Personality Theories
and Assessment
College reading pages 288 – 312
Reading tonight, 285 - 297
Chapter 8
Prepared by
J. W. Taylor V
Personality
A person’s internally based
characteristic ways of
acting and thinking
Describe the following people’s personalities in 3
words
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President Obama
Ms Prentoulis
You
The person sitting to your right (or left, if no
one to the right)
We’ll be learning about
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The Psychoanalytic Approach to
Personality

The Humanistic Approach
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Trait Theories of Personality and
Personality Assessment
The Psychoanalytic
Approach to Personality
Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory
Who was Freud?

http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=3q9IRY_VXPs

Sigmund Freud was an Austrian
neurologist (medical doctor) who
studied emotional pain. He became
known as the founding father of
psychoanalysis.

Born: May 6, 1856, Austria
Died: September 23,
1939, London, England
(I’ve been to his house in
London!)
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Common modern-day
Freudisms
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Freud remains an important influence in
Western culture
Controversial
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“ you’re so anal”
“she’s in denial”
Freudian slip – “I haven’t had much sex… uh,
success completing my tax forms”
Documentary questions part 1
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What did Freud do as a doctor that was
“new”?
What did he believe about the source of
people’s troubles/emotional pain?
Describe the times he lived in and how they
may have contributed to his theory.
Freud’s Three Levels of Awareness
1. The conscious mind is what you are presently
aware of, what you are thinking about right now
2. The preconscious mind: not presently aware of
but can gain access to
3. The unconscious mind: part of mind of which
we cannot become aware
Unconscious mind

Contains the primary motivations for all of
our actions and feelings
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our biological instinctual
drives (such as for food and sex)
repressed unacceptable
thoughts
memories
feelings
unresolved conflicts
from our early
childhood experiences
hypnosis accesses the unconscious
Freud’s
Three-Part Personality Structure
Id
Ego
Superego
The Id
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Present at birth
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Resides in the unconscious mind
Includes our unconscious, instinctual drives:
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life and death instincts for survival,
reproduction,
pleasure,
aggression
Operates on a pleasure principle; demands
immediate gratification for these drives without concern
for the consequences
Like a spoiled child – wants what it wants NOW
The Ego

Starts developing during first year of life to find
realistic and socially-acceptable outlets for the id’s
needs
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Operates on the reality principle, finding gratification
for instinctual drives within the constraints of reality (the
norms and laws of society)
Makes sure you function within norms, acceptable
behavior, do the right thing
Part unconscious (tied to the id) and part conscious and
preconscious (tied to the external world).
The Superego

Represents one’s conscience and idealized
standards of behavior in their culture

Operates on a morality principle, threatening to
overwhelm us with guilt and shame if we do wrong

The superego and the id conflict and the ego has to
resolve this turmoil by finding a realistic outlet

To prevent being overcome with anxiety because of trying to
satisfy the id and superego demands, the ego uses what Freud
called defense mechanisms, processes that distort reality and
protect us from anxiety
Ego’s conflict…. Kinda like…
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Wow! You’ve won two tickets to the
Grammy’s. Who’s coming with you?
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Your BF/GF?
You best friend?
Sis/Bro?
Handicapped neighbor kid who has a birthday
coming up?
Tough decision. Someone’s gonna get hurt.
You’re in the middle.
Id, ego or superego?
Moral
Desire
Amoral
Guilt
Rational
Conscious awareness
Unconscious
Satisfy
Drive
Socially acceptable
Sex
Pleasure principle
Mediator
Reality principle
Righteous behavior
Instant gratification
Freud’s Defense Mechanisms – when the ego does not do a
good job of finding a socially-acceptable outlet for the id’s
desires, it creates defense mechanisms to distort reality and
prevent anxiety
Repression
Unknowingly placing an
unpleasant memory or
thought in the unconscious
Regression
Reverting back to immature As an adult, throwing
behavior from an earlier
temper tantrums or
stage of development
sucking your thumb when
angry
Redirecting unacceptable
Kicking your dog when
feelings from the original
you’re angry with your
source to a safer target
boyfriend
Displacement
Denial
Refusing to acknowledge
anxiety-producing realities
Not remembering being
abused as a child
Ignoring all evidence that
your spouse is having an
affair
Sublimation
Replacing socially
unacceptable impulses
with acceptable behavior
Channeling aggressive
drives into playing football
or inappropriate sexual
desires into art
Reaction
Formation
Acting in exactly the
opposite way to one’s
unacceptable impulses
Being a bully to someone
you have a crush on
Projection
Attributing one’s own
unacceptable feelings to
others and not yourself
Accusing your boyfriend
of cheating on you
because you felt like
cheating on him
Rationalization Justifying unacceptable
behavior
Saying it’s OK to cheat on
an exam because
everyone else cheats
Defense mechanisms
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"I'm not angry with him!“
I think he's really great!
"That professor hates me."
"I hate the stupid secretary at work“
"He's so critical because he's trying to help us do our
best.
“Let's shoot spitballs at people!“
"I'm going to write a poem about anger."
Unhealthy Personalities

