Personality
Personality
Understanding oneself entails developing an understanding of one’s
personality.
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Allport- “Personality as the dynamic organization within the
individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique
adjustment to his environment”
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Mischel(1976)- “Distinctive patterns of behavior including thoughts &
emotions that characterize each individual adaptation to the
situations of his or her life.”
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Behavior patterns across situations
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Psychological characteristics of the person that lead to those
behavior patterns.
Theories of Personality
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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.
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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
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Eysenck’s hierarchical Theory
Personality Type (certain characteristics)
habitual response patters (applicable to many situations)
specific responses (specific situations)
Trait Theories
Descriptive terms like determined flamboyant , inclined to
make quick decisions are “traits”
Allport’s Theory- Distinctive & personal forms of behaviors
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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
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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.
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Dynamics approaches involve a search for processes by
which needs, motives and impulses –often hidden from
view –interact to produce the individual’s behavior.
Psychoanalytic Theory
3 parts
1.
2.
3.
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.
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”
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
3 levels of consciousnessConscious, preconscious & the unconscious
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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.
Why do some ideas and feelings become
unconscious?
Repression- We repress or banish from consciousness,
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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
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
Defense Mechanism
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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
Oral Stage – birth to 1 year
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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.
Anal Stage- when child is toilet trained and teach them
prohibited behavior
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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
Phallic Stage- (3-5 years)
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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.
Latency Period- (6 years through puberty)
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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
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The focus lies outside the self and family
Responsible enjoyment of adult sexuality which is the
epitome of healthy development
Limitations
 Dynamic theories can not be tested
 Cultural environment major influence
 Research from studies of disturbed adults
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Learning and Behavioral Theories
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Behaviors that make up our personality are conditioned or learned
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Current conditions help maintain this behavior
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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.
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Skinner’s radical behavioral perspective drew only from instrumental
conditioning
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Reinforcement and punishment influence behavior
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Ruled out unobservable like drive, motives and emotions
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Personality as a collection of reinforced responses
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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
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
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- 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.
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