Prof. Millie Roqueta CHAPTER 2 SUMMARY Chapter 2 .THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Definition of Personality 2. Trait Theory 3. Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory 4. Jung's Analytic Psychology 5. Adler's Individual Psychology 6. Pavlov's Classical Conditioning 7. Skinner's Operant Conditioning 8. Definition of Behaviorism 9. Bandura's Social Learning Theory 10. Humanism as a school of thought in psychology 11. Rogers's Person-Centered Therapy 12. Maslow's Self-Actualization Theory 13. Biological perspectives (Eysenck's theory)
The Nature of Personality
What is Personality refers to an individual’s unique constellation of per consistent behavioral traits. son ality Personality is consistent, distinctive, and unique: ? 1. Consistency of behavior across situations lies at the core of the concept of personality 2. Distinctiveness of behavior is also central to the concept of personality 3. Personality refers to an individual's unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits
Trait Theories
Trait A personality trait is a durable disposition to behave in a The particular way in a variety of situations. orie Trait models attempt to analyze personality by breaking it down s into its basic dimensions. Examples of traits: honest, dependable, moody, impulsive, suspicious, anxious, domineering, friendly. Some traits are more basic than others. For example, a person’s tendency to be impulsive, restless, boisterous, and impatient might derive from a more basic tendency to be “excitable”.
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The Five-Factor Model of Personality (McCrae & Costa) McCrae & Costa suggest that the vast majority of personality traits derive from five critical traits, These have come to be known as the “Big Five”: 1. Extraversion Individuals who score high in extraversion are characterized as outgoing, sociable, upbeat, friendly, assertive, and gregarious. 2. Neuroticism Individuals who score high in neuroticism tend to be anxious, hostile, self-conscious, insecure, and vulnerable. 3. Openness to experience Openness is associated with curiosity, flexibility, vivid fantasy, imaginativeness, artistic sensitivity, and unconventional attitudes. 4. Agreeableness Individuals who score high in agreeableness tend to be sympathetic, trusting, cooperative, modest, and straightforward. 5. Conscientiousness Individuals who score high in conscientiousness tend to be diligent, disciplined, well organized, punctual, and dependable.
Psychodynamic Theories
Psychodynamic Psychodynamic theories include all of the diverse theories Theori descended from the work of Sigmund Freud that focus on es unconscious mental forces.
Freud’s Freud divided personality structure into three components: the id, the Psych ego, and the superego. oanal ytic Id Theor The Id is a primitive, completely unorganized reservoir y of energy which includes all the instincts and reflexes inherited at birth. It encompasses the basic biological drives – self- preservation instincts, libido or sexual instincts, and the aggressive instincts (Halpert, 1977). The Id operates according to the pleasure principle, which demands immediate gratification of its urges. The Id houses the biological urges that energize our behavior. The Id engages in primary process thinking, which is
Page 2 Prof. Millie Roqueta primitive, illogical, irrational, and fantasy oriented. Ego The Ego is the decision-making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle, which seeks to delay gratification of the Id’s urges until appropriate outlets and situations can be found. o The Ego mediates between the Id, with its forceful desires for immediate satisfaction, and the external social world, with its expectations and norms regarding suitable behavior. o The Ego considers social realities – society’s norms, etiquette, rules, and customs – in deciding how to behave. o The Ego engages in secondary process thinking, which is relatively rational, realistic, and oriented toward problem solving Superego The Superego is the moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what is right and wrong. The Superego is the aspect of mental life that acts as the conscience. Throughout our lives, we receive training about what is good and bad behavior. Eventually, we internalize many of these social norms. That means that we truly accept certain moral principles, and then we put pressure on ourselves to live up to these standards.
According to Freud, the Id, the Ego, and the Superego, are distributed across three levels of awareness: 1. The Conscious, which consists of whatever one is aware of at a particular point in time. 2. The Preconscious, which contains material just beneath the surface of awareness that can be easily retrieved. 3. The Unconscious, which contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but that nonetheless exert great influence on one’s behavior.
Defense Freud believed that anxiety was a crucial event in understanding Mec personality functioning. According to Freud, anxiety was so unpleasant hani an emotion that people tried to rid themselves of it in any way they sms could. This effort often gave rise to the use of what he termed defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are largely unconscious reactions that protect a person from painful emotions such as anxiety and guilt.
