Chapter 15

Partner Work 100 points• List 5 personality traits you have

• Check mark positive traits

• Minus sign negative traits

• Up arrow high energy traits

• Down arrow low energy traits

• Have partner list a trait not on your list they see as a personality trait for you

What is in this chapter?• The Objectives for this chapter are to explore

the following concepts:

• What is personality? • Is personality unconscious or conscious?• Is personality something that we work at?• How do we determine someone’s personality?• Can horoscopes predict personality?• Do our friends influence our personality?• In the future can we create more positive

personalities in our communities?

What is Personality?

Personality an individual’s characteristic pattern

of thinking, feeling, and acting aka…temporal consistency

basic perspectivesPsychoanalyticHumanisticTrait

Personality Development

The Psychoanalytic Perspective

Freud’s theory proposed that childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations influence personality

Biology determines personality development

The Psychoanalytic Perspective

Psychoanalysis: theory & techniques of Freud

Psychodynamic perspective Freud’s theory of personality that attributes

our thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts

techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Psychodynamic Personality Structure

• Preconscious: temporary storage region of items typically in the unconscious so we can bring them into conscious awareness;

Ex. Forgotten memories that we can easily recall

• Unconscious: region containing our thoughts, wishes, feelings, memories of which we are unaware

• Divided into 3 parts:1. Id 2. Ego 3. Superego

Personality Structure

Freud’s idea of the mind’s structure

Id

Superego

Ego Conscious mind

Unconscious mind

The Psychoanalytic Perspective Central technique used in Psychoanalysis

Dream Analysis: is the “Royal Road” to the unconscious

Free Association a method of exploring the unconscious

(the majority of the mind that lies below the water as an iceberg)

person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

Psychodynamic Personality Structure

– Id: basic drives to survive, reproduce, and aggress• Acts on the pleasure principle: seeking immediate gratification

– Ego: partly contains our conscious perceptions, thoughts, judgments, & memories; mediates btwn the id & superego

• act on the reality principle: seeks to gratify the id’s impulses in REALISTIC ways that will bring long-term please rather than pain or destruction

– Superego: Our sense of right and wrong and considers the IDEAL; strives for perfection and judges actions leading to pride or guilt; what people OUGHT to do

• The Relationship among Id, Ego and Superego

• Id• Ego• Superego• A pleasure seeking person

dominated by the Id• A guilt-ridden person

dominated by the Superego• A psychologically healthy

person dominated by the Ego

Freud’s Psychosexual Instinct Theory of Personality and of Human Development

• Freud: “Sexual anatomy/biology is destiny”.

• The “fuels” of human motivational development and human personality:– Eros -- the life force.– Thanatos -- the death force.

– Libido -- the sex drive that fuels eros.– Erogenous zones-- sensitive body areas

Personality Development

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages

Stage Focus

Oral Pleasure centers on the mouth--(0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewing

Anal Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder (18-36 months) elimination; coping with demands for

control

Phallic Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with (3-6 years) incestuous sexual feelings

Latency Dormant sexual feelings(6 to puberty)

Genital Maturation of sexual interests(puberty on)

Psychosexual Personality Development

• 1. Oral Stage (Age 0 - 1.5)– Erogenous Zone in Focus: Mouth

– Gratifying Activities: Nursing - eating, as well as mouth movement, including sucking, gumming, biting and swallowing.

Personality Development Key Concepts

Identification How we develop our personality children incorporate their parents’

values into their developing superegos

Fixation a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking

energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, where conflicts were unresolved

Psychosexual Personality Development

Interaction with the Environment: • To the infant, the mother's breast not only is the

source of food and drink, but also represents her love.

• Because the child's personality is controlled by the id and therefore demands immediate gratification, responsive nurturing is key.

• Both insufficient and forceful feeding can result in fixation in this stage.

• Symptoms of Oral Fixation:– Smoking – Constant chewing on gum, pens, pencils, etc. – Nail biting – Overeating – Drinking – Sarcasm ("the biting personality") and verbal

hostility

Psychosexual Personality Development

2. Anal Stage (Age 1.5 - 3)• Erogenous Zone in Focus: Anus

• Gratifying Activities: – Bowel movement and the withholding of such

movement

Interaction with the Environment: • The major event at this stage is toilet training, a

process through which children are taught when, where, and how excretion is deemed appropriate by society.

