🎧 New: AI-Generated Podcasts Turn your study notes into engaging audio conversations. Learn more

theories-of-personality-10nbsped-1260175766-9781260175769.pdf

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

Full Transcript

page i Tenth Edition Theories of Personality Gregory J. Feist, PhD San Jose State University Tomi-Ann Roberts, PhD Colorado College Jess Feist McNesse State University ...

page i Tenth Edition Theories of Personality Gregory J. Feist, PhD San Jose State University Tomi-Ann Roberts, PhD Colorado College Jess Feist McNesse State University page ii THEORIES OF PERSONALITY Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright © 2021 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LCR 24 23 22 21 20 ISBN 978-1-260-57544-6 MHID 1-260-57544-6 Cover Image: ©Shutterstock/Jeremy Richards All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page. The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw-Hill Education does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites. mheducation.com/highered page iii About the Authors Gregory J. Feist Gregory J. Feist is a Professor of Psychology in Personality at San Jose State University. He has also taught at the College of William & Mary and University of California, Davis. He received his PhD in Personality Psychology in 1991 from the University of California at Berkeley and his undergraduate degree in 1985 from the University of Massachusetts– Amherst. He is widely published in the psychology of creativity, the psychology of science, and the development of scientific talent. One major focus of his is establishing the psychology of science as an independent study of science, along the lines of history, philosophy, and sociology of science. His major efforts toward this end are: Psychology of Science and the Origins of the Scientific Mind (2006, Yale University Press), which was awarded the 2007 William James Book Prize by the Division of General Psychology, American Psychological Association (APA); and being founding president of the “International Society for the Psychology of Science and Technology.” His research in creativity and personality has been recognized with the Berlyne Award from the Division for Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts (Division 10) of APA. Feist is former president of APA’s Division 10 and has served on editorial boards. His teaching efforts have been recognized by outstanding teaching awards from both UC Berkely and UC Davis. Feist is the co-author of Psychology: Perspectives and Connections (McGraw-Hill, 4th edition) and co-editor of the Handbook of the Psychology of Science (Springer Publications) and Cambridge Handbook of Creativity and Personality. page iv Tomi-Ann Roberts Tomi-Ann Roberts earned her BA from Smith College and her PhD from Stanford University. She is a Professor of Psychology at Colorado College. Her research interests include the sexual objectification of girls and women, self-objectification, and the consequences of these for physical, emotional, and cognitive well-being. The first paper she coauthored on this topic, Objectification Theory, is the most cited article in over the 40-year history of the journal Psychology of Women Quarterly. In addition to her scholarly publications, she served on several American Psychological Association task forces, including Sexualization of Girls and Educating through Feminist Research. She served as president of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research from 2017–2019. She leverages psychological science as an expert witness and consultant in cases involving objectification as a form of sexism and gender discrimination. Jess Feist Jess Feist was Professor of Psychology at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana from 1964 until his death in 2015. Besides coauthoring Theories of Personality, he coauthored with Linda Brannon, Health Psychology: An Introduction to Behavior and Health. He earned his undergraduate degree from St. Mary of the Plains and graduate degrees from Wichita State University and the University of Kansas. His research interest was in early childhood recollections. page v Contents PART I Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Personality Theory 2 What Is Personality? 3 What Is a Theory? 5 Theory Defined 5 Theory and Its Relatives 5 Philosophy 5 Speculation 6 Hypothesis 6 Taxonomy 7 Why Different Theories? 7 Perspectives in Theories of Personality 7 Psychodynamic Theories 8 Humanistic-Existential Theories 8 Dispositional Theories 8 Biological-Evolutionary Theories 8 Learning-(Social) Cognitive Theories 8 Theorists’ Personalities and Their Theories of Personality 10 What Makes a Theory Useful? 11 Generates Research 12 Is Falsifiable 12 Organizes Data 13 Guides Action 13 Is Internally Consistent 14 Is Parsimonious 14 Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity 14 Research in Personality Theory 16 PART II Psychodynamic Theories 19 CHAPTER 2 Freud: Psychoanalysis 20 Overview of Psychoanalytic Theory 21 Biography of Sigmund Freud 22 Levels of Mental Life 28 Unconscious 28 Preconscious 29 Conscious 30 Provinces of the Mind 31 The Id 32 The Ego 33 The Superego 34 Dynamics of Personality 36 Drives 36 Sex 36 Aggression 37 Anxiety 38 Defense Mechanisms 39 Repression 39 Reaction Formation 40 Displacement 40 Fixation 41 Regression 41 Projection 41 Introjection 42 Sublimation 42 Stages of Development 43 Infantile Period 43 Oral Phase 43 page vi Anal Phase 44 Phallic Phase 45 Latency Period 50 Genital Period 50 Maturity 51 Applications of Psychoanalytic Theory 52 Freud’s Early Therapeutic Technique 52 Freud’s Later Therapeutic Technique 53 Dream Analysis 54 Freudian Slips 56 Related Research 57 Unconscious Mental Processing 58 Pleasure and the Id, Inhibition and the Ego 59 Repression, Inhibition, and Defense Mechanisms 60 Research on Dreams 61 Critique of Freud 63 Did Freud Understand Women, Gender, and Sexuality? 63 Was Freud a Scientist? 65 Concept of Humanity 67 CHAPTER 3 Adler: Individual Psychology 72 Overview of Individual Psychology 73 Biography of Alfred Adler 74 Introduction to Adlerian Theory 77 Striving for Success or Superiority 77 The Final Goal 78 The Striving Force as Compensation 79 Striving for Personal Superiority 79 Striving for Success 80 Subjective Perceptions 80 Fictionalism 80 Physical Inferiorities 81 Unity and Self-Consistency of Personality 81 Organ Dialect 82 Conscious and Unconscious 82 Social Interest 82 Origins of Social Interest 83 Importance of Social Interest 84 Style of Life 85 Creative Power 86 Abnormal Development 87 General Description 87 External Factors in Maladjustment 87 Exaggerated Physical Deficiencies 88 Pampered Style of Life 88 Neglected Style of Life 88 Safeguarding Tendencies 89 Excuses 89 Aggression 89 Withdrawal 90 Masculine Protest 91 Origins of the Masculine Protest 91 Adler, Freud, and the Masculine Protest 92 Applications of Individual Psychology 92 Family Constellation 92 Early Recollections 94 Dreams 95 Psychotherapy 96 Related Research 97 Birth Order, Intelligence, Academic Achievement, and Personality 97 Early Recollections and Career Choice 99 Distinguishing Narcissism as Striving for Superiority versus Self-Esteem as Striving for Success 101 Critique of Adler 102 Concept of Humanity 103 CHAPTER 4 Jung: Analytical Psychology 107 Overview of Analytical Psychology 108 Biography of Carl Jung 109 Levels of the Psyche 113 Conscious 113 Personal Unconscious 113 Collective Unconscious 114 page vii Archetypes 115 Persona 116 Shadow 117 Anima 117 Animus 118 Great Mother 119 Wise Old Man 119 Hero 120 Self 120 Dynamics of Personality 123 Causality and Teleology 123 Progression and Regression 124 Psychological Types 124 Attitudes 124 Introversion 124 Extraversion 125 Functions 126 Thinking 126 Feeling 127 Sensing 128 Intuiting 128 Development of Personality 129 Stages of Development 129 Childhood 130 Youth 130 Middle Life 131 Old Age 131 Self-Realization 132 Jung’s Methods of Investigation 132 Word Association Test 133 Dream Analysis 133 Active Imagination 135 Psychotherapy 137 Related Research 138 Personality Type and Leadership 138 Personality Type Among Clergy and Churchgoers 139 A Critical Look at the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) 140 Theoretical Criticism 141 Empirical Criticism 142 The MBTI Remains Popular Despite Criticisms 142 Critique of Jung 143 Concept of Humanity 145 CHAPTER 5 Klein: Object Relations Theory 149 Overview of Object Relations Theory 150 Biography of Melanie Klein 151 Introduction to Object Relations Theory 153 Psychic Life of the Infant 154 Phantasies 154 Objects 155 Positions 155 Paranoid-Schizoid Position 155 Depressive Position 156 Psychic Defense Mechanisms 157 Introjection 157 Projection 158 Splitting 158 Projective Identification 158 Internalizations 159 Ego 159 Superego 160 Oedipus Complex 160 Female Oedipal Development 161 Male Oedipal Development 161 Later Views on Object Relations 162 Margaret Mahler’s View 162 Heinz Kohut’s View 164 John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory 166 Mary Ainsworth and the Strange Situation 167 Psychotherapy 168 Related Research 169 Childhood Trauma and Adult Object Relations 169 Attachment Theory and Adult Relationships 170 Critique of Object Relations Theory 173 Concept of Humanity 174 page viii CHAPTER 6 Horney: Psychoanalytic Social Theory 179 Overview of Psychoanalytic Social Theory 180 Biography of Karen Horney 181 Introduction to Psychoanalytic Social Theory 183 Horney and Freud Compared 183 The Impact of Culture 183 The Importance of Childhood Experiences 184 Basic Hostility and Basic Anxiety 184 Compulsive Drives 186 Neurotic Needs 186 Neurotic Trends 187 Moving Toward People 189 Moving Against People 189 Moving Away From People 190 Intrapsychic Conflicts 191 The Idealized Self-Image 192 The Neurotic Search for Glory 192 Neurotic Claims 193 Neurotic Pride 194 Self-Hatred 194 Feminine Psychology 195 Psychotherapy 198 Related Research 199 The Neurotic Search for Glory in the Lab 199 Can Neuroticism Ever Be a Good Thing? 