Ch. 10 - Personality Psychology

1. Ch. 10 - Personality Psychology

2. What Is Personality? • an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, & acting • most fields of psychology study similarity • personality: the individual

3. Personality: an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, & acting • implies some degree of consistency • enduring, stable qualities • traits vs. situationism • traits: relatively consistent characteristics exhibited in different situations • intuitive appeal

4. The Case For Situationism • a view of personality that regards behavior as mostly a function of the situation, not of internal traits • idea of multiple selves, situationally-elicited • Does the following passage sound like you?

5. The Case For Situationism • You have a strong need for other people to like you and for them to admire you. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have a great deal of unused capacity which you have not turned to your advantage. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them. Disciplined and controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside. You pride yourself as being an independent thinker and do not accept others’ opinions without satisfactory proof. At times you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved.

6. The Case For Situationism • Davies (1997): gave all participants this paragraph after a personality test • results: students typically rated personality summary as good or excellent • certain traits experienced at certain times, in certain situations • role of dual presentation • This is why horoscopes “work”...

7. The Case Against Astrology... • Leo: creative, generous, fun-loving, dramatic, passionate, ambitious, independent, noble, powerful • bossy, patronizing, boastful, self-conscious • Capricorn: prudent, responsible, patient, hard-working, self-reliant, ambitious, conscientious • rigid, demanding, insensitive, inhibited • Pisces: compassionate, imaginative, spiritual, easy-going, accepting, visionary, artistic • distracted, detached, impractical, neglectful, lazy

8. The Case Against Astrology... • 1. universality of traits • 2. desire to see self positively • Glick et al. (1989): skeptics of astrology given flattering description • “maybe there’s something to this astrology stuff after all”

9. The Case For Situationism • Hartshorne & May (1928): gave grade-school kids the opportunity for undetected deceit • e.g. lie about how many push-ups they can do, lie to parents about time spent on homework, cheat on a test, keep money given to them for other purposes • dishonesty in one domain did not predict dishonesty in another • less than 10% of variance explained by single underlying trait of honesty

10. Interactionism: The Compromise • power of the situation... • ...but we do carry something around with us • individual differences • interactionism: view of personality as product of both traits and situations • We will start by talking about historical personality perspectives, then move to more modern interactionist approaches...

11. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) • Austrian neurologist; medical degree from University of Vienna (psychiatry/neurology) • early interest in cocaine as analgesic, relief from mental disorders (On Coca, 1884) • reports of addiction, overdoses • developed interest in nervous disorders (neurosis, hysteria) • defined by anxieties

12. Anna O. (1859-1936) • aka. Bertha Pappenheim • treated for hysteria by Josef Breuer & Freud • limb paralysis on right side of body • disruptions to vision, hearing, & speech • hallucinations • loss of consciousness • faking symptoms? sympathy from Breuer & Freud • used hypnosis, discussion & clarification of memories • “talking cure” • Are we anxious about things that we are unaware of?

13. The Unconscious • more to the psyche than just consciously accessible portion (iceberg analogy) • unconscious: collection of unacceptable thoughts, wishes, desires, feelings, & memories (Freudian definition) • modern definition: information processing of which we are unaware • psychoanalysis: hydraulic theory of personality that attributes thoughts & actions to unconscious motives & conflicts

14. The Unconscious Revealed • unconscious wields powerful influence (often in disguise) • Freud found deeper meaning in almost everything • e.g. dreams: “the royal road to the unconscious” • manifest vs. latent content • safe haven for expressing unacceptable urges; consequence-free • e.g. Freudian slips • slips of the tongue through which strange or unacceptable thoughts are expressed • “A Freudian slip is like saying one thing, but meaning your mother.”

15. Freudian Slips • Condoleezza Rice (2004): called Pres. Bush “my husband”

16. Freudian Slips • Pres. George W. Bush (2000): • “I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.”

17. Freudian Slips • Pres. George W. Bush at an address to teachers of America (2001): • “First I’d like to spank all the teachers...”

18. Freudian Slips • George H.W. Bush (1988): • “For seven and a half years I’ve worked alongside President Reagan. We’ve had triumphs. Made some mistakes. We’ve had some sex ... uh ... setbacks.”

