Personality
An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking,
feeling, and acting.
Each dwarf has a distinct personality.
p. 469
Personality Perspectives




Psychoanalytic—importance of
unconscious processes and childhood
experiences
Humanistic—importance of self and
fulfillment of potential
Trait—description and measurement of
personality differences
Social cognitive—importance of beliefs
about self
Psychodynamic Perspective
In his clinical practice,
Freud encountered
patients suffering from
nervous disorders. Their
complaints could not be
explained in terms of
purely physical causes.
Culver Pictures
Sigmund Freud
(1856-1939)
Psychodynamic Perspective
Culver Pictures
Freud’s clinical
experience led him to
develop the first
comprehensive theory
of personality, which
included the
unconscious mind,
psychosexual stages,
and defense
mechanisms.
Sigmund Freud
(1856-1939)
The Psychoanalytic Perspective

Psychoanalysis


Freud’s theory of personality that attributes
our thoughts and actions to unconscious
motives and conflicts
techniques used in treating psychological
disorders by seeking to expose and
interpret unconscious tensions
Exploring the Unconscious
A reservoir (unconscious mind) of mostly
unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and
memories. Freud asked patients to say whatever
came to their minds (free association) in order to tap
the unconscious.
Dream Analysis
Another method to analyze the unconscious mind is
through interpreting manifest and latent contents of dreams.
The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli (1791)
Psychoanalysis
The process of free association
(chain of thoughts) leads to
painful, embarrassing
unconscious memories.
Once these memories are
retrieved and released
(treatment: psychoanalysis)
the patient feels better.
The Psychoanalytic Perspective

Unconscious



according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly
unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings
and memories
contemporary viewpoint- information
processing of which we are unaware
Preconscious

information that is not conscious, but is
retrievable into conscious awareness.
Model of Mind
The mind is like an iceberg. It is mostly hidden, and
below the surface lies the unconscious mind. The
preconscious stores temporary memories.
Personality Structure
Personality develops as a result of our efforts to
resolve conflicts between our biological impulses (id)
and social restraints (superego).
Id, Ego and Superego
The Id unconsciously strives to satisfy basic sexual
and aggressive drives, operating on the pleasure
principle, demanding immediate gratification.
The ego functions as the “executive” and mediates
the demands of the id and superego.
The superego provides standards for judgment (the
conscience) and for future aspirations.
Personality Structure

Id





contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy
strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives
operates on the pleasure principle, demanding
immediate gratification
THE ID (“It”): functions in the irrational and emotional part of the
mind. At birth a baby’s mind is all Id - want want want. The Id is
the primitive mind. It contains all the basic needs and feelings. It
is the source for libido (psychic energy). And it has only one rule
--> the “pleasure principle”: “I want it and I want it all now”. In
transactional analysis, Id equates to "Child".
Id too strong = bound up in self-gratification and uncaring to
others
Id: The Pleasure Principle

Pleasure principle
drive toward immediate gratification, most
fundamental human motive

Sources of energy



Eros—life instinct, perpetuates life
Thanatos—death instinct, aggression, selfdestructive actions
Libido—sexual energy or motivation
Personality Structure

Superego




the part of personality that presents internalized
ideals
provides standards for judgement (the
conscience) and for future aspirations
THE SUPEREGO (“Over-I”): The Superego is the last part
of the mind to develop. It might be called the moral part of
the mind. The Superego becomes an embodiment of
parental and societal values. It stores and enforces rules. It
constantly strives for perfection, even though this
perfection ideal may be quite far from reality or
possibility. Its power to enforce rules comes from its ability
to create anxiety.
Superego too strong = feels guilty all the time, may even
have an insufferably saintly personality
Superego: Conscience




Operates on the Morality Principle
Internalization of societal and parental values
Partially unconscious
Can be harshly punitive using feelings of guilt
Personality Structure

