Ch 14: Theories of Personality Flashcards
Psychoanalysis
A theory of personality and a method of psychotherapy developed by Sigmund Freud; it emphasizes unconscious motives and conflicts
Psychodynamic theories
Theories that explain behaviour and personality in terms of unconscious energy dynamics within the individual
id
In psychoanalysis, the part of personality containing inherited psychic energy, particularly sexual and aggressive instincts
Libido
In psychoanalysis, the psychic energy that fuels the life or sexual instincts of the id
Ego
In psychoanalysis, the part of personality that represents reason, good sense, and rational self-control
Superego
In psychoanalysis, the part of personality that represents conscience, morality, and social standards
Defence mechanisms
Methods used by the ego to prevent unconscious anxiety or threatening thoughts from entering consciousness
List the primary defenses identified by Freud (and later analysts)
- Repression; when a threatening idea, memory, or emotion is blocked from consciousness
- Projection; when a person’s own unacceptable or threatening feelings are repressed, then attributed to someone else
- Displacement; when people direct their emotions (especially anger) towards things, animals, or other people that are not the real object of their feelings. When it serves a higher cultural or socially useful purpose it is called “sublimation”
- Regression; when a person reverts to a previous stage of psychological development. Ex: when an adult has a temper tantrum when stressed
- Denial; when people refuse to admit something unpleasant is happening; used to protect self-image and preserve the illusion of invulnerability
Psychosexual stages
In Freud’s theory, the idea that sexual energy takes different forms as the child matures; the stages are oral, anal, phallic (Oedipal), latency, and genital
Oedipus complex
In psychoanalysis, a conflict occurring in the phallic (Oedipal) stage, in which a child desires the parent of the other sex and views the same-sex parent as a rival
“Oral” psychosexual stage
In Freud’s theory, when babies experience the world through their mouth, during the first year of life
In adults: overeating, nail biting, or clingy and dependent like a nursing child
“Anal” psychosexual stage
In Freud’s theory, at age 2 to 3, when toilet training and control of bodily wastes are the key issue
In adults:
Anal-retentive: holding everything in, obsessive about neatness and cleanliness
Anal-expulsive: messy and disorganized
“Latency” psychosexual stage
In Freud’s theory, the child settles into a non-sexual stage at age 5 or 6, after the Oedipus complex is resolved
“Genital” psychosexual stage
In Freud’s theory, the stage of puberty that leads into adult sexuality
Collective unconscious
In Jungian thoery, the universal memories and experiences of humankind, represented in the symbols, stories, and images (archetypes) that occur across all cultures
Archetypes
Universal symbolic images that appear in art, myths, stories, and dreams; to Jungians, they reflect the collective unconscious
Object-relations school
A psychodynamic approach that emphasizes the importance of the infant’s first 2 years of life and the baby’s formative relationships, especially with the mother
Central problem in life is to balance between need for independence and the need for others
If baby’s need for recognition goes unheeded, their personality will be warped; may develop “false-self” because “true-self” is undeveloped
Mother treats daughter as extension of herself, while boys must break away from her to develop masculine identity
Arguments against psychodynamic theories of personality development
- Violates the principle of falsifiability
Many claims about unconscious motivations are impossible to confirm or disconfirm. Ideas are accepted because they seem intuitively right
- Draws universal principles from the experiences of a few atypical patients
Generalized theories from a few individuals (often patients in therapy) without studying in large samples and comparing to a control group
- Bases theories of personality development on the retrospective accounts of adults
Memories can be inaccurate, influenced by what is going on both today and in the past. Ex: current relationship with siblings causes bias in which childhood events are remembered as positive vs negative.
Creates illusion of causality (if A came before B, then it seems like A caused B). Longitudinal studies produce a much different picture of causality than retrospective studies do.
Objective tests (inventories)
Standardized questionnaires requiring written responses; they typically include scales on which people are asked to rate themselves
List the core personality traits
- Extroversion vs introversion
- Neuroticism (negative emotionality) vs emotional stability
- Agreeableness vs antagonism
- Conscientiousness vs impulsiveness
- Openness to experience vs resistance to new experience
Factor analysis
A statistical method for analyzing the intercorrelations among various measures or test scores
Clusters of measures or scores that are highly correlated are assumed to measure the same underlying trait or ability (factor)
Like adding water to flour, it causes material to clump up into little balls
What aspects of psychodynamic theories of personality development are valid?
Identified unconscious process in thought, memory and behaviour.
Evidence supports theory of defence mechanisms like projection, denial, and displacement.
Interaction of mind-body and stress-related problems.
