Personality, development & attachment Flashcards by David Houghton

What is a personality?

characteristic sets of behaviours, cognitions, and emotional patterns that evolve from biological and environmental factors
makes everyone unique

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What are the 2 main drivers of personality on a biological basis?

1 - genetics and epigenetics
2 - genetics and family
3 - childhood temperament and work
4 - genetics and childhood temperament

4 - genetics and childhood temperament

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What is the basis for personality on a psychological basis?

experiences at childhood

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What are the Freud-psychosexual stages of development?

Freud proposed that personality development in childhood takes place during five psychosexual stages oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages.

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Freuds psychosexual stages of development was that personality development in childhood takes place during five psychosexual stages which are linear in nature, where one follows the next. What are those stages?

1 - oral, anal, phallic, puberty, genital stages.
2 - anal, phallic, latency, genital stages, puberty
3 - oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital stages.
4 - oral, anal, phallic, puberty, stages.

3 - oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital stages.

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Freuds psychosexual stages of development was that personality development in childhood takes place during five psychosexual stages; oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital stages. When ooes the 1st stage, the oral stage begin and what is it?

1 - birth to 3 years, libido is based around oral pleasure
2 - birth to 1 years, libido is based around oral pleasure
3 - 1 to 3 years, libido is based around oral pleasure
4 - 3-5 years, libido is based around oral pleasure

2 - birth to 1 years, libido is based around oral pleasure

- proposed that oral stimulation drives oral personality (smoking, nail biting etc..)

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Freuds psychosexual stages of development was that personality development in childhood takes place during five psychosexual stages; oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital stages. What is the anal stage of the model and what ages does this include?

1 - birth to 3 years, libido is based around anal pleasure (defecating)
2 - birth to 1 years, libido is based around anal pleasure (defecating)
3 - 1 to 3 years, libido is based around anal pleasure (defecating)
4 - 3-5 years, libido is based around anal pleasure (defecating)

3 - 1 to 3 years, libido is based around anal pleasure (defecating)
- child is fully aware that they are a person in their own right and that their wishes can bring them into conflict with the demands of the outside world (i.e., their ego has developed)

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Freuds psychosexual stages of development was that personality development in childhood takes place during five psychosexual stages; oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital stages. What is the phallic (to swell or grow, so penis) stage of the model and what ages does this include?

1 - birth to 3 years, libido is upon their genitalia as the erogenous zone
2 - birth to 1 years, libido is based upon their genitalia as the erogenous zone
3 - 1 to 3 years, libido is based upon their genitalia as the erogenous zone
4 - 3-6 years, libido is based upon their genitalia as the erogenous zone

4 - 3-6 years, libido is based upon their genitalia as the erogenous zone
- children are aware of anatomical sex differences, which sets in motion the conflict between erotic attraction, resentment, rivalry, jealousy and fear which Freud called the Oedipus complex (in boys) and the Electra complex (in girls)

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Freuds psychosexual stages of development was that personality development in childhood takes place during five psychosexual stages; oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital stages. What is the latent stage of the model and what ages does this include?

1 - >6 years to puberty, libido is dormant and joy comes from hobbies and friendships
2 - birth to 1 years, libido is dormant and joy comes from hobbies and friendships
3 - 1 to 3 years, libido is dormant and joy comes from hobbies and friendships
4 - 3-6 years, libido is dormant and joy comes from hobbies and friendships

1 - >6 years to puberty, libido is dormant and joy comes from hobbies and friendships

libido is dormant and no further psychosexual development takes place (latent means hidden).
sexual impulses are repressed and replaced with school work, hobbies, and friendships.

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Freuds psychosexual stages of development was that personality development in childhood takes place during five psychosexual stages; oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital stages. What is the genital stage of the model and what ages does this include?