Ego





the largely conscious, “executive” part of personality
mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality
operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways
that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain
THE EGO: (“I”): functions with the rational part of the mind. The Ego
develops out of growing awareness that you can’t always get what you
want. The Ego relates to the real world and operates via the “reality
principle”. The Ego realizes the need for compromise and negotiates
between the Id and the Superego. The Ego's job is to get the Id's pleasures
but to be reasonable and bear the long-term consequences in mind. The
Ego denies both instant gratification and pious delaying of gratification. The
term ego-strength is the term used to refer to how well the ego copes with
these conflicting forces. To undertake its work of planning, thinking and
controlling the Id, the Ego uses some of the Id's libidinal energy. In
transactional analysis, Ego equates to "Adult".
Ego too strong = extremely rational and efficient, but cold, boring and distant
Ego: The Reality Principle

Reality principle
ability to postpone gratification
in accordance with demands of
reality


Ego—rational, organized, logical, mediator to
demands of reality
Can repress desires that cannot be met in an
acceptable manner
Personality Development
Freud believed that personality formed during the
first few years of life divided into psychosexual
stages. During these stages the id’s pleasureseeking energies focus on pleasure sensitive
body areas called erogenous zones.
Children eventually learn to cope with threatening
feelings by trying to become like the rival parent.
Psychosexual Stages
Freud divided the development of personality
into five psychosexual stages.
Oral Stage

Pleasure centers on
the mouth– sucking,
biting, chewing.
Personality Development

Oedipus Complex


a boy’s unconscious sexual desires toward
his mother and feelings of jealousy and
hatred for the rival father-results in feeling
guilt and fear of punishment
Electra Complex

a girl’s sexual desires toward her father and
feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival
mother
Personality Development

Castration Anxiety
boys feel guilt and fear that their father would punish
them (castration) for sexual desires for their mother
& jealousy of their father.

Penis Envy
women fixated in this stage symbolically
castrate men through embarrassment,
deception, and derogation.
Identification
From the K. Vandervelde private collection
Children cope with
threatening feelings by
repressing them and by
identifying with the rival
parent. Through this
process of identification,
their superego gains
strength that
incorporates their
parents’ values
(psychologists now refer
to this as gender
identity).
Personality Development

Fixation-result from unresolved conflicts

a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking
energies at an earlier psychosexual stage,
causes the person to be locked into certain
behaviors
Personality Development

Oral fixation
possibly because of overindulging or
depriving (abrupt, early weaning). They
exhibit either passive dependence (like that
of a nursing infant) or an exaggerated denial
of this dependence--perhaps by acting tough
and uttering biting sarcasm. They might also
continue to seek oral gratification through
excessive smoking or eating.
Personality Development

Anal fixation
never resolve anal conflict (Toilet training)


Anal expulsive– messy & disorganized.
Anal retentive– highly controlled and compulsively
neat.
Defense Mechanisms

Defense Mechanisms


the ego’s protective methods of reducing
anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
Repression

the basic defense mechanism that
banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts,
feelings, and memories from
consciousness
Defense Mechanisms

Regression

defense mechanism in
which an individual faced
with anxiety retreats to a
more infantile psychosexual
stage (childlike behavior),
where some psychic energy
remains fixated
Defense Mechanisms

Reaction Formation


defense mechanism by which the ego
unconsciously switches unacceptable
impulses into their opposites
people may express feelings that are the
opposite of their anxiety-arousing
unconscious feelings
Defense Mechanisms

Projection


defense mechanism by which people
disguise their own threatening impulses by
attributing them to others
Rationalization

defense mechanism that offers selfjustifying explanations in place of the real,
more threatening, unconscious reasons for
one’s actions
Defense Mechanisms

Displacement



defense mechanism that shifts sexual or
aggressive impulses toward a more
acceptable or less threatening object or
person
as when redirecting anger toward a safer
outlet
Shifting sexual impulses for all girls
toward girlfriend
Defense Mechanisms

Sublimation
people rechannel their unacceptable impulses into
socially approved activities.
Freud suggested that Leonardo da Vinci’s painting
of Madonna could be traced back to his desire for
intimacy with his own mother.