200 Critique of Horney 202 Concept of Humanity 203 CHAPTER 7 Erikson: Post-Freudian Theory 206 Overview of Post-Freudian Theory 207 Biography of Erik Erikson 208 The Ego in Post-Freudian Theory 210 Society’s Influence 211 Epigenetic Principle 211 Stages of Psychosocial Development 213 Infancy 215 Oral-Sensory Mode 215 Basic Trust versus Basic Mistrust 215 Hope: The Basic Strength of Infancy 216 Early Childhood 216 Anal–Urethral–Muscular Mode 216 Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt 217 Will: The Basic Strength of Early Childhood 217 Play Age 217 Genital-Locomotor Mode 218 Initiative versus Guilt 218 Purpose: The Basic Strength of the Play Age 218 School Age 219 Latency 219 Industry versus Inferiority 219 Competence: The Basic Strength of the School Age 220 Adolescence 220 Puberty 220 Identity versus Identity Confusion 220 Fidelity: The Basic Strength of Adolescence 222 Young Adulthood 222 Genitality 222 Intimacy versus Isolation 223 Love: The Basic Strength of Young Adulthood 223 Adulthood 223 Procreativity 224 Generativity versus Stagnation 224 Care: The Basic Strength of Adulthood 224 Old Age 225 Generalized Sensuality 225 Integrity versus Despair 225 Wisdom: The Basic Strength of Old Age 226 Summary of the Life Cycle 226 Erikson’s Methods of Investigation 227 Anthropological Studies 227 Psychohistory 228 Related Research 230 Adolescent Identity and the Internet 230 The Development of Gender Identity 232 page ix Impact of Nature and Nurture on Gender Identity Formation 233 Social Pressure to Conform to Typical Gender Identity 234 Age of Gender Identity Disclosure and Social Networks 234 Critique of Erikson 236 Concept of Humanity 237 CHAPTER 8 Fromm: Humanistic Psychoanalysis 242 Overview of Humanistic Psychoanalysis 243 Biography of Erich Fromm 244 Fromm’s Basic Assumptions 246 Human Needs 247 Relatedness 247 Transcendence 248 Rootedness 249 Sense of Identity 250 Frame of Orientation 250 Summary of Human Needs 251 The Burden of Freedom 251 Mechanisms of Escape 252 Authoritarianism 252 Destructiveness 252 Conformity 253 Positive Freedom 253 Character Orientations 253 Nonproductive Orientations 254 Receptive 254 Exploitative 254 Hoarding 254 Marketing 255 The Productive Orientation 256 Personality Disorders 256 Necrophilia 257 Malignant Narcissism 257 Incestuous Symbiosis 257 Psychotherapy 259 Fromm’s Methods of Investigation 259 Social Character in a Mexican Village 259 A Psychohistorical Study of Hitler 261 Related Research 262 Testing the Assumptions of Fromm’s Marketing Character 262 Estrangement from Culture and Well-Being 264 Authoritarianism and Fear 265 Critique of Fromm 266 Concept of Humanity 267 PART III Humanistic/Existential Theories 271 CHAPTER 9 Maslow: Holistic-Dynamic Theory 272 Overview of Holistic-Dynamic Theory 273 Biography of Abraham H. Maslow 274 Maslow’s View of Motivation 277 Hierarchy of Needs 278 Physiological Needs 278 Safety Needs 279 Love and Belongingness Needs 280 Esteem Needs 281 Self-Actualization Needs 281 Aesthetic Needs 282 Cognitive Needs 282 Neurotic Needs 283 General Discussion of Needs 283 Reversed Order of Needs 284 Unmotivated Behavior 284 Expressive and Coping Behavior 284 Deprivation of Needs 284 Instinctoid Nature of Needs 285 Comparison of Higher and Lower Needs 285 Self-Actualization 286 Maslow’s Quest for the Self-Actualizing Person 286 Criteria for Self-Actualization 287 Values of Self-Actualizers 288 Characteristics of Self-Actualizing People 288 page x More Efficient Perception of Reality 289 Acceptance of Self, Others, and Nature 289 Spontaneity, Simplicity, and Naturalness 290 Problem-Centering 290 The Need for Privacy 290 Autonomy 290 Continued Freshness of Appreciation 291 The Peak Experience 291 Gemeinschaftsgefühl 292 Profound Interpersonal Relations 292 The Democratic Character Structure 293 Discrimination Between Means and Ends 293 Philosophical Sense of Humor 293 Creativeness 294 Resistance to Enculturation 294 Love, Sex, and Self-Actualization 294 Maslow’s Psychology and Philosophy of Science 295 Measuring Self-Actualization 296 The Jonah Complex 298 Psychotherapy 299 Related Research 299 Empirical Testing and an Evolutionary Update to the Hierarchy of Needs 300 Positive Psychology 302 Critique of Maslow 303 Concept of Humanity 305 CHAPTER 10 Rogers: Person-Centered Theory 309 Overview of Client-Centered Theory 310 Biography of Carl Rogers 311 Person-Centered Theory 314 Basic Assumptions 314 Formative Tendency 314 Actualizing Tendency 315 The Self and Self-Actualization 316 The Self-Concept 316 The Ideal Self 317 Awareness 317 Levels of Awareness 318 Denial of Positive Experiences 318 Becoming a Person 318 Barriers to Psychological Health 319 Conditions of Worth 319 Incongruence 320 Defensiveness 321 Disorganization 321 Psychotherapy 322 Conditions 322 Counselor Congruence 323 Unconditional Positive Regard 324 Empathic Listening 325 Process 326 Stages of Therapeutic Change 326 Theoretical Explanation for Therapeutic Change 327 Outcomes 327 The Person of Tomorrow 328 Philosophy of Science 330 The Chicago Studies 331 Hypotheses 331 Method 331 Findings 332 Summary of Results 333 Related Research 334 Real-Ideal Self Discrepancy, Online Gaming, and the Brain 334 Motivation and Pursuing One’s Goals 337 Critique of Rogers 339 Concept of Humanity 340 CHAPTER 11 May: Existential Psychology 345 Overview of Existential Psychology 346 Biography of Rollo May 347 Background of Existentialism 350 What Is Existentialism? 350 Basic Concepts 351 Being-in-the-World 351 Nonbeing 352 The Case of Philip 354 page xi Anxiety 354 Normal Anxiety 355 Neurotic Anxiety 355 Guilt 356 Intentionality 357 Care, Love, and Will 357 Union of Love and Will 358 Forms of Love 359 Sex 359 Eros 359 Philia 359 Agape 360 Freedom and Destiny 360 Freedom Defined 360 Forms of Freedom 360 Existential Freedom 360 Essential Freedom 361 What Is Destiny? 361 Philip’s Destiny 362 The Power of Myth 362 Psychopathology 364 Psychotherapy 364 Related Research 366 Threats in the Umwelt: Mortality Salience and Denial of Our Animal Nature 366 Finding Meaning in the Mitwelt: Attachment and Close Relationships 368 Growth in the Eigenwelt: There Is an Upside to Mortality Awareness 369 Critique of May 371 Concept of Humanity 372 PART IV Dispositional Theories 377 CHAPTER 12 Allport: Psychology of the Individual 378 Overview of Allport’s Psychology of the Individual 379 Biography of Gordon Allport 380 Allport’s Approach to Personality Theory 382 What Is Personality? 382 What Is the Role of Conscious Motivation? 383 What Are the Characteristics of a Healthy Person? 383 Structure of Personality 385 Personal Dispositions 385 Levels of Personal Dispositions 386 Motivational and Stylistic Dispositions 387 Proprium 387 Motivation 388 A Theory of Motivation 388 Functional Autonomy 389 Perseverative Functional Autonomy 390 Propriate Functional Autonomy 391 Criterion for Functional Autonomy 391 Processes That Are Not Functionally Autonomous 392 The Study of the Individual 392 Morphogenic Science 392 The Diaries of Marion Taylor 393 Letters From Jenny 394 Related Research 396 Understanding and Reducing Prejudice 396 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Religious Orientation 399 Religious Motivation and Mental Health 400 Extending Allport’s Religious Motivation to Other Religions 400 Critique of Allport 402 Concept of Humanity 404 CHAPTER 13 McCrae and Costa’s Five-Factor Trait Theory 408 Overview of Trait and Factor Theories 409 The Pioneering Work of Raymond B. Cattell 410 Basics of Factor Analysis 411 The Big Five: Taxonomy or Theory? 413 Biographies of Robert R. McCrae and Paul T. Costa, Jr. 413 In Search of the Big Five 415 Five Factors Found 415 Description of the Five Factors 416 page xii Evolution of the Five-Factor Theory 418 Units of the Five-Factor Theory 419 Core Components of Personality 419 Peripheral Components 421 Basic Postulates 422 Postulates for Basic Tendencies 423 Postulates for Characteristic Adaptations 424 Related Research 424 Consistency and Change of Personality over the Lifetime 425 Personality Consistency 425 Personality Change 425 Measuring the Big Five with Our Digital Footprints 427 Critique of Trait and Factor Theories 428 Concept of Humanity 430 PART V Biological/Evolutionary Theories 435 CHAPTER 14 Eysenck’s Biologically Based Factor Theory 436 Overview of Biologically Based Trait Theory 437 Biography of Hans J. Eysenck 438 Eysenck’s Factor Theory 441 Criteria for Identifying Factors 442 Hierarchy of Behavior Organization 442 Dimensions of Personality 443 Extraversion 445 Neuroticism 447 Psychoticism 448 Measuring Personality 449 Biological Bases of Personality 450 Personality as a Predictor 451 Personality and Behavior 451 Personality and Disease 452 Related Research 453 The Biological Basis of Extraversion 453 The Biological Basis of Neuroticism 456 Critique of Eysenck’s Biologically Based Theory 457 Concept of Humanity 458 CHAPTER 15 Buss: Evolutionary Theory of Personality 463 Overview of Evolutionary Theory 464 Biography of David Buss 466 Principles of Evolutionary Psychology 467 Evolutionary Theory of Personality 468 The Nature and Nurture of Personality 469 Adaptive Problems and their Solutions (Mechanisms) 470 Evolved Mechanisms 472 Motivation and Emotion as Evolved Mechanisms 472 Personality Traits as Evolved Mechanisms 473 Origins of Individual Differences 475 Environmental Sources 475 Heritable/Genetic Sources 476 Nonadapative Sources 476 Maladaptive Sources 476 Neo-Bussian Evolutionary Theories of Personality 477 Common Misunderstandings in Evolutionary Theory 478 Evolution Implies Genetic Determinism (Behavior as Set in Stone and Void of Influence from the Environment) 478 Executing Adaptations Requires Conscious Mechanisms 479 Mechanisms Are Optimally Designed 479 Related Research 480 Evolutionary Origins of Personality: Traits as Related to Fitness 480 Genetics and Personality 483 Animal Personality 485 Critique of Evolutionary Theory of Personality 487 Concept of Humanity 488 page xiii PART VI Learning-Cognitive Theories 495 CHAPTER 16 Skinner: Behavioral Analysis 496 Overview of Behavioral Analysis 497 Biography of B. F. Skinner 498 Precursors to Skinner’s Scientific Behaviorism 501 Scientific Behaviorism 502 Philosophy of Science 503 Characteristics of Science 503 Conditioning 504 Classical Conditioning 505 Operant Conditioning 506 Shaping 506 Reinforcement 508 Punishment 509 Conditioned and Generalized Reinforcers 510 Schedules of Reinforcement 511 Extinction 513 The Human Organism 513 Natural Selection 514 Cultural Evolution 515 Inner States 515 Self-Awareness 515 Drives 516 Emotions 516 Purpose and Intention 516 Complex Behavior 517 Higher Mental Processes 517 Creativity 517 Unconscious Behavior 518 Dreams 518 Social Behavior 519 Control of Human Behavior 519 Social Control 519 Self-Control 520 The Unhealthy Personality 521 Counteracting Strategies 521 Inappropriate Behaviors 522 Psychotherapy 522 Related Research 523 How Conditioning Affects Personality 523 How Personality Affects Conditioning 524 Mutual Influence Between Personality and Conditioning 526 Critique of Skinner 528 Concept of Humanity 529 CHAPTER 17 Bandura: Social Cognitive Theory 534 Overview of Social Cognitive Theory 535 Biography of Albert Bandura 536 Learning 537 Observational Learning 538 Modeling 538 Processes Governing Observational Learning 539 Enactive Learning 540 Triadic Reciprocal Causation 541 An Example of Triadic Reciprocal Causation 542 Chance Encounters and Fortuitous Events 543 Human Agency 544 Core Features of Human Agency 544 Self-Efficacy 545 What Is Self-Efficacy? 545 What Contributes to Self-Efficacy? 