Personality Theories: Hippocrates & Humorism

• Study notes pertaining to personality and related topics

Theoretical Foundations of Personality

• Hippocrates was a physician in ancient Greece
• Personality is derived from the Latin term "persona," meaning mask
• Humorism is the theory of four humors: yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood
• Dispositions include being grumpy, melancholy, calm, and cheerful
• Four humors include yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood
  • Yellow bile causes a grumpy temperament
  • Black bile causes a melancholy temperament
  • Phlegm causes a calm temperament
  • Blood causes a cheerful temperament
• Personality is an enduring pattern of behaviors, emotions, and thoughts
• L.A. King (2008) defined personality as a combination of factors influencing behavior, thought, motivation, and emotion
• Traits are a combination of factors influencing behavior, thought, motivation, and emotion
• Uniqueness makes each individual distinct
• Behavior is consistently influenced by personality

The Psychodynamic Perspectives

• Sigmund Freud was an Austrian physician who developed psychoanalytic theory
• Psychoanalytic theory suggests behavior that is motivated by the unconscious
• The unconscious is the part of personality containing memories, beliefs, feelings, urges, and drives
• Personality must expose the unconscious to be understood
• Carl Jung developed the concept of the collective unconscious
• The collective unconscious is a universal set of ideas, feelings, images, and symbols inherited from ancestors and nonhuman animals

Horney's Neo-Freudian Perspective

• Karen Horney was a first-wave feminist psychologist
• Personality development is influenced by social relationships, especially parent-child dynamics
• Cultural factors were first to emphasize the role of culture in shaping personality

Adler's Perspective

• Alfred Adler proposed that the primary human motivation is striving for superiority

The Humanistic Perspectives

• This perspective emphasizes the inherent goodness of people
• Carl Rogers emphasized self-actualization and positive regard
• Abraham Maslow popularized the concept of self-actualization
• Self-actualization is reaching one's highest potential
• Motivation is driven by needs, starting from basic needs to higher ones

The Trait Perspectives

• Trait theory explains basic traits to describe personality
• Traits are consistent characteristics and behaviors across situations
• Personality is defined by these traits
• Gordon Allport proposed categories of traits
• Cardinal traits are dominant traits directing most activities (e.g., honesty, sociability)

Cattell and Eysenck's Factoring out Personality Theory

• Factor analysis is a statistical technique to identify associations among variables
• Personality traits are identified through factor analysis
• General patterns are revealed by analyzing large numbers of variables
• Cattell identified 16 pairs of source traits as basic personality dimensions
• Factor analysis was used by Cattell and Eysenck to identify personality traits
• Eysenck identified three major personality dimensions
  • Extraversion is the degree of sociability
  • Neuroticism is emotional stability
  • Psychoticism is the degree of reality distortion

The Social-Cognitive Perspectives

• B.F. Skinner views humans as infinitely changeable through learning
• The learning process shapes new behavior patterns
• Personality is molded through learned behavior patterns
• Cognition includes thoughts, feelings, expectations, values influencing personality
• Observational learning is learning by observing others' actions and consequences
• Albert Bandura emphasized the prediction of outcomes without actual behavior
• Self-efficacy is the belief in personal capability
• Self-esteem is positive and negative self-evaluations

Meaning and Nature of Personality

• Importance of Personality Development

Factors Affecting Personality

• Heredity is the transmission of traits from parents to offspring through genes
• Physical traits include characteristics like eye color, nose size, hair, and skin color
• Mental traits include intelligence and other mental capacities
• Inherited traits, such as physical attributes (e.g., beauty), can influence confidence
• Environment is the total stimulation from conception to death
• People, such as family, relatives, peers, and friends, influence behavior and perception
• Events are impactful life experiences shaping personality (e.g., challenges leading to resilience)
• Places, such as home, school, and workplace, influence worldview and well-being
• Culture is a way of life, including practices and rituals that shape personality (e.g., religious rituals)

Filipino Personality and Character

• Shaped by foreign influences, mixed cultures, and traits
• Traits are intertwined with personality, categorized as positive (to cultivate) and negative (to eliminate)
• Smooth Interpersonal Relations (SIR) means avoiding conflict and getting along with others
  • Pakikisama means yielding to the group for unanimous decisions
  • Go-between is a mediator to avoid direct conflict
  • Euphemismis using polite language to avoid harshness
• Hiya means shame or self-esteem in relation to authority, preventing wrongdoing
• Bahala Na is a fatalistic attitude, trusting God to take care of everything, avoiding responsibility
• Ningas Kugon is initial enthusiasm fading quickly, linked to low achievement motivation
• Utang na Loob is a debt of gratitude, reciprocity, especially between children and parents, but can have negative consequences like bribery
• Hospitality is welcoming guests and offering the best, often at the expense of family members
• Amoral Familism is individualism within the family, difficulty looking beyond the family circle, social individualism

Filipino Positive Traits

• Easygoing: Ranked easiest to get along with in Asia by PERC
• Respectful: Use of Opo/Po with elders and Mano Po greeting tradition
• Religious: Prays before meals and before bed
• Positive Attitude: Loves to laugh, even in crisis
• Helpful: Demonstrated in bayanihan tradition
• Resilient: Bounces back from tragedy, remaining hopeful
• Optimistic: Ranked as the 6th most positive people globally (2012)
• Cheerful & Open: Friendly, nonjudgmental, warm, and enjoy life

Filipino Negative Traits:

• Manana Habit: Tendency to procrastinate and leave tasks undone
• Early Parenthood: Giving birth at a young age
• Dramatic: Emotional and demonstrative, especially in public
• Use of Bad Language: Often uses foul language
• Pride & Arrogance: Difficulty accepting defeat or losing face
• Always Late: Punctuality issues
• Attention-Seeking: Calling attention