Personality Flashcards
The psychological relevance of personality
Personality forms an approach to life and holds a relationship to overall wellbeing. Eg; A person’s optimistic approach to therapuetic treatment.
The line between personality and emotions/psychological state
You are not sad or happy. You feel sad or happy.
One may being to over identify themselves with their state of being and lose sight of their sense of self. Results in learned hopelessness, where they believe such hinderances are permanent to their being.
The loss and absence of a sense of self
From a distressing event or cluster of symptoms. Grief, loss, interpersonal abuse, trauma, anxiety, depression, disruptions, and when individual resources are compromised.
Their interests, goals and motivations.
People will often describe themselves as symptoms and feelings instead of…
values and personality traits.
A person must reconnect with their sense of self to harness their strengths.
Returning to extrovert and social activities which they most thrived in.
To reconsider the past and present:
-How might your friends and family describe you?
-What were you like as a child and teenager?
-What hobbies and interests have you enjoyed throughout life?
-How do you describe others? Can you us a similar framework for yourself?
-When have you previously lost yourself? or when have you previously felt most connected to yourself?
Rengage with hobbies that wre previously enjoyed. Plan a ‘date night’
Create a self portrait or write about oneself. The decisions into making such a thing can give way to furtheranalysis.
Through all this, instill a welcoming perspective of change. Things are bound to change and unravel as movies do.
Personality psychologists divide the concept into two
The Structure of Personality: The way personality progresses are organised
The Individual differences of Personality: The ways in which people differe from one another and vary through characteristics.
Psychodynamic theory on personality
-Freud created the first comprehensive theory on personality
Hysteria
-Hysteria; women suffering from paralysis, numbness, and fainting spells. -Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud sought treatment through Jean Martin Charcot philosophy
The neurologist suggested hysteria could be produced and alleviated through hypnosis. Albeit, temporarily.
This is exampled through those who were believed to be unable to walk and found that hypnosis could make them walk temporarily.
Through this it was believed that a ‘want’ to walk was established but there seemed to be an override in the conscious mind. The fight between multiple desires and wishes forms the unique part of a persons behaviour.
Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung (Swiss personality guy)
-Collective unconscious
-Personality archetypes
-Introversion and extroversion
Myers Briggs is based on what psychologist
Carl Jung
Psychodynamics based on the observations during clinical session
Topographic model: Freud’s first personality theories
Specific parts of the mind are dedicated to three functions. The iceberg. Conscious, Unconscious and Preconscious.
These parts intertwine, because the regulation of the separation isn’t always conscious.
Ambivilence and it’s toll. Emmons and King 1988
Students were asked to write 15 strivings or goals they were actively trying to succeed. They were asked to rate how each striving conflicted with another. Also, presented with the idea that if they were fantastic at all 115, how unhappy would they be?
Which is where the problem of ambivalence arises. Excessive competing motives can create a toll. On health, prewarning depression, etc.
Does this society support victimization, we consider the psychodynamic perspective and how motivation can be implicit. Are our actions a true representation of us. Despite having bad things done to us, we must act above these actions. But this form of social courtesy leads to no place that is easily guided. Worst case would be victimisation to leave those stuck there forever.
Compromise formations
The resulting maximisation of compromising motives.
Seeing yourself accurately vs maintaining self-esteem
Freud’s second theory on personality: Drive model (or instinct model)
Sex and aggression: The similar motives and behaviours between humans and other species. These are both regulated to maintain the social farce.
-Libido: The pleasure seeking, sensuality and love. When it is at the forefront of the mind.
Freud’s third theory:
Developmental model
Psychosexual stages, developments of a child’s personality, sexuality and motivation by revolving focus on where pleasure is obtained. Suggests that each stage is met with a certain conflict and is overcome by engaging with the pleasure. Otherwise, problems ‘fixations’ are carried through and sometimes cannot advance to the next stage. Healthy interactions with the proposed erogenous areas will form a healthy personality
The five stages
-Oral. 0-18months. Explore the world through their mouths and social nourishment. But in turn develop expectations of dependency on their caretakers. Biting nails, clinginess and sucking thumbs can emerge as a fixation.
-Anal. 2-3years. Compliance and defiance. Rules that establish personal boundaries, social rules that give way to independence. Potty training. Witholding these inhibitions can lead to feelings of accomplishment and independence. However, it forms the importance of saying no.
-Phallic. 4 to 6 years. Touching themselves and masturbation. Sudden interest in themselves and others, genders, etc. Identity amongst others…Identification. Wherein the child begins to internalise the behaviour, morals and values of those close to them. Much of the adult personality is built through this phase. Oedipus complex, the greek legend who unknowingly killed his father and slept with his mother. Exclusive relationship with the opposite-sex parent.
Castration complex and penis envy…
-Genital stage. +12 years. Conscious sexuality. Emotional intimacy and relationships.
These all form a DRIVE.
Freud’s fourth theory: Structural model
Conflict between morals and wants. Leads to the most distress, the battle is between three mental forces.
Id: Reservoir of sexual aggressive energy. Chases impulses. Characterized by primary process thinking which is wishful, illogical and associative, overall it is rather primitive. Pleasure principle, seek immediate satisfaction overrunning or presenting little thought on the ramifications.
Superego: Acts as the conscience. Parental voice established through identification.
Ego: Balance of desire, reality and morality. Obeys the reality principle. It manages three planes; id, external world and the superego. Of higher thought procession than the id, secondary thought procession. Capable of rational, logical and goal-driven thinking. Responsible for cognition, problem-solving, managing emotions and compromising between demands.
Defense mechanism
Emotional problem solving or emotional deflection? Aimed to offset any uncomfortable emotions and bolster positive emotions.
-Repression, keep thoughts any emotions from rising into awareness.
-Denial, deny the emotions existence. Repeated exposure and denial to dangerous external forces can develop an avoidance and is no longer a defense mechanism.
-Projection, one’s own feelings are a threat to the conscience. Instead, these feelings are sought after elsewhere in the external world to attribute blame on.
-Reaction formation, overcompensate in reaction to an emotion to subdue another. Praising someone when you are jealous
-Sublimination, converting sexual or aggressive emotions into socially acceptable activities.
-Rationalisation
-Displacement
-Regression
-Passive aggression
Analytical psychology
-Carl Jung (founder)
-Unlike Freud, with regards to the unconscious he focused on the relationship between unconscious and consciousness.
Individuation
The discovery of Self, in order seek uniqueness amongst others.
Archetypes
Concepts perpetuated and internalised by the collective unconscious
Shadow
An archetype that collects the negative internalisations from the collective unconscious.
