Personality and Social Psychology Unit Five Psychology 12 Personality: Some Terms Personality: a person’s internally based characteristic way of acting and thinking Character: Personal characteristics that have been judged or evaluated Temperament: Hereditary aspects of personality, including sensitivity, moods, irritability, and distractibility Personality Trait: Stable qualities that a person shows in most situations Personality Type: People who have several traits in common Types of Personality Theories 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 Humanistic Theories: Focus on private, subjective experience and personal growth Social-Cognitive Theories: Attribute difference in personality to socialization, expectations, and mental processes Personality Theory: System of concepts, assumptions, ideas, and principles proposed to explain personality. Jung’s Theory of Two Types Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist who was a Freudian disciple, believed that we are one of two personality types: • Introvert: Shy, self-centered person whose attention is focused inward • Extrovert: Bold, outgoing person whose attention is directed outward Eysenck’s Three Factor Theory Hans Eysenck, English psychologist, believed that there are three fundamental factors in personality: • Introversion versus Extroversion • Emotionally Stable versus Unstable (neurotic) • Impulse Control versus Psychotic Eysenck’s Theory, continued The first two factors create 4 combinations, related to the four basic temperaments recognized by ancient Greeks: • Melancholic (introverted + unstable): sad, gloomy • Choleric (extroverted + unstable): hot-tempered, irritable • Phlegmatic (introverted + stable): sluggish, calm • Sanguine (extroverted + stable): cheerful, hopeful Show Video http://www.learner.org/series/disc overingpsychology/16/e16expand. html Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory Sigmund Freud, M.D.,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. More than 100 years later, his work is still influential and very controversial The Id, Ego, and Superego Id: Innate biological instincts and urges; self-serving & irrational • Totally unconscious • Works on Pleasure Principle: Wishes to have its desires (pleasurable) satisfied NOW, without waiting and regardless of the consequences Ego: Executive; directs id energies • Partially conscious and partially unconscious • Works on Reality Principle: Delays action until it is practical and/or appropriate The Id, Ego, and Superego, continued 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 (e.g., what we shouldn’t do or be) - Ego Ideal: Second part of the superego; reflects behavior one’s parents approved of or rewarded (e.g., what we should do or be) Levels of Awareness Conscious: Everything you are aware of at a given moment Preconscious: Material that can easily be brought into awareness Unconscious: Holds repressed memories and emotions and the id’s instinctual drives Cause of Anxiety Ego is always caught in the middle of battles between superego’s desires for moral behavior and the id’s desires for immediate gratification Neurotic Anxiety: Caused by id impulses that the ego can barely control Moral Anxiety: Comes from threats of punishment from the superego Defense mechanism: a process used by the ego to distort reality and protect a person from anxiety Examples of Defense Mechanisms Regression: Ego seeks the security of an earlier developmental period in the face of stress. Displacement: Ego shifts unacceptable feelings from one object to another, more acceptable object. Sublimation: Ego replaces an unacceptable impulse with a socially acceptable one Reaction Formation: Ego transforms an unacceptable motive or feeling into its opposite. Projection: Ego attributes personal shortcomings, problems, and faults to others. Rationalization: Ego justifies an unacceptable motive by giving a false acceptable (but false) reason for behavior Personality Development According to Freud, personality 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 Stages of Personality Development Oral Stage: Ages 0-1. Most of infant’s pleasure comes from stimulation of the mouth. If a child is overfed or frustrated, oral traits will develop. • Oral Dependent Personality: Gullible, passive, and need lots of attention. Fixations create oral-aggressive adults who like to argue and exploit others. • Erogenous zone: mouth (oral) Anal Stage: Ages 1-3. Attention turns to process of elimination. Child can gain approval or express aggression by letting go or holding on. Ego develops. Harsh or lenient toilet training can make a child either: • Anal Retentive: Stubborn, stingy, orderly, and compulsively clean • Anal Expulsive: Disorderly, messy, destructive, or cruel • Erogenous zone: anus Stages of Personality Development, continued Phallic Stage: Ages 3-6. Child now notices and is physically attracted to opposite sex parent. Can lead to: • Oedipus Conflict: For boys only. Boy feels rivalry with his father for his mother’s affection. Boy may feel threatened by father (castration anxiety). To resolve, boy must identify with his father (i.e., become more like him and adopt his heterosexual beliefs). • Electra Conflict: Girl loves her father and competes with her mother. Girl identifies with her mother