Personality

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PERSONALITY

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Chapter outlines
• Define Personality
• Theories of Personality
1.Trait Theories
2.Psychoanalytic Theory
3.Social­Cognitive Theories
4.Humanistic Theories
• Personality tests
• MBTI

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2 questions
• Why don’t people react in the same way to the same

situation?

• early life experiences
• biological makeup
• learning

• Can we predict behavior? Does it depend on personality

traits or on situation?

• is personality assessment meaningful?

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Personality
A person’s internally based characteristic ways of acting, feeling and thinking. 5
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Topics to Explore
1. Trait Theories
2. Psychoanalytic Theory
3. Social­Cognitive Theories
4. Humanistic Theories

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Personality: Some Terms
Personality: a person’s internally based characteristic way of acting and thinking
Character: Personal characteristics that have been judged or evaluated Temperament: Hereditary aspects of personality, including sensitivity, moods, irritability, and distractibility
Personality Trait: Stable qualities that a person shows in most situations Personality Type: People who have several traits in common

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Example of Personality Type

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Personality Theories
Personality Theory: System of concepts, assumptions, ideas, and principles proposed to explain personality. 9
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Types of Personality Theories
Trait Theories: Attempt to learn what traits make up personality and how they relate to actual behavior
Psychodynamic Theories: Focus on the inner workings of personality, especially internal conflicts and struggles
Humanistic Theories: Focus on private, subjective experience and personal growth
Social-Cognitive Theories: Attribute difference in personality to socialization, expectations, and mental processes 10
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PART 1
TRAIT THEORIES

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Jung’s Theory of Two Types
Carl Jung, believed that we are one of two personality types:
• Introvert: Shy, self-centered person whose attention is focused inward
• Extrovert: Bold, outgoing person whose attention is directed outward

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Eysenck’s Three Factor Theory
Hans Eysenck, believed that there are three fundamental factors in personality : PEN
•

Introversion versus Extroversion

• Emotionally Stable versus Unstable
(neurotic)
• Impulse Control versus Psychotic

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Cattell: Source & Surface Traits
Raymond Cattell, believed that there were two basic categories of traits:
• Surface Traits: Features that make up the visible areas of personality
• Source Traits: Underlying characteristics of a personality

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Cattell: The Big Five
Cattell believed that five factors were most important :
OCEAN

Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeable
Neuroticism

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Graphic: The Big Five

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PART 2
PSYCHOANALYTIC
THEORY

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Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud, thought his patients’ problems were more emotional than physical.
Freud began his work by using hypnosis and eventually switched to psychoanalysis. 18
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Freud’s Three Levels of Awareness
1. The conscious mind is what you are presently aware of, what you are thinking about right now
2. The preconscious mind is stored in your memory that you are not presently aware of but can gain access to
3. The unconscious mind is the part of our mind of which we cannot become aware

• It contains, motivations
• repressed unacceptable thoughts, memories,
• feelings, especially unresolved conflicts from our

early childhood experiences

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Freud’s
Three-Part Personality Structure

Id
Id
Ego
Ego
Superego
Superego

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The Id, Ego, and Superego
Id: Innate biological instincts and urges; self-serving & irrational •Works on Pleasure Principle: Wishes to have its desires
(pleasurable) satisfied NOW, without waiting and regardless of the consequences

Ego: Executive; directs id energies
•Works on Reality Principle: Delays action until it is practical and/or appropriate

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The Id, Ego, and Superego, continued
Superego: Judge or censor for thoughts and actions of the ego
• Superego comes from our parents or caregivers; guilt comes from the superego
• Two parts
- Conscience: Reflects actions for which a person has been punished (e.g., what we shouldn’t do or be)
- Ego Ideal: Second part of the superego; reflects behavior one’s parents approved of or rewarded (e.g., what we should do or be)

