Personality
Chapter 12
AP Psychology
Alice F. Short
Hilliard Davidson High School
Chapter Preview
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Psychodynamic Perspectives
Humanistic Perspectives
Trait Perspectives
Personological and Life Story Perspectives
Social Cognitive Perspectives
Biological Perspectives
Personality Assessment
Personality and Health and Wellness
Personality
• personality - a pattern of enduring distinctive
thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that
characterize the way an individual adapts to
the world
Psychodynamic Perspectives
• personality is primarily unconscious
• understanding personality involves exploring
the symbolic meanings of behavior and the
unconscious mind
• early childhood experiences sculpt the
individual’s personality
Psychodynamic
Approach: Freud
• Known as the founding
father of the
psychodynamic approach
• Believed that there are
unlearned biological
instincts (especially of a
sexual and/or aggressive
nature) that can occur
early in life and these
instincts influence how a
person thinks, feels, and
behaves
• Had a couch 
• “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as
the need for a father's protection.”
• “The great question that has never been answered,
and which I have not yet been able to answer,
despite my thirty years of research into the feminine
soul, is 'What does a woman want?‘”
• “Love and work are the cornerstones of our
humanness.”
• “The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a
knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind.”
• “America is the most grandiose experiment the world
has seen, but, I am afraid, it is not going to be a
success.”
• “Dreams are often most profound when they seem
the most crazy.”
• “I have found little that is 'good' about human beings
on the whole. In my experience most of them are
trash, no matter whether they publicly subscribe to
this or that ethical doctrine or to none at all. That is
something that you cannot say aloud, or perhaps
even think.”
• Men are more moral than they think and far more
immoral than they can imagine.”
Freud
Quotes
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
• Freud and Psychoanalysis
– sex drive – main determinant of personality
development
• Hysteria
– physical symptoms without physical cause
– overdetermined – multiple unconscious causes
• Iceberg Analogy of Human Personality
Personality
Structure
• Freud
Personality Structure
• Id
– instincts and reservoir of psychic energy
– pleasure principle
• Ego
– deals with the demands of reality
– reality principle
• Superego
– moral branch of personality; “conscience”
A SHORT ACTIVITY
Activity Handout 12.1
• Rachel is walking to class and the late bell rang
two minutes ago. As she walks into her class, she
stumbles and her books go flying everywhere.
Out of one of the books is a note to a boy that
Rachel has secretly liked for a long time. The boy
picks up the note and reads the top line and then
hands it back to Rachel. She is so embarrassed.
– Id:
– Ego:
– Superego:
A SHORT ACTIVITY
Activity Handout 12.1
• Rachel is walking to class and the late bell rang
two minutes ago. As she walks into her class, she
stumbles and her books go flying everywhere.
Out of one of the books is a note to a boy that
Rachel has secretly liked for a long time. The boy
picks up the note and reads the top line and then
hands it back to Rachel. She is so embarrassed.
– Id: scream, runaway
– Ego: calmly collect belongings and proceed to class
– Superego: judge Rachel for being so foolish
A SHORT ACTIVITY
Activity Handout 12.1
• Jake is going on his first date with a really popular
girl. He still can’t believe that she agreed to go
out with him. During the movie they are sitting so
close that their legs are touching and he so badly
wants to hold her hand and kiss her, but he isn’t
sure how she would react. He takes a chance and
does it and she looks at him and then gets up and
walks out.
– Id:
– Ego:
– Superego:
A SHORT ACTIVITY
Activity Handout 12.1
• Jake is going on his first date with a really popular girl.
He still can’t believe that she agreed to go out with
him. During the movie they are sitting so close that
their legs are touching and he so badly wants to hold
her hand and kiss her, but he isn’t sure how she would
react. He takes a chance and does it and she looks at
him and then gets up and walks out.
– Id: kiss her more
– Ego: apologize to her
– Superego: feel guilty
A SHORT ACTIVITY
Activity Handout 12.1
• Jessica is babysitting for the same family she baby sits
for every Friday night. This Friday night, however, she
invited her boyfriend over and they are snuggled on
the couch, watching a movie. The parents come home
early and find Jessica and her boyfriend wrapped in
each others’ arms and sound asleep. They wake them
up and are so upset because they felt as though Jessica
was irresponsible. Jessica is really upset and not sure
what to think or say.
– Id:
– Ego:
– Superego:
A SHORT ACTIVITY
Activity Handout 12.1
• Jessica is babysitting for the same family she baby sits
for every Friday night. This Friday night, however, she
invited her boyfriend over and they are snuggled on
the couch, watching a movie. The parents come home
early and find Jessica and her boyfriendwrapped in
each others’ arms and sound asleep. They wake them
up and are so upset because they felt as though Jessica
was irresponsible. Jessica is really upset and not sure
what to think or say.
– Id: spend more time with boyfriend
– Ego: apologize to the parents and promise not to do it
again
– Superego: feel guilty
A SHORT Time to Ponder
Small Group Discussion
• Do you think that the iceberg analogy works well
to describe your personality. Why?
• Why do you think Freud came up with this
personality structure with an id, ego and
superego?
