TOP (prelim reviewer) PDF

**Theory** - a set of [related assumptions] that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to\ formulate testable hypotheses\ - an [explanation for a phenomenon] **Personality** - pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that provide both consistency and individu...

**Theory** - a set of [related assumptions] that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to\ formulate testable hypotheses\ - an [explanation for a phenomenon] **Personality** - pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that provide both consistency and individuality to a person's behavior. **Traits** - contribute to individual differences in behavior, consistency of behavior over time, and stability of behavior across situations.\ - may be unique, common to some group, or shared by theentire 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 includesuch attributes as temperament, physique, and intelligence. **Theories of personality**- are frameworks that provide explanations for the ways in which personality traits develop, manifest, and influence behavior. They help us understand why people behave the way they do. Purpose:\ Explain: Offer explanations for individual differences inbehavior.\ Predict: Help predict how people are likely to behave in different situations.\ Guide: Provide a basis for interventions and personal development. Why Different theories? - Alternate theories exist because the very nature of a theory allows the theorist to make speculations from a particular point of view. - Theories are not immutable laws; they are built, not on proven facts, but on assumptions that are subject to individual interpretation. - Theories are not immutable laws; they are built, not on proven facts, but on assumptions that are subject to individual interpretation. **PERSPECTIVE IN THEORIES OF PERSONALITY**  **THEORISTS' PERSONALITIES AND THEIR THEORIES OF PERSONALITY\ ** **Psychology of science** - subdiscipline of psychology that studies both science and the\ behavior of scientists.\ - investigates the impact of an individual scientist's psychological processes and personal characteristics on the development of her or his scientific theories - The scientists' personalities, cognitive processes, developmental histories, and social\ experience affect the kind of science they conduct and the theories they create. - 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 and by looking at their usefulness **WHAT MAKES A THEORY USEFUL?** 1. Generates Research 2. Is Falsifiable 3. Organizes Data 4. Guides Action 5. Is Internally Consistent 6. Is Parsimonious **DIMENSIONS OF CONCEPT OF HUMANITY** **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? **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? **Causality versus Teleology\ **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? **Conscious versus Unconscious\ **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? **Biological versus Social influences\ **Are people mostly creatures of biology, or are\ their personalities shaped largely by their social\ relationships? **Uniqueness versus similarities\ **Is the salient feature of people their individuality,\ or is it their common characteristics? **Conclusion\ ** Humans are **complex**. Having a lot of theories is a good thing\ There is no one size fit all explanation to understand personality.\ Having alternate explanations is useful of we know how to\ contextualize it\ Not all theories are made equal. Some are useful. Some are not. **PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY** **ANNA O. --** pseudonym given to Bertha Pappenheim - A patient treated by [Dr. Josef Breuer] Close colleague of Sigmund Freud - 21 yr old woman - Suffering from these symptoms: - partial paralysis - hallucinations - speech - difficulties - "hysteria" - Childhood sexual experiences - "psychical analysis " -- psychoanalysis - Physical symptoms: She experienced paralysis in her arms and legs, as well as disturbances\ in her vision and hearing. : Anna had hallucinations and spoke in multiple languages, often forgetting her native tongue. - Breuer treated Anna O. through what she termed \"talking therapy,\" where she would recall\ traumatic experiences and express the emotions she had repressed. She found that her\ symptoms improved after these sessions, a process she called \"chimney sweeping\" or\ \"catharsis.