Personality
What are the perspectives
on personality?
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Psychoanalytic
Humanistic
Trait
Social cognitive
The self
Psychoanalytic perspective
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Sigmund Freud
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The mind is like an
iceberg
Conscious
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(Above the water)
Unconscious
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Larger
(Below the water)
Thoughts
Feelings
Memories
Freud’s personality theory
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Id = Pleasure principle
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Ego = Reality principle
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Sex & violence
Hedonistic
Mediates between Id and Superego
Superego = conscious
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Pride and guilt
Freud’s personality iceberg
How do we evaluate the
unconscious?
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Projective tests
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Ambiguous stimuli that people “project” information onto
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Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
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E.g. describe or tell a story
Patient makes up a story based on ambiguous pictures
Rorschach Test
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10 inkblots - people discuss what they see in the inkblots
Designed to identify people’s inner unconscious feelings
Not successful in predicting behavior or diagnosis
Ego defense mechanisms
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Repression
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Regression
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Underlies all other defense mechanisms
Keeps repressed urges (e.g. incest) from becoming
conscious
Retreating to an earlier, more infantile stage of
development
Reaction formation
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Doing the opposite of what you actually feel
Inadequate feelings become bravado
“I hate him” becomes ” I love him”
Makes unacceptable impulses more acceptable
Ego defense mechanisms (Cont.)
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Projection
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Rationalization
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Projecting your unacceptable impulses to others
E.g. “He is lying like everyone else.”
Thinking up socially acceptable reasons for your negative
behavior.
E.g. “I only steal from rich people”
Displacement
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Diverts sexual or aggressive energies toward a more
acceptable target.
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E.g. Mad child kicks the pet.
What is the Humanistic
Perspective?
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The self concept - “Who am I”
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A basic focus of the Humanistic perspective
Maslow’s Self-actualization
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People strive for self-actualization
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To be the best you can be
After other needs are met for physiological, safety,
love, and self-esteem
Humanistic Perspective (cont.)
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Carl Rogers - Person Centered Perspective
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Unconditional positive regard
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If we feel accepted, we will be more open and
expressive.
What is the Trait Perspective?
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Traits = Characteristic behaviors or disposition
Myers-Briggs type indicator
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Describes personalities in complimentary terms
Extroversion or introversion
Thinking or feeling
Trait Perspective (cont.)
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MMPI = Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory
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Most widely used personality inventory
Used to identify emotional disorders
MMPI = Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory
What is the Social Cognitive
Perspective?
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How does learning & thinking & society
influence each other?
Reciprocal Determinism
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Albert Bandura
Behavior, internal personal factors, and the
environment all operate to determine each other.
Reciprocal Determinism
Locus of control
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Internal locus of control
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“I personally control my destiny.”
External locus of control
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“Outside forces which I can not control determine
my destiny.”
What is Learned Helplessness?
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Repeatedly faced with traumatic events over
which people have no control, people feel
helpless, hopeless, and depressed.
Exploring your “self concept”
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Benefits of positive self esteem:
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More persistent at tasks
Less likely to use drugs and conform to group pressure
Happier
Self serving bias
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We like to perceive ourselves favorably
We contribute successes to our own effort and failure to
factors beyond our control.