Psychology Review Continued PDF

**Predictive validity** (also called criterion validity): is about how well a test can predict real-world behaviors or outcomes: - test: A quiz that measures how much someone likes thrills and excitement. - The prediction: People who score high on this test should be more likely to do...

**Predictive validity** (also called criterion validity): is about how well a test can predict real-world behaviors or outcomes: - test: A quiz that measures how much someone likes thrills and excitement. - The prediction: People who score high on this test should be more likely to do exciting, risky activities in real life. - **Predictive validity** helps show that a test is useful. It\'s not just about getting a score on a quiz, but about understanding how that score relates to real-life actions or situations. - **Convergent validity** means that a test matches up well with other tests or measures of the same thing. Here\'s a simpler breakdown: 1. It\'s about whether your test agrees with other ways of measuring the same thing. 2. Example: Let\'s say you make a quiz to measure how friendly someone is. 3. How to check convergent validity: - You give people your friendliness quiz. - You also ask their friends to rate how friendly they are. - If people who score high on your quiz are also rated as very friendly by their friends, your quiz has good convergent validity. 4. Why it matters: convergent validity is like getting a second opinion that agrees with your first opinion. It helps confirm that your test is on the right track. - **Construct Validity:** Construct validity checks if a test really measures what it says it does. It includes face, predictive, convergent, and discriminant validity. The word \"construct\" is used because traits like intelligence or extraversion are abstract and can\'t be physically seen. A test with good construct validity will connect to things it should (like a creativity test predicting creative achievements) and not to unrelated things (like physical strength). This is important to make sure tests measure the right concepts, helping psychologists better understand people. **Sigmund Freud** - Founder/creator of psychoanalysis - One of the most influential schools of thought in the 20th Century - Considered one of 4 major revolutions in humans' understanding of the world: Copernican, Darwinian, **Freudian**, DNA - influenced thinking and research in: - **T**herapy ("talk therapy) - Philosophy - Science - Humanities: modern art, literature, films **The origins of Freudian theory** - Trained as a medical doctor, but more interested in research and understanding the mind - Worked with famous neurologist Dr. Breuer: Developed the "Talking Cure" - They both picked up on the work of Charcot, another neurologist - Freud: the unconscious mind operated under its own power, subject to its own motivations and according to its own logic. - that the adult personality was a result of how the person as a child coped with his or her sexual and aggressive urges - Freud initially categorized instincts into two types: [**self-preservation and sexual instincts**,] which aligned with Darwin's concepts of survival and reproduction. However, he later merged them into a single **\"life instinct\" (libido**) and introduced a **\"death instinct\" (thanatos**), partly inspired by the devastation of World War I. - The **life instinct** focused on survival and pleasure. Also referred to as "libido" of the life instinct (any need-satisfying, life-sustaining, or pleasure-oriented urge.) - the death instinct involved destructive or aggressive urges. - Freud noted that these instincts could combine, such as in eating (life-sustaining but also aggressive) or rape (a fusion of sexual and aggressive energy). - He believed individuals had a limited amount of psychic energy, which could be redirected into socially acceptable behaviors like sports, limiting destructive actions. **UNCONSCIOUS MOTIVATION: SOMETIMES WE DON'T KNOW WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO**: The human mind consists of 3 parts: - the **conscious** mind is the part that contains all the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that you are presently aware of. Whatever you are currently perceiving or thinking about is in your conscious mind. - **preconscious mind:** Any piece of information that you are not presently thinking about, but that could easily be retrieved and made conscious - **unconscious min**d stores all the thoughts, memories, and feelings that are disturbing or traumatic. (The largest part of the mind) Society does not allow people to express freely all their sexual and aggressive instincts. Individuals must learn to control their urges. One way to control these urges, according to Freud, is to keep them from entering conscious awareness in the first place Freud\'s Theory of the Unconscious Mind: The Iceberg Analogy CASE OF ANNA O. - Freud believed that nothing happens by chance; every act, thought, and feeling has a reason. - Everything we do, think, say, and feel is an expression of the conscious, preconscious, or unconscious mind. - Freud introduced the idea that daily \"accidents\" (e.g., slips of the tongue) are expressions of the unconscious mind. - Freud argued that mental illness symptoms are caused by unconscious motivations. - Freud\'s case studies, including that of Anna O., supported his theory that psychological problems are rooted in unconscious memories or desires. - Anna O. developed physical symptoms (e.g., cough, loss of movement) while caring for her sick father. - Breuer\'s therapy for Anna O. involved talking about her memories and feelings related to her father\'s illness, which relieved her symptoms. - Freud adopted Breuer\'s \"talking cure,\" believing that uncovering repressed traumatic memories could alleviate psychological symptoms - **[ID:]** Freud taught in the beginning there was id, the most primitive part of the human mind. The id is like a spoiled child---selfish, impulsive, and pleasure-loving. According to Freud, the id operates according to the **pleasure principle**, which is the desire for immediate gratification. The id cannot tolerate any delays in satisfying its urges. During infancy, the id dominates. When an infant sees an attractive toy, it will reach for the toy and will cry and fuss if it cannot get it. - **[The ego]** is the part