Personality Psychology PDF

Psychology Personality -Module 2 The more or less **stable, internal** factors that make one person's behaviour **consistent** from one time to another and **different** from the behaviour other people would manifest in comparable situation. Studies indicate that the culture we belong to, especia...

Psychology Personality -Module 2 The more or less **stable, internal** factors that make one person's behaviour **consistent** from one time to another and **different** from the behaviour other people would manifest in comparable situation. Studies indicate that the culture we belong to, especially whether it is individualistic or collectivistic, will have a huge impact on how personality is perceived and the expectations we have of it. **Individualistic cultures-** prioritize independence and uniqueness as cultural values Personality is stable, people focus more on the self & on personality characteristics. (introvert/extrovert) **Collectivistic culture-** tend to emphasize interdependence, family, relationships, and social conformity Personality is flexible and described accordingly to social expectations. People describe themselves in terms off social norms (I am a brother) Why do we assess people's personality? Personality assessments is a type of specialized knowledge in the psychology profession that 'involves the administration, scoring and interpretation of empirically supported measures of personality traits and styles in order to: -Refine clinical diagnosis -Structure and inform psychological interventions -Increase the accuracy of behaviour prediction in a variety of contexts and settings {clinical, organizational, educational} Personality assessment tools » Psychologists have a number of assessment tools at their disposal to study personality. » These include observations, interviews and clients' past records (medical, employment or school). In addition, they often also make use of standardized personality questionnaires. » Standardized personality questionnaires refer to tests that would have been given to a large representative number of people in order to establish the meaning of a particular score. 'For example, a score of 19 on a test of extraversion has no meaning on its own but becomes meaningful if we know they're only 10% of the population have such a high score.' » A personality questionnaire is a type of self-report scale. This means that the person whose personality is being assessed will be reporting first-hand on his/her thoughts, behaviors and feelings. » Sound personality assessments stand the test of reliability and validity. These two concepts are further explained in Research Methods. Reliability refers to the extent to which the personality assessment produces consistent results across various situations over time Validity refers to which a test is truly assessing particular aspects of personality » There are both advantages and disadvantages associated with these questionnaires: Advantage: it is assumed that you are the expert about your own life, thoughts, behaviors and feelings Disadvantage: very often we want to come across as social desirable individuals to appear in a better light either intentionally (when you want to give a positive impression of you) and unintentionally (when you are not aware of the 'bias' yourself Theories of Personality: Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory: Psychoanalysis: A History of Freud\'s Psychoanalytic Theory The unconscious, in Freud's view is like a reservoir of thoughts, wishes, feelings, memories, that are hidden from awareness because they feel unacceptable. **Personality** develops from the efforts of our **ego**, our rational self, to resolve tension between our **id,** based in biological drives, and the **superego**, society's rules and constraints The Mind is mostly below the surface of conscious awareness: it is mostly unconscious. The role of childhood and the importance of parenting » Although Freud's psychoanalytic theory places a lot of importance on nature and human beings' innate instincts, it also highlights the importance of the environment (nurture), particularly the impact of the relationship with one's parents. » He believed that events that occur in our childhood, especially with our parents, and the way we interpret them will have a significant impact on who we become as adults: they form our personality. » Significant experiences and our interpretations of them will be stored in our consciousness. The unconscious is the biggest part of our consciousness which, like a cauldron attempts to relieve that energy when the material inside is 'bubbling up'. This usually leads a person to experience anxiety. The structure of personality » According to Freud, everyone's personality is composed of three components: the id, the ego and the superego. These three components are in constant dynamic relationship. -The id is the part of our personality, driven to satisfy basic biological drives. The sexual or biological energy resulting from the id is called the libido. The more 'gratified' the libido is, the more pleasure the person feels; the more frustrated the libido is, the more tension, the person experiences (Greem, Lewis & Willerton, 2015). The id is driven by the pleasure principle. It is the oldest part of our personality, with us since birth. -The superego develops around the ages of 4 or 5. It is like a conscience, making us feel bad when we think of or actually disobey social rules. It develops as a result of rules that parents and significant people teach us, which we later unconsciously adopt as our own. -The ego develops when we are about 2-years old and we realize that, although we are autonomous, we have to fit in a social context. This means that we cannot always get what gives us pleasure. In this way, the ego mediates between the demands of the id