Chapter 12

Personality: Theory, Research and Assessment

Personality

An individual’s characteristic pattern of

Thinking FeelingBehaving

Personality traits

Durable dispositiona characteristic pattern of behavior

a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports

Empirically derived test

a test developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups

Factor analysis

The Big Five

Costa and McCrae1.Openness to experience2.Conscientiousness3.Extroversion4.Agreeableness5.Neuroticism

The Big Five

Costa and McCrae NEO Inventory

Personality Inventory

a questionnaire (often with true-false items) used to assess selected personality traits

The Trait Perspective

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)most widely researched and clinically used

developed to identify emotional disorders

MMPI

Validity scalesIs it measuring what it is intending to measure?

Clinical scalesPsychological disorders

MMPI: Validity scales

Cannot say (?)= evasiveLie scale (L)= present

oneself in a favorable way Infrequency scale (F)= rare

answer, indicates confusion or faking illness

Subtle defensiveness (K)= protecting self

MMPI: Clinical scales

Hypochondriasis= body complaints, somatoform

Depression= moody, pessimistic, distressed

Hysteria= denial, repression, dependence

MMPI: Clinical scales

Psychopathic deviation = antisocial personality disorder

Masculinity/femininityParanoiaPsychasthenia= anxiety

MMPI: Clinical scales

Schizophrenia= delusions/hallucinations, withdrawn

Hypomania= manic episode

Social introversion= shy

MMPI: Clinical scales

Pages 511-514Profile

The Psychoanalytic Perspective

Freud childhood experience

unconscious motivations influence personality

Psychoanalysis

techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Free association

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious

person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

Dream analysis

Interpreting and finding meaning in dreams

Different levels Latent contentManifest content

Personality Structure

Freud’s idea of the mind’s structure

Id

Superego

Ego Conscious mind

Unconscious mind

The Psychoanalytic Perspective

UnconsciousMostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories

Not in our awareness

Personality Structure

Idunconsciousbasic sexual and aggressive drives

pleasure principleThe little devil on your shoulder

Personality Structure

SUPERegoIDEALS and standards for judgement

Personality Structure

Egomediates among the demands of the id and the superego

operates on the reality principle

Personality Development

Psychosexual Stagesthe childhood stages of development during which the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

Personality Development

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages

Stage Focus

Oral Pleasure centers on the mouth--(0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewing

Anal Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder (18-36 months) elimination; coping with demands for

control

Phallic Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with (3-6 years) sexual feelings

Latency Dormant sexual feelings(6 to puberty)

Genital Maturation of sexual interests(puberty on)

Personality Development

Identificationchildren incorporate their parents’ values into their superegos

Fixation Unresolved conflict

Personality Development

Oedipus Complexa boy’s sexual desires for mom and feelings of jealousy and hatred for dad

Electra Complexa girl’s sexual desires for dad and feelings of jealousy and hatred for mom

Defense Mechanisms

the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Briar Patch questions!

Defense Mechanisms

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, where some psychic energy remains fixated

Defense Mechanisms

Reaction Formation defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites

Defense Mechanisms

Projection defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Defense Mechanisms

Rationalization defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions

Defense Mechanisms

Displacementshifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

Concept check 12.1

Identifying defense mechanisms

Projective Tests

a personality test that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Rorschach Inkblot Test

Projective Tests

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

Projective Tests

Rorschach Inkblot Test a set of 10 inkblots designed by Hermann Rorschach

seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

Neo-Freudians

Carl JungAnalytical psychologyEmphasized the collective unconscious and archetypes

Neo-Freudians

Alfred AdlerIndividual psychologyImportance of childhood social tension and birth order

Neo-Freudians

Alfred AdlerStriving for superiorityCompensationInferiority complex

Neo-Freudians

Karen HorneyFeminist perspectivePenis envy as symbolic

Womb envy

Evaluating Psychodynamic theory

1.Poor testability 2.Inadequate evidence3.Sexism4.Don’t throw the baby

out with the bath water!

Behaviorists

1.Skinner: operant conditioning

2.Bandura: Observational learning Social cognitive theory

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Social-Cognitive Perspectiveviews behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons and their social context

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Reciprocal Determinism the interacting influences between personality and environmental factors

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Mischel and ShodaPerson X situationExample:

Niki is consistently quiet in class

Niki is consistently talkative with her friends

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Self-efficacyOne’s belief about one’s ability to perform behaviors

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Internal Locus of Control the perception that one controls one’s own fate

External Locus of Control the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate

Seligman

Not discussed in detail in your book, take good notes!

Learned Helplessness OptimismPositive Psychology

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Learned Helplessness the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Learned Helplessness

Uncontrollablebad events

Perceivedlack of control

Generalizedhelpless behavior

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Positive Psychology the scientific study of optimal

human functioning aims to discover and promote

conditions that enable individuals and communities to thrive

Humanistic Perspective

focus on growth and fulfillment of individuals

Maslow

Rogers

Humanistic Perspective

Self-Actualizationthe motivation to fulfill one’s potential

“Be all that you can be”

Humanistic Perspective

Maslow’s hierarchy of needsFigure 12.11Page 498

Humanistic Perspective

Roger’s client-centered therapy

Focus on unconditional positive regard

Humanistic Perspective

Unconditional Positive Regardan attitude of total acceptance toward another person

Concept check 12.2

Recognizing key concepts in personality theories

Biological perspectives

1.Eysenck’s theory2.Behavioral genetics3.Evolutionary

approach

Eysenck’s theory

1.Genetics => personality2.Three higher order

traits1.Extraversion2.Neuroticism3.Psychoticism

Behavior genetics

Empirical research1.Twins2.Minnesota study3.Identical twins more

alike than fraternal twins

Behavior genetics

1.Are identical twins treated more alike too?

2.Shared family environment still has influence

Evolutionary approach

1.Natural selection favors specific traits

2.Buss suggests Big Five factors more adaptive (think Survivor!)

Big Five

What are the Big Five factors?

The Big Five

1.Openness to experience

2.Conscientiousness3.Extroversion4.Agreeableness5.Neuroticism

Evolutionary approach

Think Survivor… “Who will make a good

member of my coalition?”

“Who can I depend on?” “Who will share?”

Concept check 12.3

Who said this?

Approaches to Personality

1.Psychodynamic2.Behavioral3.Humanistic4.Biological

Review pages 504-505

Approaches to Personality

Don’t forget trait and social-cognitive

Approaches to Personality

You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of each approach as well

Don’t forget

1.Contemporary empirical approaches

2.Culture and personality3.Understanding

personality assessment4.Hindsight

Featured Study

Can rooms really have personality?

Featured Study

Can rooms really have personality?

1.Findings suggest rooms do indicate personality

2.Bedrooms better predictors than offices