of the mind that constrains the id to reality. According to Freud, it develops within the first two or three years of life (after the "terrible twos"). The ego operates according to the **reality principle**. The ego understands that the urges of the id are often in conflict with social and physical reality. A child cannot just grab a candy bar off the shelf at the grocery store or hit his sister whenever he makes him angry - Around the age of 5, a child begins to develop the third part of the mind, which Freud called the superego. The **superego** is the part of the mind that internalizes the values, morals, and ideals of society. Usually, these are instilled into the child by society's various socializing agents, such as parents, schools, and organized religions. Freud emphasized the role of parents in children's development of self-control and conscience, suggesting that the development of the superego was closely linked to children's identification with their parents. **THE CONFLICT** Our lives are a constant negotiation of *opposing impulses* (desire/fear; love/hate) Id, Ego, and Superego are constantly battling to control our behavior Such conflicts produce *anxiety* **How to control those anxieties?** Defense Mechanisms: Task usually falls on the ego, must operate unconsciously 1. **REPRESSION:** The process of preventing unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or urges from reaching conscious awareness.nFreud: Often sexual desires. Today: Protect from memories of childhood abuse or trauma 2. **DENIAL**: Convincing yourself that a negative event did not occur or was not so bad 3. **Rationalization:** Generating acceptable, logical reasons for outcomes that otherwise would not be acceptable 4. **Displacement** Threatening impulse or desire is redirected onto another target\ "Taking it out on someone else" 5. **Reaction Formation:** To stifle an unacceptable impulse, the exact opposite behaviors/desires are displayed. Example: "*Homophobic? Maybe You're Gay*" -- NYTimes. People who implicitly associate "gay" with "me" but say they are "straight" are more likely to show homophobia 6. **Sublimation:** Most adaptive defense. Convert unacceptable desire into acceptable behavior that still helps relieve anxiety -- Example: Play sports rather than beat someone up 7. **Projection:** Seeing one's own unacceptable qualities in others and disliking them for possessing those qualities **What did Freud do for Psychological Science and Personality Research?** - **A talking cure\ **-- "free-association," "stream of consciousness" -- Birth of modern therapy - **Mind-Body connection\ **-- Basic tenet of modern health psychology - **Psychic issues may influence behavior *even* when people aren't aware of them** - **Case Study Method.** Based on experiences with patients, Freud developed an elaborate theory **Today, contemporary psychoanalysts say:** - The unconscious mind still affects our lives, but not as much as Freud thought. - Our behavior is often a result of balancing conflicts between emotions, motivations, and thoughts. - Childhood is important in shaping our personalities, especially in how we form relationships as adults. - How we see ourselves and others influences the way we interact with people. - Developing personality involves learning to manage emotions and moving from dependent relationships to more mature, independent ones. **And its not:** - Unconscious is all about sex - Psychosexual Stages (how personality develops through childhood, based on the idea that different parts of the body are the focus of pleasure at different stages of life. According to Freud, unresolved conflicts or fixations at any stage can impact personality and behavior in adulthood. Freud\'s theory places too much focus on sexual development as the main force behind personality. Contemporary psychoanalysis recognizes that many factors, like social, cognitive, and emotional development, are important in shaping personality---not just sexual urges.) **Modern view of Repression:** Some psychologists support motivated repression, while others find no experimental validation. Elizabeth Loftus's research shows that suggestive therapy practices can create false memories of trauma. Therapists may lead patients to believe their issues stem from repressed childhood abuse, even without memories of such events. Hypnosis, suggestive questioning, and imagination exercises can implant false memories. Loftus's research raises concerns about the use of repressed memories in court cases. While false memories exist, genuine trauma and childhood abuse remain prevalent and must be acknowledged. Loftus advocates for careful therapeutic and legal approaches to avoid creating false memories. **Modern view of the Unconscious:** The unconscious mind refers to the part of our mind that contains thoughts, memories, and feelings that we are not consciously aware of. It can influence our behavior in ways we don\'t realize. The revolves around two main views of the unconscious: 1. Motivated Unconscious (Freudian Theory) 2. Cognitive Unconscious (Contemporary Psychology) **1. Motivated Unconscious (Freudian Theory)** - Core Idea: Freud believed that the unconscious mind is a powerful force filled with repressed emotions, desires, and instincts---especially those related to anger and sexuality. These unconscious drives can significantly influence our thoughts and actions. - Example: If someone has repressed anger, it might manifest in passive-aggressive behavior without them consciously realizing why they are acting that way. The unconscious influences behavior by acting like a hidden motivator, leading people to do things based on these repressed urges. **2. Cognitive Unconscious (Contemporary Psychology)** - Core Idea: Contemporary psychologists, like John Bargh, acknowledge the existence of the unconscious but believe it works differently from Freud\'s idea. They argue that the unconscious mind is more rational and systematic. It contains thoughts and knowledge that influence behavior without strong emotional drives or repression. - Example of Bargh's Experiment: - Participants thought they were in a language study and were exposed to either rude or polite words. - Later, they encountered a staged situation where they could act either rudely or politely. - Even though they were unaware of the influence of the words they had seen, those