1. Personality
Personality is a distinct set of consistent behavioral traits
Distinctiveness - Uniqueness of set of personality traits
Consistency - Tendency to behave in the same way in a variety of situations
A personality trait is a durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of different situations

2. Gordon Allport Cardinal Traits Central Traits Secondary Traits
Dominant traits that characterize nearly all of a person’s behavior
Central Traits
Prominent dispositions found in everyone
Secondary Traits
Dispositions that occur in some situations but not others

3. Cattell’s 16PF

4. Big 5 Personality Traits Mcrae & Costa
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Openness
to Experience

5. Approaches to Understanding Personality
Psychodynamic – behavior is the result of unconscious forces
Freud
Jung
Adler
Behavioral – behavior is the result of reinforced responses
Skinner
Bandura
Mischel
Humanistic – behavior is the result of striving for the ideal
Rogers
Maslow
Biological– behavior is the result of inborn genetic factors
Eysenck
Buss

6. Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory

7. Freudian Defense Mechanisms

8. Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development

9. Other Psychodynamic Theorists
Carl Jung: Analytical Psychology
Introversion/Extroversion
Personal and collective unconscious
Archetypes

10. Figure 12.4 Jung’s vision of the collective unconscious

11. Alfred Adler: Individual Psychology
Striving for superiority
Compensation
Inferiority complex/overcompensation
Birth order

12. Evaluating Psychodynamic Perspectives
Pros
The unconscious
The role of internal conflict
The importance of early childhood experiences
Cons
Poor testability
Inadequate empirical base
Sexist views

13. Behavioral Perspectives
Skinner’s views
Conditioning and response tendencies
Environmental determinism

14. Fig. 12-5, p. 482

15. Behavioral Perspectives
Bandura’s views
Social leaning theory
Cognitive processes and reciprocal determinism
Observational learning
Models
Self-efficacy

16. Behavioral Perspectives
Mischel’s views
The person-situation controversy

17. Evaluating Behavioral Perspectives
Pros
Based on rigorous research
Insights into effects of learning and environmental factors
Cons
Over-dependence on animal research
Fragmented view of personality
Dehumanizing views

18. Humanistic Perspectives
Carl Rogers
Person Centered Theory
Self-concept
Conditional/unconditional positive regard
Incongruence and anxiety

19. Fig. 12-9, p. 488

20. Fig , p. 488

21. Humanistic Perspectives
Abraham Maslow
Self-actualization theory
Hierarchy of needs
The healthy personality

22. Fig , p. 489

23. Fig , p. 490

24. Evaluating Humanistic Perspectives
Humanistic theories are credited with highlighting the importance of a person’s subjective view of reality. They are also applauded for focusing attention on the issue of what constitutes a healthy personality.
They are criticized for lacking a strong research base, poor testability, and what may be an overly optimistic view of human nature (Maslow had a hard time finding live people who had self-actualized).

25. Biological Perspectives
Eysenk’s theory
3 higher order traits
Extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism
Determined by genes
Twin studies
Novelty seeking and genetics
The evolutionary approach
Traits conducive to reproductive fitness

26. Fig , p. 493

27. Evaluating Biological Perspectives
Pros
Convincing evidence for genetic influence
Cons
Conceptual problems with heritability estimates
Artificial carving apart of nature and nurture
No comprehensive biological theory