1. Chapter 10
Personality

2. What Is Personality?
A distinctive pattern of behavior, thoughts, motives, and emotions that characterizes an individual over time.

3. Traits
Habitual ways of behavior, thinking and feeling. Examples: shy, brave, reliable, friendly, hostile, confident and so on.

4. Varying theories on Personalities
Biological perspective- Qualities are genetically influenced and remain throughout life. Learning Perspective- People are influenced more by their learning histories and immediate circumstances.

5. More on Perspectives on Personalities
Cognitive Perspective- Emphasizes perceptions influence on personality. Socio-Cultural Perspective- Traces cultural origins of traits and typical ways of behavior. Psychodynamic Perspective- Search for personality in the dark, unconscious recesses of one’s mind.

6. Central Traits of Personality
Most have 5-10 central traits that reflect a characteristic of behaving, dealing with others, and reacting to new situations. Example: Some see the world as a hostile, dangerous place…some see it as fun.

7. Secondary Traits of Personality
More changeable aspects of personality, such as musical preferences, habits, casual opinions and the like.

8. Ray B. Cattell Factor Analysis 16 Factors
Warmth Intellect Emotional Stability Aggressiveness Liveliness Dutifulness Social Assertiveness Sensitivity Paranoia Abstractness Introversion Anxiety Open-mindedness Independence Perfectionism Tension

9. Personality Test

10. The Big Five Five Dimensions of Personality
Researchers took Raymond Cattell and Gordon Allport’s research and theories on personality and came up with Five Dimensions of Personality

11. Extroversion vs. Introversion
Extent to which people are outgoing or shy. Includes such traits as being talkative or silent; sociable or reclusive; adventurous or cautious, eager to be in the limelight or stay in the shadows.

12. Neuroticism
Means negative emotionality. Includes traits such as anxiety, inability to control impulses, tendency to feel negative emotions such as anger, guilt, and resentment.

13. What does neurotic look like?
Neurotic people are worriers, complainers and defeatists.

14. Agreeableness
This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust, kindness, affection, and other pro-social behaviors.

15. What does agreeableness look like?
One would be good-natured, gentle and cooperative. If they do not have a high level of agreeableness they can be irritable, headstrong, and/or abrasive.

16. Conscientiousness
Degree to which people are responsible. What does it look like: Responsible, persevering and steadfast. If they are not conscientious they would be more quick to give up, fickle, and/or undependable.

17. Openness to Experience
The extent to which people are original, imaginative, artistic and/or capable of creative thinking.

18. Type A Personality
Competitive, workaholic, perfectionist

19. Cardinal Trait
Of the 16 personality traits, one that dominates a personality. Most people do not have a cardinal trait.
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20. Psychological Perspectives on Personality
Biological Perspective
Believe that temperament (ways of reacting to environment) emerge early in life and can influence one’s personality.
Studies of twins have shown adult personality traits are influenced by biology at a rate of 50%
New research has shown that some inherited traits can be modified by experience.
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21. Learning Perspective
The role of experience is predominant in the make up of one’s personality.
Personality consists of acquired patterns, but also learned expectations, habits, perceptions, and beliefs.
Self-fulfilling prophecy-A person’s expectations about success or failure can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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22. Socio-Cultural Perspective
Belief that personality traits are heavily influenced by culture. Focused on the roles of ethnicity, gender, and culture in the formation of personality.
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23. Individualist vs. collectivist cultures
Individualist cultures (monochronic)- Accomplishments and schedules and are valued over people. Collectivist cultures (polychronic) – Cultures in which people tend to do several things at once and value relationships over schedules.
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24. Humanistic Perspective
A person’s subjective reality and choices shape personality, decisions and behavior.
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25. Psychodynamic Perspective
Personality is partly shaped by childhood experiences and conflicts. Psychodynamic psychologist Freud came up with a personality theory made up of the id, ego and superego.
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26. Freud’s Structure of Personality
Id:
The collection of unconscious urges and desires that continually seek expression.
Ego:
The part of the personality that mediates between the demands of reality, the id, and superego.
Superego:
The social and parental standards the individual has internalized. ©\

27. Id Source of all energy Functions entirely in unconscious
Think in terms of gut reaction
Pleasure principle:
The way the id seeks immediate gratification of an instinct.

