Trait Theories
• Explain differences between people in
terms of stable personality traits
• Modern day psychologists have found
5 personality dimensions that span
cultures
The 5 Factor Theory
• Extraversion
• Neuroticism
• Conscientiousness
• Agreeableness
• Openness to Experience
The 5 Factor Theory
Extraversion
Outgoing
Withdrawn
Neuroticism
Stable
Unstable
The 5 Factor Theory
Agreeableness
Low
High
Conscientiousness
Undependable
Dependable
The 5 Factor Theory
Openness to Experience
Closed
Open
The 5 Factor Theory
• Helpful in predicting general trends in
behavior
• Too general to predict behavior in a
specific situation
Personality & Heredity
Heritability can be calculated by
comparing traits of twins reared
together and twins reared apart
Heritability, Big 5 Traits
(Minnesota Study)
Heritability, Extraversion
(Minnesota Study)
Heritability, Neuroticism
(Minnesota Study)
Heritability, Conscientiousness
(Minnesota Study)
Heritability, Agreeableness
(Minnesota Study)
Heritability, Openness
(Minnesota Study)
Behaviorist Theory
Behavior determined by:
• Reward
• Punishment
• Classical conditioning
Social Cognitive Theory
• Bandura's Reciprocal Determinism
and Self-Efficacy
• Rotter's Locus of Control
Reciprocal Determinism
Environment
Personal
Cognitive
Factors
Behavior
Self-Efficacy
• One's perception of personal
effectiveness
• One of Bandura's personal/cognitive
factors
Self-Efficacy
Belief
you will do
well
Greater
effort &
persistence
Success
Self-Efficacy
Belief
you will do
poorly
Less
effort &
persistence
Failure
Internal Locus
Belief you
control your fate
Taking
action
Optimism
about the
future
Internal Locus
Belief you don’t
control your fate
Doing
nothing
Pessimism
about the
future
The Person:
Beliefs and Behaviors
• Humanistic psychology
– Abraham Maslow
• Self-actualization
• Oceanic feelings (flow)
– Carl Rogers
• Client-centered therapy
• Unconditional positive regard
The World:
Social Influences on Personality
• Birth order
• Peer relationships: Personality development by
peer pressure
• Sex differences in personality: Nature and nurture
• Culture and personality: Are there national
personalities?
Assessment
• Observation
• Interviews
• Rating Scales
• Inventories
• Projective Tests
Problems
• Observations, interviews, & rating
scales suffer from reliability problems
& the halo effect
• Halo Effect:
Assuming that someone with one
favorable trait has many others as well
The MMPI-2
• The most widely-used inventory
• Consists of 567 true-false questions
The CPI
• An MMPI-like test designed for
normal individuals
• The MMPI is more useful for clinical
purposes, the CPI for normal
populations
Projective Tests
• The Rorschach Inkblot Test
• The Thematic Apperception Test
(TAT)
The Rorschach
Subject tells what each blot looks like
and what aspect of the blot triggered
that response
The Rorschach
• Responses scored on use of parts vs.
wholes, movement, content, use of color
• Criticized for lack of reliability, low
validity (inability to predict behavior)
The TAT
• Consists of 19 vague or ambiguous
drawings
• Person describes what is happening
in each
The TAT
A TAT-like picture:
Criticized for low reliability & for
reflecting temporary states rather
than long-term traits
Sentence Completion
• A projective test requiring completion
of open-ended sentences
• May be more reliable than the TAT
Magazine Quizzes
• "Personality" tests in popular magazines often use
vague terms and rely on the the "Barnum Effect"
"Always have a little something for everybody.” (Famed
circus owner P.T. Barnum)
• In this case involves having everyone's
assessment be vague (so it fits) but positive (so
you'll believe it)
Sigmund Freud
Assumptions:
• Traits transcend
situations
• Personality formed
in childhood
Freud’s Model
Freudian Theory
Personality components
• Id: Concerned with drive satisfaction, provides
the motive power; follows the pleasure
principle (the horse)
• Ego: Rational thought; controls & channels id;
follows the reality principle (the rider)
• Superego: Oversees balance between ego & id;
internalized parental control; much like a
conscience
Freudian Theory
• The Libido: The sexual life energy that drives
the id; other researchers dispute Freud's sexual
emphasis
• The Conscious: Consists of things you are
currently aware of; constantly changing
• The Preconscious: Consists of things in long
term memory that influence behavior; could be
retrieved if desired
• The Subconscious: Consists of things you're
unaware of but that influence you; the primary
personality component
Freudian Theory
The Unconscious:
• The primary personality component
• Consists of things you're unaware of but that
influence you
• Can't be tapped directly
• Reflected in slips of the tongue, dreams, etc.
