1. Trait Theories
Explain differences between people in terms of stable personality traits
Modern day psychologists have found 5 personality dimensions that span cultures

2. The 5 Factor Theory Extraversion Neuroticism Conscientiousness
Agreeableness
Openness to Experience

3. The 5 Factor Theory Extraversion Neuroticism Outgoing Withdrawn Stable
Unstable

4. The 5 Factor Theory Agreeableness Conscientiousness Low High
Undependable
Dependable

5. Openness to Experience
The 5 Factor Theory
Openness to Experience
Closed
Open

6. The 5 Factor Theory Helpful in predicting general trends in behavior
Too general to predict behavior in a specific situation

7. Social Cognitive Theory
Bandura's Reciprocal Determinism and Self-Efficacy
Rotter's Locus of Control

8. Reciprocal Determinism
Environment
Personal
Cognitive
Factors
Behavior

9. Self-Efficacy One's perception of personal effectiveness
One of Bandura's personal/cognitive factors

10. Greater effort & persistence
Self-Efficacy
Belief you will do well
Greater effort & persistence
Success

11. Belief you will do poorly
Self-Efficacy
Belief you will do poorly
Less effort & persistence
Failure

12. Belief you control your fate
Internal Locus
Belief you control your fate
Optimism about the future
Taking action

13. Belief you don’t control your fate
External Locus
Belief you don’t control your fate
Pessimism about the future
Doing nothing

14. The Person: Beliefs and Behaviors
Humanistic psychology
Abraham Maslow
Self-actualization
Oceanic feelings (flow)
Carl Rogers
Client-centered therapy
Unconditional positive regard

15. The World: Social Influences on Personality
Birth order
Peer relationships: Personality development by peer pressure
Sex differences in personality: Nature and nurture
Culture and personality: Are there national personalities?

16. Assessment Observation Interviews Rating Scales Inventories
Projective Tests

17. Problems
Observations, interviews, & rating scales suffer from reliability problems & the halo effect
Halo Effect:
Assuming that someone with one favorable trait has many others as well

18. The MMPI-2 The most widely-used inventory
Consists of 567 true-false questions

19. The CPI An MMPI-like test designed for normal individuals
The MMPI is more useful for clinical purposes, the CPI for normal populations

20. Projective Tests The Rorschach Inkblot Test
The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

21. The Rorschach
Subject tells what each blot looks like and what aspect of the blot triggered that response

22. The Rorschach
Responses scored on use of parts vs. wholes, movement, content, use of color
Criticized for lack of reliability, low validity (inability to predict behavior)

23. The TAT Consists of 19 vague or ambiguous drawings
Person describes what is happening in each

24. Sentence Completion
A projective test requiring completion of open-ended sentences
May be more reliable than the TAT

25. Sigmund Freud Assumptions: Traits transcend situations
Personality formed in childhood

26. Freud’s Model

27. Freudian Theory Personality components
Id: Concerned with drive satisfaction, provides the motive power; follows the pleasure principle (the little devil on your shoulder)
Ego: Rational thought; controls & channels id; follows the reality principle
Superego: Oversees balance between ego & id; internalized parental control; much like a conscience (the little angel on your shoulder)

28. Freudian Theory
The Libido: The sexual life energy that drives the id; other researchers dispute Freud's sexual emphasis
The Conscious: Consists of things you are currently aware of; constantly changing
The Preconscious: Consists of things in long term memory that influence behavior; could be retrieved if desired
The Subconscious: Consists of things you're unaware of but that influence you; the primary personality component

29. Freudian Theory The Unconscious: The primary personality component
Consists of things you're unaware of but that influence you
Can't be tapped directly
Reflected in slips of the tongue, dreams, etc.