We are often unaware of motives behind our own self-defeating actions
How are the genetic influences of personality measured?
- Studying personality traits in other species
- Studying temperaments of human infants and children
- Doing heritability studies of twins and adopted people
Temperaments
Physiological dispositions to respond to the environment in certain ways
Ex: Reactivity, soothability, and positive/negative emotionality
They are present in infancy and in many nonhuman species, and are assumed to be innate
Heritability studies of personality
Studies conducted on twins and adopted children help identify patterns of brain activity related to some personality traits
Ex: if neuroticism is high, reactivity in the brain shows uncertainty can be almost intolerable at the neurological level
Heritability of personality is 50%, so it is influenced about equally by both genetics and environment
Reciprocal determinismm
The two-way interaction between aspects of the environment and aspects of the individual in the shaping of personality traits
Evaluating genetic theories of personality
Genetic dispositions and temperaments mean that most people will never transform their personalities completely; the hope is these findings will help people become more accepting of themselves and their children
A genetic predisposition does not necessarily imply genetic eventuality; environmental influences also play an important role
Personality traits
By definition, are consistent across situations, and at the same time, vary behaviour across situations
Ex: child studies hard, but gets poor grades, is ignored by teacher and parents, and rejected by friends; this child learns that working hard isn’t worth it. The situation influences the child’s future behaviour
Nonshared environment
Unique aspects of a person’s environment and experience that are not shared with family members
Limits of parental influence on personality
- The shared environment of the home has little if any influence on most personality traits
- 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 the way they treat their children, there may be little relation between what they do and how the children turn out
Influence of peers on personality
Children’s behaviour outside the home (daycare, school, chance events) has a large role in shaping personality traits
Ex: acceptable behaviour among peers is different than what is accepted at home
Culture
A program of shared rules that governs the behaviour of members of a community or society and a set of values, beliefs, and attitudes shared by most members of that community
Individualist cultures
Cultures in which the self is regarded as autonomous, and individual goals and wishes are prized above duty and relations with others
Ex: if costs exceed advantages, then the interaction will stop
Collectivist cultures
Cultures in which the self is regarded as embedded in relationships, and harmony with one’s group is prized above individual goals and wishes
Ex: if relationship is beneficial to the group, but costly to the individual, the relationship will likely continue
Cultural impacts on violence in men: Subsistence from agriculture vs herding
Violence in agricultural communities:
People tend to develop and promote cooperative strategies for survival. Men respond to insults in a nonviolent manner
Violence in herding communities:
People are extremely vulnerable because their livelihood can be lost in an instant, by the theft of their animals
Develop a culture of honour, where manliness is defined by competitiveness and strength. Even small disputes and insults put a man’s reputation for toughness on the line, requiring him to respond with violence to restore his status
Evaluating cultural approaches to personality
Influence of culture on personality can be perceived as oversimplifying or stereotyping.
There is much variation in behaviour and personality within each culture, and between regions within a culture.
But cultural psychologists must be careful not to exaggerate the contrasts between cultures, because we all share commonalities as humans
Humanist psychology
Emphasizes personal growth, resilience, and the achievement of human potential; uniquely human capacity to determine our own actions and futures
Abraham Maslow
A humanist psychologist; viewed personality development as a gradual progression toward self-actualization; emphasized positive aspects of life, such as joy, laughter, love, happiness.
Considered other psychologists to have a lopsided view of human nature that focused too much on negative traits and emotional problems.
Carl Rogers
A humanist psychologist; viewed unconditional positive regard to be essential to become a fully functional individual
Fully functional individual; congruence, or harmony, between the image a person projects to others and their true feelings and wishes
Incongruence between image and true feelings leads to low self-esteem, defensiveness, negativity and unhappiness; scores high in neuroticism
Existentialism
A philosophical approach that emphasizes the inevitable dilemmas and challenges of human existence
Rollo May
A existentialist psychologist; believes personalities reflect the ways we cope with struggles to find meaning in existence
We can choose to make the best of ourselves by drawing on inner resources (love, courage), but we can never escape the harsh realities of life and loss
Narrative approach to personality
Personality rests on how an individual answers the question “Who am I?”; what story or explanation is told
Ex: One can tell a new story about past experiences that doesn’t emphasize tragedies, but rather triumps in overcoming them.
Evaluating humanist and narrative approaches to personality
Many assumptions are untestable and difficult to define operationally
Ex: How can we tell if a person is self-actualized?
Ex: How can you measure unconditional positive regard? What direction does it provide to parents? Many interpret it as an unwillingness to say no, or offer constructive criticism, but this method is not effective