• How much do you think your childhood
experience will influence your adulthood?
• How does Freud’s definition of sex differ from
other people’s definitions? (reference textbook or
notes)
A SHORT Task:
Explaining the Id, the Ego and the Superego
Activity Handout 12.2
• Think of your three closest friends. Write down their names in the space
provided and then put a check next to the space of the personality trait
that your friend has. They can have more than one personality trait. After
completing every one, go back, and in the space provided briefly explain
what this tells you about your friends.
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Name:
Neuroticism: ____
Extraversion: ____
Openness to Experience: ____
Agreeableness: ____
Conscientiousness: ____
– Explanation: Pay special attention to this part! You will be discussing this
with a neighbor and they will be evaluating how accurate you are.
Explaining the Id, the Ego and the Superego
Activity Handout 12.2
• Think of your three closest friends. Write down their names in the
space provided and then put a check next to the space of the
personality trait that your friend has. They can have more than one
personality trait. After completing every one, go back, and in the
space provided briefly explain what this tells you about your
friends.
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Name:
Neuroticism: ____
Extraversion: ____
Openness to Experience: ____
Agreeableness: ____
Conscientiousness: ____
– Explanation:
Explaining the Id, the Ego and the Superego
Activity Handout 12.1
• Neuroticism: anxious, insecure, self-pitying
• Extraversion: sociable, fun-loving, affectionate
• Openness: Imaginative, interested in variety,
independent
• Agreeableness: softhearted, trusting, helpful
• Conscientiousness: organized, careful, disciplined
• IN CLASS ACTIVITY: Trade and discuss with a
neighbor to see if they successfully explained the
characteristics. (Alternate between people)
Defense Mechanisms
• conflict between the id, ego, and superego
results in anxiety
• defense mechanisms reduce anxiety by
unconsciously distorting reality – not
necessarily unhealthy
• repression
– foundation for all defense mechanisms
– push unacceptable impulses out of awareness
Defense Mechanisms
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repression
rationalization
displacement
sublimation
projection
reaction formation
denial
regression
Defense Mechanisms
Defense Mechanisms
Psychosexual Stages
• Oral Stage: 0-18 Months
– infant’s pleasure centers on the mouth
• Anal Stage: 18-36 Months
– child’s pleasure involves eliminative functions
• Phallic Stage: 3-6 Years
– child’s pleasure focuses on the genitals
– Oedipal complex
– castration anxiety
Psychosexual Stages
Psychosexual Stages (cont.)
• Latency Stage: 6 Years - Puberty
– psychic “time-out”
– interest in sexuality is repressed
• Genital Stage: Adolescence and Adulthood
– sexual reawakening
– source of sexual pleasure is someone else
• fixation - remain locked in particular
developmental stage (e.g., anal retentive)
Dissenters and Revisionists
• sexuality – not pervasive force behind
personality
• early experience – not as powerful as Freud
thought
• importance of conscious thought
• sociocultural influences
Dissenters and Revisionists
• Horney’s Sociocultural Approach
– both sexes envy the attributes of the other
– need for security, not sex, is primary motivator
• Jung’s Analytical Theory
– collective unconscious and archetypes
• Adler’s Individual Psychology
– perfection, not pleasure, is key motivator
Evaluating Psychodynamic Theory
• Criticisms
– too much emphasis on early experiences
– too much faith in unconscious mind’s control
– too much emphasis on sexual instincts
– theory can not be tested
• Contributions
– importance of childhood experiences
– development proceeds in stages
– role of unconscious processes
Humanistic Perspectives
• humanistic perspective - emphasis on a
person’s capacity for personal growth and
positive human qualities
Humanistic Perspectives
• Abraham Maslow
– third force psychology
– self-actualization
– peak experiences
– biased since focus was on highly successful
individuals
Humanistic Perspective
• Carl Rogers
– personal growth and self-determination
– unconditional positive regard
• conditions of worth
• self-concept
– empathy
– genuineness
Evaluating Humanistic Perspectives
• Contributions
– self-perception is key to personality
– consider the positive aspects of human nature
– emphasize conscious experience
• Criticisms
– too optimistic about human nature
– promotes self-love and narcissism
Trait Perspectives
• Trait
– an enduring disposition that leads to characteristic
responses
– traits are the building blocks of personality
• Trait Theories
– people can be described by their typical behavior
– strong versus weak tendencies
Trait Perspectives
• Gordon Allport
– personality understood through traits
– behavior consistent across situations
– lexical approach 4500 traits
• W. T. Norman
– five factor model
– broad traits – main dimensions of personality
Five Factor Model of Personality
Five Factor Model of Personality
• Do the big five show up in the assessment of
personality in cultures around the world?
• Do the big five personality traits show up in
animals?
