Understanding Personality in Psychology

Introduction to Personality

• Personality is patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving, as defined by John, Robins, & Pervin (2008).
• Personality is consistent and enduring, influencing behavior across different situations.
• Mood changes, physical activities, and temporary behavioral reactions are not part of personality.
• The word 'Personality' comes from the Greek word 'Persona'.

Place of Personality in Psychology

• Personality psychology is a key part of understanding human behavior.
• Personality helps in understanding, predicting, and guiding stable behavior.
• Personality is involved in treating disorders, and in offering career guidance.
• Personality is also used to understand Relationships and explain individual differences.

Major Theories of Personality

• Trait theory focuses on genetic and outstanding characteristics.
• Biological theory looks at brain activity.
• Psychoanalytic theory emphasizes unconscious processes and childhood experiences.
• Humanistic theory focuses on personal growth, needs, and actualization.
• Behavioral theory studies overt/observable behavior.
• Socio-cognitive theory considers environmental influence.

Key Concepts in Personality

• Nature vs. Nurture
• Stable vs. Changing
• Individual Differences

Contemporary vs Traditional Theories of Personality

• Traditional theories were developed prior to the 20th century and the early years of the 20th century, while contemporary theories emerged post World War 2.
• Traditional theories were introspective and philosophical.
• Contemporary theories are scientific and empirical, and use scientific experiments and data.
• Traditional theories focused on traits, the unconscious, and learning.
• Contemporary theories focus on cognition, genetics, and the environment.
• Traditional theories were theoretical in basis.
• Contemporary theories are neuroscientific and data-driven.

Contemporary Theories

• Big Five: Includes Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN).
• Social Cognitive Theory: Observational learning, self-efficacy, and reciprocal determinism.
• Biological and Evolutionary: Genetics, brain, and evolution.
• HEXACO: The Big-Five plus Honesty-Humility.

The Big Five Personality Traits

• The Big Five is based on the traditional trait theory and identifies five traits explaining dimensions of human personality.
• The Big Five is the basis for clinical and career personality tests.
• It is also called the Five-Factor Model (FFM) or by the acronym OCEAN.
• Openness to Experience: curiosity, wide interests, imagination, creativity, and openness to new things
• Conscientiousness: duty, organization, dependability, discipline, and low-orientation
• Extraversion: sociability, outgoing nature, interaction, assertiveness, and enthusiasm; introverts are low on extraversion
• Agreeableness: altruism, trust, kindness, cooperation, and empathy
• Neuroticism: anxiety, emotional instability, and moodiness

Social Cognitive Theory

• Developed by Bandura (1999), Social Cognitive Theory focuses on observational learning, cognitive processes, and social experiences in personality development.
• Reciprocal Determinism: Behavior functions as a result of personal factors such as, cognitive skills, attitudes, beliefs, and the environment; behavior impacts the environment and the environment influences behavior.
• Modelling (Observational Learning): Learning by observing others.
• This requires paying attention, retaining information, and reproducing the behavior based on motivation.
• Self-Efficacy: The belief in the ability to succeed in specific situations or complete tasks.
• Cognitive Processes: The interpretation of experiences influence emotional responses.
• Self-Regulation: The ability to control thoughts, emotions, and behavior through setting goals, monitoring progress, and adjusting behavior as needed.

Biological & Evolutionary Perspectives

• Genetic Influences: Genetics influence behavior and are evidenced by twin studies.
• Brain structure & functioning: Areas of the brain are linked to specific traits, for example, the amygdala with fear and aggression, and the prefrontal cortex with decision making and social behavior.
• Neurotransmitters: Variations in neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin influence mood and behavior which can affect traits, like impulsivity and sociability.
• Natural Selection: Traits improving chances of survival are likely to be passed on to future generations.
• Sexual Selection: Traits enhancing attractiveness are likely to be selected and passed on, like physical attractiveness and social skills.
• Parental Investment Theory: Males and females may differ because of their levels of investment in offspring, for example, females may be more cautious and compassionate because they invest more in child-rearing.

HEXACO Model

• Honesty-Humility (H): Sincerity, fairness, greed avoidance, and modesty.
  • Low scorers are self-centered and manipulative
  • High scorers are honest and humble.
• Emotionality (E): Measures dependence, emotional sensitivity, anxiety, and sentimentality. Like Neuroticism in the Big-Five.
  • High scorers are empathetic and emotional.
• Low scorers are emotionally stable and resilient.
• Extraversion (X): Measures liveliness, assertiveness, and sociability.
• High scores indicate one is outgoing and full of energy.
• Agreeableness (A): Tolerance, gentleness, and patience.
  • High scorers are cooperative, work in teams, and are kind.
• Low scorers are competitive and critical.
• Conscientiousness (C): Organization, diligence, and reliability.
• High scorers are dependable, reliable, and disciplined.
• Openness to Experience (O): Open-mindedness, curiosity, and creativity.
• High scorers are open to new ideas and imaginative.

