1 TOPIC 5 PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES, MOTIVATION AND HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT

2 PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES Murray’s Need Theory: Human can be characterized by a set of needs that provide the energy for behavior and the direction as well Maslow’s Need Hierarchy: Need can be arranged in hierarchical fashion

3 The word comes from the Latin persona, meaning “mask.” What is personality? –Characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and acting PERSONALITY

4 Personality is a dynamic organization, inside the person, of psychophysical systems that create the person’s characteristic patterns of behaviour, thoughts and feelings. (G.W. Allport, 1961) PERSONALITY

5 Definition: More or less stable, internal factors... make one person’s behaviour consistent from one time to another, and different from the behaviour other people would manifest in comparable situations. (Child, 1968)

6 Personality Theory The importance of personality theory in Psychology –Biological influences –Changes over the lifespan –Relationship to learning, motivation and health –Disorders –Social influences

7 Organizing Structure for Personality Theory Historical Approaches –Psychoanalytic (Freud) –Humanistic (Rogers) Contemporary Approaches –Trait theory –Social-Cognitive theory

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9 Freud and Psychoanalytic Perspective Trying to understand physical problems Childhood experiences are important Anxiety or social constraints prevent direct expression of drives Each stage of life presents us with issues we must successfully resolve Social restrictions influence our personality

10 Key terms in Psychoanalytic Theory Personality results from conflict between internal drives and social constraints Key components of mind –id –ego –superego Stages of Psychosexual development

11 The Structure of Personality Freud’s Theory of Personality

12 The Structure of Personality Id: Operates according to the pleasure principle –Primitive and unconscious, hidden from view –Contains basic drives Ego: Operates according to the reality principle –Mediates the conflict between id and superego Superego: Consists of moral ideals and conscience

13 The Structure of Personality Pleasure Principle: –In psychoanalysis, the id’s boundless drive for immediate gratification Reality Principle –In psychoanalysis, the ego’s capacity to delay gratification

14 Psychoanalytic: Defense mechanisms To minimize the anxiety due to the conflict between the id and the superego, the ego uses defense mechanisms. –Repression (forgetting) –Denial (ignoring) –Projection (attributing to others) –Reaction Formation (converting to its opposite) –Rationalization (making excuses) –Sublimation (channeling into acceptable outlets) Unconscious methods of minimizing anxiety by denying and distorting reality

15 Psychoanalysis Projective Personality Tests Projective Tests –Allow people to “project” unconscious needs, wishes, and conflicts onto ambiguous stimuli Rorschach A test in which people are asked to report what they see in a set of inkblots Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) A test in which people are asked to make up stories from a set of ambiguous pictures

16 Critique of Psychoanalytic Theory Development is not fixed in childhood Gender identity occurs earlier Repression appears to be a rare occurrence Offers after the fact explanations of events and does not predict behavior unconscious mind is really just information processes that occurs without our awareness

17 Psychoanalysis Current Perspectives on Psychoanalysis Two enduring aspects of the theory remain influential: –The view of the mind as an iceberg (i.e., the importance of the unconscious). –The analysis of defense mechanisms, which is supported throughout psychology in studies of attention, thinking, feeling, etc.

18 The Humanistic Approach Humanistic Theory – An approach to personality that focuses on the self, subjective experience, and the capacity for fulfillment Key theorists –Roger’s person centered perspective –Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (self actualization)

19 Personality Theories –Carl Rogers positive regard- love, affection, attention, nurturance positive self-regard - self-esteem, self-worth, a positive self-image conditions of worth - As we grow up, our parents, teachers, peers, the media, and others, only give us what we need when we show we are “worthy,” rather than just because we need it. We get a drink when we finish our class, we get something sweet when we finish our vegetables, and most importantly, we get love and affection if and only if we “behave!”

20 Getting positive regard on “on condition” Rogers calls conditional positive regard. Because we do indeed need positive regard, these conditions are very powerful, and we bend ourselves into a shape determined, not by our organismic valuing or our actualizing tendency, but by a society that may or may not truly have our best interests at heart. A “good little boy or girl” may not be a healthy or happy boy or girl!

21 Over time, this “conditioning” leads us to have conditional positive self-regard as well. We begin to like ourselves only if we meet up with the standards others have applied to us, rather than if we are truly actualizing our potentials. And since these standards were created without keeping each individual in mind, more often than not we find ourselves unable to meet them, and therefore unable to maintain any sense of self-esteem.

22 The Humanistic Approach - Carl Rogers SELF-ESTEEM Self-esteem : “ a set of attitudes and beliefs that a person brings with him or herself when facing the world” (Coopersmith, 2002, p. 1) A positive or negative evaluation of the self

23 SELF-ESTEEM High self-esteem – “Pride in oneself in which one becomes aware and accepting of one’s imperfections while cherishing one’s inherent strength and positive qualities” Low self-esteem –The shame that comes from appraising ourselves as lacking skills and abilities important to valued others.

24 The Humanistic Approach Perspectives on the Humanistic Approach Praise for the Humanistic Approach –For the idea that people are inherently good –For placing importance on conscious mental experience –For the idea that the self-concept is the heart of personality Criticisms of the Humanistic Approach –For taking people’s self-report statements at face value –For being too optimistic about human nature and ignoring human capacity for evil

25 The Trait Approach The Building Blocks of Personality Trait –A relatively stable predisposition to behave in a certain way Five-factor Model – A model of personality that consists of five basic traits: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness

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27 The Trait Approach Construction of Multi-Trait Inventories Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) –A large scale test designed to measure a multitude of psychological disorders and personality traits –Most widely used personality instrument –Now the MMPI - 2 –Used in clinical and employment settings –Easy to administer and relatively objective –Caution should be used when interpreting the responses of people from different cultures

28 The Trait Approach Introversion and Extraversion This is one of the most powerful dimensions of personality and is seen in infants, adults, and all over the world. Extravert –A kind of person who seeks stimulation and is sociable and impulsive Introvert –A kind of person who avoids stimulation and is low-key and cautious

29 The Trait Approach Perspectives: Do Traits Exist? Personality Consistency Across the Lifespan Evidence indicates that personality is least stable during childhood. The consistency of personality increases with age.