Week 3 Flashcards
Psychodynamic Personality
- Our personality is influenced by theconscious + unconscious
- We are motivated by instincts & drive
- Id, ego, & superego
- Our personality as adults are rootedin childhood experiences
- Psychic determinism:All thoughts, feelings, & behaviours have a cause
Psychodynamic Consciousness | Topographic Model
- Conscious: contact with outside world(e.g. thoughts, feelings, perceptions)
- Preconscious: material just beneath the surface of awareness(e.g. memories, stored knowledge)
- Unconscious: difficult to retrieve material;well below the surface of awareness(e.g. fears, violent motives, immoral urges, irrational wishes, shameful experiences, unacceptable sexual desires)
Psychodynamic Drive/ Instinct Model
- Two basic drives motivate all thoughts, emotions, & behaviours:
Sex or libido (life) desire for pleasure, sensuality, love, sexual intercourse, procreation - Aggression (death) elimination of enemies, prevention of harm
Psychodynamic Structural Model
- ID
- Ego
- Superego
Structural Model ID
- Reservoir of sexual & aggressive energy
- Primitive, instinctive component
- Primary process thinking (e.g. wishful, illogical)
- “Pleasure principle” – wants immediate gratification, no regard for consequences
- Unconscious
Structural Model Ego
- Executor (“boss” of personality)
- Decision-making component (mediates id, superego, & reality)
- Secondary process thinking (e.g. rational, logical)
- “Reality principle” – recognises real-world consequences & delays action until practical/appropriate
- Conscious + unconscious
Structural Model Superego
- Conscience & source of ideals
- Moral component
- “Morality principle” – motivates us to behave in socially responsible & acceptable manner
- Conscious + unconscious
Psychodynamic Defence Mechanisms
- Unconscious mental processes aimed at protecting person from unpleasant emotions / bolstering pleasurable emotions
- People regulate emotions & deal with conflicts by employing defence mechanisms
- Some negative emotions can be produced by intrapsychic conflict between id, ego, & superego (e.g. anxiety)
Defence Types Psychodynamic
Repression Denial Regression Reaction-formation Projection Displacement Rationalisation Intellectualisation Identification with aggressor Sublimation
Repression
The motivated failure to acknowledge distressing internal experiences
- Women forget the pain of childbirth
- An abused child cannot remember the abuse but has trouble forming relationships
Sublimation
Transforming a socially unacceptable impulse into an admired goal
- Somebody with anger issues begins to use that energy to workout
Identification with Aggressor
Adopting the characteristics of individuals whom we find threatening
Intellectualism
Avoidance of emotions by focusing on abstract impersonal thoughts
- Using logical thought processes instead of emotional
Rationalism
Thinking of a reasonable-sounding explanation for unreasonable behaviour
Displacement
Directing an impulse from a socially unacceptable target onto a safer target
- Yelling at your partner after you’ve had a bad day at work
Projection
The unconscious attribution of our negative characteristics to others
Reaction Formation
Transformation of an anxiety-producing emotion into its opposite
- A homosexual being heterosexually promiscuous
Regression
Psychologically returning to a younger age
- A person suffering a mental breakdown assumes the fatal position, rocking and crying
Denial
The motivated failure to acknowledge distressing external experiences
- Not accepting and believing a death of a loved one
Psychosexual Theory of Personality Development
- Personality development involves passing through several psychosexual stages in childhood
- At each stage, libido focuses on different erogenous zone
- Difficulties during any of these stages => fixations, conflicts, concerns that persist into adulthood
Psychosexual Scale
0-1 Oral 2-3 Anal 4-6 Phallic 7-11 Latency 12 onwards Genital
Oral Personality Development
- Erogenous zone: mouth, lips, tongue
- Pleasure from: feeding, biting, sucking, etc.
- Fixation characteristics in adulthood:dependency issues, oral behaviour(e.g. smoking, overeating, nail-biting)
Anal Personality Development
- Erogenous zone: anus
- Pleasure from: bowel movements
- Fixation characteristics in adulthood: overly orderly/messy, stubborn
Phallic Personality Development
- Erogenous zone: genitals
- Pleasure from: genitals
- Oedipus complex
- Fixation characteristics in adulthood: extreme masculinity/femininity, vanity, recklessness
Latency Personality Development
- Erogenous zone: N/A (repressed sexuality)
- Pleasure from: N/A
- Develop defence mechanisms
- Fixation characteristics in adulthood: usually no fixation, asexuality
Genital Personality Development
- Erogenous zone: genitals
- Pleasure from: genitals
- Mature sexual intimacy formed
- Fixation characteristics in adulthood: insincere interest in others, immature sexuality
Limitations of Psychodynamic Approach
- Inadequate empirical base – over reliance on case studies with unrepresentative samples
- Unfalsifiable – many aspects of theory are untestable
- Over-emphasis on sex
- Over-emphasis on childhood experiences
- Sexist (e.g. penis envy)
Lasting Contributions of Psychodynamic Approach
- Unconscious processes
- Dynamics of ambivalence, conflict, anxiety, & compromise
- Importance of childhood experiencesin shaping adult interpersonal patterns
- Impulse regulation
Behavioural Personality
- Mind is a “black box” that can’t be studied
- Personality is a set of response tendencies
- People learn to behave in particular ways incertain situations due to differing contingencies past rewards/punishments)
- Environmental determinism: All our actions are products of causal influences in the environment
Limitations of Behavioural Approach
- Evidence base dependent on animal studies
- Dehumanising – people as passive/mechanical
- Ignores internal processes (e.g. thought, motivation)
Lasting Contributions of Behavioural Approach
- Objective/scientific measurement
- Learning, conditioning (classical, operant)