Freudian Dissenters
Carl Jung (1875-1961) - Analytic Psychology
Alfred Adler (1870-1937) - Individual
Psychology
Karen Horney (1885-1952) – Feminine
Psychology
Erik Erikson (1902-1994) - Ego Psychology
Harry Stack Sullivan (1892-1949)
Erich Fromm (1900-1980)
Neo-Freudians
Accepted Freud’s basic ideas:
the personality structures of id, ego, and superego; the
importance of the unconscious; the shaping of personality
in childhood; and dynamics of anxiety and the defense
mechanisms. But they veered away from Freud in two
important ways.
1. They placed more emphasis on the role of the
conscious mind in interpreting experience and coping
with the environment.
2. They doubted that sex and aggression were allconsuming motivations. Instead, they placed more
emphasis on loftier motives and on social interaction.
The Neo-Freudians
Archive of the History of American Psychology/ University of Akron
Jung believed in the
collective unconscious,
which contained a common
reservoir of images derived
from our species’ past. This
is why many cultures share
certain myths and images
such as the mother being a
symbol of nurturance.
Carl Jung (1875-1961)
Carl Jung

Collective unconscious
memory traces from our human
collective evolutionary history;
the fears, behaviors, and thoughts that
children and adults exhibit across time and
culture.(Universal Feelings and Dispositions)
The collective unconscious is made up of
archetypes.
Carl Jung

Universality of themes- archetypes are
inherited universal human concepts–“Mother”
Archetypes are primordial images inherited
from our ancestors and include mother,
father, God, death, snakes, animus/anima,
the persona, the shadow, and the self.
The animus is the masculine side of the
female.
The anima is the feminine side of the male.
Carl Jung

Persona
A mask people wear to hide what they really are or what
they really feel



Jung was the first to describe introverts and
extraverts
The persona or mask represents a compromise
between our true self and the expectations of
society
The shadow is the unconscious negative or dark
side of our personality.
The self archetype is the unifying part of all of us
that finds balance in our lives. Works with the ego.
Carl Jung
Jung’s thinking was dominated by the
principle of opposites – human experience
consists of polarities that oppose and balance
each other.
The mind is divided into 3 parts:
1. The conscious ego
2. The personal unconscious
3. The collective unconscious
The Neo-Freudians
National Library of Medicine
Like Freud, Adler believed
in childhood tensions.
However, these tensions
were social in nature and
not sexual.
A child struggles with an
inferiority complex during
growth and strives for
superiority and power.
Alfred Adler (1870-1937)
Alfred Adler







Alfred Adler strove throughout his life
to overcome a sense of inferiority.
1911: Left Freud’s analytic society
Individual Psychology
We all begin life with a sense of inferiority.
Striving for superiority is the motivating force in life.
If unsuccessful: inferiority complex
Well-adjusted people express their striving for
superiority through concern for the social interest.
Alfred Adler
Birth Order
 The order in which you are born to a
family inherently affects your personality:
 First born children who later have
younger siblings have it the worst.
 Middle born children have it the easiest.
 The youngest child, like the first born, is more likely to
experience personality problems during adulthood.
 Research examining birth order effects does not often
support Adler’s predictions. The impact of birth order
on personality is far more complex than Adler
suggests.
The Neo-Freudians
The Bettmann Archive/ Corbis
Like Adler, Horney
believed in the social
aspects of childhood
growth and development.
She countered Freud’s
assumption that women
have weak superegos
and suffer from
“penis envy.”
Karen Horney (1885-1952)
Karen Horney (1885-1952)





Feminine Psychology
Karen Horney changed the way psychology looked
at gender differences.
Disagreed with Freud's view of women
Countered Freud's concept of penis envy with
womb envy - men compensate for the inability to
bear children by striving for achievement and
success in other realms.
Disagreed with Freud's belief that males and
females were born with inherent differences in their
personality – argued for a societal and cultural
explanation.
Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective
The scientific merits of Freud’s theory have been
criticized. Psychoanalysis is meagerly
testable(difficult to test). Most of its concepts
arise out of clinical practice, which are the afterthe-fact explanation.
Assessing the Unconscious

