The 3 influences on personality
- Genetic Factors
- Shared Environmental Factors
- Non-Shared Environmental Factors
Genetic Factors influencing Personality
Those traits inherited from genes
Shared Environmental Factors influencing Personality
Experiences that make individuals within the same family more alike
Non-Shared Environmental Factors
Experiences that make individuals within the same family less alike (treating one child more effectively - resulting in higher self esteem for that child in particular
Defence Mechanisms
- Repression
- Denial
- Regression
- Reaction-Formation
- Projection
- Displacement
- Rationalism
- Sublimation
Repression
A defence mechanism - when a person purposely forgets threatening memories or impulses by unconsciously pushing it out of consciousness
Example: a person who witnesses a traumatic combat scene finds himself unable to remember it
Denial
A defence mechanism - the refusal to acknowledge current events in our life in which are distressing
Example: a mother who loses a child in a car accident insists her child is still alive
Regression
A defence mechanism - the act of psychologically returning to a younger typically safer and simpler age
Example: a university student starts sucking his thumb during a difficult exam
Reaction-Formation
A defence mechanism - when the observable emotion we see actually reflects the opposite emotion the person subconsciously feels
Example: a married woman who is sexually attracted to a colleague experiences hatred and revulsion towards him
Projection
A defence mechanism - unconsciously acknowledging our negative characteristics and projecting them onto someone else rather than admitting to or dealing with these feelings
Example: a man with powerful unconscious sexual impulses towards females complains that women are always ‘after him’
Displacement
A defence mechanism - when we direct an impulse from a socially unacceptable target onto a more socially acceptable target
Example: after a frustrating day at work, we punch a boxing bag rather than a work colleagues face
Rationalism
A defence mechanism - providing a reasonable explanation for our unreasonable behaviours/failures
Example: a political candidate who loses an election convinces herself that she did not want the position after all
Sublimation
A defence mechanism - transforming a socially unacceptable impulse into an admired goal
Example: a boy who started fires then went on to become chief of his local fire department
Stages of Psychosexual Development
- The oral stage
- The anal stage
- The phallic stage
- The latency stage
- The genital stage
The Oral Stage
The first stage of psychosexual development
- From birth to 12-18 months
- Infants obtain sexual pleasure by sucking and drinking
- Adults who are orally fixated tend to react to stress by becoming intensely dependent on others for reassurance
- Prone to unhealthy (oral) behaviours such as overeating, drinking and smoking
The Anal Stage
The second stage of psychosexual development
- Lasts form 18 months to 3 years old
- This is when children first come to face with psychological conflict
- Children want to release tension and experience pleasure by moving their bowels, but must learn to do so in a socially appropriate place (the toilet)
- If toilet training is either too harsh or too lenient, they will become fixated and prone to regressing to this stage in anxiety-provoking circumstances
- Anally fixated individuals have anal-like personalities, excessive neatness, stinginess and stubbornness in adulthood
The Phallic Stage
The third stage in psychosexual development
- Lasts from 3 to 6 years old
- Freud believes this stage is highly important in explaining personality
- During this stage, the penis (for boys) and the clitoris (for girls) become primary sexual zones for pleasure
- Oedipus complex/Electra Complex
When the child wants the opposite sex parent all to them selves, in a love triangle with parents
- those who do not resolve this stage will encounter psychological problems later in life
- Girls have ‘penis-envy’, and believe they are inferior to men
The Latency Stage
The fourth stage in psychosexual development
- Lasts from age 6 to 12 years
- The calm after the phallic stage
- Sexual impulses are submerged into the unconscious
- Girls and boys in this stage find each other ‘yucky’
The Genital Stage
The fifth stage in psychosexual development
- Generally begins age 12
- Sexual impulses awaken
- If development up to this point was successful, emergence of healthy relationships begin
- If serious problems were encountered, difficulties establishing intimate attachments are likely
Criticisms of Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory
- Difficult to prove
- Can be falsified and often have been
- Theories were based on atypical samples and results were generalised
