Psychology Chapter on Freud's Personality Theory

Personal Development

• Personal development is a combination of characteristics or qualities forming an individual's distinctive character. Traits and behaviors define how a person thinks, feels, and interacts with others.

Examples of Personality Traits

• Adventurous: A love for exploration and trying new things.
• Empathetic: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others, showing compassion.

Temperament

• Temperament in psychology refers to a set of innate or inborn traits that organize a child's approach to the world.
• These traits are generally viewed as biologically based and help shape how individuals react to their environment and regulate their emotions and behaviors.
• Examples:
  • Easy/Flexible: Adapts quickly and generally maintains a positive mood.
  • Cautious: Shows initial withdrawal or hesitance in new situations.

Psychosocial Factors

• Psychosocial factors refer to the interplay of psychological processes and social contexts influencing an individual's behavior and well-being.
• Factors include beliefs, emotions, relationships, and societal structures impacting an individual's mental and social health.
• Examples:
  • Social support: The presence of reliable people you can trust and turn to in times of need.
  • Work environment: Encompassing aspects like physical conditions, job roles, and relationships with colleagues and superiors.

Nature vs Nurture

• Personality is believed to be partly genetic (nature) and partly learned through the environment and socialization (nurture).
• Largely, it is stable over time, although changes can happen in bursts, for example during puberty, a mid-life crisis, or after a major life event.

APA Dictionary Definition

• Personality is defined as the enduring configuration of characteristics and behavior comprising an individual's unique adjustment to life.
• This includes major traits, interests, drives, values, self-concept, abilities, and emotional patterns.

Big Five Personality Traits

• A mainstream taxonomy of personality categories.
• Examples:
  • Extraversion
  • Agreeableness
  • Openness
  • Conscientiousness
  • Neuroticism

Extraversion vs Introversion

• Extraverts are outgoing, energized by social interaction, and frequently seek socialization with many people.
• Introverts are more reserved, preferring solitary activities or interactions with a small, close-knit group and need solitude to regenerate.

Types of Social Interaction

• Exchange: People interacting with reciprocal transactions of things, services, and ideas.
• Competition: Engaging in activities where a person tries to outperform others.
• Conflict: Interactions where individuals struggle against each other as they pursue different goals and interests.
• Cooperation: People joining together to assist each other in attaining shared goals and objectives.
• Accommodation: People accepting different positions, or perspectives in order to resolve conflict.

Agreeableness vs Disagreeableness

• Agreeableness is a personality trait associated with kindness, warmth, cooperation, and concern for others.
• High agreeableness often denotes valuing harmony, being easy to get along with, and avoiding conflict.
• Disagreeableness is characterized by a lack of concern for others, skepticism about others' intentions, and a willingness to make self-serving decisions.

Openness vs Cautiousness

• Openness to experience refers to being receptive to new experiences, ideas, foods, and other things.
• Cautiousness highlights preference for routines, familiarity, and avoidance of risks.

Conscientiousness vs Neglectfulness

• Conscientious people are organized, responsible, dependable, diligent, and careful in their actions.
• Neglectfulness is the opposite--unorganized, erratic, irresponsible, lacking an ethic, and careless.

Work Ethic

• It aligns with the principles of hard work, morality, and integrity in performing job duties.
• Important for demonstrating reliability, trust and responsibility within a workplace.

Neuroticism vs Resilience

• Neuroticism denotes emotional instability, characterized by anxiety, mood swings, irritability, sadness, and perceiving ordinary events as threatening.
• Resilience or emotional stability involves the capacity to maintain a consistent mood; to cope effectively with stressors, demonstrating calm, good temperament and rarely experiencing anxiety or depression.

75 Personality Traits

• A list of 75 different traits of human personality.

Personality in Childhood

• Personality builds upon temperament in early childhood.
• The 1956 New York Longitudinal Study identified three temperaments in children: easy, cautious, and difficult.

Trait Theory of Personality

• The trait theory of personality is an approach to studying human personality by recognizing, and measuring individual traits.
• Traits are habitual patterns of behavior, making people unique.

Freud's Theory of Personality

• Human behavior is a result of interactions among the id, ego, and superego.
• Id: Operates on the pleasure principle, seeking instant gratification of impulses and wants.
• Ego: Mediates between the id and the reality principle, trying to satisfy those needs based on the situation.
• Superego: Enforces moral standards and acts as the conscience and guides our behavior.

Covert vs Overt Behaviors

• Covert behaviors: Hidden actions and processes that occur inside the mind.
• Overt behaviors: Visible actions that can be measured directly.

Leadership Style

• Examples:
  • Autocratic leadership
  • Democratic/Participative leadership
  • Transformational leadership
  • Servant leadership
  • Charismatic leadership
  • Bureaucratic leadership
  • Situational leadership
  • Coaching leadership
  • Pacesetting leadership
• Leadership style refers to the approach or manner in which a leader interacts with and guides their team or organization.

Motivation Theories

• Motivation theories: Explain what drives, directs, and sustains behavior toward achieving particular goals.
• These theories explore and explain underlying needs, desires, and incentives influencing behavior.
• Examples:
  • Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
  • Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory
  • Expectancy Theory
  • Self-Determination Theory
  • Goal-Setting Theory
  • Equity Theory

ABC Model of Attitude

• Attitude refers to the way individuals feel about a person or place, task, or issue.
• Components:
  • Affective: Feelings toward a target
  • Behavioral: Action aligned with the attitude
  • Cognitive: Thoughts and beliefs about the target

Equity Theory

• Concerns itself with equitable distribution of resources in an organization—the effort for compensation being proportional to output or rewards.
• Imbalances between inputs and outcomes lead to inequity which is a motivator for restoration of equity.

Expectancy-Value Theory

• Individual success in accomplishing a task is determined by confidence in the successful completion of the task (expectancy) and the significance/value the individual places on performing the task (value).

Fixed vs Growth Mindset

• Fixed Mindset: Belief that abilities and talents are innate and unchangeable.
• Growth Mindset: Belief that abilities and skills can be developed through effort, persistence, and learning; initial setbacks viewed as opportunities for improvement.

Flow Theory

• The feeling of complete engagement, absorption, and intense concentration in a task, leading to higher output, energy, and creativity, and enhanced satisfaction.

Creativity

• The ability to generate new and innovative ideas with value.
• Core elements:
  • Generativity: Producing something different, new and innovative.
  • Value: Practical or personal relevance and benefit

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation

• Intrinsic: Driven by internal satisfaction.
• Extrinsic: Driven by external rewards or avoiding penalties.

Motivational Interviewing

• A counseling approach to resolve ambivalence and encourage motivation for positive change.

Optimal Functioning Hypothesis

• Explains the certain amount of stress conducive to performance or optimal achievement.

Processing Efficiency Theory

• Explains the impact of anxiety and worry on cognitive performance; and that worry impacts the ability to store and process information, thereby impacting the performance of other tasks—causing reduced efficiency.