Personality Flashcards
Sigmund Freud
Viennese neurologist who developed first comprehensive theory of personality.
Acc. to Freud; many mental disorders were produced by
psychological factors rather than physiological factors
Psychoanalytic Theory;
Explained psychological disorders
Accompanying treatment - Psychoanalysis
Psychic determinism
all psychological events have a cause. We are not free to choice our actions; actions determined by inner forces that lie outside of our awareness. (slip of tongues, dreams & neurotic symptoms- reflections of deep psychological conflicts) Adult personality stem from early childhood experiences.
Symbolic meaning
No action is meaningless. there is a symbolic meaning of our beh.s & our dreams.
Unconscious motivation
largely responsible for our personality & actions. (analogy of iceberg). The part of personality which we are aware of is just the tip of iceberg.
three components of the human psyche, that give rise to personality; differences in strengths of these account for individual differences in personality
id, ego & superego
Id
The preconsciously or portion of the psyche.
(most part of behaviour is directed by the id)
- Unconscious; present at birth
- Source of biological needs/desires
(libido –sexual drive; aggressive drive)
- seeks for immediate satisfaction/gratification.
- Governed by the Pleasure Principle.
(no matter whether desires are the or inappropriate)
- No interaction with the real world
Ego
The rational part of the personality.
- Being reasonable
- Defence mechanisms can operate consciously, preconsciously or unconsciously ( but most of the time conscious).
Emerges in early infancy
Two main functions;
1) to satisfy Id’s needs
2) to resolve the conflicts btw. id & superego
- Interacts with the real world.
Governed by the Reality Principle; redirects id impulses into acceptable ways; delay gratification until it can find an appropriate outlet.
Considers environmental conditions & the consequences of one’s actions.
If the ego cannot function properly- anxiety arises
* The ego will try to minimize anxiety via defence mechanisms; make corrective actions.
Superego
Conscience, the sense of morality
- The side effect of living within a society; internalization of our interactions with society & parents.
- Develops from ages 3 to 6 from interactions with caregivers; when the child identifies with a same-sex person.
- Superego deals with rightness/ wrongness of actions
- Allows for exhibiting appropriate & acceptable behaviours
- Can operate consciously, preconsciously or unconsciously.
- Governed by the Morality Principle; tries to repress id’s desires.
- When a person behaves in the right way- feelings of pride, self-worth, when behaves in a bad way- guilt & shame ( guilt prone vs. psychopathic personality)
Defence mechanisms
unconscious manoeuvres to minimize anxiety (changing perceptions of reality).
Essential for psychological health but over-reliance on one or two could cause problems & psychological illnesses (e.g. hysteria).
Types of defence mechanisms
- Repression
- Denial
- Regression
- Reaction formation
- Projection
- Displacement
- Rationalization
- Intellectualization
- Identification with the aggressor
- Sublimination
- Repression
motivated forgetting of emotionally threatening memories or impulses (you forget bec. you want to forget).
Blocking a threatening idea, memory, or emotion from consciousness.
Ex: a person who witnesses a traumatic combat scene finds himself unable to remember it
Ex: You can’t remember your father’s funeral.
Infantile amnesia (repression)
they produce too much pain; so we repress unhappy memories.
- Denial
–Not accepting reality because it is too painful.
(psychotic disorders; schizophrenia)
Ex: You are alcholic but don’t believe you have a problem with alcohol.
Ex: A mother who losses child in a car accident insists her child is alive
- Regression
Returning to more primitive levels of behaviour in defence against anxiety or frustration.
Returning psychologically to younger age; early childhood when life was simpler & easier.
Ex: College student starts sucking his thumb during a difficult exam.
Ex: Mary began to sleep with her favourite teddy bear again because She felt that she was homesick and anxious when she started her first year in college.
- Reaction formation
Transforming an anxiety-producing emotion into its opposite.
The emotion observed is the opposite emotion the person feels unconsciously (expressed in an exaggerated way)
Ex: A married woman sexually attracted to co-worker experiences hatred & revulsion about him.