exposed to rude words acted more rudely. - This shows that the unconscious can affect behavior, but not all agree with Freud that the unconscious can have its own autonomous motivation - **Priming and Subliminal Messages** - **Priming:** This is a cognitive process where exposure to one stimulus influences a response to another stimulus. For example, if you see words related to kindness, you might be more inclined to act kindly without realizing the words influenced your behavior. - **Subliminal Messages**: These are signals or messages designed to pass below the normal limits of perception. For instance, if a person sees the phrase "Buy a Coke" very quickly, they might not consciously register it, but it could still affect their later decisions (though evidence suggests this effect is limited). **Differences Between the Two Views** - Freud\'s View: The unconscious is full of emotional and irrational content that can drive our actions, often without our awareness. It's like a boiling pot of repressed desires and conflicts. - Cognitive View: The unconscious is more like a library of information and skills---things we know or can do but aren\'t currently thinking about. It\'s calm and rational, influencing us in subtle ways that don't have deep emotional undertones. **Summary** - Freud's concept of the unconscious emphasizes the influence of repressed emotions and instincts, leading to irrational behavior. - Contemporary psychologists see the unconscious as a way to explain automatic thoughts and behaviors (like habits) that don't stem from deep emotional conflicts. They acknowledge that it influences behavior, but in a more structured and less chaotic way than Freud suggested. **Modern view of Ego:** Ego Psychology Anna Freud, Erik Erikson -- Students of Freud More complex view of ego Focus on the strengths of conscious self Control over one's environment -- Goal is to establish a secure identity -- Failure to do so creates identity crisis Beginning of research on the Self **Erikson's 8 Stages of Development** **Different from Freud's psychosexual development** -- Cover the full lifespan -- Allow for development during "latency" and adulthood **Similar to Freud's** -- Each stage marked by conflict -- Failure to resolve conflict leads to fixation, or *crisis* (in Erikson's words) **Narcissism: Modern research on Freudian defenses** Exaggerated positive self-esteem **Does the individual really believe his/her positive self-views?** -- Narcissistic Paradox: People who seem to think they're great may feel insecure underneath -- Narcissism is a defense Reaction formation **DSM characteristics: grandiosity, dominance, entitlement, superiority** **In normal (non-clinical) populations, characterized by self-enhancement** -- i.e., excessively positive view of self and negative view of others -- bragging, egotism, superiority, derogation of others, entitlement What Causes Narcissism? - Parents over-idealize child, set up unrealistic standards - Simultaneously, parents excessively criticize child for failing to meet unrealistic standards - "Narcissistic wound" -- early humiliation experience Narcissists overcompensate for insecurities by self-aggrandizing **Narcissism and Therapy** Narcissists typically go to therapy for external life problems (Work)\ Repeated failures (Not living up to their own career expectations)\ Idealization and devaluation of romantic partners Always need to be center of attention difficult to treat in therapy. Why? **Two types\ **-- Grandiose Narcissist -- Fragile narcissist **Grandiose narcissist** - Has an exaggerated sense of self-importance, appears to feel privileged and entitled, little empathy, blames own failures or shortcomings on other people/circumstances, critical of others, controlling, little psychological insight into own motives, behavior, etc.\` **Fragile narcissist\ feels:** unhappy, depressed, or despondent, critical of others, exaggerated sense of self-importance, anxious, envious, prone to painful feelings of emptiness, appears to feel privileged and entitled, feel inadequate, inferior, or a failure **Object Relations theory:** **Modern research on influence of childhood on adulthood relationships** Object relations theory diverges from Freud\'s psychoanalytic concepts, dropping the term "analytic". **Freud\'s Focus**: emphasized sexuality as central to personality development, highlighting conflicts between sexual desires and societal constraints. **Revised Emphasis**: Modern psychoanalysts prioritize social relationships and their origins in childhood over sexual aspects. **Oedipal Phase Reinterpretation:** While Freud highlighted sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent and conflict with the same-sex parent, later analysts focus on the importance of forming social relationships during this stage. **Core Assumptions of Object Relations Theory:** Internal desires are less important than relationships with significant others (especially parents). Significant others, particularly the mother, are internalized as mental objects, creating an unconscious representation that the child can relate to, even in their absence. **Early Bond Influence**: Object relations theory posits that the quality of early relationships, especially with primary caregivers, significantly influences a child\'s personality. Harlow\'s experiments with monkeys demonstrate this principle by showing that the emotional and social needs of infants are met more by the comfort of a surrogate \"cloth\" mother than by a \"wire\" mother providing food. This indicates that emotional bonding is crucial for healthy development. Infant monkeys deprived of real mothers became anxious, insecure, abnormal sexuality Bowlby (1969) noticed a similar pattern in humans But, there are individual differences in kids' behaviors -- Some become anxious until mom returns (separation anxiety) -- Some become depressed, and show anger and detachment when mom returns **Stranger Experiment:** - One group of infants, called **securely attached**, endured the separation with only minimal anxiety and went about exploring the room, waiting patiently or even approaching the stranger and sometimes wanting to be held by the stranger. - **avoidantly attached** group, consisted of infants who avoided the mothers when they returned. The infants in this group typically seemed unfazed when the mothers left and typically did