1 - >7 y/o to puberty adolescent sexual experimentation
2 - puberty to adulthood adolescent sexual experimentation
3 - 10 - 20 y/o adolescent sexual experimentation
4 - 5 - 15 y/o adolescent sexual experimentation

2 - puberty to adulthood adolescent sexual experimentation
- a time of adolescent sexual experimentation, the successful resolution of which is settling down in a loving one-to-one relationship with another person in our 20’s

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Freud’s hypothesised that the human psyche (personality) has more than one aspect. There are 3 main aspects that Freud described: id, ego and superego with the principle being that when we have a thought a devil (id) and an angel (super-ego) on each shoulder trying to convince us. What are the id, super-ego and ego?

id = primitive and instinctual part of the mind, contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories (like a devil)
super-ego operates as a moral conscience (like an angel)
ego is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego

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Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development is a theory that personality develops in a predetermined order. How many stages are there from infancy into adulthood and what is key thing that Erikson indicated must happen at each stage?

1 - 10 stages and must occur linearly
2 - 4 stages and should not occur in any linear fashion
3 - 8 stages and they should occur in a linear fashion

3 - 8 stages and they should occur in a linear fashion

in each stage, the person experiences a psychosocial crisis
can be positive or negative, but it drives personality development

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What is attachment theory, described by Bulby?

theory concerning relationships between humans
key for child development (especially brain) is to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for normal social and emotional development

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In the attachment theory by Bulby, he indicated that it is a psychological, evolutionary and ethological theory concerning relationships between humans. A good relationship with at least one caregiver when children are young helps the child develop a relationship for normal social and emotional development, and understands how to develop a positive internal working model of a relationship. What happens if a child does not develop a good relationship with at least one caregiver?

difficulties regulating and understanding emotions
difficult to understand emotions of others
difficult to trust in relationships
attachment is based on the relationship and NOT the child

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Research by Mary Ainsworth led to 3 main attachment styles, namely; secure, insecure avoidant and insecure ambivalent. What is secure?

child has good relationship with caregiver who responds to their needs
if caregiver leaves the child becomes distressed
child can be soothed quickly by caregiver
majority of children are here 60-70%

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Research by Mary Ainsworth led to 3 main attachment styles, namely; secure, insecure avoidant and insecure ambivalent. What is insecure avoidant?

caregiver does not respond well to the child’s needs accounting for 10-20% of children
child is unconcerned when separated when caregiver leaves them
child is unconcerned when caregiver returns to them

Research by Mary Ainsworth led to 3 main attachment styles, namely; secure, insecure avoidant and insecure ambivalent. What is insecure ambivalent?

caregiver is inconsistent at responding to the child’s needs, accounting for 10-15% of children
child is distressed when caregiver leaves them
child is resistant to comfort when caregiver returns

Research by Mary Ainsworth led to 3 main attachment styles, namely; secure, insecure avoidant and insecure ambivalent. A 4th attachment style was added, called disorganised, what is this?

child receives maltreatment or parent trauma, accounts for 5-10% of children
child is confused when caregiver leaves or returns
child shows contradictory behaviour

Why is a patients personality important in psychiatry?

a patients personality pre-disposes them to psychiatric conditions
if they are a worrier they are more likely to develop anxiety disorders

What is pathoplastic factor in psychiatry?

patho = pathology
plastic = plasticity

symptom variation in form and content
inter-patient variation is driven by patients life experiences and personality
for example: one patient with depression may have insomnia, but another patient with insomnia may over sleep

Why is a patients personality important in psychiatry in relation to treatment?

personality is associated with risk of adverse events
personality is associated with compliance and engagement
anxious patients are more likely to have adverse events

Robert McCrae and Paul Costa developed theFive-Factor Model, which identifies that there are 5 main types of personality traits, namely:

Openness to experience/novelty seeking
Conscientiousness
Extra-version/introversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism

Use the mnemonic O.C.E.A.N

What is Openness to experience/novelty seeking?

personality trait reflecting excitement to novel stimuli (NS)
high NS can be a predictor of risky behaviours (drug abuse)

There are 5 main types of personality traits;

Openness to experience/novelty seeking
Conscientiousness
Extra-version/introversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism

Use the mnemonic O.C.E.A.N

What is Conscientiousness?

someone able to exercise self-discipline, self-control in order to pursue and ultimately achieve their goals
organised, determined, and able to postpone immediate gratification for the sake of long-term success

There are 5 main types of personality traits;

Openness to experience/novelty seeking
Conscientiousness
Extra-version/introversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism

Use the mnemonic O.C.E.A.N

What is an introvert?

someone who feels more comfortable focusing on their inner thoughts and ideas

There are 5 main types of personality traits; - Openness to experience/novelty seeking - Conscientiousness - Extra-version/introversion - Agreeableness - Neuroticism Use the mnemonic O.C.E.A.N What is an extravert?