• Children at this stage start to notice the pleasure and displeasure associated with bowel movements.

• Through toilet training, they also discover their own ability to control such movements.

• Along with it comes the realization that this ability gives them power over their parents.

• That is, by exercising control over the retention and expulsion of feces, a child can choose to either grant or resist parents' wishes.

Anal Fixation

• Anal-Expulsive Personality: • If the parents are too lenient and fail to instill the

society's rules about bowel movement control, the child will derive pleasure and success from the expulsion.

• Individuals with a fixation on this mode of gratification are excessively sloppy, disorganized, reckless, careless, and defiant.

• Anal-Retentive Personality: • If a child receives excessive pressure and

punishment from parents during toilet training, he will experience anxiety over bowl movements and take pleasure in being able to withhold such functions.

• Individuals who fail to progress pass this stage or are FIXATED at this stage are obsessively clean and orderly, and intolerant of those who aren't.

• They may also be very careful, stingy, withholding, obstinate, meticulous, conforming and passive-aggressive.

• 3. Phallic Stage (Age 4 - 5) • Erogenous Zone in Focus: Genital

• Gratifying Activities: genital fondling and exploration

• Self love

Interaction with the Environment:

• Probably the most challenging stage in a person's psychosexual development.

• The key event at this stage is the child's subconscious feeling of romantic attraction toward the parent of the opposite sex, together with jealousy and fear of the same-sex parent.

• In boys, this situation is called the "Oedipus Complex" (aka the Oedipal Complex), named after the young man in a Greek myth who killed his father and married his mother, unaware of their true identities.

• Boys, in the midst of their Oedipus Complex, often experience intense "castration anxiety", which comes from the fear of punishment from the father for their desire for the mother.

• In girls, it is called the "Electra Complex".

• Girls' Electra Complex involves "penis envy". the girl believes that she once had a penis but that it was removed. In order to compensate for its loss, the girl wants to have a child by her father.

• Success or failure in the Oedipus conflict is at the core of either normal psychological development or psychological disorder.

• If a child is able to successfully resolve the conflict, he or she will have learned to control their envy and hostility and begin to identify with and model after the parent of their own sex.

• and are ready to move on to the next developmental stage.

• Phallic Fixation: • For men: Anxiety and guilty feelings about

sex, fear of castration, and narcissistic personality.

• For women: It is implied that women never progress past this stage fully and will always maintain a sense of envy and inferiority

• 4. Latency (Age 5 - puberty) • Erogenous Zone in Focus: None • Interactions with the Environment: This is a

period during which sexual feelings are suppressed to allow children to focus their energy on other aspects of life.

• This is a time of learning, adjusting to the social environment outside of home, absorbing the culture, forming beliefs and values, developing same-sex friendships, engaging in sports, etc

• Lasts five to six years, until puberty, upon which children become capable of reproduction, and sexuality is re-awakened.

• 5. Genital Stage (From puberty on) • Erogenous Zone in Focus: Genital • Gratifying Activities: genital stimulation and

heterosexual relationships • Interaction with the Environment: This stage is

marked by a renewed sexual interest and desire, and the pursuit of relationships.

• Fixations: This stage does not cause any fixation. According to Freud, if people experience difficulties at this stage, and many people do, the damage was done in earlier oral, anal, and phallic stages. These people come into this last stage of development with fixations from earlier stages.

• Attractions to the opposite sex can be a source of anxiety at this stage if the person has not successfully resolved the Oedipal (or Electra) conflict at the phallic stage.

Freudian:Defense Mechanisms Defense Mechanisms

the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by preventing threatening impulses from being consciously recognized and unconsciously distorting reality

Repression the basic defense mechanism that banishes

anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

Underlies all other defense mechanisms If incomplete, memories show in our dreams &

slips of the tongue

Defense Mechanisms

Regression defense mechanism in which an individual

faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

An excessive fixation contributes to this Ex. Baby talk or bedwetting of older sibling

upon the arrival of a new infant; thumb-sucking once in school

Defense Mechanisms

Reaction Formation defense mechanism by which the ego

unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites

people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings

Ex. Overly protective parents

Defense Mechanisms

Projection defense mechanism by which people disguise

their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Rationalization defense mechanism that offers self-justifying

explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions

Defense Mechanisms

Displacement defense mechanism that shifts sexual

or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet

Defense Mechanisms cont.

