Psychology 305: Theories of Personality Lecture 5

1. Psychology 305: Theories of Personality Lecture 5 Psychology 305

2. Lecture 5 Questions That Will be Answered in Today’s Lecture • Dispositional Perspective on Personality: Needs and Motives Approach, continued • 2. What are motives? • 3. What is environmental press? • 4. How are needs measured? Psychology 305

3. Biological Perspective on Personality: Evolutionary Approach • What are the basic principles of evolutionary theory and how have they been adapted to the study of personality? • What hypotheses has the evolutionary approach generated regarding altruism? Psychology 305

4. What are motives? • According to Murray’s theory, motives: (a) are elicited by needs. (b) influence thought. (c) direct behaviour toward or away from specific objects, people, or goals. Psychology 305

5. E.g., Thought (thinking of last night’s dinner, fantasizing about a big meal, perceiving a rock as a loaf of bread) Need(for food) Motive(hunger) Behaviour (prepare a meal, go to a restaurant) Psychology 305

6. What is environmental press? • According to Murray’s theory, environmental press refers to any environmental or situational factor that influences people’s motives. • Through its influence on motives, environmental press can alter thought and behaviour. Psychology 305

7. E.g., Thought (thinking of last night’s dinner, fantasizing about a big meal, perceiving a rock as a loaf of bread) Need(for food) Motive(hunger) Behaviour (prepare a meal, go to a restaurant) Environmental press(upcoming exam, exposure to a noxious stimulus) Psychology 305

8. E.g., Thought (I’ll eat after I finish reading this chapter, I’ll fail the exam if I don’t focus on studying right now) Need(for food) Motive(hunger) Behaviour (continue studying) Environmental press(upcoming exam) Psychology 305

9. How are needs measured? • Several measures have been developed to assess needs. • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) • Developed by Murray and Morgan in 1935. • Currently, the most widely used measure of needs. • Involves presenting participants with up to 20 black-and-white drawings that depict ambiguous situations. • Participants are told that they are completing a test of creative imagination. Psychology 305

10. Instructions: “I am going to show you some pictures, one at a time, and your task will be to make up a story for each card. In your story, be sure to tell what has led up to the event shown in the picture, describe what is happening at the moment, what the characters are feeling and thinking, and give the outcome. Tell a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. Do you understand? I will write your stories verbatim as you tell them. Here’s the first card.” -- Murray, 1943 Psychology 305

11. In developing the measure, Murray and Morgan assumed that people’s needs influence how they interpret and perceive external stimuli, particularly ambiguous stimuli. • The measure is referred to as a projective test because it is based on the assumption that people project their needs onto the stimuli that comprise the test. • Murray used the term “apperception” to describe the process of projecting needs onto external stimuli; apperception may be a conscious or unconscious process. Psychology 305

12. The stories that a participant generates are analyzed to identify his or her dominant needs; this is accomplished by simply counting the number of references that the participant makes to specific needs in the stories. • The dominant needs that are identified are thought to be of central importance to the participant and to form the defining characteristics of his or her personality. Psychology 305

13. E.g., Psychology 305

14. Interpretation 1 This is a picture of a woman who all of her life has been a very suspicious and conniving person. She’s looking in the mirror and she sees reflected behind her an image of what she will be as an old woman—still a suspicious, conniving sort of person. She can’t stand the thought that that’s what her life will eventually lead her to and she smashes the mirror and runs out of the house screaming and goes out of her mind and lives in an institution for the rest of her life. Dominant needs: n Abasement, n Dominance, …. Psychology 305

15. Interpretation 2 This woman has always emphasized beauty in her life. As a little girl she was praised for being pretty and as a young woman was able to attract lots of men with her beauty. While secretly feeling anxious and unworthy much of the time, her outer beauty helped to disguise these feelings from the world and, sometimes, from herself. Now that she is getting on in years and her children are leaving home, she is worried about the future. She looks in the mirror and imagines herself as an old hag—the worst possible person she could become, ugly and nasty—and wonders what the future holds for her. It is a difficult and depressing time for her. Dominant needs: n Abasement, n Defendance, n Exhibition …. Psychology 305

