Personality

1. Personality Definitions and theories

2. Defining Personality • Definition • relatively stable patterns of behavior, thought and emotion which characterizes a given individual • distinctive patterns of behavior/thoughts/emotions that characterize an individual's adaptation to life situations • key aspect: focus on the individual • Types of theories: • Trait • Psychodynamic • Neofreudian • Cognitive and Behavioral • Differ on what aspect of personality is focus

3. Factor analytic approach • Factor analysis: • Math procedure used to analyze correlations among test responses • Figure out which items “cluster” together • Terms that go together likely to reflect general personality characteristic • Trait researchers use these to develop their theories of personality • Basic types of personalities • Traits that make up those personalities • Based on large population samples

4. Traits • Patterns of traits = unique attributes of each individual • Longitudinal case study research • Traits = • predisposition to respond in certain ways • generalized action tendencies • are enduring, broad in scope

5. Gordon Allport • Three types of traits that serve to provide unique personality • Cardinal trait: • powerful, dominating behavioral predisposition • center of personal life/personality • few people have cardinal traits: Hitler • Central trait: • major personality characteristic • less pervasive than cardinal trait • generalized, enduring • most people have 5-1. of these • Secondary traits: • less generalized/enduring • affect behavior in specific circumstances

6. Catell: Big 5 Personality Factors • Extroversion • Social and sociable • happy go lucky • talkative, fun loving, affectionate • Agreeableness • Sympathetic • Warm and Trusting • Cooperative • Conscientiousness • Ethical • Dependable • Productive and purposeful • Neuroticism • anxious and Insecure • guilt prone • self conscious • Openness • daring and nonconforming • showing unusually broad interests • imaginative

7. Eysenck: Three Primary Dimensions • Extroversion • Neuroticism: • mood swings • Frustration • irritation • Psychoticism • Cooperative • Polite • good personal hygiene and etiquette

8. Sigmund Freud • Austrian physician • Jewish in Victorian Vienna • Time of sexual repression, • lack of women’s rights • Underground sexuality • Perversions • Pornography • Disease • Risk of pregnancy • Not many options for upperclass women • Why important? Contributed to how he perceived society and people.

9. Psychodynamic theory • Psychodynamic theory: • Much of behavior is governed by unconscious forces • These compose all of unconscious interaction • Conscious mind = things that occupy one’s current attention • Preconscious mind= things that you currently are not focused on, but are aware of • Unconscious mind = memories, urges, conflicts that are beyond awareness

10. Basic parts of the mind • Id: basic source of energy, motivation • libido: life or sexual energy • thanatos: death energy • follows pleasure principle • not connected to reality; may be expressed in socially unacceptable ways • Superego: Ego ideal • based on perfection seeking • basis of conscience • also not connected to reality; may be expressed in socially unacceptable ways • Ego: reality principle • rational, logical • connected to reality • Must mediate differences between id and superego

11. Ego moderates superego and id • Defense mechanisms serve to reduce anxiety • 8 basic defense mechanisms: • Denial: refuse to believe in reality • Repression: memory of event is put into unconscious • Projection: personal emotion projected onto someone else

12. More defense mechanisms • Displacement: feelings directed at someone/thing other than actual target • Reaction formation: cover up anxiety by acting opposite • Rationalization: make up excuses • Intellectualization: take clinical, academic attitude • Sublimation: unacceptable impulses directed toward socially acceptable goals

13. Formation of personality • Formation of personality: development of individual set of defense mechanisms via several stages • Oral stage: (.-2 years) • seek sensory stimulation through the mouth • first way to gain pleasure • if thwarted- find alternatives • sexual pleasure through mouth • oral fixations • sarcasm, gullibility

14. Formation of personality • Anal stage: (2-3 years) • learning to control bowels and bladder • learning to organize life, develop independence • if not worked through: • sexual pleasure through anus • toilet training problems •  Two types of personalities may emerge: • anal retentive: overly toilet trained • anal expulsive: under toilet trained

15. Formation of personality • Phallic stage: (3-6 years) • developing sexuality, sex roles • developing maleness, femaleness • if not worked through: • sexual pleasure centers around genitalia • sexual identity problems • Oedipus complex (boys) • boy child desires mother • fears father: Castration anxiety • unacceptable hate of father- reaction formation • important for correct sexual identity • Electra complex (females) • girl child desires father • penis envy • blames mother for lack of penis • identifies w/mother • not resolved until give birth to male child

16. Formation of personality • Latency stage (6-puberty): nothing happens • Genital stage: (Puberty to adulthood) • achieve adult sexuality • earlier, unresolved problems surface