1. Personality

2. Personality:
an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
an individual’s unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits
personality trait: a durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations

3. free will or determinism?
nature or nurture?
past, present, or future?
uniqueness or universality?
equilibrium or growth?
optimism or pessimism?

4. the “Big Five”
extroversion
neuroticism
openness to experience
agreeableness
conscientiousness
the Big Five are predictive of specific aspects of behavior and important life outcomes
the dominant conception of personality structure in contemporary psychology

5. 5 Personality Perspectives
the psychoanalytic perspective
the behavioral perspective
the humanistic perspective
the trait perspective
the social-cognitive perspective

6. The Psychoanalytic Perspective
psychoanalysis: links between distant past and troubled present
a theory of personality and an associated treatment technique

7. conscious and unconscious mind
mind as iceberg: the conscious mind, pre-consciousness, the unconscious mind
Freud: a determinist
dreams: manifest and latent content

8. structure of personality
conflict between impulse and restraint
personality: how we resolve these conflicts
three interacting systems:
id: the unconscious
pleasure principle, primary process thinking
ego: the mediator
reality principle, secondary process thinking
superego: the conscience
the ideal

9. development of personality
psychosexual stages
oral (birth to 18 months)
anal (18 – 36 months)
phallic (3 – 6 years)
latency (6 to puberty)
genital (puberty on)
fixation

10. defense against anxiety
defense mechanisms:
repression
regression
reaction formation
projection
rationalization
displacement
sublimation
denial

11. Freud’s followers
neo-Freudians: de-emphasized sexuality and aggression
Adler, Horney: striving for superiority
Jung: the collective unconscious
psychodynamic theory: Freud’s legacy
agrees with strong influence of unconscious, inner conflicts, shaping of personality in childhood

12. assessing unconscious processes
objective assessment tools (agree/disagree tests) merely access the conscious mind
projective tests: a psychological X-ray
Thematic Apperception Test
Rorschach inkblot test

16. evaluating the psychoanalytic perspective
many of Freud’s specific ideas contradicted by modern research
modern developmental psychology: a lifelong process
sexual inhibition has diminished, but psychological disorders have not
repression: a rare phenomenon

17. the modern unconscious mind
two-track mind
schemas, priming, parallel processing, implicit memories, emotion activation, influence of stereotypes
defense mechanisms: need to protect our self-image
Freudian concepts as scientific theory: few testable hypotheses, fails the test of falsifiability

18. the Behavioral Perspective
behaviorism: a theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior
focus on learning rather than personality; personality develops as a product of conditioning
B.F. Skinner

19. personality structure: no ego, id, superego
can’t be observed!
how does the external environment affect overt behavior?
deterministic: behavior is fully determined by environmental stimuli
personality: a collection of response tendencies that are tied to various stimulus situations

20. behaviorism: personality development as a product of conditioning
most human responses are shaped by operant conditioning
environmental consequences – reinforcement, punishment, extinction – determine people’s patterns of responding
personality development as a continuous lifelong journey

21. The Humanistic Perspective
humanism: a theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal growth
Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
backlash against psychodynamic and behaviorist theories
self determination and self realization
third-force perspective (after psychoanalytic and behaviorist perspectives) emphasizing human potential

22. Maslow: self-actualization
motivation theory
psychology: optimistic view of human nature
hierarchy of needs

25. Carl Rogers Person-Centered Perspective
the human potential movement; primed for growth and fulfillment
growth nurtured by genuineness, acceptance, empathy
unconditional positive regard
central feature of personality: self-concept

28. Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective
humanistic psychology: widespread impact
counseling, education, child rearing, management
“pop” psychology: is a positive self-concept the key to happiness?
contemporary society’s emphasis on self-esteem
criticism:
concepts are vague, subjective and unscientific
overestimates individualism  self-indulgence
naïve: underestimates human capacity for evil

29. Positive Psychology Martin Seligman
promoting the highest qualities of life: strength and virtue
positive emotions
positive character
positive groups, communities, cultures

30. The Trait Perspective
factor analysis: correlated clusters of behaviors reflect a basic factor
Eysenck: reduce many individual variations to 2 or 3 dimensions
extraversion-introversion
emotional stability-instability
basic factors are genetically influenced

32. Biology and Personality
using brain-imaging procedures to explore traits
genes affect temperament and behavioral style

33. assessing traits tests to measure stable and enduring traits
profile of behavior patterns
personality inventories
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
more objectively measurable than projective tests

34. the “Big Five” factors trait dimension endpoint conscientiousness
organized, careful, disciplined
disorganized, careless, impulsive
agreeableness
soft-hearted, trusting, helpful
ruthless, suspicious, uncooperative
neuroticism
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

35. the Big Five: how stable? how heritable?
how predictive of other attributes?

36. evaluating the trait perspective
the person-situation controversy
behavior influenced by interaction of disposition and environment
traits that endure over time and across situations?
inconsistency of behavior  personality tests poor predictors
constraint of social cues

37. The Social-Cognitive Perspective
Bandura
emphasizes interaction of our personality traits with our situations
behavior influenced by conditioning AND mental processes
beyond behaviorism: we are controlled by but also control our environment

38. creators and products of our environment
reciprocal determinism: interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment
creators and products of our environment
what we choose
how we react
how we present

39. personal control
personal control: the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless
external locus of control: the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate
internal locus of control: the perception that you control your own fate

40. self-control: the ability to control impulses and delay gratification
self-regulation/willpower: requires attention and energy
learned helplessness (Seligman)
feeling helpless/oppressed  control is external  resignation
lower morale, increased stress
diminished sense of personal efficacy

41. optimism vs. pessimism
attributional style: how do you explain positive or negative events?
optimism and health: illness, life expectancy, relationship success
excessive optimism:
provide hope but avoid complacency
risks of positive-thinking bias
overconfidence/ ignorance of one’s own incompetence

42. evaluating the social-cognitive perspective
builds on psychological research on learning and cognition
over focus on situation  failure to appreciate one’s inner traits and emotions