Personality

June 22, 2011

Collect Dream Journals

The Case of Phineas Gage

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Phineas-Gage-Neurosciences-Most-Famous-Patient.html

Phineas & Personality

• Phineas had damage to his Frontal lobe.

• After the accident, Phineas showed profound changes in personality.

• Therefore, perhaps personality is correlated with the Frontal Lobe.

• Similar findings have been reported following psychosurgical procedures that damage the frontal lobe.

http://www.mesacc.edu/dept/d10/asb/origins/phineas.html

Frontal Lobe & Personality

• As a result of these studies, we can suggest that the frontal lobe is implicated in:– Restraint– Orderly thought– Planning appropriate action– Some forms of memory– Preventing repetitive behaviors (perseveration)

Freudian PsychoanalysisTheory & Practice of Counseling & Psychotherapy, 7th Ed

Gerald Corey, 2005, USA, Thompson Learning

The Basis of Freudian Psychoanalysis

• Freud viewed human nature as deterministic: behavior is determined by our unconscious nature and instinctual biological forces

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sigmund_Freud_LIFE.jpg

The Divided Personality

• ID: Biological & pleasure principle

• EGO: Psychological & reality principle

• SUPEREGO: Social & ideal standards of conduct

http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html

Nice Theory, But..

• Is there any clinical evidence to support it?• Freud lists the following:

– Dreams– Slips of the tongue & memory lapses– Posthypnotic suggestions– Free-association material– Projection material– Psychotic symptoms & their symbolic content

Freudian Dream Analysis

• Dreams have 2 types of content:– Latent: High symbolic,

reflection of unconscious motives & desires

– Manifest: The dream at face value

• Latent content is considered so painful that it is subverted into manifest content and can only be revealed by dream work.

https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/d/dream_analysis.asp

Coping with Stress & Trauma

– Repression– Denial– Reaction Formation– Projection– Displacement– Compensation

– Rationalization– Sublimization– Introjection– Regression– Identification

• Freud suggests a variety of defense mechanisms that help us deal with stress and trauma on an unconscious level by distorting reality

Role PlayingDefense Mechanisms

Additional Theories

What Do You Think Causes John’s

Behavior?• John is 17 and has been drinking heavily since

he was 12. He drinks almost every day, but when he is particularly anxious, he drinks until he passes out. His father and his grandfather were diagnosed alcoholics; the father drank himself to death when John was 14. His mother and older brother do not drink at all, and they have always told John that he is the family’s black sheep, the rebellious child who is destined to be like his father.

http://college.cengage.com/psychology/sue/abnormal/8e/instructors/sue_irm.pdf

Diagramming Chart Activity

Biological Psychodynamic Behavioral Cognitive Humanistic

Motivation

Source of Abnormal Behavior

Treatment

Example Leader

Design a Personality Theory

Based Therapy

http://newvaluestreams.com/wordpress/?p=406

News vs. Neuroscience

Discussion

• What defines a personality disorder?

Personality Disorders

Personality Disorders

• Cluster A (Odd or Eccentric Disorders)– Paranoid Personality Disorders– Schizoid Personality Disorders

• Cluster B (Dramatic or Emotional Disorders)– Antisocial Personality Disorders– Borderline Personality Disorders– Histrionic Personality Disorders

• Cluster C (Anxious or Fearful Disorders)– Obsessive Compulisive Personality Disorders– Anxious (Avoidant) Personality Disorders– Dependent Personality Disorders

Paranoid Personality Disorders

• Persistent feeling of danger; often think someone is “out to get them”

• Suspicious of others

• Treatment– Anti-anxiety or

anti-depressant medication– Psychotherapy

Schizoid Personality Disorders

• Extreme detachment from social interactions

• Isolated and emotionally cold

• Treatment:– Atypical anti-psychotics– Cognitive behavioral

therapy

http://www.pchtreatment.com/schizoid-personality-disorder-clinic.php

Antisocial Personality Disorders

• "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood." --DSM-IV

• Characteristic of many psychopaths

• Treatment– None

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=2637

Borderline Personality Disorders

• Prolonged period of unstable moods, characterized by black and white thinking and switching– Abrupt transition between idealizing and

despising/ridiculing another person• Often contains an element of self-harm or

suicidal ideation• Treatment:

– Psychotherapy– Mood stabilizers (Lithium) & anti-psychotics

Histrionic Personality Disorders

• Excessive emotion and attention-seeking• Very dramatic & flirtatious to an excessive

degree• Lack of empathy for others and demand for

attention often impair relationships• Treatment

– Psychotherapy– Cognitive Behavioral Therapy– Group Therapy

Obsessive Compulisive PD

• Extreme concern for cleanliness and perfectionism even when it impairs normal functioning

• Unlike a person with OCD, a person with OCPD sees nothing wrong with their obsessive thinking and compulsive routines.

• Treatment:– Psychotherapy– Sometimes, anti-depressants are useful

Anxious (Avoidant) PD

• Extreme, pervasive pattern of social anxiety and inhibition

• Extremely sensitive to criticism and highly avoidant of social interactions

• Often a result of low self-esteem or self-loathing• Treatment:

– Cognitive behavioral therapy– Group therapy

Dependent Personality Disorders

• Excessive dependence on the assistance of others to fulfill emotional and physical needs

• Feel unable to care for themselves and view others as far more capable and powerful than they

• Treatments– Psychotherapy and group therapies– Rarely respond to medication

Analyze a Famous Person

Student Presentations