chapter 13 Flashcards
Psychodynamic approaches to personality
Assume that personality is primarily unconscious
Freud
Hysteria (He was influenced by Charcot)
with Breuer=hysteria=mental lock=cure reveal them
Preconscious
non-threatening material that is easily brought tomind
Drives:
hidden=causes pain
Id
unorganized
Sole purpose is to reduce tension created by primitive drives related to hunger, sex, aggression, and irrational impulses
pleasure priciple
Ego
between ıd and outside world
reality priciple
executive of personality
Superego
harshly judges moral behavior
Psychosexual stages
children pass through during which they encounter conflicts between the demands of society and their own sexual urges
Fixations
Concerns or conflicts that persist beyond the developmental period in which they first occur
Psychosexual stages
Oral stage= sucking eating
Anal stage=toilet training
Phallic stage=interest in genitals (3-6)
Oedipal conflict: Child’s sexual interest in his or her opposite-sex parent, typically resolved through identification with the same-sex parent
Identification: Process of wanting to be like another person
Imitating that person’s behavior and adopting similar beliefs and values
Latency stage=sexual concerns (5-6)
Genital stage=mature sexual relations
Defense mechanisms
repression=bastırmak
regression=bebe gibi davranmak
displacement= güçlü zayıfı eziyor
rationalization=kötü davranışını normalleştirmek
denial
projection=kendin kötü bir şey yapınca başkalarınında sana öyle yaptığından şüphelenmek
sublimation=kötü şeyleri societynin ok olacağı şeylere çevirmek
reaction formation=unconcius ve conscius çatışıyor
Psychoanalysts
trained in traditional Freudian theory but who later rejected some of its major points
ego has more control than the id over day-to-day activities
They also emphasized the social environment over the importance of sex as a driving force; and played greater attention to society and culture.
Jung
all humans because of our common ancestral past
Archetypes: Universal symbolic representations of particular types of people, objects, ideas, or experiences
Horney
Depends on the relationship between parents and child
Rejected Freud’s notion of penis envy in women
Stressed the importance of cultural factors in the determination of personality
Alfred Adler
Proposed that the primary human motivation is striving for superiority in a quest for self-improvement and perfection
Inferiority complex – Describes adults who have not been able to overcome the feelings of inadequacy they developed as children
Erik Erikson and Anna Freud
focused on the social and cultural factors behind personality
Object relations theories:
mental representations that people form of themselves and other people as a result of early experiences with caregivers
Early experiences leading to development of schemas or internal working models
Tend to influence interpersonal relationships throughout life.
Often create self-fulfilling prophecies
trait theory
Model of personality that seeks to identify the basic traits necessary to describe personality
traits
They are adjectives or phrases that can be used to describe regularities in people’s manifest behaviors.
Consistent, habitual personality characteristics and behaviors displayed across different situations
An attempt to understand individual differences
allports trait theory
cardinal trait :Single characteristic that directs most of a person’s activities
central trait: Major characteristics of an individual
secondary trait:Affect behavior in fewer situations
factor analysis
Statistical method of identifying patterns among a large number of variables
Factors - Fundamental patterns of traits that are found together in the same person
catteel
Suggested that 16 pairs of traits represent the basic dimensions of personality
eysenck
extraversion: level of sociability
neuroticism: emotional stability
psychoticism: degree to which reality is distorted
5 factor model
The Five Factor Model: proposes that five higher-order factors capture the basic structure of personality
Openness to Experience
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
the big 5
Extraversion is characterized by positive emotions, surgency, and the tendency to seek out stimulation and the company of others
Neuroticism is the tendency to experience negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety, or depression.
Agreeableness is a tendency to be compassionate and cooperative
Conscientiousness is the trait of being painstaking and careful
penness to experience is a general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas
The hierarchical organization of personality
. If we choose terms higher in hierarchy, we gain a more economical description with fewer, broader terms. If we choose terms lower in the hierarchy, we gain accuracy.
Evaluating Trait Approaches to Personality
Benefits
Provide straightforward explanation of people’s behavioral consistencies
Allow comparison of one person to another
Influence the development of several useful personality measures
Drawbacks
Validity of trait conceptions of personality
Do not provide explanations for behavior
personality
A certain level of consistency over time and across different situations is expected from every individual. This leads to the notion of personality traits
main problems
Stability /consistency***
Because traits are viewed as enduring behavioral dispositions, they should show some degree of stability over time. Yet they should not be unchangable.
personality paradox
It is the idea that people seem to behave much less consistently than a trait perception would predict
Cross-situational consistency: Following three factors make it difficult to predict how people will behave in particular situations
Traits interact with other traits, as well as characteristics of different situations
Structured vs unstructured situations
Consistency is influenced by how important a given trait is for a person
Differences in the tendency to tailor behavior to a given situation
Self-monitoring
snyder
Low Self-Monitors would behave largely consistent with their attitudes, while attitudes would be poor predictors of behavior for High Self-Monitors.