not give them much attention when they returned, as if aloof from their mothers. Approximately 20 percent of the babies fell into this category. - **ambivalently attached** group. The infants in this group were anxious about mothers' leaving; started crying and protesting vigorously before the mothers even left. When the mothers were gone, infants were difficult to calm. On the mothers' return, however, the infants behaved ambivalently. Their behaviour showed both anger and a desire to be close to the mothers; they approached their mothers but then resisted by squirming and fighting against being held. **ADULT RELATIONSHIPS:** - In the adult **secure relationship style**, the person has few problems developing satisfying friendships and relationships. Secure people trust others and develop bonds with them (They report coming from a trusting and supportive family, with parents who were happily married) - **avoidant relationship style:** difficulty in learning to trust others; remain suspicious of the motives of others, and they are afraid of making commitments. They are afraid of depending on others because they anticipate being disappointed, being abandoned, or being separated. (Adults with avoidant style frequently reported that their parents had unhappy marriages) - **Ambivalent relationship style** is characterized by vulnerability and uncertainty about relationships; become overly dependent and demanding on their partners and friends; display high levels of neediness in their relationships. They are high maintenance: need constant reassurance and attention. (adults w/ this style had family members were aloof and distant, and that they did not feel very much warmth or trust either from or toward their parents) **Stress Test Study:** Hetero romantic couples brought into lab; told that male must participate in experiment involving the "machine" that might be dangerous - Experimenter leaves couple alone for 10 min. in waiting room. While participants were secretly videotaped; Male feels stressed - Avoidant females least likely to show support. If anything, show annoyance at partner's nervousness. Secure females most supportive If a person develops a particular childhood attachment style, are they destined to live out the adult version of that style?. Attachment theorists believe that even the poorest childhood experi- ences with relationships can be overcome. (Ainsworth and Bowlby) subsequent positive experiences could compensate for earlier negative relationships. If the relationship is positive and supportive enough, it is possible to internalize a new mental version of relationships that is more secure and trusting, with positive expectations about how people would relate to the person **Chapter 11: Motives and Personality** Motives arise from needs or deficiencies (e.g., hunger); Different types of motives exist, like hunger, thirst, or achievement; Motive intensity varies depending on the situation (e.g., skipping a meal vs. not eating for days); Satisfying a need reduces tension; Motives shape perception and behavior (e.g., a hungry person sees food in unrelated objects); Some motives are driven by personal growth, not just by a need to fix a deficiency. (Self-Actualization) **Motives Approach to Personality** Motives are part of the intrapsychic domain due to internal psychological needs and urges; drives people to think, perceive, and act in predictable ways; some motives can be unconscious, meaning people may not know what drives their actions; People may not be fully aware of the reasons behind their fantasies or behaviors; Motive psychologists use projective techniques (e.g., fantasies, free associations) to uncover unconscious motivations, similar to psychoanalysts. Motive psychologists share some core ideas with **dispositional psychologists**: \(1) people differ from one another in the type and strength of their motives; \(2) these differences are measurable \(3) these differences cause or are associated with important life outcomes, such as success at work or relationship satisfaction; \(4) differences among people in the relative amounts of various motives are stable over time; and (5) motives may provide one answer to the question "Why do people do what they do?" **Henry Murray (1930s-1960s):** First modern theory of motivation, Began as a medical doctor, Studied psychoanalysis with Jung -- Became a "reborn man" **What is Need?:** Psychological force that guides behavior -- Compulsion to reduce state of tension Example: someone who has a high need for power, a need to influence others, may see even everyday social situations as opportunities to boss others around. **Needs according to Murray:** - Order: To desire cleanliness, organization, balance, neatness, and precision. - achievement: To master, manipulate, or organize others, objects, or ideas. To accomplish difficult tasks. To overcome obstacles and excel. To surpass rivals by exercising talent. - exhibition: To be seen and heard, to be the centre of attention. To make an impression on others. To excite, fascinate, entertain, intrigue, amuse, entice, or amaze others. - autonomy: To shake off restraint, break out of confines. To get free, to resist coercion and restriction. To avoid being domineered. To be free to act according to one's wishes. - Dominance: To seek to influence or control the behaviour of others by persuasion, command, suggestion, or seduction. To restrain or prohibit others. To lead and direct. - affiliation: To enjoy cooperation or reciprocal interaction with similar others. To draw near to others. To please and win affection of those you like. To remain loyal to friends. - Nurturance: To take care of others in need, to give sympathy and gratify the needs of helpless others. To assist people in danger. To help, support, console, protect, comfort, nurse, feed, and heal others. - Succorance: To receive aid from others. To have one's needs gratified by another, to be nursed, supported, protected, advised, indulged, loved, and consoled. Murray believed that everyone has a unique hierarchy of needs, with each need varying in strength. For example, a person might have a strong need for dominance, an average need for affiliation (social connection), and a low need for achievement. These needs interact within a person, making motives dynamic. This means that different needs influence each other, shaping behavior. For