• Denial :The process of refusing to admit that there is a problem

• Sublimination: The process of channeling emotional energy into constructive or creative activities

Assessing the Unconscious

Projective Test a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that

provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics

Most aligned with the psychoanalytic perspective Ex. House-Tree-Person, Draw-A-Person, & Incomplete

Sentence tests

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) a projective test in which people express their inner

feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

Developed by Henry Murray

Assessing the Unconscious--TAT

Questions to Ask

• 1. What event(s) led up to this moment?

• 2. What is happening right now?

• 3. What is the subject(s) thinking or

feeling?

• 4. What do you think will be the outcome or

resolution?

Assessing the Unconscious

Rorschach Inkblot Test the most widely used projective test a set of 10 inkblots designed by

Hermann Rorschach seeks to identify people’s inner feelings

by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

Assessing the Unconscious--Rorschach

Questions to Ask

• 1. What do you see?

• 2. What determined it; color, shape, texture, shading?

• 3. is it positive or negative?

• 4. moving or still

• 5. how clear/vague?

• 6. category; human, sexual, animal, fantasy, inanimate, nature, other.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Criticisms of Projective Tests

• Rorschach– No universally accepted system for scoring and

interpretation– It would diagnose many normal adults as

“strikingly pathological”

– Overall, projective tests are not very reliable or valid; yet many still use them along with other types of assessments of personality and emotional/behavioral conditions

Neo (new)-Freudians

• Friends and aspiring colleagues who worked closely with Freud, but began to stray from complete adherence to his perspective

• Agreed with:– Structure of personality and importance of

unconscious– Shaping of personality in childhood (but more social

not sexual)– Anxiety– Defense mechanisms

Neo (new)-Freudians

• Disagreed with:– Lack of consciousness in interpreting experiences

and coping with the environment– Doubted the sex and aggression were the all-

consuming motivations– Placed greater emphasis on motives and social

interactions

Neo (new)-Freudians

Alfred Adler importance of childhood social tension

Karen Horney sought to balance Freud’s masculine biases Challenges Freud’s perspective the women have

weak superegos

Carl Jung emphasized the collective unconscious

concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history

Alfred Adler

• striving for perfection a single "drive" or motivating force behind all our behavior and experience is the drive for perfection or superiority

• aggression drive: the reaction we have when other drives, such as our need to eat, be sexually satisfied, get things done, or be loved, are frustrated.

• Compensation: striving to overcome since we all have problems, short-comings, inferiorities of one sort or another…aka. these people suffer from feelings of inferiority

• masculine protest: Boys are held in higher esteem than girls. Therefore lower self-esteem in women

• Childhood birth order plays into personality as well

Karen Horney

• People feel most helpless, anxious and lost in life around the issues of getting enough love.

• Dealing with impulses less important than coping with the stress of meeting our social needs.

• We build our personality around fighting rejection that explains why we go along with people even when we don’t want to.

• Giving in to Peer pressure to gain acceptance.

Carl Jung• two dimensions in the unconscious— 1. the

personal and 2. Archetypes of a collective unconscious: the common reservoir of images derived from our species universal experiences (we inherit a need to be loved, accepted, need spirituality)

• developed the concepts of extroversion and introversion for the study of personality types, from which the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator was developed

• the most important and lifelong task: individuation: achievement of harmony of

conscious and unconscious, which makes a person one and whole.

Humanistic Perspective Abraham

Maslow (1908-1970) studied self-

actualization processes of productive and healthy people compared to Freud’s “sick” people

Humanistic Perspective

Believes that people are basically good

Self-Actualization the ultimate psychological need that arises

after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved

Self-determination plays a key role in this process and involves the motivation to fulfill one’s potential

Humanistic Perspective

Carl Rogers (1902-1987) focused on growth and fulfillment of

individuals which required interactions with people of genuineness

acceptance

empathy

Humanistic Perspective cont.Carl Rogers

Unconditional Positive Regard an attitude of total acceptance toward another

person; When we accept others, we can accept ourselves.