31. Freudian Theory: Stages
Psychosexual Stages (source of libido satisfaction)
Oral (0-1 year)
Anal (1-3 years)
Phallic (3-6 years)
Latency (6-puberty)
Genital (from puberty)

32. Freudian Theory: Stages
Oral Stage:
Libido gratification comes from oral exploration of the world
Infant learns to trust in others, esp. for food
Oral Personality:
Problems in the oral stage supposedly lead to pessimism about the world, hostility or passivity

33. Freudian Theory: Stages
Anal Stage:
Kids learn about delay of gratification
Kids gain pleasure and libido satisfaction from being in control
Anal Personality:
Problems in the anal stage supposedly lead to either excessive orderliness or excessive messiness

34. Freudian Theory: Stages
Phallic Stage:
Freud believed sex-role identification occurred
Mechanisms included castration anxiety (boys) & penis envy (girls)
Phallic Personality:
Problems in the phallic stage supposedly lead to sex-role identification problems, promiscuity, vanity, or excessive chastity

35. Freudian Theory: Stages
Latency Stage:
A time of focus on achievement and mastery of skills
Libido is channeled into mastery activities
Freud thought little of interest happened here
Others have argued the sense of self-esteem is established here

36. Freudian Theory: Stages
Genital Stage:
The time of mature personality, intimacy with others
Libido satisfied by adult- type sexual activity

37. Freudian Theory: Defense
Defense Mechanisms
Methods for dealing with anxiety
Freud thought some more mature than others
Denial Repression
Projection Reaction Formation
Rationalization Regression
Displacement Sublimation

38. Denial
Refusing to accept that the feeling is present or that the event occurred
A very primitive mechanism
Example: preschoolers will convince themselves they didn't do something they wish they hadn't

39. Repression
Relegating anxiety- causing thoughts to the unconscious, refusing to think about them
Example:
Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind -- "I won't think about that now, I'll think about that tomorrow."

40. Projection
Attributing one's undesirable traits or actions to others, so they become the problem instead of you
Example from a failing student:
"I'm not worried about me, but I'd hate to see Ellen flunk--she's so fragile"

41. Reaction Formation
Taking actions opposite to one's feelings in order to deny the reality of the feelings
Freud thought many people fervently pursuing a cause were using this mechanism to hide their true feelings

42. Rationalization
Creating intellectually - acceptable arguments for thoughts or behavior to hide the actual anxiety - causing impulses
Examples:
"I only read Playboy for the articles."
"I didn't get an A on my paper because I didn't want to make you feel inferior."

43. Regression
Reverting to the comfort of behaviors of an earlier stage of development in order to cope
Example:
Children who crawl around the floor and produce baby talk when a new baby enters the family

44. Displacement
Substituting a less-threatening object for the subject of the hostile or sexual impulse
A person mad at his boss might attack an underling instead--a person like the boss in some ways, but not as anxiety provoking

45. Sublimation The most mature mechanism
Redirecting anxiety-causing impulses into socially acceptable actions
Example:
Dealing with anxiety over a final by engaging in vigorous physical activity

46. Problems with Freud
Too general: Explains everything after the fact, but predicts nothing beforehand
Key portions are contrary to recent data: There is no evidence for penis envy, castration anxiety, the latency period
Biased against females: Freud's negative attitudes towards women colored his entire theory
Relies on too many constructs: Relies on the existence of hypotheticals such as the id, ego, & superego

47. Contributions The discovery of unconscious processes
His emphasis on childhood influences on adult behavior

48. Neo-Freudians Carl Jung Alfred Adler Karen Horney
Former students of Freud who broke away from him (often acrimoniously) to create their own theories
Carl Jung
Alfred Adler
Karen Horney

49. Carl Jung Personality Theory: Ego
Personal Unconscious: Like a combination of Freud's preconscious and unconscious
Collective Unconscious: Inherited tendencies to respond in a particular way (archetypes) shared by all humans

50. Alfred Adler
Humans motivated by the need to overcome inferiority and strive for significance
Inferiority Complex: Adler's term for feelings of inferiority that interfere with development

51. Karen Horney Stressed need for safety & satisfaction
Childhood frustration may lead to development of basic anxiety & neurosis
Tyranny of the Should: Horney's term for focusing on an unrealistic, perfect self-image that leads to dissatisfaction