f

How do psychologists define and use the

concept of “personality”?
• The behaviors that make people different from
one another are those behaviors that
psychologists consider to be at the root of
personality.
personality
• Personality refers to the relatively enduring
characteristics that differentiate one person from
another and that lead people to act in a consistent
and predictable manner, both in different
situations and over extended periods of time.
 Personality
“Characteristic pattern of thinking,
feeling and acting.”

Four Major Perspectives on Personality

l
Psychoanalytic - unconscious motivations
Trait - specific dimensions of personality
Humanistic - inner capacity for growth
Social-Cognitive - influence of environment
 EgoDefense
DefenseMechanisms
Mechanisms:
Ego Id
When the inner war
gets out of hand, the
result is Anxiety

Ego protects itself via

Defense Mechanisms
Super
Ego
Defense Mechanisms reduce/redirect
anxiety by distorting reality
ff
• Mother Teresa is strongly associated with goodness and
charity. Today, her name is virtually synonymous with those
traits.
• Adolph Hitler is associated with evil, and his name evokes the
embodiment of ruthlessness and depravity.
• Einstein is known for his genius, and today his name is often
used as a synonym for brilliance.
• Machiavelli (ruthlessness)
• Christ-like (good, faithful, holy)
• Ebenezer Scrooge (greedy)
• Martin Luther King, Jr. (justice and equality)
• Abraham Lincoln (honesty)
• Sigmund Freud (psychoanalytical)
• humanistic approaches to personality
Theories that emphasize people’s innate
goodness and desire to achieve higher levels
of functioning.
 PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
• Standard measures devised to assess behavior
objectively; used by psychologists to help
people make decisions about their lives and
understand more about themselves.
• Researchers interested in the causes and
consequences of personality also employ
psychological tests.
 True or False?

1. I believe my parents have been one of the most influential

forces in my development.

2. Events that occurred in childhood still affect me today.

3. I sometimes experience a struggle from within myself.

4. Sometimes I am not aware of my own motivations and

desires.

5. Sometimes when I am in an argument, I feel they assume

that I am upset, when I am actually fine.