Ex: A man who cheats on his wife buys presents & flowers to his wife.
Ex: Homophobic men- showed higher levels of penile erection while watching an explicit videotape of homosexual stim
- Projection
unconscious attribution of our neg. characteristics onto others.
Attributing your own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone or something else
Ex: Married man with powerful unconscious sexual impulses toward females claims other women are always after him.
Ex: Paranoids; deep down they want to harm others, but bec. they find it unacceptable belive that other people want to harm them.
- Displacement
Directing an impulse from threating target toward a safer, non-threatening target.
Channeling a feeling or thought from its actual source to something or someone else.
Ex: You can not harm your partner; rather you show your aggression by breaking the window.
Ex: At work, your boss yells at you; but you can not yell at him. Instead you come at home you yell at your wife or your children.
.
- Displacement
Directing an impulse from threating target toward a safer, non-threatening target.
Channelling a feeling or thought from its actual source to something or someone else.
Ex: You can not harm your partner; rather you show your aggression by breaking the window.
Ex: At work, your boss yells at you; but you can not yell at him. Instead, you come home you yell at your wife or your children.
- Rationalization
providing a reasonable-sounding exp. for your failures or unreasonable behaviours
Justifying one’s behaviour or failures by plausible or socially acceptable reasons in place of the real reason.
Ex: After Carla rejected him, Phil told his friends that he didn’t think she was very attractive and interesting and that he really wasn’t all that crazy about her.
Ex: Jack told his parents that he got a C in his psychology course bec. all the As and Bs went to students cheated on tests
- Intellectualization
Avoiding emotions assoc. with anxiety-provoking experiences by focusing on abstract & impersonal thoughts (isolating the emotional aspect of the experience)
Attempt to avoid a painful thought or feeling by objectifying and emotionally detaching oneself from the feeling. (mostly used by doctors or occupations that involve high levels of stress)
Ex: A woman whose husband cheats on her reassures herself that acc. To evolution; men are naturally promiscuous
Ex: A doctor who is performing an autopsy; reassures that that is just a physical body.
- Identification with the aggressor
adopting the psychological characteristics of people we find threatening (internalization of another person’s qualities) .
Ex: A basketball player who initially fears his tyrannical coach comes to admire him & adopts his dictatorial qualities
- Sublimation
transforming socially unacceptable impulse to a socially acceptable (admired) goal.
Transformation of unwanted impulses into something valuable to society
Ex: Dexter; likes blood; becomes a blood analyst.
Ex: a man who sets fire in childhood becomes the chief of the local fire department.
Ex: A boy who enjoys beating up on other children becomes a successful professional boxer.
Stages of psychosexual development
Oral Stage Birth – 18months Anal - 18 months to 3 years Phallic - 3 to 6 years Latency - 6 to 12 years Genital - 12 years and beyond
Oral Stage (Birth – 18months)
Erogenous zones: mouth, tongue & lips.
Acc. to Freud; babies in this stage satisfy (obtain pleasure) their sexual urges through sucking, biting, drinking & swallowing.
Major event; breastfeeding of the baby.
Being weaned from breastfeeding is the first challenge (baby’s personality determined)
Oral fixation may occur in 2 ways;
Erogenous zone overstimulated; dependent & excessively optimistic.
Erogenous zone understimulated; pessimistic & aggressive
Being fixated at this stage may mean excessive use of oral stimulation, pre-occupied with eating, drinking, smoking, biting nails, sucking thumb
Anal Stage (18 months- 3 years)
Erogenous zone: anus
Acc. to Freud; babies in this stage satisfy (obtain pleasure) their sexual urges by expelling faeces & bowels.
Major event; toilet training
The child should learn to delay gratification (inhibit urges)
& move bowels to toilet
Parents’ approach to toilet training will affect the child’s
personality.