more slowly because she already feels castrated. Erogenous zone: phallus Stages of Personality Development, continued Latency: Ages 6-Puberty. Psychosexual development is dormant. Same sex friendships and play occur here. Genital Stage: Puberty-on. Realization of full adult sexuality occurs here; sexual urges re-awaken. Evaluation of Psychoanalytic Theory • Freud overemphasized sexuality and placed little emphasis on other aspects of the child’s experience. • Freud’s theory is largely untestable. Particularly, the concept of the unconscious is unprovable. • According to Freud, the only way that people in psychological distress can get relief is to undergo length therapy, to identify unresolved conflicts from infancy and childhood. • Freud’s view of people is overly negative and pessimistic. Bandura’s Theory Self-system: the set of cognitive processes by which a person observes, evaluates, and regulates his/her behavior. Bandura proposed that what we think of as personality is a product of this self-system. Children observe behavior of models (such as parents) in their social environment. Particularly if they are reinforced, children will imitate these behaviors, incorporating them into personality. Bandura also proposed that people observe their own behavior and judge its effectiveness. Self-efficacy: a judgment of one’s effectiveness in dealing with particular situations. Show Video http://www.learner.org/series/disc overingpsychology/15/e15glossar y.html Rotter’s Theory of Locus of Control Julian Rotter: American psychologist, began as a Freudian! His personality theory combines learning principles, modeling, cognition, and the effects of social relationships External locus of control: perception that chance or external forces beyond personal control determine one’s fate Internal locus of control: perception that you control your own fate. Learned Helplessness: a sense of hopelessness in which a person thinks that he/she is unable to prevent aversive events Evaluation of Social-Cognitive Theories • Social-cognitive theories tend to be overly-mechanical. • Overemphasizes environmental influences; gives little or no consideration to the possibility of innate personality differences or the effects of genetics. • Does not recognize internal human qualities such as hope, aspiration, love, self-sacrifice Humanism 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 Maslow’s Theory • Abraham Maslow is considered father of the humanistic movement. He observed the lives of (purportedly) healthy and creative people to develop is theory. • Hierarchy of needs: the motivational component of Maslow’s theory, in which our innate needs, which motivate our actions, are hierarchically arranged. • Self-actualization: the fullest realization of a person’s potential Graphic: Hierarchy of Needs Carl Roger’s Self Theory Carl Rogers: American psychologist; believed that personality formed as a result of our strivings to reach our full human potential. Fully Functioning Person: Lives in harmony with his/her deepest feelings and impulses Self-Image: Total subjective perception of your body and personality Conditions of Worth: behaviors and attitudes for which other people, starting with our parents, will give us positive regard. Unconditional Positive Regard: Unshakable love and approval Positive Self-Regard: Thinking of oneself as a good, lovable, worthwhile person Evaluation of Humanistic Theories • Many of the Humanists’ claims are untestable. • Humanists may have an overly-positive, rosy view of humankind. They do not look at the “dark side.” • For the Humanists, the cause of all our problems lies not in ourselves, but in others. • Maslow’s characterization of self-actualized individuals is very biased toward a certain philosophical position. • Most of the people Maslow identified as self-actualized had rather serious psychological problems. Persuasion The process by which a message induces change in feelings, attitudes, or behaviours. How do we get people to feel, believe, and do what we want them to feel, believe, and do? Elaboration Likelihood Model • Persuasion via the Central Route: – A focus on the actual content of the arguments that stimulates thinking about the new attitude (also known as systematic processing) • Persuasion via the Peripheral Route: – Acceptance is triggered by incidental cues (e.g., attractiveness of the speaker) without much thinking (also known as heuristic-based processing) Increasing Minimum Wage Central Route Great arguments. I’m convinced! Peripheral Route He sounds smart. I’m convinced! Central Route Peripheral Route Motivation x Ability Motivation to process the arguments Factors related to motivation that influence the likelihood that you will elaborate on the issues – Personal relevance – Responsibility for evaluating message – Need for cognition/Need for Closure – Incongruent information Motivation x Ability Ability to process the arguments Factors related to ability that influence if you can process the information in the arguments – Message clarity – Repeating the message – Distraction/time pressure – Channel of communication (print) – Individual differences in intelligence Argument quality is important to the Central Route: • Strong arguments – make you more favourable toward the object/issue • Weak arguments – make you less favourable toward the object/issue Attitudes changed via the Central Route are: • longer lasting • more predictive of behavior • more resistant to change Argument quality is less important to the Peripheral Route: • Strong arguments and weak arguments can have the same effect. • Weak arguments are less damaging. Attitudes changed via the Peripheral Route are: • less longer lasting; more temporary • less predictive of behaviour • less resistant to other people trying to influence our attitudes Communicator • Credibility – Expertise – Trustworthiness/Self-Interest – Likeability • Attractiveness – Physical Appeal – Similarity Message • Two-sided versus one-sided arguments – Two-sided are better if you can refute the other side • Emotion – positive feelings (peripheral processing) – fear (motivating especially if have plan) • Discrepancy – Credibility of communicator – Involvement of audience • Primacy versus recency – Primacy normally better Message – Primacy/Recency Primacy Effects: Information presented first has the most influence Message1…Message2…………….….Response Recency Effects: Information presented last has the most influence Message 1…………………Message2…Response Audience • What are they thinking? – The ability and motivation to counter-argue is the key to whether persuasion works (via the central route) • Forewarned • Distraction • Involvement • Need for Cognition/Need for Closure • Innoculation Six Persuasion Principles Robert Cialdini (2001) 1. Consistency – foot-in-the door – bait and switch – low-ball – legitimizing paltry favors – how are you feeling technique Foot-in-door • Presented with a small request (that almost everyone would agree to), followed by a larger request • Operates due to the consistency principle (if I act in a certain way initially, I have to continue to act in a similar way) Six Persuasion Principles Robert Cialdini (2001) 2. Social Validation – List technique – Littering studies (Cialdini, Reno & Kallgren, 1990) • Norms • Salience of norms (whether notice norms or not) Six Persuasion Principles Robert Cialdini (2001) 3. Reciprocity – Reciprocation of favours • Name stickers, flower seeds, – Reciprocation of concessions • Door in face • Delinquent kids study (Cialdini, Vincent, Lewis, Catalan, Wheeler, & Darby, 1975) Door-in-the-face • Presented with a LARGE request (expected to refuse), followed by a smaller, more reasonable request (expected to accept) • Operates due to the reciprocity norm (if I do something nice for you, you should do something nice for me) • Not to be confused with foot-in-the-door Six Persuasion Principles Robert Cialdini (2001) 4. Friendship/Liking – Tupperware and Lingerie Parties – Neighbourhood Breast Cancer Garage Sale – Save the Children Campaign Six Persuasion Principles Robert Cialdini (2001) 5. Scarcity – limit on products, time, etc – Dwaze Dagen/Boxing Day – Only This Weekend! – Gone is gone Six Persuasion Principles Robert Cialdini (2001) 6. Authority • Milgram Studies next week, military, etc Six Persuasion Principles Robert Cialdini (2001) If you wanted to get some money from your parents, would you first: a) ask for $20 and then ask for $100 (start small) or would you b) ask for $100 and then ask for $20 (start big) Principle of reciprocity of concessions Six Persuasion Principles Robert Cialdini (2001) If you want to get someone to help you move, would you first: a) tell them that you only have a little bit of stuff and then later tell them that you have a lot of stuff? (start small) or would you b) tell them that you have a lot of stuff and then later tell them that you don’t have too much stuff? (start big) Show Videos • http://www.learner.org/series /discoveringpsychology/19/e 19expand.html • http://www.learner.org/series /discoveringpsychology/11/e 11expand.html Is Conformity Good or Bad? • Due to our upbringing in North American culture, individuality has a certain allure • But – Another word for individualist is deviant – Another word for conformist is team player • Obviously, there are times where conformity, and obedience, are crucial • Despite Hollywood’s depiction, research (Schacter; Kruglanski) shows that the conformist is liked more Why Conform? • Our sanity depends to some degree on the belief that everyone sees the same world that we see • If this belief is challenged, we’d rather change what we see (or what we say we see) than admit to ourselves (or others) that we see a different world Definitions • Conformity: a change in attitude or behavior due to the real or imagined presence of others. • Compliance: a change in behavior, but not attitude, due to the results of social pressure. • Acceptance: a change in both behavior and attitude. Asch Line Judgment Experiments Stimulus A B C Solomon Asch • Asch (1951;1956) completed two studies that demonstrate how easily conformity occurs • Naïve subject is brought into lab with 6-8 confederates • Asked to make a judgment about line length • Subject is seated next to last • In 12 of 18 trials confederates provide the wrong answer – DV is whether subject follows • Ordinarily subjects make mistakes 1% of the time, in this experiment 36.8% of the time You cannot be serious! Asch • Results: • 33% went along with the group on a majority of the trials • 25% remained completely independent • 