instance, someone with a high need for dominance and a strong need for affiliation will likely develop social skills to lead effectively. However, if their need for affiliation is low, they may come across as controlling or argumentative. **Murray's theory on personality psychology: press and apperception (**A way of seeing): PRESS: - environment plays a key role in shaping a person\'s needs, which are activated only in certain contexts. - press refers to need-relevant aspects of the environment. A person's need for affiliation, for example, won't affect that person's behaviour without an appropriate environmental press (such as the presence of friendly people). People with a high need for affiliation would be more likely to notice other people, and to see more opportunities for interaction with others, than someone with a low need for affiliation. - one person who is high on the need for affiliation might see the smile as a sign of friendliness and a nonverbal invitation to start a conversation. someone who is low on the need for affiliation might see it as a smirk and become suspicious that the stranger is laughing at them. - People high on the need for affiliation seek relationships, build social networks, and find approval from others very satisfying. They tend to prefer being part of a team rather than acting as an individual. The need for intimacy, on the other hand, refers specifically to the need for close, warm, and loving relationships with others. APPERCEPTION: The act of interpreting the environment and perceiving the meaning of what is going on in a situation is termed **apperception** (Murray, 1933). Because our needs and motives influence apperception, if we want to know about a person's primary motives, we might ask that individual to interpret what is going on in a variety of situations, especially ambiguous situations. In administering the TAT, participants are shown each picture and told to be creative and make up a short story, interpreting what is happening in the picture. For example, a subject might write the following about the TAT card of the boat on the shore: "The boat in the picture is being used by a young boy to take produce to market. The boy has stopped to gather some wild berries to take to the market to sell along with his farm produce. This boy works very hard and eventually grows up, puts himself through university, and becomes a famous scientist, specializing in the study of plants, primarily agricultural crops." This story has a lot of achievement imagery, so the subject who wrote it would be seen to have a high need for achievement. Criticism: 1. the term *test* should not be used to refer to projective method 2. several researchers have reported extremely low correlations between TAT measures of certain needs and questionnaire measures of the same needs, leading them to question whether the TAT is a valid measure. David Mclelland: - The debate between the TAT and questionnaire measures of motives centers around their reliability and what they actually measure. Critics argue that the TAT (Thematic Apperception Test) lacks internal consistency and fails to consistently predict behavior. As a result, questionnaires were developed, offering better test-retest reliability and predictive validity. - However, McClelland, a key TAT proponent, responded by claiming that when properly used, the TAT predicts long-term outcomes better than questionnaires, especially in areas like business success. He proposed that the TAT measures **implicit motivation** (unconscious desires), while questionnaires measure **explicit motivation** (conscious motives). Implicit motives predict long-term behavior patterns, while explicit motives predict short-term responses in specific situations. McClelland argued that both tools measure different aspects of motivation, and their lack of correlation is due to this distinction. **The Big Three Motives: Achievement, Power, and Intimacy** **Achievement**: Psychologist David McClelland, following Murray\'s work, focused on the **need for achievement (nAch)**, which is the desire to succeed, feel competent, and do better. People with high nAch are motivated by challenge, variety, and curiosity. They derive satisfaction from accomplishing tasks or anticipating success. High nAch individuals prefer tasks with **moderate difficulty**, avoiding tasks that are too easy or too hard, as these do not provide opportunities to outperform others. Research supports this, showing that children and adults with high nAch prefer moderately challenging tasks in games, university majors, and careers, seeking a balanced level of difficulty. **Power:** While McClelland is primarily known for his studies on the achievement motive, his student David Winter extensively researched nPow. Winter defines it as a preference for impacting others, with a more detailed description by Fodor highlighting that individuals with high nPow seek to impress, influence, or control others and desire recognition for their power-oriented actions. High nPow individuals often achieve their impact through forceful actions or ostentatious displays of possessions, wanting others to respond with admiration, astonishment, or fear. Research has shown that those with a high need for power can recognize emotional facial expressions faster, as they gauge their influence through the emotional responses of others. Like the need for achievement, the need for power energizes and directs behavior in situations where exerting influence is possible. The **Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)** is commonly used to assess nPow, scoring subjects\' stories for themes related to power, such as strong actions, significant reactions in others, and emphasis on status and reputation. Control over others\ Argumentative\ Risk-taking\ Prefer less popular friends. **Intimacy:** Dan McAdams, another McClelland student defines the need for intimacy as the "recurrent preference or readiness for warm, close, and communicative interaction with others" (McAdams, 1990, p. 198). People high in nInt want more intimacy and meaningful human contact in their day-to-day lives than do those who are low in nInt. **The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is commonly used to assess nInt. People high in nInt tend to:** 1. **Think more about relationships.** 2. **Experience pleasant emotions around others.