- Environmental contingencies
Cognitive-Social Personality Approach
- Thinking & reasoning important Cognitive factors ► personal values ► outcome expectancies ► self-efficacy expectancies ► competencies Social factors ► vicarious learning ► modelling / observational learning - Reciprocal determinism
Limitations of Cognitive-Social Approach
- Focus on rationality, underestimate emotion
- Fragmented view of personality – explains discrete responses, but not integrated whole
- Assumes conscious thought processes
Lasting Contributions of Cognitive-Social Approach
- Social learning & modelling
- Reciprocal influences on environment
- Cognitive dimensions of personality
Humanistic Personality Approach
- Stresses the dignity, uniqueness, & integrity ofhuman beings
- Optimistic view of human nature
- Emphasises positive aspects of people(e.g. capacity for personal growth)
- Central concept: the self
Humanistic Theory of Self Development
- We have a “true self” that is inherently good and untainted
- We seek approval, affection, positive regard
- Others withhold regard, give it “conditionally”
- We incorporate these conditions of worth and adjust behaviour to meet others’ expectations
- Incongruence may develop between our “true self” and how we are forced to behave (“false self”)
Congruencies of Humanistic Approach
Incongruence ► Distress, anxiety ► People become defensive, mean-spirited, selfish, trapped by convention Congruence ► fully-functioning ► confident, realistic, undefensive
Congruence brought about by unconditional love+ positive regard (no conditions of worth)
Limitations of Humanistic Approach
- Vague – concepts difficult to test empirically
- Limited research support
- Lacks comprehensive theory of personality
- Overly optimistic & idealistic
Lasting Contributions of Humanistic Approach
- Focus on ways humans strive to find meaning / grow in life
- Positive psychology
Trait Approach to Personality
Implies:
- Personality can be described in terms of dispositions (traits)
- Traits are stable over time & consistent across situations
- Strength of trait can be inferred by frequency of “index” behaviours
Humoral Theory (Galen 2nd century AD)
A trait theory People classified according to the predominance of one of four types of fluids (humours): Choleric Melancholic Phlegmatic Sanguine
Choleric
excess of yellow bile, bad tempered and irritable
Melancholic
excess of black bile, gloomy and pessimistic
Phlegmatic
excess of phlegm, sluggish, calm, and unexcitable
Sanguine
excess of blood (sanguis), cheerful and passionate
Physiognomy (Sheldon 1952)
A trait theory People classified according to three basic body physiques ENDOMORPH ECTOMORPH MESOMORPH
Catell’s 16 PF (1990)
- Warmth | 2. Reasoning | 3. Emotional stability
- Dominance | 5. Liveliness | 6. Rule-consciousness
- Social boldness | 8. Sensitivity | 9. Vigilance
- Abstractedness | 11. Privateness | 12. Apprehension
- Openness to change | 14. Self-reliance
- Perfectionism | 16. Tension
Eyesenck’s Big 3 Listed
Extraversion and Introversion
Neuroticism and Emotional stability
Psychoticism and Self-control
Eyesenck’s Big 3 Biology
- 3 dimensions have substantial genetic basis that is expressed in terms of functional differences in the brain
- Extraversion example: the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) regulates cortical arousal/wakefulness
People have different levelsof resting cortical arousal
► highly extraverted people have lower resting cortical arousal therefore need more stimulation for optimum arousal
► highly introverted people have higher resting cortical arousal therefore need less stimulation for optimum arousal
The Big 5 Personality Traits McCrae and Costa Listed
5 “robust” dimensions of personality:
- Openness to experience (intellectually curious, unconventional, creative)
- Conscientiousness (responsible, organised, dependable)
- Extraversion (social, lively, outgoing, talkative)
- Agreeableness (friendly, supportive, cooperative, kind)
- Neuroticism (tense, anxious, nervous, unstable)
Big 5 Support
Big 5 found to be common to nearly all other personality tests
Most cross-cultural research supports universality of at least three of the five factors – conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness
Heritability
Personality results from an interaction of nature (genes) and nurture (environment)
Trait theorists argue genetic history has strong influence on personality
How can we tell?
► Twin studies
► Adoption studies
Twins vary by
Genetic similarity 1. Identical twins 2. Non-identical twins Environment 1. Reared together 2. Reared apart
Big 5 Predictions
Clinical, organisational-industrial, health, social and institutional settings
▲ neuroticism predicts common mental disorders (e.g. depressive, anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorders)
▲ conscientiousness predicts health, mortality, job performance
▲ extraversion associated with happiness, leadership behaviour
▲ agreeableness predicts relationship satisfaction
▲ openness to experience predicts creativity, progressive attitudes (e.g. low conservatism, ethnocentrism, low prejudice, more liberal sexual attitudes)
The Dark Triad (Paulus & Williams, 2002)
3 “evil” dimensions of personality:
Narcissism (grandiosity, pride, egotistical)
Machiavellianism (manipulative, exploitative, deceptive) Psychopathy (antisocial, impulsive, callous, remorseless)
Research on dark triad used in law enforcement, organisations; clinical psychology
Predicts aggression, violence, corruption, preference for short-term relationships
Endomorph
- relaxed
- sociable
- thicc
Ectomorph
- intelligent
- introverted
- thin
Mesomorph
- energetic
- physical
- ripped
Eyesenck’s Extra and Intraversion
Extraversion
- Outgoing nature, high level of activity
Introversion
- Shuns crowds, prefers solitary activity
Eyesenck’s Neuroticism and Emotional Stability
Neuroticism
- Full of anxiety, worries and guilt
Emotional stability
- Relaxed and at peace
Eyesenck’s Psychoticism and Self-control
Psychoticism
- Aggressive, egocentric and antisocial
Self-control
- Kind and considerate, obedient of rules and laws
