Personality Flashcards
Personality
A unique and consistent group of attributes that determine how we think, feel and behave- when alone and with others.
A relatively stable set of characteristics that influence the way we think, feel and behave.
Personality is not
Temperament: our pre-disposition to act in a certain way towards external stimuli; thought to be genetic.
Mood: the situation specific emotional state- explains behaviours.
Character: the sum total of all traits that shows the true nature of a person; used to explain or evaluate someones behaviour.
Nature Vs Nurture
Environmentally vs genetically determined
Jerome Kagen- by 4 months approx. 20% of newborns demonstrate signs of ‘inhibited’ or shy temperament; 40% demonstrate a ‘bold’ or ‘fearless’ inclination.
Loehlin and Nichols (1976)- investigated 850 sets of twins (raised together). Personality tests found a correlation 0.50 for identical twins and 0.28 fraternal twins.
Personality Theory
An approach to describing and explaining the origins and development of personality, focusing on the similarities and differences between individuals.
Psychoanalytic Theory: Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Personality is the result of internal conflict of mind and how effectively individuals resolve these conflicts.
Levels of Awareness
Conscious
Preconscious
Subconscious
Conscious
Current thoughts, feelings perceptions and sensations
Thought we’re aware of. Ideas and thoughts are constantly flowing in an out of our conscious mind.
Preconscious
Yesterdays experiences, un- protected info, this mornings experiences, last weeks ideas and feelings
Not conscious thoughts but they can become conscious thoughts when we access them in response to cues.
Easily assemble info in back of mind but not currently aware of.
Subconscious
Embarrassing fears, protected info, traumatic events, unfulfilled desires, unacceptable thoughts and feelings, emotionally harmful thoughts and impulses
Inaccessible to our consciousness and we cannot become aware of them. Have been repressed, as they’re too upsetting, however still influence our behaviour. Hidden and not immediately available.
Structure of Personality
According to Freud, within each personality are 3 parts, all in conflict which determines almost all behaviour and shapes our personality
Id
The id represents innate, biological needs which all of us are born with- those needs which help us to survive (hunger, thirst, sleep, sex)
Operates on the pleasure principle
“I wan it now”
Driven by impulse
Ego
The ego develops gradually as the infant moves into childhood and begins to understand more about how the real would operates.
Operates on reality principle; moral (right thing)
Superego
Conscience
Judging our thoughts, feelings and actions according to the morals and ideals of the soviet in which we live.
Operates on the moral principle
Superego aims for perfection and is not satisfied with anything less.
The id, ego and superego are in constant conflict with one another and the ego often plays the mediator. A ‘balanced’ personality can only develop if one is not more powerful than another.
E.g. There’s a cake in the staff room and you’re hungry. What do you do?
Id= I want the cake
Ego- Ask for permission
Superego- Don’t eat it, it’s not yours
Freudian Personality Dynamics
The id’s instinctual urges can be temporarily suppressed, but the energy must find an outlet.
Outlets are disguised and indirect, to provide release for energy that will be safe and appear normal.
Defence Mechanisms
Reduce anxiety by denying, falsifying or distorting reality at an unconscious level. The ego denies or changes reality, usually without us being aware.
Id is like a whinging kid and superego is like a scalding parent.
Ego tries to play the umpire between them.
Ego must protect itself form the anxiety arriving from constant conflict.
Use defence mechanisms
Excessive use becomes abnormal
E.g. denial, regression, repression, displacement, isolation of effects, reaction formation, projection, acting out, humour, sublimation, blocking, rationalisation and more.
Free Association
Exploring a person unconscious through spontaneous word association.
Therapist says word ‘mountain’ and patient reply with whatever comes to mind e.g. ‘snow’.
Therapist must interpret responses as patterns and association are identified.
E.g. Bob is going through a divorce and his therapist says the word ‘wife’ and Bob replies with ‘mine’. Therapist says the words love, husband and Bob replies with commitment and power. Thus can be concluded that Bob associates Marriage with control over someone and can be explored more.
Uncover intense emotions and unconscious desires.
Dream Analysis
The investigation of repressed feelings that can be expressed in our dreams.
Happens because defences are lowered when we’re sleeping.
Dreams allow our unconscious mind to reveal anxieties
Dreams have 2 levels of content.
Latent Content: hidden motives, wishes or fears.
Manifest Content: dreams as it appears.
Development of Personality
Personality development is sequential.
Psychosexual stages.
Sex= not specifically sexual but rather physically pleasurable.
Successful development of conflict is crucial at each sage.
‘Fixations’ prevent the development of ‘normal’ personality.
Psychosexual Stages
Psychosexual Stages 5
Oral stage (birth–2yrs) Anal stage (2-3yrs) Phallic stage (4-5yrs) Latency stage (6-puberty) Genital stage (puberty-early adulthood)
Oral stage (birth–2yrs)
Pleasure for the child centres around the mouth, through sucking, biting & chewing.
Infant could develop oral fixation if it found the experience of being fed too frustrating or too
pleasurable.
Later in life, may show fixation through behaviours such as smoking, nail biting, chewing on pens or gum, overeating or becoming an alcoholic.
Personality characteristics associated with oral fixations are gullibility, passivity, need for lots of
attention, dependence on others & need to be looked after.
Anal stage (2-3yrs)
Pleasure relates to the anus, particularly when passing stools.
During toilet training, child for the first time has some power over gaining approval from parents
either by ‘holding it in’ or ‘letting it go’.
Personality characteristics associated with anal fixation include anal-retentive (excessively) clean,orderly, organised, hoards things, stubborn & stingy) or anal-expulsive (untidy, destructive, disorderly & cruel).
Phallic stage (4-5yrs)
Child’s attention is often focused on the sex organs.
At this time the child is said to seek genital stimulation & develop an unconscious attraction to the parent of the opposite sex, while at the same time developing unconscious feelings of jealously and hatred toward the parent of the same sex.
From this we develop a complex: girls (Electra complex) & boys (Oedipus complex). If we do not resolve this complex it will impact negatively on future relationships.
Latency stage (6-puberty)
Attention is focussed away from bodily zones and pleasure seeking.
It is a time when psychosexual development is put on hold and previous sexual feelings are forgotten while child focuses on developing close relationships with others of the same sex (i.e. social skills).
Genital stage (puberty-early adulthood)
Sexual energies are focused on the genitals as they mature and the ability to reproduce occurs.
There is a growing want and need for mature social and sexual relationships with others.
Freud did not identify this stage as causing problems in the development of the ‘normal’ personality as much as in the first 3 stages.
Strengths
Psychological ailments are treatable
cathartic nature (using talking as a cure)
Emphasis’s the environment and our upbringing on our future behaviour
