Personality
Personality

Personality: individual’s characteristic pattern of
thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Theories of personality





Psychoanalytic
Humanistic
Trait Perspective
Social Cognitive Perspective
(Assessing Personality)
Psychoanalytic
Perspective
“Flowers are restful to look at. They
have neither emotions nor conflicts.”
- Sigmund Freud
Psychoanalytic Perspective
Freud’s Theory of
Personality
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)

Childhood sexuality and
unconscious motivations
influence personality

Unconscious:
A reservoir of mostly
unacceptable thoughts,
wishes, feelings, and
memories
Structure of Personality

Mind is organized into
three parts:




Ego
Id
Superego
Ego
Personality arises from
efforts to resolve
conflict between Id,
Superego, and Ego
Conscious
mind
Unconscious
mind
Superego
Id
Structure of Personality
 Id
(the “It”)

Unconscious psychic
energy

Strives to fulfill sexual
and aggressive
drives

“Pleasure principle”
Structure of Personality

Superego (the
“overself”)

Presents internalized
ideals

Provides moral and
personal standards

“Idealistic principle”

Internal conflict with
the Id
Structure of Personality

Ego (the “self”)

Mostly conscious

Executive of
personality

Mediates Id,
Superego and reality

“Reality principle”
 Maximize
pleasure
& minimize pain
Psychoanalytic Perspective
Summary
 Psychoanalytic Perspective (Freud)

Structure of personality


Id, Superego, Ego
Freud in a nutshell



Importance of childhood
Unconscious desires
Sex
Humanistic Perspective
“The curious paradox is that when I
accept myself just as I am, then I can
change.”
- Carl Rogers
Humanistic Perspective: Outline
Abraham Maslow
 Carl Rogers

Humanistic Perspective
Abraham Maslow

Studied self-actualization
processes of productive
and healthy people

Self-actualization: the
ultimate psychological
need that arises after
basic needs are met
Abraham Maslow
(1908 – 1970)
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Humanistic Perspective
Carl Rogers

Unconditional positive
regard: an attitude of
total acceptance
towards another person

Self concept: all our
thoughts and feelings
about ourselves

“Who am I?”
Carl Rogers (1902 – 1987)
Trait Perspective
Trait Perspective

Personality made up of fundamental traits

Trait: A characteristic (stable and enduring)
pattern of behavior or disposition to feel and act

A person can be “high” or “low” in a trait
Extraversion
Low
(shy)
High
(outgoing)
Identifying Traits

Factor analysis: a statistical procedure that is
used to identify behaviors that seem to cluster
together (correlate)
Personality Test Items
1. Dislikes public speaking
2. Sympathizes with others
3. Likes quiet reading
4. Makes people feel at ease
5. Prefers not to go to parties
6. Takes time out for others
Identifying Traits

Factor analysis: a statistical procedure that is
used to identify behaviors that seem to cluster
together (correlate)
Dislikes public speaking
Sympathizes with others
Likes quiet reading
Makes people feel at ease
Prefers not to go to parties
Takes time out for others
Identifying Traits

Factor analysis: a statistical procedure that is
used to identify behaviors that seem to cluster
together (correlate)
Dislikes public speaking
Sympathizes with others
Likes quiet reading
Makes people feel at ease
Prefers not to go to parties
Takes time out for others
Identifying Traits

Factor analysis: a statistical procedure that is
used to identify behaviors that seem to cluster
together (correlate)
Introversion
Dislikes public speaking
Likes quiet reading
Prefers not to go to parties
Sympathizes with others
Makes people feel at ease
Takes time out for others
Identifying Traits

Factor analysis: a statistical procedure that is
used to identify behaviors that seem to cluster
together (correlate)
Introversion
Agreeableness
Dislikes public speaking
Likes quiet reading
Prefers not to go to parties
Sympathizes with others
Makes people feel at ease
Takes time out for others
The Big 5: A Model of Personality

OCEAN
 Openness to Experience
 Conscientiousness
 Extraversion
 Agreeableness
 Neuroticism

Stable in adulthood

50% heritable

Common to most cultures
Big 5: “Openness to Experience”

Openness to Experience: Tendency to be
creative, imaginative, perceptive, and thoughtful

Sample Openness item:

I have a vivid imagination.
Big 5: “Conscientiousness”

Conscientiousness: Tendency to be
achievement-oriented and dependable

Sample Conscientiousness item:

I am always prepared.
Big 5: “Extraversion”

Extraversion: Tendency to be outgoing,
assertive, active, excitement-seeking

Sample Extraversion item:

I am the life of the party.
Extraversion and the Brain

General brain arousal



Extroverts: seek to increase stimulation
Introverts: seek to decrease stimulation
Frontal lobe activation (behavior inhibition) is less active in
extraverts
The Big 5: “Agreeableness”

Agreeableness: Tendency to be kind, trusting
and trustworthy, and warm

Sample Agreeableness items:

I make people feel at ease.
Big 5: “Neuroticism”

Neuroticism: Tendency to be anxious, fearful,
depressed, and moody

Sample Neuroticism item:

I get stressed out easily.
Big 5
Barnum Effect

Barnum Effect: The tendency for people to
accept very general or vague characterizations of
themselves and take them to be accurate
P.T. Barnum – “There’s a sucker born every
minute.”
Trait Perspective: Summary

Identifying traits


Factor analysis
The Big 5 Theory of Personality

OCEAN
Social-Cognitive
Perspective
"People who believe they have the power to
exercise some measure of control over their
lives are healthier, more effective and more
successful than those who lack faith in their
ability to effect changes in their lives."
- Albert Bandura
Social-Cognitive Perspective (SCP)

Developed by Bandura (1986)

Emphasizes the interaction between genetic
personality traits and the environment

Reciprocal Determinism:
Individuals affect situations
and situations affect individuals
SCP: Personal Control (Rotter)

Personal Control: Whether we see ourselves as
controlling, or as controlled by, our environment

External Locus of Control: Perception that chance or
outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine
one’s fate

Internal Locus of Control: Perception that one controls
one’s own fate.
Social-Cognitive Perspective
Summary
 Bandura
 Reciprocal determinism
 Personal control


External LOC
Internal LOC
Personality Assessment
Psychoanalytic Assessment
 Projective
tests

Persons sees what
their unconscious
projects

Thematic
apperception test

Rorschach inkblots
Assessing Personality Traits

Personality Inventories: Questionnaires on
which people respond to items designed to
measure a range of feelings and behaviors

Examples
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory (MMPI)
 Myers Briggs Type
Indicator (MBTI)

Assessing Personality

Reliability: the consistency of a personality test


Do you get the same result every time?
Validity: the truthfulness of a personality test

Does the test measure what its supposed to
measure?
Assessing Personality: Summary

Psychoanalytic Assessment


Assessing Personality Traits


Projective Tests
Personality Inventories
Reliability and Validity