and the pressures of external reality Defence mechanisms are unconscious strategies, used by the ego, to defend against the anxiety that someone experiences when the ego does not manage to mediate successfully between the id and the superego. According to Freud, in such cases, the individual's ego develops these strategies that stop him or her from becoming consciously aware of any thoughts or feelings related to the traumatic situation ------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Defense mechanism: Unconscious process employed to avoid anxiety-arousing thoughts or feelings Example: **Regression** Retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated. A little boy reverts to the oral comfort of thumb sucking in the car on the way to his first day of school. **Reaction formation** Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Repressing angry feelings, a person displays exaggerated friendliness. **Projection** Disguising one\'s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others. \"The thief thinks everyone else is a thief\" (an El Salvadoran saying). **Rationalization** Offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one\'s actions. A habitual drinker says she drinks with her friends \"just to be sociable.\" **Displacement** Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person. A little girl kicks the family dog after her mother sends her to her room. **Denial** Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities. A partner denies evidence of his loved one\'s affair. ------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Psychosexual development theory- As a person grows physically certain areas of the body become important sources of potential frustration, pleasure or both. Each stage represents the fixation or libido on a different area of the body If children receive **too much or too little gratification** in any of these stages, they are at risk of **fixation** Children pass through these 5 stages: **Oral stage (0-18months)** -id only - infant enjoys activities involving mouth/tongue. Libido is satisfied by putting things in baby's mouth. Fixations at the oral stage can stem from weaning. {milestone} **Anal Stage (18-36 months)** -- ego starts to develop. Their wishes can bring them into conflict with the outside world {ego is developed} early or harsh potty training can lead to the child becoming an anal-retentive personality who hates mess, respectful of authority, punctual etc. Anal expulsive is the person who is disorganized, messy, careless and rebellious. {starting late} **Phallic Stage (3-6 years)** -- main source of satisfaction is the penis/clitoris. They start discovering difference between males and females. -\>Oedipus Complex- A boy wants to possess his mother exclusively and as a result get rid of his father. The boy imagines that if father had to find out about all this, he would cut off his genitals as a punishment for desiring his mother. {developing castration anxiety} the boy sets out to resolve this anxiety by imitating, copying and joining in masculine dad-type behaviors. {identification} this leads to the boy getting vicarious satisfaction of his sexual impulses towards the mother, he represses his dangerous feeling for her and converts her to tender affection. -\>Electra Complex; the girl desires the father, but realizes she doesn't have a penis. She believes that her lack of a penis is her mother's fault. This leads to her mother's love to turn to anger and she chooses her father as a sexual object because he has the penis she wants. {penis envy}. The girl represses the feelings and identifies with mother in order to take on female gender role and displaces her feelings to her father onto other men. The phallic stage is resolved through the process of identification of same sex parent. Unresolved issues could lead to fixations. **Latency Stage: (6 years-puberty)** - boys/girls experience few sexual feelings. Child focuses on education, same sex play and development of social skills. {sexual energy is sublimated (defense mechanism) towards school work, hobbies, friendship} **Genital Stage (Puberty onwards)**- Main source of pleasure is the genitals -- adolescents starts sexual experimentation. People begin to love others for altruistic motives. Sexual instincts is directed to heterosexual pleasure. Gradually people participate in group activities becoming socialized adults. Those who avoided earlier problems develop a mature character. Problems here develop selfish personality and wouldn't commit to relationships. Strengths It is the first comprehensive psychological theory of human nature and the first to demonstrate that some behvioural problems can be treated psychologically It emphasised the role of childhood on later life development It identified unconscious processes as possible motivators of behaviour Weaknesses It overemphasised the importance of childhood sexuality There is little research evidence about the unconscious It is based on Western culture -- it may not be relevant to nonwestern communities. Trait theories Traits are relatively permanent and identifying characteristics of each of us. They become evident as we interact with others and with our environment. » Trait theorists do not assume that some people have trait and others do not; rather, they propose that all people possess certain traits, but that the degree to which a given trait applies to a specific person varies and can be quantified. » 'One of the goals of trait theorists is to provide a comprehensive description that includes all the major personality traits' Can we ever manage to capture all personality traits? Unfortunately, this is quite difficult. However, a hypothesis developed by Galton in 1884 called the 'fundamental lexical hypothesis', suggests that a 'significant individual difference, such as a central personality trait, will be encoded into the natural-language lexicon; that is, there will be a term to describe it in any or all of the languages of the world' Trait theories place a lot of importance on genetic factors in shaping personality » Supporters of Trait theories suggest two methods of assessment: a\) Answering questionnaires: the person describes himself/herself by answering according to his/her attitudes, feelings, and behaviours. This method is very common and is considered valid and reliable (Eysenck, 2013). At the same time, it is susceptible to the social desirability bias.