c h a p t e r ©2012 pearson education, inc. all rights reserved. 2 invitation to psychology, 5e...

C H A P T E R

©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2Invitation to Psychology, 5e Carole Wade and Carol Tavris

Theories of Personality

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Defining personality and traitsPersonalityDistinctive and relatively stable pattern of behaviors, thoughts, motives, and emotions that characterizes a person throughout life

TraitA characteristic of an individual, describing a habitual way of behaving, thinking, and feeling

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Psychodynamic theories

PsychoanalysisA theory of personality and a method of psychotherapy originally formulated by Sigmund Freud, that emphasizes unconscious motives and conflicts

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The structure of personalityId A reservoir of unconscious energy divided into two drives:1.the sexual instinct (fueled by the libido)2.the death instinct

EgoReferees between instinctive needs and social demandsHelps to rein in the impulses of the id

SuperegoMoral ideals, conscience, and social standards

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Defense mechanisms•Methods used by the ego to prevent unconscious anxiety or threatening thoughts from entering consciousness

Repression RegressionProjection DenialDisplacement

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Personality developmentFreud’s psychosexual stages, in which

sexual energy takes different forms as a child matures

1. Oral2. Anal3. Phallic4. Latency5. Genital

Fixation occurs when stages aren’t resolved successfully.

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Jungian theoryCollective unconsciousThe universal memories, symbols, and experiences of the human kind, represented in the symbols, stories, and images (archetypes) that occur across all cultures

Some examples of archetypes:• mandala• the hero• the nurturing Earth mother• the powerful father• the shadow

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The Object-Relations School•A psychodynamic theory within psychoanalytic psychology

•Emphasizes the importance of the infant’s first two years of life and the baby’s formative relationships, especially with the mother.•Points out the need for a child to learn the difference between him/herself and others.

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Popular personality testsMyers-Briggs Type IndicatorPopular in business, at motivational seminars, and with matchmaking services.

Assigns people to one of 16 different types, depending on how the individual scores on the dimensions of introverted or extroverted, logical or intuitive.

Low reliability

Objective tests (inventories)Standardized questionnaires requiring written responses; they typically include scales on which people are asked to rate themselves.

Produce a personality “profile.”

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Core personality traits

1. Extroversion vs. introversion2. Neuroticism vs. emotional stability3. Agreeableness vs. antagonism4. Conscientiousness vs. impulsiveness 5. Openness to experience vs. resistance to

new experience

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Consistency and change in personality

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Genetics vs Environmental Influences on Personality

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Biology and animal traits•Evolutionarily adaptive for animals to vary in their ways of responding to the world and those around them.

•Like humans, bears, dogs, pigs, hyenas, goats, cats, and of course primates have distinctive, characteristic ways of behaving that make them different from others in their species.

•Evidence has been found for most of the Big Five factors in 64 different species, including the squishy squid.

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Heredity and temperament

Temperaments•Physiological dispositions to respond to the environment in certain ways

•Present in infancy, assumed to be innate

•Relatively stable over time

IncludesReactivity

Soothability

Positive and negative emotionality

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Heredity and traitsHeritabilityA statistical estimate of the proportion of the total variance in some trait that is attributable to genetic differences among individuals within a group

Heritability of personality traits is about 50%Within a group of people, about 50% of the variation associated with a given trait is attributable to genetic differences among individuals in the group.

Genetic predisposition is not genetic inevitability.

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Reciprocal determinism

Two-way interaction between aspects of the

environment and aspects of the individual in the

shaping of personality traits

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Non-shared environment•Unique aspects of a person’s environment and experience that are not shared with family members.

•Partially explains why siblings raised in the same home would not have identical personalities. Not every encounter each has is shared by the other.

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The power of parents•The shared environment of the home has little if any influence on personality.The non-shared environment is a more important influence.

Few parents have a single child-rearing style that is consistent over time and that they use with all their children.

Even when parents try to be consistent in how they treat their children, there may be little relation between what they do and how their children turn out.

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The power of peersPeers play a tremendous role in shaping our personality traits and behavior, causing us to emphasize some attributes or abilities and downplay others.

Our temperaments and dispositions also cause us to select particular peer groups (if they are available) instead of others, and our temperaments influence how we behave within the group.

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Cultural Influences on Personality

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Culture, values, and traitsCultureA program of shared rules that govern the behavior of members of a community or society

A set of values, beliefs, and attitudes shared by most members of that community

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Culture, values, and traits

Individualist culturesCultures in which the self is regarded as autonomous, and individual goals and wishes are prized above duty and relations with others

Collectivist culturesCultures in which the self is regarded as embedded in relationships, and harmony with one’s group is prized above individual goals and wishes

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Culture and traits•When culture is not appropriately considered, people attribute unusual behavior to personality.

Timeliness and tardinessIn some cultures, time is seen as a linear construct; being “on time” is seen as conscientious and thoughtful.

In other cultures, time is organized in a parallel fashion; the idea of being “on time” as being more important than a person is contradictory to the cultural norm.How might this create a problem for a person from one culture operating in a foreign cultural setting?

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Aggressiveness•Emphasis on aggressiveness and vigilance in herding cultures, creates culture of honor.

•Used to explain increased likelihood of fighting in the South and the West, versus the North and Midwest.

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Aggression and cultures of honor

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Evaluating cultural approaches•Cultural psychologists face the problem of how to describe cultural influences on personality without oversimplifying or stereotyping.

•People vary according to their temperaments, beliefs, and learning histories, and this variation occurs within every culture.

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The Inner Experience

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Evaluating humanist approaches

•Hard to operationally define many of the concepts•Added balance to the study of personality•Encouraged others to focus on “positive psychology”•Fostered new appreciation for resilience

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Abraham MaslowHumanistic psychologyAn approach that emphasizes personal growth, resilience, and the achievement of human potential

Peak experiencesRare moments of rapture caused by the attainment of excellence or the experience of beauty

Self-actualizationStriving for a life that is meaningful, challenging, and satisfying

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Carl RogersUnconditional positive regardLove and support given to another person with no conditions attached.

Conditional positive regardWhen the love and support we get from others come with strings attached; that is, to get these positive messages we must satisfy certain conditions or “costs.”

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Rollo MayShared with humanists the belief in free will and freedom of choice but also emphasized loneliness, anxiety, and alienation.

Existentialism• The search for the meaning of life• The need to confront death• The necessity of taking responsibility for our own actions

c h a p t e r ©2012 pearson education, inc. all rights reserved. 2 invitation to psychology, 5e...

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