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Examples of Defense Mechanisms
Displacement: Ego shifts unacceptable feelings from one object to another, more acceptable object.
Sublimation: Ego replaces an unacceptable impulse with a socially acceptable one
Reaction Formation: Ego transforms an unacceptable motive or feeling into its opposite.
Projection: Ego attributes personal shortcomings, problems, and faults to others.
Rationalization: Ego justifies an unacceptable motive by giving a false acceptable (but false) reason for behavior

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PART 3
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE
THEORIES

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Bandura’s Theory
Children observe behavior of models (such as parents) in their social environment. Particularly if they are reinforced, children will imitate these behaviors, incorporating them into personality.
Bandura also proposed that people observe their own behavior and judge its effectiveness.
Self-efficacy: a judgment of one’s effectiveness in dealing with particular situations.

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Rotter’s Theory of Locus of Control
Julian Rotter: His personality theory combines learning principles, modeling, cognition, and the effects of social relationships

External locus of control: perception that chance or external forces beyond personal control determine one’s fate
Internal locus of control: perception that you control your own fate.
Learned Helplessness: a sense of hopelessness in which a person thinks that he/she is unable to prevent aversive events

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PART 4
HUMANISTIC
THEORIES

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Maslow’s Theory
• Abraham Maslow is considered father of the humanistic

movement.
• Hierarchy of needs: the motivational component

of Maslow’s theory, in which our innate needs, which motivate our actions, are hierarchically arranged. • Self-actualization: the fullest realization of a person’s potential

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Graphic: Hierarchy of Needs

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Behavior

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Behavior emerges from an interplay of external and internal influences.

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The Big Five
• OCEAN
• Openness to Experience
• Conscientiousness
• Extraversion
• Agreeableness
• Neuroticism

• List of Domain and Facet Scores

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Neuroticism

Extraversion

Openness

Anxiety
Angry Hostility
Depression
Self-Consciousness
Impulsiveness
Vulnerability

Warmth
Gregariousness
Assertiveness
Activity
Excitement-Seeking
Positive Emotions

Fantasy
Aesthetics
Feelings
Actions
Ideas
Values

Agreeableness

Conscientiousness

Trust
Straightforwardness
Altruism
Compliance
Modesty
Tender-Mindedness

Competence
Order
Dutifulness
Achievement Striving
Self-Discipline
Deliberation

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Personality Traits: The Big Five
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Openness to experience
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Open = Curiosity, imaginative, creative

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Resistant = Conforming, predictable

Conscientiousness
•

Conscientious = Responsible, persevering, self-disciplined

•

Impulsive = Quick to give up, fickle, careless

Extroversion
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Extroversion = Outgoing – talkative, sociable, adventurous

•

Introversion = Shy – silent, reclusive, cautious

Agreeableness
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Agreeable = Good-natured, cooperative, secure

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Antagonistic = Irritable, abrasive, suspicious, jealous

Neuroticism
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Neurotic = anxious, impulsive, worrier, emotionally negative

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Emotionally stable = only has those feelings when the circumstances dictate

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Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
• Myers-Briggs: based on Jungian theory of personality
• Classifies individuals along 4 theoretically independent dimensions.

1. Introversion / Extroversion(E-I) : How is your general attitude toward the world?
2. Sensing / Intuition (S-N) : How do you acquire information? 3. Thinking / Feeling (T-F) : How is information processed?
4. Judging / Perceiving (J-P): How do you make decisions?

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MBTI Scales
ExtroversionIntroversion Scale

Sensing-Intuition
Scale

E: Oriented primarily

S: Individual reports

toward the outer world; focus on people and objects

I: Oriented primarily toward the inner world; focus on concepts and ideas

observable facts through one or more of the five senses N: Reports meanings,

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MBTI Scales

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Thinking-Feeling
Scale

Perception-Judging
Scale

T: Judgment is

P: Preference for using a

impersonally based on logical consequences

F: Judgment is primarily based on personal or social values

perceptive process for dealing with the outer world

J: Preference for using a

judgment process for dealing with the outer world