\ b) Someone else (usually a trained professional such as a psychologist) evaluates the person\'s traits either from what he knows about the individuals or from direct observations of behaviour. » Trait theories are typically less interested in development and with predicting a person\'s behaviour; are interested in the comparison of people, and the degrees to which they vary on particular traits; and do not inherently provide a medium of personality change. Cattell's trait theory » According to Cattell\'s research (1949), human personality traits could be summarised in 16 personality factors or main traits. » He came to this conclusion through an assessment device known as the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) and by analysing data from report cards of students, evaluations from employees, etc., » He described these 16 traits on a continuum; in other words, everybody has some degree of every trait, according to Cattell. » The key to assessment is determining where the individual falls on the continuum. The 16PF is very well known and quite a popular assessment of personality. However, further investigations about this personality assessment highlight its limitations, especially the high overlap that exists between the different factors. Research has indicated that, in reality, there are only between 7 and 9 personality factors, rather than the declared 16 (Barrett & Kline, as cited in Eysenck, 2018) Eysenck's trait theory Hans J. Eysenck believed that, rather than concentrating on a number of personality traits that overlap between them, it is best to 'focus on a small number of uncorrelated or independent factors entirely separate from each other' He developed a model of personality based on just three universal traits. Many of the particular characteristics of individuals can be seen as a combination of these factors together.  **Neuroticism/Emotional** Stability related to moodiness versus even-temperedness. Neuroticism refers to an individual's tendency to become upset, anxious or emotional, while stability refers to the tendency to remain emotionally constant. **Introversion** involves directing attention on inner experiences, while extraversion relates to focusing attention outward on other people and the environment. So, a person high in introversion might be quiet and reserved, while an individual high in extraversion might be sociable and outgoing. **Psychoticism** refers to Individuals who are high on this trait tend to have difficulty dealing with reality and may be antisocial, hostile, non-empathetic and manipulative. According to Eysenck, our personality is made up of a combination of the factors. Eysenck suggested that most personality differences (60- 80%) are attributable to one's genetic make-up which, in turn, has an impact on how our body works and on the type of chemicals are released and absorbed in the brain. He also acknowledged the role of the environment in how these biological processes are expressed (nurture). » He explains that variations in personality are the result of distinctive levels of arousal of different brain systems. 'Eysenck proposed that extroversion was caused by variability in cortical arousal, with introverts characteristically having a higher level of activity in this area than extroverts. He also hypothesized that neuroticism was determined by individual differences in the limbic system, the part of the human brain involved in emotion, motivation, and emotional association with memory.' Jeffrey A. Gray's perspective on Eysenck's trait theory » Gray studied with Hans Eysenck and developed his theory further. Gray suggested that part of the brain susceptible to rewards and punishment: 'trait anxiety (consisting mainly of neuroticism but also including introversion) is associated with brain systems concerned with susceptibility to punishment. In contrast, extraversion (especially impulsivity) is associated with brain systems concerned with susceptibility to reward.' Research suggests that Gray's perspective is a valid one. The Big Five model of personality: » McCrae and Costa expanded Eysenck's theory further by coming up with a model of personality with five overarching personality traits: » The five personality factors are distinct from one another (even though research suggests that they are also related). » McCrae and Costa support the idea that the personality factors are related to one's genetic make-up. McCrae & Costa found evidence supporting the cross-cultural relevance of this mode\\ Each of the factors identified by the Big Five has relevance for society. In order to live comfortably in a community, degrees of agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, extraversion are very helpful. At the same time, high levels of neuroticism (which is not highly favourable for communal living), is associated with low scores on the other four factors. Research also suggests that these factors are predictable of people's everyday life behaviour. For example, people who score highly on introversion are more likely to be comfortable using e-mail rather than face-to-face conversations. Some of the factors of the Big Five seem to be common amongst people with a mental health disorder. For example, patients suffering from a wide range of mental