AS Psychology The Core studies Individual Differences approach & Psychodynamic perspective

What IS personality? Write a definition of what YOU think personality means...

What IS personality? Personality is a hypothetical construct! We can never observe one We can only infer personality from behaviour

What IS personality? Personality is not a THING but can only be inferred from how we interact with other people and generally deal with the world

What IS personality? Baron & Byrne (1991) Personality is … ……the combination of those relatively enduring TRAITS which influence behaviour in a predictable way in a variety of situations…...

Trait theories of personality.. EYSENCK (1953) The INTROVERT personality A typical introvert is quiet, retiring, introspective, fond of books rather than of people, reserved & distant...

Trait theories of personality.. EYSENCK (1953) The EXTROVERT personality A typical extrovert is sociable, likes parties, has many friends, needs people to talk to, craves excitement, and likes change…

The BIOLOGICAL basis for personality EYSENCK.. Biological differences in nervous systems Extroverts have STRONG nervous systems which tend to DAMP down incoming sensory data - thus they are UNDER AROUSED and need to ‘arouse themselves’ with activity’ Introverts have SENSITIVE nervous systems which AMPLIFY incoming sensory data, thus they need to ‘reduce sensory input’...

Personality traits... Does the EYSENCK theory of a biological basis for personality predict –STABLE personality traits? –VARIABLE personality traits? –This is a reductionist theory of personality –What do we mean by ‘reductionist’

Freud ‘s psychodynamic theory of personality The tripartite structure of personality ID EGO SUPEREGO

The THREE faces of EVE A case study multiple personality disorder Thigpen & Cleckley (1954)

The THREE faces of EVE This is a case study and a record of a therapeutic process

The THREE faces of EVE Who were Thigpen & Cleckley? They were psychiatrists (medically qualified) Their paper was published in the Journal of abnormal & social psychology (1954)

The THREE faces of EVE Who was EVE? A 25 year old woman who was referred because of her SEVERE & BLINDING HEADACHES and spells of amnesia Thigpen & Cleckley tested her with Psychometric tests, projective tests,

The THREE faces of EVE In the initial interviews (EVE WHITE) EVE complained of (symptoms) Blinding Headaches Blackouts Marital Problems Personal problems

The THREE faces of EVE What was EVE WHITE like? IQ score 110 memory - excellent repressive personality conservative, shy, dutiful loving wife and mother

The THREE faces of EVE THEN WHAT HAPPENED? EVE WHITE EVE showed amnesia for a recent trip and was HYPNOTISED in order to restore her memory

The THREE faces of EVE THEN WHAT HAPPENED? FIRST SIGN OF SOMETHING ODD! A letter arrived which was written in two kinds of handwriting!

The THREE faces of EVE The letter is objective evidence

The THREE faces of EVE What did EVE say about the letter? She denied writing it, though she did say she had begun a letter which she had not finished

The THREE faces of EVE What happened then? Eve became distressed and asked “whether hearing voices in her head meant she was insane” she said that she had heard a voice in her head speaking to her

The THREE faces of EVE This was a critical interview Several times she put her hands to her head as if in pain AND THEN...

The THREE faces of EVE THE TRANSFORMATION! EVE WHITE CHANGED and became EVE BLACK! 1st ‘alter-ego?

The THREE faces of EVE THE TRANSFORMATION! The therapist noted A quick reckless smile…”HI DOC” Eve White now displayed a childishly daredevil air an erotic glance even her sitting posture changed Eve White became Eve Black

The THREE faces of EVE What was EVE BLACK like? IQ score 104 memory - poor regressive personality childish, extrovert, mischievous denied being a wife & mother

The THREE faces of EVE The therapy lasted 14 months and 100 hours of interviews Eve Black would sometimes ‘appear’ but could only be CALLED OUT under hypnosis