Develop not only when we become too
dependent upon defense mechanisms, but
also when the id or superego is unusually
strong or the ego unusually weak
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Id too strong:
Superego too strong:
Conflict between superego and id:
Analyze Rihanna’s personality using Freud’s
psychodynamic model
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Describe her personality in 5 words.
Describe Rihanna’s id, ego and superego. Give
examples of how she expresses each.
What experiences have contributed to her
personality?
Has Rihanna gotten “stuck” in any psychsexual
stage (oral, anal, phallic. Latent?)
What are some defense mechanisms Rihanna
has or might have used to cope with her difficult
life?
Psychoanalyse this person

Brenda suffers from intense headaches and
anxiety when she goes to work. She hates her
boss who is a domineering
College level reading due

Page 298 to 301
Freud’s
Psychosexual Stage Theory
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An erogenous zone is the area of the body where the id’s
pleasure-seeking psychic energy is focused during a
particular stage of psychosexual development
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Stages: oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital
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Fixation occurs when the id’s pleasure-seeking energy
remains in a stage
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because of excessive gratification or frustration of our instinctual
needs
Causes problems throughout the person’s life and impacts their
behavior and personality traits
Silly vid – psychosexual
stages
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvOoYX45
G_0’
Five Psychosexual Stages
Oral Stage (birth to 18 months)
Anal Stage (18 months to 3 years)
Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)
Latency Stage (6 years to puberty)
Genital Stage (puberty to adulthood)
Freud’s Psychosocial States
of Personality Development
Stage (age range)
Erogenous Zone Activity Focus
Oral
(birth to 1½ years)
Mouth, lips, and
tongue
Sucking, biting, and
chewing
Anal
(1½ to 3 years)
Anus
Bowel retention and
elimination
Phallic
(3 to 6 years)
Genitals
Identifying with same-sex
parent to learn gender
role, morality
Latency
(6 years to puberty)
No erogenous
zone
Cognitive and social
development
Genital
(puberty to
adulthood)
Genitals
Development of sexual
relationships, adult
intimacy
Fixation – Getting “stuck” in a psychosexual stage
leads to unhealthy response throughout life
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The id’s instinctual drives are excessively or
insufficiently gratified
An oral fixation:
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Excessive oral gratification as infant:
Insufficient oral gratification as infant:
An anal fixation:
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Excessive anal gratification as infant:
Insufficient anal gratification as infant:
The infant who is neglected (insufficiently fed) or who is
over-protected (over-fed) in the course of being nursed,
might become an orally-fixated person. Said oral-stage
fixation might have two effects:
(i) the neglected child might become a psychologically
dependent adult continually seeking the oral
stimulation denied in infancy, thereby becoming a
manipulative person in fulfilling his or her needs,
rather than maturing to independence;
(ii) the over-protected child might resist maturation and
return to dependence upon others in fulfilling his or
her needs. Theoretically, oral-stage fixations are
manifested as garrulousness, smoking, continual
oral stimulus (eating, chewing objects),
and alcoholism. Psychologically, the symptoms
include a sarcastic, oral sadistic personality, nail
biting
Anal Stage conflict - Potty
Training
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Parents try to get the child to have selfcontrol during toilet training

anal-retentive personality develops when child
reacts to harsh toilet training by