\" - The unconscious mind plays a powerful role in shaping who we are - Freud's iceberg metaphor highlights the vast influence of the unconscious - Understanding unconscious drives is crucial for psychological healing **PSYCHOANALYSIS** Twin cornerstones of psychoanalysis: - Sex - Aggression - Second, the theory was spread beyond its Viennese origins by an ardent and dedicated group of followers, many of whom romanticized Freud so much. - 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 **Sigmund Freud** - Firstborn child. Enjoy a warm, indulgent relationship with his mother. - Medical Practice - Studies of Hysteria - became convinced of a psychogenic and sexual origin of hysterical symptoms Catharsis -- the process of removing hysterical symptoms through "taking them out" - suffered both professional isolation and personal crises - publication of interpretation of dreams( Flies, Breuer, Adler , Jung ) - International Psychoanalytic Association - 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 **VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE** **EROS** ( life instinct ) : **Thanatos** ( Death instinct ) : 1. Procreation 1. Aggression 2. Social cooperation 2. Risky behavior 3. Survival 3. Reliving trauma **UNCONSCIOUS** - contains all those drives, urges, or instincts that are beyond our awareness but that nevertheless motivate most of our words, feelings,and actions. **Repression** - the explanation for the meaning behind dreams, slips of the tongue, and certain kinds of forgetting. **PRECONSCIOUS -** The preconscious level of the mind contains all those elements that are not conscious but can become conscious either quite readily or with some difficulty.\ **CONSCIOUS** - can be defined as those mental elements in awareness at any given point in time. It is the only level of mental life directly available to us. **COMPONENTS OF PERSONALITY** 1. **Id-** Completely unconscious and operates on the [pleasure principle.]\ - Seeks to satisfy basic desires and reduce tension.\ - Has no contact with reality 2. **EGO** -The only part of the mind in contact with reality, operating on the reality principle.\ - Develops from the id and acts as the decision-making component.\ - Balances desires of the id and superego, functioning across conscious, preconscious, and unconscious levels 3. **SUPEREGO** - Represents moral standards and ideals, guided by moralistic and idealistic\ principles.\ - Emerges from the ego but strives for perfection, often unrealistic in its demands. of its own An imbalance among the id, ego, and superego can lead to personality issues. For example:\ If the id is too strong, a person might be overly hedonistic and disregard rules or\ norms. If the superego is too strong, a person might be excessively self-critical or rigid. A healthy personality typically involves a dominant ego, which balances the desires\ of the id and the moral constraints of the superego.  **DYNAMICS OF PERSONALITY** a. **Drives** -- Trieb (drive or impulse) - Internal stimulus that motivates behavior [Characteristics of Drives:\ ] a. **Constant Motivational Force** - Drives act as a persistent force, unlike external stimuli which can be avoided b. **Cannot Be Escaped** - As internal stimuli, drives cannot be avoided by fleeing from them [Components of a Drive:\ ] a. Impetus - The amount of force the drive exerts. b. Source - The area of the body experiencing tension or excitation. c. Aim - To achieve pleasure by reducing tension or excitation. d. Object -The person or thing through which the drive\'s aim is\ satisfied. b. **[SEX ]** - The aim of the sexual drive is pleasure, but this pleasure is not limited to genital\ satisfaction. Freud believed that the entire body is invested with libido. - Erogenous zones: [Mouth, anus, and genitals]. - Sexual object - can easily be transformed or displaced 1. Narcissism\ Primary Narcissism- Infants are self-centered, with libido focused on their own ego.\ Secondary Narcissism - Adolescents redirect libido back to the ego, focusing on personal appearance and self- interests.\ - Moderate self-love is common to everyone. 2. Love - Investment of libido in others (e.g., parents, siblings).\ - Often aim-inhibited but involves shifting focus from self to another person. 3. Sadism - Sexual pleasure derived from inflicting pain or humiliation on others. 4. Masochism - Seeking pleasure through experiencing pain or humiliation.\ - Becomes perversion when Eros is subservient to the destructive drive. c. **[AGRESSION ]** - Aim of destructive drive Goal : Return to an inorganic state. Ultimate aim : Self- destruction, as the inorganic state equates to death. FORMS OF AGGRESSION Flexible and varied expressions:\ Teasing\ Gossip\ Sarcasm\ Humiliation\ Humor\ Enjoyment of others\' suffering d. **ANXIETY** - Emphasized that it is a felt, affective, unpleasant state accompanied by a\ physical sensation that warns the person against impending danger. The\ unpleasantness is often vague and hard to pinpoint, but the anxiety itself is\ always felt. TYPES OF ANXIETY 1. [Neurotic Anxiety]- Apprehension about an unknown danger. Origin: While the feeling of anxiety exists within the ego, it originates from conflicts with id impulses (unconscious desires). 