PSY-CHAPTER 10

Personality=individual’s unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and

behaving.
Personality theory: Describes and explains how people are similar, different, and why
every individual is unique
Four major theoretical perspectives on personality
1- Psychoanalytic= Freud’s psychoanalysis stresses the importance of unconscious forces,
sexual and aggressive instincts, and early childhood experiences.
Humanistic perspective -- Social cognitive perspective --Trait perspective
Sigmund Freud= Physician and outstanding physiological researcher--Influenced by Joseph
Breuer: hypnosis; patients with psychological symptoms; free association--sexuality was
fundamental human motive and aggression was second powerful human instinct
Free association=the patient spontaneously reports all thoughts, feelings, and mental
images as they come to mind
Dreams=Manifest content (surface meaning) --Latent content (true, unconscious
meaning)
Psychoanalysis is both an approach to therapy and a theory of personality.
Emphasized unconscious motivation=behavior lies in unconscious mind
Saw personality and behavior as the result of a constant interplay among conflicting
psychological forces
Psychological forces operate at three different levels of awareness:
1=Conscious=immediate awareness 2=Preconscious=information can immediately be
made conscious 3=Unconscious= thoughts, feelings difficult to make conscious
Structure of Personality
Instinctual drives present at birth --Does not distinguish reality from fantasy --Operates
according to pleasure principle --Motive to obtain pleasure and avoid discomfort --immune to
logic
Ego=conscious rational component of personality -- Understands reality and logic -- Is
most in touch with the demands of the external world
Reality principle= ability to postpone gratification in accordance with demands of
external world
 Superego=Partly conscious, self-evaluative, moralistic component of personality -- Is
formed through the internalization of parental and societal rules -- At age 5 or 6,
child develops an internal, parental voice that is partly conscious -- Responsible for guilt
Ego defense mechanism= 1. If demands of superego threaten to overwhelm the ego,
anxiety results -- 2. If a realistic solution is not possible, the ego may temporarily reduce anxiety
through ego defense mechanisms -- 3. Using unconscious self-deceptions, the ego can maintain
an integrated sense of self while searching for a realistic solution to a conflict between the id
and the superego -- 4. Repression is the most fundamental ego defense mechanism -- 5. The
short-term use of defense mechanisms can be helpful; long-term use is problematic.
Psychosexual stages= age-related developmental periods, and each stage represents a
different focus of the id’s sexual energies.
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages = Age-related developmental periods in which the child’s
sexual urges are focused on different areas of the body –determine adult personality
during the first 5 years of life (oral-mouth, anal-anus, phallic-genitals, latency-sexual
impulses with friends, and genital-also relationships)
Fixation: Unresolved Developmental Conflicts= At each psychosexual stage, the child is
faced with a developmental conflict that must be successfully resolved -- if not, leads to
frustration or overindulgence in stage’s expression of pleasurable feelings -- If
frustrated, child will be left with feelings of unmet needs characteristic of that stage.
Oedipus Complex= Boys= Confrontation with father for the affections of mother -- Boy feels
hostility and jealousy toward his father -- Realizes that father is more physically powerful
To resolve, boy uses identification =imitates and internalizes father’s values, attitudes,
mannerisms.
Girls= Little girl discovers that little boys have a penis and that she does not -- Feels a sense of
deprivation and loss—penis envy -- Attempts to take her mother’s place with her father; she
also identifies with her mother
Latency (5 years–puberty) = Because the Oedipus complex causes anxiety, sexual urges of boys
and girls become repressed. -- Children desire to associate with same-sex peers
Genital Stage (puberty and older)= Final resolution of the Oedipus complex in adolescence --
Incestuous urges start to resurface; they are prohibited by the superego and societal restriction
Neo-Freudians= followed Freud in stressing the importance of the unconscious and early
childhood, but they developed their own personality theories
Disagreed with= behavior was primarily motivated by sexual urges -- personality is
fundamentally determined by early childhood experiences -- Freud’s generally pessimistic view
of human nature and society
Carl Jung Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious = People motivated by more general
psychic energy to achieve growth --Collective unconscious based on human collective
evolutionary history (archetypes, anima and animus) -- Mental images of universal human
instincts, themes, and preoccupations
Karen Horney Basic Anxiety and “Womb Envy” = Cultural and social factors important in
personality development-- Anxiety is related to security and social relationships. -- Three
patterns of behavior an individual use to defend against basic anxiety: Moving toward, against,
or away from other people
(women envy men’s social status, men envy women’s childbearing capacity)
Alfred Adler Feelings of Inferiority and Striving for Superiority= striving for superiority: arises
from universal feelings of inferiority experienced during childhood -- These feelings motivate
people to compensate for real or imagined weaknesses: emphasize talents and abilities;
working hard to improve themselves
Freud and the Psychoanalytic Perspective on Personality
Strengths= Unconscious nature of mental life -- Critical influence of early experiences on
interpersonal relationships and psychological adjustment -- differences in ability to
regulate impulses, emotions, and thoughts toward adaptive and socially acceptable
ends
Limitations= Inadequacy of evidence -- Problems with testability – Sexism
(The humanistic perspective emphasizes free will, self-awareness, and psychological growth)
Third Force=opposed to psychoanalysis and behaviorism.
people as being innately good -- Focused on healthy personality --Doubted that
laboratory research with rats and pigeons accurately reflected human nature
Humanistic psychology (theory of personality)= The theoretical viewpoint on
personality that generally emphasizes: The inherent goodness of people -- Human potential --
Self-actualization-- self-concept, and --Healthy personality development
Carl Rogers= Actualizing tendency: the innate drive to maintain and enhance the human
organism
Self-concept: set of perceptions and beliefs that you hold about yourself --People are
motivated in accordance with self-concept-- produces need for positive regard
Conditional positive regard= you will be valued and loved only if you behave in a way
that is acceptable to others =Conditional love
 Unconditional positive regard= you will be valued and loved even if you don’t conform
to the standards and expectations of others= Unconditional love
Humanistic Perspective on Personality
Strengths= Made contributions to psychotherapy, counseling, education, and parenting
-- self-concept has become widely accepted
Limitations= Difficult to test or validate scientifically -- Based on philosophical
assumptions or clinical observations rather than on empirical research -- too optimistic,
minimizing some of the more destructive aspects of human nature
Social cognitive perspective= stresses conscious thought processes, self-regulation, and the
importance of situational influences –sense of self can vary – rely on experimental findings
Albert Bandura’s theory of personality= Emphasizes the importance of observational learning,
--Conscious cognitive processes-- Social experiences-- Self-efficacy beliefs, and reciprocal
determinism (interaction of behavioral, cognitive, and environmental factors)
Self-efficacy: the beliefs that people have about their ability to meet the demands of a specific
situation; feelings of self-confidence
Social Cognitive Perspective on Personality
Strengths= Well-grounded in empirical, laboratory research -- Major impact on the study of
personality -- Emphasizes the self-regulation of behavior
Limitations= Laboratory experiences simple and may not reflect the complexity of human
interactions in real world --Influences of the unconscious, emotions, and conflicts downplayed
Diametrically opposed views of human nature
Freud= Pessimistic; essence of human nature is destructive -- Aggressive instinct is
innate, persistent, and pervasive.
Rogers = Human nature is characterized as positive, forwardmoving, constructive,
realistic, trustworthy. --With choice, human organism naturally gravitates toward
positive growth for self and society.
The Humanistic Perspective on Personality = Emphasizes free will, self-awareness, and
psychological growth , inherent goodness of people, human potential, selfactualization
Trait theories of personality focus on identifying, describing, and measuring individual
differences.
Trait= a relatively stable, enduring predisposition to behave in a certain way
 Trait theory: focuses on identifying, describing, and measuring individual differences in
behavioral predispositions
Trait theorists view the person as being a unique combination of personality
characteristics or attributes, called traits
Surface traits = Characteristics or attributes that can be inferred from observable
behavior
Source traits= Most fundamental dimensions of personality --Broad, basic traits that are
universal and relatively few in number
Raymond Cattell= Proposed 16 personality factors --Used a statistical technique called
factor analysis to identify them -- Developed the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire
(abbreviated 16PF)
Hans Eysenck= Proposed simpler model of universal source traits with three different
source traits= introversion–extraversion, neuroticism–emotional stability, psychoticism --
Believed that individual differences in personality are due to biological differences among
people
McCrae and Costa: Five-Factor Model= Many trait researchers propose that essential
building blocks of personality can be described in terms of five basic personality dimensions --
Tested in more than 50 cultures-- Probably biologically based as evolution found these factors
adaptive --Traits seem stable over lifespan
(Openness to experience-- Conscientiousness –Extraversion-- Agreeableness –Neuroticism)
Personality traits
Behavior genetics= Interdisciplinary field that studies the effects of genes and heredity
on behavior
Basic research strategy= Comparison of degree of difference among subjects with their
degree of genetic relatedness
Evidence for genetic influence= Extraversion and neuroticism and Twin studies
(People who were high in extraversion showed higher levels of brain activation in response to
positive images--- People who score high in neuroticism show more activation in response to
negative )
Animal’s personalities
Studies have found that animals exhibit personality traits, defined as groups of behaviors that:
tend to cluster together, remain relatively stable across time and situations, and vary among
the individuals in a species.
Evaluating the Trait Perspective on Personality
Strengths= Psychologists generally agree that people can be described and compared
in terms of basic personality traits.
Limitations= Human personality not really explained -- Explanation of how or why
individual differences develop not explained