withholding bowel movements
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trying to get even with the parents by bein stubborn,
controlled
As adult, uptight, orderly, neat, stingy, obstinate
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The anal-expulsive personality
child rebels against harsh training
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Bowel movements whenever/wherever
As adult, slobby, unreliable, no self control
Phallic Stage Conflicts
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In the Oedipus conflict, the little boy
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becomes sexually attracted to his
mother and fears the father (his rival) will
find out and castrate him
In the Electra conflict, the little girl is

attracted to her father because he has a
penis; she wants one and feels inferior
without one (penis envy)
Identification
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In the process of identification,
the child adopts the
characteristics of the samesexed parents and learns their
gender role
Identifying is only safe way to
resolve difficult, conflicting,
murderous feelings toward
same-sex parent
identification is when superego
develops
Little Hans Case study
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Popcorn reading and
analysis
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http://www.simplypsyc
hology.org/littlehans.html
Little Hans – 5 y o
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Hans had a phobia of horses
Case was communicated through letters between
father and Freud… lots of room for misinterpretation
He was fixated on his “widdler” (penis)
Feared horses would bite him
Traumatized by horses when young
Dreamt about 2 giraffes, big giraffe = dad, crumpled
giraffe = mom. Took mm from dad (Oedipus complex)
Horses represent his father
Hans feared castration by father (unconscious)
Hans feared horses (conscious, acceptable)
Evaluation of Freud’s
Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality

Freud’s notion of an “unconscious” level of
awareness is not accessible to anyone and is
impossible to examine scientifically
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We do process unconsciously, but not with the 3
structure model (id, ego, superego) Freud devised
Childhood experiences are important, but there
is little evidence for Freud’s psychosexual
stages
Evaluation of Freud’s
Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality
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Contemporary researchers think repression,
seldom, if ever, really occurs
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We understand today how Freud’s questioning
during therapy may have created such
“repressed’ memories in his patients to
“reappear”
We do fight to maintain self esteem but not
using defense mechanisms as Freud
suggested
Your turn
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Research ONE other technique or theoretical
perspective that Freud was famous for
Examples
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Free association
Dream analysis
Other – you find!
Find something different to your friends.
Share out!
Freud documentary part 2
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Why did Freud decline to use hypnosis as a
therapeutic technique? What technique did
he develop instead?
What bold claim did Freud make about the
origin of hysteria?
What prompted Freud to begin self evaluation
analyze dreams? What did he believe
dreams were?
How has Freud’s work changed society
today?
The Humanistic Approach
to Personality
Humanistic Psych
1960s
 opposed the deterministic
psychoanalytic approach
 emphasizes conscious free
will in one’s actions, the
uniqueness of the individual
person, and personal
growth

Comparison of Psychodynamic and
humanistic perspectives
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
The Humanistic
Approach to Personality
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Abraham Maslow is
considered the father of
the humanistic
movement
Born: April 1,
1908, Brooklyn, NY
Died: June 8,
1970, Menlo Park, CA
He studied the lives of
very healthy and
creative people to
develop his theory of
personality
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Self-Actualization
SelfEsteem
Social
Safety
Physiological
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Self-actualized famous people
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Can you think of any examples?
Are you self actualized?
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Take this quiz
http://similarminds.com/maslow.html
Carl Rogers identified five characteristics of the fully functioning person:
1.Open to experience: both positive and negative emotions accepted.
Negative feelings are not denied, but worked through (rather than resort to ego
defence mechanisms).
2.Existential living: in touch with different experiences as they occur in life,
avoiding prejudging and preconceptions. Being able to live and fully appreciate
the present, not always looking back to the past or forward to the future (i.e.
living for the moment).
3.Trust feelings: feeling, instincts and gut-reactions are paid attention to and
trusted. People’s own decisions are the right ones and we should trust
ourselves to make the right choices.
4.Creativity: creative thinking and risk taking are features of a person’s life.
Person does not play safe all the time. This involves the ability to adjust and
change and seek new experiences.
5.Fulfilled life: person is happy and satisfied with life, and always looking for
new challenges and experiences.
Self-Actualization
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Characteristics of self-actualized people include
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Accepting themselves, others, and the nature of world for
what they are
Having a need for privacy
and only a few close,
emotional relationships
Being autonomous and
independent, democratic,
and very creative
Having peak experiences,
which are experiences of deep
insight in which you experience
whatever you are doing as fully as possible
Critique