19. The Unconscious Revealed • e.g. free association • not all patients could be hypnotized • free association: relax, respond to stimulus with first thing that comes to mind • reverse flow of unconscious thoughts; backtracking • Bottom line: Freud believed neuroses expressed themselves in slips of the tongue, passing comments, etc.

20. Uncovering the Unconscious Today? • limited information from objective tests (conscious only) • need a pipeline to the unconscious... • projective tests: personality test using ambiguous stimuli to elicit projection of inner conflicts • e.g. Rorschach inkblot test (1921)

22. Uncovering the Unconscious Today? • 82% of clinicians report administering Rorschach at least occasionally (Watkins et al., 1995; Lilienfeld et al., 2000) • “If a professional psychologist is ‘evaluating’ you in a situation in which you are at risk and asks you for responses to ink blots ... walk out of that psychologist’s office.” (Dawes, 1994)

23. Uncovering the Unconscious Today? • problems with Rorschach: • extracting objective meaning from allegedly ambiguous stimuli? • Are the inkblots truly ambiguous? • requires subjective, projective perspective of clinician • no universal system for scoring & interpretation • low inter-rater reliability • yet inkblots are still used... • “The Rorschach Inkblot Test has been resoundingly discredited ... I call it the Dracula of psychological tests, because no one has been able to drive a stake through the cursed thing’s heart.” (Tavris, 2003)

24. Uncovering the Unconscious Today? • another projective test: Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) • 30 provocative but ambiguous pictures • create a dramatic story, including: • what led up the event shown • what is happening now • what the characters are thinking, feeling • outcome of the story

25. Uncovering the Unconscious Today? • interpretations, themes = window to the unconscious? • criticisms: • validity? (measuring what it actually claims to measure) • reliability? (consistent results over time)

26. Psychoanalytic Theory:3 Components of Personality • personality = behavior resulting from conflict between aggressive, pleasure-seeking desires and social restraints

27. Psychoanalytic Theory:3 Components of Personality • id: unconscious psychic energy driven by sexual & aggressive urges • pleasure principle: demands immediate gratification; mindless of societal norms & restraints • young children largely id-driven

28. Psychoanalytic Theory:3 Components of Personality • superego: part of personality that represents internalized ideals and standards for judgment • the “conscience” • develops around age 4-5 (according to Freud) • focuses on how one ought to behave

29. Psychoanalytic Theory:3 Components of Personality • ego: mostly conscious, “executive” part of personality that mediates id vs. superego struggle • reality principle: seeks to gratify id in ways acceptable to the superego

30. Psychoanalytic Theory:Stages of Psychosexual Development • patients’ symptoms rooted in conflicts from childhood? • id’s pleasure-seeking energies focused on different parts of the body (erogenous zones)

31. Don’t write this down... it’s on page 392

32. The Story of Oedipus • Oedipus: mythical Greek king of Thebes • son of Laius & Jocasta • prophecy that he would murder Laius, marry Jocasta • given to herdsman to be killed • traveling to Thebes, met chariot with father in it • dispute  killed Laius • defeated Sphinx’ riddle • appointed king of Thebes, married widow Jocasta • met herdsman: Jocasta killed self, Oedipus blinded self

33. The Oedipus Complex • during phallic stage (3-6 years old), boys develop unconscious sexual desires for mother, jealousy & hatred of father (rival) • feelings of guilt, fear of punishment (anxiety) • castration anxiety = fear of becoming like a female (fear of powerful people overcoming them) • What about girls? • Electra complex: a girl’s feelings of inferiority and jealousy (anxiety) • penis envy = anger, regret over being female

34. Remember, it’s all about anxiety... • hedonistic id vs. conscience/superego = personality • ego fears losing control • experience generalized anxiety, no clear explanation why • defense mechanisms: methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality • can be adaptive...

35. Defense Mechanisms • repression: forcibly blocking unacceptable thoughts from conscious mind • thoughts, desires, emotions, memories, etc. • e.g. why we don’t remember childhood sexual desire for parents • underlies all the other defense mechanisms

36. Defense Mechanisms • projection: disguise own threatening impulses by attributing them to others • e.g. Newt Gingrich’s diatribe against Bill Clinton’s infidelity while having his own affair at the same time • “a level of disrespect and decadence that should appall every American” ... White House as “rough equivalent of the Jerry Springer show” (5.18.1998)

37. Defense Mechanisms • reaction formation: unconsciously switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites • e.g. Congressman Mark Foley (R-Florida) resigned in 2006 • exchanged sexually explicit emails with a former congressional page • had previously introduced legislation to protect children from Internet exploitation by adults

38. Defense Mechanisms • sublimation: redirecting psychic energy away from negative outlets, toward positive outlets • most productive defense mechanism; “socially useful” • e.g. art, music, etc.