** 3. **Smile, laugh, and make more eye contact.** 4. **Initiate conversations and write more letters.** those with high nInt prefer deep, meaningful one-on-one interactions with a few close friends, focusing on personal topics rather than large social gatherings. They are often perceived as sincere and loving. Research shows a positive relationship between nInt and well-being. A longitudinal study found that high nInt at age 30 was linked to better life adjustment 17 years later, including job satisfaction and coping skills. For women, nInt correlates with happiness and life satisfaction; for men, it relates to reduced life strain. Notably, women generally have a higher need for intimacy than men. **HUMANISTIC TRADITION: THE MOTIVE TO SELF ACTUALIZE:** unconscious (implicit) motives are motives that a person is largely unaware of, yet they regularly guide and direct behaviour, life choices, and even responses to projective tests such as the TAT. Choices based on unconscious motives are, in most respects, made without free will. An emphasis on conscious awareness of needs, choice, and personal responsibility is one of the characteristics of the **humanistic approach** to motivation. People are intrinsically good and strive toward greater health, maturity, and autonomy 3. Humanistic psychologists emphasize the role of *choice* in human life, as well as the influence of *responsibility* on creating a meaningful and satisfying life. 4. A second major is its emphasis on the human need for growth and the realization of one's full potential. Human nature, according to this view, is positive and life-affirming. This view stands in marked contrast to psychoanalysis, which takes a rather pessimistic view of human nature, one that views humans as seething cauldrons of primitive and destructive instincts. 5. The other traditions, including those of Freud, Murray, and McClelland, view motivation as coming from a specific *deficit,* or lack of something Maslow Emphasized on: phenomenology (study of an individual\'s lived experience of the world); Humans have innate desire for self- actualization, self-esteem, belongingness Hierarchy of needs - Maslow\'s hierarchy of needs organizes human motivation, starting with basic needs like food and water, progressing to higher needs such as esteem and self-actualization - While exceptions exist (e.g., starving artists), most people follow the hierarchy, satisfying lower needs before pursuing higher ones. - Lower-level needs are more urgent for survival, while higher needs are weaker and easily disrupted by external factors. - Individuals work on multiple needs simultaneously, but their primary focus is typically on one level at a time. - Movies, particularly adventure stories, often depict characters shifting their focus to survival needs during crises (*Alien*, *Die Hard*, *The Edge*).  **Physiological**: For civilization to function, society is to satisfy these needs so we can focus on the higher ones **Belongingness**: need to give and receive love - Belongingness is more psychological compared to physiological or safety needs. - Modern society may offer fewer opportunities for belonging, with loneliness and alienation as signs of unmet needs. - Gangs can fulfill belongingness needs for those who feel excluded. - Evolutionary theory suggests that group belonging was essential for survival, allowing individuals to share responsibilities and protect each other. - While group living is no longer tied to survival, the desire for group membership remains strong in modern humans (e.g., peer groups, work teams). **Esteem:** Need to be held in high regard by self and others (not just "self-esteem") Comes from mastery, achievement, adequacy, feelings of *competence*, confidence, independence There are really two types of esteem---esteem from others and self-esteem, the latter often depending on the former. We want to be seen by others as competent, strong, and able to achieve. We want to be respected by others for our achievements and our abilities. We also want this respect to translate into self-esteem; we want to feel good about ourselves, to feel that we are worthwhile, valuable, and competent. Much of the activity of adult daily life is geared toward achieving recognition and esteem from others and bolstering self-confidence. **Self Actualization:** self-actualization, which involves developing one's full potential and living according to one's true self. Self-actualizers tend to: - have a clear sense of their identity and life direction, with little doubt about their path. - score higher on measures of general well-being. - having **peak experiences**, which are tied to intense moments of joy and fulfillment - Maslow introduced an additional level called self-transcendence, where individuals go beyond personal fulfillment and focus on higher goals like altruism and spirituality; Self-transcendence is seen as the ultimate expression of the self - Self-transcendence is often overlooked due to Maslow's limited time to promote it and society\'s hesitance to recognize spirituality's role in life. - **Enriched life experiences** - **Enhanced creativity** - **In touch with feelings, not threatened by them** - **Requires self-exploration and action** - ***Fully Functioning Person*** **Peak experience:** Experience unity of self with universe, Feeling of power and wonder, Manifests differently for each person, Common in psychologically healthy people **Is it possible to self-actualize while also meeting needs for esteem and belongingness:** The process is not necessarily linear; people can move between different levels depending on their circumstances, balancing various needs along the way. Criticism: - describes what people *should* strive for, rather than what they actually *do* in practice; it is seen as an idealized version of human motivation, where self-actualization (personal growth, self-fulfillment) is positioned as the ultimate goal. However, this doesn\'t necessarily reflect how people behave, as individuals may not always have self-actualization as their goal. - Evolutionary theory argues that behaviors are shaped by their contributions to survival and reproduction. Therefore, if creativity were simply a way for individuals to achieve personal satisfaction or growth, it would not align with evolutionary principles. Instead, creativity might be better understood to reproductive