2. Chapter 10: Personality

3. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Personality The pattern of enduring characteristics that differentiate people – those behaviours that make each of us unique

4. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Psychoanalytic Approaches Psychoanalytic theory –Freud’s theory that our behaviour is triggered by forces within personality of which we are not aware Unconscious –A part of the personality of which a person is not aware

5. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Structuring Personality Id –Raw, unorganized, inborn part of the personality –Libido Psychic energy that fuels primitive drives –Pleasure principle Immediate reduction of tension and the maximization of satisfaction

6. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Structuring Personality Ego –Strives to balance the desires of the id and the realities of the objective, outside world –Reality principle Instinctual energy is restrained in order to maintain the safety of the individual and help integrate the person into society

7. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Structuring Personality Superego –The final personality structure to develop that represents the rights and wrongs of society as taught and modeled by a person’s parents, teachers, and other significant individuals –Conscience Prevents us from behaving in a morally improper way –Ego-ideal Represents the “perfect person” we wish we were

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9. Developing Personality Fixation –Refers to conflicts or concerns that persist beyond developmental period in which they first occur

10. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Defence Mechanisms Unconscious strategies that people use to reduce anxiety by concealing the source from themselves and others

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12. Evaluating Freud Freud Influenced psychology and philosophy –Unconscious –Defence mechanisms –Childhood roots of psychological difficulties –Dreams –Implicit memory –Method of treatment Criticisms pf Freud –Lack of scientific data Built on unobservable abstract concepts Cannot predict Small population cannot be generalized –Does not apply to other cultures

13. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. The Neo-Freudian Psychoanalyst Jung’s Collective Unconscious –A set of influences we inherit from our own relatives, the whole human race, and even nonhuman animal ancestors from the distant past Adler’s inferiority complex –Situations in which adults have not been able to overcome the feelings of inferiority that they developed as children

14. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Trait Approaches Trait theory –Assumption that all people possess certain traits Traits –Enduring dimensions of personality characteristics along with which people differ

15. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Allport’s Trait Theory Cardinal trait –A single characteristic that directs most of a person’s activities Central traits –The major characteristics of an individual Secondary trait –Characteristics that affect behaviour in fewer situations and are less influential than central or cardinal traits

16. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Trait Approaches Cattell –Factor analysis A method of summarizing the relationships among a large number of variables into fewer, more general patterns –Source traits Represent the basic dimensions of personality

17. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Trait Approaches Hans Eysenck –Extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism The “Big Five” –Openness to experience –Conscientiousness –Extraversion –Agreeableness –Neuroticism

18. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Evaluating Trait Approaches Virtues of trait approach –Clear, straightforward explanation of people’s behavioural tendencies –Useful in studying people’s everyday lives –Compare one person to another

19. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Learning Approaches Social cognitive approaches –Emphasizes the influence of a person’s cognitions – thoughts, feelings, expectations, and values – in determining personality Self-efficacy –Belief in one’s personal capabilities Self-esteem –Component of personality that encompasses our positive and negative evaluations

20. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Evaluating Learning Approaches Learning Approaches criticisms: –Ignore internal processes that are uniquely human –Oversimplifying personality –Reducing behaviour to a series of stimuli and responses –Excludes thoughts and feelings –‘deterministic’ nature Learning Approaches virtues: –Study personality in objective, scientific manner –Focus on observable behaviour and environment –Useful in treating personality disorders

21. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Biological and Evolutionary Approaches Suggest that important components of personality are inherited Temperament –A basic, innate disposition

22. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Humanistic Approaches Emphasize people’s basic goodness and their tendency to grow to higher levels of functioning Unconditional positive regard –An attitude of acceptance and respect on the part of an observer, no matter what a person says or does Self-actualization –A state of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potential

23. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Assessing Personality Psychological tests –Standard measures devised to assess behaviour objectively Self-report measures MMPI-2 –A test used to differentiate people with specific sorts of psychological difficulties as well as predicting a variety of other behaviours

24. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Projective Methods Projective personality test –A test in which a person is shown an ambiguous stimulus and asked to describe it or tell a story about it Rorschach test Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

25. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Behavioural Assessment Direct measures of an individual’s behaviour used to describe characteristics indicative of personality

26. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Cross-Cultural Assessment of Personality There is a language barrier. Researchers use both –Verbal self-report measure and –Non verbal measure Translating test results can be difficult. Some traits cannot be depicted in pictures