Self-Concept all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in

an answer to the question, “Who am I?” Social self: who we should be Real self: who we are Ideal self: who we want to be Incongruence: when they are misaligned

Humanistic Perspective• Criticized by Others:

– For underestimating the role of social influence on individual’s personalities

– Concepts are vague and not empirically supported

– Not recognizing fundamental evil of man

• Criticized Others:– Traditional personality tests for not considering

the unique subjective experience of the individual personality

Contemporary Research-- The Trait Perspective

Trait a characteristic pattern of behavior &

motivation a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by

self-report inventories and peer reports Personality Inventory

a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors

used to assess selected personality traits

The Four Basic Personality Types

The Trait Perspective

Hans and Sybil Eysenck use two primary personality factors as axes for describing personality variation

UNSTABLE

STABLE

cholericmelancholic

phlegmatic sanguineINTROVERTED EXTRAVERTED

MoodyAnxious

RigidSober

PessimisticReserved

Unsociable

Quiet

SociableOutgoing

TalkativeResponsiveEasygoing

LivelyCarefree

Leadership

PassiveCareful

Thoughtful

Peaceful

ControlledReliable

Even-temperedCalm

TouchyRestlessAggressive

ExcitableChangeable

ImpulsiveOptimistic

Active

The Melancholy's Emotions • Deep and thoughtful• Analytical • Serious and purposeful • Genius prone • Talented and creative • Artistic or musical • Philosophical and poetic • appreciative of beauty • Sensitive to others • Self-sacrificing • Conscientious • Idealistic • The Melancholy As A Parent • Sets high standards • Wants everything done right • Keeps home in good order • Picks up after children • Sacrifices own will for others • Encourages scholarship and talent

• The Melancholy At Work• Schedule oriented • Perfectionist, high standards • Detail conscious • Persistent and thorough • Orderly and organized • Neat and tidy • Economical • Sees the problems • Finds creative solutions • Needs to finish what he starts • Likes charts, graphs, figures, lists • The Melancholy As a Friend • Makes friends cautiously • Content to stay in background • Avoids causing attention • Faithful and devoted • Will listen to complaints • Can solve other's problems • Deep concern for other people • Moved to tears with compassion • Seeks ideal mate

Strengths of a MelancholyThe Introvert | The Thinker | The Pessimist

• The Melancholy's Emotions • Remembers the negatives • Moody and depressed • Enjoys being hurt • Has false humility • Off in another world • Low self-image • Has selective hearing • Self-centered • Too introspective • Guilt feelings • Persecution complex • Tends to hypochondria • The Melancholy As A Parent• Puts goals beyond reach • May discourage children • May be too meticulous • Becomes martyr • Sulks over disagreements • Puts guilt upon children

• The Melancholy At Work• Not people oriented • depressed over imperfections • Chooses difficult work • Hesitant to start projects • Spends to much time planning • Prefers analysis to work • Self-deprecating • Hard to please • Standards often to high • Deep need for approval • The Melancholy As a Friend• Lives through others • Insecure socially • Withdrawn and remote • critical of others • Holds back affections • Dislikes those in opposition • Suspicious of people • Antagonistic and vengeful • Unforgiving • Full of contradictions • Skeptical of compliments

Weakness of a MelancholyThe Introvert | The Thinker | The Pessimist

• The Phlegmatic's Emotions

• Low-key personality

• Easygoing and relaxed

• Calm, cool and collected

• Patient well balanced

• Consistent life

• Quiet but witty

• Sympathetic and kind

• Keeps emotions hidden

• Happily reconciled to life

• All-purpose person

• The Phlegmatic As A Parent

• Makes a good parent

• Takes time for the children

• Is not in a hurry

• Can take the good with the bad

• Doesn't get upset easily

• The Phlegmatic At Work

• Competent and steady

• Peaceful and agreeable

• Has administrative ability

• Mediates problems

• Avoids conflicts

• Good under pressure

• Finds the easy way

• The Phlegmatic As a Friend

• Easy to get along with

• Pleasant and enjoyable

• Inoffensive

• Good listener

• Dry sense of humor

• Enjoys watching people

• Has many friends

• Has compassion and concern

Strengths of a Phlegmatic

• The Phlegmatic's Emotions Unenthusiastic

• Fearful and worried

• Indecisive

• Avoids responsibility

• Quiet will of iron

• Selfish

• To shy and reticent

• Too compromising

• Self-righteous

• The Phlegmatic As A Parent

• Lax on discipline

• Doesn't organize home

• Takes life too easy

• The Phlegmatic At Work • Not goal oriented

• Lacks self motivation

• Hard to get moving

• Resents being pushed

• Lazy and careless

• Discourages others

• Would rather watch

• The Phlegmatic As a Friend

• Dampens enthusiasm

• Stays uninvolved

• Is not exciting

• Indifferent to plans

• Judges others

• Sarcastic and teasing

• Resists change

The PhlegmaticThe Introvert | The Watcher | The Pessimist

• The Choleric's Emotions • Born leader • Dynamic and active • Compulsive need for change • Must correct wrongs • Strong-willed and decisive • Unemotional • Not easily discouraged • Independent and self sufficient • Exudes confidence • Can run anything

