Chapter 14: Personality Flashcards
what the psychodynamic perspective
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
iceberg example:
- conscious: what we are aware of
- preconscious: unaware but can be recalled
- unconscious: wishes,uses, are unware of that can influence behaviour
what is the id?
- exists only in the unconscious mind
- the innermost core of the personality and the only structure present at birth (source of all psychic energy
PLEASURE PRINCIPLE: seeks immediate gratification regardless of rational considerations (“Want..take!”)
what is the ego?
- functions primarily at a conscious lvl and keeps impulses of id in control
- delays gratification and imparts self-control
REALITY PRINCIPLE: it tests reality to decide when and under what conditions the id can safely discharge its impulses and satisfy its needs
what is the superego?
- the last personality structure to develop, according to Freud develop by age of four or five
- moral compass
controls impulses of id with external control
Defense mechanisms
- from when the ego cannot always control id = conflict
- operate unconsciously are cause of maladaptive behaviour
- distortions of reality
- eg. rationalization, intellectualization, repression, sublimation
Freud’s Psychosexual development
- series of stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
- FIXATION: stuck on a stage
- adult personality is function of progressing through theses stages
Neoanalytic approach
- ALFRED ALDER
- motivation by social interest, place social welfare above personal interest
- striving for superiority; superiority and inferiority complex
Object Relations Approaches
- mental representations people form of themselves, their self-concept
- different interpretations of social interactions based on how you perceive yourself
- can generate self-fulfilling prophecies eg. think others think you’re nice so you act nicer to keep up with the expectations of others
- affects attachment styles in adult relationships: secure vs avoidant vs anxious-ambivalent
Humanistic approach and people’s theories:
- Maslow
- Maslow and Rogers: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
- SELF-ACTUALIZATION; the total realization of one’s human potential
Humanistic approach and people’s theories: George Kelly
- George Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory: primary interest was how people construct reality
- Personal Constructs: are cognitive categories which sort the people and events in their life
Humanistic approach and people’s theories: Carl Rogers
- Self Theory: goal is for congruency, overlap of ideal and real self
- when incongruence, threat arises and can be handled two ways:
1. healthy individuals modify self-concept: eg. not everyone will perceive me this way
2. distort reality: eg. they are just not clever enough to see the way
psychological adjustment for obtaining congruence
level of adjustment: degree of congruence between self-concept and experience
maladjustment: deny or distort reality to be consistent with self-concept
health adjustment: experiences are easily incorporated into self-concept
self-esteem, high and low, unstable/unrealistically high
self-esteem: how positively or negatively we feel about ourselves
- the higher self-esteem, fewer interpersonal problems are more capable of forming loving relationships
- poor self-esteem can cause anxiety, depression, poor social relationships, underachievement
- unstable/ unrealistically high is more problematic, aggression can happen when self-esteem is threatened
positive regard
the innate need for acceptance, sympathy, love
- unconditional: regardless of behaviour
- conditional: dependent upon behaviour, creates ‘conditions of worth’
- positive self-regard: allow growth, accepting inner and other experiences as they are, self-determined and sense of inner freedom
self-verification and self-enhancement
verification: motivated to confirm self-concept
enhancement: tendency to gain and preserve positive self-image, contributes to psychological well-being
individualistic vs collectivist
independence and personal achievement vs achievement of group goals
reflected in self-concept descriptions eg. being captain of a team
- team is collective
- captain, cause of leadership skills is individualist
The Five Factor Model: Trait Theories
from the idea of Cattell’s 16 dimensions and Eysenck’s Extraversion-Stability Model (introversion-extraversion and stability-instability)
- OCEAN:
- openness
- conscientiousness
- extraversion/introversion
- agreeableness
- neuroticism
- both 5 factor and Eysnenck’s 2 factor is good at predicting behavior broadly
- Cattel’s 16 factors predict behaviour more specifically
Biological Foundations of personality traits
focus on role of:
- nervous system: our sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight)
- genetics: some people are born with higher concentration of proteins for anxiety and fear
- evolution: eg. high anxiety for increased survival, assessing risk and getting away from danger
evidence for biological perspective
extraversion - introversion: over-aroused brain for extreme introverts and under-aroused bain for extreme extroverts
stability-instability: difference in the way you react to certain stimuli, our autonomic nervous system arousal
novelty seeking: stimulation seeking, related to levels of dopamine, addiction can be caused from lower [dopamine]
the stability of personality traits
traits might stay the same and some change
traits that stay the same are introversion-extroversion, emotionality, activity level, and certain thought patterns remain stable (eg. optimism-pessimism)
behavior characteristics like anxiety can change throughout the years (show little stability) through a change of methods (eg. how you deal with anxiety and coping mechanisms)
Social Cognitive Theories: Julian Rotter
behavior governed by 2 factors: expectancy and reinforcement
- idea of locus of control
Social Cognitive Theories: Albert Bandura
Bobo doll dude
- behavior not explained by ‘external’ or ‘internal’ factors alone
- RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM: individual, behaviour and environment are linked, 2-way causal links
What is Locus of Control?
belief in the causes of events in a person’s life,
is a life dictated by yourself(internal) or by a higher being like God, fate (external)
- having high internal locus means you are self-determined, more involved and have a sense of personal effectiveness
- high external locus means you are less resistant to social pressures and give into ‘powerful’ others
Social Cognitive Theories: Walter Mischel - The Consistency Paradox
- level of consistency in behavior is low
- COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE PERSONALITY SYSTEM (CAPS) : interplay between personality characteristics and situation, if… then.. behaviour consistencies
- behavior is dependent on social cues, which conflicts trait theorists belief (they believe that behavior is dependant on traits and should be consistent across situations)