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(See Table of the most Common Defense Mechanisms)
Freud’s Freud formalized a stage theory of development that stressed the Psyc importance of the early years of life. hose xual The Psychosexual Stages are developmental periods with a Stag characteristic sexual focus that leave their mark on adult personality. es of (See Table for description of Freud’s Psychosexual Stages) Deve lopm ent
Jung’s Like Freud, Jung emphasized unconscious determinants of Ana personality lytic Unlike Freud, Jung suggested that the unconscious consists of two Psy layers: chol 1. Personal Unconscious ogy Essentially the same as Freud's version of the unconscious Contains material not within one's conscious awareness 2. Collective Unconscious A storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from people's ancestral past that is shared with the entire human race. Jung called these memories archetypes, which are emotionally charged images and thought forms that have universal meaning. Jung's believed an understanding of archetypal symbols helped him make sense of his patients’ dreams. This was of great concern to him because he depended extensively on dream analysis in his treatment of patients.
Jung was the first to describe introverts and extraverts 1. Introverts tend to be preoccupied with the internal world of their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences. 2. Extraverts tend to be interested in the external world of people and things.
Alfred 1. Stressed the social context of personality development: Adl Focused attention on possible importance of birth order as a er's factor shaping personality. Indi Had a more optimistic view of human nature than Freud's. vidu al 2. Suggested that the foremost human drive is not sexuality, but a
Page 4 Prof. Millie Roqueta Psy striving for superiority, which is a universal drive to adapt, chol improve oneself, and master life’s challenges. ogy
3. Suggested that everyone has to work to overcome some feelings of inferiority. This was done through a process he termed compensation. Compensation involves efforts to overcome imagined or real inferiorities by developing one's abilities. Inferiority feelings can become excessive, resulting in an inferiority complex, which are exaggerated feelings of weakness and inadequacy. Exaggerated feelings of weakness and inadequacy o Can distort the normal process of striving for superiority. o Can result in overcompensation. Some people engage in overcompensation in order to conceal, even from themselves, their feelings of inferiority.
Behavioral Theories
Behaviorism Behaviorism is a theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study observable behavior. Behaviorism focuses on response tendencies rather than internal personality structures. Behaviorists have focused extensively on personality development.
Pavlov’s Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which a neutral Cla stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was ssic originally evoked by another stimulus. al Con diti oni ng
Skinner’s Classical conditioning explains reflexive responding controlled by Ope stimuli that precede the response. However, both animals and rant humans make many responses that don’t fit this description. For Con that, we turn to Skinner’s theory of Operant Conditioning. diti oni Operant Conditioning ng Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which voluntary
Page 5 Prof. Millie Roqueta responses come to be controlled by their consequences. The fundamental principle of operant conditioning is that organisms tend to repeat those responses that are followed by favorable consequences, and they tend not to repeat those responses that are followed by neutral or unfavorable consequences.
In short, our behavior has consequences and those consequences govern the likelihood that we will repeat a particular behavior. Behavior that is positively or negatively reinforced will be repeated. Behavior that is neutral or is punished will not.
According to Skinner, reinforcement can occur in two ways: positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.
1. Positive Reinforcement Positive reinforcement occurs when a response is strengthened (increases in frequency) because it is followed by the addition of a (presumably) pleasant stimulus. Roughly synonymous with concept of reward. Motivates much of our everyday behavior. Behaviors that are reinforced regularly will tend to become an integral element of one's personality.
2. Negative Reinforcement Occurs when a response is strengthened (increases in frequency) because it is followed by the removal of an (presumably) unpleasant stimulus. Negative reinforcement strengthens a response. Plays a major role in the development of avoidance tendencies.
Extinction The effects of operant conditioning may not last forever. In both types of conditioning, extinction may occur. Extinction is the gradual weakening and disappearance of a response. Extinction occurs when a previously reinforced response stops producing positive consequences.
Punishment Punishment occurs when a response is weakened (decreases in frequency) because it is followed by the addition of an (presumably) unpleasant stimulus. Concept is often confusing to students. o Mixed up with negative reinforcement
Page 6 Prof. Millie Roqueta o May be viewed as only a disciplinary procedure Patterns of behavior that lead to punishment tend to be weakened (in contrast, reinforcement leads to strengthening). According to Skinner, conditioning is a "mechanical" process that occurs without conscious participation.
Bandura’s The basic thrust of behaviorism is that personality is largely shaped Soc through learning. However, other theorists suggest different models ial in which behavior is influenced by cognition. Lea rnin Cognition refers to the thought processes involved in acquiring g knowledge. The ory Bandura’s Social Learning Theory Emphasizes the role of cognition in learned behaviors. Maintained that conditioning is not a “mechanical" process in which people are passive participants, but rather a more “active” process. Maintains that people actively seek out and process information about their environment
Observational Learning Observational learning occurs when an organism's responding is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models. Some models are more influential than others o We tend to imitate people we like or respect o We tend to imitate people we consider attractive or powerful o We tend to imitate people who are similar to ourselves Models influence personality development through children's observational learning
Self-efficacy Self-efficacy is one's belief about one's ability to perform behaviors that should lead to expected outcomes. When self-efficacy is high, people feel confident in executing the responses necessary to earn reinforcers. When self-efficacy is low, people worry that the necessary responses may be beyond their abilities. Perceptions of self-efficacy can influence which challenges one tackles and how well one performs.