• The Choleric As A Parent • Exerts sound leadership • Establishes Goals • Motivates family to action • Knows the right answer • Organizes household

• The Choleric At Work • Goal oriented • Sees the whole picture • Organizes well • Seeks practical solutions • Moves quickly to action • Delegates work • Insists on production • Makes the goal • Stimulates activity • Thrives on opposition • The Choleric As a Friend • Has little need for friends • Will work for group activity • Will lead and organize • Is usually right • Excels in emergencies

Strengths of a CholericThe Extrovert | The Doer | The Optimist

• The Choleric's Emotions • Bossy • Impatient • Quick-tempered • Can't Relax • Too impetuous • Enjoys controversy and arguments • Won't give up when loosing • Comes on too strong • Inflexible • Is not complimentary • Dislikes tears and emotions • Is unsympathetic

• The Choleric As A Parent • Tends to over dominate • Too busy for family • Gives answers too quickly • Impatient with poor performance • Won't let children relax • May send them into depression

• The Choleric At Work • Little tolerance for mistakes • Doesn't analyze details • Bored by trivia • May make rash decisions • May be rude or tactless • Manipulates people • Demanding of others • End justifies the means • Work may become his god • Demands loyalty in the ranks

• The Choleric As a Friend • Tends to use people • Dominates others • Knows everything • Decides for others • Can do everything better • Is to independent • Possessive of friends and mate • Can't say, "I'm Sorry" • May be right, but unpopular

Weaknesses of a CholericThe Extrovert | The Doer | The Optimist

• The Sanguine's Emotions • Appealing personality • Talkative, Storyteller • Life of the Party • Good sense of humor • Memory for color • Physically holds on to listener • Emotional and demonstrative • Enthusiastic and expressive • Cheerful and bubbling over • Curious • Good on stage • Wide-eyed and innocent • Lives in the present • Changeable disposition • Sincere at heart • Always a child

• The Sanguine As A Parent Makes Home Fun • Is liked by children's friends • Turns disaster into humor • Is the circus master • The Sanguine At Work • Volunteers for Jobs • thinks up new activities • Looks great on the Surface • Creative and colorful • Has energy and enthusiasm • Starts in a flashy way • Inspires others to join • charms others to work • The Sanguine As a Friend • Makes friends easily • Loves People • Thrives on compliments • Seems exciting • envied by others • Doesn't hold grudges • apologizes quickly • Prevents dull moments • Likes spontaneous activities

Strengths of a SanguineThe Extrovert | The Talker | The Optimist

The Sanguine's Emotions • Compulsive talker • Exaggerates and elaborates • Dwells on trivia • Can't remember names • Scares others off • Too happy for some • Has restless energy • Egotistical • Blusters and complains • Naive, gets taken in • Has loud voice and laugh • Controlled by circumstances • Gets angry easily • Seems phony to some • Never Grows Up • The Sanguine As A Parent • Keeps home in a frenzy • Forgets children's appointments • disorganized • Doesn't listen to the whole story

• The Sanguine At Work • Would rather talk • forgets obligations • Doesn't follow through • Confidence fades fast • Undisciplined • Priorities out of order • Decides by feelings • Easily distracted • Wastes time talking • The Sanguine As a Friend • Hates to be alone • Needs to be center stage • Wants to be popular • Looks for credit • dominates conversations • Interrupts and doesn't listen • answers for others • Fickle and forgetful • Makes excuses • Repeats stories

Weaknesses of a SanguineThe Extrovert | The Talker | The Optimist

Trait Perspective

Gordon Allport• 3 basic types of traits

1.Cardinal: our fundamental traits, the most pervasive and powerful human traits; “ruling passion”

– Ex. Mother Theresa was self-sacrificing. Not all people develop cardinal traits

2.Central: represent major personality characteristics easier to infer; such as honesty or fatalism.

