PERSONALITY I.

Definition

Personality The unique and relatively stable ways in which people think, feel, and behave Difference from Character and Temperament: y y II. Character Value judgments of a person s moral and ethical behavior Temperament The enduring characteristics with which each person is born with Personality Theories A. Psychodynamic Approach 1. Sigmund Freud - Believed that the unconscious mind was the most important factor in human behavior and personality a. Divisions of Personality Id part of personality which seeks pleasure; works on the pleasure principle Ego establishes balance between id and superego; works on the reality principle Superego the moral center of personality; contains the conscience **Freud believed that the constant state of conflict within these parts (especially between the id and the superego) is the mechanism that explains how personality works. b. Stages of Personality Development Oral Stage from birth to 1 years old; oral activities are the focus of pleasure Anal Stage 1 to 3 years; focus of pleasure: bowel and bladder control Phallic Stage 3 to 6 years; focus of pleasure: genitals Latency Stage 6 years to puberty; focus of pleasure: social skills Genital Stage puberty until death; focus of pleasure: sexual behavior **Freud also called these stages as the psychosexual stages of personality development because he believed that personality or psyche develops as a result of sexual development. 2. Neo-Freudians a. Carl Gustav Jung - Believed that there was a collective unconscious containing racial memory, memories of ancient fears and themes - Archetypes: collective, universal human memories Types: Anima/animus feminine side of a man / masculine side of a woman Shadow the dark side of personality b. Alfred Adler

Believed that the driving force behind all human endeavors, emotions and thoughts is the seeking of superiority and not the seeking of pleasure, as Freud believed - Developed a theory regarding birth order affecting personality First born: Feels inferior when younger siblings get attention; tends to be overachievers Middle child: Feels superior upon dethroning the older child and dominating the younger ones; very competitive Younger children: Feel inferior because freedom and responsibilities of older children are denied from them; supposedly pampered c. Karen Horney - Focused on the child s sense of basic anxiety - Believes children cope with anxiety by: being dependent and clingy, moving against people, or withdrawing from relationships d. Erik Erikson - Emphasized the importance of social relationships in the stages of life (Psychosocial Stages) B. Behaviorist Approach 1. Albert Bandura a. Reciprocal Determinism - Bandura believed that there are three factors which affect each other in determining patterns of behavior which make up personality: environment, behavior, cognitive factors (beliefs, expectations, personal dispositions) b. Self-efficacy - People s expectancy on the effectiveness of their efforts to achieve a goal in any particular circumstance - Affected by what others say and by personal assessment 2. Julian Rotter - Viewed personality as a relatively stable set of potential responses to various situations - Locus of control: People s assumption on whether they have control (internal locus) or do not have control (external locus) over events and consequences in their lives C. Humanistic Approach 1. Abraham Maslow - Formulated the hierarchy of needs showing the most basic and fundamental needs of a person 2. Carl Rogers - Believed that developing an image of oneself (self-concept) is an important tool for human self-actualization Real self: One s actual perception of characteristics, traits, and abilities that form the basis of the striving for self-actualization -

Ideal self: The perception of what one should be or would like to be D. Trait Theories - Attempt to describe personality and predict behavior in terms of a person s traits Trait: A consistent, enduring way of thinking, feeling, or behaving 1. Gordon Willard Allport - Came up with 200 traits lifted from the dictionary - Believed that traits were part of a person s nervous system to guide a person s behavior - Believed that the combination of traits in each person is unique 2. Raymond Cattell - Defined two types of traits Surface traits: Represents the personality characteristics easily seen by other people Source traits: Basic traits which underlie the surface trats E.g. Surface trait: Shyness, being quiet, disliking crowds Source trait: Introversion - Used factor analysis, a statistical technique, to narrow down the number of traits to sixteen source traits (later suggested to be 23) - Developed the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), an assessment questionnaire, wherein the source traits are seen as continuums or trait dimensions with two opposite ends and varying degree of the trait 3. The Big Five: OCEAN/The Five-Factor Model - Represent the core description of human personality - Developed by groups of researchers arriving at more or less the same five traits Openness: The willingness of a person to try new things and new experiences High Scorer Characteristics: Creative, curious, nonconforming Low Scorer Characteristics: Conventional, uncreative, down-to-earth Conscientiousness: A person s organization and motivation High Scorer Characteristics: Organized, neat, ambitious Low Scorer Characteristics: Unreliable, lazy, spontaneous Extraversion: One s need to be with other people High Scorer Characteristics: (Extraverts) Sociable, affectionate, talkative Low Scorer Characteristics: (Introverts) Reserved, comfortable alone Agreeableness: Basic emotional style of a person High Scorer Characteristics: Good-natured, trusting, helpful Low Scorer Characteristics: Rude, irritable, uncooperative, aggressive Neuroticism: Emotional stability or instability High Scorer Characteristics: Anxious, insecure, temperamental Low Scorer Characteristics: Calm, stable, relaxed, secure - Traits are not interdependent allowing for a variety of combinations of personality descriptions