The THREE faces of EVE Eve White was not aware of Eve Black Eve Black was aware of Eve White Eve Black had existed since childhood Eve Black - “would emerge, would behave badly and then retreat and let Eve White take the blame…(parents verified incidents)

The THREE faces of EVE How T & C described Eve Black “childish, irresponsible & shallow “seeking pleasure & excitement “denied marriage to EW’s husband whom she despised “denied relationship with EW’s daughter

The THREE faces of EVE Did her family not notice ANYTHING odd When they observed EB they put her harshness & aggression down to ‘occasional temper tantrums in a normally gentle woman

How did the therapists measure the variables of personality? Personality tests (psychometric tests) Rorschach ink blot tests EW = repressive (FREUD) EB = regressive (FREUD) Electroencephalograms (EEG) to record brain activity)

How did the therapists measure the variables of personality? Rorschach ink blot test = a projective test Discussion: What do you see? Is what you see a projection of your unconscious mind? Is this a quantitative or qualitative measure? How valid is this measure?

How did the therapists measure the variables of personality? Thematic Apperception Test = a projective test Write a storyline for the pic: What has been happening? What is happening? What will happen? Is your story a projection of your unconscious fears/desires? How valid is this measure?

As treatment progressed EW headaches recurred & got worse Blackouts increased Both EW & EW denied awareness in these blackouts EW state of mind deteriorated (confinement was considered) THEN WHAT HAPPENED!!

Another personality appears! A THIRD personality who called herself JANE JANE had full awareness of EW and EB Neither EW nor EB were aware of JANE

What did Thigpen & Cleckley do? All THREE personalities were tested by electroencephalogram clear differences were recorded therapy continued to treat all THREE women in the ONE body

The decision of Thigpen & Cleckley Jane seemed to be the person most likely to bring a solution to the troubled mind She was increasingly dominant over the other personalities

The moral dilemma (ethics) They noted the moral problem re: the problem of killing one or more of the personalities

Other explanations? Was the woman a very good actress (were T & C conned?) Was the woman psychotic (schizophrenic?) Could the hypnotism have caused the multiple personality effect?

What did T & C conclude? They did wonder whether they had become so involved that they ‘lost their sense of judgement and over dramatised the case’ They remain convinced that they witnessed a case of multiple personality Note: A film was made!

Another strange case The multiple personalities of SYBIL (see SCHREIBER 1973)

Back to the question? What do we mean by personality? Is personality a stable trait? What do we mean by –not like himself/herself –s/he’s a changed person –acting out of character

The Three faces of Eve - postscript In 1975 a woman came forward and said SHE was EVE White said she had experienced many other personalities both before therapy and since (22 in all) that the fragmentation of her personality had been to protect herself from ‘unbearable experiences’

Ethical problems Killing one/more of the personalities - who should decide this? Making a film for profit - who benefits & what about patient confidentiality? During the treatment Eve White got worse ‘Who’ gives informed consent for the treatment procedures ?

Ethical problems Which personality do you think T & C approved of most? Might there be a ‘culture & gender bias issue here? Were their judgements biased by the ‘social norms’ of the 1950s

Questions you should be able to answer What were the similarities & differences between Eve White and Eve Black? What is the main difference between multiple personality disorder & schizophrenia? What problems with the case study method does this study highlight? What factor(s) may have influenced their diagnosis?

A question to think about If Eysenck’s theory of biological basis for personality is CORRECT could Eve have had multiple personalities? Note: These days MPD is called DID ! Disassociative Identity Disorder

Multiple Personality Disorder Frequency distribution 14 cases between cases in the 1970s ! (6 by Sybil’s therapist) even more in the 1980s (an epidemic) the rise & fall correlates with the impact of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory MOSTLY in the USA

The three faces of Eve There is NO universally accepted definition even among psychiatrists in the USA Read the study & read up about HYPNOTISM – is this an altered state of consciousness or an extreme case of demand characteristics? Draw up a table of similarities and differences between EW, EB and Jane