Week 2 Flashcards
What is definition of personality
The word personality derives from the Latin persona meaning mask
Defining personality
There is consensus that the term personality describes a psychological construct
What is aim of studying personality
seeking to explain the motivational basis of behaviour and answer questions. The goal is to understand the basic nature of human beings
Evaluating the theories
description-identify behaviour
explanation-understand behaviour
empirical validity- shown to be valid
testable concepts-can be measured
comprehensiveness-wide variety of behaviour
parsimony-all concepts are necessary
heuristic value-stimulate interest
applied value-practical usefulness
Sigmund Freud
Austrian neuro-physiologist
Neurology and hypnosis. Freud’s theory is a social theory of everything. Covers of meaning of dreams, jokes, humour and more
Theoretical context
Freud was not convinced by the prevailing, rational model of human behaviour. He thought that the unconscious was far more powerful than previously thought
The unconscious-> the preconscious mind-> the conscious mind
Theoretical context
Manifest dream content (what is recalled), Latent dream content (requires skilled interpretation)
Primary process thinking: irrational mental activity making the logically impossible possible-pleasure principle
secondary process thinking: rational logical, organised, conscious and pre-conscious. reality principle
What is motivation:
what drives human behaviour- primary urges e.g. hunger and sexuality
What is Libido
born with fixed amount of mental energy which will later become adult sexual drives
What is life preserving drives
hunger and pain
What is death instinct
self destructive instincts
What are the theoretical models
The Topographic model
the structural model
the psychosexual model
What is the topographic model
layers of mental life
Conscious (tip of the iceberg)
the preconscious- memories, plans, wishes, ideas
the unconscious- mental contents and processes that cannot be made conscious -we pay attention to objects
What is the ID
instinctual drives powered by a reservoir of instinctual psychic energy. Source of survival drives, sexual drives and aggressive drives. Only ID is present in infants.
Derives from pleasure principle. Delayed gratification: if you wait patiently your needs will be met. Immediate gratification: I want it all now
What is the EGO
Through development, libido energy transfers into ego. Executive parts of personality which regulates behaviour and channels it in a particular direction in accordance with the external environment. Follow the reality principle and becomes the mediator between child and external world.
What is the superego
Conscience of the child and helps make judgements about what is right or wrong. Comprised of internalised moral values and parental attitudes. Is the opposition of the ID
What is the psychosexual model
Children pass though a series of psychosexual stages during which their pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct pleasure-sensitive areas of the body
What is the Oral stage
Mouth is the focus of pleasure-seeking activity sucking, mouthing objects-deriving pleasure even without food
Fixation can lead to
Over-indulged as a child- oral receptive personality
Under-indulged as a child- oral aggressive personality
What is anal stage
the focus of pleasure is the anal region often during potty training
Fixation- anally expulsive personality- untidy disorganised and disregard accepted rules
Anal retentive personality- orderly, stingy and stubborn with tendency to hoard things
what is Phallic stage
Genital organs are focus of pleasure seeking behaviour. Exploration of own bodies. Fixation- phallic personality-boastful, narcissistic and vain
What is Oedipus complex
Happens during Phallic stage in which a boy becomes aware of his mother as a sexual object and feels hostility towards his father
Castration anxiety- sees father as powerful, threating figure
This ends successfully when the boy goes through identification with his father
What is Electra complex
Girl wishes to possess selfishly her father. Penis envy- equivalent of castration anxiety. Ends successively when she goes through identification with mother however this cant be fully complete as the girl doesn’t have a penis
What is latency stage
Characterised by low levels of sexual/romantic interest. Dormant sexual feelings are repressed or displaced. Fixation leads to like of relationships
What is the latency stage
Changes in the body reawaken the sexual energy or libido. Usually leads to normal adult sexual psychological development
Evaluation for theory
Description- cons: few cases, didn’t annotate his case studies, based his theories on neurotic individuals. Pros: addressed the complexities of human behaviour, opened doors for future research and debates on personality
Evaluation on explaination
Cons- some vagueness on what is exactly needed for normal development. Pros: good face validity
evaluations for empirical validity and testable concepts
Cons- large areas of Freud’s work remain untested and little attempts in recent psychology to do so, weak or no evidence for Oedipus and Electra complex
Pros- supports for some of the concepts despite methodological difficulties of the studies
evaluations of comprehensiveness
Pros- very comprehensive including wealth of topics
Evaluations of Parsimony
cons- does not meet parsimony criteria in terms of the motivational drives.
Pros- fairly parsimonious with the rest
Evaluation of applied value
pros huge advantages in treatment and humane treatment of patients
Psychoanalysis shown to be affective with certain disorders
Evaluation of Heuristic value
Enormous impact which still provokes debate 100 years later, Influenced treatment and motivated others to develop alternative approaches
Who is Carl Jung
Agreed with Freud however saw that there was a collective unconscious. Believed with Archetypes which where universal thoughts and patterns
Who is Alfred Adler
argued role of children’s feelings of inferiority and need compensate stiving for superiority. Social interest and desire to contribute to society. Argued that birth order contributes significantly to individual development
Who is Karen Horney
Argued that environmental forces have a greater role in mental life and challenged view on female sexuallity