2. [Moral Anxiety] - Arises from the conflict between the ego and the superego. Context: Develops after children establish a superego (around ages 5-6),\ reflecting the tension between realistic needs and the moral standards set\ by the superego. 3. [Realistic Anxiety]- An unpleasant, non-specific feeling related to real, external dangers. Relation to Fear: Closely tied to fear, as it involves a direct response to\ perceived threats in the environment. - Self-Regulation of Anxiety\ Role of Repression: Freud suggested that anxiety triggers defensive mechanisms\ like repression. Repression involves pushing distressing thoughts or desires out of\ conscious awareness to protect the individual from the pain of anxiety.\ Function of Defensive Behaviors: These behaviors are crucial for managing\ anxiety. By using defense mechanisms, the ego reduces the intensity of anxiety\ and prevents it from becoming overwhelming or intolerable. e. **DEFENCE MECHANISM** - General Concept - Defense mechanisms are psychological strategies\ used by the ego to protect itself from anxiety and internal conflicts.\ - They are unconscious processes that help individuals cope with stress, manage emotional pain, and maintain psychological balance. - Function: The primary purpose of defense mechanisms is to shield the ego from the distress caused by unacceptable impulses, particularly those related to sexual and aggressive drives. They help individuals avoid confronting these distressing thoughts or feelings directly. - The principal defense mechanisms identified by Freud include\ repression, reaction formation, displacement, fixation, regression,\ projection, introjection, and sublimation. **DEFENCE MECHANISMS** a. **Repression -** The process of forcing distressing thoughts and feelings into the unconscious. [Example]: A person who has experienced a traumatic event, such as a car accident, may have no recollection of the event and may act as though it never happened. The distressing memory is repressed and not accessible to conscious thought. b. **Reaction Formation -** Adopting behaviors or attitudes that are directly opposite to one's repressed impulses. [Example]: A person who harbors deep-seated hostility toward a colleague might display\ excessive friendliness and support towards them, overtly acting as their best friend. c. **Displacement**- Redirecting emotional responses from a threatening object to a less threatening one. [Example:] A person who is angry with their boss might come home and take out their\ frustration by yelling at their partner or pet, rather than addressing the anger with the boss. d. **Fixation** - Stalling psychological development at a particular stage due to anxiety or stress\ about moving to the next stage. [Example:] An adult who becomes overly concerned with cleanliness and orderliness may be exhibiting a fixation at the anal stage of development, where control and cleanliness were central issues. e. **Regression -** Reverting to behaviors from an earlier developmental stage when facing\ stress or anxiety. Example: A teenager who, during a stressful exam period, begins to exhibit childlike behaviors, such as seeking comfort from their parents or engaging in activities like thumb-sucking, is displaying regression. f. **Projection** - Attributing one's own unacceptable impulses or feelings to another person. Example: A person who is secretly jealous of a friend might accuse the friend of being envious of them instead, thus projecting their own feelings onto someone else. g. **Introjection** - Incorporating the positive qualities of another person into one's own ego. Example: A person who admires a mentor for their leadership skills might start adopting similar behaviors and attitudes, integrating these qualities into their own personality to feel more competent. h. **Sublimation** - Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable and productive activities. Example: An individual with aggressive impulses might become highly involved in competitive sports or engage in creative endeavors like painting or writing, where their aggressive energy is expressed in a socially acceptable way. **Stages of Development** - To Freud, the first 4 or 5 years of life, or the infantile stage, are the most crucial for\ personality formation. - This stage is followed by a 6- or 7-year period of latency during which time little or no\ sexual growth takes place. - Then at puberty, a renaissance of sexual life occurs, and the genital stage is ushered in.\ Psychosexual development eventually culminates in maturity. A. **ORAL PHASE --** infants obtain life-sustaining nourishment through the oral cavity, but beyond that, they also gain pleasure through the act of sucking **-**The sexual aim of early oral activity is to incorporate or receive into one's body the object-choice, that is, the nipple. - Oral-receptive phase - infants feel no ambivalence toward the pleasurable object and\ their needs are usually satisfied with a minimum of frustration and anxiety.