1. DO NOW…
Identify one major assumption of the psychodynamic perspective.
Deterministic; importance of the unconscious mind; importance of childhood experiences

2. Personality: The psychodynamic, humanistic, and trait perspectives
PERSONALITY Chapter 15
Personality:
The psychodynamic, humanistic, and trait perspectives

3. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Founder of the Psychoanalytic Perspective
History: Background
Family Life
Vienna
Other Influences

4. Psychoanalysis (the couch and free association)
The Unconscious
1. The Id-
(pleasure principle); latent content, slips
2. The Ego-
(reality principle)
3. The Superego-
(morality principle)

5. The Iceberg: Id
Superego
Ego
Conscious mind
Unconscious
mind

6. The Psychosexual Stages:
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
Stage Focus
Oral Pleasure centers on the mouth--
(0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewing
Anal Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder
(18-36 months) elimination; coping with demands for control
Phallic Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with
(3-6 years) incestuous sexual feelings
Latency Dormant sexual feelings
(6 to puberty)
Genital Maturation of sexual interests
(puberty on)

7. Defense Mechanisms used by the ego to avoid anxiety
Denial – refusing to accept
Repression – banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts
Regression – individual retreats to more infantile stage
Projection – people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
Reaction Formation – ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposite
Rationalization – self-justifying explanations in place of real, more threatening, unconscious reactions
Displacement – shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person
Sublimation – channeling unwanted feelings into socially-acceptable ones

8. Criticisms of Freud:
Gender-
Cross-cultural-
Non-scientific-

9. Psychodynamic Theory
Carl Jung
Alfred Adler
Karen Horney

10. Methods: Case studies Psychohistories Naturalistic Observations
Limited Experiments
Assessments: projective tests-Thematic Apperception Test and inkblots, free association, dream analysis

11. Applications:
Freud’s impact on social sciences…sociology, art and surrealism, literature, pop culture
Therapy= psychoanalysis; offer insight
Childhood importance

12. Humanistic Perspective
Abraham Maslow ( )
studied self-actualization processes of productive and healthy people (e.g., Lincoln)
Self-Actualization
the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved
the motivation to fulfill one’s potential
Self-accepting, open and spontaneous, loving and caring, not paralyzed by others’ opinions, have a life mission, have only a few relationships

13. Humanistic Perspective
Carl Rogers ( )
focused on growth and fulfillment of individuals
requires three conditions:
genuineness
acceptance - unconditional positive regard
Empathy
Client Centered Therapy
Active listening
Unconditional Positive Regard
an attitude of total acceptance toward another person

14. Humanistic Perspective
Self-Concept
all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in an answer to the question, “Who am I?’
Self-Esteem
one’s feelings of high or low self-worth
Self-Serving Bias
a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

15. Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective
Concepts like self-actualization are vague
Emphasis on self may promote self-indulgence and lack of concern for others
Theory does not address reality of human capacity for evil
Theory has impacted popular ideas on child-rearing, education, management, etc.

16. The Trait Perspective Gordon Allport Trait William Sheldon
Cardinal traits; common and secondary traits
Trait
a characteristic pattern of behavior
a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports
William Sheldon
Body types
Endomorph
Ectomorph
Mesomorph

17. The Trait Perspective Personality Inventory
a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors
used to assess selected personality traits

18. The Trait Perspective
UNSTABLE
STABLE
choleric
melancholic
phlegmatic
sanguine
INTROVERTED
EXTRAVERTED
Moody
Anxious
Rigid
Sober
Pessimistic
Reserved
Unsociable
Quiet
Sociable
Outgoing
Talkative
Responsive
Easygoing
Lively
Carefree
Leadership
Passive
Careful
Thoughtful
Peaceful
Controlled
Reliable
Even-tempered
Calm
Touchy
Restless
Aggressive
Excitable
Changeable
Impulsive
Optimistic
Active
Hans and Sybil Eysenck use two primary personality factors as axes for describing personality variation

19. Trait Perspective Myers-Briggs Personality inventory
devised by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother

20. The Trait Perspective
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests
originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use)
now used for many other screening purposes

21. The Trait Perspective Empirically Derived Test
a test developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups
such as the MMPI

22. Evaluating the Trait Perspective
Situational influences on behavior are important to consider
People can fake desirable responses on self-report measures of personality
Averaging behavior across situations seems to indicate that people do have distinct personality traits

23. Social-Cognitive Perspective
Internal personal/
cognitive factors
(liking high-risk
activities)
Behavior
(learning to
bungee jump)
Environmental
factors
(bungee-jumping
friends)
Reciprocal Determinism
the interacting influences between personality and environmental factors

24. Social-Cognitive Perspective
Personal Control
our sense of controlling our environments rather than feeling helpless
External Locus of Control
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate

25. Social-Cognitive Perspective
Internal Locus of Control
the perception that one controls one’s own fate
Learned Helplessness
the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

26. Social-Cognitive Perspective
Positive Psychology
the scientific study of optimal human functioning
aims to discover and promote conditions that enable individuals and communities to thrive

27. Social-Cognitive Perspective
Built from research on learning and cognition
Fails to consider unconscious motives and individual disposition
Today, cognitive-behavioral theory is perhaps predominant psychological approach to explaining human behavior