Maslow hierarchy of needs is criticized for
being based on non-empirical vague
studies of a small number of people that he
subjectively selected as self-actualized
General Psych - group activity
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Create a poster of Maslow’s hierarchy using
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Magazine images to represent the levels
Index cards to verbally explain the images chosen
You make a classic pyramid OR a
representation of your choosing (someone’s
life timeline, or other)
Include title, your names, heading for each
level
College – Justify someone’s
self-actualization!
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Choose a famous person and read their bio
Write a piece justifying why they are selfactualized. Describe how they meet all levels
of need on Maslow’s hierarchy
Email your piece (along with link to bio you
read) to paper-assigned person
They critique. Try to find evidence (through
reading same bio, or other) that suggests this
person is NOT self-actualized
Email back
What is a criticism of this
model?
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Is it perfect or flawed?
How might Maslow’s methodology have been
biased?
How could it be improved?
Carl Rogers – a humanist
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Born: January 8,
1902, Oak Park, IL
Died: February 4,
1987, San Diego,
CA
Education: Teacher
s College, Columbia
University,
Roger’s Self Theory

Carl Rogers was a client-centered therapist
who dealt with young, bright college
students with adjustment problems

Emphasized self-actualization
To be self-actualized…

…people have a strong need for positive
regard – to be accepted by and have the
affection of others, especially the significant
others in our life

Who do you receive positive regard from in your life?
Write three people who consistently treat you well and
show care/affection/support:

Roger’s Self Theory

Our parents set up conditions of worth, the
behaviors and attitudes for which they would give
us positive regard
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Meeting conditions of worth continues throughout life, and
a person develops a self-concept of what others think s/he
should be
What are your conditions of worth?
Rogers identified five characteristics of the fully functioning person:
1.Open to experience: both positive and negative emotions accepted.
Negative feelings are not denied, but worked through (rather than resort to ego
defence mechanisms).
2.Existential living: in touch with different experiences as they occur in life,
avoiding prejudging and preconceptions. Being able to live and fully appreciate
the present, not always looking back to the past or forward to the future (i.e.
living for the moment).
3.Trust feelings: feeling, instincts and gut-reactions are paid attention to and
trusted. People’s own decisions are the right ones and we should trust
ourselves to make the right choices.
4.Creativity: creative thinking and risk taking are features of a person’s life.
Person does not play safe all the time. This involves the ability to adjust and
change and seek new experiences.
5.Fulfilled life: person is happy and satisfied with life, and always looking for
new challenges and experiences.
http://www.simplypsychology.org/carlrogers.html
Client Centered Therapy (CCT)

3 keys to successful CTC
1.
2.
3.
Unconditional positive regard – acceptance and
approval of client for who they are, without conditions
Genuineness – the therapist is honest and transparent
with client
Empathy – the therapist needs to self-reflect on what the
client is saying so they can remember a time they felt
similarly
Client-centered Therapy

Gloria – what is Carl Rogers doing to help
Gloria?
Compare CTC with traditional
therapy
You’re about to meet a new client, Maria.
You are a CCT therapist. You read her file.
It says…

I hate my life. My husband shows no affection
or respect for me, I’m just a cleaner and a
cook. My 13 year old talks back and defies
my orders. I have no job, and I don’t think I’m
capable of productive employment. All I do is
sit at home all day watching TV, keeping
house and feeling like nothing.

How would a CC therapist approach this
person?
CCT strategies for Maria
How would you characterize
Maria’s sense of self?
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Note that neither Maslow nor Roger’s
theories are research-based
They just seemed right to the researchers,
and work with real people seemed to
support
The Social-Cognitive
Approach to Personality

Personality and problems can be understood by
considering a person’s… influences
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Cognitive
Behavioral
Social
Cultural
Maintains that learning through environmental
conditioning contributes to personality
development
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Observing
Imitating
Reward/reinforcement vs discouragment
Albert Bandura

Born: December 4, 1925
(age 88), Canada

Works at Stanford
Univ
Famous for
experiments in
learning and
behavioral
psychology

