Chapter 12: Personality Theory, Research, and Assessment

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Chapter 12 PersonalityTheory, Research, and
Assessment
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Defining PersonalityConsistency and
Distinctiveness

• Personality
• Refers to an individuals unique constellation of
  consistent behavioral traits
• The Five-Factor Model
• Extraversion (positive emotionality)
• Neuroticism (negative emotionality)
• Openness to experience
• Agreeableness
• Conscientiousness

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Extrovert
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Neurotic
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Openness
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Agreeableness
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Conscientiousness
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Psychodynamic Perspectives

• Freuds psychoanalytic theory
• Structure of personality
• Id - Pleasure principle
• Ego - Reality principle
• Superego - Morality
• Levels of awareness
• Conscious
• Unconscious
• Preconscious

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Psychodynamic Perspectives

• Freuds psychoanalytic theory
• Conflict
• Sex and Aggression
• Suppressed most often
• Anxiety
• Caused by a fear the id or superego will overtake
  you
• Defense Mechanisms
• Way to prevent us from feeling guilt or anxiety

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Why do we use defense mechanisms?
According to Freud, unconscious conflicts between
the id, ego, and superego sometimes lead to
anxiety. This discomfort may lead to the use of
defense mechanisms, which may temporarily relieve
anxiety.
Figure 12.3 Freuds model of personality dynamics
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Sublimination finding a socially appropriate
outlet for ids desires. ex Becoming an
MMA fighter to release aggression
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Freud on DevelopmentPsychosexual Stages

• Sexual physical pleasure
• Psychosexual stages
• Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital
• Fixation Excessive gratification or frustration
• Overemphasis on psychosexual needs during fixated
  stage

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Other Psychodynamic Theorists

• Carl Jung Analytical Psychology
• Personal and collective unconscious
• Archetypes emotionally charged universal images
  
• Introversion/Extroversion
• I am not a Jungian
  I do
  not want anybody to be a Jungian. I want
  people above all to be themselves

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Figure 12.4 Jungs vision of the collective
unconscious
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Other Psychodynamic Theorists

• Alfred Adler Individual Psychology
• Striving for superiority- most motivating
• Inferiority complex/overcompensation
• Birth order

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Evaluating Psychodynamic Perspectives

• Pros
• The unconscious
• The role of internal conflict
• The importance of early childhood experiences
• Cons
• Poor testability
• Inadequate empirical base
• Sexist views
• No predictive Value

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Trait Theory

• Major theoretical areas in the study of
  personality
• Gordon Allport
• Raymond Cattell
• Hans Eysenk
• Suggests that individual personalities are
  composed broad dispositions
• Lists a number of traits, such as outgoing, kind
  and even-tempered
• A History of Trait Theory

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Behavioral Perspectives

• Skinners views
• Conditioning and response tendencies
• Determinism behavior is fully determined by
  external forces
• Banduras views
• Social learning theory (social cognitive theory)
• Reciprocal determinism - combo
• Observational learning
• Models
• Self-efficacy

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Evaluating Behavioral Perspectives

• Pros
• Based on rigorous research
• Insights into effects of learning and
  environmental factors
• Cons
• Over-dependence on animal research
• Fragmented view of personality
• Dehumanizing views

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Humanistic Perspectives

• Carl Rogers
• Person Centered Theory
• Self-concept
• Conditional/unconditional positive regard
• Incongruence and anxiety
• Abraham Maslow
• Self-actualization theory
• Hierarchy of needs
• The healthy personality

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Figure 12.11 Maslows hierarchy of needs
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Figure 12.12 Maslows view of the healthy
personality
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Evaluating Humanistic Perspectives

• Pros
• Credited with highlighting the importance of a
  persons subjective view of reality
• Focused attention a healthy personality
• Gave us client-centered counseling
• Cons
• Lacks a strong research base
• Poor testability
• May be an overly optimistic view of human nature
  (Maslow had a hard time finding live people who
  had self-actualized)

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Biological Perspectives

• Eysenks theory
• 3 higher order traits
• Extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism
• Determined by genes
• Twin studies
• The Jim Twins
• The evolutionary approach
• Traits conducive to reproductive fitness

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Figure 12.14 Twin studies of personality
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Evaluating Biological Perspectives

• Pros
• Convincing evidence for genetic influence
• Cons
• Conceptual problems with heritability estimates
• Artificial carving apart of nature and nurture
• No comprehensive biological theory