Theories of Personality PDF

Theories of Personality Chapter 13 Personality from Various Perspectives Personality The unique and relatively stable ways in which people think, feel, and behave Character Value judgments made about a person’s moral and ethical behavior Temperament The enduring characteristics with which each...

Theories of Personality Chapter 13 Personality from Various Perspectives Personality The unique and relatively stable ways in which people think, feel, and behave Character Value judgments made about a person’s moral and ethical behavior Temperament The enduring characteristics with which each person is born Personality from Various Perspectives 1. Psychodynamic perspective 2. Behaviorist perspective 3. Humanistic perspective 4. Trait perspective 01 Psychodynamic  Sigmund Freud Founder of the psychoanalytic movement in psychology Europe during the Victorian Age Men are unable to control their “animal” desires Women were not supposed to have sexual urges  Structure of the Mind Divisions of Consciousness 1. Preconscious Mind – level of the mind in which information is available but not in currently conscious 2. Conscious Mind – level of the mind that is aware of immediate surroundings and perceptions 3. Unconscious Mind – level of the mind in which thoughts, feelings, memories, and other information that are not easily or voluntarily brought into consciousness  Divisions of Personality The Id 1. Id Part of the personality present at birth; completely unconscious, pleasure-seeking Libido – the instinctual energy that may come into conflict with the demands of a society’s standards for behavior Pleasure principle – principle by which the id functions; the immediate satisfaction of needs without regard for the consequences  Divisions of Personality The Ego 2. Ego Part of the personality that develops out of a need to deal with reality; mostly conscious, rational, and logical Reality principle – principle by which the ego functions; the satisfaction of the demands of the id only when negative consequences will not result.  Divisions of Personality The Superego 3. Superego Part of the personality that acts as a moral center Ego ideal – part of the superego that contains the standards for moral behavior Conscience – part of the superego that produces pride or guilt, depending on how much well behavior matches or does not match the ego ideal  Stages of Personality Development Erogenous Zone Area of the body that produces pleasurable feelings, becomes important and can become the source of conflicts Fixation If the person does not fully resolve the conflict in a particular psychosexual stage, it will result in personality traits and behaviors associated with that earlier stage Psychosexual Stages Five stages of personality development proposed by Freud and tied to the sexual development of the child  Five Psychosexual Stages of Personality Development Oral Stage First stage First 18 months of life The mouth is the erogenous zone, and weaning is the primary conflict Personality traits associated with an orally fixated adult personality: overeating, drinking too much, chain smoking, talking too much, nail biting, gum chewing Id dominated  Five Psychosexual Stages of Personality Development Anal Stage Second stage 18 – 36 months; 1-3 years old The anus is the erogenous zone and toilet training is the source of conflict Ego develops Anal expulsive personality – a person is fixated on the anal stage and is messy, destructive, and hostile Anal retentive personality – a person fixated in the anal stage who is neat, fussy, stingy, and stubborn  Five Psychosexual Stages of Personality Development Phallic Stage Third stage 3-6 years of age The child develops sexual feelings Genitals as erogenous zone. Superego develops Oedipus complex – a situation occurring in the phallic stage in which a child develops a sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent and jealousy of the same-sex parent Electra complex – similar process for girls  Five Psychosexual Stages of Personality Development Latency Stage Fourth stage 6 to puberty; school years Sexual feelings of the child are repressed while the child develops in other ways Genital Stage Fifth stage Puberty onwards Sexual feelings reawaken with appropriate targets  Neo-Freudians Followers of Freud who developed their own competing theories of psychoanalysis Carl Gustav Jung Developed a theory including both a personal and a collective unconscious Personal unconscious – Jung’s name for the unconscious mind as described by Freud Collective unconscious – memories shared by all members of human species Archetype – collective, universal human memories  Neo-Freudians Alfred Adler Proposed the feelings of inferiority are the driving force behind personality Developed the birth order theory  Neo-Freudians Karen Horney Developed a theory based on basic anxiety Rejected the concept of penis envy; countered it with womb envy - men felt the need to compensate for their lack of child-bearing ability by striving for success in other areas Basic anxiety – anxiety created when a child is born into the bigger and more powerful world of older adults Neurotic personalities – the result of less-secure upbringings and paired with maladaptive ways of dealing with relationships.  