalytic theories place less emphasis on the role that sex plays in personality development. 2. Neoanalytic theories place less emphasis on the id and more emphasis on the ego. Psychology 305

3. Neoanalytic theories place more emphasis on the 3. Neoanalytic theories place more emphasis on the role of interpersonal conflicts (vs. unconscious conflicts) in personality development. 4. Neoanalytic theories assume that personality development continues across the lifespan. Psychology 305

In class, we will consider 4 neoanalytic theories: 1. Carl Jung’s (1865 – 1961) neoanalytic theory (analytical psychology). 2. Erik Erikson’s (1902 – 1994) neoanalytic theory. 3. Karen Horney’s (1885 – 1952) neoanalytic theory. 4. Attachment theory. Psychology 305

According to Jung’s theory, what are the major components of the mind? Jung believed that the mind is comprised of 3 major components: 1. The ego Similar to Freud’s conception of the conscious component of the mind. Psychology 305

(c) ensures that daily activities are carried out. Primary functions: (a) contains information (e.g., thoughts, feelings, perceptions) that an individual is currently aware of. (b) is responsible for one’s sense of identity and continuity across time. (c) ensures that daily activities are carried out. Psychology 305

2. The personal unconscious Similar to Freud’s conceptions of the preconscious and unconscious components of the mind. Primary functions: (a) contains information that an individual is not currently aware of but can readily retrieve and bring to conscious awareness. (b) contains information that an individual has actively repressed and, therefore, cannot readily retrieve and bring to conscious awareness. Psychology 305

3. The collective unconscious The most distinct aspect of Jung’s theory. The boldest, most mystical, and most controversial concept proposed by Jung. Does not have an equivalent in Freud's conception of the mind. Psychology 305

Is passed down across successive generations of the human species. Primary function: contains the collective experiences of our ancestors (i.e., the shared experiences, motivations, fears, and myths of our ancestors); this information is the most difficult to retrieve and bring to conscious awareness. Is passed down across successive generations of the human species. Is essentially the same for all humans. Psychology 305

In writing about the collective unconscious, Jung stated: “[It is] the deposit of ancestral experience from untold millions of years, the echo of prehistoric world events to which each century adds an infinitesimally small amount of variation and differentiation ….” (1928, p. 162) “It is detached from anything personal and is common to all [of us], since its contents can be found everywhere.” (1917/1966, p. 66) Psychology 305

Jung used the term archetypes to refer to the Jung used the term archetypes to refer to the information stored in the collective unconscious. According to Jung, archetypes are images of universal experiences contained in the collective unconscious. These images are emotional symbols that predispose us to react to common, recurring stimuli in predictable ways. Psychology 305

Jung saw archetypes as the psychic counterpart to. instincts Jung saw archetypes as the psychic counterpart to instincts. In comparing archetypes to instincts, he wrote: “As animals of the same kind show the same instinctual phenomena all over the world, man also shows the same [archetypes] no matter where he lives. As animals have no need to be taught their instinctive activities, so man also possesses his primordial psychic patterns and repeats them spontaneously, independently of any kind of teaching.” (1975, p. 152) Psychology 305

Jung believed that there are an indefinite number of Jung believed that there are an indefinite number of archetypes among humans. Moreover, he argued that archetypes cannot be identified using traditional quantitative methods. Rather, they must be identified through the study of the symbolic communications of humans (e.g., dreams, art, religion, myths) . Examples of archetypes identified by Jung include the mother archetype, the anima and animus archetypes, and the shadow archetype. Psychology 305

What personality types did Jung propose? Jung proposed a personality typology that relies on 2 principle concepts: 1. Attitudes A “readiness of the psyche to act or react [to experience] in a certain way.” (1921/1971, p. 414) Jung identified 2 attitudes: (a) Extraversion: an orientation toward the objective—the external world and other people. (b) Introversion: an orientation toward the subjective—one’s own thoughts and feelings. Psychology 305

2. Psychological Functions Refer to ways of perceiving and evaluating both the external world and our subjective experiences. Jung identified 4 psychological functions: Sensing, intuiting, thinking, and feeling. Psychology 305

Note: Jung described sensing and intuiting as Note: Jung described sensing and intuiting as irrational functions because they involve perception rather than the evaluation of information. He described thinking and feeling as rational functions because they involve evaluation of information that is perceived. Jung believed that each person has the capacity for both attitudes and may use all 4 psychological functions. Psychology 305

However, he also believed that, for most people, one However, he also believed that, for most people, one attitude and one psychological function become dominant and direct behaviour. The nondominant attitude and psychological functions remain underdeveloped and become part of the personal unconscious. By combining each of the 2 attitudes with each of the 4 psychological functions, Jung identified 8 personality types (i.e., ES, EN, ET, EF, IS, IN, IT, IF). Psychology 305

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a self- The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a self- report measure that was developed in the 1920’s to assess Jung’s personality types. The measure was originally designed to assess individuals on 3 dimensions derived from Jung’s theory: Extraversion-Introversion, Sensing-Intuiting, and Thinking-Feeling. The measure was later modified to allow for the assessment of a 4th dimension: Judging-Perceiving. Psychology 305

This dimension indicates how an individual prefers to This dimension indicates how an individual prefers to act in response to the information that he or she perceives and evaluates. With the addition of this 4th dimension, the revised MBTI assesses 16 personality types (e.g., ESTJ, ESFJ, ESTP, ESFP). Psychology 305

Examples of different personality types: Madonna: ESTP (Go-getter) Bob Hope: ESFP (Performer) Julia Roberts: INFP (Idealist) Mother Teresa: INFJ (Counselor) Margaret Thatcher: ENTJ (Leader) Alfred Hitchcock: ENTP (Big Thinker) Psychology 305

Questions That Were Answered in Today’s Lecture Neoanalytic Perspective on Personality 1. How do neoanalytic theories differ from psychoanalytic theory? 2. According to Jung’s theory, what are the major components of the mind? What personality types did Jung propose? Psychology 305