Anal fixation may occur in 2 ways;
Parents harsh; neatness, stubbornness, obsessive, orderliness
Parents uncontrolled; disorganized, messy, careless, unpunctual
Phallic Stage (3 - 6 years)
Erogenous zones are genitals (clitoris for girls; penis for boys)
Most important stage
Major event; development of sexual identity
Oedipus Complex (boys) & Electra Complex (girls)
Oedipus Complex
sexual desires for his mother & the father seen as a rival.
Castration anxiety(father will punish him for his desires); castration anxiety.
Abandons sexual feelings for mother & identifies with his father.
(identification with the aggressor)
So someday have a relationship with a woman like her mother.
(displacement)
Electra complex
sexual desires for her father & the mother seen as a rival.
For both boys & girls- the first affection & attention is on the mother.
Later for girls, this focus changes, from the mother to the father
Development of penis envy ( attracted to father bec. father has penis)
Mom knows about their attraction to father & bec. of fear, girl abondons feelings for father &identify with their mothers.
No anxiety- underdeveloped superego & defense mechanisms.
Fixations-males macho; females- femme fatal
Latency Stage (6 - 12 years)
No erogenous zone!
Sexual impulses are submerged into the unconscious
Superego is dominant
No conflict & no major event
Personality governed by reality & morality principles
Learning of skills important. (School)
Identıty ımproves by playing with the members of the same sex
Genital Stage (12 years- beyond)
Erogenous zone; the genitals
libido begins to be used in its sexual role.
Death instinct reappears in hostility, rebelliousness,
Major event; ability to love & establish rel.s with the opposite sex.
If the other stages have been completed successfully, the individual should now be well-balanced, warm, and caring
Maturity, creation & enhancement of life.
Add something constructive to life and society.
Major criticisms on Psychosexual development stages
Unfalsifiable; a boy hates the mother, but Freud would say that is reaction-formation
Failed predictions; e.g. repression;
People are no more likely to forget neg. life experiences than pos. life experiences.
Unrepresentative samples; upper class-neurotic Viennese women; but generalized to the rest of humanity.
Neo-Freudians
Modified Freud’s views in significant ways
Neo-Freudians - Similarity with Freud
Unconscious influences & importance of early experience
Neo-Freudians - The difference with Freud
Less emphasis on sexuality & more emphasis on social drives
Neo-Freudian psychologists
- Carl Jung
- Alfred Adler
- Karen Horney
- Erik Erikson
Carl Jung Theory
Two types of unconscious;
Personal unconscious: unique to individuals, shaped by one’s
personal experiences
Repressed feelings, memories,
Collective unconscious: identical in all individuals; collective, universal & impersonal in nature. (DNA of our soul)
Memories & patterns of behaviours inherited from ancestors. (pass down to us across the generations)
archetypes
Universal images, symbols & memories., imaginary representations, unclear forms that emerge in myths, dreams, motifs & legends. E.g. The Mother Archetype; Ave Maria & Eve—in Christianity; the earth, the forest, nature.
Four archetypes compose personality
- The Shadow
- The Persona
- Anima & Animus
- The Self
The Shadow
the least desirable aspect of personality.
Basic animal instincts; sexual desires, aggression, failures, undesirable characteristics etc. ( mostly perceived as inappropriate by society)
Unconscious;
Mostly rejected by the self (the individual generally does not accept this aspect of his personality.)
Still, it can rise to consciousness & assimilate with personality- the source of satisfaction, fulfilment & creativity.
The Persona
the social mask; the social face the individual presented to the world
Make a definite impression upon others & to conceal the true nature of the individual
We develop this aspect to conform to the standards of society, to be accepted by others & adapt to the social world.
Problem;
- alienation of the self.
- excessive concern for what people think,
- repressed individuality,
The Anima & Animus:
The Anima- feminine inner personality found in the unconscious of the male personality, the totality of the unconscious feminine psychological qualities that a male possesses
The Animus - masculine inner personality found in the unconscious of the female personality.
The totality of the unconscious masculine psychological qualities that a female possesses.
Influence romantic rel.s & how one behaves toward the opposite sex person.
