PERSONALITY What is Personality People differ from each other in meaningful ways People seem to show some consistency in behavior Personality is defined as distinctive and ID: 779325
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Slide1
PERSONALITY
A LOOK AT PERSONALITY THEORIES AND ASSESSMENTS
Slide2PERSONALITY
What is Personality
?
People differ from each other in meaningful waysPeople seem to show some consistency in behaviorPersonality is defined as distinctive and relatively enduring ways of thinking, feeling, and acting
Slide3PERSONALITY DEFINED
Personality refers to
a person’s
unique and relatively stable pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions Personality is an interaction between biology and environmentGenetic studies suggest heritability of personalityOther studies suggest learned components of personality
Slide4PERSONALITY TRAITS
Traits are relatively stable and consistent
personal characteristics
Trait personality theories suggest that a person can be described on the basis of some number of personality traitsAllport
identified some 4,500 traits
Cattel
used factor analysis to identify 30-35 basic traits
Eysenck
argued there are 3 distinct traits in personality• Extraversion/introversion• Neuroticism• Psychotocism
Slide5Trait Theorists:
The Five-Factor Model
Openness
(original and open to new ideas vs. conventional andnarrow in interests)Conscientiousness (responsible and organized vs. irresponsibleand careless
)
Extroversion
(sociable and talkative vs. withdrawn and quiet
)
Agreeableness
(trusting and good-natured vs. suspicious and
ruthless
)
Neuroticism
(emotionally unstable and moody vs. emotionally
stable and
easygoing
)
Slide6TAT Personality Tests(Thematic Apperception Test)
Write a story about the first thing that comes to mind while looking at this picture.
Slide7PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
Psychoanalytic theory
, as devised by Freud,
attempts to explain personality on the basis of unconscious mental forces Levels of consciousness: We are unaware of some aspects of our mental states Freud argued that personality is made up of multiple structures, some of which are unconscious Freud argued that as we have impulses that cause us anxiety; our personality
develops defense mechanisms
to protect
against
anxiety
Slide8FREUDIAN THEORY
Levels
of Consciousness
– Conscious What we’re aware of– Preconscious Memories etc. that can be recalled– Unconscious Wishes, feelings, impulses that lie beyond awareness
Structures
of Personality
–
Id
Operates
according to the “pleasure principle
”
(
crying infant)
– Ego
Operates
according to
the
“reality”
principle, meet the needs of the id, while considering reality
– Superego
Contains values and ideals, right and wrong
Slide9PERSONALITY: FREUD
Conscious
–
Ego – Some SuperegoPreconscious – Same available if neededUnconscious – Id – Some Superego – Some Ego
Slide10Why study Freud?
Freud’s work lays the groundwork for all subsequent personality theories.
It is the most comprehensive theory—he tries to explain everything humans are and do.
Slide11ASSUMPTIONS IN FREUD’S WORK
Development is driven by biology-we inherit drives and instincts.
Early experiences engender adult psychology-the events of the first 5-6 years determine psychological development.
Early social life is important-how mom and dad responded to our desire toward pleasure.
Slide12ASSUMPTIONS IN FREUD’S WORKALL PLEASURE IS ULTIMATELY SEXUAL PLEASURE!!!
From birth, infants seek sexual pleasure—Freud said breastfeeding was a sexual act.
Slide13Psychosexual stages: Freudian idea of
five developmental
periods key to
personality development*Personality is mostly established by the age of five.*Early experiences play a large role in personality development and continue to influence behavior later in life.*Said that personality develops through a series of childhood stages during which the pleasure-seeking energies of the ID become focused on certain erogenous areas. This energy (the libido) is the driving force behind behavior.
Slide14PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
If the stages are completed successfully, the result is a healthy personality.
If certain issues are not resolved at the appropriate stage, a fixation can occur.
Until this conflict is resolved, the individual will remain “stuck” in this stage.
Slide15Fixation
Freud said that psychosocial development is usually halted in one of the first three stages when a child becomes fixated (stuck) in one of the developmental conflicts.
We become fixated when we receive too little or too much pleasure in any given stage.
So, when fixated people encounter stress in their adult lives, they regress to that stage.
Slide16THE ORAL STAGE
Birth to 18 months
Child is focused on oral pleasures such as rooting and sucking.
The mouth is vital for eating and the infant derives pleasure from the oral stimulation through gratifying activities such as tasting and sucking.Too much or too little gratification can result in an oral fixation or oral personality—preoccupied with oral activities such as smoking, drinking, eating, biting nails.
Slide17THE ANAL STAGE
18 months to 3 years
Major focus is on eliminating and retaining feces.
Through society’s pressure, the child has to learn to control anal stimulation—toilet training!Developing this control leads to a sense of accomplishment and pride.*Freud says it depends on how parents teach-if too lenient and an anal-expulsive personality can develop-person is destructive and disorganized.If too strict, person develops an anal-retentive personality and is obsessed with cleanliness and order.
Slide18THE PHALLIC STAGEAges 3 to 6
Pleasure zone switches to the genitals.
Oedipus Complex: According to Freud, boys develop unconscious sexual desires for their mothers.
Boy then becomes a rival with father-competes for mother’s attention.Wanting to possess the mother and replace the fatherChild also fears that he will be punished for this-castration anxiety.
Slide19THE PHALLIC STAGE
GIRLS- later it was decided that they went thru same thing—called Electra Complex.
Freud disagreed with this and said instead that girls experience penis envy.
According to Freud, out of fear of castration and due to the strong competition of father—boy develops masculine characteristics, and represses his sexual feelings.Fixation in this stage: could result in sexual deviancies and weak or confused sexual identity.
Slide20LATENCY STAGEAge six to puberty
Libido interests are suppressed.
Development of ego and superego contribute to this calm.
Begins around time that kids start school and become concerned with peer relationships, hobbies and other interests.Important to development of social and communication skills and self-confidence.
Slide21GENITAL STAGE
Puberty on….
Final stage of psychosexual development.
Individual develops a strong sexual interest in the opposite sex.Interests in the welfare of others grows during the stage.If the other stages have been successfully completed, person should be well-balanced, warm, and caring.
Slide22Freud believed all children
pass
through five psychosexual stages
. At each stage the id’s pleasure seeking energies focus on specific pleasure areas of the body (erogenous zones).
Slide23EVALUATING FREUD’S THEORY
Difficult to test, but the evidence that has been gathered is not favorable.
The crucial events (e.g., how the libido is used) are unobservable, and there are no good means to measure them.
There is an awfully long time between the occurrence of the causal stimulus and its presumed effect; relationships between early events and later traits tend to be weak and inconsistent. This theory of development was conceived without studying children; rather, it was developed from patients' recollections, dreams and free associations.
Slide24ASSESSING THE UNCONSCIOUSProjective Tests
– Used
to assess personality (e.g., Rorschach
or TAT tests) – How? Provides ambiguous stimuli and subject projects his or her motives into the ambiguous stimuli.
Slide25Assessing the Unconscious-TAT
Thematic Apperception
Test (TAT) -people express their inner motives through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
Slide26ASSESSING THE UNCONSCIOUS-RORSCHACH
Rorschach Inkblot Test
–
the most widely used projective test – a set of 10 inkblots designed by Hermann Rorschach -used to identify peoples feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the inkblots.
Slide27Example #1
Slide28Example #2
Slide29Example #3
Slide30Example #4