- a person who is energetic, sociable and friendly

- people who are agreeable have trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors - these types of people tend to be more cooperative while those low in this trait tend to be more competitive and sometimes even manipulative

- people tend to be sad, moody, and emotionally unstable - high neuroticism is associated with mood swings, anxiety, irritability, and sadness - those with high neuroticism tend to be less stable and emotionally resilient

What is a personality disorder? 1 - abnormal personality affects an individual health 2 - abnormal personality affecting other people 3 - abnormal personality affects an individual health and can affect other people

3 - abnormal personality affects an individual health and can affect other people

A personality disorder is an abnormal personality that causes an individual to suffer, or they cause other people to suffer. What 2 things are usually the basis for a personality disorder? 1 - chronic disease and past traumas 2 - past traumas and poor attachments 3 - poor attachment and chronic infection 4 - low social income and past trauma

2 - past traumas and poor attachments

- persistent inner experience and behaviour causing distress or significant impairment in social functioning

What is trauma enforced practice?

- change in clinical focus from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you? - recognises prevalence of trauma and its impacts on emotional, psychological and social well being

Trauma enforced practice is a clinical approach that shifts the focus from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you It recognises the prevalence of trauma and its impacts on emotional, psychological and social well being. What are the 4 Rs associated with this?

1 - Realisation (realise patients are exposed to trauma) 2 - Recognising (recognise signs of trauma) 3 - Respond (provide the best care) 4 - Resisting re-traumatisiation (do not relive the trauma)

There are 3 main ways in which we can respond to stressful events: 1 - Emotional response + somatic symptoms 2 - Coping strategy (Aware) 3 - Defence mechanism (Unaware) What is an emotional response + somatic symptoms?

- emotional = patients may feel anxious | - somatic = how the emotion presents physically

There are 3 main ways in which we can respond to stressful events: 1 - Emotional response + somatic symptoms 2 - Coping strategy (Aware) 3 - Defence mechanism (Unaware) What is coping strategy?

- how patients manage trauma and symptoms | - same process in managing anxiety and appraisal of what is a stressor

There are 3 main ways in which we can respond to stressful events: 1 - Emotional response + somatic symptoms 2 - Coping strategy (Aware) 3 - Defence mechanism (Unaware) What are defence mechanisms?

- unconscious psychological operation that functions to protect a person from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings - often related to internal conflicts and outer stressors

Coping strategies are approaches patients try to use in order to reduce the impact of stressful events, thus attenuating emotional and somatic response. They allow patients to maintain normal performance at the time. There are 2 types of coping strategies, what are they? 1 - problem solving and behaviour 2 - problem solving and social support 3 - emotion and social support 4 - emotion and problem solving

4 - emotion and problem solving - problem solving strategies = focus on a plan to solve a problem and remove the anxiety - emotion reducing strategies = try to remove the emotional response, such as talking through the problem

Coping strategies are approaches patients try to use in order to reduce the impact of stressful events, thus attenuating emotional and somatic response. They allow patients to maintain normal performance at the time. There are 2 types of coping strategies: 1 - problem solving strategies = focus on a plan to solve a problem and remove the anxiety 2 - emotion reducing strategies = try to remove the emotional response, such as talking through the problem When will a coping strategy become adaptive?

- when a patient is able to chooses the best strategy in a particular circumstance

Maladaptive (harmful) coping strategies are techniques for reducing emotional response to stressful circumstance in short term but lead to greater difficulties in long term. What are the 4 most common approaches patients use here?

- illicit drugs/alcohol - deliberate self-harm - unrestrained display of feelings - aggressive behaviours

A personality disorder is an abnormal personality that causes an individual to suffer, or they cause other people to suffer. It is generally related to past trauma or poor attachment. This can cause persistent and pervasive disorders of inner experience and behaviours that have a significant impact upon social functioning. What affect can this have on the following: - cognition - affect (mood) - behaviour

- cognition = changed perception of the world - affect = mood changes - behaviour = impaired functioning in life