75% conformed at least once • When tested alone (no confederates), subjects got more than 98% of the judgments correct • When tested with confederates, they only got 66% of the judgments correct Why conform? • Confusion • Informational pressure • Embarrassment • Normative pressure • 2 more versions of the experiment • Compliance, NOT internalization Influences on Conformity in Asch • Size of group: as group size increases to 3 others, conformity increases. After that, little change • Presence of one dissenter decreases conformity immensely • If dissenter disagrees with both it still reduces conformity • The more wrong the majority was, the less influence • The greater the privacy, the less conformity – Accuracy versus approval issue – Also known as informational vs. normative influence. Videos • Asch Conformity (~6:00) • Dangerous Conformity (~8:00) • Marry a Stranger (~5:00) • Obeying a man in uniform (~4:30) • Fast Food Strip Seach (~8:00) • Millgram Study (~6:00) http://heroicimagination.org/public-resources/video-library/ What and Why of Emotions • A subjective sensation experienced as a type of psychophysiological arousal • Result from the interaction of – perception of environmental stimuli – neural & hormonal responses to perceptions (feelings) – a cognitive appraisal of the situation arousing the state – an outward expression of the state What is the Value of Emotion? Emotions – determine personal viability – prepare us for action – shape our behavior (emotions are reinforcing) – regulate social interaction – facilitate communication nonverbally – facilitate adult-child relations and thus development – make life worth living by adding value to experience – allow us to respond flexibly to our environment (approaching good, avoiding bad) What is the Value of Emotion? Emotions – largely a conscious phenomena – involve more bodily manifestations than other conscious states – vary along a number of dimensions: intensity, type, origin, arousal, value, self-regulation, etc. – are reputed to be “antagonists of rationality.” – have a central place in moral education and moral life through conscience, empathy, and many specific moral emotions such as shame, guilt, and remorse; inextrictably linked to moral virtues Theories of Emotions • Theories of emotion – James-Lange theory of emotion • The theory that emotional feelings result when an individual becomes aware of a physiological response to an emotion-provoking stimulus • Requires separate and distinct physiological activity for each emotion Theories of Emotions • Theories of emotion – Cannon-Bard theory of emotion • The theory that an emotion-provoking stimulus is transmitted simultaneously to the cortex, providing the feeling of emotion, and to the sympathetic nervous system, causing the physiological arousal • Cognitive labeling and action would follow consciousness of feeling and physiological arousal Theories of Emotions • Theories of emotion – Schachter-Singer theory of emotion • A two-stage theory stating that for an emotion to occur, there must be (1) physiological arousal and (2) an explanation for the arousal • Accounts for subjective interpretation • Does not account for specific physiological states associated with some emotions Theories of Emotions • Theories of emotion – Lazarus theory of emotion • The theory that an emotion-provoking stimulus triggers a cognitive appraisal, which is followed by the emotion and the physiological arousal • Three aspects of appraisal – Primary (relevance) – Secondary (options) – Reappraisal (anything changed) Videos • Brown Eyes vs Blue Eyes (~9:00) • Halo Effect (~5:00) • Group Identity (~5:00) http://heroicimagination.org/public-resources/video-library/ Three Ways to Measure Emotion • Body/Physical – blood pressure – heart rate – adrenaline levels – muscle activity when smiling, frowning, etc. – neural images – posture – tears, – perspiration – lie detector readings Three Ways to Measure Emotion • Thoughts (observed indirectly through) – spoken and written words on rating scales – answers to open-ended questions on surveys and during interviews – responses to projective instruments, sentence stems, etc. – self-assessments or perceptions regarding the behavior and intentions of others – other cognitive operations such as rational/logical thinking Three Ways to Measure Emotion • Behavior – facial expressions – aggression – activity level – approach/avoidance – alertness – attention/distraction – screaming – insomnia – laughing – anhedonia – smiling Emotion and the Brain • Emotion associated with the limbic system • The brain structure most closely associated with fear is the amygdala • When the emotion of fear first materializes, much of the brain’s processing is nonconscious Basic Emotions • Paul Ekman and Carroll Izard – Insist that there are a limited number of basic emotions • Basic emotions – Emotions that are found in all cultures, that are reflected in the same facial expressions across cultures, and that emerge in children according to their biological timetable • Ekman – Suggested considering emotions as families – The anger family might range from annoyed to irritated, angry, livid, and, finally, enraged – If perceived as a family, anger should also include various forms of its expression Plutchik Three-dimensional Circumplex Model