547 Proxy Agency 549 Collective Efficacy 549 Self-Regulation 550 External Factors in Self-Regulation 551 Internal Factors in Self-Regulation 551 Self-Observation 551 Judgmental Process 552 Self-Reaction 553 Self-Regulation Through Moral Agency 553 Redefine the Behavior 554 Disregard or Distort the Consequences of Behavior 555 Dehumanize or Blame the Victims 555 Displace or Diffuse Responsibility 556 page xiv Dysfunctional Behavior 556 Depression 556 Phobias 556 Aggression 557 Therapy 559 Related Research 560 Self-Efficacy and Diabetes 560 Moral Disengagement and Bullying 561 Social Cognitive Theory “Goes Global” 563 Critique of Bandura 563 Concept of Humanity 564 CHAPTER 18 Rotter and Mischel: Cognitive Social Learning Theory 569 Overview of Cognitive Social Learning Theory 570 Biography of Julian Rotter 571 Introduction to Rotter’s Social Learning Theory 572 Predicting Specific Behaviors 573 Behavior Potential 573 Expectancy 574 Reinforcement Value 574 Psychological Situation 575 Basic Prediction Formula 576 Predicting General Behaviors 577 Generalized Expectancies 577 Needs 577 Categories of Needs 578 Need Components 579 General Prediction Formula 580 Internal and External Control of Reinforcement 582 Interpersonal Trust Scale 584 Maladaptive Behavior 585 Psychotherapy 586 Changing Goals 586 Eliminating Low Expectancies 587 Introduction to Mischel’s Personality Theory 589 Biography of Walter Mischel 589 Background of the Cognitive-Affective Personality System 591 Consistency Paradox 591 Person-Situation Interaction 592 Cognitive-Affective Personality System 593 Behavior Prediction 594 Situation Variables 594 Cognitive-Affective Units 596 Encoding Strategies 596 Competencies and Self-Regulatory Strategies 596 Expectancies and Beliefs 597 Goals and Values 598 Affective Responses 599 Related Research 600 Internalized Racial Oppression and Locus of Control 600 Person-Situation Interaction 601 Marshmallows and Self-Regulation Across the Lifespan 602 Critique of Cognitive Social Learning Theory 604 Concept of Humanity 605 CHAPTER 19 Kelly: Psychology of Personal Constructs 610 Overview of Personal Construct Theory 611 Biography of George Kelly 612 Kelly’s Philosophical Position 613 Person as Scientist 614 Scientist as Person 614 Constructive Alternativism 614 Personal Constructs 615 Basic Postulate 616 Supporting Corollaries 617 Similarities Among Events 617 Differences Among People 617 Relationships Among Constructs 618 Dichotomy of Constructs 619 Choice Between Dichotomies 619 page xv Range of Convenience 620 Experience and Learning 621 Adaptation to Experience 621 Incompatible Constructs 622 Similarities Among People 622 Social Processes 623 Applications of Personal Construct Theory 624 Abnormal Development 624 Threat 625 Fear 625 Anxiety 625 Guilt 626 Psychotherapy 626 The Rep Test 627 Related Research 629 The Rep Test and Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder 629 Applying Personal Construct Theory to Intra-Personal Questions of Identity 630 Understanding Internalized Prejudice Through Personal Construct Theory 631 Reducing the Threat to Feminist Identification 632 Personal Constructs and the Big Five 633 Critique of Kelly 634 Concept of Humanity 635 Glossary G-1 Name Index N-1 Subject Index S-1 page xvi Preface What makes people behave as they do? Are people ordinarily aware of what they are doing, or are their behaviors the result of hidden, unconscious motives? Are some people naturally good and others basically evil? Or do all people have potential to be either good or evil? Is human conduct largely a product of nature, or is it shaped mostly by environmental influences? Can people freely choose to mold their personality, or are their lives determined by forces beyond their control? Are people best described by their similarities, or is uniqueness the dominant characteristic of humans? What causes some people to develop disordered personalities whereas others seem to grow toward psychological health? These questions have been asked and debated by philosophers, scholars, and religious thinkers for several thousand years; but most of these discussions were based on personal opinions that were colored by political, economic, religious, and social considerations. Then, near the end of the 19th century, some progress was made in humanity’s ability to organize, explain, and predict its own actions. The emergence of psychology as the scientific study of human behavior marked the beginning of a more systematic approach to the study of human personality. Early personality theorists, such as Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, and Carl Jung, relied mostly on clinical observations to construct models of human behavior. Although their data were more systematic and reliable than those of earlier observers, these theorists continued to rely on their own individualized way of looking at things, and thus they arrived at different conceptions of the nature of humanity. Later personality theorists tended to use more empirical studies to learn about human behavior. These theorists developed tentative models, tested hypotheses, and then reformulated their models. In other words, they applied the tools of scientific inquiry and scientific theory to the area of human personality. Science, of course, is not divorced from speculation, imagination, and creativity, all of which are needed to formulate theories. Each of the personality theorists discussed in this book has evolved a theory based both on empirical observations and on imaginative speculation. Moreover, each theory is a reflection of the personality of its creator. Thus, the different theories discussed in these pages are a reflection of the unique cultural background, family experiences, and professional training of their originators. The usefulness of each theory, however, is not only evaluated on the personality of its author but also on its ability to (1) generate research, (2) offer itself to falsification, (3) integrate existing empirical knowledge, and (4) suggest practical answers to everyday problems. Therefore, we evaluate each of the theories discussed in this book on the basis of these four criteria as well as on (5) its internal consistency and (6) its simplicity. In addition, some personality theories have fertilized other fields, such as sociology, education, psychotherapy, advertising, management, mythology, counseling, art, literature, and religion. The Tenth Edition The tenth edition of Theories of Personality continues to emphasize the strong and unique features of earlier editions, namely the overviews near the beginning of each chapter, a lively writing style, the thought-provoking concepts of humanity as seen by each theorist, and the structured evaluations of each theory. Annotated suggested readings are now available online with Connect®, McGraw-Hill Education’s integrated assignment and assessment platform. As were the previous editions, the tenth edition is based on original sources and the most recent formulation of each theory. Early concepts and models are included only if they retained their importance in the later theory or if they provided vital groundwork for understanding the final theory. For select chapters, we have developed a Web-enhanced feature titled Beyond Biography, which is available through Connect. page xvii The tenth edition of Theories of Personality uses clear, concise, and comprehensible language as well as an informal writing style. The book is designed for undergraduate students and should be understood by those with a minimum background in psychology. However, we have tried not to oversimplify or violate the theorist’s original meaning. We have made ample comparisons between and among theorists where appropriate and have included many examples to illustrate how the different theories can be applied to ordinary day-to-day situations. A glossary at the end of the book contains definitions of technical terms. These same terms also appear in boldface within the text. The present edition continues to provide comprehensive coverage of the most influential theorists of personality. It emphasizes normal personality, although we have also included brief discussions on abnormality, as well as methods of psychotherapy, when appropriate. Because each theory is an expression of its builder’s unique view of the world and of humanity, we include ample biographical information of each theorist so that readers will have an opportunity to become acquainted with both the theory and the theorist. What’s New? In the tenth edition, we have made changes that both add to and build upon previous editions. In order to provide a more integrative and broad overview of the book, we have added a new section in Chapter 1 that describes and summarizes the five major theoretical perspectives: psychodynamic, humanistic-existential, dispositional, biological- evolutionary, and learning (social)-cognitive. This overview not only provides a roadmap for the book but also helps students with the “big picture” of what theories of personality are and how they differ on fundamental assumptions. The psychodynamic theorists are Freud, Adler, Jung, Klein, Horney, Fromm, and Erikson. Humanistic-existential theorists include Maslow, Rogers, and May. Next, the dispositional theorists covered are Allport, and McCrae and Costa, followed by the biological-evolutionary theorists Eysenck and Buss. Finally, the last perspective is the learning (social)-cognitive theorists Skinner, Bandura, Rotter, Mischel, and Kelly. We arrange the five perspectives in this sequence for historical reasons, moving generally from the oldest to the newest to also provide students with a sense of change and progression in personality theory. Also new to Chapters 1 and 13 (McCrae & Costa) is the research and theory using social media “footprints” as a way of assessing personality. Our personalities influence whether and how we use social media, and our digital behavior reflects those differences in personality. Another set of additions to the 10th edition is new research that examined whether Maslow ever created his well-known “pyramid” model of hierarchy of needs (he did not) and new measures of Self-Actualization in Chapter 9. As with each new edition, we have also updated the “Recent Research” sections of each of the theories. For example, recent research has lent support to Buss’s theory of the evolutionary origins of personality traits, such as extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Bandura’s theory has stimulated research reporting that children who bully are most likely to engage in “moral disengagement”—that is, they minimize the consequences of their actions and do not consider what they are doing as harmful. The tenth edition of Theories of Personality is now available online with Connect, McGraw-Hill Education’s integrated assignment and assessment platform. Connect also offers SmartBook for the new edition, which is the first adaptive reading experience proven to improve grades and help students study more effectively. All of the title’s website and ancillary content is also available through Connect, including: A full Test Bank of multiple choice questions that test students on central concepts and ideas in each chapter. An Instructor’s Manual for each chapter with full chapter outlines, sample test questions, and discussion topics. A Study Guide which includes learning objectives and chapter summaries. In addition, it contains a variety of test items, including fill-in-the-blanks, true–false, multiple-choice, and short-answer questions. page xviii FOR INSTRUCTORS You’re in the driver’s seat. Want to build your own course? No problem. Prefer to use our turnkey, prebuilt course? Easy. Want to make changes throughout the semester? Sure. And you’ll save time with Connect’s auto-grading too. They’ll thank you for it. Adaptive study resources like SmartBook® 2.0 help your students be better prepared in less time. You can transform your class time from dull definitions to dynamic debates. Find out more about the powerful personalized learning experience available in SmartBook 2.0 at www.mheducation.com/highered/connect/smartbook Laptop: McGraw-Hill; Woman/dog: George Doyle/Getty Images Make it simple, make it affordable. Connect makes it easy with seamless integration using any of the major Learning Management Systems— Blackboard®, Canvas, and D2L, among others—to let you organize your course in one convenient location. Give your students