Personality

1. Personality

2. Personality Understanding oneself entails developing an understanding of one’s personality. • Allport- “Personality as the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment” • Mischel(1976)- “Distinctive patterns of behavior including thoughts & emotions that characterize each individual adaptation to the situations of his or her life.” • Behavior patterns across situations • Psychological characteristics of the person that lead to those behavior patterns.

3. Theories of Personality • Type & Trait approach-focus on characteristics • Dynamic approaches- on motives impulses & psychological processes • Learning & Behavioral • Humanistic Approaches- Self and the importance of the individuals subjective view of the world.

4. Type Theories- Hippocrates 400 BC . 4 Temperamental types • Sanguine-cheerful ,vigorous • Phlegmatic-slow moving, calm • Melancholic-Depressed, morose • Choleric-Hot-tempered Many other Typologies A class of individuals said to share a common collection of characteristics • Introverts-shyness, social withdrawal, tendency to talk much • Extraverts-tendency to be outgoing, talkative

5. Eysenck’s hierarchical Theory Personality Type (certain characteristics) habitual response patters (applicable to many situations) specific responses (specific situations)

6. Trait Theories Descriptive terms like determined flamboyant , inclined to make quick decisions are “traits” Allport’s Theory- Distinctive & personal forms of behaviors • Mostly adjectives that describe how people act, think, perceive & feel. • Three levels of generality Cardinal Traits- Dominant and all individual action can be traced to them Central Traits- Characterizing an individual’s behavior to some extent but not in such a complete way as cardinal traits Secondary traits-influential but only within a narrow range

7. Type and Trait theories involve a search for separable components of personality and ways by which the components fit together to form a personality structure. • Dynamics approaches involve a search for processes by which needs, motives and impulses –often hidden from view –interact to produce the individual’s behavior.

8. Psychoanalytic Theory 3 parts • Structure of the personality comprising of the id, ego, superego. • Personality dynamics in which conscious and unconscious motivation and ego-defense mechanisms play an important role. • Theory of psychosexual development in which different motives and bodily regions influence the child at different stages of growth.

9. Personality Structure: Id, Ego & Superego 3 interlocking parts Id- most primitive, biological based urges - eat, drink, eliminate & sexual stimulation - the energy that underlies these urges is libido - operates on the pleasure principle - without regard to rules, realities of life Ego- The elaborate ways of thinking and behaving constitutes the “executive-function” - delays the demands of id channelizing them into more socially acceptable out lets - works on the “in the service of reality principle”

10. Superego- conscience- -mainly prohibitions learnt from parents and other authorities -superego may condemn as wrong certain things that the ego may otherwise do to satisfy the id -It is the seat for all positive values and moral ideals that are pursued because they are worthy

11. 3 levels of consciousness-Conscious, preconscious & the unconscious • Conscious level- we are aware if certain things around us & certain conscious thoughts. • Preconscious level- Memories and thoughts that are easily available with a moments reflection • Unconscious- Memories ,thoughts and Motives which we cannot easily call up.

12. Why do some ideas and feelings become unconscious? Repression- We repress or banish from consciousness, ideas, memories feelings or motives unacceptable, forbidden and disturbing. • It is unconscious and automatic. • We don’t choose • Whenever the idea or impulse which is painful and anxiety causing we must escape • This anxiety triggers repression

13. According to Freud the repressed material is not just safely tucked away. It operates underground, converting repressed conflicts into neurosis. -Unconscious process also figured in dreams and accidents. -Dreams are disguised manifestations of ids motives “royal road to the unconscious” -Slips of the tongue

14. Defense Mechanism • The demands of id are instinctual & amoral and hence must be blocked by the ego & superego. • Results in anxiety ad guilt from which the ego has to be protected • Defenses are used- The ego disguises, redirects and copes with the id’s urges. Reaction Formation- A motive that would arouse unbearable anxiety if it recognized hence it is converted into its opposite Projection and Displacement

15. Oral Stage – birth to 1 year • The infant obtains pleasure by sucking and later by biting • Feeding, mouthing new objects, even relief of teething pain • Mouth is the source of all pleasure in the first year • A baby given too little or too much or made too anxious about it-oral fixation • Adulthood excessive oral behavior in terms of concrete forms eg. Smoking.

16. Anal Stage- when child is toilet trained and teach them prohibited behavior • becomes highly sensitive to the stimulation of “holding on” and “letting go” • Toilet training is first contact with authority • Id is brought under control of the ego Fixation characterized by • Messiness and disorder • Compulsiveness, over conformity

17. Phallic Stage- (3-5 years) • After child has been toilet trained there is increase in awareness of genitals • The child may be fearful of the parent (father)and fear retaliation • Gradually this anxiety is resolved by identification with parent. Adopting behavior patterns and ideas.

18. Latency Period- (6 years through puberty) • According to Freud not very important in the development if personality • The child learns more about the world and the ego expands Genital Stage- Adolescences & beyond • The focus lies outside the self and family • Responsible enjoyment of adult sexuality which is the epitome of healthy development

19. Limitations • Dynamic theories can not be tested • Cultural environment major influence • Research from studies of disturbed adults

20. Learning and Behavioral Theories • Behaviors that make up our personality are conditioned or learned • Current conditions help maintain this behavior • Main focus is on testing their theories hence focus on observable behaviors • Dollard and Miller gave the basic idea that social behavior and individual behavior can be explained by means of basic learning principles • Neurosis explained as an outcome of conflict on being attracted and repelled by a course of action.

21. Skinner’s radical behavioral perspective drew only from instrumental conditioning • Reinforcement and punishment influence behavior • Ruled out unobservable like drive, motives and emotions • Personality as a collection of reinforced responses • Bandura and Walters- gave importance to observational learning or imitation • It requires no direct reinforcement to the learner • Imitator observes the model and experiences the model’s behaviors and its consequences vicariously • Situationalist approach that diminishes ‘person’ in personality

22. Humanistic Theories • Have focused on an entity known as the self • 2 distinct meanings - people’s attitudes about themselves their perceived traits, abilities, weaknesses - this is the self-concept/self-Image. - the executive functions-processed by which an individual copes, thinks , remembers, perceives and plans

23. - Individual's subjective frame of reference, it may or may not correspond with external reality - The concept of the self develops out of the phenomenal field - The ideal self- what the person would like to be - Trouble occurs when there are mismatches or incongruence - Results can be very disturbing - As an individual needs self-esteem we can distort our perceptions of our experiences in self-serving ways.

24. Personality Development- as a child grows parents and others react to their behavior, sometimes in a positive way and sometimes with disapproval Children regard some actions or thoughts as unworthy and they often react by distorting or denying these unworthy aspects of self