Unit 6: Study Guide Personality

In this section of the course, students come to understand the major theories and approaches to personality: psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, trait, and behaviorist. In the process, they learn about the background and thought of some of the major contributors to the domain of personality, such as Alfred Adler, Gordon Allport, Albert Bandura, Raymond Cattell, Hans Eysenck, Sigmond Freud, Carl Jung, Walter Mischel, and Carl Rogers. Through their study in this area, students recognize that each of the approaches to personality has implications for their understanding of both normal and abnormal personality, the assessment of personality, models of personality development, and the treatment of dysfunctional behavior.

Students also learn about research in personality, including the kinds of methods that are employed (such as case studies and surveys), the differences among research orientations, and the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. The course exposes students to the major assessment techniques used in the study of personality, such as personality inventories, projective tests, and behavioral observations. Discussion of these instruments necessarily includes consideration of the reliability and validity of each.

In addition, students examine the idea of the self and the related issues of self-concept and self-esteem. They learn how the self develops, how self-concept and self-esteem are assessed, and how both of these constructs are related to the other aspects of the individual’s functioning.

CR10: The course provides instruction in personality

Text: Chapter 15 (pp. 595 – 636) Student Resources: Flashcards from text www.worthpublishers.com/myers8e Racing against your heart, Forty Studies, pp. 210 – 216 You’re getting defensive again! Forty Studies, pp. 234 – 241 Timeline: 6 days

An emphasis on  Personality Theories and Approaches  Assessment Techniques  Types of Tests  Standardization and Norms  Reliability and Validity  Ethics and Standards in Testing  Self-concept, Self-esteem  Growth and Adjustment  (6 – 8 % of multiple choice)

Unit 6: Personality

Key Terms Free Association Psychoanalysis Unconscious Preconscious Libido Id Superego Ego Iceberg Theory Psychosexual Stages Oral Anal Phallic Latency Genital Anal Expulsive Anal Retentive Oedipus Complex Electra Complex Identification Fixate Repression Regression Projection Reaction Formation Rationalization Displacement Sublimation Humor Undoing Denial Avoidance Compensation Intellectualization Projective Test Reliability Validity TAT Rorschach Test Collective Unconscious Personal Unconscious Traits Personality Inventories MMPI Introvert Extravert Factor Analysis Self-Actualized Empirically Derived Hierarchy of Needs Self-Concept Self-Esteem Self-Serving Bias Individualism Collectivism Reciprocal Determinism Optimism Internal Locus of Control External Locus of Control Learned helplessness Positive Psychology

Key Concepts Psychosexual Stages (Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital) Big Five Personality Factors Defense Mechanisms

Key People Sigmund Freud* ___ Erik Erikson* ___ Alfred Adler* ___ Karen Horney ___ Carl Jung* ___ Carl Rogers* ___ Hermann Rorschach* ___ Henry Murray ___ Abraham Maslow*___ Martin Seligman* ___ Albert Bandura* ___ Walter Mischel ___ Hans Eysenck and Sybil Eysenck ___

A. Extroverts, Introverts, and the Collective Unconscious B. I’m positive psychology can help us be optimistic C. Icebergs. Principles. Defenses. Dreams. Hypnosis. Couch. Complexes. D. Project your feelings onto the inkblots E. I gave you bobo dolls and social-cognition F. Consistently conscientious, huh? Well, maybe not always G. I’m smart enough, strong enough, and doggone it, self-actualized! H. Crisis, crisis – seems like my life is one crisis after another I. I positively regard people as being good at heart, overall J. TAT: ambiguous, but it may tell me something about you K. Freud underestimated women and should have focused on attachments L. It may sound complex, but I need to compensate for inferiorities M. Factor these traits: extrovert, introvert, stable, unstable

Learning Outcomes (from the Myers text – Chapter 15: Personality)

1. Define personality. 2. Explain how Freud’s experiences in private practice led to his theory of psychoanaysis. 3. Discuss Freud’s view of the mind as an iceberg, and explain how he used this image to represent conscious and unconscious regions of the mind. 4. Describe Freud’s view of personality structure, and discuss the interactions of the id, ego, and superego. 5. Identify Freud’s psychosexual stages of development, and describe the effects of fixation on behavior. 6. Describe the function of defense mechanisms, and identify six of them. 7. Contrast the views of the neo-Freudians and psychodynamic theorists with Freud’s original theory. 8. Describe two projective tests used to assess personality, and discuss some criticisms of them. 9. Summarize psychology’s current assessment of Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis. 10. Summarize Abraham Maslow’s concept of self-actualization, and explain how his ideas illustrate the humanistic perspective. 11. Discuss Carl Rogers’ person-centered perspective, and explain the importance of unconditional positive regard. 12. Explain how humanistic psychologists assessed personality. 13. State the major criticisms of the humanistic perspective on personality. 14. Cite the main difference between the trait and psychoanalytic perspectives on personality. 15. Describe some of the ways psychologists have attempted to compile a list of basic personality traits. 16. Explain how psychologists use personality inventories to assess traits, and discuss the most widely used personality inventory. 17. Identify the Big Five personality factors, and discuss some of the strengths of this approach to study personality. 18. Summarize the person-situation controversy, and explain its importance as a commentary on the trait perspective. 19. Explain why psychologists are interested in the consistency of the trait of expressiveness. 20. Describe the social-cognitive perspective, and explain how reciprocal determinism illustrates that perspective. 21. Discuss the effects of a perception of internal or external control and describe the concept of learned helplessness. 22. Discuss the link between performance and optimistic or pessimistic attributional style, and contrast positive psychology with humanistic psychology. 23. Explain why social-cognitive researchers assess behavior in realistic situations. 24. State the major criticism of the social-cognitive perspective. 25. Explain why psychology has generated so much research on the self, and give three examples of current research on the self. 26. Give two alternative explanations for the positive correlation between low self-esteem and personal problems. 27. Discuss some ways that people maintain their self-esteem under conditions of discrimination or low status. 28. Discuss self-serving bias, and contrast defensive and secure self-esteem.