or social success (for instance, attracting mates, solving problems, or gaining status) - Doug Kenrick: argue that survival alone isn't enough in evolutionary terms; reproduction is the ultimate goal. Therefore, Kenrick's model adds the needs for mate acquisition, mate retention, and parenting above esteem needs, making parenting the pinnacle of human success. In this revised model, **Maslow's concept of self-actualization is excluded, as it doesn't directly serve evolutionary purposes like survival or reproduction**. However, this exclusion doesn't diminish the importance of self-actualization for overall well-being. **Carl Rogers:** Carl Rogers, like Maslow, believed in the goodness of human nature and the potential for self-actualization. ***[However, while Maslow focused on the traits of self-actualizing individuals, Rogers concentrated on how to foster self-actualization, developing a theory of personality and client-centered therapy]***. Rogers argued that under certain conditions, individuals get stalled in their progress toward self-actualization and his theory focuses on how to overcome these obstacles. At the heart of Rogers' approach is the concept of the \"fully functioning person,\" someone who is open to new experiences, lives in the present, and trusts themselves. Such individuals move toward self-actualization and aren\'t held back by external pressures or the opinions of others. Rogers believed that people develop a need for positive regard (love and acceptance) from parents and significant others. However, when this regard is conditional, children focus on meeting others\' expectations, adopting conditions of worth. This leads them to live their lives trying to please others rather than themselves, resulting in a loss of self-direction and self-actualization. Rogers proposed unconditional positive regard as the solution, where love and acceptance are given without conditions. When individuals experience this, they can accept their true selves, weaknesses and all, which allows them to move toward self-actualization and become fully functioning individuals. Chapter 14: Approaches to self main components of the self: self-concept, self-esteem, and social identity **Self-concept:** your understanding of yourself and all of your qualities and characteristics. - William James distinguished between the "I" and the "me" in his theory of the self, noting that we can simultaneously think of ourselves as active observers and as objects of our observation. - The "I" reflects our capacity for self-awareness, the ability to observe and evaluate ourselves. This gives rise to the "me," or what becomes our self- concept **Mirror recognition test:** animals that have passed some form of the mirror test of self recognition now include all of the great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and humans), asian elephants, bottle nose elephants, magpie, orcas **In Children:** - children do not begin using personal pronouns (I, me, mine) until they gain self-recognition abilities in the mirror test - self-recognition with mirrors occurs on average at age 18 months, 15 months being the earliest documented case - *Nonverbal recognition of self-accomplishment (VIDEO: puzzle completion)* - 24 months being the point at which all or almost all children demonstrate self-recognition. - A child pretending to feed a doll imaginary food or a child drinking an imaginary liquid from a cup must know that what they are doing is not real (pretend play requires self recognition) - the second year of life, children begin to grasp the idea that other people have expectations for them (learning good from bad behaviour) - Among the first aspects of the self that people learn to identify and associate with themselves are gender and age. This occurs between roughly 2 and 3 years of age - From age 3 to about 12, children's self-concepts are based mainly on developing talents and skills. Children think of themselves as being able to do this or unable do that, such as recite the alphabet, tietheir own shoes, read, - 5 or 6 onward, children increasingly begin to compare their skills and abilities with those of others. They are now either better than or worse than other children. (social comparison is the evaluation of oneself or one's performance in terms of a comparison with a reference group) - In early adolescence, it becomes common to hear references to likes and dislikes, as well as more abstract personality and social characteristics (e.g., "I am a human being," "I try to be helpful"). By late adolescence, individuals tend to emphasize interpersonal characteristics, such as typical mood states, ideologies, and opinions and beliefs (e.g., "I am a moody person," "I am an atheist" - How do we know a child has a sense of self? - Emotional markers (age 2.5-3) - -- Self-conscious emotions Shame - Guilt\ Embarrassment Pride - -- Require ability to evaluate the self ("I" self evaluates the "me" self) - Empathy **SELF ESTEEM:** Self-esteem is a general evaluation of self-concept along a good--bad or like--dislike dimension involves both cognition (as in *thinking* positively or negatively about yourself) and emotion (as in *feeling* good or bad about yourself). When we do something that is not consistent with our self-concept, such as hurt someone's feelings, but we do not think of ourselves as uncaring, then we may experience a dip in self-esteem. Such fluctuations, however, occur around our average level of self-esteem. Personality researchers have begun to acknowledge that people can evaluate themselves positively or negatively in different areas of their lives. For example, you may feel pretty good about your intellectual abilities, but perhaps you are shy around people to whom you are attracted. Consequently, you may have high academic self-esteem but lower self-esteem when it comes to dating or feeling attractive to others. The average low point in self- esteem usually occurs in adolescence, followed by a gradual rise through midlife for most people Although there are distinct areas of life in which people can feel confident about themselves--- such as friendships, academics, and appearance---self-esteem measures of these content areas are moderately correlated. This means that people who tend to have high self-esteem in one area also tend to have high self- esteem in the other areas. **Measuring Self Esteem:** Self-Esteem