Humanistic Theories
Humanistic Humanism is a theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique Per qualities of humans, especially their free will and their potential for
Page 7 Prof. Millie Roqueta spe personal growth. ctiv Humanistic theories take a more optimistic view of human nature es o Human nature includes an innate drive toward personal growth o Individuals have free will; they are not pawns of their environment. o People are conscious and rational beings who are not dominated by unconscious, irrational needs and conflicts.
Roger’s Carl Rogers's Person-Centered Theory Per son 1. Views on the self and its development - Self-concept: a collection of beliefs about one's own nature, Cen unique qualities, and typical behavior. tere o A mental picture of yourself d o Rogers stressed the subjective nature of self-concept The Incongruence: the disparity between one's self-concept and ory one's actual experience. o Childhood experiences may promote congruence or incongruence. o Unconditional love from parents fosters congruence and conditional love fosters incongruence.
2. Views on anxiety and defense Experiences that threaten one's self-concept are the principal cause of anxiety. People behave defensively to ward off this anxiety and protect their self-concept.
Maslow’s Abraham Maslow’s Theory of Self-Actualization The ory 1. Hierarchy of Needs of Systematic arrangement of needs, according to priority, in Self which basic needs must be met before less basic needs are - aroused. Act Usually portrayed as a pyramid. uali Satisfaction of one level of needs activates needs at the next zati level. on Main "growth need" is self-actualization: the need to fulfill one's potential; it is the highest need in Maslow's motivational hierarchy.
2. The Healthy Personality Called people with exceptionally healthy personalities self-
Page 8 Prof. Millie Roqueta actualizing persons. Self-actualizers are accurately tuned in to reality and are at peace with themselves. Not dependent on other for approval. Enjoy "peak experiences" (profound emotional highs) more often than others.
Biological Theories
Eysenck’s Han Eysenck's Theory The ory Eysenck defined personality as “a more or less stable and enduring organization of a person’s character, temperament, intellect, and physique which determines his unique adjustment to the environment” (Eysenck, 1970). Stressed the understanding of all forces of biology, historical typology, learning theory, and factor analysis in order to understand personality. Stressed rigorous scientific methods and criticized the non- scientific theories of personality. Viewed personality structure as a hierarchy of traits. Has shown special interest in explaining variations in extraversion- introversion (see Table of Eysenck’s Theory of Personality Types). Proposed that introverts tend to have higher levels of physiological arousal than extraverts. Higher arousal motivates introverts to avoid social situations.
Discussion DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Que 1. Do you think it is likely, as Freud's theory suggests, that our stio behavior is largely influenced by desires and urges of which we are ns unaware? 2. As discussed in Chapter 1 of the textbook, psychology is a science, committed to the empirical study of behavior. Do you think it's possible to apply this scientific approach to the study of unconscious desires and urges, as postulated by Freud's theory of personality? 3. Do you have any mild anxieties or fears (e.g., an aversion to a particular food or drink) that you think you might have developed as a result of classical conditioning? 4. With reference to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, what level do you think most people in our society are concerned with satisfying? How might this compare with individuals in other societies? 5. Do you know of individuals whom you would consider to be self- actualized? What is it about these people that leads you to this conclusion? 6. Recent research in behavioral genetics has provided convincing evidence that biological factors help shape our personality. As
Page 9 Prof. Millie Roqueta science continues to progress as a result of advances in technology, do you think that researchers will someday be able to explain all of our behavior in terms of biological factors? Why or why not? 7. Which theoretical orientation (psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, biological) do you think does the best job of explaining personality? Why? 8. What do you think of Maslow's idea that healthy people have a good sense of humor and peak experiences? Do you think these are essential characteristics of a well-adjusted individual?
Chapter Summary References:
Adapted by Roqueta, M. (2002), from Weiten, W., & Lloyd, M. A. (2003), Psychology applied to modern life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Halpert, L.H. (1977), Psychology test. New York: Monarch Press.
Table References:
Table of Summary of Personality Theories, adapted by Roqueta, M. (2002) from Weiten, W., & Lloyd, M. A. (2003), Psychology applied to modern life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Table of Most Common Defense Mechanisms adapted from: Craig, G. (1999), Human Development, Prentice Hall.
Table of Freud’s Stages of Development: from Hockenbury & Hockenbury (2000), Psychology, 2nd Ed., Worth Publishers.
Websites: Behaviour Analysis and Learning Personality Theories -- Table of Contents Great Ideas in Personality--Psychology Theory and Research
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