Psychoanalytic Theory

• Developed by Sigmund Freud.
• Focuses on inner conflicts, childhood experiences, and sexual desires' roles in behavior
• Also referred to as psychodynamic.
• Id: Pleasure- seeks immediate satisfaction of raw instincts like aggression, sex, and hunger.
• Ego: Reality- a rational part that mediates between the Id and reality.
• Superego: Moral- acquired from society; differentiates between right and wrong, and seeks perfection.
• Conscious: With full awareness and control.
• Preconscious: Not currently aware of these thoughts but can retrieve them from memory if needed.
• Unconscious: Fears and desires influence behavior without awareness.
• There are 5 stages of psychosexual development which include:
  • Oral (0-1 year) - Child is preoccupied with suckling.
  • Anal (1-3 years) - Preoccupation with toilet training.
  • Phallic (3-6 years) - Preoccupation with genitalia (Oedipus complex – boys desire mom, Electra complex – girls desire dad).
• Latency (6-12 years) - Suppressed sexual energy in exchange for social skills.
• Genital (12 +) – Mature sexual instincts and relationship building outside the family.

Defense Mechanisms

• Psychological strategies to cope with conflicts and protect oneself from distress.

• Primitive/Immature:

• Acting Out – Using destructive behavior, such as violence, to express unconscious conflicts.

• Regression - Using childhood or previous behaviors that have been outgrown, for example, crying if one wants something, instead of asking for it.

• Projection – Attributing unacceptable feelings to others, for example, a corrupt worker accuses an official of corruption.

• Denial - Refusing to accept reality because it is too painful.

• Neurotic:

• Rationalization – Justifying actions with an unreasonable but logical explanation.

• Displacement – Shifting negative emotions to a safer target.

• Repression - Blocking negative memories. However, these memories may negatively affect behavior, such as childhood trauma.

• Reaction formation – Behaving opposite to how one feels.

• Mature:

• Sublimation: Channeling unacceptable thoughts into socially permissible activities, for example, a violent person becoming a Karate star.

• Humor: Lightening stressful situations.

• Suppression: Postponing situations until it is appropriate to deal with them, for example, a judge suppressing emotions while sentencing a murderer.

• Altruism: Assisting others to reduce stress and guilt.

Trait Theory

• The theory proposes that personality is formed by observable traits which are stable across situations and influence behavior.
• Allport sees this as a Trait Theory.
• Cardinal Traits: Dominant and influence all behaviors.
• Central Traits: General and form the personality's basis.
• Secondary Traits: Situational.
• Eysenck's Three Dimension Model:
• Extraversion-Introversion = Outgoing vs reserved
• Neuroticism – Emotional stability = Emotionally stable vs unstable
• Psychoticism = Degree of Aggressive/antisocial traits
• Cattell's 16 Personality Factors:
• Examples include warmth, vigilance, privateness, perfectionism, rule-consciousness, self-reliance, tension, social-boldness, sensitivity, and reasoning.

Humanistic Theory

• Self Theory (Carl Rogers).
• The theory proposes the uniqueness of individuals, a drive towards achieving full potential and the inherent goodness of people.
• Self-actualization is realizing full potential, which is central to this theory.
• Self Concept: A consistent set of beliefs.
• Real self (Who I am).
• Ideal self (How I wish to be).
• Perceived self (How I see myself).
• Congruence: Agreement between real self and ideal self promotes a healthier personality.
• Incongruence: Mismatch between real self and ideal self leads to psychological problems.
• Abraham Maslow's Theory of Needs - Self-actualized individuals are problem-solvers with a deep sense of purpose.

Definition of Memory

• Memory is the mental process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information.
• The processes of making meaning of information, attention, rehearsing and remembering all relate to memory.

Theoretical Explanations of Memory

• The Information Processing approach treats human memory as a system where information is processed through stages until it is stored and retrieved.
• The Multi-store model by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) is a model within the the Information Processing approach.
• Sensory Memory:
• Attention? Stored in short term memory
• No attention: Forget
• Short-Term Memory:
• Rehearsed? Long term-memory
• Not rehearsed? Forgotten
• Long-Term Memory:
• Stored information is consolidated for easier retrieval.
• Repeated rehearsal leads to consolidation

Types of Memory

• Sensory Memory: Briefly stored memory from the senses. Information to which we pay attention, moves to short term memory.
• Short-term Memory: Limited capacity memory, which is stored for a short period. Rehearsed information moves to long-term memory.
• Long-term Memory: Stored information which can be retrieved with cues. The two forms are:
• explicit/declarative: events, personal experiences and facts, e.g. capital of USA
• implicit memory (procedural): skills, e.g. riding a bike, conditioned responses, and habits.
• Working Memory: Memory for active processing in reasoning, comprehension, i.e. complex tasks and is within the short-term memory.

Importance of Memory in Human Behavior

• Learning: To understand how people learn and retrieve information for tasks.
• Self & Identity: Memory of personal experiences and the formulation of an identity.
• Forensic & Criminal Psychology: Needed for accuracy of eye-witness testimonies and the accuracy of witness statements.
• Clinical Psychology & Cognitive Neuroscience: For understanding/treating disorders like Alzheimer's and amnesia.
  • Important for understanding brain mechanisms of learning and memory.
  • Needed for treating stroke and traumatic brain injury etc.

Factors Affecting Memory

• Stress
• Emotions
• Sleep
• Age
• Extraneous stimuli / Distractions
• Rehearsals

Memory Improvement Strategies

• Attention
• Rehearsals
• Sleep
• Emotion regulation
• Stress management
• Cues

Tips for Students to Improve Memory

• Repetition
• Chunking (break info into bits)
• Mnemonics (acronyms, rhymes, visual aides)
• Visualization
• Deep processing (Link to personal experience and previous memory)
• Elaborate (Explain extensively in own words)
• To enhance memory, you should have a healthy lifestyle, manage stress, eat balanced diets, get good sleep, maintain regular exercise, and relax.