28. Superego Represents the rules of society Strives for perfection.
Internalizes moral standards
Judges the activities of the id, handing out feelings of pride and satisfaction when you do something well and guilt when you do something wrong

29. Ego
Mediates between desires of the id and desires of the superego; uses defense mechanisms to ward off unconscious anxiety

30. Narcisism
A person characterized by egotism, vanity, pride or selfishness.
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31. Defense Mechanism
Methods used by the ego to prevent unconscious anxiety or threatening thoughts from entering consciousness.
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32. Psychodynamic Theories
Psychodynamic theories of personality consider behavior to be the result of psychological dynamics within the individual.
Often these dynamics are unconscious processes.
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33. Psychodynamic Theorists
Sigmund Freud
Carl Jung
Alfred Adler
Karen Horney
Erik Erikson
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34. Freud’s Three Levels of Consciousness
Ideas, thoughts, and feelings of which we are aware.
Preconscious:
Material that can be easily recalled.
Unconscious:
All the ideas, thoughts, and feelings of which we are not and normally cannot become aware.
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35. Freud’s Structure of Personality
Id:
The collection of unconscious urges and desires that continually seek expression.
Ego:
The part of the personality that mediates between the demands of reality, the id, and superego.
Superego:
The social and parental standards the individual has internalized.
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36. Id Source of all energy Functions entirely in unconscious
Pleasure principle:
The way the id seeks immediate gratification of an instinct.
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37. Ego Operates at all three levels Reality principle:
The way in which the ego seeks to satisfy instinctual demands safely and effectively in the real world.
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38. Superego Operates at all three levels
The superego strives toward perfection, which is unrealistic.
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40. Two Subsystems of the Superego
Ego-ideal:
The rules for good behavior and standards of excellence towards which the ego must strive.
Conscience:
The rules about what behaviors are bad.
The conscience uses guilt as punishment for bad behavior.
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42. Jung’s Two Levels of the Unconscious
Personal unconscious:
Contains the individual’s repressed thoughts, forgotten experiences, and undeveloped ideas
Collective unconscious:
The part of the unconscious that is inherited and common to all members of a species
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43. Archetypes The thought forms common to all human beings.
Archetypes are stored in the collective unconscious.
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44. Archetypes Mother: Hero: Persona: A protective presence
One who overcomes
Persona:
Our public self
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45. Jung’s Two General Attitude Types
Extrovert:
One who focuses more on social life and the external world instead of his/her own thoughts and feelings.
Introvert:
One who focuses on his/her own thoughts and feelings.
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46. Jung’s Two Types of Individuals
Rational:
One who regulates his/her actions by thinking and feeling.
Irrational:
One who bases his/her actions on perceptions, either through the senses or unconscious processes (intuition).
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47. Differences Between Freud and Jung
Stressed the primacy of sexual instincts
Development is shaped in childhood
Jung
Stressed people’s rational & spiritual qualities
Development only comes to fruition during middle adulthood
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48. Alfred Adler’s Contribution
Compensation:
One’s effort to overcome imagined or real personal weaknesses
Inferiority complex:
Fixation on feelings of personal inferiority that results in emotional and social paralysis
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49. Differences Between Freud and Adler
We are controlled by our environment
View of individual: selfish; Eternally in conflict with society
Adler
We can control our own fate
View of individual: striving for perfection; Develops socially constructive goals
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50. Erikson’s 8 Stages of Personality Development
Trust vs. Mistrust (first year of life)
Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt (ages 1-3)
Initiative vs. Guilt (ages 3-6)
Industry vs. Inferiority (ages 6-13)
Identity vs. Role confusion (puberty)
Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood)
Generativity vs. Stagnation (ages 25-60)
Integrity vs. Despair (ages 60 and up)
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51. Trust Versus Mistrust Trust Mistrust
Faith in the predictability of the environment
Optimism about the future
Mistrust
Suspicious, fearful, and overly concerned with security
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52. Autonomy Versus Shame and Doubt
Gain control over bodily functions and coordination
Shame & doubt
Self-doubt about ability to control body
Hostile rejection of all controls (internal & external)
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53. Initiative Versus Guilt
Parental support for trying new things leads to joy in exercising initiative and taking on new challenges
Guilt
Feelings of guilt, unworthiness, and resentment may occur if scolded for exercising initiative
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54. Industry Versus Inferiority
Learning the skills of personal care, productive work, & independent living
Inferiority
Failure to learn these skills leads to feelings of mediocrity, inadequacy, and low self-sufficiency
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55. Identity Versus Role Confusion
Integration of one’s roles in life into a coherent pattern
Role confusion
Failure to integrate these roles leads to a lack of personal identity and despair