Evaluating Trait Perspectives
• Contributions
– traits influence health, cognitions, career success,
and interpersonal relations
• Criticisms
– ignores the role of the situation in behavior
– ignores nuances of an individual’s personality
Personological Perspective
• personological perspective - focusing on an
individual’s life history or life story
• Henry Murray
– personology: the study of the whole person
– motives are largely unconscious
– thematic apperception test (TAT)
• need for achievement, affiliation, and power
Life Story Approach
• Dan McAdams
– our life story is our identity
– intimacy motivation
• Psychobiography
– applying personality theory to one person’s life
Evaluating Life Story Approach
• Contributions
– rich record of an individual’s experience
• Criticisms
– difficult and time-consuming
• extensive coding and content analysis
– prone to bias
– not easily generalized
Social Cognitive Perspective
• emphasize conscious awareness, beliefs,
expectations, and goals
• incorporates principles from behaviorism
when exploring:
– reasoning
– beliefs
– self reflection
– interpretation of situation
Social Cognitive Perspectives
• Albert Bandura
– reciprocal determinism
• behavior, environment, and cognitive factors interact to
create personality
• Key Processes and Variables
– observational learning
– personal control
– self-efficacy
Self-Efficacy: Make a Life Change
Activity Handout 12.3
• Steps for Self-Efficacy Success:
– Select something you can reasonably expect to be
able to do
– Don’t be discouraged by past failure
– Pay attention to successes
– Keep written records of performance
– Make a list of situations that are both difficult and
not difficult. Begin by tackling the less difficult.
Reciprocal
Determinism
Social Cognitive Perspectives
• Walter Mischel
– Situationalism
• behavior and personality vary considerably across
context
– CAPS Model of Personality
• stability over time rather than across
situations
• interconnections among cognitions and emotions affect
our behavior
Evaluating the Social Cognitive Theory
• Contributions
– focuses on interactions of individuals with their
environments
– suggests people can control their environment
• Criticisms
– too concerned with change and the situation
– ignores the role of biology
– very specific predictions hinder generalization
Biological Perspectives
• Personality and the Brain
– brain damage alters personality
– brain responses correlate with personality
• Eysenk’s Reticular Activation System Theory
– extraverts and introverts have different base-line levels of
arousal
• Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory
– behavioral activation system and behavioral inhibition
system
Biological Perspectives
• Role of Neurotransmitters
– growth of dopamine receptors stimulated by
warm care-givers
– disposes person to reward-sensitivity
(extraversion)
– less serotonin in circulation leads to negative
mood (neuroticism)
Biological Perspectives
• Behavioral Genetics
– twin studies reveal substantial genetic influence
on Big Five traits
– most traits influenced by multiple genes
• Evaluating the Biological Perspective
– ties personality to animal learning, brain imaging,
and evolutionary theory
– criticisms (e.g., biology may be the affect, not the
cause, of personality)
Personality: Stability vs. Change
• Traits are stable by definition yet positive
traits increase across adulthood (social
maturity).
Personality Assessment
• Self-Report Tests
– beware social desirability
– empirically-keyed tests used to get around social
desirability problem
• test takers do not know what is being measured
• test items not related to purpose of test
• MMPI is an example
Personality Assessment
• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
– 567 items
– controls for social desirability
– assesses mental health and used to make hiring
decisions and to determine criminal risk
• Neuroticism Extraversion Openness
• Personality Inventory-Revised
– assesses the big five factors and 6 subdimensions
Personality Assessment
• Myers Briggs Type Indicator
– four dimensions used to make personnel
decisions:
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extraversion-introversion
sensing-intuiting
thinking-feeling
judgment-perception
– not empirically supported
– Barnum effect
Personality Assessment
• Projective Tests
– …psychodynamic approach
– …project own meaning on ambiguous stimuli
• Rorschach inkblot test
– personality score based on description of inkblots
– questionable reliability and validity
• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
– series of ambiguous pictures viewed one at a time
– elicited stories reveal an individual’s personality
Rorschach
Inkblot Test
Thematic
Apperception
Test
Other Assessment Methods
• direct behavioral observation
• cognitive assessment of attention and
memory
• peer ratings
• psychophysiological measures (e.g.,
polygraph)
• brain imaging
Personality and Health and Wellness
• Personality traits correlated with health
– conscientiousness
– personal control
– self efficacy
– optimism
– type A/type B behavior pattern
Personality and Health and Wellness
• Subjective Well-Being
– …person’s assessment of own positive affect
relative to negative affect, and evaluation of own
life in general
Chapter Summary
• Define personality.
• Discuss the following perspectives on personality
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psychodynamic
humanistic
trait
personological and life story
social cognitive
biological
• Characterize the main methods of personality
assessment.
• Summarize how personality relates to health and
wellness.
Chapter Summary
• Psychodynamic Perspectives
– focus on unconscious determinants
– personality structure and defense mechanisms
– psychosexual stages of development
• Humanistic Perspectives
– Maslow and self-actualization
– Rogers and unconditional positive regard
Chapter Summary
• Trait Perspectives
– traits are stable over time and situations
• Personological and Life Story Perspectives
– personology - study the whole person
– identity can be understood through life stories
• Social Cognitive Perspectives
– behavior, environment, and cognitive factors
– self-efficacy and personal control
Chapter Summary
• Biological Perspectives
• Personality Assessment
– self-reports tests
– projective tests
– other assessment techniques
• Personality and Health and Wellness
– healthful personality traits