Announcements Extra Credit due November 8 Personality Enduring patterns of how people adapt to the world Characteristic style of behaving, thinking, and feeling Consistent over time and across situations Differences between individuals Dopey, Sneezy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Grumpy, Doc Psychodynamic Approach Personality Structure Unconscious drives Conflict Role of early experience Theory of Psychosexual Development Deterministic Sigmund Freud Psychodynamic: Structure of Personality Ego ID Immediate gratification (sex and aggression) principle Tries to please both id and superego principle Superego The Internalized rules from parents and society 1
Conflict & Anxiety Defense Mechanisms between pleasure, conscience, and reality Anxiety Displacement Repression Ego must balance these demands Defense mechanisms = Ego s methods Occur unconsciously Sublimation Psychosexual Development Each stage: An erogenous zone Specific developmental tasks Freud s Stages and Adult Personality Fixation Oral Stage Behaviors: smoking, overeating, talking If overindulged oral-dependent Immature, passive, gullible, overly optimistic If needs weren t met Oral-aggressive Sarcastic Anal Stage Anal-expulsive vs. Anal-retentive 2
Measuring Personality: Projective Tests Rorschach Inkblot Test Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Projective Tests Today Allow for individualized answers Controversial Subjective interpretations Little predictive value TAT is more reputable than Inkblot In therapy Conversation starter Getting to know the client Evaluations of Freud Psychodynamic theory: After Freud Contributions Importance of processes Importance of childhood Stage theory of development Children Small adults Father of psychotherapy Not testable/falsifiable Ignored development after age 6 Sexist Criticisms Over-emphasis on sex Under-emphasis on factors (influence of peers) Horney Focus on environment Motivated by security not sex Jung Collective unconscious Archetypes Adler Individual Psychology Motivated by not pleasure 3
Maslow Hierarchy of Needs Focus on self-actualizers Spontaneous Creative Tolerant Good sense of humor Humanistic Perspective Rogers Everyone has natural tendency toward growth and happiness Conditions of worth Self-Concept How we think of ourselves Person-centered therapy Unconditional Positive Regard Empathy Genuineness Humanistic Perspective Trait Approach Advantages Focus on positive human qualities Self-Concept Subjective views are important Disadvantages Poor testability Unrealistic view of human nature Inadequate evidence May encourage narcissism Trait stable disposition to behave in a particular and way in a variety of situations Gordon Allport (1936) 18,000 personality-related adjectives in English language 4
Factor Analysis Statistical technique Combines correlated items into factors Correlated items similar cause Example: The 5 Factor Model: Big 5 (McCrae & Costa, 1999; John & Srivastava, 1999) Continuum Extraverted X X X Inverted NEO Personality Inventory Identifying Personality Factors Openness: I believe in the importance of art Conscientiousness: I do more than what is expected of me Extraversion: I love large parties Agreeableness: I trust others Neuroticism: I worry about things Rate yourself using the following scale. 1. Very inaccurate 2. Moderately inaccurate 3. Neither inaccurate or accurate 4. Moderately accurate 5. Very accurate McCrae & Costa Measures Trait ratings Subjective Ratings by: Self-report Others Behavioral coding Should correlate with trait ratings To assess shyness: On a scale of 1 to 7, how cautious is the cat? How many seconds did the cat take to approach the new object? 5
Big 5 & Real Life Outcomes Trait Theory Well-being Extraversion levels of well-being Positive emotions, socialization Neuroticism levels of well-being Negative emotions Trait vs. State Trait: enduring characteristics State: brief occurrences Advantages Practical Connections to Health Ways of thinking Career success Relations with others Disadvantages Missing importance of situational factors Too Personological Approach Life Story Approach Henry Murray (1893-1988) Personology Study of the Dan McAdams Our life stories are our identities. Life Story Interviews Themes around life stages and transitions Analysis of Hitler as first offender profile Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Measures motives Intimacy Motive Psychobiography Like a 6
Social Cognitive Perspectives Social Cognitive Perspectives Emphasize... conscious awareness beliefs expectations goals Incorporate principles from behaviorism Explore ability... to reason to think about past, present, and future to reflect on self Bandura Reciprocal Determinism Observational Learning Personal Control Internal vs. External Locus of Control Self-Efficacy Mischel s Contributions Social Cognitive Perspective No evidence of cross-situational consistency Situationism Who is right? depending on The trait The situation Advantages Acknowledges the Highlights behavior Emphasizes influence of cognitive processes Disadvantages Too concerned with change and situational influences Ignores Very specific predictions, making generalizations impossible 7
Eysenck s RAS Theory Gray s Reinforcement Sensitivity Reticular Activating System (RAS) Located in brain stem Wakefulness or arousal Eysenck s Theory Optimal arousal level Extraverts and introverts different Behavior get from baseline to optimum! But introverts may just be more sensitive to stimuli Behavioral approach system (BAS) Behavioral inhibition system (BIS) Differences in sensitivity to rewards and punishers BAS Sensitive to Predisposition to positive emotion Underlies extraversion BIS Sensitive to Predisposition to fear Underlies neuroticism Role of Neurotransmitters Behavior Genetics Dopamine Function in experience of reward Factor in BAS or extraversion Serotonin Related to neuroticism Less serotonin More negative mood Inhibition of serotonin reuptake... Does not tell us about potential causal pathways Twin Studies Genetic factors explain differences in big five traits Autobiographical memories influenced by genetics Complex!! Genes and environments intertwined Traits influenced by multiple genes Heritability Estimates 8
Silver Fox Selective Breeding Experiment Selection for tameness Belyaev (1950s) Selected animals for ONLY tameness Dramatic behavioral changes in generations! Other changes: Piebald coloration Floppy ears Non-seasonal reproduction Curled tails Selection may occur based on characteristics Biological Perspectives Tie personality to... Animal learning models Advances in brain imaging Evolutionary theory Cautions Biology can be effect, not cause, of personality Issue of whether personality can change throughout life 9