Protypical Behavior Expression of Emotion • Range of emotion – Ekman and Friesen • Claim there are subtle distinctions in the facial expression of a single emotion that convey its intensity • Development of facial expressions – Like the motor skills of crawling and walking, facial expressions of emotions develop according to a biological timetable of maturation – Consistency of emotional development across individual infants and across cultures supports the idea that emotional expression is inborn Expression of Emotion • Universality of facial expressions – Charles Darwin • First to study the relationship between emotions and facial expressions • Believed that the facial expression of emotion was an aid to survival because it enabled people to communicate their internal states and react to emergencies before they developed language • Maintained that most emotions, and the facial expressions that convey them, are genetically inherited and characteristic of the entire human species • Concluded that facial expressions were similar across cultures Expression of Emotion • Universality of facial expressions – Scherer and Wallbott • Found very extensive overlap in the patterns of emotional experiences reported across cultures in 37 different counties on 5 continents • Also found important cultural differences in the ways emotions are elicited and regulated and in how they are shared socially Expression of Emotion • Cultural rules for displaying emotion – Display rule • Cultural rules that dictate how emotions should be expressed and when and where their expression is appropriate – Often, a society’s display rules require people to give evidence of certain emotions that they may not actually feel or to disguise their true feelings – Cole • Found that 3-year-old girls, when given an unattractive gift, smiled nevertheless • They had already learned a display rule and signaled an emotion they very likely did not feel Experiencing Emotion • Facial-feedback hypothesis – Sylvan Tomkins • Claimed that the facial expression itself – that is, the movement of the facial muscles producing the expression – triggers both the physiological arousal and the conscious feeling associated with the emotion – Facial-feedback hypothesis • The idea that the muscular movements involved in certain facial expressions trigger the corresponding emotions Experiencing Emotion • Facial-feedback hypothesis – Ekman and colleagues • Documented the effects of facial expressions on physiological indicators of emotion using 16 participants • Reported that a distinctive physiological response pattern emerged for the emotions of fear, sadness, anger, and disgust, whether the participants relived one of their emotional experiences or simply made the corresponding facial expression • Researcher found that both anger and fear accelerate heart rate, but fear produces colder fingers than does anger Experiencing Emotion • Facial-feedback hypothesis – Izard • Believes that learning to self-regulate emotional expression can help in controlling emotions • Proposes that this approach to the regulation of emotion might be a useful adjunct to psychotherapy • Gender differences in experiencing emotion – David Buss • Has reported that women are far more likely to feel anger when their partner is sexually aggressive • Men experience greater anger than women when their partner withholds sex Experiencing Emotion • Gender differences in experiencing emotion – Research by evolutionary psychologists also suggests clear and consistent differences between the sexes concerning feelings of jealousy • Men, more than women, experience jealousy over evidence or suspicions of sexual infidelity • A women is more likely than a man to be jealous of her partner’s emotional attachment and commitment to another and over the attention, time, and resources diverted from the relationship Experiencing Emotion • Emotion and cognition – Emotion allows us to detect risk more quickly than we could with rational thought alone – It is possible that the anger-optimism link arises from confidence, whether justified or not, in concrete measures directed towards people who are perceived as potentially threatening Fostering Emotional Functioning • Emotional understanding – discern one’s own emotional states – discern other’s emotional states – properly use emotional vocabulary. Fostering Emotional Functioning • Emotional expression – use of gestures to display emotional messages nonverbally – demonstrate empathy by connecting one’s emotions to those of others – display both self-conscious as well as complex social emotions – Distinguishing between experiencing an emotion and action • Emotional regulation and management – coping with both pleasurable and aversive/distressing emotions – regulation of those situations that elicit emotions – ability to use an experience to strategically organize the experience in terms of setting goals and learning to motivate oneself and others Triangular Theory of Love • Robert Sternberg’s theory that three components – intimacy, passion, and decision/commitment – singly and in various combinations produce seven different kinds of love: 1. Liking (I) 2. Infatuated love (P) 3. Empty love (C) 4. Romantic love (I, P) 5. Fatuous love (C, P) 6. Companionate love (C, I) 7. Consummate love (I, C, P)