The Self
Unification of consciousness & unconsciousness in a person,
Represents the psyche as a whole; includes consciousness, the unconscious, and the ego. The product of individuation & the process of integrating one’s personality.
Alfrd Adler - Holistic approach to personality
no personality types, no divisions.
Human personality should be examined as a unified whole
Adler; our beh.s have one aim/purpose, strive for perfection.
Feelings of inferiority
important, the source of personality.
- experienced by all humanbeings;
- nothing neg., contrary allows for human growth
(Inferiority- result of physical disabilities, psychological disabilities or both).
Striving for superiority/perfection
pos. condition.
Required for actualizing our potential & attaining our ideal self.
(lasts throughout life)
Striving for superiority- basic drive/motive underlying our beh.s
The method of achieving this superiority- determines one’s personality
Uniqueness of the ind.—-how one overcomes with inferiority
—-how one aims to attain superiority
Depending on the way one overcomes with feelings of inferiority
1) may be a healthy ind (strives for superiority/perfection)
2) develop an inferiority complex — unhealthy personality
3) develop an superiority complex
Inferiority Complex
When an individual can overcome inferiority.The person cannot overcome his weaknesses with his strengths. The individual believes that he will never be able to compensate his inferiority.
No growth, no maturation of personality, the person cannot actually himself.
Superiority Complex
Individual suppress his feelings of inferiority, rather than accepting them accepting and dealing with them. See themselves superior than other humans, believe that they are better than others people.
Want to humiliate and dominate other people.
According to behaviourists personality is a
bundle of habits acquired by classical & operant conditioning.
Personality is not the cause of beh.- rather consists of beh.s (observable & unobservable)
E.g. Extraverted people are outgoing & have many friends
Personality is influenced by
Genetic factors
Contingencies in the environment (reinforcers & punishments)
Social Learning Theories - Albert Bandura & Julian Rotter
Learning depends on the goals & plans of the ind.
Thinking is the cause of personality
How we interpret the environment determines our reactions
Ex: if we perceive others as threatening; we become hostile & suspicious
Albert Bandura— reciprocal determinism
Environmental factors & cognitive factors affect behaviour
Behaviour affects environmental & cognitive factors
Ex: You are extraverted- so you make new friends; your friends reinforce your extraversion (invite you parties) & by attending parties you make new friends…
Skinner
According to whom, differences in personalities stem from differences in our learning history
Who said that much of learning occurs by watching others; your personality can also be shaped by observing others (sig.others-mother, father, teacher; role models)
Both good & bad habits can be acquired by watching & imitating
Ex: Through observational learning, learn to behave altruistically by seeing your parents donate money to charities.
Ex: A child may think that aggression is acceptable when he sees his father physically abusing the mother.
Albert Bandura
Who says that individuals’ sense of control over life events.
Julian Rotter
Locus of Control
the extent to which we believe that reinforcers & punishers lie inside (internal locus of control) or outside of our control (external locus of control).
People with in.loc.contr
life events largely to their own efforts & personality characteristics./ believe that they can control their lives.
Their life derive primarily from their own actions
Ex: When recieved performance test results, people with an int. loc. of contr. tend to praise or blame themselves and their abilities.
People with. ext.loc.control
life events are a product of chance/ fate.
Their decisions & life are controlled by environmental factors which they cannot influence,
Ex. When recieved performance test results, people with an extr. loc. of contr. tend to praise or blame external factors such as the teacher/ the test.
Acc. to ______; internals less prone to emotional upset following life stressors bec. they believe that they can remedy their problems own their own.
Studies confim; almost all forms of pscyhological distress (anxiety, depression) assoc. with ext. loc. contr.
Yet, correlations not causation;
Once people develop depression they may come to thing that their life is out of control.
Rotter
Component of personality that encompasses our positive and negative self-evaluations
Self-esteem
Chronically low self-esteem
may lead to a cycle of failure where past failure breeds future failure
Chronically high self-esteem
lead to - Narcissism: hold inflated views of oneself
Carl Rogers - Human Growth model
utilizes human growth model; development not explained in terms of stages.