Freudian Theory: Stages
Psychosexual Stages
(source of libido satisfaction)
Oral (0-1 year)
Anal (1-3 years)
Phallic (3-6 years)
Latency (6-puberty)
Genital (from puberty)
Freudian Theory: Stages
Oral Stage:
• Libido gratification comes from oral
exploration of the world
• Infant learns to trust in others, esp. for food
Oral Personality:
• Problems in the oral stage supposedly lead to
pessimism about the world, hostility or
passivity
Freudian Theory: Stages
Anal Stage:
• Kids learn about delay of gratification
• Kids gain pleasure and libido satisfaction
from being in control
Anal Personality:
• Problems in the anal stage supposedly lead
to either excessive orderliness or
excessive messiness
Freudian Theory: Stages
Phallic Stage:
• Freud believed sex-role identification occurred
• Mechanisms included castration anxiety (boys) &
penis envy (girls)
Phallic Personality:
• Problems in the phallic stage supposedly lead to
sex-role identification problems, promiscuity,
vanity, or excessive chastity
Freudian Theory: Stages
Latency Stage:
• A time of focus on achievement and mastery
of skills
• Libido is channeled into mastery activities
• Freud thought little of interest happened here
• Others have argued the sense of self-esteem
is established here
Freudian Theory: Stages
Genital Stage:
• The time of mature personality, intimacy
with others
• Libido satisfied by adult- type sexual
activity
Freudian Theory: Defense
Defense Mechanisms
• Methods for dealing with anxiety
• Freud thought some more mature than others
Denial
Repression
Projection
Formal Reaction
Rationalization
Regression
Displacement
Sublimation
Denial
• Refusing to accept that the feeling is
present or that the event occurred
• A very primitive mechanism
• Example: preschoolers will convince
themselves they didn't do something they
wish they hadn't
"Firecrackers? No, I never
use firecrackers!"
Repression
• Relegating anxiety- causing thoughts to
the unconscious, refusing to think about
them
• Example:
Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind -"I won't think about that now, I'll think
refuse to even think about
about that"Itomorrow."
firecrackers."
Projection
• Attributing one's undesirable traits or
actions to others, so they become the
problem instead of you
• Example from a failing student:
"I'm not worried about me, but I'd hate to
see Ellen flunk--she's so fragile"
"Okay, I played with 1, but Joe's
always playing with firecrackers."
Reaction Formation
• Taking actions opposite to one's feelings
in order to deny the reality of the feelings
• Freud thought many people fervently
pursuing a cause were using this
mechanism to hide their true feelings
"Hi! I'm the president of the local
anti-fireworks club!"
Rationalization
• Creating intellectually - acceptable
arguments for thoughts or behavior to hide
the actual anxiety - causing impulses
• Examples:
– "I only read Playboy for the articles."
– "I didn't get an A on my paper because I
didn't"I want
makewith
you
feel inferior."
wasn't to
playing
fireworks:
I was
testing them to see if they're safe."
Regression
• Reverting to the comfort of behaviors of
an earlier stage of development in order to
cope
• Example:
Children who crawl around the floor and
produce baby talk when a new baby enters
the family "I couldn't be using firecrackers, I'm too little."
Displacement
• Substituting a less-threatening object for
the subject of the hostile or sexual impulse
• A person mad at his boss might attack an
underling instead--a person like the boss
in some ways, but not as anxiety
provoking
"I'm not afraid of firecrackers. I'm afraid of
what will happen if mom finds out."
Sublimation
• The most mature mechanism
• Redirecting anxiety-causing impulses into
socially acceptable actions
• Example:
Dealing with anxiety over a final by
engaging in vigorous physical activity
"My puppet show is about kids
who use firecrackers."
Problems with Freud
• Too general: Explains everything after the fact, but
predicts nothing beforehand
• Key portions are contrary to recent data: There is no
evidence for penis envy, castration anxiety, the latency
period
• Biased against females: Freud's negative attitudes
towards women colored his entire theory
• Relies on too many constructs: Relies on the existence
of hypotheticals such as the id, ego, & superego
Contributions
• The discovery of unconscious
processes
• His emphasis on childhood influences
on adult behavior
Neo-Freudians
Former students of Freud who broke away from
him (often acrimoniously) to create their own
theories
– Carl Jung
– Alfred Adler
– Karen Horney
Carl Jung
Personality Theory:
• Ego
• Personal Unconscious: Like a
combination of Freud's preconscious and
unconscious
• Collective Unconscious: Inherited
tendencies to respond in a particular way
(archetypes) shared by all humans
Alfred Adler
• Humans motivated by the
need to overcome
inferiority and strive for
significance
• Inferiority Complex:
Adler's term for feelings
of inferiority that
interfere with
development
Karen Horney
• Stressed need for safety
& satisfaction
• Childhood frustration
may lead to
development of basic
anxiety & neurosis
Tyranny of the Should: Horney's term for focusing
on an unrealistic, perfect self-image that leads to
dissatisfaction