Personality - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

PersonalitySlide2

This week:

Describing personality

Theories of personality:

Psychodynamic theories of personality

Trait theories of personality

Humanistic theories of personalitySlide3

Personality

Personality is not directly observable, but we often make assumptions and judgements about underlying personality characteristics of others, based on observationsSlide4
Slide5

Defining Personality

Personality = individual’s unique pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviour that are relatively stable over time and across situations.

Your unique way of thinking, feeling, and behaving in a wide range of situations throughout most of your lifetime.

Incorporates your individual attitudes, values, morals, motivations, wishes, loves, fears and so on which make up ‘you’. Slide6

Activity

Write down 5 characteristics that you think make up your personality.

Write down 5 characteristics that you think make up their personality

of the person next you.

Don’t discuss this!!!

NOTE: Try to be positive or at least neutral. Even if there are negative characteristics that are part of this person’s personality (and we definitely all have them!!) there is no need to write these ones down

Compare your own list to the list your partner wrote about you. Are they similar?Slide7

Theories of personality

Psychologists who study personality approach their study from different

perspectives…

Consequently, a variety of

theories

have been

developed to describe and explain how

personality develops

, why personalities differ and how

personality is

best measured or assessed.A personality theory is an approach to describing and explaining the origins and development of personality

, focusing

on how people are similar, how

they differ

and why every individual is unique. Each

theory is

developed in an attempt to understand, explain

and interpret

the perplexing and often complicated

pattern of

people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour.Slide8

Psychodynamic Theories of Personality

First developed by Sigmund Freud – a medical practitioner and psychoanalyst.

Personality is a result of unconscious psychological conflicts and how effectively these are resolved by the individual.

Conflicts originate from childhood experiences during which an individual ‘s instinctive urges and societies view of what is ‘acceptable’ behaviour often clash. Slide9

Freud’s Theory

Mind is like an iceberg – most of it is beneath the surface, hidden from the world and ourselves.

Mostly only experience the ‘tip of the iceberg’.

Human mind

organised

on three levels:

Conscious level

: everything we are thinking, feeling, remembering, sensing or aware of at this moment

Preconscious level: info at the ‘back of our mind’, can easily be brought to conscious by thinking about it

Unconscious level:

storage of all the info about ourselves that is not acceptable to the conscious mindSlide10

Activity

Draw a representation of Freud’s iceberg theory by including the three different levels of the human mind.

Human mind

organised

on three levels:

Conscious

level

Preconscious

level

Unconscious levelSlide11
Slide12

The structure of personality according to Freud

Individuals personality fully formed by about five or six years of age.

It is continually expanded and refined.

Consists of three basic parts, each pulling the individual in a different direction.

Id

Ego

Superego

The conflict between these parts and the way in which each conflict is resolved determines almost all of our behaviour and shapes personality.

Most serious and frequent internal conflict is between the self-satisfying urges of the id and the moral expectations of the superego. Slide13
Slide14

Freud’s Structure of Personality

Id

Represents innate, biological needs which require fulfilment for our survival

Needs such as hunger, thirst, sleep and sex

It is not a structure, but a force which consists of a demanding, impulsive, illogical, irrational and relatively selfish part of our personality

Pleasure principle – its needs must be met to increase pleasure and avoid painSlide15

Freud’s Structure of Personality

Ego

Develops as child grows and begins to understand how the world works – that their needs cannot always be satisfied immediately

Operates out of the Reality principle – deals with the Id’s demands by applying some logic and ‘real-life’ restrictions to it

Plays a mediating role, as it attempts to deal with id demands

and

superego demandsSlide16

Freud’s Structure of Personality

Superego

Our conscience or judging element of our personality, the superego weighs our thoughts, feelings and actions according to the morals and ideals of the society in which we live

Operates by the Moral principle, informing our decisions with knowledge of what is right and wrong

Therefore, also the cause of our feelings of guilt – punishment to the ego when it does not make the ‘right’ decisionSlide17

Example

Suppose that you have decided you will complete your Psychology assessment task tonight, because it is due tomorrow. At 8:30 pm, you still have about an hour’s work left to complete the task. But a movie you really want to watch is just about to start.