\ - These anxieties are generally accompanied by feelings of ambivalence toward their love object (mother), and by the increased ability of their budding ego to defend itself against the environment and against anxiety - Oral-sadistic period - infants respond to others through biting, cooing, closing their\ mouth, smiling, and crying. - Their first autoerotic experience is thumb sucking, a defense against anxiety that satisfies their sexual but not their nutritional needs - Erogenous Zone - gratifying their oral needs in a variety of ways, including sucking candy, chewing gum, biting pencils, overeating, smoking cigarettes, pipes and cigars, and making biting, sarcastic remarks. **B) ANAL PHASE -** The aggressive drive, which during the first year of life takes the Infants satisfy oral needs one way or another. form of oral sadism, readies fuller development during the second year when the anus emerges as a sexually pleasurable zone. - Sadistic-Anal Phase / Anal Phase - characterized by satisfaction gained through\ aggressive behavior and through the excretory function - Early Anal period - receive satisfaction by destroying or losing objects. children often\ behave aggressively toward their parents for frustrating them with toilet training - Late anal period - take a friendly interest toward their feces, an interest that stems from\ the erotic pleasure of defecating.\ Accepted -- children are likely to grow into generous adults\ Rejected - may adopt another method of obtaining anal pleasure-withholding the\ feces until the pressure becomes both painful and erotically stimulating.\ Anal character- People who continue to receive erotic satisfaction by keeping and\ possessing objects and by arranging them in an excessively neat and orderly\ fashion (overly resistant to toilet training, often holding back their feces and\ prolonging the time of training)\ Anal Triad- orderliness, stinginess, and obstinacy that typifies the adult anal\ character. **C) PHALLIC PHASE -** Orderliness, stinginess, and obstinacy that typifies the adult anal character.\ - a time when the genital area becomes the leading erogenous zone.\ - This stage is marked for the first time by a dichotomy between male and female development, a distinction that Freud (1925/1961) believed to be due to the anatomical differences between the sexes. - masturbation is nearly universal, but because parents generally\ suppress these activities, children usually repress their conscious desire to masturbate by the time their phallic period comes to an end. Just as children's earlier experiences with weaning and toilet training helped shape the foundation of their psychosexual development, so too does their experience with the suppression of masturbation. - From the 4th or 5th year until puberty, both boys and girls usually, but not always, go\ through a period of dormant psychosexual development. - Brought about partly by parents' attempts to punish or discourage sexual activity in their\ young children. If parental suppression is successful, children will repress their sexual\ drive and direct their psychic energy toward school, friendships, hobbies, and other\ nonsexual activities. - Continued latency is reinforced through constant suppression by parents and teachers\ and by internal feelings of shame, guilt, and morality. The sexual drive, of course, still\ exists during latency, but its aim has been inhibited. **E) GENITAL PERIOD** - Puberty signals a reawakening of the sexual aim and the beginning of the genital period. - First, adolescents give up autoeroticism and direct their sexual energy toward another\ person instead of toward themselves. - Second, reproduction is now possible. - Third, although penis envy may continue to linger in girls, the vagina finally obtains the\ same status for them that the penis had for them during infancy. - Parallel to this, boys now see the female organ as a sought-after object rather than a\ source of trauma - Fourth, the entire sexual drive takes on a more complete organization, and the\ component drives that had operated somewhat independently during the early infantile\ period gain a kind of synthesis during adolescence; thus, the mouth, anus, and other\ pleasure-producing areas take an auxiliary position to the genitals, which now attain\ supremacy as an erogenous zone. - This synthesis of Eros, the elevated status of the vagina, the reproductive capacity of the\ sexual drive, and ability of people to direct their libido outward rather than onto the self\ represent the major distinctions between infantile and adult sexuality **F) MATURITY** - The genital period begins at puberty and continues throughout the individual's lifetime.