Ch 13 Personality

1. Ch 13 Personality

2. Personality • Unique way in which each individual thinks, acts, and feels throughout life • It is not • Character – person’s value judgments made on a person’s morals or ethical behavior • Temperament – enduring characteristics with which each person is born, such as irritability or adaptability • Biology through genetic and prenatal influences • One’s larger personality is built on this

3. Perspectives of personality theory • Psychodynamic • Sigmund Freud • role of the unconscious mind and biological causes of personality • Behaviorist • Effect of environment on personality • Humanistic • Reaction against psychoanalytic and behaviorist • Role of each person’s conscious life experiences and choices • Trait • End result, not focused on causes

4. Sigmund Freud • Born in 1856 • Grew up in Vienna • Jewish, so he then moved to England to escape Nazis • Victorian age, sex only in marriage, and you should not like it • Many of Freud's patients were wealthy women with sexual repression • Freud was obsessed with sex being the explanation for abnormal behaviors

5. Unconscious Mind • Three parts of a persons’ mind • Preconscious, conscious, and unconscious mind • Unconscious mind • Level of the mind that we keep thoughts, feelings and memories. • Not easily or voluntarily brought into consciousness • To Freud it is what makes up our personality and human behavior

6. Divisions of personality • ID-if it feels good do it • Pleasure seeking, immoral • Basic biological drives • Hunger, thirst, self preservation and sex • Pleasure Principal – desire for immediate gratification with no regard for the consequences • Ego-the Executive Director • Rational, logical and conning • Reality Principal - satisfying the needs of the ID when negative consequences will not result • Superego- the moral watchdog • Moral Center • Contains the Conscience, what makes up feel guilty

7. How they work together • Psychological defense mechanisms • How our unconscious distorts our perception of reality to reduce stress and anxiety • Examples • Denial • Repression • rationalization

8. Stages of personality development • Freud determined 5 stages • Developing sexuality of the child • Each stage focus on a different erogenous zone • Fixation • Getting stuck in one stage • Child will grow but will carry emotional baggage from one stage

9. Oral Stage • Birth to 1 ½ years old • Mouth is the erogenous zone • Weaning is the primary conflict • Fixation in adults • Overeating • Drinking • Smoking • Excessive talking

10. Anal stage • 1 ½ - 3 years of age • Erogenous zone is now the anus • Toilet training becomes an issue • Fixation • Anal Explosive • Messiness is a statement of control • Destructive • Hostile • Anal Retentive • Stingy • Stubborn • Excessively neat

11. Phallic stage • 3-6 years old • Erogenous zone is the genitals • Realizing differences between boys and girls • Oedipus/Electra Complex • Fixation • Immature sexual attitude • Promiscuous • “mama’s boys”

12. Latency stage • 6 – onset of puberty • Children hide their sexual feelings • Children grow and develop intellectually, physically and emotionally • Play with own gender, other gender is bad • Fixation • Difficulty getting along with others

13. Genital stage • When puberty begins • Sexual feelings can no longer be hidden • Bodies are changing • Begins adult social and sexual behavior • Fixation • Immature love relationships

14. Criticisms • He did no experiments to arrive at his conclusions about personality • Used observations and case studies • He used confirmation bias • Memories and dreams would be put into his theory as he needed • No scientific basis of dreams

15. Psychodynamic today • His concepts remain useful • Basis for modern personality theories • Defense mechanisms has drawn much research • Unconscious mind

16. behaviorist • Watson and Skinner • Operant and classical conditioning influence our personalities • Our personality is just a set of learned habits • Social Cognitive learning Theorists • Importance of both the influences of other people’s behavior and of a person’s own expectancies on learning • Observations • Modeling

17. Bandura • Three factors in the behaviors that make up a persons personality • Environment • Behavior itself • Personal or cognitive factors • Reciprocal Determination • The three factors affecting one another in a give-take relationship

18. Rotter • Motivation • People are driven to seek reinforcement and to avoid punishment • Personality is a relatively stable set of potential responses to a situation • Locus of Control • We assume we either have or do not have control, internal or external • Expectancy • An expectation that a behavior will lead to a reinforcement

19. Behaviorists today • Limited • Does not take mental process into account • Does not look at social influence • Has influenced therapies based on learning theories

20. Humanistic • Maslow and Rogers • Focuses on what makes us human, unique • Feelings and freedom of choice

21. rogers • We are striving to fulfill what our genetic makeup will allow us to • Self-actualization=fulfillment • Self concept is our own image of who we are • Real self – who we are • Ideal self – who we want to be

22. Conditional and unconditional positive regard • Positive regard • Warmth, affection, love • Unconditioned positive regard • No strings attached • Conditioned positive regard • Strings • Fully functioning person • In touch with their own feelings and abilities, trust themselves

23. Humanistic today • Ignores the negative aspects of human nature • Difficult to test • Development if therapies to promote self growth and a better understanding of self

24. trait • Concerned describing personality and predicting behavior • Trait – is a consistent, enduring way of thinking, feelings, or behavior

25. Allport & catell • Found 200 traits in dictionary • Paired down to surface or source traits • Reserved vs outgoing • Submissive vs dominant • Shy vs bold • These traits were wired in the nervous system to guide our behavior • Used in many different situations • Persons “constellation” of traits are unique • Lack of scientific evidence • However, behavioral genetics support heritability of personality traits

26. The big five • 5 trait dimensions • Openness • Conscientiousness • Extraversion • Agreeableness • Neuroticism

27. Trait today • Traits will not always be expressed the same • Depends on situation • The big 5 has been tested • Found in 11 different cultures

28. Assessment of personality • Interviews– asking questions of the person, structured or not • Halo Effect – interviewer to allow positive traits to influence the assessment • Projective tests • Psychoanalysts want to uncover the unconscious conflicts, desires and urges • These tests have the person project their “issues” unto harmless stimuli • Client responds to whatever comes to mind • Uncovers problems in personality

29. Rorschach inkblots • Developed in 1921 by a Swiss Psychiatrist • 10 inkblots, 5 black and white, 5 color • Using predetermined responses based on past answers, people were given a score • They are still used today • No right or wrong answers • Issues • Subjective • Not reliable

30. Rorschach inkblots

31. Rorschach inkblots

33. Personality Inventories • Standardized test with yes or no questions • More reliable as the questions are not open ended, and everyone gets asked the same questions • Myers Briggs is used to assess personality to help with career selection • MMPI-2 very common • True or false answers to statements • Issues • Some people are able to fake the answers