Implicit Association Test (SE-IAT) measures unconscious (implicit) self-esteem by seeing how quickly people link positive or negative words with themselves. Implicit self-esteem shows how people feel about themselves unconsciously, without them being fully aware of it. Explicit self-esteem is based on what people consciously say about their self-worth in surveys. A discrepancy between the two can indicate underlying issues: High explicit self-esteem but low implicit self-esteem is linked to narcissism. These people seem confident but are insecure inside. Low explicit self-esteem but high implicit self-esteem is often linked to emotional issues like depression. Bullying can lower explicit self-esteem while leaving implicit self-esteem unchanged. Therapy can improve both implicit and explicit self-esteem. Researchers are studying how implicit and explicit self-esteem are related and whether implicit self-esteem operates separately from conscious self-perception**.** - Studies have tested how **high and low self-esteem** individuals react to **failure and criticism** in lab settings. - Participants are given a task (like an intelligence test), then told they performed **poorly**. - Researchers observe how participants respond to a similar task afterward: - People with **low self-esteem** tend to **give up** more easily and **perform worse** after failure. - People with **high self-esteem** are more likely to **try harder** and **keep working** just as hard after failure. - **Low self-esteem individuals** see failure as confirming their belief that they are likely to fail, so they lose motivation for future tasks. - **High self-esteem individuals** don't see failure as part of their self-concept, so they may **dismiss the failure** and stay motivated to keep trying. - People with **high self-esteem** focus on **achieving success** and maintaining a positive self-image. - People with **low self-esteem** are more focused on **avoiding failure**. **What did they mean by "high self- esteem" in the 20/20 video?** - **Noise-blasting study** - --  People high in NARCISSISM, not self- esteem, became aggressive after ego threat - --  Test was NPI (widely used measure of narcissism we talked about in class) - **High self-esteem isn't problematic; but narcissism can be!** - **Origins of narcissism** - -- Unrealistic, idealized positive feedback - -- Positive feedback without actual accomplishments - Everyone gets a trophy **Can Positive Illusions Be Harmful?** - **"Threatened egotism": Inflated pride is easily wounded** - **Media reports suggest that adolescent killers felt humiliated by peers** -- Suffered from wounded pride and powerlessness - **Shame-rage spiral\ **-- Excessive pride is a response to deep-seated shame and insecurity (narcissism) -- Entitlement, grandiosity and aggression are components of narcissism -- Can lead to anger at perceived mistreatment **What's the Process?** - **When we are insulted and humiliated, we feel shame** -- incredibly painful emotion that people want to avoid at all costs - **Narcissists are so dependent on their inflated high self-esteem, they externalize blame to avoid shame** -- By blaming others shame is converted to anger -- Expressed as aggression **Research suggests\... Positive Illusions are a "Mixed Blessing"** **In the short term, positive illusions are associated with:** -- Psychological well-being and self-esteem -- Better performance on experimental tasks **In the long term, positive illusions are associated with:** -- Decreasing levels of well-being and self-esteem for university students, but not high school boys - --  Disengagement from school and increased likelihood of dropping out -- for university students - --  Impact of positive illusions may vary by stage of life CONCEPT QUESTIONS: ***Define the main functions of the id, ego, and superego in daily life.*** ***What are the five basic assumptions or ideas supported by contemporary psychoanalysis?*** ***Summarize the contemporary perspectives on the unconscious. How does research on repression in- form our understanding of the unconscious mind?*** **What is the main premise of object relations theory? Describe in your own words.** **What are the three primary styles of attachment in childhood? How do these attachment styles relate to or predict behaviours in adult relationships** **Think back to Chapter 9. In consideration of ego psychology and object relations theory specifically, describe how Freud's original ideas have been interpreted and modified over time.** **How have Freud's original ideas regarding childhood development specifically influenced contemporary thinking on adult relationships** **Distinguish among deficit, need, motive, and press. How are they related, and what role do they play in personality?** **What is apperception? How is it measured by the TAT, and what are the implications of this measure- ment for needs and motives?** **What are the "Big Three" motives? Describe them in your own words, and consider practical examples of each.** **Define the concept of self-actualization. How did Maslow and Rogers offer different perspectives on this concept?** **What does it mean to say that personality consists of both traits and mechanisms? What does it mean to say that personality traits are organized and relatively enduring?** **Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of the four sources of personality data. If you were designing a study of your own, which two sources would you prioritize? Why?** **Define reliability and validity, and explain why they are important considerations in the evaluation of personality measures.** **List Erikson's eight stages of development. How does Erikson's theory of development compare and contrast with Freud's theory of psychosexual development?** **What were the main contributions of Karen Horney to ego psychology? Define narcissism (as a trait) and discuss the narcissistic paradox.** ***Distinguish among deficit, need, motive, and press. How are they related, and what role do they play in personality?*** ***Define the concept of self-actualization. How did Maslow and Rogers offer different perspectives on this concept?*** ***In your own words, describe the development of self-awareness and self-concept from infancy to adolescence.*** ***Define self-esteem. What does it mean to measure self-esteem (a) implicitly and (b) explicitly?***