Projective Test


a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT,
that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to
trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

a projective test in which people express their
inner feelings and interests through the stories
they make up about ambiguous scenes
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Developed by Henry Murray, the TAT is a projective
test in which people express their inner feelings and
interests through the stories they make up about
ambiguous scenes.
Lew Merrim/ Photo Researcher, Inc.
Assessing the Unconscious

Rorschach Inkblot Test



the most widely used projective test
a set of 10 inkblots designed by Hermann
Rorschach
seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by
analyzing their interpretations of the blots




A man goes to a Psychologist and says, "Doc I got a real
problem, I can't stop thinking about sex."
The Psychologist says, "Well let's see what we can find out", and
pulls out his ink blots. "What is this a picture of?" he asks.
The man turns the picture upside down then turns it around and
states, "That's a man and a woman on a bed making love."
The Psychologist says, "very interesting," and shows the next
picture. "And what is this a picture of?"
The man looks and turns it in different directions and says,
"That's a man and a woman on a bed making love."
The Psychologists tries again with the third ink blot, and asks the
same question, "What is this a picture of?"
The patient again turns it in all directions and replies, "That's a
man and a woman on a bed making love."
The Psychologist states, "Well, yes, you do seem to be obsessed
with sex."
"Me!?" demands the patient. "You're the one who keeps showing
me the dirty pictures!"
Projective Tests: Criticisms
Critics argue that projective tests lack both
reliability (consistency of results) and
validity (predicting what it is supposed to).
1.
When evaluating the same patient, even
trained raters come up with different
interpretations (reliability).
2.
Projective tests may misdiagnose a normal
individual as pathological (validity).
Freud’s ideas in light of modern research

Freud died in 1939 and did not have the
benefit of all the modern-day research &
tools that we have today.
Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective
Modern Research
1.
Personality develops throughout life and is not
fixed in childhood.
2.
Freud underemphasized peer influence on the
individual, which may be as powerful as
parental influence.
3.
Gender identity may develop before 5-6 years
of age.
Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective
Modern Research
4.
There may be other reasons for dreams
besides wish fulfillment.
5.
Verbal slips can be explained on the basis of
cognitive processing of verbal choices.
6.
Suppressed sexuality leads to psychological
disorders. Sexual inhibition has decreased, but
psychological disorders have not.
Is Repression a Myth?

Many researchers now believe that
repression rarely, if ever, occurs.
Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective
Freud's psychoanalytic theory rests on the
repression of painful experiences into the
unconscious mind.
The majority of children, death camp survivors, and
battle-scarred veterans are unable to repress
painful experiences into their unconscious mind.
Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective
Freud was right about the unconscious mind.
Modern research shows the existence of
nonconscious information processing.
1.
Schemas that automatically control perceptions and
interpretations
2.
Parallel processing during vision and thinking
3.
Implicit memories
4.
Emotions that activate instantly without consciousness
Humanistic Perspective
By the 1960s, psychologists became discontent
with Freud’s negativity and the mechanistic
psychology of the behaviorists.
Abraham Maslow
(1908-1970)
Carl Rogers
(1902-1987)
Humanistic Perspective


Carl Rogers– “Father of Humanism”
Abraham Maslow
Free will
Self-awareness
Psychological growth
Self-Actualizing Person
Maslow proposed that we as individuals are
motivated by a hierarchy of needs. Beginning with
physiological needs, we try to reach the state of
self-actualization—fulfilling our potential.
Humanistic Perspective

Self-Actualization


the ultimate psychological
need that arises after basic
physical and psychological
needs are met and self-esteem is achieved
the motivation to fulfill one’s potential
Humanistic Perspective

Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

focused on growth and fulfillment of
individuals

genuineness

acceptance

empathy
Humanistic Perspective

Unconditional Positive Regard


an attitude of total acceptance toward
another person-allow others to be who
they are and still relate to them
Self-Concept

all our thoughts and feelings
about ourselves, in an answer
to the question, “Who am I?”
Fig. 12-9, p. 488
Assessing the Self
In an effort to assess personality, Rogers asked people
to describe themselves as they would like to be (ideal)
and as they actually are (real). If the two descriptions
were close the individual had a positive self-concept.
Attempt to bring the two selves together.
Evaluating Humanism


Difficult to test or validate scientifically
Tends to be too optimistic, minimizing
some of the more destructive aspects of
human nature
A. Gordon Allport
 Cardinal- strong personality traits that affect us the most
 Central Traits- highly characteristic of a person
B. Cattell
 Surface Traits- easily observed by others
 Source Traits- underlie surface behavior
 Factor analysis- statistical approach used to describe and relate personality
traits
C. Eysenck
 Extraversion- outgoing, sociable
 Intraversion- shy
Contemporary Research–
The Trait Perspective

Trait


a characteristic pattern of behavior
a disposition to feel and act,
as assessed by self-report inventories
and peer reports
Gordon
Allport
Exploring Traits
Factor analysis
is a statistical approach
used to describe and
relate personality traits.
Cattell used this
approach to develop a
16 Personality Factor
(16PF) inventory.
Raymond Cattell
(1905-1998)
Factor Analysis
Cattell found that large groups of traits could be
reduced down to 16 core personality traits
based on statistical correlations.
Boisterous
Impatient
Irritable
Excitement
Basic
trait
Superficial
traits
Impulsive
Raymond Cattell
The Trait Perspective


Extroversion-Introversion
Extroverts seek stimulation because their normal
levels of brain arousal are relatively low.
Emotional stability-instability
Emotionally stable people react calmly because their
autonomic nervous systems are not so reactive as
those of unstable people.
Personality Dimensions
Hans and Sybil Eysenck suggested that
personality could be reduced down to two polar
dimensions, extraversion-introversion and
emotional stability-instability.
Extrovert v. Introvert
 Extroversion-person who is energized by being
around other people; enjoy social situations and
even seek them out since they enjoy being around
people
 Introversion- person who is concerned primarily with
one's own thoughts and feelings rather than with the
external environment
Assessing Traits
Personality inventories are questionnaires
(often with true-false or agree-disagree items)
designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and
behaviors assessing several traits at once. The
answers are then compared to established
norms
Self-Report Inventory


Psychological test in which an individual
answers standardized questions about
their behavior and feelings
The answers are then compared to
established norms (Factor analysis)
Strengths of Self-Reports


Standardized—each person receives same
instructions and responds to the same
questions
Use of established norms: results are
compared to previously established norms
and are not subjectively evaluated
Weaknesses of Self-Reports



Evidence that people can “fake” responses
to look better (or worse)
Tests contain hundreds of items and
become tedious
People may not be good judges of their
own behavior
The Trait Perspective

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI)



the most widely researched and clinically used of
all personality tests
originally developed to identify emotional
disorders (still considered its most appropriate
use)
now used for many other screening purposes
MMPI



Originally designed to assess mental health
and detect psychological symptoms
Has over 500 questions to which person
must reply “True” or “False”
Includes “lying scales”
The Trait Perspective
Clinically
significant
range
Hypochondriasis 1
(concern with body symptoms)
Depression2
(pessimism, hopelessness)
After
treatment
(no scores
in the clinically
significant range)
Hysteria 3
(uses symptoms to solve problems)
Psychopathic deviancy 4
(disregard for social standards)
Before
treatment
(anxious,
depressed,
and
displaying
deviant
behaviors)
Masculinity/femininity 5
(interests like those of other sex)
Paranoia 6
(delusions, suspiciousness)
Psychasthenia 7
(anxious, guilt feelings)
Schizophrenia 8
(withdrawn, bizarre thoughts)
Hypomania 9
(overactive, excited, impulsive)
Social introversion 10
(shy, inhibited)
0
30
40