B. F. Skinner’s behaviorist approach
Personality is a collection of learned behavior patterns
Similar patterns of reinforcement and punishment responsible for similar behaviors
No emphasis on consistency and stability
Humans are infinitely changeable through the process of learning new behavior patterns
berger experiment
Watch people seeming to react with pain after hearing a tone. Participants gave the same reaction when they heard the tone themselves.
Social cognitive approaches to personality
Theories that emphasize the influence of a person’s cognitions and observation of others’ behavior, in determining personality
albert bandura
Has basis in observational learning
Personality develops through repeated observation of others behaviors
Internal capacities are also important
Reciprocal relationship between the individual and the environment.
Self-efficacy
Belief that we can master a situation and produce positive outcomes
walter mischel
Views personality as variable from one situation to another.
Situationism – View that personality cannot be considered without taking the context of the situation into account
Cognitive-affective processing system theory (CAPS)
People’s thoughts and emotions about themselves and the world determine how they view, and then react, in situations.
mischel and shoda
Personality is seen as a reflection of how people’s prior experiences in different situations affect their behavior
relationship harmony
Sense of success in forming close bonds with other people
Self-esteem:
Component of personality that encompasses our positive and negative self-evaluations
Difference from self-efficacy?
Multiple domains
People go through periods of low and high esteem
Chronically low self-esteem: may lead to a cycle of failure where past failure breeds future failure
Narcissism:
show self-absorption and hold inflated views of oneself
In last 25 years, research shows significant increase in narcissism scores (?)
Potential reasons
Cultural differences
Learning theories have:
Some neglected internal processes
Oversimplification of personality
Helped make personality psychology a scientific venture
By focusing on observable behavior and the effects of their environments
Tend to share a highly deterministic view of human behavior
Maintains that behavior is shaped by forces beyond the individual’s control
Produced important, successful means of treating a variety of psychological disorders
are we born with personality
Suggest that important components of personality are inherited
Behavioral genetics
Evolutionary psychology
Family studies, Twin studies, adoption studies
Certain traits are more influenced by heredity than others
Social potency
- Degree to which a person assumes mastery and leadership roles in social situations
Traditionalism
Tendency to follow authority
Biological Foundations
Some traits are more influenced by nature than others are.
Evolutionary principle
Genetic bases for trait inheritance
Differences in the functioning of the nervous system
twins
Genetics and personality: Identical twins are more similar to each other than fraternal twins on many psychological characteristics
This similarity may also be due to exposure to similar environments
Consistent results across cultures (Yamagata et al., 2006).
Specific genes are related to personality
s-allele of 5-HT transporter gene
Longer D-4 receptor gene thrill seeking tendency
Structure of the brain
It is unlikely that a single gene is linked to a specific trait.
Enviornmental factors are also influential
MAOA gene- criminal behavior (serial killer gene)
s-allele
The genes require environmental input
Personality and the nervous system
Individual differences in personality originate from variations in the sensitivity of the biological systems of reward and punishment. Related to motivation
the behavioural approach system (BAS)
The brain systems involved in the pursuit of incentives or rewards
the behavioural inhibition system (BIS)
The brain system that is sensitive to punishment and therefore inhibits behaviour that might lead to danger or pain.
Similar to Eysenck’s theory but at a different orientation(Canlı, 2006).
Eysenck’s model
Reinforcement sensitivity model of Gray
Research on temperament
Eysenck’s (1967) extraversion-stability model:
Personality can be understood in terms of two basic dimensions:
Introversion-extraversion
Stability-instability (neuroticism)
These “supertraits” are comparable to Big Five dimensions of Neuroticism and Extroversion
These two dimensions can produce very diverse personality patterns
Eysenck proposed a biological, genetic basis for personality traits
Differences in customary levels of arousal
Introverts are over-aroused; extraverts are under-aroused
These differences are associated with ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)
Suddenness of shifts in arousal
Unstable (neurotic) people show large and sudden shifts in arousal; stable people do not (Pickering & Gray, 1999).
Source of the difference is the limbic system.
Evidence
Twin studies support Eysenck’s notion that these traits have genetic basis
Half of the variance can be attributed to genetic factors
Eysenck believed that an individual’s responses to environmental forces is at least programmed by biological factors
Differences are not just limited to arousal levels.
Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory
Individual differences in personality originate from variations in the sensitivity of the biological systems of reward and punishment. Related to motivation
the behavioural approach system (BAS)
The brain systems involved in the pursuit of incentives or rewards
the behavioural inhibition system (BIS)
The brain system that is sensitive to punishment and therefore inhibits behaviour that might lead to danger or pain.
Temperament:
Individual’s behavioral style and characteristic way of responding that emerges early in life
Individual differences are visible even during infancy.
Assumed to have a biological basis
Emotionality, activity level, sociability, impulsivity
Influences the later development of personality
Can be influenced by environment
Kagan made a distinction based on his behavioral observations and biological functioning.
Inhibited (20 %) vs. uninhibited infants (40 %)
Responses to novelty.
Impulsive vs. timid
Inhibited babies get aroused faster and stress hormone secretion in response to unfamiliar situations and people
Characteristics observed around 4 months persist in many kids (Bould et al., 2013)
goldberg
Is person X active and dominant or passive and submissive? Can I dominate X, or will I have to submit to X?
Nettle (2006)
Openness to experience, How smart is X, and how quickly can X learn and adapt?
Conscientiousness, Can I count on X? Is X conscientious and dependable?
Extraversion, Is person X active and dominant or passive and submissive? Can I dominate X, or will I have to submit to X?
Agreeableness, Is X agreeable and friendly or hostile and uncooperative?
Neuroticism, Is X sane or crazy?
Strategic Pluralism
the idea that multiple - even contradictory - behavioural strategies might be adaptive in certain environments and would therefore be maintained through natural selection
Each trait has both costs and benefits that could relate to survival (Nettle, 2006)
Sexuality and mate preferences (common goals):
Survival of the fittest.
The aim is to maximize reproductive potential, passing one’s genes to the next generation.
Evolutionary theory: mate selection, sexuality,
gender differences.
Sexuality and mate preferences:
Males should be under pressure to mate with as many females as possible to increase reproductive success
This argument explains mating patterns in many mammalian species
Sexuality and mate preferences:
Men show more interest in short-term mating
Men prefer a greater number of partners
Men have more permissive sexual attitudes
Clark & Hatfield (1989)
Males think and desire for sex and initiate in sexual encounter.
Also, tend to interpret female friendliness as a sexual invitation.
Which mate does the choosing?
When females do the choosing, the burden falls on the males to attract and persuade their potential partners.
Human Mating Habits
why human males express a desire for multiple partners,
and why it’s the female, in most species, who makes the choice about mating.
By the same logic
Natural selection explains why males take the major role in
David Buss (1990):
Male: Younger females, physical attractiveness is important, domestic skills.
Female: Older male, earning potential, status, ambitiousness.
Sexual strategies theory
: mating strategies reflect inherited tendencies that were shaped in response to different types of adaptive problems
Common goal: survive and pass your genes to the next generation
Self-actualization
: State of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potential, each in a unique way
Humanistic Approaches: The Uniqueness of You (1)**
Maslow proposed that needs are arranged in a hierarchy.
Carl Rogers
Theory of the Self
The Self: An organized, consistent set of perceptions of and beliefs about oneself
It is an object of perception (the self-concept)
Self-concepts - Set of beliefs and perceptions people hold about their own abilities, behavior, and personality
Self-concepts
- Set of beliefs and perceptions people hold about their own abilities, behavior, and personality
It is an internal entity that directs behaviour
Self-concept vs what you experience congruence
The Humanistic Perspective
Maslow proposed that needs are arranged in a hierarchy.
After meeting our more basic needs, we experience need progression and focus on needs at the next level.
If a need at a lower level is no longer satisfied, we experience need regression and focus once again on meeting that lower-level need.
Self-Consistency
an absence of conflict among self-perceptions
Congruence
consistency between self-perceptions and experience
Inconsistent experiences evoke threat (anxiety)
Well-adjusted individuals can modify the self-concept to maximize congruence
Unhealthy individuals choose to deny or distort experiences
Can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies
Degree of congruence between the self-concept and experience defines one’s adjustment level
Need for Positive Regard
an inborn need for acceptance, sympathy, and love from others
Unconditional Positive Regard:
communicates that the person is inherently worthy of love, regardless of accomplishments or behaviour
Conditional Positive Regard:
Dependent on how the child behaves
Evaluating Humanistic Approaches
Benefits
Highlights the uniqueness of human beings
Guides the development of a form of therapy designed to alleviate psychological difficulties
Criticisms
Difficulty of verifying basic assumptions of the approach
Making the assumption that people are basically “good”
