1. PERSONALITY

2. Personality Enduring patterns of thought, feeling, motivation and behavior that are expressed in different circumstances Includes –Internal processes Thoughts and emotions that guide behavior –Reputation The manner in which a person acts across a variety of situations

3. Personality Dual focus for personality psychologists: Structure of personality –How we resemble one another Individual differences –What makes us unique

4. Psychodynamic Theories Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychodynamics Involves both conscious and unconscious drives Explored through the use of case studies

5. Psychodynamic Theories Topographic Model: Conscious –Mental processes we are aware of –Rational and goal oriented Desire to have a pizza for dinner Pre-Conscious –Not conscious but can be recalled at any time The make and color of your first car Unconscious –Mental processes we cannot draw into conscious awareness What drives you to chew your fingernails

6. Conflict and Ambivalence Ambivalence –Conflicting feelings or motives –Those we love also cause us the most pain Conflict –Tension between opposing forces –Desire to loose weight & join friends for ice cream Compromise Formations –Maximize fulfillment of conflicting motives

7. Freud’s Drive Model Freud proposed two basic drives (instincts) Sex (libido) –Sexual intercourse, pleasure seeking, sensuality and love Aggression –Physical and emotional domination of others

8. Freud’s Developmental Model Psychosexual Stages Each stage focuses on an erogenous zone which is the part of the body generating sexual pleasure

9. Freud’s Structural Model Id –Source of sexual and aggressive energy –What I want to do, now! –Primary process thinking (wishful, illogical) Superego –Conscious and source of ideals –What I ought to do; Parental and societal influences Ego –Balances wants from the id & oughts from the superego –Weights desire, reality and morality –Secondary process thinking-rational, logical and goal oriented –Weak ego- Either the Id or the Superego takes control of behavior

10. Freud’s Defense Mechanisms Defense mechanisms are emotional coping strategies that include: Repression –Keep thoughts or memories out of awareness –You are unaware of your repressing something Denial –Consciously choose to ignore something –You are aware of a potential problem but ignore it My partner would never cheat on me

11. Freud’s Defense Mechanisms Projection –We attribute our own unacknowledged feelings or impulses to others –Keeping a thought out of awareness tends to keep it very active at an implicit level He seems very greedy, don’t you think? Reaction Formation –We turn unacceptable feelings or impulses into their opposites –I have unconscious feelings for a homosexual encounter so I consciously preach against homosexuality

12. Freud’s Defense Mechanisms Rationalization –We explain away actions in a seemingly logical way to avoid uncomfortable feelings I am glad I didn’t get a promotion as I don’t want to relocate Passive Aggression –Indirect expression of anger towards others –Conscious failure to take action as a means of exerting control

13. Personality Theories Object Relations Theories –Focus on interpersonal disturbances and our ability to relate to others in both love and work –Our ability to form intimate relationships Relational Theories –An outgrowth of object relations theory –Adaptation involves effective relating to others –Focus is on important people in our lives

14. Tapping into the Unconscious Life History Methodology –Case study of a given individual’s life experiences –Focus on key events that may have shaped a person’s personality

15. Projective Tests Rorschach Inkblot Test –Subject views inkblots and tells the tester what each one resembles

16. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Subject is asked to make up a story about each of a series of ambiguous drawings Most drawings used in the TAT involve two or more people interacting

17. Cognitive-Social Theories Incorporates learning, beliefs, expectations and information processing Behavior is generated through: –Encoding a situation as relevant to us –Giving personal meaning to the situation –Believing our actions can impact the situation –Believing we can actually do the desired task

18. Encoding Principles Personal Constructs –Mental representations of people, places, things, and events –Must be significant to be encoded Personal value –We focus on behaviors and situations that we perceive as relevant to our goals or life tasks

19. Expectancies Behavior–outcome expectancies & self- efficacy expectancies –To undertake an effort we must: Desire the expected outcome –I want it Believe we can achieve the expected outcome –I can do it

20. Competences Self- Efficacy –Believing we can accomplish something Competences –The objective degree to which we actually possess a given skill set –Varies widely across individuals –Varies widely (by task) within an individual

21. Self-Regulation Involves: Setting goals Evaluating one’s performance Adjusting behavior to achieve goals

22. Trait Theories Traits involve –Emotional –Cognitive –behavioral tendencies that constitute underlying personality dimensions

23. Eysenck’s Trait Theory Three Psychological Types –Extroversion From shy to sociable, interactive, taking risks –Neuroticism From emotional stability to negative affect –Psychoticism Tendencies towards aggression, egocentric, impulsive and antisocial

24. Five Factor Model Openness to experience Conscientiousness Extroversion Agreeable Neuroticism

25. Situational Consistency Situational consistency –Are traits consistent across different situations? Principle of aggregation Maintains that a trait does not refer to a specific behavior Suggests that personality refers to behavior across many situations but not all instances We can adjust to a given set of circumstances

26. Situational Consistency & Diplomacy Mary & John and the tropical shirt: John is shopping with Mary, tries on a shirt, and ask her opinion before he buys the shirt. Mary says the shirt is simply awful. John comes home with the same shirt, that he has purchased on sale and cannot return, and is very excited as he shows it to Mary. Mary responds that the shirt “fits your personality.”

27. Consistency over Time Traits tend to be consistent over time Person-by-situation interactions: –Helps determine whether we will express (show) a given trait in a given situation Is it safe to be real?

28. Humanistic Theories Focuses on aspects of personality that are distinctly human Roger’s person-centered approach –Phenomenal Experience Centers on how we construct meaning to our experiences Uses empathy by therapist to understand client Self Concept –Organized pattern of thought and perception about oneself as we are Ideal Self –How we want to perceive ourselves

29. Existential Approaches to Personality Suggests that we have no set nature and must essentially create ourselves We find ourselves by making commitments even though such commitments have no intrinsic meaning

30. Existential Approaches to Personality Existential Dread –Recognition that life has no absolute value or meaning –Recognizes the reality of death Supports theories that we try to deny death by committing ourselves to beliefs that incorporate immorality (religion)

31. Personality and Culture There tends to be a remarkable degree of consistency in many traits and behaviors across cultures –Everyone tends to experience Anxiety Joy The concepts on personality we have studied in this chapter reflect our culture

32. Personality and Culture Culture Pattern Approach –Views culture as an organized set of beliefs, rituals, and institutions that shape behavior Interactionist Approaches –Perceive culture as multidirectional with personality, economics and culture mutually influencing one another