50
60
T-score
70
80
Minnesota
Multiphasic
Personality
Inventory
(MMPI) test
profile
The Trait Perspective

Empirically Derived Test


a test developed by testing a pool of items
and then selecting those that discriminate
between groups
such as the MMPI
Derived from factor analysis
Questions about the Big Five
1. How stable are these traits?
Quite stable in adulthood.
However, they change over
development.
2. How heritable are they?
Fifty percent or so for each trait.
3. How about other cultures?
These traits are common across
cultures.
4. Can they predict other
personal attributes?
Yes. Conscientious people are
morning type and extraverted are
evening type.
William Sheldon
Somatotyping (body typing)-theory that certain
body types associate with certain traits
1. Endomorph— plump, relaxed, jolly
(Santa Claus)
2. Ectomorph— high
strung and solitary
(Sherlock
Holmes)
3. Mesomorph— bold and physically
active (Superman)
The Trait Perspective
Type A
intense, driven, goal-oriented,
successful, task-oriented
Type B
laid back, easy-going, procrastinator
Evaluation of Trait Perspective



Doesn’t really explain personality, simply
describe the behaviors
Doesn’t describe the development of the
behaviors
Trait approaches generally fail to address
how issues such as motives, unconscious, or
beliefs about self affect personality
development
Evaluating the Trait Perspective
The Person-Situation Controversy
Walter Mischel (1968, 1984, 2004) points out that traits
may be enduring, but the resulting behavior in various
situations is different. Therefore, traits are not good
predictors of behavior.
We look for genuine personality traits that persist
over time and across situations.
If you consider friendliness a trait,
friendly people must act friendly
at different times and places.
Traits v. Situational Behavior (PersonSituation Controversy)
Trait theorists argue that behaviors from a situation
may be different, but average behavior remains the
same. Therefore, traits matter.
The Person-Situation Controversy
Traits are socially significant and influence our health,
thinking, and performance (Gosling et al., 2000).
Samuel Gosling
Consistency of Expressive Style
Expressive styles in speaking and gestures
demonstrate trait consistency.
Observers are able to judge people’s behavior and
feelings in as little as 30 seconds and in one
particular case as little as 2 seconds.
Barnum Effect

Barnum Effect
Believing descriptions from personality tests
are specifically tailored for the individual and
are given high accuracy ratings when in
reality results are vague and apply to wide
range of people
"There's a Sucker Born Every Minute"
Social-Cognitive Perspective
Bandura believes that
personality is the result
of an interaction that
takes place between a
person and their social
context.
Albert Bandura
Social Cognitive Perspective


Reciprocal determinism--model that explains
personality as the result of behavioral, cognitive,
and environmental interactions
Self-efficacy—belief that people have about their
ability to meet demands of a specific situation
Reciprocal Influences
The three factors, behavior, cognition, and environment,
are interlocking
determinants
of each other.
Bandura
called the process
of interacting
with our
environment reciprocal determinism.
Individuals & Environments
Specific ways in which individuals and
environments interact
Different people choose different
environments.
The school you attend and the
music you listen to are partly
based on your dispositions.
Our personalities shape how we
react to events.
Anxious people react to
situations differently than calm
people.
Our personalities shape
situations.
How we view and treat people
influences how they treat us.
Behavior
Behavior emerges from an interplay of external and
internal influences.
Personal Control
Social-cognitive psychologists emphasize our
sense of personal control, whether we control the
environment or the environment controls us.
External locus of control refers to the perception that
chance or outside forces beyond our personal control
determine our fate.
Internal locus of control refers to the
perception that we can control our own
fate.
Social-Cognitive Perspective