16. E.g. 2, Psychology 305

17. Interpretation 1 After years of abuse, this woman has done the unthinkable … she has shot her husband. She had wanted to leave him for several years, but she felt hopelessly trapped. He always told her that if she left, he would find her and kill her. Despite having taken her power back, she is grief-stricken. After all, she did love him at one time. She knows that she must now go to the police to report her crime. Although she does not know what their reaction will be, she hopes that they will understand that she had no alternatives. Dominant needs: n Abasement, n Change, n Defendance …. Psychology 305

18. Interpretation 2 This woman has just watched her husband die. He had been sick for some time and both he and she knew that the end was near. He was her first and only love—her soul mate. As he was dying, he told her of his never-ending love for her. Now that he is gone, she doesn’t know what she is going to do. She feels that she has lost the most important person in her life. Outside their bedroom, she is overcome by feelings of despair, ultimately falling to the ground and asking God to take her life too. Dominant needs: n Affiliation, n Nurturance, n Succorance …. Psychology 305

19. 2. Personality Research Form (PRF) • Developed by Jackson in 1984; his goal was to provide a measure of needs that could be scored more objectively than the TAT. • A self-report measure comprised of 352 T/F items; the items assess a subset of 20 of the needs identified by Murray. • E.g., items used to assess n Achievement: I look more to the future than to the past or present. I enjoy situations that allow me to use my skill. Psychology 305

20. Participants’ responses to the items are used to create personality profiles relating to the 20 needs. E.g., Jack is highly motivated by the needs for affiliation, harmavoidance, and nurturance. Jill is highly motivated by the needs for aggression, dominance, exhibition, and impulsivity. Psychology 305

21. 3. Multi-Motive Grid • Developed by Schmalt in 1999. • Combines features of the TAT and self-report measures such as the PRF. • Assesses 3 needs: n Achievement, n Affiliation, and n Power. • n Achievement and n Affiliation were first identified by Murray; n Power reflects a need to have an impact, to have prestige, and to feel strong in comparison to others. Psychology 305

22. Some psychologists refer to these needs as the “Big Three”—i.e., as the 3 fundamental dimensions underlying Murray’s more elaborate list of needs. • Involves presenting participants with 14 pictures that reflect situations linked to achievement, affiliation, and power. • After viewing each picture, participants are asked to respond to questions that assess the 3 needs using “yes” or “no” responses. Psychology 305

23. E.g., You are proud because you can do it ………....……...Y / N You fear the power of others ………..…………… Y / N You are glad youhave met ….…….........……... Y / N Psychology 305

24. E.g., You are afraid that you areboring others………....…….....Y / N You fear the power of others ………..…………..… Y / N Your reputation may be negatively affected here…..... Y / N Psychology 305

25. Participants’ responses to the questions are used to create personality profiles relating to the 3 needs. E.g., Jack is highly motivated by the needs for achievement and affiliation. Jill is highly motivated by the needs achievement and power. Psychology 305

26. What are the basic principles of evolutionary theory and how have they been adapted to the study of personality? • According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, across successive generations of a species, organisms develop characteristics that enhance their ability to survive and reproduce. • Darwin maintained that there are two processes through which organisms develop these characteristics: Psychology 305

27. 1. Natural Selection • A process through which organisms develop characteristics that enhance their ability to survive. • Organisms that possess characteristics that enhance their ability to survive are more likely to live to reproductive age and to pass these characteristics on to the next generation. • Offspring that inherit these characteristics, in turn, are more likely to live to reproductive age and to pass the characteristics on to yet the next generation. Psychology 305

28. Through this process, characteristics that enhance the organism’s ability to survive increase in frequency across successive generations of the species until they come to characterize virtually all members of the species. Psychology 305

29. 2. Sexual Selection • A process through which organisms develop characteristics that enhance their ability to reproduce, but not necessarily their ability to survive. • Darwin proposed this process after observing that organisms within some species possess characteristics that enhance their ability to reproduce but hinder their ability to survive. Psychology 305

30. Darwin maintained that there are 2 mechanisms through which sexual selection occurs: (a) Intrasexual selection • Occurs when same sex organisms compete for the sexual interest of the opposite sex. • Organisms that possess characteristics that enable them to “win” the sexual interest of the opposite sex are more likely to mate and to pass these characteristics on to the next generation. Psychology 305