disorders were high on neuroticism and low on conscientiousness, and also tended to be low in extraversion' Strengths Trait theories are based on research and therefore there is support for the theory, especially in view of how traits are related to mental health Assessment of personality based on trait theories can help explain some behaviour and compatibility between people (e.g., they can shed light on why a couple may be experiencing problems of incompatibility) Weaknesses Traits may change over time. This means that personality assessments based on trait theory may be unable to predict behaviour in the long run. Very often, we can identify a trait but different individuals may express their trait very differently in their behaviour. The cognitive element (and therefore people's intentional behaviour) is not taken into consideration Different environments may trigger different behaviours from people, notwithstanding their traits. The Social Cognitive Theory » As a behaviorist, Albert Bandura, agreed that our personality {personal factors} is the product of our environment, but he also placed a lot of importance on our cognitions: what goes on in our mind. » He 'assumed that personality, behaviour and the environment influence each other in complex ways. The environment influences our behaviour, but our personality and behaviour also help to determine the environment' Bandura called this the triadic reciprocal model to emphasize how these three elements are interlinked and therefore influence each other. » He also stressed the importance of the environment, not simply in terms of our conditioning or reinforcement as we are growing up (traditional behaviorist view), but also in terms of the specific situation we find ourselves in. » Above all, Bandura emphasised the importance of cognition and explained that people's perceptions of what they are experiencing may be more significant than the reality of that experience. » In fact, he also mentions the importance of self-regulation and how this has an impact on our behaviour. » He stated that people do not only learn from experiencing things first-hand but also through observing whether other people and being rewarded or punished for specific behaviour. 'The idea that individuals learn to reward and punish themselves internally to regulate their own behaviour and achieve the desired outcomes' Self-efficacy is 'Bandura's term for an individual's sense of their abilities, of their capacity to deal with the particular sets of conditions that life puts before them' In most cases, the stronger the sense of self-efficacy, the more confident one feels Bandura (1994) suggests that there are four sources of self-efficacy: **-Previous success in facing issues, especially successes that require effort** **-Seeing other succeed whilst facing similar issues (vicarious learning)** **-Social persuasion -- others convincing you of your ability to deal with the issue successfully Reducing the reactions of stress and anxiety when facing a difficult situation** A study suggests that self-efficacy has a significant impact on people's performance. This study found that having a sense of self-efficacy increased work-performance by 28%. Interestingly however, the study suggested that 'self -- efficacy was more strongly associated with high task performance on easy rather then complex tasks, and the strength of the association was higher in laboratory settings than in more naturalistic ones' Another study explored the relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance. In this case researchers, studied participants over a 5-year period. The findings indicated that although self-efficacy beliefs were found to predict subsequent academic performance, past academic achievement predicted more strongly subsequent self-efficacy beliefs. This suggests that self-efficacy (cognitive element) may be less powerful than other elements such as previous experience and behaviour, in predicting performance. Other studies in fact indicate that, although self-efficacy may be important in predicting performance, other identified traits, such as the degree of conscientiousness and level of intelligence seem to be more pivotal. Strengths This theory focuses on various elements that help explain why people are so different. It does not only focus on internal but also external factors that could explain our behaviour. By focusing on self-efficacy and self-regulation, social cognitive theory may explain the different levels of motivation people may have towards adopting healthy lifestyles. Weaknesses: This theory dismisses the role of emotional factors in explaining behaviour and motivation. Research suggests that levels of self-efficacy are related to one's genetic make-up. This theory does not take this into consideration. This theory can help explain why people behave the way they do in specific situations but, unlike other theories, it does not explain why some behaviours are adopted 'generally' in people's lives. Humanism: » Humanistic theories give prominence to the free will of people: they stress that human beings have conscious control over their destiny. » They also stress the overall dignity and worth of human beings and their capacity for self-actualization. They also emphasise conscious experience and each individual's perception and experience of their world (phenomenology). » Humanists oppose what they see as pessimism in the psychoanalytic perspective and the robotic conception of humanity offered by behaviorism. » They has a more positive perception of human beings and tend to view people as beings who are creative and growth-oriented. » Humanism was mainly developed by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers in the United States in the 1950s, although George Kelly made useful contributions For Abraham Maslow, people are motivated by a conscious