access to digital materials at a discount with our inclusive access program. Ask your McGraw-Hill representative for more information. Padlock: Jobalou/Getty Images Solutions for your challenges. A product isn’t a solution. Real solutions are affordable, reliable, and come with training and ongoing support when you need it and how you want it. Our Customer Experience Group can also help you troubleshoot tech problems— although Connect’s 99% uptime means you might not need to call them. See for yourself at status.mheducation.com Checkmark: Jobalou/Getty Images page xix FOR STUDENTS Effective, efficient studying. Connect helps you be more productive with your study time and get better grades using tools like SmartBook 2.0, which highlights key concepts and creates a personalized study plan. Connect sets you up for success, so you walk into class with confidence and walk out with better grades. Study anytime, anywhere. Download the free ReadAnywhere app and access your online eBook or SmartBook 2.0 assignments when it’s convenient, even if you’re offline. And since the app automatically syncs with your eBook and SmartBook 2.0 assignments in Connect, all of your work is available every time you open it. Find out more at www.mheducation.com/readanywhere “I really liked this app—it made it easy to study when you don’t have your text-book in front of you.” - Jordan Cunningham, Eastern Washington University No surprises. The Connect Calendar and Reports tools keep you on track with the work you need to get done and your assignment scores. Life gets busy; Connect tools help you keep learning through it all. Calendar: owattaphotos/Getty Images Learning for everyone. McGraw-Hill works directly with Accessibility Services Departments and faculty to meet the learning needs of all students. Please contact your Accessibility Services office and ask them to email [email protected], or visit www.mheducation.com/about/accessibility for more information. Top: Jenner Images/Getty Images, Left: Hero Images/Getty Images, Right: Hero Images/Getty Images page xx Acknowledgments Finally, we wish to acknowledge our gratitude to the many people who have contributed to the completion of this book. First of all, we are grateful for the valuable help given by those people who reviewed earlier editions of Theories of Personality. Their evaluations and suggestions helped greatly in the preparation of this new edition. These reviewers include the following: Robert J. Drummond, University of North Florida; Lena K. Ericksen, Western Washington University; Charles S. Johnson, William Rainey Harper College; Alan Lipman, George Washington University; John Phelan, Eric Rettinger, Elizabeth Rellinger, Evert Community College; Linda Sayers, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey; Mark E. Sibicky, Marietta College; Connie Veldink, Illinois College; Dennis Wanamaker; Kevin Simpson, Concordia University; Lisa Lockhart, Texas A&M University–Kingsville; Natalie Denburg, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics; Kristine Anthis, Southern Connecticut State University; Eros DeSouza, Illinois State University; Yozan D. Mosig, University of Nebraska–Kearney; Angie Fournier, Virginia Wesleyan College; Atara Mcnamara, Boise State University; Randi Smith, Metro State College of Denver; and Myra Spindel, Florida International University–Miami. Carrie Hall, Miami University of Ohio; Kenneth Walters, State University of New York at Oneonta; and Melissa Wright, Northwest Vista College. Thanks to the Colorado College students in personality class over the years for their many insightful comments that keep these editions fresh. In addition, we are also grateful to the following reviewers whose feedback helped to shape the tenth edition: Cassandra Zamoralez, Brazosport College; Rebecca Gibson, Liberty University; Stephen P. Joy, Albertus Magnus College; William Price, North Country Community College; Sarah Angulo, Texas State University; and David Rentler, University of Connecticut. We appreciate the strong support we have had from our publisher. We would like to express our special thanks to Elisa Odoardi, Product Developer, Danielle Clement, Senior Content Project Manager, Lumina Datamatics, Inc. developmental editors, Ann Loch and Adina Lonn, and Mithun Kothandath from SPi Global for his production assistance. We are also indebted to Albert Bandura for his helpful comments on the chapter dealing with social cognitive theory. We also wish to thank these other personality theorists for taking time to discuss appropriate sections of earlier editions of this book: Albert Bandura, Hans J. Eysenck (deceased), Robert McCrae, Paul T. Costa, Jr., Carl R. Rogers (deceased), Julian B. Rotter (deceased), and B. F. Skinner (deceased). Finally, GJF thanks his sons Jerry and Evan, and T-AR thanks her daughters Annika and Mia for their emotional support and other important contributions. Both GJF and T-AR want to acknowledge the foundational work on this book that Jess Feist provided in authoring the first 3 editions alone. This book would not exist without him. As always, we welcome and appreciate comments from readers, which help us continue to improve Theories of Personality. Gregory J. Feist Oakland, CA Tomi-Ann Roberts Colorado Springs, CO page 1 PART ONE Introduction Chapter 1Introduction to Personality Theory 2 page 2 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Personality Theory amasterphotographer/Shutterstock ◆ What Is Personality? ◆ What Is a Theory? Theory Defined Theory and Its Relatives Why Different Theories? Perspectives in Theories of Personality Theorists’ Personalities and Their Theories of Personality What Makes a Theory Useful? ◆ Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity ◆ Research in Personality Theory ◆ Key Terms and Concepts ◆ References page 3 hy do people behave as they do? Do people have some choice in W shaping their own personality? What accounts for similarities and differences among people? What makes people act in predictable ways? Why are they unpredictable? Do hidden, unconscious forces control people’s behavior? What causes mental disturbances? Is human behavior shaped more by heredity or by environment? For centuries, philosophers, theologians, and other thinkers have asked these questions as they pondered the nature of human nature—or even wondered whether humans have a basic nature. Until relatively recent times, great thinkers made little progress in finding satisfactory answers to these questions. More than 100 years ago, however, Sigmund Freud began to combine philosophical speculations with a primitive scientific method. As a neurologist trained in science, Freud began to listen to his patients to find out what hidden conflicts lay behind their assortment of symptoms. “Listening became, for Freud, more than an art; it became a method, a privileged road to knowledge that his patients mapped out for him” (Gay, 1988, p. 70). Freud, in fact, was the first to develop a truly modern theory of personality, based mostly on his clinical observations. He developed a “Grand Theory,” that is, one that attempted to explain all personality for all people. As we see throughout the course of this book, many other theorists from different points of view have developed alternative grand theories. The general trend over the course of the 20th century was to base theories more and more on scientific observations rather than on clinical ones. Both sources, however, are valid foundations for theories of personality. What Is Personality? Humans are not alone in their uniqueness of and variability between individual members of the species. Individuals within every living species exhibit differences or variability. Indeed, animals such as octopi, birds, pigs, horses, cats, and dogs have consistent individual differences in behavior, otherwise known as personality, within their species (Dingemanse, Both, Drent, Van Oers, & Van Noordwijk, 2002; Gosling & John, 1999; Weinstein, Capitanio, & Gosling, 2008). But the degree to which individual humans vary from one another, both physically and psychologically, is quite astonishing and somewhat unique among species. Some of us are quiet and introverted, others crave social contact and stimulation; some of us are calm and even-keeled, whereas others are high-strung and persistently anxious. In this book, we explore the explanations and ideas that various men and women have had concerning how these differences in human personality come about. Psychologists differ among themselves as to the meaning of personality. Most agree that the term “personality” originated from the Latin word persona, which referred to a theatrical mask worn by Roman actors in Greek dramas. These ancient Roman actors wore a mask (persona) to project a role or false appearance. This surface view of personality, of course, is not an acceptable definition. When psychologists use the term “personality,” they are referring to something more than the role people play. page 4 No two people, not even identical twins, have exactly the same personalities. golf9c9333/Getty Images However, personality theorists have not agreed on a single definition of personality. Indeed, they evolved unique and vital theories because they lacked agreement as to the nature of humanity, and because each saw personality from an individual reference point. The personality theorists discussed in this book have had a variety of backgrounds. Some were born in Europe and lived their entire lives there; others were born in Europe, but migrated to other parts of the world, especially the United States; still others were born in North America and remained there. Many were influenced by early religious experiences; others were not. Most, but not all, have been trained in either psychiatry or psychology. Many have drawn on their experiences as psychotherapists; others have relied more on empirical research to gather data on human personality. Although they have all dealt in some way with what we call personality, each has approached this global concept from a different perspective. Some have tried to construct a comprehensive theory; others have been less ambitious and have dealt with only a few aspects of personality. Few personality theorists have formally defined personality, but all have had their own view of it. Although no single definition is acceptable to all personality theorists, we can say that personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior (Roberts & Mroczek, 2008). Traits contribute to individual differences in behavior, consistency of behavior over time, and stability of behavior across situations. Traits may be unique, common to some group, or shared by the entire species, but their pattern is different for each individual. Thus each person, though like others in some ways, has a unique personality. Characteristics are unique qualities of an individual that include attributes such as temperament, physique, and intelligence. page 5 What Is a Theory? The word “theory” has the dubious distinction of being one of the most misused and misunderstood words in the English language. Some people contrast theory to truth or fact, but such an antithesis demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of all three terms. In science, theories are tools used to generate research and organize observations, but neither “truth” nor “fact” has a place