Ch 14: Theories of Personality

Question 1

Psychoanalysis

Answer 1

A theory of personality and a method of psychotherapy developed by Sigmund Freud; it emphasizes unconscious motives and conflicts

Question 2

Psychodynamic theories

Answer 2

Theories that explain behaviour and personality in terms of unconscious energy dynamics within the individual

Question 3

id

Answer 3

In psychoanalysis, the part of personality containing inherited psychic energy, particularly sexual and aggressive instincts

Question 4

Libido

Answer 4

In psychoanalysis, the psychic energy that fuels the life or sexual instincts of the id

Question 5

Ego

Answer 5

In psychoanalysis, the part of personality that represents reason, good sense, and rational self-control

Question 6

Superego

Answer 6

In psychoanalysis, the part of personality that represents conscience, morality, and social standards

Question 7

Defence mechanisms

Answer 7

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

Question 8

List the primary defenses identified by Freud (and later analysts)

Answer 8

1. Repression; when a threatening idea, memory, or emotion is blocked from consciousness
2. Projection; when a person’s own unacceptable or threatening feelings are repressed, then attributed to someone else
3. 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”
4. Regression; when a person reverts to a previous stage of psychological development. Ex: when an adult has a temper tantrum when stressed
5. Denial; when people refuse to admit something unpleasant is happening; used to protect self-image and preserve the illusion of invulnerability

Question 9

Psychosexual stages

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Oedipus complex

Answer 10

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

Question 11

“Oral” psychosexual stage

Answer 11

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

Question 12

“Anal” psychosexual stage

Answer 12

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

Question 13

“Latency” psychosexual stage

Answer 13

In Freud’s theory, the child settles into a non-sexual stage at age 5 or 6, after the Oedipus complex is resolved

Question 14

“Genital” psychosexual stage

Answer 14

In Freud’s theory, the stage of puberty that leads into adult sexuality

Question 15

Collective unconscious

Answer 15

In Jungian thoery, the universal memories and experiences of humankind, represented in the symbols, stories, and images (archetypes) that occur across all cultures

Question 16

Archetypes

Answer 16

Universal symbolic images that appear in art, myths, stories, and dreams; to Jungians, they reflect the collective unconscious

Question 17

Object-relations school

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Arguments against psychodynamic theories of personality development

Answer 18

1. Violates the principle of falsifiability

Many claims about unconscious motivations are impossible to confirm or disconfirm. Ideas are accepted because they seem intuitively right

2. 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

3. 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.

Question 19

Objective tests (inventories)

Answer 19

Standardized questionnaires requiring written responses; they typically include scales on which people are asked to rate themselves

Question 20

List the core personality traits

Answer 20

1. Extroversion vs introversion
2. Neuroticism (negative emotionality) vs emotional stability
3. Agreeableness vs antagonism
4. Conscientiousness vs impulsiveness
5. Openness to experience vs resistance to new experience

Question 21

Factor analysis

Answer 21

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

Question 22

What aspects of psychodynamic theories of personality development are valid?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

How are the genetic influences of personality measured?

Answer 23

1. Studying personality traits in other species
2. Studying temperaments of human infants and children
3. Doing heritability studies of twins and adopted people

Question 24

Temperaments

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Heritability studies of personality

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Reciprocal determinismm

Answer 26

The two-way interaction between aspects of the environment and aspects of the individual in the shaping of personality traits

Question 27

Evaluating genetic theories of personality

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Personality traits

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Nonshared environment

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Limits of parental influence on personality

Answer 30

1. The shared environment of the home has little if any influence on most personality traits
2. Few parents have a single child-rearing style that is consistent over time and that they use with all their children
3. 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

Question 31

Influence of peers on personality

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Culture

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Individualist cultures

Answer 33

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

Question 34

Collectivist cultures

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Cultural impacts on violence in men: Subsistence from agriculture vs herding

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Evaluating cultural approaches to personality

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Humanist psychology

Answer 37

Emphasizes personal growth, resilience, and the achievement of human potential; uniquely human capacity to determine our own actions and futures

Question 38

Abraham Maslow

Answer 38

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.

Question 39

Carl Rogers

Answer 39

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

Question 40

Existentialism

Answer 40

A philosophical approach that emphasizes the inevitable dilemmas and challenges of human existence

Question 41

Rollo May

Answer 41

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

Question 42

Narrative approach to personality

Answer 42

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.

Question 43

Evaluating humanist and narrative approaches to personality

Answer 43

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