The human being is good in nature. (Human potential is good)
Conditions of self-actualization
Unconditional pos. regard, Empathy, Self-respect (positive self-regard), Awareness of one’s self & Self-Acceptance make a fully functioning person
The Basic characteristics of the Fully-Functioning Person
Openness to experience Existential lifestyle Organismic trust Freedom of choice Creativity
Openness to experience
accepting one’s own feelings &emotions; understanding them without being defensive & open to new experiences.
Existential lifestyle
living each moment fully – not distorting the moment to fit personality / self-concept . Not being obsessed with the past & the future.
Should learn from the past experiences & hope for the future but still knows that the moment is the only reality.
Organismic trust
trusting one’s own judgment & trusting in the ability to choose behavior that is appropriate.
Not relying on existing codes & social norms but trust his sense of right / wrong.
Freedom of choice
not being obstacled by the restrictions
Able to make a wider range of choices more fluently.
Believe that he plays a role in determining his own behavior & feel responsible for his own behavior.
Creativity
Feel more free to be creative. Thinks differently from other pepole. Deals with the problems in creative ways, without feeling a need to conform societal rules.
According to ______, human beings desire for being accepted by others
Rogers
Positive regard can be attained in two ways
Conditional Positive Regard
Unconditiona Positive Regard
Conditional Positive Regard
when others’ (families’, friends’ & teachers’) acceptance & approval depends on certain conditions.
They offer love- if we meet these conditions.
Ex: Parent—- when the child well-behaved & stays quietly
Teacher— when we are successful
Society loves—when we conform the rules.
The ind. ignores his feelings, experiences; tries to meet others’ expectations.— because he can acheive love & respect only with this way.
The ind. accepts himself & respect himself only when he meets certain standards.
Self-esteem; instable, fragile
Unconditiona Positive Regard
when others’ (especially families’) acceptance & approval is not contingent. / not depends on the child’s beh.
They offer love & respect; all the time. (accept the child with all his pos. & neg. characteristics;
You are being loved & accepted even if you fail to meet standards
The ind. understands & accepts his feelings, experiences;
Knows he is unique, worthy & valuable.
Self-esteem; Stable & High
He can be fully functioning person, can actualize himself !
Develops a genuine (actual) self which is congruent with the ideal self
Incongruence btw. one’s ideal self & one’s actual self- mental disorder (unhealthy personality deve.)
Consistent, habitual personality ch.s & behaviors displayed across different situations
Traits
Gordon Allport - Big five model of personality
Openness to Experience Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
Openness to Experience
appreciation for art, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity, & variety of experience.
People high in openness to experience
intellectually curious, aware of feelings, sensitive to beauty & willing to try new things.
Tend to be creative & hold unconventional beliefs.
Prefer novelty over familiarity; complexity over simplicity; tolerant of change.
Conscientiousness
tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully & aim for achievement
Assoc. with controlling, regulating & directing impulses.
People high in conscientiousness
planned, organized, punctual, orderly.
Extraversion
tend to be enthusiastic, action-oriented & enjoy interacting with the external world & people, (need high levels of stimulation)
People high in extraversion
sociable, talkative, assertive, outgoing & full of energy.
Agreeableness
show general concern for others & value getting along with others.
People high in agreeableness
considerate, kind, generous, trusting & trustworthy, helpful, cooperative & willing to compromise their interests with others.
Neuroticisim/ Emotional Stability
tendency to experience negative emotions. (e.g., anger, anxiety, or depression)
Assoc. with low tolerance for stress or aversive stimuli.
People high in neuroticism
emotionally reactive & vulnerable to stress. They are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult.
Hans Eysenck (1995): Three main factors of personality
Extraversion: sociable Neuroticism:emotional stability
Psychoticism: reality distorted
Extraversion: sociable
Sociable, active, assertive and sensation seeking.
Neuroticism: emotional stability
Anxious, depressed, guilt feelings, low self-esteem and tense
Psychoticism: reality distorted
Agressive, cold, egocentric, impersonal, impulsive