in scientific terminology. Theory Defined A scientific theory is a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses. This definition needs further explanation. First, a theory is a set of assumptions. A single assumption can never fulfill all the requirements of an adequate theory. A single assumption, for example, could not serve to integrate several observations, something a useful theory should do. Second, a theory is a set of related assumptions. Isolated assumptions can neither generate meaningful hypotheses nor possess internal consistency—the two criteria of a useful theory. The third key word in the definition is assumptions. The components of a theory are not proven facts in the sense that their validity has been absolutely established. They are, however, accepted as if they were true. This is a practical step, taken so that scientists can conduct useful research, the results of which continue to build and reshape the original theory. Fourth, logical deductive reasoning is used by the researcher to formulate hypotheses. The tenets of a theory must be stated with sufficient precision and logical consistency to permit scientists to deduce clearly stated hypotheses. The hypotheses are not components of the theory, but flow from it. It is the job of an imaginative scientist to begin with the general theory and, through deductive reasoning, arrive at a particular hypothesis that can be tested. If the general theoretical propositions are illogical, they remain sterile and incapable of generating hypotheses. Moreover, if a researcher uses faulty logic in deducing hypotheses, the resulting research will be meaningless and will make no contribution to the ongoing process of theory construction. The final part of the definition includes the qualifier testable. Unless a hypothesis can be tested in some way, it is worthless. The hypothesis need not be tested immediately, but it must suggest the possibility that scientists in the future might develop the necessary means to test it. Theory and Its Relatives People sometimes confuse theory with philosophy, or speculation, or hypothesis, or taxonomy. Although theory is related to each of these concepts, it is not the same as any of them. Philosophy First, theory is related to philosophy, but it is a much narrower term. Philosophy means love of wisdom, and philosophers are people who pursue wisdom through thinking and reasoning. Philosophers page 6 are not scientists; they do not ordinarily conduct controlled studies in their pursuit of wisdom. Philosophy encompasses several branches, one of which is epistemology, or the nature of knowledge. Theory relates most closely to this branch of philosophy, because it is a tool used by scientists in their pursuit of knowledge. Theories do not deal with “oughts” and “shoulds.” Therefore, a set of principles about how one should live one’s life cannot be a theory. Such principles involve values and are the proper concern of philosophy. Although theories are not free of values, they are built on scientific evidence that has been obtained in a relatively unbiased fashion. Thus, there are no theories on why society should help homeless people or on what constitutes great art. Philosophy deals with what ought to be or what should be; theory does not. Theory deals with broad sets of if-then statements, but the goodness or badness of the outcomes of these statements is beyond the realm of theory. For example, a theory might tell us that if children are brought up in isolation, completely separated from human contact, then they will not develop human language, exhibit parenting behavior, and so on. But this statement says nothing about the morality of such a method of child rearing. Speculation Second, theories rely on speculation, but they are much more than mere armchair speculation. They do not flow forth from the mind of a great thinker isolated from empirical observations. They are closely tied to empirically gathered data and to science. What is the relationship between theory and science? Science is a branch of study concerned with the observation and classification of data and with the verification of general laws through the testing of hypotheses. Theories are useful tools employed by scientists to give meaning and organization to their observations. In addition, theories provide a fertile ground for producing testable hypotheses. Without some kind of theory to hold observations together and to point to directions of possible research, science would be greatly handicapped. Theories are not useless fantasies fabricated by impractical scholars who are fearful of soiling their hands in the machinery of scientific investigation. In fact, theories themselves are quite practical and are essential for the advancement of any science. Speculation and empirical observations are the two essential cornerstones of theory building, but speculation must not run rampantly in advance of controlled observation. Hypothesis Although theory is a narrower concept than philosophy, it is a broader term than hypothesis. A good theory is capable of generating many hypotheses. A hypothesis is an educated guess or prediction specific enough for its validity to be tested through the use of the scientific method. A theory is too general to lend itself to direct verification, but a single comprehensive theory is capable of generating thousands of hypotheses. Hypotheses, then, are more specific than the theories that give birth to them. The offspring, however, should not be confused with the parent. page 7 Of course, a close relationship exists between a theory and a hypothesis. Using deductive reasoning (going from the general to the specific), a scientific investigator can derive testable hypotheses from a useful theory and then test these hypotheses. The results of these tests —whether they support or contradict the hypotheses—feed back into the theory. Using inductive reasoning (going from the specific to the general), the investigator then alters the theory to reflect these results. As the theory grows and changes, other hypotheses can be drawn from it, and when tested they in turn reshape the theory. Taxonomy A taxonomy is a classification of things according to their natural relationships. Taxonomies are essential for the development of science because without classification of data science could not grow. Mere classification, however, does not constitute a theory. However, taxonomies can evolve into theories when they begin to generate testable hypotheses and explain research findings. For example, Robert McCrae and Paul Costa began their research by classifying people into five stable personality traits. Eventually, this research on the Big Five taxonomy led to more than a mere classification; it became a theory, capable of suggesting hypotheses and offering explanations for research results. Why Different Theories? If theories of personality are truly scientific, why do we have so many different ones? Alternate theories exist because the very nature of a theory allows the theorist to make speculations from a particular point of view. Theorists must be as objective as possible when gathering data, but their decisions as to what data are collected and how these data are interpreted are personal ones. Theories are not immutable laws; they are built, not on proven facts, but on assumptions that are subject to individual interpretation. All theories are a reflection of their authors’ personal backgrounds, childhood experiences, philosophy of life, interpersonal relationships, and unique manner of looking at the world. Because observations are colored by an individual observer’s frame of reference, it follows that there may be many diverse theories. Nevertheless, divergent theories can be useful. The usefulness of a theory does not depend on its commonsense value or on its agreement with other theories; rather, it depends on its ability to generate research and to explain research data and other observations. Perspectives in Theories of Personality One of the primary functions of scientific theory is to describe and explain how the world works. Psychologists attempt to explain how human thoughts, emotions, motives, and behaviors work. Yet human personality is so complex that many different perspectives have developed on how to best explain them. These perspectives make different assumptions and focus on different aspects of behavior. In psychology, there are at least five major theoretical perspectives on what personality is and how it develops. We have organized the book around these five perspectives, one for each section of the book (see Table 1.1). TABLE 1.1 Overview of Five Major Theoretical Perspectives in Personality Psychology Primary Focus/Key Key Perspective Assumptions Terms Figures Psychodynamic Unconscious Freud First 5 years of life most shape Early Adler personality recollections Jung Unconscious Collective Klein forces are most unconscious Horney important Archetypes Erikson Neurosis results Object relations Fromm from unhealthy Identity crises moving toward, Relatedness against, or away from others Humanistic- Meaningful life, Maslow People strive to Existential psychological Rogers live meaningful, well-being and May happy lives growth People are motivated by growth and psychological health Personality is shaped by freedom of choice, response to anxiety, and awareness of death Dispositional Traits Allport People are predisposed to Motives McCrae & behave in Costa unique and consistent ways; they have unique traits There are five trait dimensions in human personality Biological- Brain structures, Eysenck The foundation Evolutionary for thought and neurochemicals, Buss behavior is and genes biological and Adaptive genetic forces mechanisms Human thoughts and behaviors have been shaped by evolutionary forces (natural and sexual selection) Learning- Conditioned Skinner Only (Social) responses explanation for Cognitive behavior is the Shaping conditions that Reinforcement create behavior Observational Learning occurs learning through association and consequences of our behavior Learning also Modeling Bandura occurs through Self-efficacy succeeding or failing and watching other people succeed or fail in their tasks Personality Cognitive- Rotter affective units Mischel develops as an interaction between the internal and external characteristics of a person The cognitive Constructs Kelly constructs we develop to perceive the world and others mold our personalities page 8 Psychodynamic Theories Beginning with Freud, psychoanalytic and then the more general psychodynamic approaches have focused on the importance of early childhood experiences and on relationships with parents as guiding forces that shape personality development. Additionally, this view sees the unconscious mind and motives as much more powerful than the conscious awareness. Psychoanalysis traditionally used dream interpretation to uncover the unconscious thoughts, feelings, and impulses as a main form of treatment for neurosis and mental illness. After Freud, these theorists moved away from the importance of sexuality and more toward social and cultural forces. Humanistic-Existential Theories The primary assumption of the humanistic (currently known as “positive psychology”) approach is that people strive toward meaning, growth, well-being, happiness, and psychological health. States of positive