Psychological tests: assess a person’s abilities, aptitudes, interests, or personality on the basis
of a systematically obtained sample of behavior
Any psychological test is useful insofar as it achieves two basic goals: Accurately and
consistently reflects a person’s characteristics on some dimension-- Predicts a person’s future
psy behavior
Projective test: type of personality test that involves a person’s interpretation of an ambiguous
image --Used to assess unconscious motives, conflicts, psychological defenses, and personality
traits
Rorschach Inkblot Test: projective test using inkblots, by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach
in 1921
Thematic apperception test (TAT): a projective personality test, developed by Henry Murray
and colleagues, that involves creating stories about ambiguous scenes --The person is thought
to project his own motives, conflicts, and other personality characteristics
Strengths= Provision of qualitative information about individual’s psychological
functioning
Limitations= Failure to produce consistent results --Poor at predicting future behavior
Self report
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): a self-report inventory that assesses
personality characteristics and psychological disorders; used to assess both normal and
disturbed populations
California Psychological Inventory (CPI): a self-report inventory that assesses personality
characteristics in normal populations
Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF): a selfreport inventory developed by Raymond
Cattell that generates a personality profile with ratings on 16 trait dimensions
Strengths = Standardization-- Use of established norms
Weaknesses= Deliberate deception-- Set way of responding --Inaccuracy in self-
behavior judgment
Possible selves are highly personalized, vivid, futuristic images of the self that reflect hopes,
fears, and fantasies.