31. Offspring that inherit these characteristics, in turn, are more likely to mate and to pass the characteristics on to yet the next generation. • Through this process, the characteristics that enabled the victors to win increase in frequency across successive generations of the species until they come to characterize virtually all members of that sex of the species. Psychology 305

32. (b) Intersexual selection • Occurs when organisms of one sex prefer to mate with organisms of the opposite sex that possess specific, desirable characteristics. • Organisms that possess characteristics that are desirable to the opposite sex are more likely to mate and to pass these characteristics on to the next generation. Psychology 305

33. Offspring that inherit these characteristics, in turn, are more likely to mate and to pass the characteristics on to yet the next generation. • Through this process, characteristics that are desirable to the opposite sex increase in frequency across successive generations of the species until they come to characterize virtually all members of that sex of the species. Psychology 305

34. Example characteristics: (a) Natural selection: the preference for sweet, fatty, and salty foods in humans. (b) Intrasexual competition: the Ariel Hover Display of the male Bronzed Cowbird. (c) Intersexual selection: the brilliant plumage of the male peacock. Psychology 305

35. In recent years, evolutionary biologists have come to believe that natural selection and sexual selection operate through differential gene reproduction. • That is, they have come to believe that organisms with highly adaptive characteristics pass their genes on to subsequent generations at a greater frequency than organisms with less adaptive characteristics. Psychology 305

36. Evolutionary psychologists have adapted the principles of evolutionary theory to the study of personality. • They believe that our basic psychological processes are the product of natural selection and sexual selection. Psychology 305

37. What hypotheses has the evolutionary approach generated regarding altruism? • Altruism: Refers to a desire to help others, even at the risk of one’s own well-being. • After the discovery of genes, Hamilton (1964) proposed the theory of inclusive fitness. This theory maintains that organisms are motivated to enhance their own survival and reproductive potential, as well as the survival and reproductive potential of those who are genetically similar to them. Psychology 305

38. On the basis of Hamilton’s theory, evolutionary psychologists generated two hypotheses regarding altruism. • Hypothesis A: Helping behaviour increases as the degree of genetic overlap increases between the helper and the recipient. • Hypothesis B: Helping behaviour increases as the reproductive potential of one’s kin member (i.e., relative) increases. Psychology 305

39. Burnstein et al. (1994) tested both hypotheses with participants from the U.S. and Japan. • Asked participants to imagine that people were asleep in a rapidly burning building. • Told participants they could only rescue one person. • Asked participants to indicate who they would be most willing to save. • In order to test Hypothesis A, participants were presented with people who varied in their degree of genetic overlap with the participant. Psychology 305

40. Results consistent with Hypothesis A.   Tendency to Help   .50 .25 .125 .00 Degree of Genetic Overlap Highly Related Not Related Psychology 305

41. In order to test Hypothesis B, the researchers conducted 2 studies. In the first study, participants were presented with kin members who varied in age. Psychology 305

42. Results consistent with Hypothesis B.    Tendency to Help   1 10 18 45 75 Age of Kin (Years) Psychology 305

43. Presumably, under conditions of ample resources, the reproductive potential of a 1 year old is greater than that of a 10 year old. • Interestingly, when researchers asked participants to imagine that they lived in a country inflicted with famine (i.e., under conditions of limited resources), a curvilinear relationship emerged between the tendency to help and age. Psychology 305

44. Results consistent with Hypothesis B.   Tendency to Help    1 10 18 45 75 Age of Kin (Years) Psychology 305

45. Presumably, under conditions of limited resources, the reproductive potential of a 10 year old is greater than that of a 1 year old. Psychology 305

46. Questions That Were Answered in Today’s Lecture • Dispositional Perspective on Personality: Needs and Motives Approach, continued • 2. What are motives? • 3. What is environmental press? • 4. How are needs measured? Psychology 305

47. Biological Perspective on Personality: Evolutionary Approach • What are the basic principles of evolutionary theory and how have they been adapted to the study of personality? • What hypotheses has the evolutionary approach generated regarding altruism? Psychology 305