PSYCHOLOGY
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY
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How do psychologists define and use the
concept of personality?
What do the theories of freud and his
successors tell us about the structure and
development of personality?
What are major aspects of trait, learning,
biological and evolutionary, and humanistic
approaches to personality?
How can we most accurately assess
personality?
What are the major types of personality
measures?
How do psychologists define and
use the concept of personality?
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Personality refers to the relatively
enduring characteristics that
Differentiate one person from anther
Lead them to act in a consistent and
predictable manner.
Both in different situations and over
extended periods of time.
The theories of the structure and
development of personality
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According to psychoanalysts, much of behavior
is caused by parts of personality that are found
in the unconscious and of which we are
unaware.
Freud’s theory suggest that personality is
composed of the id, the ego, and the superego.
The id is the unorganized, inborn part of
personality whose purpose is to immediately
reduce tensions relating to hunger, sex,
aggression, and other primitive impulses.
The Theories Of Structure And
Development Of Personality
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The ego restrains instinctual energy in order to
maintain the safety of individual and to help the
person to be a member of society.
The superego represents the rights and wrongs
of society and consists of conscience and the
ego-ideal.
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory suggests that
personality develops through a series of stages,
each of which is associated with a major
biological function.
The Theories Of Structure And
Development Of Personality
The oral stage is the first period, occurring
during the first year of life.
 Next comes the anal stage, lasting from
approximately age 1 to age 3.
 The phallic stage follows, with interest
focusing on the genitals.
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The Theories Of Structure And
Development Of Personality
At age 5 or 6 near the end of the phallic
stage, children experience the Oedipal
conflict, a process through which they
learn to identify with the same-sex parent
by acting as much like that parent as
possible.
 Then follows a latency period lasting until
puberty, after which people move into the
genital stage.
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The Theories Of Structure And
Development Of Personality
Defense mechanisms, used for dealing
with anxiety relating to impulses from the
id, provide people with unconscious
strategies to reduce anxiety .
 The most common defense mechanisms
are repression, regression, displacement,
rationalization, denial, projection, and
sublimation.
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The Theories Of Structure And
Development Of Personality
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Freud’s psychoanalytic theory has
provoked a number of criticisms.
Lack of supportive scientific data.
The theory’s inadequacy in making
predictions.
It’s reliance on a highly restricted
population.
Still, the theory remains a pivotal one.
Major aspects of personality
approaches
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Approaches are:
Trait.
Learning.
Biological and evolutionary.
Humanistic.
The major personality approaches differ
according to unconscious v conscious,
nature v nurture, freedom v determinism,
stability v modifiability of personality.
Major aspects of personality
approaches
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Trait approaches :
Have tried to identify the most basic and
relatively enduring dimensions along which
people differ from one another-dimensions
known as traits.
There are three kinds of traits (cardinal,
central, secondary).
Factor analysis used to identify 16 traits and
three dimensions (extraversion, neuroticism,
and psychoticism).
Major aspects of personality
approaches
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Learning approaches:
Concentrate on observable behavior.
Personality is the sum of learned
responses to the external environment.
In contrast, cognitive-social approaches
concentrate on the role of cognitions in
determining personality.
Attention to self-efficacy and reciprocal
determinism in determining behavior.
Major aspects of personality
approaches
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Biological and evolutionary approaches:
Focus on how personality are inherited.
For example, studies of children’s
temperament suggest that there is a
distinction between inhibited and
uninhibited children, which is reflected in
differences both in biological reactivity
and in shyness.
Major aspects of personality
approaches
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Humanistic approaches :
Emphasize the basic goodness of
people.
They consider the core of personality in
terms of a person’s ability to change and
improve.
Concept of the need for positive regard
suggests that a universal requirement to
be loved and respected underlies
personality.
Personality assessment
Psychological tests are standard
assessment tools that objectively measure
behavior.
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reliable, measuring what they are trying to
measure consistently, and
 valid, measuring what they are supposed to
measure.
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Major Types Of Personality
Measures
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Self-report measures ask people about a sample
range of their behaviors.
These reports are used to infer the presence of
particular personality characteristics.
The most commonly used self-report measure is
the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory2(MMPI-2).
MMPI-2 designed to differentiate people with
specific sorts of psychological difficulties from
normal individuals.