1. PERSONALITY
An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

2. Plan for this Module Freudian theory:
Unconscious
Structure of personality
Development of personality
Psychopathology:
As a result of maladjusted development
As a result of maladjusted functioning of personality structures
Neo Freudian and post Freudian approaches
Measurement of personality using psychoanalytic perspective
Critical evaluation of the psychoanalytic perspective

3. How do we assess personality?
We need to access the unconscious
Cannot be achieved by asking direct questions
Projective tests: give an ambiguous stimulus which will result in a projection
TAT (thematic apperception test) – ambiguous pictures
Rorschach inkblot test – ambiguous symmetric shapes

4. TAT picture What has led up to the event shown?
What is happening at the moment?
What are the characters thinking and feeling?
What is the outcome?

5. Critique of projective tests
Reliability (the consistency of results) is low
Validity (whether it measures what it is supposed to measure) is questionable
Many normally functioning adults are diagnosed as pathological
Cannot discriminate between suicidal and non-suicidal patients
Only hostility and anxiety measures have limited validity

6. Plan for this Module Freudian theory:
Unconscious
Structure of personality
Development of personality
Psychopathology:
As a result of maladjusted development
As a result of maladjusted functioning of personality structures
Neo Freudian and post Freudian approaches
Measurement of personality using psychoanalytic perspective
Critical evaluation of the psychoanalytic perspective

7. Evaluation of the Psychoanalytic perspective: Contradictory evidence
Personality and identity are not fixed at age 5-6
Gender identity can develop without a same-sex parent
Dreams and slips of tongue can be explained by neural processes (not repression)
Repression is not a common response to unsettling experiences
Sexual inhibition or repression is not the major cause of psychopathology
Unconscious includes a lot of automatic information processing
Defense mechanisms are activated to protect our own self-image

8. Freud’s ideas vs. Scientific theory
Freud’s ideas are not based on objective observations
Freud’s theory does not offer hypotheses that can be empirically verified
If a male student calls his mother more frequently than the norm, he has an unresolved Oedipus complex.
If a male student calls his mother less frequently than the norm, he has an unresolved Oedipus complex.
Freud’s theory cannot be used to predict personality traits or behaviors
It explains phenomena after the fact

9. Module 34: The Humanistic Perspective on Personality
Maslow ( )
And
Rogers ( )

10. Roots of the Humanistic Perspective
Human thoughts, behaviors, and emotions should be studied by studying well-being
Healthy, successful, exemplary individuals
Human thoughts, behaviors, and emotions cannot be understood by observation only
Only behaviors can be observed, not their motives or interpretations
What makes us human is our subjective experiences
In order to understand a person, one needs to understand his/her subjective experience: third force perspective
Freud focused on negative aspects- that is one way to approach
another way to figur eout human funct is to focus on healthy, happy, and successful people
such as leaders, pop figures etc...
their life stories, parenting experiences, desires, secure relationships etc...
Today: positivist psy

11. The individual in the humanistic perspective -
Individuals are good
Individuals are motivated to fulfill their potential
Individuals who can fulfill their potential are self-aware, self-accepting and self-respecting
Individuals who have a positive self concept (evaluation of actual self is close to the ideal self) are successful and happy

12. Maslow’s self-actualization
Individuals are motivated by a hierarchy of needs
Physiological needs
Need for personal safety
Need for love, to be loved, and to love ourselves
Need for self-esteem
Need for self-actualization
Characteristics of highly successful individuals (Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt)
Self aware and self accepting
Loving and caring
Not a slave to other’s opinions
Focused on their “mission”

13. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

14. Rogers and the development of personality in relationship with others
Personality development requires interpersonal relationships
A relationship should be genuine (transparent and self-disclosing)
A relationship should be (unconditionally) accepting
A relationship should be emphatic (sharing feelings)

15. Rogers and the legacy of self esteem
Give unconditional love
Learn how to listen
Take his/her feelings seriously
Allow the child to try things
Respect the child’s thoughts
Accept his/her specific talents
Acknowledge his/her uniqueness

16. Major criticisms of humanistic perspective
Too much emphasis on western values – individualism
Am I living in a way that expresses me and satisfies me?
Does not consider the reality of human capacity for evil

17. Module 35 – Contemporary Perspectives on Personality
The Trait Perspective
and
The Social Cognitive Perspective

18. Perspectives on Personality
Psychoanalytic
Humanistic
Trait
Social-cognitive

19. The Trait Perspective
People’s behaviors follow a set of characteristic patterns
There are a limited number of TYPES of behavior patterns
People can be effectively described by set of behavior patterns: Traits
Definition: Trait is a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act
Traits can be assessed by self-report inventories or peer reports

20. Traits tend to cluster together
People who have one trait tend to have a cluster of traits that go together
Outgoing people tend to: like excitement, like to be with others, like practical jokes, dislike spending time for introspection
We may be able to identify a few dimensions of traits that help us describe a person’s characteristic ways of acting and feeling
HOW MANY DIMENSIONS?

21. Eysenck & Eysenck’s 2 axes of personality traits
UNSTABLE
Extraversion-introversion
Emotional stability-instability
Moody
Touchy
Anxious
Restless
Rigid
Aggressive
Sober
Excitable
Pessimistic
Changeable
Reserved
Impulsive
Unsociable
Optimistic
Quiet
Active
INTROVERTED
EXTRAVERTED
Passive
Sociable
Careful
Outgoing
Thoughtful
Talkative
Peaceful
Responsive
Controlled
Easygoing
Reliable
Lively
Even-tempered
Carefree
Calm
Leadership
STABLE

22. Today’s BIG 5 trait dimensions
Extreme points of the dimension
Conscientiousness
Organized
Careful
Disciplined
Disorganized
Careless
Impulsive
Agreeableness
Soft hearted
Trusting
Helpful
Ruthless
Suspicious
Uncooperative
Neuroticism
(emotional stability)
Calm
Secure
Self-satisfied
Anxious
Insecure
Self-pitying
Openness
Imaginative
Preference for variety
Independent
Practical
Preference for routine
Conforming
Extraversion
Sociable
Fun-loving
Affectionate
Retiring
Sober
Reserved

23. QUESTIONS Are there biological bases for personality?
Are the traits stable?
Are the traits genetically determined?
Does a person’s personality change across situations?

24. Are there biological bases for the traits?
YES
Extraverted individuals have low levels of brain arousal
E.g. in the frontal lobe which is engaged in inhibition
Fearless and uninhibited individuals have low levels of autonomic nervous system reactivity
Even animals show such personality differences based on biological differences

25. Are the traits stable?
Mostly YES: With age, personality traits become more stable

26. Are the traits genetically determined?
Results for the “Big Five” personality dimensions: 40-50% of variability in personality is genetically determined.

27. Does a person’s personality change across situations
Does a person’s personality change across situations? The Person-Situation controversy
Specific behaviors change from one situation to another
Personality tests cannot predict specific behaviors in specific situations
People’s average tendencies across many situations tend to be consistent and predictable
Our traits are reflected in our daily surroundings and preferences
Music preferences, the way we organize our space, the way we express ourselves (e.g., web sites)