Personality:
An individual’s typical pattern of (…)
Trait: a relatively enduring predisposition that (…)
thoughts, emotions, and behaviours
comprised of different traits
influences behaviour across many situations
Name 5 major perspectives in personality psychology
Psychoanalytic Theory
Humanistic Theory
Behaviourism
Social-Cognitive Theory
Trait Theories
Freud’s Psychosexual Theory:
Personality development takes place over _____ stages where the sexual drive (_______) is expressed through different parts of the body
Three assumptions:
Freud’s theory of personality includes:
Id: the part of the personality that (…)
Ego: the part of the personality that is conscious/thinking; (…)
Superego: the part of the personality that acts as a
Ego balances the components of ______________
Defence mechanisms: strategies for reducing conflict and anxiety, such as repression, denial, or projection
five
libido
psychic determinism, symbolism, unconscious motivation
comprises a person’s basic sexual and aggressive impulses; motivation to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
satisfy demands of id in accordance with reality.
moral judge and contains the rules of society
personality
Five Psychosexual Stages
Oral Stage:
Unmet needs: leads to maladaptive oral behaviours (fingernail biting; smoking; overeating)
Anal Stage:
Unmet needs: cleanliness, perfectionism, disorder, problems with rules
Phallic Stage:
Unmet needs: problems forming attachments, underdeveloped morality; sexual dysfunction
Latency Stage:
Unmet needs: none
Genital Stage:
Unmet needs from earlier stages: lack capacity for healthy relationships and productive work
O: Pleasure through oral behaviours; birth to 1 year old (or 18 months)
A: Pleasure focus is on anus; 1-3 years
P: Pleasure from genital stimulation; Oedipus/Electra complex; 3-6 years
L: Pleasure/sexual instincts die down; superego development; 6-12 years
G: Sexual impulses reappear; proper development in earlier stages results in healthy adulthood; 12+ years
Critical Evaluation of Freud’s Psychosexual Theory
Unfalsifiability:
Failed Predictions:
E.g., we do not usually “repress” negative experiences
Questionable Conception of the Unconscious:
Reliance on unrepresentative samples:
Flawed Assumption of Shared Environmental Influence:
Research shows shared environment plays little role in the development of personality
U: predictions cannot be falsified or ad hoc reasoning is used to preserve the theory
F: outcomes specified by the theory do not turn out to be true
Q: nonconscious forces do guide us, but not in the ways Freud thought
R: Freud drew conclusions from a small segment of the population – upper class Viennese women. They do not represent everyone.
FE: Freud suggested that children adopt the values, attitudes, and personality characteristics of the same-sex parent through identification with them.
Behavioursim:
Radical behaviourism rejected any role of “__________” in producing behaviour
Personality is constructed through __________ experiences
Individual differences arise from differences in personal ___________
Classical and Operant Conditioning
Associations and patterns of reinforcement (and punishment)
Personality does not cause __________
Deterministic view of the person: actions are the result of pre-existing environmental influences
Free will is an illusion
Unconscious processing: environmental experiences (C&O conditioning) can affect us without our conscious awareness; behaviour can be automatic
The scientific study of observable behaviour
thinking
learning
histories
behaviour
Social-Cognitive Theory:
Personality is caused by _________: classical and operant conditioning are cognitively mediated
Emphasizes the role of observation and modelling in shaping thoughts, emotions, and behaviour
thinking
Observational Learning:
learning by watching models who are reinforced or punished for a behaviour
Reciprocal Determinism:
Give an E.g.;
a process of human development based on the interaction between personal, behavioural, and environmental factors.
E.g., extraverted tendencies
talking to others
being well-liked reinforces extraverted tendencies
go to social gatherings and talk to others
Humanistic Theories
Accept the premise that internal drives and _________ motivate people
Free will is emphasized; reject determinism
Self-Actualization:
emotions
each individual is motivated to achieve their full potential
Assume innate goodness
Carl Rogers
Clinical focus:
Personality is comprised of:
1):
2):
3):
Unconditional positive regard - flourishing human beings
Abraham Maslow
Focused on ”self-actualized” individuals:
Peak experiences: transcendent moments of intense _____________ and tranquility marked by a profound sense of connection to the world
Willing to “_____________________”
CR: focused on people whose self-actualization was thwarted
1) organism;
2) self-concept;
3) conditions of worth
AM: Self-actualized people have their basic needs are met, are creative, self-confident, focus on real-world problems, empathetic and moral, and have peak experiences
excitement
rock the boat
Attempt to describe the structure of personality
Use factor analysis:
Big 5 Model (OCEAN)
Openness to experience:
Conscientiousness:
Extraversion:
Agreeableness:
Neuroticism:
a statistical technique that analyzes the correlations among items to determine underlying “factors” in psychological measurement
O: curious, like novel situations and people, artistic, imaginative, insightful
C: careful, responsible, efficient, organized, reliable
E: social, lively, active, enthusiastic, assertive, and outgoing
A: sociable, affectionate, forgiving, trusting, sympathetic, and generous (gets along with others easily)
N: moody, anxious, sad, self-pitying, lack emotional resilience
The Big 5 and Behaviour
Higher openness, agreeableness, and lower ____________ are associated with successful job and academic performance
Higher _____________________ and lower neuroticism are associated with more health behaviours, and better health and _____________
Openness is more weakly associated with longevity
Extraversion is associated with sales performance; relationship may be non-linear
Conscientiousness is associated with better ______ performance
Higher openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, and lower neuroticism, are associated with higher levels of __________ satisfaction
neuroticism
conscientiousness
longevity
sales
marital
Culture and The Big 5
Cross-culturally supported, but not universal
Other personality inventories include variations of traits (e.g., Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory)
CPAI adds “interpersonal relatedness”
Other factors?
Honesty-humility:
Alternatives to the Big 5:
HH: morality
Individualism-collectivism
Two- and Three-factor models
The Dark Tetrad
Narcissism:
Machiavellianism:
Psychopathy (subclinical):
All four traits share a key feature: ______________ – lack of empathy
Manifests differently across traits
Dark tetrad traits are associated with lower levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness (Big 5) and honesty-humility (HEXACO)
grandiosity, entitlement, callous, seeks attention and validation
Manipulative, deceitful, callous
impulsive, callous
Sadism (“everyday sadism”): Enjoyment of cruelty and suffering
callousness