Bandura’s Self-System

The self-system is the set of cognitive processes by
which a person observes and regulates his/her social
behavior, eventually forming patterns that form their
personality. Ex:
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A young child imitates their mom by dressing up in her clothes.
They receive compliments.
It becomes a hobby.
As a teenager they enjoy choosing outfits, jewelry, accessories
each day.
They become known as a stylish person.
They pursue their dream job working at a fashion magazine.
Are you a good cook?
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Self-efficacy is a judgment of one’s effectiveness in
dealing with particular situations and plays a major role
in determining our behavior.
In the question above, you may
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Lack confidence in your cooking ability and dread it, avoid it or
stick to absolute basics for fear of failure (low self efficacy)
Or, you may have confidence and approach cooking with a sense
of fun and discovery (high self efficacy)
Self efficacy

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Low self-efficacy is associated with
depression, anxiety, and helplessness
High self-efficacy is associated with selfconfidence, positive outlook, and minimal
self-doubt

What aspects in your life do you feel you have
high/low self efficacy in?
Rotter’s Locus of Control

Locus of control is a person’s perception
of the extent to which he/she controls what
happens to him/her
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External locus of control refers to the
perception that chance or external forces
beyond your control determine your fate
Internal locus of control refers to the
perception that you control your own fate
•Died: January 6, 2014, Mansfield, CT
Julian Rotter
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Born: October 22,
1916, Brooklyn, NY
Died: January 6,
2014, Mansfield, CT
What’s better?

External locus of control

Internal locus of control
Locus of Control

People with an internal locus of control perceive
their success as dependent upon their own needs,
but they may or may not feel that they have the
competence (efficacy) to bring about successful
outcomes in various situations

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People with an internal locus of control are
psychologically and physically better off
External locus of control may contribute to
learned helplessness, a sense of hopelessness
in which one thinks that he/she is unable to
prevent unpleasant events
Self-Perception

Attribution is the process by which we
explain our own behavior and that of others

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Internal attribution means that the outcome is
attributed to the person
External attribution means that the outcome is
attributed to factors outside the person
Self-Perception

Self-serving bias is the tendency to make
attributions so that one can perceive
oneself favorably
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If the outcome is positive, we make an internal
attribution for it
If the outcome is negative, we make an external
attribution for it
Self-serving bias is adaptive because it protects
us from falling prey to learned helplessness and
depression
Learned Helplessness
and Depression

Can result from:
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Internal attributions for negative outcomes
(“I failed the test because I am no good at math”)
External attributions for positive outcomes
(“I aced the test because it was so easy”)
Pessimistic explanations are also stable
(i.e., the causes are permanent, “I will always
have no ability for math”) and global
(“I have no ability for anything”)
Trait Theories of Personality
and Personality Assessment
Trait Theories of Personality
Personality Assessment
Trait Theories of Personality

Personality traits are internally based, relatively
stable characteristics that define an individual’s
personality


Each trait is a dimension, a continuum ranging from one
extreme of the dimension to the other
Trait theorists use factor analysis and other
statistical techniques to tell them how many basic
personality factors (or traits) are needed to describe
human personality, as well as what these factors are

Factor analysis identifies clusters of test items (e.g., on a
personality test) that measure the same factor/trait
The Number and Kind
of Personality Traits

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Raymond B. Cattell, using factor analysis,
found that 16 traits were necessary to
describe human personality
Hans Eysenck, also using factor analysis,
argued for three trait dimensions
Cattell and Eysenck differed because the
number of traits depends on the level of
categorization in the factor analysis
Eysenck’s theory is at a more general and
inclusive level of abstraction than Cattell’s
Eysenck’s Three-Factor Theory
ExtraversionIntroversion
NeuroticismEmotional
stability
PsychoticismImpulse
control
Eysenck argued that these traits are determined by heredity
Eysenck’s Three-Factor Theory

The biological basis for the extraversionintroversion trait is level of cortical arousal
(neuronal activity)

Introverts have higher normal-levels of arousal
than an extravert, so extraverts need to seek
out external stimulation to raise the level of
arousal in the brain to a more optimal level
Eysenck’s Three-Factor Theory


People who are high on the neuroticismemotional stability dimension tend to be overly
anxious, emotionally unstable, and easily upset
because of a more reactive sympathetic nervous
system
The psychoticism-impulse control trait is
concerned with aggressiveness, impulsiveness,
and empathy