Id: “Do the work later. Go relax and watch the movie.”

Superego: “If you leave it until later you won’t do it, forget about the movie and get your work done.”

Ego:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Slide18

Activity

Id, ego and superego

In groups of 2-3, think of a scenario where the 3 parts of an individual’s mind might come into conflict regarding what would be considered to be appropriate behaviour.

Identify how the id, ego and superego might respond in the situation.

There can be a few different responses for any scenario, but compare different suggestions within your group and decide on what you believe is the most suitable responses.

*Textbook p. 515 for examples if you cant think of oneSlide19

Defence Mechanisms

The ego is constantly playing the role of trying to

mediate

between the id and the superego

There are many instances when this conflict is not effectively resolved and according to Freud, this results in individuals feeling anxiety

However, it is the

ego

’s role to protect us from such anxiety

Defence

mechanism =

the unconscious process by

which the ego defends or protects itself

against anxiety

arising from unresolved internal conflicts

.

By denying, falsifying or distorting reality at an unconscious level, our ego leads us to believe that there is no need to feel

anxiousSlide20

Activity

Read through the defense mechanisms on p. 517

In groups of 2-3 select one or more of the defense mechanisms listed on page 517 of your textbook and create a role play (write a short script) which demonstrates how this defense mechanism might be used in real life.

Swap scripts with another group and try guess which defense mechanism(s) is being portrayed. Slide21

Development of Personality according to Freud

Progresses through a series of 5 stages called the psychosexual stages.

D

ifferent parts of the body become the focus of our attention and pleasure.

Each stage has a crucial development conflict that must be successfully resolved in order to move on to the next stage.

Psychological problems experienced in adulthood are a direct result of childhood experiences and of how well the child can progress through each of the psychosexual stages.

Fixation: individual becomes stuck in one stage and unable to deal with other emotional crises they confront in later stages.

Fixations prevent the development of a ‘normal’ personality. Slide22

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Oral Stage

(Birth to 24 months)

focused on oral pleasures (sucking, biting etc.).

Too much or too little gratification can result in an Oral Fixation or Oral Personality which is evidenced by a preoccupation with oral activities.

This type of personality may have a stronger tendency to smoke, drink alcohol, over eat, or bite his or her nails.

Personality wise, these individuals may become overly dependent upon others, gullible, and perpetual followers. On the other hand, they may also fight these urges and develop pessimism and aggression toward others.Slide23

Read through pages 519-520 and complete the summary tableSlide24

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Genital Stage

(puberty onwards)

Sexual energies are focused on the genitals as they mature and the ability to

reproduce

occurs.Through

the lessons learned during the previous stages, adolescents direct their sexual urges onto opposite sex peers, with the primary focus of pleasure is the genitals.

Where in earlier stages the focus was solely on individual needs, interest in the welfare of others grows during this stage.

If the other stages have been completed successfully, the individual should now be well-balanced, warm and caring. The goal of this stage is to establish a balance between the various life areas.Slide25

The Freudian Slip

Slip of the tongue phenomenon:

Unintentional remarks

Believed to display our hidden desires, thoughts and anxieties.

Not meaningless mistakes but provide insight into the unconscious mindSlide26

Strengths and limitations of psychodynamic theories

Strengths:

Doesn’t overlook development of personality.

Explains how experiences and events influence personality.

Valid use of defense mechanisms.

L

imitations:

States that personality development ‘stops’ or ‘slows down’ at 5 or 6 years of age.

Based on Freud’s personal observations of patients.