39. Neo-Freudians • people who ran with Freud’s ideas, pioneered psychoanalysis • maintained many of Freud’s original ideas • e.g. personality structures, unconscious, personality development in childhood, anxiety & defense mechanisms • 2 critical modifications: • 1. more emphasis on conscious mind • 2. sex & aggression as primary motives?

40. Carl Jung (1875-1961) • Swiss psychiatrist; developed close relationship with Freud • intrigued by psychoanalysis + Freud needed people to spread and validate ideas • shared belief in existence of unconscious, but differed on content • Freud unconscious: store unacceptable thoughts, urges (Jung: “personal unconscious”) • Jung unconscious: personal unconscious + collective unconscious

41. Collective Unconscious • “a reservoir of the experiences of our species” • repository of all religious, spiritual, & mythological symbols and experiences • evidence? theory of synchronicity • 2 or more events seemingly co-occur meaningfully, but causally unrelated • meaningful coincidences

42. Synchronicity • e.g. costume designers buying a coat for Wizard of Oz • bought from second-hand store • previously belonged to L. Frank Baum • Jung: such synchronicities evidence of collective unconscious, underlying all human experience Professor Marvel Wizard of Oz

43. Evaluating Psychoanalysis:The Bad • many of Freud’s specific ideas refuted by modern research • “Many aspects of Freudian theory are indeed out of date, and they should be: Freud died in 1939, and he has been slow to undertake further revisions.” (Westen, 1998) • scientific shortcomings • typically based on Freud’s own recollections & interpretations • fails to predict behaviors, only explains them post hoc • testable predictions?

44. Evaluating Psychoanalysis:The Bad • lifelong development, not just childhood • neural networks incapable of sustaining traumas suggested by Freud? • gender identity begins earlier, lasts longer than Oedipus complex • other, modern explanations for dreams

45. Evaluating Psychoanalysis:The Bad • Freudian slips: confusion between verbal choices in memory network (simultaneous activation) • e.g. “I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.” • little evidence for repression • more often remember traumatic events (role of stress, emotion)

46. Evaluating Psychoanalysis:The Good • introduction of the unconscious • modern conception: processing of which we are not aware • e.g. implicit learning • Lewicki et al. (1997): number 6 jumped around screen according to complex pattern • tracked movement; got faster with repeated exposure • offered $100 for finding pattern, but no one could • different than Freud’s concept, but rooted in that idea • defense against anxiety, often unconsciously (e.g. Terror Management Theory)

47. Evaluating Psychoanalysis:The Good • not necessarily intended to be a predictive scientific theory? • merely possible to find meaning in our states of mind • first personality & psychotherapy theories • roots of modern study of: • unconscious/implicit processes • self-protective defenses • sexuality as human motivation • social well-being

48. Nicolaus Copernicus 1473-1543 Charles Darwin 1809-1882 Sigmund Freud 1856-1939

49. The Trait Perspective • early-mid 20th century: 2 primary options for budding psychologists • 1. Freudian psychoanalysis (and its accompanying negativity) • 2. Skinnerian behaviorism (and its mechanistic way of thinking) • Gordon Allport (1897-1967) • generally considered founder of modern personality psychology • thought psychoanalysis = too deep, behaviorism = not deep enough

50. Allport’s Famous Visit with Sigmund Freud (1919) • Soon after I had entered the famous red burlap room with pictures of dreams on the wall, he summoned me to his inner office. He did not speak to me but sat in expectant silence, for me to state my mission. I was not prepared for silence and had to think fast to find a suitable conversational gambit. I told him of an episode on the tram car on my way to his office. A small boy about 4 years of age had displayed a conspicuous dirt phobia. He kept saying to his mother, “I don’t want to sit there ... don’t let that dirty man sit beside me.” To him everything was schmutzig (dirty). His mother was a well-starched Hausfrau, so dominant and purposive looking that I thought the cause and effect apparent.”