CHAPTER 11 PERSONALITY
personality: a person’s unique and stable pattern of behavior and characteristics
the main way you define yourself
personality theories: attempts to explain how people are similar to one another or
how they are different from one another
SIGMUND FREUD
medical doctor from Vienna
one of the first doctors to study the anesthetic properties of cocaine
was the first person to study
psychoanalysis: the first personality theory; our behaviors are influenced by unconscious forces
developed theory around
most of his patients suffered from
3 Levels of Awareness
1) conscious: what you are aware of at any given moment
Ex:
2) preconscious: any information you know but are not presently aware of; can
easily access the information
Ex:
3) unconscious: most important of the 3
controls all of your behaviors
holds all of your bad, repressed childhood memories
also contains all sexual and aggressive instincts (bad ones)
everything here is destructive
not easy to access
3 Parts of the Personality
1) Id: present at birth
completely irrational; does not consider consequences
operates according to the pleasure priniciple: concept of immediate
gratification, “I want what I want right now, no matter what”
Ex:
2) Superego: all of your morals, beliefs, and standards
tells you to do the right thing
2 Subsystems:
ego ideal: ideal self-image that is made up of good and rewarded behaviors
how we think we should be
we are proud when we do good and are rewarded
conscience: being punished for bad behaviors
feel guilt when we do something wrong
conscience is responsible for guilty feelings
EX:
3) Ego: the rational part of the personality
the mediator between the id and superego, tries to find a compromise
b/t the id and superego
operates by the reality principle: satisfying the id in a rational and appropriate
manner
Freud felt we use ego defense mechanisms to temporarily reduce anxiety until the ego can find a
compromise
are done on an unconscious level
should be only temporary and not permanently
Defense Mechanisms
1) repression: block out any memories that can produce anxiety and burying it into
the unconscious
once you have repressed memories, they are hard to get rid of
Ex:
2) denial: refusal to believe a reality that would produce anxiety
Ex:
3) projection: attribute your own problems or bad behavior to someone or something else
Ex:
4) reaction formation: express an exaggerated emotion that is the opposite of how
you really feel
Ex:
5) regression: revert back to a behavior that reduced anxiety at an earlier age
or revert back to a time that was less anxious for them
usually happens after a traumatic event
Ex:
6) rationalization: supplying a socially acceptable reason for your behavior
or feeling instead of the real reason
want to avoid how they really feel or avoid the real reason for
their behavior
Ex:
7) displacement: redirecting feelings or behaviors onto someone or something that
doesn’t deserve it
Ex:
8) sublimation: channel an aggressive behavior into one that is socially acceptable
the only defense mechanism that you can use permanently
Freud developed five stages of development called psychosexual stages
during these stages, a child expresses himself through pleasure from different parts of the body
as you go through the stages, you are supposed to face a developmental conflict that you must
overcome
if you overcome it, you progress to the next stage
if you don’t you become fixated at that stage: displaying behaviors and needs from an earlier stage
PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES
1) Oral Stage:
is major source of pleasure
eating, sucking, chewing, biting
use mouth to explore world
2) Anal Stage:
major source of pleasure is the
pottie-training occurs during this stage
child is either going to keep it in or get it out and more pleasurable if out
3) Phallic Stage:
major source of pleasure are
become curious about their genitals and may play with them
wonder why other gender doesn’t have same thing
during this stage, children experience a conflict called the Oedipus complex, where the child is
unconsciously sexually attracted to the opposite-sex parent and unconsciously hates the same-sex
parent
little boys tend to feel more hostile towards their father
they want to be able to hug and kiss mommy like daddy does
realize daddy is bigger and stronger
if daddy finds out about his feelings, daddy may castrate him
castration anxiety: fear of father punishing him by cutting off penis
girls- at first want to be with their mothers
when discover the genitals of opposite sex, doesn’t want to be with mom but
with dad
then go through Oedipus complex
penis envy: feel they are inferior to a man’s genitals, which are superior
blames mom for her not having an adequate penis (clitoris)
boys and girls resolve the conflict by identifying with the same-sex parent
4) Latency Stage:
sexual urges are repressed during this stage
focus on more acceptable things like peers, school, sports, etc.
5) Genital Stage:
major source of pleasure are
but in a more socially acceptable manner
KAREN HORNEY
was a German doctor who was associated with psychoanalysis
when she came to the states, she realized that peoples personalities were not developed based on
a sexual nature, but more from their
felt that psychological problems were caused by
and not from sexual conflicts
these problems are caused by basic anxiety: feelings of loneliness and helplessness in a hostile
world
to deal or cope with basic anxiety and to relate to others, we use 3 strategies: moving toward
(compliance), moving against (hostility), and moving away (detachment)
3 strategies
1) moving toward (compliance): have an exaggerated need for approval and affection
2) moving against (hostility): exaggerated need for power, prestige, and social recognition
3) moving away (detachment): exaggerated need to be self-sufficient and independent
Freud had penis envy, Horney had womb envy: men and boys are jealous of women’s ability to
have children and nurse the children
ABRAHAM MASLOW
came from a humanistic perspective, which emphasizes a person’s potential for psychological
growth
Maslow proposed that our motivation for psychological growth is based upon a hierarchy of needs
when you have the most basic needs, you are able to advance to the next higher need
Hierarchy of Needs
1) physiological needs: for survival; like food, water, oxygen, sleep, shelter
2) safety needs: stable, orderly, predictable world
3) belonging and love needs: need intimate relationships with other people, need
affection and to feel a part of other groups
4) self-esteem needs: need for self-respect and respect from others
need to feel competent, confident, independent, free
from others- recognition, acceptance, and appreciation
5) self-actualization needs: the desire to achieve your highest potential
if other needs have been met, person may choose self-actualization needs
are difficult to describe since these needs vary depending on the person
the person is refining their personality, or fine-tuning it
TRAIT THEORY
trait: a stable and consistent personality characteristic
2 types:
1) surface traits: observable traits
EX:
2) source traits: unobservable traits
EX:
FIVE FACTOR MODEL
the most popular trait theory used today
five basic personality traits that you can score high, low, or in the middle on each scale
called the “Big Five”
1) Openness to Experience
considers how willing you are to take a risk or try something new;
how rigid are you and do you have a very structured environment
EX:
low---------------------------------------------------------high
2) Conscientiousness
considers how organized a person is
EX:
low-------------------------------------------------------high
3) Extraversion
considers how sociable a person is
EX:
low---------------------------------------------------------high
4) Agreeableness
considers how easy a person is to get along with
EX:
low------------------------------------------------------high
5) Neuroticism
considers how moody a person is
EX:
low-----------------------------------------------------high
PERSONALITY TESTS
2 types: self-report and projective
1) self-report: the client provides their own answers to questions
MMPI: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; most commonly used today
for adults; measures to see if there is a presence of abnormal behavior; helps in
diagnosing psychiatric disorders; so well-structured that it’s difficult to fake or pretend
being mentally ill or insane
2) projective: a person is shown an image and they have to interpret the image; any
unconscious feeling, thoughts, etc. should be projected when shown the images
two of the best known projective tests are the Rorschach Inkblot Test and the
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Rorschach Inkblot Test: person is shown a series of black and white inkblots and
they must tell what it looks like
the examiner looks for a theme in the person’s answers
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): person is shown real pictures and have to
make up a story about each one
examiner looks for a theme