emotion and happiness foster psychological health and prosocial behavior. Understanding these evolved positive aspects of human behavior provides just as much insight into human nature as does understanding the pathological aspects. Existential theorists assume that not only we are driven by a search for meaning but also negative experiences, such as failure, awareness of death, death of a loved one, and anxiety, are part of the human condition and can foster psychological growth. Dispositional Theories Dispositional theorists argue that the unique and long-term tendencies to behave in particular ways are the essence of our personality. These unique dispositions, such as extraversion or anxiety, are called traits. The field has converged on the understanding that there are five main trait dimensions in human personality. Traits serve the function of making certain behaviors more likely in some people. Biological-Evolutionary Theories Behavior, thoughts, feelings, and personality are influenced by differences in basic genetic, epigenetic, and neurological systems among individuals. The reason some people have different traits, dispositions, and ways of thinking stems from differences in their genotype and central nervous system (brain structures and neurochemistry). Because they are based on evolved brain systems, human thought, behavior, and personality have been shaped by forces of evolution (natural and sexual selection) over millions of years. The body, brain, and environment coexist and coevolve, and so more than any other psychological perspective, this one emphasizes that what we think, feel, and do is always an interaction between nature (biological) and nurture (environment). Learning-(Social) Cognitive Theories If you want to understand behavior, then focus only on behavior, not on hypothetical and unobservable internal states such as thoughts, feelings, drives, or motives. All behaviors are learned through association and/or its consequences (whether it is reinforced or punished). To page 9 shape desired behaviors, we have to understand and then establish the conditions that bring about those particular behaviors. The cognitive perspective argues that how we think about ourselves and other people, as well as the assumptions we make and the strategies we use for solving problems, are the keys to understanding differences among people. Whether we believe we can do something successfully or not influences our behavior as well as our personality. In short, what personality we have is shaped by how we think and perceive the world. page 10 Theorists’ Personalities and Their Theories of Personality Because personality theories grow from theorists’ own personalities, a study of those personalities is appropriate. In recent years a subdiscipline of psychology called psychology of science has begun to look at personal traits of scientists. The psychology of science studies both science and behavior of scientists; that is, it investigates the impact of an individual scientist’s psychological processes and personal characteristics on the development of his or her scientific theories and research (Feist, 1993, 1994, 2006; Feist & Gorman, 1998; Gholson, Shadish, Neimeyer, & Houts, 1989). In other words, the psychology of science examines how scientists’ personalities, cognitive processes, developmental histories, and social experience affect the kind of science they conduct and the theories they create. Indeed, a number of investigators (Hart, 1982; Johnson, Germer, Efran, & Overton, 1988; Simonton, 2000; Zachar & Leong, 1992) have demonstrated that personality differences influence one’s theoretical orientation as well as one’s inclination to lean toward the “hard” or “soft” side of a discipline. An understanding of theories of personality rests on information regarding the historical, social, and psychological worlds of each theorist at the time of his or her theorizing. Because we believe that personality theories reflect the theorist’s personality, we have included a substantial amount of biographical information on each major theorist. Indeed, personality differences among theorists account for fundamental disagreements between those who lean toward the quantitative side of psychology (behaviorists, social learning theorists, and page 11 trait theorists) and those inclined toward the clinical and qualitative side of psychology (psychoanalysts, humanists, and existentialists). Although a theorist’s personality partially shapes his or her theory, it should not be the sole determinant of that theory. Likewise, your acceptance of one or another theory should not rest only on your personal values and predilections. When evaluating and choosing a theory, you should acknowledge the impact of the theorist’s personal history on the theory, but you should ultimately evaluate it on the basis of scientific criteria that are independent of that personal history. Some observers (Feist, 2006; Feist & Gorman, 1998) have distinguished between science as process and science as product. The scientific process may be influenced by the personal characteristics of the scientist, but the ultimate usefulness of the scientific product is and must be evaluated independently of the process. Thus, your evaluation of each of the theories presented in this book should rest more on objective criteria than on your subjective likes and dislikes. What Makes a Theory Useful? A useful theory has a mutual and dynamic interaction with research data. First, a theory generates a number of hypotheses that can be investigated through research, thus yielding research data. These data flow back into the theory and restructure it. From this newly contoured theory, scientists can extract other hypotheses, leading to more research and additional data, which in turn reshape and enlarge the theory even more. This cyclic relationship continues for as long as the theory proves useful. Second, a useful theory organizes research data into a meaningful structure and provides an explanation for the results of scientific research. This relationship between theory and research data is shown in Figure 1.1. When a theory is no longer able to generate page 12 additional research or to explain research-related data, it loses its usefulness and is set aside in favor of a more useful one. FIGURE 1.1 The Interaction among Theory, Hypotheses, Research, and Research Data. In addition to sparking research and explaining research data, a useful theory must lend itself to confirmation or disconfirmation, provide the practitioner with a guide to action, be consistent with itself, and be as simple as possible. Therefore, we have evaluated each of the theories presented in this book on the basis of six criteria: A useful theory (1) generates research, (2) is falsifiable, (3) organizes data, (4) guides action, (5) is internally consistent, and (6) is parsimonious. Generates Research The most important criterion of a useful theory is its ability to stimulate and guide further research. Without an adequate theory to point the way, many of science’s present empirical findings would have remained undiscovered. In astronomy, for example, the planet Neptune was discovered because the theory of motion generated the hypothesis that the irregularity in the path of Uranus must be caused by the presence of another planet. Useful theory provided astronomers with a road map that guided their search for and discovery of the new planet. A useful theory will generate two different kinds of research: descriptive research and hypothesis testing. Descriptive research, which can expand an existing theory, is concerned with the measurement, labeling, and categorization of the units employed in theory building. Descriptive research has a symbiotic relationship with theory. On one hand, it provides the building blocks for the theory, and on the other, it receives its impetus from the dynamic, expanding theory. The more useful the theory, the more research generated by it; the greater the amount of descriptive research, the more complete the theory. The second kind of research generated by a useful theory, hypothesis testing, leads to an indirect verification of the usefulness of the theory. As we have noted, a useful theory will generate many hypotheses that, when tested, add to a database that may reshape and enlarge the theory. (Refer again to Figure 1.1.) Is Falsifiable A theory must also be evaluated on its ability to be confirmed or disconfirmed; that is, it must be falsifiable. To be falsifiable, a theory must be precise enough to suggest research that may either support or fail to support its major tenets. If a theory is so vague and nebulous that both positive and negative research results can be interpreted as support, then that theory is not falsifiable and ceases to be useful. Falsifiability, however, is not the same as false; it simply means that negative research results will refute the theory and force the theorist to either discard it or modify it. A falsifiable theory is accountable to experimental results. Figure 1.1 depicts a circular and mutually reinforcing connection between theory and research; each forms a basis for the other. Science is distinguished from nonscience by its ability to reject ideas that are not supported empirically even though they seem logical and rational. For example, Aristotle used logic to argue that lighter bodies fall at slower rates than heavier bodies. Although his argument may have agreed with “common sense,” it had one problem: It was empirically wrong. page 13 Theories that rely heavily on unobservable transformations in the unconscious are exceedingly difficult to either verify or falsify. For example, Freud’s theory suggests that many of our emotions and behaviors are motivated by unconscious tendencies that are directly opposite the ones we express. For instance, unconscious hate might be expressed as conscious love, or unconscious fear of one’s own homosexual feelings might take the form of exaggerated hostility toward homosexual individuals. Because Freud’s theory allows for such transformations within the unconscious, it is nearly impossible to either verify or falsify. A theory that can explain everything explains nothing. Organizes Data A useful theory should also be able to organize those research data that are not incompatible with each other. Without some organization or classification, research findings would remain isolated and meaningless. Unless data are organized into some intelligible framework, scientists are left with no clear direction to follow in the pursuit of further knowledge. They cannot ask intelligent questions without a theoretical framework that organizes their information. Without intelligent questions, further research is severely curtailed. A useful theory of personality must be capable of integrating what is currently known about human behavior and personality development. It must be able to shape as many bits of information as possible into a meaningful arrangement. If a personality theory does not offer a reasonable explanation of at least some kinds of behaviors, it ceases to be useful. Guides Action The fourth criterion of a useful theory is its ability to guide the practitioner over the rough course of day-to-day problems. For example, parents, teachers, business managers, and psychotherapists are confronted continually with an avalanche of