Psychology

1
Psychology

• Ch. 11
• Personality Theory

2
Elements of Personality

• Characteristic-aspects of personality must occur
  in many or all people to be of much interest and
  use shyness
• Consistent-features must occur repeatedly
• Unique-no two personalities are alike

3
What personality theorists try to do

• Provide a way of organizing the many
  characteristics you know about yourself and other
  people
• Explain the differences between individuals

• Explore how people conduct their lives
• Determine how life can be improved
• Make systematic theories about human behavior

4
Freud

• Every personality has a large unconscious
• Id-at birth, what the person wants to do
• Ego-2-3 yrs., concerned with planning what the
  person can do
• Superego-concerned with what the person should do
• What two parts come into conflict?

5
Defense Mechanism

• Defend the ego from experiencing anxiety about
  failing in its task

• They relieve intolerable confusion, help people
  to weather intense emotional crisis, and give the
  individuals time to work out problems they might
  not be able to solve if they allowed themselves
  to feel the pressures at work

6
Repression

• Pushing painful memories or unacceptable thoughts
  and motives that causes the ego too much anxiety

7
Projection

• Inner feelings are thrown outside
• Saying that people dont like you, when in
  reality you may not like yourself.

8
Reaction formation

• Involves replacing an unacceptable feeling or
  urge with its opposite
• Women who are very strong but lessen their power
  to please the men in her life

9
Regression

• Going back to an earlier and less mature pattern
  of behavior, usually when under a lot of
  pressure, act in ways that worked for them before
• Throwing temper tantrums

10
Displacement

• Occurs when the object of an unconscious wish
  provokes anxiety
• Wanting to hit your father out of anger but hit
  your brother instead

11
Carl Jung

• Freuds closest associate
• Stopped talking to each other b/c they disagreed
  on personality

12
Carl Jung

• More positive view on human nature
• Believed that people try to develop their
  potential as well as to handle their instinctual
  urges

• Personal unconscious vs. collective unconscious
• Collective unconscious-storehouse of instincts,
  urges

13
Carl Jung

• Everyone has archetypes
• Archetypes reflect common experiences of humanity
  with mothers, fathers, nature, war, etc.

14
Alfred Adler

• Inferiority complex-feelings of inadequancy
• Everyone tries to compensate for their
  inadequancies

• Believed that the way parents treat their
  children influences the styles of life they
  choose.

15
Behaviorism

• Individuals differ in their learning experiences,
  they acquire different behaviors and hence
  different personalities
• B.F. Skinner

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B.F. Skinner

• Focused on what caused a person to act in a
  specific way
• Contingencies of reinforcement-occurrence of
  reward or punishment following a particular
  behavior

• Behavior changes with rewards and punishments

17
Albert Bandura

• Personality is acquired not only by direct
  reinforcement of behavior but also by
  observational learning or imitation.
• Acquire new behaviors by watching other people.

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Cognitive Theory

• Based on analysis of our own overt analysis

19
Humanistic Psychology

• Stress our relative freedom from instinctual
  pressures (compared to other animals) and our
  ability to create and live by personal standards
• Founded on the belief that all human beings
  strive for self-actualization

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Self-Actualization

• The realization of our potentialities as unique
  human beings
• Awareness of and respect for ones own
• Accepting responsibilities of freedom and
  commitment
• Desire to become more authentic
• Ability to grow

21
Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

• Fundamental needs
• Physiological needs-hunger, thirst, and sex drives

• Psychological needs
• To be accepted and belong

Self-actualization-the need to fulfill ones
unique potential