Personality. Personality – an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Personality

•Personality – an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Freud and the Psychoanalytic perspective• Looking for the causes of unexplained

neurological disorders• Tried hypnosis and free-association (saying

whatever comes into your mind)• Freud’s theory is called psychoanalysis

The mind is an iceberg

Id

Superego

Ego Conscious mind

Unconscious mind

The power of the unconscious• According to Freud, our unconscious

motivations and desires, although we are unaware of them, have a powerful influence on us

• They express themselves in subtle ways: in our beliefs, habits, interactions, and even in our physical disorders

• Dreams and “Freudian slips” are the pathways to the unconscious

Freudian Slips• With a telescope, the details of the distant landscape were

easy to______________• The lid won’t stay on regardless of how much I __________• Bine Foddy• Videos

Freud and Personality

• Believed our personality is the result of our efforts to resolve the conflict between pleasure-seeking biological impulses and social restraints

• Id – seeks to satisfy basic drives (pleasure principle); like a newborn baby

• Ego – (reality principle) – reality sets in; seeks to gratify the Id’s impulses in socially acceptable ways

• Super Ego – voice of conscience. What is ideal? How should I behave? Strives for perfection

Id

Superego

Ego Conscious mind

Unconscious mind

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages

Stage Focus

Oral Pleasure centers on the mouth--(0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewingAnal Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder (18-36 months) elimination; coping with demands for

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

Latency Dormant sexual feelings(6 to puberty)Genital Maturation of sexual interests(puberty on)

•Oedipus complex•Identification•Fixation

Defense Mechanisms

•Anxiety is the result of the inner war between the Id and Super ego, so we come up with defense mechanisms

• Repression – gets rid of anxiety producing thoughts and feelings (but they come out in different ways)

• Regression – we go back to an earlier, more comfortable stage

• Reaction Formation – Makes unacceptable impulses look like their opposites. Ever initially disliked someone, then were attracted to them?

• Projection – attributes threatening impulses to others• Rationalization• Displacement – diverts sexual or aggressive impulses

toward an object or person that is more acceptable (taking it out on someone else)

Neo-Freudians•More emphasis on the conscious mind, less emphasis on sex and aggression• Alfred Adler- inferiority complex• Karen Horney – countered Freud’s

male-biased theory• Carl Jung- collective unconscious;

coined terms “introvert” and “extravert”

What have we gotten from Freud?•The unconscious is significant•Interactions with early childhood caregivers are important

•Some research confirms defense mechanisms

Projective Tests

•Thematic apperception test – shown a picture, make up a story

•Other tests: Draw a person, complete a sentence

•Rorschach inkblot test

Evaluating the Psychoanalytic perspective• Lots Freud got wrong; lots can’t be proven

• Repression?• Unconscious mind is very important

• #6 experiment• Terror-management theory – fear of death leads

us to pursue self-esteem, and deepens our faith in our own worldview

• False consensus effect – kinda like projection. We overestimate how often others behave and think like we do

Humanistic Perspective

•Self-reported feelings and experiences; personal growth

•Abraham Maslow – Studied healthy, creative people, living and dead (hierarchy of needs; self actualization)

• Carl Rodgers – People basically good; Unconditional Positive Regard; Self Concept (“who am I?” positive or negative)

• Genuine• Accepting• Empathic

Fig. 12-9, p. 488

Criticsims

•Subjective•Too individualistic •Are people basically good?

Trait Perspective

•Describes Personality traits•Myers-Briggs test•Introversion and extraversion•Big Five

Myers-Briggs types

• I = Introverted – Inner world• E = Extraverted – Outer world

• S = Sensing – Basic information• N = Intuition – Interpret meaning

• T = Thinking – Logic and consistency• F = Feeling – People and special circumstances

• J = Judging – Firm decisions• P = Perceiving – Open to new ideas and possibilities

Big Five Theory

The “Big Five” Personality FactorsTrait Dimension DescriptionEmotional StabilityCalm versus anxious(Neuroticism) Secure versus insecure

Self-satisfied versus self-pityingExtraversion Sociable versus retiring

Fun-loving versus sober Affectionate versus reserved

Openness Imaginative versus practicalPreference for variety versus preference for routineindependent versus conforming

Agreeableness Soft-hearted versus ruthlessTrusting versus suspicious

Helpful versus uncooperativeConscientiousness Organized versus disorganized

Careful versus carelessDisciplined versus impulsive

Extraversion

•Reverse: 6, 21, 31•Add: 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, 31, 36

Agreeableness

•Reverse: 2, 12, 27, 37•Add: 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27, 32, 37, 42

Conscientiousness

•Reverse: 8, 18, 23, 43•Add: 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28, 33, 38, 43

Neuroticism

•Reverse: 9, 24, 34•Add: 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, 29, 34, 39

Openness

•Reverse: 35, 41•Add: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 41, 44

You might be an introvert if…• You prefer one on one conversations to group interaction• You dislike small talk• You tend to prefer, quieter, softer music compared to other

people you know• You dislike conflict and argumentation• You are sensitive to caffeine, loud noises, strong smells etc. • You sometimes feel “overstimulated”• Meeting new people, especially in a large group setting, is

exhausting• You find yourself coming up with excuses not to go to a

party or large social event because you want to spend time alone/small group

Introversion and Extraversion• No difference in IQ between Introverts and Extraverts• In western cultures, Extraverts are often seen as more intelligent.

In Eastern cultures, Introverts are seen as more intelligent• Introversion correlates with higher SAT scores and higher grades

in high school and college• Introverts are better problem solvers and are more persistent• Introverts are more likely to be “highly sensitive” (noise study)• Extraverts make more money and hold more positions of power• Extraverts are more likely to commit adultery, and engage in

risky behaviors (gambling, drugs etc.)• Who’s a better leader?• Groups?

Person-situation controversy

•Are our traits stable, or do they depend on the context/situation?

•Rubber band theory

Consistency of Expressive Style•Thin slicing – tends to be very accurate

•Irrepressibility of expressiveness – even when people try to act a certain way, it isn’t natural

Social-Cognitive Perspective

• Albert Bandura• Behavior is the result of interactions between

thinking and the environment• Personal Control

• Internal Locus – They control their own destiny• External Locus – chance or fate

• Learned helplessness• Too many choices – can be bad; we may feel

regret over a choice

Optimism vs. Pessimism

•Optimism is good for health, but realism about the future can help us take action or avoid risks

•Blind optimism can lead to risky behaviors

• Ignorance makes us overconfident

Assessing Behavior in Situations

•The best predictor of future performance is past performance

The Self• Selves?• Spotlight Effect – people don’t notice us nearly as much

as we think they do• Clothes, public speaking

• Self-esteem – feeling of self-worth – cause or consequence?

• People whose self-esteem is damaged are more likely to put down others or show racial prejudice. They tend to be thin-skinned and judgmental

• Who commits the most violent crime?

Self-serving bias

• We accept more responsibility for our successes than our failures

• Most people see themselves as above average• Attractive vs. unattractive morphed faces

• Pride – High self-esteem + rejection/criticism causes people to lash out and act aggressively• Defensive and secure self-esteem• Less based on external evaluations

Name-Letter Effect

•Self-handicapping•Creates a no-lose situation for our self-esteem

•Correlated with lower self-esteem