Refer to the Concept Web at the end of this manual for a visual synopsis of all concepts presented in this module.
I. Personality
A. Your personality is the sum total of the psychological characteristics and behavior patterns that define you as a unique individual and characterize the ways in which you relate to the world and adapt to demands placed upon you
II. Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalytic Theory ( Concept Chart 12.1
)
A. Freud developed the first psychodynamic theory of personality—the belief that personality is shaped by underlying conflicts between opposing forces within the mind
B. Human mind has task of balancing conflicting demands of instincts and social acceptability
C. Levels of consciousness (Figure 12.1)
1. Conscious
2. Preconscious
3. Unconscious
D. Structure of personality LB 12.1
1. Id—animal drives, instinctual impulses; pleasure principle
2. Ego—reason and good sense; reality principle
3. Superego—moral guardian, conscience
E. Defense mechanisms—prevent anxiety resulting from conscious awareness of desires and memories (Table 12.1) LB 12.2
F. Stages of personality development
1. Psychosexual in nature, characterized by changes in erogenous zones
2. Conflicts that emerge at each stage can lead to fixation
3. Stages include: (Table 12.2) a. Oral stage b. Anal stage c. Phallic stage d. Latency stage e. Genital stage
III. Other Psychodynamic Approaches
A. More emphasis on ego and social relationships, less on sexual and aggressive motivation
B. Carl Jung—analytical psychology LB 12.3
C. Alfred Adler—individual psychology
D. Karen Horney—an early voice in feminine psychology

IV. Evaluating the Psychodynamic Perspective
A. Criticisms include:
1. Over emphasis on sexual and aggressive drives
2. Lack of evidence for particular concepts
3. Progression and timing of psychosexual stages
4. Theoretical concepts developed from work with case studies
5. Theory is unable to be tested with the scientific method
Refer to the Concept Web at the end of this manual for a visual synopsis of all concepts presented in this module.
I. Traits are a distinct set of relatively stable and enduring characteristics (Concept Chart
12.2)
II. Gordon Allport: A Hierarchy of Traits—traits are physical entities embedded in the brain
A. Cardinal traits—pervasive, highly influential in guiding behavior
B. Central traits—more common, considered building blocks of personality
C. Secondary traits—superficial, influence preferences
III. Raymond Cattell: Mapping the Personality
A. Surface traits—present on the surface of personality, inferred from observations LB
12.4
B. Factor analysis used to derive source traits (more general factors)
C. 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire or 16 PF (Figure 12.2)
IV. Hans Eysenck: A Simpler Trait Model—believed types related to biological differences
A. Introversion-Extraversion
B. Neuroticism
C. Psychoticism
D. Using the EPI classified for types of personality (Figure 12.3)
V. The Five-Factor Model of Personality: The “Big Five” (Table 12.3) LB 12.5
A. Neuroticism
B. Extraversion
C. Openness
D. Agreeableness
E. Conscientiousness
F. Cross-cultural research has demonstrated the Big Five in other cultures
VI. The Genetic Basis of Traits: Moving Beyond the Nature-Nurture Debate LB 12.6
VII. Evaluating the Trait Perspective
A. Developing consensus around interactionism—traits and situational factors influence behavior
B. This approach has been criticized as just labeling behavior rather than explaining it

Refer to the Concept Web at the end of this manual for a visual synopsis of all concepts presented in this module.
I. Social-Cognitive Theory
A. Learning-based model
B. Cognitive and environmental factors influence behavior
C. Personality comprised of learned behavior and perceptions of the self and the world
II. Julian Rotter: The Locus of Control LB 12.7
A. Our ability to explain and predict behavior depends on knowing an individual’s reinforcement history as well as the person’s expectancies (predicted outcomes of behaviors) and subjective values (value of desired outcomes)
B. Locus of control can be internal versus external
III. Albert Bandura: Reciprocal Determinism and the Role of Expectancies (Figure 12.4)
A. Cognitions, behaviors, and environmental factors mutually influence each other
B. Emphasizes role of observational learning—modeling affects behaviors
C. Outcome (predicted outcome of behavior) versus efficacy expectations (ability to perform behaviors)
IV. Walter Mischel: Situation Versus Person Variables LB 12.8
A. Behavior is influenced by:
1. Situation variables—environmental influences a. Rewards b. Punishments
2. Person variables—internal personal factors a. Expectancies b. Subjective values c. Competencies d. Encoding strategies e. Self-regulatory systems and plans
V. Evaluating the Social-Cognitive Perspective
A. Very effective applications in educational and therapeutic settings
B. Critics suggest it is limited because it ignores unconscious experience and role of heredity, focuses too little on subjective experiences
Refer to the Concept Web at the end of this manual for a visual synopsis of all concepts presented in this module.
I. Conscious Choice and Personal Freedom Paramount to Human Experience
II. Carl Rogers: The Importance of Self
A. Self-theory—self is executive part of personality, primary function to develop selfesteem

B. Unconditional positive regard—an individual has value, regardless of behavior
C. Conditional positive regard—an individual has value only when he/she behaves
“properly”
D. Self-ideals—our idealized sense of who or what we should be LB 12.9
III. Abraham Maslow: Scaling the Heights of Self-Actualization
A. Higher-order needs—pursuit of esteem, respect, and self-actualization
B. Drive toward self-actualization shapes our personalities LB 12.10
IV. Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective ( Concept Chart 12.4
)
A. Therapeutic applications still influential
B. Criticisms have included that the focus on conscious experience is a weakness in terms of scientific investigation, also emphasis on self may lead to self-indulgence
V. See Exploring Psychology— Culture and Self-Identity LB 12.11
A. Collectivistic versus individualistic cultures
VI. See Reality Check, LB. 12.12
Refer to the Concept Web at the end of this manual for a visual synopsis of all concepts presented in this module.
I. Phrenology—using bumps on the head to judge character and mental abilities; popular in the nineteenth century
II. Self-Report Personality Inventories
A. Widely used measures of personality in which a person’s response options are limited to make scoring them objective
B. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (Table 12.4) (Figure 12.5)
C. Evaluation of self-report personality tests
1. Strengths—inexpensive to score, predictive of behaviors
2. Weakness—possible biases in response
III. Projective Tests
A. Based on the belief that the ways in which people respond to ambiguous stimuli are determined by their underlying needs and personalities
B. Rorschach Test (Figure 12.6) LB 12.13, LB 12.14
C. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) (Figure 12.7) LB 12.15
D. Evaluation of projective tests
1. Weaknesses—scoring open to subjective interpretations (reliability concerns) and questions regarding validity still remain
Refer to the Concept Web at the end of this manual for a visual synopsis of all concepts presented in this module.
I. Acquire Competencies: Become Good at Something
II. Set Realistic, Achievable Goals

III. Enhance Your Self-Efficacy Expectations
IV. Create a Sense of Meaningfulness in Your Life
V. Challenge Your Perfectionistic Expectations
VI. Challenge Your Need for Constant Approval
VII. LB 12.16