Neo-Freudians Erik Erikson Developed a theory based on social rather than sexual relationships, covering the entire lifespan.  Modern Psychoanalytic Theory Current research has found support for: Defense mechanisms The concept of an unconscious mind that can influence conscious behavior Other Freudian concepts cannot be scientifically researched Freud-based diagnosis on interpretation of dreams and free association 02 Behavioral and Social Cognitive  The Behaviorist View Behaviorists define personality as a set of learned responses or habits Habit – a well-learned response that has become automatic  The Social-Cognitive View Social-Cognitive learning theorists emphasize the importance of The influence of other people’s behavior The influence of a person’s expectancies on learning Social-Cognitive View Learning theory that includes cognitive processes such as anticipating, judging, memory, and imitation models.  Bandura’s Reciprocal Determinism and Self-Efficacy Reciprocal Determinism Bandura’s explanation of how the factors of environment, personal characteristics, and behavior can interact to determine future behavior. Self-efficacy An individual’s perception of how effective a behaviors will be in any particular circumstance (not the same as self-esteem).  Rotter’s Social Learning Theory: Expectancies Locus of Control The tendency for people to assume that they either have control or do not have control over events and consequences in their lives. Internal LoC External LoC Expectancy A person’s subjective feeling that a particular behavior will lead to a reinforcing consequence. Behaviorism as an explanation of the formation of personality has its limitations. 03 Humanism and Personality  Humanistic Theories of Personality Humanistic Perspective The “third” force in psychology Focuses on those aspects of personality that make people uniquely human, such as subjective feelings and freedom of choice. Developed as a reaction against the negativity of psychoanalysis and deterministic nature of behaviorism.  Carl Roger’s Theory of Personality Self-Actualizing Tendency The striving to fulfill one’s innate capacities and capabilities Self-Concept The image of oneself that develops from interactions with important, significant people in one’s life Self-archetype that works with the ego to manage other archetypes and balance the personality Real-Self One’s perception of actual characteristics, traits, and abilities Ideal-Self One’s perception of whom one should be or would like to be.  Carl Roger’s Theory of Personality Self-Actualizing Tendency The striving to fulfill one’s innate capacities and capabilities Self-Concept The image of oneself that develops from interactions with important, significant people in one’s life Self-archetype that works with the ego to manage other archetypes and balance the personality Real-Self One’s perception of actual characteristics, traits, and abilities Ideal-Self One’s perception of whom one should be or would like to be.  Carl Roger’s Theory of Personality Positive Regard Warmth, affection, love, and respect that come from a significant others in one’s life Unconditional Positive Regard – positive regard that is given without conditions or strings attached Conditional Positive Regard – positive regard that is given only when the person is doing what the providers of positive regard wish. Fully Functioning Person – a person who is in touch with and trusting of the deepest innermost urges and feelings. 04 Trait Theories  Trait Theories of Personality Trait Theories Theories that endeavor to describe the characteristics that make up human personality in an effort to predict future behavior Trait – a consistent, enduring way of thinking, feeling, or behaving Gordon Allport First developed a list of about 200 traits He believed that these traits were part of the nervous system  Trait Theories of Personality Raymond Cattell Reduced the number of traits to between sixteen and twenty-three with a computer method called factor analysis. Developed the 16PF Test Surface Traits – aspects of personality that can easily be seen by other people in the outward actions of a person Source Traits – the more basic traits that underlie the surface traits, forming the core of personality. (I.e., Introversion)  Modern Trait Theories: The Big Five Five-Factor Model (Big Five) Describes five basic trait dimensions