L11 - personality Flashcards
personality definition
way of thinking (cognitions), feeling (emotions), and acting (behaviours) stable across time, space, & situation
historical approaches
bumps - phrenology using psychograph, map of 35 personality traits
blots - uncover hidden throught processes (eg Rorschach ink blot, draw a person, thematic apperception)
bodies - endomorphy, mesomorphy, ectomorphy
humanistic theories
emphasises conscious free will, uniqueness of individual & personal growth
contributions/crituques of psychoanalytic theory
too deterministic
Freud’s theory: three levels of awareness
conscious mind, preconscious mind, unconscious mind
primary motication, biological instinctual drives, repressed unacceptable thoughts, memories, feelings, especially unresolved conflicts from early childhood
Freud’s three-part personality structure
id - original personality, life & death instincts
ego - realistic, socially acceptable outlets of id’s needs (reality principle)
superego - conscience, idealised standards (morality principle), guilt & shame
use of defense mechanisms to prevent anxiety from satisfying both id and superego, distorting reality
pleasure principle of id
demands immediate gratification of drives without regard of consequences
unhealthy personalities
develop when:
we get too dependent on defense mechanisms
whe
id or superego too strong
ego too weak
Freud’s psychosocial states of personality development
erogeneous zone where id’s psychic energy focuses during particular stage
fixation when portion of id’s energy remains in a stage because of excessive gratification or frustration
phallic stage conflicts
Oedipus conflict - fears father will find out and castrate him
Electra conflict - penis envy, attracted to father because of this
neu-Freudian theories of personality
Carl Jung collective unconsious - universal human experiences manifest in archetypes (explorer, mother, hero), each with own primary desire
Alfred Adler striving for superiority - overcome sense of inferiority felt as infants
Karen Horney need for security - parent must provide sense of security, otherwise will develop neurotic personality patterns: towards people (dependent personality disorder), against (antisocial personality disorder), away (schizoid personality disorder)
trait theories of personality
factor analysis + other statistical techniques to tell number & kind of traits (lexical approach)
Eyseneck’s three-factor theory
extraversion-introversion: extraverts have lower cortical arousal so need external stimulation
neuroticism-emotional stability: more reactive sympathetic nervous system
psychoticism-impulse control: high testostetone low MAO-A (warrior gene)
all controlled by genetics
self concept, working self concept
network of mental representations one has of oneself
locus of control
one’s perception of what determines their outcome - internal or external
learned helplessness
state of passive resignation to aversive situation that one believes is outside of one’s control
lexical hypothesis
traits providing useful ways to differentiate among personality characteristics are necessarily encoded in language
big 5 theory
openess
conscientiousness
extroversion
agreeableness
neuroticism
prevalence
9-15% of population
1-5% for each individual PD
comorbidity
average of 6 PDs, also high comorbidity with other disorders
sex/age differences
higher in women, especially deoendent, histrionic, borderline (could be due to gender bias in disgnosis)
men more commonly antisocial & narcissistic
most prevalent early/midlife, two sexes roughly equal in older age
general criteria
pattern of inner experience & behaviour deviating markedly from individual’s culture in at least two of: cognition, affect, social, impulse control
patter inflexible & persasive across different situations, causes significant distress/impairments, early onset (adoleschence/early adulthood)
ego-syntonic, part of who they are and don’t want to change
DSM disorders
Cluster A - odd/eccentric:
paranoid: hostile world attribution bias, suspicious & distrusting of others (see paranoid schizophrenia)
schizoid: detachments from social relationships, low pleasure or emotional expressions, indofferent to prasie or criticism
schizotypal: interpersonal problems, unusual perceptions, extreme social anxiety, believe they have magic powrr
Cluster B - dramatic/erratic:
antisocial: violate others’ rights, deceitful, lack of remorse
borderline: unstable emotions, relationships, identity, emptiness, impulsive, recurrent suicidal or self-mutilating behaviours/threats
histrionic: attention seeking
narcissistic - grandiosity, success & admiration, exploitative, no empathy
Cluster C - anxious/fearful
avoidant - extreme social avoidance & loneliness, fears socialising (rejection, criticism, embarrassment)
dependent - clingy & submissive, neddki
obsessive-compultive PD (not OCD) - perfectionism, rules, does not trust others
diagnostic problems
is it right to say one’s personality disordered?
culture dependent
high comorbidity
stigma
Not Otherwise Specified most common diagnosis
polythetic criteria - two people could have same disorder but share 0 symptoms
psychopathy checklist
factor 1 - affective/interpersonal: charm, self-worth, manipulation, no remorse
factor 2 - parasitic lifestyle, poor behavioural controls, impulsivity, need for simulation
psychopathy/ASPSD relationship
factor one (interpersonal) components primary essence of psychopathy
factor two (impulsive) components = ASPD
Roger’s self theory
parents set up conditions of worth
through life, people develop self-concept of what others think they should be
unconditional positive regard needed to feel self-actualised
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
studied healthy & creative people, arrangement of innate needs that motivate behaviour
physiological, safety, belongingness & love, esteem, self-actualisation
self-actualisation
characteristics of people who have met this need:
accepting of themselves & world
independent, democratic, creative
has peak experiences
narcissism
