1. Psychology 3051 Psychology 305: Theories of Personality Lecture 4

2. Psychology 3052 Lecture 4 The Dispositional Perspective 1. Has a comprehensive taxonomy of personality traits been developed? (continued) 2. What are needs? 3. What are motives? 4. What is environmental press?

3. By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 1.identify correlates of the five dimensions of the FFM. 2. discuss common criticisms of the FFM. 3. define the term “need.” 4. distinguish between Murray’s categories of needs. 3

4. 7. define the term “environmental press.” 4 6. distinguish between a need and a motive. 5. discuss Murray’s interrelations among needs.

5. Psychology 3055 Correlates of the Big 5 1.Extraversion is associated with:  Greater peer acceptance.  A greater number of positive life events.  Use of more effective coping strategies (i.e., active coping strategies). Has a comprehensive taxonomy of personality traits been developed? (continued)

6. Psychology 3056 2.Agreeableness is associated with:  Greater peer acceptance.  Lower levels of depression.  Fewer behavioural problems (e.g., alcoholism). 3.Conscientiousness is associated with:  Higher grades and levels of job performance.  More positive and committed social relationships.  Greater physical health and longer lifespan.

7. Psychology 3057 4.Neuroticism is associated with:  Higher levels of depression.  A greater number of negative life events.  Poorer physical health and shorter lifespan. 5.Openness to Experience is associated with:  A greater number of positive life events.  More varied life experiences.

8. Psychology 3058 What are needs? “A need is a physiochemical force in the brain that organizes perception, intellection, and action in such a way as to transform an unsatisfying situation into a more satisfying one” (Murray, 1981). Noteworthy points about this definition: 1. “Physiochemical” 2.“Organizes perception, intellection, and action” 3.“As to transform an unsatisfying situation into a more satisfying one” Dispositional Perspective: Needs and Motives Approach

9. Psychology 3059 Murray divided needs into 2 broad categories: 1. Viscerogenic or primary needs: Basic biological needs; related to survival. E.g., n Coldavoidance, n Expiration, n Food, n Harmavoidance, n Heatavoidance, n Inspiration, n Noxavoidance, n Sentience, n Sex, n Water.

10. Psychology 30510 2.Psychogenic or secondary needs: Needs that arise or derive from primary needs; related to emotional satisfaction or psychological gratification rather than survival, per se. E.g., n Abasement, n Achievement, n Affiliation, n Aggression, n Autonomy, n Blamavoidance, n Deference, n Dominance, n Exhibition, n Infavoidance, n Inviolacy, n Social Recognition, n Understanding.

11. Psychology 30511 Murray believed that the viscerogenic and psychogenic needs that he identified are experienced by all people to varying degrees. He maintained that each person’s viscerogenic and psychogenic needs could be rank ordered from strongest to weakest, to create a “hierarchy of needs.” This hierarchy, he argued, could be used to define the individual’s personality.

12. Psychology 30512 Murray identified 4 possible interrelations among needs. 1.Fusion of needs: Occurs when two or more non-conflicting needs are satisfied by a single action pattern. E.g., A child who tackles her bully is satisfying: n Aggression and n Harmavoidance.

13. Psychology 30513 2.Subsidiation of needs: Occurs when one or more needs are activated to aid in the satisfaction of another need. E.g., A politician removes a spot from his suit because he doesn’t wish to make a bad impression, and thus diminish his chances of winning the approval and friendship of Mr. Smith, from whom he hopes to obtain slanderous facts relating to his political opponent, Ms. Doe. He plans to publish these facts to damage the reputation of Ms. Doe and thus assure his own election to office.

14. Psychology 30514 E.g., continued A politician removes a spot from his suit because he doesn’t wish to make a bad impression (n Inviolacy), and thus diminish his chances of winning the approval and friendship of Mr. Smith (n Affiliation), from whom he hopes to obtain slanderous facts relating to his political opponent, Ms. Doe. He plans to publish these facts to damage the reputation of Ms. Doe (n Aggression) and thus assure his own election to office (n Achievement).

15. Psychology 30515 3.Contrafaction of needs: Occurs when conflicting needs arise and are satisfied in alternating phases. E.g., An individual who is highly dominant at work but highly deferential at home with his family is alternating between phases characterized by: n Dominance and n Deference, respectively.

16. Psychology 30516 4.Conflict of needs: Occurs when conflicting needs arise simultaneously; the conflict ensures that both needs are only moderately satisfied. E.g., An individual who moderates her sexual conduct because she is concerned that her family will disapprove of her actions is experiencing a conflict between: n Sex and n Blamavoidance.

17. Psychology 30517 What are motives? According to Murray’s theory, motives: (a) are elicited by needs. (b)influence thought. (c) direct behaviour toward or away from specific objects, people, or goals.

18. Psychology 30518 Need (for food) Motive (hunger) Thought (thinking of last night’s dinner, fantasizing about a big meal, perceiving a rock as a loaf of bread) Behaviour (prepare a meal, go to a restaurant) E.g.,

19. Psychology 30519 What is environmental press? According to Murray’s theory, environmental press refers to any environmental or situational factor that influences people’s motives. Through its influence on motives, environmental press can alter thought and behaviour.

20. Psychology 30520 Need (for food) Motive (hunger) Thought (thinking of last night’s dinner, fantasizing about a big meal, perceiving a rock as a loaf of bread) Behaviour (prepare a meal, go to a restaurant) E.g., Environmental press (upcoming exam, exposure to a noxious stimulus)

21. Psychology 30521 Need (for food) Motive (hunger) Thought (I’ll eat after I finish reading this chapter, I’ll fail the exam if I don’t focus on studying right now) Behaviour (continue studying) E.g., Environmental press (upcoming exam)

22. Psychology 30522 Lecture 4 The Dispositional Perspective 1. Has a comprehensive taxonomy of personality traits been developed? (continued) 2. What are needs? 3. What are motives? 4. What is environmental press?