A high level of testosterone and a low level of MAO, a
neurotransmitter inhibitor, lead to high levels of
psychoticism
Five-Factor Model of Personality


These five factors appear to be universal
and are consistent from about age 30 to
late adulthood
These factors are measured using an
assessment instrument called the NEO-PI
The Big Five Personality
Trait Dimensions
Dimension
High End
Low End
Openness
Independent, imaginative,
broad interests, receptive
to new ideas
Conforming, practical,
narrow interests, closed to
new ideas
Conscientiousness
Well-organized,
dependable, careful,
disciplined
Disorganized,
undependable, careless,
impulsive
Extraversion
Sociable, talkative,
friendly, adventurous
Reclusive, quiet, aloof,
cautious
Agreeableness
Sympathetic, polite, goodnatured, soft-hearted
Tough-minded, rude,
irritable, ruthless
Neuroticism
Emotional, insecure,
nervous, self-pitying
Calm, secure, relaxed, selfsatisfied
Personality Assessment

The main uses of personality tests are to aid
in diagnosing people with problems,
counseling, and making personnel decisions
Personality
Inventories
Projective
Tests
Personality Inventories

Are designed to measure multiple traits of
personality, and in some cases, disorders


Are a series of questions or statements for which
the test taker must indicate whether they apply to
him or not
The MMPI (the Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory) is the most widely used,
translated into more than 100 languages
MMPI



Uses a “True/False/Cannot Say” format with 567
simple statements (e.g., “I like to cook”)
Developed to be a measure of abnormal
personality, with 10 clinical scales such as
depression and schizophrenia
Items were developed and tested to differentiate
different groups of people (a representative sample
of people suffering a specific disorder versus a
group of normal people) on certain dimensions; to
be retained, the two groups generally responded to
an item in opposite ways
MMPI


Contains three validity scales, which
attempt to detect test takers who are
trying to cover up problems and fake
profiles or who were careless in their
responding
Its test construction method leads to
good predictive validity for its clinical
scales and its objective scoring
procedure leads to reliability in
interpretation
Projective Tests


Contain a series of ambiguous stimuli, such
as inkblots, to which the test taker
must respond about his
perceptions of the stimuli
Sample tests


Rorschach Inkblots Test
Thematic Apperception
Tests (TAT)
Rorschach Inkblots Test



Contains 10 symmetric inkblots used in
the test, in which the examiner then goes
through the cards and asks the test taker
to clarify her responses by identifying the
various parts of the inkblot that led to the
response
Assumes the test taker’s responses are
projections of their personal conflicts and
personality dynamics
Widely used but not demonstrated to be
reliable and valid
Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT)




Consists of 19 cards with black and white
pictures of ambiguous settings and one blank
card
Test taker has to make up a story for each card
he sees (what happened before, is happening
now, what the people are feeling and thinking,
and how things will turn out)
Looks for recurring themes in the responses
Scoring has yet to be demonstrated to be either
reliable or valid
Neo-Freudian
Theories of Personality

Agree with many of Freud’s basic ideas,
but differ in one or more important ways
Carl Jung’s
Collective
Unconscious
Alfred Adler’s
Striving for
Superiority
Karen Horney
and the
Need for
Security
Carl Jung – a neofreudian

extroverted and
introverted personality,
archetypes, and the
collective unconscious.

Born: July 26,
1875, Switzerland
Died: June 6,
1961, Switzerland

Do you…?







Prefer to hang out in big groups or with one
or two friends
Enjoy spending time alone
Find parties fun, but a little draining
Need time to think, reflect, look inward
Gain energy from social events
Post tons of stuff on facebook/twitter/other
social media?
Enjoy getting lost in books

Imagine a ball of energy by you. Where is it?
Carl Jung’s
Collective Unconscious



Jung proposed two main personality attitudes,
extraversion and introversion.
You have an outward self and an inner shadow.
Jung also proposed four functions/styles of
gathering information





Sensing is the reality function in which the world is
carefully perceived
Intuiting is more subjective perception
Thinking is logical deduction
Feeling is the subjective emotional function
The two personality attitudes and four functions
are the basis for the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator, still in wide use today
Carl Jung’s
Collective Unconscious
The collective
unconscious
is the accumulated
universal experiences
of humankind
http://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=R
WB8Gx2j0R0
127
We each inherit
the ‘memory’ or
‘feelings’ of the
human experience
archetypes


Symbols of all the important themes in the
history of humankind (eg, God, mother,
hero)
Notions of collective unconscious and
archetypes are more mystical than
scientific. Cannot be tested
Alfred Adler – a Neofreudian

Alfred W. Adler was an
Austrian medical doctor,
psychotherapist, and
founder of the school of
individual psychology.