\ It is a stage attained by everyone who reaches physical maturity. In addition to the\ genital stage, Freud alluded to but never fully conceptualized a period of psychological\ maturity, a stage attained after a person has passed through the earlier developmental\ periods in an ideal manner. Unfortunately, psychological maturity seldom happens,\ because people have too many opportunities to develop pathological disorders or\ neurotic predispositions. - Psychoanalytically mature individuals - people would have a balance among the\ structures of the mind, with their ego controlling their id and superego but at the\ same time allowing for reasonable desires and demands - Consciousness would play a more important role in the behavior of mature people,\ who would have only a minimal need to repress sexual and aggressive urges. - Indeed, most of the repressions of psychologically healthy individuals would\ emerge in the form of sublimations rather than neurotic symptoms. - Evidence suggests that dream content is often influence by the fears, problems, and issues that capture our thoughts before we go to bed - The tale of Palestinian children. Children living in the Gaza\ strip experienced years of violence and ever-present danger.\ Children living in the Galilee area of Israel had a relatively\ peaceful existence. - Children living under the constant stress had more dreams\ than the other children. - Higher percentage of stressed children's dream included\ threatening events with higher frequency as compared to the\ other group. EVIDENCE FOR OEDIPAL COMPLEX\ Males make up about 50% of the characters in women's\ dream but about 65% of the characters in men's dreams.\ This may be because men never completely overcome their\ conflict with their fathers or for other various reasons which\ are unclear. EVIDENCE FOR OEDIPAL COMPLEX\ Males make up about 50% of the characters in women's\ dream but about 65% of the characters in men's dreams.\ This may be because men never completely overcome their\ conflict with their fathers or for other various reasons which\ are unclear.  ON DEFENSE MECHANISM\ Unconscious efforts to conceal painful thoughts and emotional\ conflict\ Since we have no awareness that we are doing the defenses,\ how do we study them? FREUD ON HUMOR\ Aggressive jokes allow the expression of hostile impulses we\ usually control.\ Sexual jokes are used to discuss taboo sexual topics.\ Laughter after these jokes are meant to be cathartic.\ Men and women in one study were presented with a series of\ hostile jokes and cartoons. Men found humor that targeted\ women funnier than the humor aimed at men. Similarly, women\ found humor that targeted men funnier than humor aimed at\ women. - Clients are encouraged to say whatever comes to mind, regardless of how painful, silly, trivial, illogical, or irrelevant it may seem. - Often leads to some recollection of past experiences and, at times, a catharsis or release of intense feelings that have been blocked - Consists of the analyst's pointing out, explaining, and even teaching the client the meanings of behavior that is manifested in dreams, free association,\ resistances, defenses, and the therapeutic relationship itself. - To enable the ego to assimilate new material and to speed up the process of uncovering further unconscious material. - Freud sees dreams as the "royal road to the unconscious,"\ for in them one's unconscious wishes, needs, and fears are\ expressed\ ⚬ Latent content - consists of hidden, symbolic, and unconscious motives, wishes, and fears.\ ⚬ Manifest content- which is the dream as it appears to the dreamer - The therapist's task is to uncover disguised meanings by\ studying the symbols in the manifest content of the dream. **ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION RESISTANCE** **Resistance** - anything that works against the progress of therapy and prevents the client from producing previously unconscious material.\ ⚬ Client's reluctance to bring to the surface of awareness unconscious material that has been repressed.\ - Use to defend against the intolerable anxiety and pain.\ ⚬ Clients wish both to change and to remain embedded in their old world\ - Therapists need to create a safe climate so clients can recognize resistance and explore it in therapy.\ ⚬ Interpretations help clients become aware of the reasons for the resistance so they can deal with them - Interpreting transference is a route to elucidating the client's intrapsychic life\ ⚬ Achieve here-and-now insight into the influence of the past on their present functioning\ ⚬ Recognize how they are repeating the same dynamic patterns in their relationships with the therapist.\ ⚬ Become aware of and to gradually change some of their long-standing patterns of behavior