Learned Helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation
an animal or human learns when unable to
avoid repeated aversive events
Martin Seligman’s research in the late 1960s addressed the question of
how we react to repeated and unavoidable shocks or torture. In particular,
Seligman studied the ability of dogs to learn avoidance behaviors when
given an electric shock. He placed dogs into harnesses (much as Pavlov
had done) then gave them a series of shocks paired with a conditioned
stimulus (also similar to Pavlov’s experiment). He gave the dogs no
opportunity to escape the shock.
Martin Seligman:
Methodology and Results


Thought dogs would
learn to avoid shock
Dogs placed in
harness and given
shocks
Seligman: Methodology and Results


When able to avoid the shocks, the dogs cowered in the box
Hypothesis not confirmed
Learned Helplessness
Effect of inescapable shock on
avoidance learning
100
80
% of dogs
learning 60
avoidance 40
response
20
0
Control


Shocked
Dogs learned that they couldn’t control or avoid the shocks,
so didn’t even try to avoid them
Significant in the study of depression in humans
Learned Helplessness:
Implications
Learned helplessness is
related to depression
Nursing home studies
Totalitarian
governments
Learned Helplessness
When unable to avoid repeated adverse events an
animal or human learns helplessness.
Assessing Behavior in Situations

Assessing Behavior in Situations
the best means of predicting future behavior
is neither a personality test nor an
interviewer’s intuition. Rather, it is the
person’s past behavior pattern in similar
situations.
Evaluation of Social Cognitive Perspective




Well grounded in empirical, laboratory research
However, laboratory experiences are rather
simple and may not reflect the complexity of
human interactions
Ignores the influences of unconscious, emotions,
conflicts
Critics say that social-cognitive psychologists pay
a lot of attention to the situation and pay less
attention to the individual, his unconscious mind,
his emotions, and his genetics.
Positive Psychology and Humanistic
Psychology
Positive psychology, such as humanistic
psychology, attempts to foster human fulfillment.
Positive psychology, in addition, seeks positive
subjective well-being, positive character, and
positive social groups.
Martin Seligman
Exploring the Self

Spotlight Effect


overestimating others
noticing and evaluating
our appearance, performance, and blunders
Self Esteem

one’s feelings of high or low self-worth
Benefits of Self-Esteem
Maslow and Rogers argued that a successful life
results from a healthy self-image (self-esteem).
The following are two reasons why low selfesteem results in personal problems.
1.
2.
When self-esteem is deflated, we view ourselves and
others critically.
Low self-esteem reflects reality, our failure in meeting
challenges, or surmounting difficulties.
Exploring the Self

Possible Selves


Your possible selves include your visions of the
self you dream of becoming – the rich self, the
successful self, the loved and admired self.
They also include the self you fear becoming –
the unemployed self, the lonely self, the
academically failed self.
The Benefits of Self-Esteem

The Benefits of Self-Esteem
People who feel good about themselves have
fewer sleepless nights, succumb less easily
to pressures to conform, are less likely to use
drugs, are more persistent at difficult tasks,
are less shy and lonely, are less likely to see
rejection where none exists, and are just
plain happier.
Self-Serving Bias
We accept responsibility for good deeds and
successes more than for bad deeds and failures.
Defensive self-esteem is fragile and egotistic
whereas secure self-esteem is less fragile and less
dependent on external evaluation.
Exploring the Self

Individualism


giving priority to one’s own goals over group
goals and defining one’s identity in terms of
personal attributes rather than group
identifications
Collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one’s group (often
one’s extended family or work group) and defining
one’s identity accordingly
Culture & Self-Esteem
People maintain their self-esteem even with a low status by
valuing things they achieve and comparing themselves to
people with similar positions.
Culture and Self-Esteem

Culture and Self-Esteem
Ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and
women do NOT live lives of lower selfesteem.
They all report levels of happiness roughly
comparable to others.
Blacks have a slightly higher self-esteem
scores than Whites.
The Modern Unconscious Mind

Terror-Management Theory

Faith in one’s worldview and
the pursuit of self-esteem
provide protection against
a deeply rooted fear of death