Born: February 7,
1870, Austria
Died: May 28,
1937, Aberdeen
Scottland

Alfred Adler’s
Striving for Superiority




Adler thought the main motivation for humans
was “striving for superiority”
Overcome the sense of inferiority that we feel
as infants given our totally helpless, dependent
state
A healthy person copes with these feelings,
becomes competent, and develops selfesteem
Inferiority complex is the strong feeling of
inferiority felt by those who never overcome
this initial feeling of inferiority
Karen Horney – a Neofreudian


Born: September
16, 1885, Germany
Died: December 4,
1952, New York City
Horney’s neurotic personality
types
Develop if a person’s parents do not satisfy their need for
security when young
Three neurotic personality patterns



Moving toward people
A compliant, submissive person
Moving against people
An aggressive, domineering person
Moving away from people
A detached, aloof person
Karen Horney and
The Need for Security



Focused on dealing with our need for security,
rather than a sense of inferiority
A child’s caregivers must provide a sense of security
for a healthy personality to develop
If not, anxiety, a feeling of helplessness and
insecurity in a hostile world, will result
What do the Neofreudians have in common
with Freud’s psychoanalytic theory?



Focus on internal conflict
Childhood experiences shape adult
personality
Unconscious processing
How do they differ from Freud



The Neofreudians did not put so much
emphasis on sexual drives
No psyhcosexual stages (oral anal phallic…)
More emphasis on soci-cultural influences
(relationships, upbringing)
Erikson’s Psychosocial
Stage Theory of Development

Emphasized the impact of society and
culture upon development



Lead to research on life-span
development
Lacks experimental data to support
Eight stages of development, each
with a major issue that has to be
resolved

Each stage is named after the two sides
of the issue relevant in that stage
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
1
Trust vs. Mistrust
(birth to 1 year)
Infants learn that they can or
cannot trust others to take
care of their basic needs
2
Autonomy vs. Shame
and Doubt
(1 to 2 years)
Children learn to be selfsufficient in many activities
such as toilet training,
walking, and exploring; if
restrained too much they
learn to doubt their abilities
and feel shame
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
3
Initiative vs. Guilt
(3 to 5 years)
Children learn to assume
more responsibility by taking
the initiative but will feel
guilty if they overstep limits
set by parents
4
Industry vs. Inferiority
(5 years to puberty)
Children learn to be
competent by mastering new
intellectual, social, and
physical skills or feel inferior
if they fail to develop these
skills
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
5
Identity vs. Role
Confusion
(adolescence)
Adolescents develop a sense
of identity by experimenting
with different roles; no role
experimentation may result in
role confusion
6
Intimacy vs. Isolation
(young adulthood)
Young adults form intimate
relationships with others or
become isolated because of
failure to do so
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
7
Generativity vs.
Stagnation
(middle adulthood)
Middle-aged adults feel they
are helping the next generation
though their work and child
rearing, or they stagnate
because they feel that they are
not helping
8
Integrity vs. Despair
(late adulthood)
Older adults assess their lives
and develop sense of integrity
if they find lives have been
meaningful; develop sense of
despair if not meaningful
Erikson’s Psychosocial
Theory of Development


One of the few theories that explains development
past adolescence into adulthood (young, middle,
and late)
The sequence in the theory (intimacy issues
followed by identity issues) most applicable to men
and career-oriented women
Make an Eriksonian
dichotomous key


Start with a statement that pertains to the
issue of the stage
Ex Stage 1 – trust vs mistrust:





“my mom always cleans my diaper soon after I
soil it”
Or, “ my mom feeds me whenever I cry for food”
Then draw two branches – Y and N
Under each branch, describe how the chld’s
development would progress
Move to next stage, next question, repeat