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Dr Jacqui McKechnie

Personality Theory. Dr Jacqui McKechnie. Determinist - all thoughts and actions have a cause. Personality is composed of: . id. primitive biological drives seeks immediate gratification pleasure principle . delays impulses reality principle mediates between id and superego.

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Dr Jacqui McKechnie

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  1. Personality Theory Dr Jacqui McKechnie

  2. Determinist - all thoughts and actions have a cause. Personality is composed of: id primitive biological drives seeks immediate gratification pleasure principle delays impulses reality principle mediates between id and superego ego Sigmund Freud 1856 - 1939 superego conscience judges actions internalised morals

  3. Psycho sexual stages Oral Stage (0 - 1yr) pleasure based on mouth passive - sucking active - biting all id Fixation sarcastic alcoholic chain smoker Anal Stage (1 - 3yrs) enjoys holding/expelling faeces development of superego anal retentive anal expulsive

  4. Phallic Stage (2 - 5yrs) Pleasure from genitals Oedipus complex - castration Electra complex - penis envy Overvalued penis - oversexed men Castrating females Latency Period (6 - 12yrs) Learn skills Ideal personality Sexually mature Genital Period (puberty - adult) pleasure from genitals

  5. Defence Mechanisms Strategies people use to reduce anxiety Repression Projection Denial Displacement The desires of the id cannot be abolished and will be expressed through dreams and Freudian slips.

  6. Psychoanalysis – Pschodynamic Therapy Hypnosis - not always successful Free association - self-reports of memories Analysis of resistance Dream analysis - hidden symbolism usually erotic often considered to be a disguised wish

  7. Support for Freud Klein (1882 - 1960) Oral & anal personality exists termed dependent and obsessional Oedipus complex - children may have attraction to opposite sex parent, but superego present before Oedipus complex Defence mechanisms - repression exists

  8. Support for Freud Sexual symbolism - widely found Dream theory - dreams psychologically relevant Fisher and Greenberg (1977) Agree with Klein except for: dreams are not a disguised wish Psychoanalysis - difficult to show positive results

  9. Neo-Freudians Alfred Adler (1870 - 1937) Individual Psychology An individual’s goals direct behaviour. Birth order. Karen Horney (1885 - 1952) Social and Cultural Psychoanalyst Less emphasis on sexual cause of neurosis and believed relationships were important. Erich Fromm (1900 - 1980) Humanistic Psychoanalyst Influenced by Karl Marx and believed social, political, religious, economic and cultural factors more important than biology.

  10. Criticism of Freud Popper (1959) - not testable, not scientific No biological evidence of id, ego and superego Limited sample - culturally specific evidence Horney (1937) rejects penis envy, but agrees it may be a metaphor for power. Womb envy. Eysenck (1952) 7,000 neurotic patients Psychoanalysis - 66% improved/cured No treatment - 72% improved/cured

  11. Eysenck’s Personality Theory 4 dimensions • Introversion/extraversion • Neuroticism/stability • Psychoticism/normality • Intelligence

  12. Neuroticism Neurotic Touchy Moody Neurotic Extravert Restless Anxious Introvert Aggressive Rigid Excitable Sober Changeable Pessimistic Impulsive Reserved Optimistic Unsociable Active Extraversion average Introversion Sociable Quiet Outgoing Passive Talkative Thoughtful Responsive Peaceful Easy going Careful Lively Controlled Carefree Reliable Stable Leadership Calm Stable Extravert Introvert Stability

  13. Introverts- shy, prefer to work alone Extraverts - sociable, prefer to work with others Neurotic/unstable - moody, anxious, temperamental Stable - calm, well-adjusted These two dimensions are orthogonal - uncorrelated. Psychotics - cruel, insensitive, make a fool of others.

  14. Measure of Personality • Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI)-57 items • widely used previously • lie scale • EPQ (1987) - 90 items includes psychoticism • Neurotic-extravert - prone to hysteria. Neurotic-introvert - anxiety disorder or depression. Although Grace and O’Brien (2003) depression +ve corr with extraversion and neuroticism

  15. Development of Personality Biological Basis Extraverts • low arousal level so they seek out stimulation • take longer to condition than introverts • less conscience about illegal acts Introverts • highly aroused and arousable nervous systems • over-aroused and avoid additional stimulation • develop stronger consciences about illegal and immoral acts

  16. Neuroticism • increased autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity • anxiety associated with ANS activity Genetics Personality test scores - highly inherited. Identical twins

  17. Consistency Debate Trait theorists - stable & enduring Mischel (1968) - behaviour depends on situation Bowers (1973) - interaction - personality traits and situational circumstances Cognitive Social Learning Theory - interaction between individual differences and the environment

  18. Criminal Personality • offenders - high for extraversion, neuroticism and psychotism • conscience is conditioned anxiety response & explains link between extraversion, lack of conscience (psychopathy) and criminality Fox et al (2003) Guilt -ve correlation psychoticism Goffman - criminality does not reside in individual it is a label put on a sector of society

  19. Criticisms of Eysenck’s Theory • How many traits are there? • Do traits exist at all? Cattell (1965) 16 Personality Factors (16 PF test) Consensus among trait theorists of 5 dimensions Big Five Openness 5 NEOAC Agreeableness Neuroticism Extraversion Conscientiousness

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