3. Secondary: more limited to occurrence; such as a skill at playing darts or fluency in Chinese.

The Trait Perspective

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) the most widely researched and clinically

used of all personality tests originally developed to identify emotional

disorders, like depression, delusions, and other psychological disorders (still considered its most appropriate use)

now used for many other screening purposes

The Trait Perspective

Empirically Derived Test a test developed by testing a pool of

items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups:

such as the MMPI

The Trait Perspective

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test profile

Hysteria(uses symptoms to solve problems)

Masculinity/femininity(interests like those of other sex)

T-score

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

100 30 40 50 60 70 80

Hypochondriasis(concern with body symptoms)

Depression(pessimism, hopelessness)

Psychopathic deviancy(disregard for social standards)

Paranoia(delusions, suspiciousness)

Psychasthenia(anxious, guilt feelings)

Schizophrenia(withdrawn, bizarre thoughts)

Hypomania(overactive, excited, impulsive)

Social introversion(shy, inhibited)

Clinicallysignificant

range

After treatment(no scores

in the clinicallysignificant range)

Beforetreatment(anxious,

depressed,and

displayingdeviant

behaviors)

The Trait Perspective

Development of Personality Inventories

• Factor Analysis• The statistical procedure used separate out

individual components of a construct aka. theoretical entity

• Ex. Development of the Big Five

The Trait PerspectiveThe “Big Five” Personality FactorsTrait Dimension DescriptionEmotional Stability Calm versus anxious

Secure versus insecure Self-satisfied versus self-pitying

Extraversion Sociable versus retiring Fun-loving versus sober Affectionate versus reserved

Openness Imaginative versus practical Preference for variety versus

preference for routine Independent versus conforming

Agreeableness Soft-hearted versus ruthless Trusting versus suspicious Helpful versus uncooperative

Conscientiousness Organized versus disorganized Careful versus careless Disciplined versus impulsive

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Social-Cognitive Perspective views behavior as influenced by the

interaction between persons and their social context

Reciprocal Determinism the interacting influences between

personality and environmental factors Ex. Treating someone kindly increases their positive

responses to that person which increases further kindness & trust

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Julian Rotter

Personal Control our sense of controlling our environments

rather than feeling helpless

External Locus of Control the perception that chance or outside forces

beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Internal Locus of Control the perception that one controls one’s own fate

More likely to achieve in school, act independently, enjoy better health, feel less depressed, delay gratification, and cope with stress much better

Learned Helplessness the hopelessness and passive resignation an

animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Learned Helplessness

Uncontrollablebad events

Perceivedlack of control

Generalizedhelpless behavior

Social-Cognitive theory

• Albert Bandura

• Self Efficacy: a person’s sense of his own ability to perform a given task. High efficacy results in outperforming others with lower sense of self-efficacy.

Social-Cognitive theory

• Measure of how helpless or effective you feel is based on where you stand optimism-pessimism

• Determining optimism is based on

attributional style: whether someone sees something as with a positive or negative perspective

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Positive Psychology Similar to the humanistic perspective but goes

further to look for evidence the scientific study of optimal human

functioning…Martin Seligman aims to discover and promote conditions that

enable individuals and communities to thrive which is in contrast to the humanistic perspective

Exploring the Self

Spotlight Effect overestimating others noticing and

evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders

Self Esteem one’s feelings of high or low self-worth

Self-Serving Bias readiness to perceive oneself favorably

Exploring the Self

Individualism giving priority to one’s own goals over group

goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

Collectivism giving priority to the goals of one’s group

(often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly or social identity

Exploring the Self

Morality Defined by individuals Defined by social networks (self-based) (duty-based)

Attributing Behavior reflects one’s personality Behavior reflects socialbehaviors and attitudes and roles

Value Contrasts Between Individualism and CollectivismConcept Individualism Collectivism

Self Independent Interdependent (identity from individual traits) identity from belonging)

Life task Discover and express one’s Maintain connections, fit in uniqueness

What matters Me--personal achievement and We-group goals and solidarity; fullfillment; rights and liberties social responsibilities and

relationships

Coping method Change reality Accommodate to reality

Relationships Many, often temporary or casual; Few, close and enduring;confrontation acceptable harmony valued

The Modern Unconscious Mind

Terror-Management Theory Faith in one’s worldview and the pursuit of

self-esteem provide protection against a deeply rooted fear of death