Ideas difficult to be tested. Slide27

Trait Theories of Personality

A

personality trait

is a personality characteristic that endures (lasts) over time and across situations

Trait

theories

of personality focus on measuring, identifying and describing individual

differences

in personality in terms of traits or characteristics

The trait approach emphasises differences between individuals rather than similarities

Most personality tests are based on the trait approach to personalitySlide28

Trait Theories of Personality

Trait approach based on 4 main assumptions:

1. personality traits are relatively stable and predictable over time

2. personality traits are stable across different situations

3. personality is made up of many different traits, individuals can have ‘more’ or ‘less’ of a particular characteristic

4. some personality traits are more closely interrelated than others and have a tendency to occur together

Dimension

= sets, or clusters, of traits which are identified as being co-related in a significant waySlide29

Allport’s

hierarchy of Traits

Gordon

Allport

(1897 – 1967)

Widely recognized as the first trait approach to studying personality

Compiled a list of all the words that could be used to describe personality

~ 18000 wordsSlide30

Allport’s

hierarchy of Traits

Allport

organised

these traits into 3 groups:

1. Cardinal traits

: traits which are seen as

motivators

or a driving force in that person’s personality

Cardinal traits are very dominant, but extremely rare

Power could be seen as an example, for an individual such as Hitler or

Voldermort

(seen in virtually all their behavior)

I have the cardinal trait of altruism

I have the cardinal trait of powerSlide31

Allport’s

hierarchy of Traits

2. Central traits

: traits which are present to some degree in all individuals within a culture or society

Allport

suggested that central traits are the basis of our personality and influence our

behaviour

to a large extent (independence, kindness, trustworthiness, sensitivity)

When we describe our own personality or have others attempt to do so, they often describe the person’s central traitsSlide32

Allport’s

hierarchy of Traits

3. Secondary Traits

: like central traits these traits too are present to some degree in all individuals. However, they do not influence

behaviour

to the same degree

Examples of secondary traits include:

Liking a particular style of clothing (bohemian)

Liking a particular style of music (

emo

, country)

Secondary traits can change according to the situation, thus considered ‘superficial’ or ‘peripheral’ traits Slide33

L.A 12.11 p. 526Slide34

Cattell’s

16 Personality Factor model (16PF)

Raymond

Cattell

(1905 – 1995)

Dissatisfied with

Allport’s

qualitative measure

Used statistical procedure called

factor analysis

to reduce Allport’s list

Factor analysis

is when certain pieces of information are seen to be highly related to each other and therefore are seen as a group (or a factor)

For example, words such as happy, talkative, friendly, outgoing correlated more with each other than with other words such as disciplined, anxious and rigid

Thus, those words were grouped together as the factor ‘extraversion’ Slide35

Cattell’s

16 Personality Factor model (16PF)

Through factor analysis,

Cattell

identified 16 different factors or dimensions

Like all trait theories, an individual’s scores were placed on a continuum for each factor, with opposites such as

reserved

and

outgoing

at each extreme

Reserved

OutgoingSlide36

Cattell’s

16 Personality Factor model (16PF)

Cattell

identified 2 levels of traits:

1. Surface trait: lies beneath the ‘surface’ of your personality, can be observed indirectly from your

behaviour

2. Source trait: A group of surface traits that usually occur together are considered together as a source trait. Thus, a source trait is a ‘factor’ or dimension of personality

Cattell’s

model used 16 different factors or source traits to describe an individual’s personality

P. 527 for exampleSlide37

Eyesenck’s

PEN Model

Hans

Eyesenck

(1916 – 1997)

Reduced

Cattell’s

16 personality factors to 3 and called them ‘dimensions of personality’

These dimensions were called:

1. introversion – extraversion

2. neuroticism – emotional stability3. psychoticism (present to some degree in all of individuals)

Measured these dimensions using the EPQ (160 items)

Scores indicate ‘how much’ of each dimension the person displaysSlide38

1. introversion

–

extraversion

Extraversion = social, outgoing, talkative, tend to take risks

Introversion = quiet, thoughtful, reserved

2. neuroticism

– emotional

stability

Neurotisism

= worry, emotional, anxious, moody, tense

Emotional stablitiy = even-tempered, relaxed3. Psychoticism

Lower level traits e.g. aggressive,

unempathetic

, tough-minded. Unlike the other 2, this dimensions does not have an opposite end, psychoticism is present in all to some degree

