Theories of Personality Flashcards
Psychodynamic Theory
Sigmund Freud
Three processes to personality
1. Id- Pleasure Principle
Eros- the sex drive
Thanatos- the aggressive drive
Unconscious
2. Ego- Reality principle
Mostly conscious, it mediates demands of id and constraints of
superego
3. Superego-
Mostly unconscious; Applies morals and standards of the parents to
Ego.
Because of the inadequate mediation of the ego (leaving either id or superego
“dissatisfied”), anxiety is created. We deal with it through the
Defense Mechanisms
Operate on an unconscious level to help the ego reduce
anxiety through deception.
Repression
the fundamental DM
Rationalization
Making up acceptable excuses.
Reaction Formation
Turning unacceptable feelings into opposite ones
Displacement
Transferring feelings from their true source to another
source that is less threatening (Kicking the dog instead of the boss)
Projection
Transferring unacceptable thoughts or feelings onto another
person or object.
Sublimation
Redirecting threatening desires, usually sex, into a socially
acceptable form
Stages of Psychosexual Development
ORAL
ANAL
PHALLIC
LATENCY
GENITAL
Fixation
person becomes locked into a particular stage because he or she was
under- or overgratified.
Oral
incorporative (smoker, drinker, kisser)
sadistic (biting sarcasm)
Anal
retentive (overly tidy)
expulsive (overly messy)
Phallic
Oedipus complex
Latency
Sublimation
Genital
If no fixation occurs
Freuds Influence
- Catharsis: Does acting out aggression reduce it?
NO: expressing anger makes you angrier, establishes habitual anger and
makes future aggression more likely. - Importance of early childhood experience
- Unconscious reasons for mistakes, slips of the tongue, being late to class
- The destructive motives behind risk-taking and dangerous behavior
- If you’ve ever said that someone was anal or in denial
- Parental/abuse role in homosexuality or MPD
- Sexual symbolism of buildings, trains, tunnels, snakes; of dreams and their
meaning - Repressed memories
- LOW self esteem causes violent aggression ( No, it’s SELF-EFFICACY)
- “Real” reason why someone has said or done something that we don’t
understand
Modern Views
Study of personality is an attempt to explain
–1. Consistency (why someone acts in the same way across different situations)
–2. Distinctiveness (why people act differently in the same situation)
Skinner: No such thing, just discriminative stimuli
Trait Theory
A relatively enduring and stable tendency to behave in a particular way
The 5 factor theory of personality (“Big Five, Supertraits”)
O- Openness to new experience -creative, imaginative, intellectual v opposite
C- Conscientiousness- organized, neat, tidy v opposite
E- Extraversion- outgoing, gregarious, social v opposite
A- Agreeableness-sympathetic, kind, warm v opposite
N-Neuroticism- anxious, irritable, stressed-out v opposite
What’s the Controversy
. Do traits exist even if we don’t “see” them?
They are “causes” of behavior
OR
2. Just a “summary” of behaviors
They are not causes
