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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
• 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
Social Cognitive Theory
• Bandura's Reciprocal Determinism and Self-Efficacy
• Rotter's Locus of Control
Self-Efficacy
• One's perception of personal effectiveness
• One of Bandura's personal/cognitive factors
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?
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 CPI
• An MMPI-like test designed for normal individuals
• The MMPI is more useful for clinical purposes, the CPI for normal populations
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
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)
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 othersDenial 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 about that tomorrow.""I refuse to even think about
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 want to make you feel inferior.""I wasn't playing with 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 fire-
crackers, 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