Introvert

Neuroticism

Extrovert

Emotional stabilitySlide39

http://similarminds.com/eysenck.htmlSlide40

Costa and McCrae Five-Factor Model

Similar methods (factor analysis) have been used to identify five groups of personality traits that statistical analysis has shown occur together often

Five Factor Model includes:

Openness to experience

Conscientiousness

Extraversion

Agreeableness

Neuroticism

Costa and McCrae combined

Allport’s

word list and

Cattell’s

statistical analysis to determine the 5 factorsSlide41

Costa and McCrae Five-Factor Model

Openness to experience

:

includes traits such as imaginative, curious, artistic, excitable, insightful and unconventional

Conscientiousness: i

ncludes traits such as being

organised

, thorough, efficient, reliable, self-disciplined, dutiful and deliberateSlide42

Costa and McCrae Five-Factor Model

Extraversion:

Includes traits such a as being outgoing, sociable, talkative, energetic, assertive and adventurous – can lead to a tendency for risk-taking

behaviourSlide43

Costa and McCrae Five-Factor Model

Agreeableness:

Includes traits such as being cooperative, compliant, sympathetic, kind, affectionate, forgiving, modest and straightforwardnessSlide44

Costa and McCrae Five-Factor Model

Neuroticism:

Includes traits such as being tense, anxious, moody, irritable, impulsive, self-conscious and vulnerabilitySlide45

http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/Slide46

Humanistic Theory of Personality

Humanistic theories of personality

emphasize

:

uniqueness of the individual

the positive qualities and potential of all human beings to fulfill their lives

These theories are based on the

assumptions

that:

All people are born good

All people want to strive to reach their full potentialSlide47

Humanistic Theory of Personality

Therefore, according to these theories a

healthy

personality is the result of a person achieving their

full potential

An individual’s personality is viewed as the

total of all experiences and choices

they have had to make up to that point in time

Thus, to completely understand someone’s personality you need to try to understand all the problems they have had to deal with in their lives up to that pointSlide48

Roger’s

Person-

Centred

Theory

Each

of us

contains within

ourselves an enormous potential to grow

and develop

for the rest of our lives, unless something

in the environment prevents this from happening. Self-actualise = achieving ones full potential

This depends

on three key factors:

the

way others

treat them

(that is, whether they are accepted or rejected

by other

people

)

how

they view themself (that is,

their self-concept)

how

effectively they can deal

with negative influences

in their life that cause them

anxiety or conflictSlide49

Roger’s

Person-

Centred

Theory

Self-concept

refers to all the

perceptions and

beliefs an individual has about themself

including their nature, unique qualities and their typical behaviour.

a well-adjusted and

happy individual is someone whose self-image (the person

you think you are),

ideal self

(

the person you want

to be

) and

true self

(the person you actually are) are

all congruent

(match), or are fairly similar across

many aspects

of our view of

self

.Slide50

Roger’s

Person-

Centred

Theory

For example, if it is

important to

you to be generous (ideal self), you

believe you

are generous (self-image), and you behave in

a generous

manner (true self), then by Rogers’ theory it could be said that you would be fairly content and happy with your

self

.

However

, if the self-image,

true self

and ideal self are different, then you are

likely to

experience anxiety or unhappiness.

For

example

, if

you would like to be generous (ideal self), and

you think

you are generous (self-image) but you

behave possessively

(true self), then you are likely to

experience negative

feedback from others, causing

confusion and

dissatisfaction within your

self

.Slide51
Slide52

Qsort

test

Rogers and other humanistic theorists believe

that you

cannot ‘score’ or ‘rate’ personality, nor can

you accurately

measure personality in order to develop

a personality profile

Humanistic theorists have, however

, developed

a test called the Q-sort. The Q-sort test is used mainly during therapy to examine the self-concept

, and

the extent to which the true self and the ideal

self match

(or are mismatched

).

http

://www.ryerson.ca/~glassman/Qsort.html