desire for personal growth, not by sexual and aggressive instincts (psychoanalysis). » Maslow believed that we are separated from other animals by our capacity for self-actualization, or self-initiated striving to become what we believe we are capable of being. » He organised human motivational needs into a hierarchy where 'each level must be fulfilled \[to some degree\] before a person can move up to a higher need. Maslow believed the more basic the need, the more powerfully it is experienced' When human beings reach self-actualization, they are likely to experience peak experiences: profound moment\[s\] in a person's life, an instance when they feel in harmony with all things, clear, spontaneous, independent and alert'  Growth needs: 1.Self-actualization: morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts. Deficiency & psychological needs: 2.Esteem: self esteem, confidence, respect. 3.Love & belonging: friendship, family, sexual intimacy. Deficiency & basic needs: 4.Safety: security of body, employment, recourses, Morality, family, health. 5.Physiological: breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, excretion. The hierarchy is placed in a triangle to showcase how at the base, is where the most common needs are and the further you climb, the more complex and least common they are. Carl Rogers He developed his theory of personality whilst working therapeutically with people. He emphasized the human being's capacity for personal growth and development. » Rogers saw people as basically good and healthy and saw problems occurring only because of particular experiences and the negative influence of others. » He believed that we hurt others or act in antisocial ways only when we are frustrated in our efforts to develop our potential. He explained that, anxiety often stems from recognition that we have feelings and desires that are inconsistent with our distorted self-concept. » Carl Rogers developed further the idea of the self-concept and how this can have an impact on the way we see ourselves and, on the way, we present ourselves to others. » He claimed that human beings have two essential needs: To be accepted by others unconditionally (unconditional positive regard). This is important throughout our lives: from childhood to old age. Self-worth. This refers to the way we see ourselves as worthy of other people's acceptance and positive regard. {Self-worth depends on unconditional positive regard. Feelings of self-worth start developing early on in childhood and are very much dependent on how older people, especially parents, treat us.} He suggested that if children misbehave, parents should show disapproval for the behaviour but they should not reject the child or make them feel that they are unworthy of love. » He believed that when children are treated with unconditional positive regard, they will grow to have high self-esteem (the degree to which one's value oneself). » To grow, children also need an environment that provides them with genuineness, and empathy (grown-ups should be able to see the world through their eyes). » If this is not provided, children will develop conditions of worth, the conditions that they perceive are important for others and that will allow them to be accepted. This can be seen more obviously in those of us who can only feel loved and accepted if others agree with them or complement them » According to Carl Rogers, a healthy personality is one where there is congruence between the perceived self (one's self-image) and the ideal self. Psychologists using the humanistic approach work with clients to help them discover their potential and get closer to their self-actualization needs, after dealing with lower-level needs. Similar to what Rogers suggested for good parenting, humanistic psychologists try to provide clients with acceptance (unconditional positive regard) through being genuine and empathic in their approach. Rogers also developed the Q-sort method to measure the self-concept. This involves presenting a client with a pile of cards which contain personal statements (e.g., "I am a friendly person"). The client is encouraged to decide which statements best describe him/her -- self-concept. The same procedure is used for him/her to describe the ideal self. The gap between the self-concept and the ideal self is worked out in therapy The humanistic theory of George Kelly » George Kelly's ideas about personality merged together humanistic and social-cognitive approaches. » Similar to Rogers and Maslow, Kelly believed that in order to get to know someone's personality, one needs to learn about how s/he understands the world (humanism). At the same time, Kelly admits that 'understanding' requires cognitive processes, or personal constructs. These are ways or lenses through which people perceive, understand and predict and control reality Each of an individual's personal constructs functions like hypothesis, a possible way of constructing the physical and social environment. They may be altered if conflicting information is perceived \[from the environment\] or become fixed and incorporated as basic aspects of one's personality' Strengths: Research with adolescents suggests that when they are brought up with conditions of worth, they are more likely to change their behaviour according to what they think others expect of them. This usually has a negative impact on their own self-esteem and mental health The hierarchy of needs seems to be relevant on a social level. Poorer countries are more characterized by lower-level needs. Weaknesses: The concepts utilized by humanists are difficult to study, so research about them is lacking The positive outlook that human beings being intrinsically good is sometimes questionable Maslow's hierarchy of needs or Rogers' idea of conditions of worth may not be transferable notions across different cultures.