Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Personality Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Defining Some Terms • Personality: A person’s unique and relatively stable behavior patterns; the consistency of who you are, have been, and will become • Character: Personal characteristics that have been judged or evaluated • Temperament: Hereditary aspects of personality, including sensitivity, moods, irritability, and adaptability • Personality Trait: Stable qualities that a person shows in most situations • Personality Type: People who have several traits in common Figure 10.1 Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 FIGURE 10.1 Personality types are defined by the presence of several specific traits. For example, several possible personality traits are shown in the left column. A person who has a Type A personality typically possesses all or most of the highlighted traits. Type A persons are especially prone to heart disease (see Chapter 11). Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Personality Theories: An Overview • Personality Theory: System of concepts, assumptions, ideas, and principles proposed to explain personality; includes five perspectives: – Trait Theories: Attempt to learn what traits make up personality and how they relate to actual behavior – Psychodynamic Theories: Focus on the inner workings of personality, especially internal conflicts and struggles – Behavioristic Theories: Focus on external environment and on effects of conditioning and learning – Social Learning Theories: Attribute differences in perspectives to socialization, expectations, and mental processes – Humanistic Theories: Focus on private, subjective experience and personal growth Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Trait Theories • Trait theorists aim to describe personality with a small number of traits or factors • Personality trait—stable quality a person shows across most situations Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Table 10.1 Adjective Checklist Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Raymond Cattell and Traits • Surface Traits: Features that make up the visible areas of personality • Source Traits: Underlying traits of a personality; each reflected in a number of surface traits • Cattell also created 16PF, personality test – Gives a “picture” of an individual’s personality Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 the “Big Five” Personality Factors (McCrae & Costa, 2001) • • • • • Openness to Experience Conscientious Extroversion Agreeableness Neuroticism Figure 10.4 Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 FIGURE 10.4 The Big Five. According to the five-factor model, basic differences in personality can be “boiled down” to the dimensions shown here. The five-factor model answers these essential questions about a person: Is she or he extroverted or introverted? Agreeable or difficult? Conscientious or irresponsible? Emotionally stable or unstable? Smart or unintelligent? These questions cover a large measure of what we might want to know about someone’s personality. Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 True or False? 1. I believe my parents have been one of the most influential forces in my development. 2. Events that occurred in childhood still affect me today. 3. I sometimes experience a struggle from within myself. 4. Sometimes I am not aware of my own motivations and desires. 5. Sometimes when I am in an argument, I feel they assume that I am upset, when I am actually fine. Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Psychoanalytic Theory and Sigmund Freud, M.D. • Freud was a Viennese physician who thought his patients’ problems were more emotional than physical. • Freud began his work by using hypnosis and eventually switched to psychoanalysis. • Freud had many followers: Jung and Adler, to name a few. • Freud used cocaine and tobacco and died from oral cancer. • More than 100 years later, his work is still influential and very controversial Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Some Key Freudian Terms • • • • Psyche: Freud’s term for the personality Libido: Energy Eros: Life instincts Thanatos: Death instinct Figure 10.6 Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 FIGURE 10.6 The approximate relationship between the id, ego, and superego, and the levels of awareness. Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory: The Id • Innate biological instincts and urges; self-serving, irrational, and totally unconscious • Works on Pleasure Principle: Wishes to have its desires (pleasurable) satisfied NOW, without waiting and regardless of the consequences Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory: The Ego • Executive; directs id energies – Partially conscious and partially unconscious – Works on Reality Principle: Delays action until it is practical and/or appropriate Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory: The Superego • Judge or censor for thoughts and actions of the ego – Superego comes from our parents or caregivers; guilt comes from the superego • Two parts – Conscience: Reflects actions for which a person has been punished – Ego Ideal: Second part of the superego; reflects behavior one’s parents approved of or rewarded Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Freudian Personality Development • Develops in stages; everyone goes through same stages in same order • Majority of personality is formed before age 6 • Erogenous Zone: Area on body capable of producing pleasure • Fixation: Unresolved conflict or emotional hang-up caused by overindulgence or frustration Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Table 13.1 Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Figure 13.5 Freud believed that psychoanalysis could bring parts of the unconscious into the conscious mind, where the client could deal with them. Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Freudian Defense Mechanisms: Psychological Defenders of You! • Defense Mechanisms: Habitual and unconscious (in most cases) psychological processes designed to reduce anxiety – Work by avoiding, denying, or distorting sources of threat or anxiety – If used short term, can help us get through everyday situations – If used long term, we may end up not living in reality – Protect idealized self-image so we can live with ourselves Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Freudian Defense Mechanisms: Some Examples • Denial: Most primitive; refusing to believe, denying reality; usually occurs with death and illness • Repression: When painful memories, anxieties, and so on are held out of our awareness • Projection: When one’s own feelings, shortcomings, or unacceptable traits and impulses are seen in others; exaggerating negative traits in others lowers anxiety • Rationalization: Justifying personal actions by giving “rational” but false reasons for them • Reaction Formation: Impulses are repressed and the opposite behavior is exaggerated Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Describe Your Behavior 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. On a date At home with parents In class At a sporting event Reading a book In dining hall at mealtime Talking with a good friend Choose 2 for each: Selfish Energetic Demanding Polite Reserved Helpful Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Learning Theories and Some Key Terms • Behavioral Personality Theory: Model of personality that emphasizes learning and observable behavior • Learning Theorist: Believes that learning shapes our behavior and explains personality • Situational Determinants: External conditions that influence our behaviors Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Humanism • Approach that focuses on human experience, problems, potentials, and ideals • Human Nature: Traits, qualities, potentials, and behavior patterns most characteristic of humans • Free Choice: Ability to choose that is NOT controlled by genetics, learning, or unconscious forces • Subjective Experience: Private perceptions of reality • Self-Actualization (Maslow): Process of fully developing personal potentials • Peak Experiences: Temporary moments of selfactualization Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Carl Rogers’ Self Theory • Fully Functioning Person: Lives in harmony with his/her deepest feelings and impulses • Self: Flexible and changing perception of one’s identity • Self-Image: Total subjective perception of your body and personality • Incongruence: Exists when there is a discrepancy between one’s experiences and self-image • Ideal Self: Idealized image of oneself (the person one would like to be) • Positive Self-Regard: Thinking of oneself as a good, lovable, worthwhile person • Unconditional Positive Regard: Unshakable love and approval Figure 10.8 Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 FIGURE 10.8 Incongruence occurs when there is a mismatch between any of these three entities: the ideal self (the person you would like to be), your self-image (the person you think you are), and the true self (the person you actually are). Selfesteem suffers when there is a large difference between one’s ideal self and self-image. Anxiety and defensiveness are common when the self-image does not match the true self. Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 10 Personality Assessment • Interview: Face-to-face meeting designed to gain information about someone’s personality, current psychological state, or personal history – Unstructured Interview: Conversation is informal, and topics are discussed as they arise – Structured Interview: Follows a prearranged plan, using a series of planned questions • Direct Observation: Looking at behavior
