General Psychology (PY110)

1. General Psychology (PY110) Chapter 8 Personality Theories and Assessment

2. Personality A person’s internally based characteristic ways of acting and thinking An enduring trait or characteristic such as extroversion or introversion

3. Freudian Classical Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality • Developed by Sigmund Freud inthe late nineteenth century • Freud was a neurologist • Had patients whose symptomscould not be explained medically • Discovered that physical problems could have a mental cause (Mind/Body Connection) • Believed that people are driven to seek pleasure (sex) and avoid pain (aggression)

4. Freud’s Three Levels of Awareness

6. Freud’s Three-Part Personality Structure • The conflict between Id and Superego anxiety • These can be temporarily resolved by Ego defense mechanisms

7. Id Superego Conflict

8. Freud’s Defense Mechanisms

9. Freud’s Defense Mechanisms

10. Unhealthy Personalities • Freud believed that: • Defense mechanisms can provide temporary relief from id < > superego conflict • Can also cause ‘unhealthy personalities’ when we become too dependent upon them • Usually when the id or superego is unusually strong or the ego unusually weak

11. Freud’s Psychosexual Stage Theory • Developed to explain personality development, divided childhood into 5 stages • Each stage has an erogenous zonewhere the id’s pleasure-seeking tendencyis focused • Fixationoccurs when excessive or insufficient gratification occurs during a stage • This can impact their behavior and personality traits in later life

12. Freud’s Psychosocial States of Personality Development

13. Anal Stage - Potty Training • Parents try to get the child to have self-control during toilet training • Harsh toilet training can result in • Child getting even by withholding bowel movements leading to an anal-retentive personality • Orderliness, neatness, stinginess, and obstinacy • Child rebels and has bowel movements whenever and wherever leads to an anal-expulsive personality • Conceit, suspicion, excessive ambition

14. Phallic Stage Conflicts • Oedipus conflict: little boy becomes sexually attracted to his mother and fears the father (his rival) • 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) • Both conflicts can result in difficulty in finding an appropriate partner later in life

15. 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 Horneyand theNeed for Security

16. Carl Jung’s Collective Unconscious • Jung proposed two main personality attitudes, extraversion and introversion • Jung also proposed four functions/styles of gathering information • Sensing is the function where 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

17. Alfred Adler’s Striving for Superiority • Saw main motivation as “striving for superiority” overcoming a sense of inferiority that we feel as infants • A healthy person learns to cope with these feelings, becomes competent, and develops a sense of self-esteem • Inferiority complex is the strong feeling of inferiority felt by those who never overcome this initial feeling of inferiority

18. Karen Horney and The Need for Security • Focused on dealing with our need for security • If security is not achieved then three neurotic personality patterns could develop • Moving toward peopleA compliant, submissive person • Moving against peopleAn aggressive, domineering person • Moving away from peopleA detached, aloof person

19. The Humanistic Approach to Personality • Abraham Maslow is considered the father of the humanistic movement • Humanists emphasizes conscious free will in one’s actions, the uniqueness of the individual person, and personal growth • Maslow studied the lives of very healthy and creative people to develop his theory of personality • Maslow’s hierarchy of needsarranges the needs that motivate our behavior, from the strongest needs at the bottom to the weakness needs at the top

20. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • The needs of each level must be reasonably met to progress to next

21. Self-Actualization • Maslow saw Self-Actualization as the peak of human achievement • Characteristics of self-actualized people • Accepting of themselves, others, and the nature of world • Need privacy and onlya few close, emotional relationships • Being autonomous and independent, democratic, and very creative • Having peak experiences – Experiencing whatever you are doing as fully as possible

22. Roger’s Self Theory • Carl Rogers dealt with college students with adjustment problems • Believed that people need positive regard– to be accepted by and have the affection of others • Our parents set up conditions of worth - behaviors and attitudes for which gave us positive regard • Unconditional positive regard – acceptance and approval without conditions • Empathy from others, and having genuine respect for your own feelings is necessary for self-actualization • Note that neither Maslow nor Roger’s theories are research-based

23. Unconditional Positive Regard? “Just remember son, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose – Unless you want Daddy’s love.”

24. Personality Assessment • Personality tests are used to aid in diagnosing people’s problems, counseling, and making personnel decisions • There are two main types: PersonalityInventories ProjectiveTests

25. Personality Inventories • Designed to measure multiple traits of personality, and in some cases, disorders • Results are objective and tests can be administered by anyone

26. MMPI • Minnesota MultiphasicPersonality Inventory • Uses “True/False/Cannot Say” questions • “I like to cook” • “I like to speak in public” • Measures abnormal personality, with 10 clinical scales including depression and schizophrenia • Also includes questions designed to catch lies and people trying to cover up their problems • Used worldwide – translated into over 100 languages

27. 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) • Tests are highly subjective andcan only be administered by trained mental healthprofessionals

28. Rorschach Inkblots Test • 10 symmetric inkblots which the examiner asks “what do you see?” then asks for explanation of interpretation. • 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

29. Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT) • 20 cards with ambiguousblack and white pictures • Test taker asked to make upa story for each card • What happened before, is happening now, 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