questions for which they try to find workable answers. Good theory provides a structure for finding many of those answers. Without a useful theory, practitioners would stumble in the darkness of trial and error techniques; with a sound theoretical orientation, they can discern a suitable course of action. For the Freudian psychoanalyst and the Rogerian counselor, answers to the same question would be very different. To the question “How can I best treat this patient?,” the psychoanalytic therapist might answer along these lines: If psychoneuroses are caused by childhood sexual conflicts that have become unconscious, then I can help this patient best by delving into these repressions and allowing the patient to relive the experiences in the absence of conflict. To the same question, the Rogerian therapist might answer: If, in order to grow psychologically, people need empathy, unconditional positive regard, and a relationship with a congruent therapist, then I can best help this client by providing an accepting, nonthreatening atmosphere. Notice that both therapists constructed their answers in an if-then framework, even though the two answers call for very different courses of action. Also included in this criterion is the extent to which the theory stimulates thought and action in other disciplines, such as art, literature (including movies and television dramas), law, sociology, philosophy, religion, education, business administration, and page 14 psychotherapy. Most of the theories discussed in this book have had some influence in areas beyond psychology. For example, Freud’s theory has prompted research on recovered memories, a topic very important to the legal profession. Also, Carl Jung’s theory is of great interest to many theologians and has captured the imagination of popular writers such as Joseph Campbell and others. Similarly, the ideas of Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, B. F. Skinner, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Rollo May, and other personality theorists have sparked interest and action in a broad range of scholarly fields. Is Internally Consistent A useful theory need not be consistent with other theories, but it must be consistent with itself. An internally consistent theory is one whose components are logically compatible. Its limitations of scope are carefully defined and it does not offer explanations that lie beyond that scope. Also, an internally consistent theory uses language in a consistent manner; that is, it does not use the same term to mean two different things, nor does it use two separate terms to refer to the same concept. A good theory will use concepts and terms that have been clearly and operationally defined. An operational definition is one that defines units in terms of observable events or behaviors that can be measured. For example, an extravert can be operationally defined as any person who attains a predetermined score on a particular personality inventory. Is Parsimonious When two theories are equal in their ability to generate research, be falsified, give meaning to data, guide the practitioner, and be self- consistent, the simpler one is preferred. This is the law of parsimony. In fact, two theories are never exactly equal in these other abilities, but in general, simple, straightforward theories are more useful than ones that bog down under the weight of complicated concepts and esoteric language. Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity Personality theories differ on basic issues concerning the nature of humanity. Each personality theory reflects its author’s assumptions about humanity. These assumptions rest on several broad dimensions that separate the various personality theorists. We use six of these dimensions as a framework for viewing each theorist’s concept of humanity. The first dimension is determinism versus free choice. Are people’s behaviors determined by forces over which they have no control, or can people choose to be what they wish to be? Can behavior be partially free and partially determined at page 15 the same time? Although the dimension of determinism versus free will is more philosophical than scientific, the position theorists take on this issue shapes their way of looking at people and colors their concept of humanity. The second issue is one of pessimism versus optimism. Are people doomed to live miserable, conflicted, and troubled lives, or can they change and grow into psychologically healthy, happy, fully functioning human beings? In general, personality theorists who believe in determinism tend to be pessimistic (Skinner was a notable exception), whereas those who believe in free choice are usually optimistic. The third dimension for viewing a theorist’s concept of humanity is causality versus teleology. Briefly, causality holds that behavior is a function of past experiences, whereas teleology is an explanation of behavior in terms of future goals or purposes. Do people act as they do because of what has happened to them in the past, or do they act as they do because they have certain expectations of what will happen in the future? The fourth consideration that divides personality theorists is their attitude toward conscious versus unconscious determinants of behavior. Are people ordinarily aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it, or do unconscious forces impinge on them and drive them to act without awareness of these underlying forces? The fifth question is one of biological versus social influences on personality. Are people mostly creatures of biology, or are their personalities shaped largely by their social relationships? A more specific element of this issue is heredity versus environment; that is, are personal characteristics more the result of heredity, or are they environmentally determined? The sixth issue is uniqueness versus similarities. Is the salient feature of people their individuality, or is it their common characteristics? Should the study of personality concentrate on those traits that make people alike, or should it look at those traits that make people different? These and other basic issues that separate personality theorists have resulted in truly different personality theories, not merely differences in terminology. We could not erase the differences among personality theories by adopting a common language. The differences are philosophical and deep-seated. Each personality theory reflects the individual personality of its creator, and each creator has a unique philosophical orientation, shaped in part by early childhood experiences, birth order, gender, training, education, and pattern of interpersonal relationships. These differences help determine whether a theorist will be deterministic or a believer in free choice, will be pessimistic or optimistic, and will adopt a causal explanation or a teleological one. They also help determine whether the theorist emphasizes consciousness or unconsciousness, biological or social factors, and uniqueness or similarities of people. These differences do not, however, negate the possibility that two theorists with opposing views of humanity can be equally scientific in their data gathering and theory building. page 16 In building a theory of personality, psychologists should begin on a limited scale and avoid sweeping generalizations that attempt to explain all of human behavior. That course of action was followed by most of the theorists discussed in this book. For example, Freud began with a theory based largely on hysterical neuroses and, over a period of years, gradually expanded it to include more and more of the total personality. Research in Personality Theory As we pointed out earlier, the primary criterion for a useful theory is its ability to generate research. We also noted that theories and research data have a cyclic relationship: Theory gives meaning to data, and data result from experimental research designed to test hypotheses generated by the theory. Not all data, however, flow from experimental research. Much of it comes from observations that each of us make every day. To observe simply means to notice something, to pay attention. You have been observing human personalities for nearly as long as you have been alive. You notice that some people are talkative and outgoing; others are quiet and reserved. You may have even labeled such people as extraverts and introverts. Are these labels accurate? Is one extraverted person like another? Does an extravert always act in a talkative, outgoing manner? Can all people be classified as either introverts or extraverts? In making observations and asking questions, you are doing some of the same things psychologists do, that is, observing human behaviors and trying to make sense of these observations. However, psychologists, like other scientists, try to be systematic so that their predictions will be consistent and accurate. To improve their ability to predict, personality psychologists have developed a number of assessment techniques, including personality inventories. Much of the research reported in the remaining chapters of this book has relied on various assessment procedures, which purport to measure different dimensions of personality. For these instruments to be useful they must be both reliable and valid. The reliability of a measuring instrument is the extent to which it yields consistent results. Personality inventories may be reliable and yet lack validity or accuracy. Validity is the degree to which an instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. Personality psychologists are primarily concerned with two types of validity—construct validity and predictive validity. Construct validity is the extent to which an instrument measures some hypothetical construct. Constructs such as extraversion, aggressiveness, intelligence, and emotional stability have no physical existence; they are hypothetical constructs that should relate to observable behavior. Three important types of construct validity are convergent validity, divergent validity, and discriminant validity. A measuring instrument has convergent construct validity to the extent that scores on that instrument correlate highly (converge) with scores on a variety of valid measures of that same construct. For example, a personality inventory that attempts to measure extraversion should correlate with other measures of extraversion or other factors such as sociability and assertiveness that are known to cluster together with extraversion. An inventory has divergent construct validity if it has low or insignificant correlations with other inventories that do not measure that construct. For example, an inventory purporting to page 17 measure extraversion should not be highly correlated with social desirability, emotional stability, honesty, or self-esteem. Finally, an inventory has discriminant validity if it discriminates between two groups of people known to be different. For example, a personality inventory measuring extraversion should yield higher scores for people known to be extraverted than for people known to be introverted. The second type of validity is predictive validity, or the extent to which a test can predict future behavior. For example, a test of extraversion has predictive validity if it correlates with future behaviors, such as smoking cigarettes, performing well on scholastic