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56. Intimacy Versus Isolation
In order to love another, one must have resolved all earlier crises
Isolation
Failure at intimacy brings a painful sense of loneliness and incompleteness
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57. Generativity Versus Stagnation
Experience meaning and joy in all the major activities of life
Stagnation
Failure to remain productive and creative
Life becomes a drab routine
Feelings of dullness and resentfulness
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58. Integrity Versus Despair
Acceptance of one’s life; A sense that it is complete and satisfactory
Little fear of approaching death
Despair
Despair at the loss of former roles and missed opportunities
Fear approaching death
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59. Humanistic Personality Theory
Any personality theory that asserts the fundamental goodness of people and their striving toward higher levels of functioning.
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60. Carl Rogers Actualizing tendency: Self-actualizing tendency:
The drive of every organism to fulfill its biological potential and become what it is inherently capable of becoming.
Self-actualizing tendency:
The drive of human beings to fulfill their self- concepts.
Fully functioning person:
An individual whose self-concept closely resembles his/her inborn potentials.
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61. Determinants of a Fully Functioning Person
Unconditional positive regard:
The full acceptance and love of another person regardless of that person’s behavior.
Conditional positive regard:
Acceptance and love that are dependent on behaving in certain ways and fulfilling certain conditions.
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62. Trait Theories Personality traits:
Dimensions or characteristics on which people differ in distinctive ways.
Trait theories focus on describing one’s current personality with less emphasis on how the personality developed.
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63. The “Big Five” Dimensions of Personality
Unlike psychodynamic and humanistic theories, however, trait theories are relatively easy to test experimentally, and research confirms the value of the five-factor model, referred to as the “Big Five," in pinpointing personality.
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64. The Big Five Dimensions of Personality
Extroversion
Warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, positive emotions
Agreeableness
Trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, tender-mindedness
Conscientiousness/dependability
Competence, order, dutifulness, achievement- striving, self-discipline, deliberation
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65. The Big Five Dimensions of Personality
Emotional stability
Anxiety, hostility, depression, selfconsciousness, impulsiveness, vulnerability
Openness to experience/culture/intellect
Fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, values
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66. Cognitive-Social Learning Theories
Behavior is viewed as the product of the interaction of cognitions, learning and past experiences, and the immediate environment.
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67. Bandura’s Contribution
Expectancies:
What a person anticipates in a situation or as a result of behaving in certain ways.
Self-efficacy:
The expectancy that one’s efforts will be successful.
Performance standards:
Standards that people develop to rate the adequacy of their own behavior in a variety of situations.
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68. Rotter’s Locus of Control
An expectancy about whether reinforcement is under internal or external control.
Internal:
One can control his/her own fate.
External:
One’s fate is determined by chance, luck, or the behavior of others.
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69. Methods of Personality Assessment
Personal interview
Observation
Objective tests (tests that are administered and scored in a standard way)
Projective tests (tests consisting of ambiguous or unstructured material)
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70. Two Types of Interviews
Unstructured:
The interviewer asks questions about any material that comes up and asks follow-up questions whenever appropriate.
Structured:
The order and content of the questions are fixed and the interviewer adheres to the set format.
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71. Observation
Although observation is a good way of learning about someone’s personality, the information may not always be accurate because people act differently when they are aware of being observed.
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72. Objective Tests 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF):
A personality test created by Cattell that provides scores on the 16 traits he identified.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI):
The most widely used objective personality test, originally intended for psychiatric diagnosis.
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73. Projective Tests Rorschach test: Thematic Apperception Test (TAT):
A test composed of ambiguous inkblots; the way people interpret the blots is thought to reveal aspects of their personality.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT):
A test composed of ambiguous pictures about which a person is asked to write a complete story.
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74. Create a personality
You are assigned to create a fictional character complete with a personality description. This personality can be a person similar to you, similar to a friend or family member, a fictional character you would create in a movie, book, video game, or other theatrical event.
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75. Create a personality
You should use terms from this section on personality including:
Is the character an introvert or extrovert?
Discuss one of the five dimensions of
personalities that this character would
demonstrate.
Would your character demonstrate more
Integrity or Despair?
Is your character rational or irrational?
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