achievement tests, taking risks, or any other independent criterion. The ultimate value of any measuring instrument is the degree to which it can predict future behavior or condition. Most of the early personality theorists did not use standardized assessment inventories. Although Freud, Adler, and Jung all developed some form of projective tool, none of them used a technique with sufficient precision to establish its reliability and validity. However, the theories of Freud, Adler, and Jung have spawned a number of standardized personality inventories as researchers and clinicians have sought to measure units of personality proposed by those theorists. Later personality theorists, especially Hans Eysenck, and the Five-Factor Theorists have developed and used a number of personality measures and have relied heavily on them in constructing their theoretical models. More recently, researchers have reported that social media footprints, such as Facebook “likes” and shares correlate with and assess personality, sometimes even more accurately than human inventory assessments (Azucar, Marengo, & Settanni, 2018; Park et al., 2015; Youyou, Kosinski, & Stillwell, 2015). Key Terms and Concepts The term “personality” is derived from the Latin word persona, or the mask that people present to the outside world, but psychologists see personality as much more than outward appearances. Personality includes all those relatively permanent traits or characteristics that render some consistency to a person’s behavior. A theory is a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to formulate testable hypotheses. Theory should not be confused with philosophy, speculation, hypothesis, or taxonomy, although it is related to each of these terms. Personality theories cover at least five distinct perspectives: psychodynamic, humanistic-positive, dispositional, biological- evolutionary, and learning/social-cognitive. Six criteria determine the usefulness of a scientific theory: (1) Does the theory generate research? (2) Is it falsifiable? (3) Does it organize and explain knowledge? (4) Does it suggest practical solutions to everyday problems? (5) Is it internally consistent? and (6) Is it simple or parsimonious? page 18 Each personality theorist has had either an implicit or explicit concept of humanity. Concepts of human nature can be discussed from six perspectives: (1) determinism versus free choice, (2) pessimism versus optimism, (3) causality versus teleology, (4) conscious versus unconscious determinants, (5) biological versus social factors, and (6) uniqueness versus similarities in people. References Azucar, D., Marengo, D., & Settanni, M. (2018). Predicting the Big 5 personality traits from digital footprints on social media: A meta- analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 124, 150–159. doi:10.1016/j.paid/2017.12.01. Dingemanse, N. J., Both, C., Drent, P. J., Van Oers, K., & Van Noordwijk, A. J. (2002). Repeatability and heritability of exploratory behaviour in great tits from the wild. Animal Behaviour, 64, 929–938. Feist, G. J. (1993). A structural model of scientific eminence. Psychological Science, 4, 366–371. Feist, G. J. (1994). Personality and working style predictors of integrative complexity: A study of scientists’ thinking about research and teaching. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 474–484. Feist, G. J. (2006). The Psychology of Science and the Origins of the Scientific Mind. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Feist, G. J., & Gorman, M. E. (1998). Psychology of science: Review and integration of a nascent discipline. Review of General Psychology, 2, 3–47. Gay, P. (1988). Freud: A life for our time. New York: Norton. Gholson, B., Shadish, W. R., Neimeyer, R. A., & Houts, A. C. (Eds.) (1989). The psychology of science: Contributions to metascience. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Gosling, S. D., & John, O. P. (1999). Personality dimensions in non- human animals: A cross-species review. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 69–75. Hart, J. J. (1982). Psychology of the scientist: XLVI. Correlation between theoretical orientation in psychology and personality type. Psychological Reports, 50, 795–801. Johnson, J. A., Germer, C. K., Efran, J. S., & Overton, W. F. (1988). Personality as the basis for theoretical predilections. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 824–835. Park, G., Schwartz, H. A., Eichstaedt, J. C., Kern, M. L., Kosinski, M., Stillwell, D. J., et al. (2015). Automatic personality assessment through social media language. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(6), 934. doi:10.1037/pspp0000020. Roberts, B. W., & Mroczek, D. (2008). Personality trait change in adulthood. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 31–35. Simonton, D. K. (2000). Methodological and theoretical orientation and the long-term disciplinary impact of 54 eminent psychologists. Review of General Psychology, 4, 13–24. Weinstein, T. A., Capitanio, J. P., & Gosling, S. D. (2008). Personality in animals. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds.). Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 328–348). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Youyou, W., Kosinski, M., & Stillwell, D. (2015). Computer-based personality judgments are more accurate than those made by humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(4), 1036–1040. doi:10.1073/pnas.1418680112. Zachar, P., & Leong, F. T. L. (1992). A problem of personality: Scientist and practitioner differences in psychology. Journal of Personality, 60, 665–677. page 19 PART TWO Psychodynamic Theories Chapter 2Freud Psychoanalysis 20 Chapter 3Adler Individual Psychology 72 Chapter 4Jung Analytical Psychology 107 Chapter 5Klein Object Relations Theory 149 Chapter 6Horney Psychoanalytic Social Theory 179 Chapter 7Erikson Post-Freudian Theory 206 Chapter 8Fromm Humanistic Psychoanalysis 242 page 20 CHAPTER 2 Freud: Psychoanalysis Ingram Publishing ◆ Overview of Psychoanalytic Theory ◆ Biography of Sigmund Freud ◆ Levels of Mental Life Unconscious Preconscious Conscious ◆ Provinces of the Mind The Id The Ego The Superego ◆ Dynamics of Personality Drives Anxiety ◆ Defense Mechanisms Repression Reaction Formation Displacement Fixation Regression Projection Introjection Sublimation ◆ Stages of Development Infantile Period Latency Period Genital Period Maturity ◆ Applications of Psychoanalytic Theory Freud’s Early Therapeutic Technique Freud’s Later Therapeutic Technique Dream Analysis Freudian Slips ◆ Related Research Unconscious Mental Processing Pleasure and the Id, Inhibition and the Ego Repression, Inhibition, and Defense Mechanisms Research on Dreams ◆ Critique of Freud Did Freud Understand Women, Gender, and Sexuality? Was Freud a Scientist? ◆ Concept of Humanity ◆ Key Terms and Concepts ◆ References page 21 rom ancient history to the present time, people have searched for F some magic panacea or potion to lessen pain or to enhance performance. One such search was conducted by a young, ambitious physician who came to believe that he had discovered a drug that had all sorts of wonderful properties. Hearing that the drug had been used successfully to energize soldiers suffering from near exhaustion, this physician decided to try it on patients, colleagues, and friends. If the drug worked as well as he expected, he might gain the fame to which he aspired. After learning of the drug’s successful use in heart disease, nervous exhaustion, addiction to alcohol and morphine, and several other psychological and physiological problems, the doctor decided to try the drug on himself. He was quite pleased with the results. To him, the drug had a pleasant aroma and an unusual effect on the lips and mouth. More importantly, however, was the drug’s therapeutic effect on his serious depression. In a letter to his fiancée, whom he had not seen in a year, he reported that during his last severe depression, he had taken small quantities of the drug with marvelous results. He wrote that the next time he saw her he would be like a wild man, feeling the effects of the drug. He also told his fiancée that he would give her small amounts of the drug, ostensibly to make her strong and to help her gain weight. The young doctor wrote a pamphlet extolling the benefits of the drug, but he had not yet completed the necessary experiments on the drug’s value as an analgesic. Impatient to be near his fiancée, he delayed completion of his experiments and went off to see her. During that visit, a colleague—and not he—completed the experiments, published the results, and gained the recognition the young doctor had hoped for himself. These events took place in 1884; the drug was cocaine; the young doctor was Sigmund Freud. Overview of Psychoanalytic Theory Freud, of course, was fortunate that his name did not become indelibly tied to cocaine. Instead, his name has become associated with psychoanalysis, the most famous of all personality theories. What makes Freud’s theory so interesting? First, the twin cornerstones of psychoanalysis, sex and aggression, are two subjects of continuing popularity. Second, the theory was spread beyond its Viennese origins by an ardent and dedicated group of followers, many of whom romanticized Freud as a nearly mythological and lonely hero. Third, Freud’s brilliant command of language enabled him to present his theories in a stimulating and exciting manner. Freud’s understanding of human personality was based on his experiences with patients, his analysis of his own dreams, and his vast readings in the various sciences and humanities. These experiences provided the basic data for the evolution of his theories. To him, theory followed observation, and his concept of personality underwent constant revisions during the last 50 years of his life. Evolutionary though it was, Freud insisted that psychoanalysis could not be subjected to eclecticism, and disciples who deviated from his basic ideas soon found themselves personally and professionally ostracized by Freud. page 22 Although Freud regarded himself primarily as a scientist, his definition of science would be somewhat different from that held by most psychologists today. Freud relied more on deductive reasoning than on rigorous research methods, and he made observations subjectively and on a relatively small sample of patients, most of whom were from the upper-middle and upper classes. He did not quantify his data, nor did he make observations under controlled conditions. He utilized the case study approach almost exclusively, typically formulating hypotheses after the facts of the case were known. Biography of Sigmund Freud Sigismund (Sigmund) Freud was born either on March 6 or May 6, 1856, in Freiberg, Moravia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. (Scholars disagree on his birth date—the first date was but 8 months after the marriage of his parents.) Freud was the firstborn child of Jacob and Amalie Nathanson Freud, although his father had two grown sons, Emanuel and Philipp, from a previous marriage. Jacob and Amalie Freud had seven other children within 10 years, but Sigmund remained the favorite of his young, indulgent mother, which may have partially contributed to his lifelong self-confidence (E. Jones, 1953). A scholarly, serious-minded youth, F

Use Quizgecko on...
Browser
Browser