Personality
KEY POINTS
Introduction: What Is Personality?
Personality is defined as an individual’s unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Personality theories attempt to explain how people are similar in these patterns, why they are different, and why every individual is unique.
The four major theoretical perspectives on personality are the psychoanalytic, humanistic, social cognitive, and trait perspectives.
The Psychoanalytic Perspective on Personality
Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud. It stresses the unconscious, the importance of sex and aggression, and the influence of early childhood experience. Freud’s theory was extremely controversial throughout his lifetime and remains so today.
Freud believed that behavior is strongly influenced by the unconscious. The contents of the unconscious can surface in disguised form in free associations, dreams, slips of the tongue, and apparent accidents.
Personality consists of three psychological processes: id, ego, and superego. The id is fueled by instinctual energy and ruled by the pleasure principle. The two instinctual drives are Eros, the life instinct, and Thanatos, the death instinct. Libido is the psychological and emotional energy associated with the sex drive. The ego is partly conscious and is ruled by the reality principle. The superego is partly conscious and represents internalized moral values and rules.
Anxiety results when the demands of the id or the superego threaten to overwhelm the ego. Ego defense mechanisms reduce anxiety by distorting either thoughts or reality. Repression is involved in all ego defense mechanisms. Displacement is a defense mechanism involving the unconscious shifting of emotional impulses to a less threatening substitute target. Sublimation is a special form of displacement.
The psychosexual stages are age-related developmental periods in which sexual impulses are expressed through different bodily zones and activities associated with those areas. The foundations of adult personality are established during the first five years of life by the child’s progression through the oral, anal, and phallic stages. One result of the Oedipus complex is that children come to imitate the behavior and characteristics of the same-sex parent, a process Freud called identification. Fixation at a particular stage may result if the developmental conflicts are not successfully resolved. The latency and genital stages occur during late childhood and adolescence, respectively.
The neo-Freudians believed in the importance of the unconscious and early childhood experience but disagreed with other aspects of Freud’s theory. Carl Jung emphasized psychological growth and proposed the existence of the collective unconscious and archetypes. Karen Horney emphasized the role of social relationships in protecting against basic anxiety. Horney objected to Freud’s views on female development, particularly his idea of penis envy. Alfred Adler believed that the most fundamental human motive was to strive for superiority.
Freud’s theory has been criticized for resting on insufficient evidence, being difficult to test, and being sexist.
The Humanistic Perspective on Personality
Humanistic psychology was championed as the “third force” in psychology. It emphasized human potential, psychological growth, self-awareness, and free will. Important humanistic theorists were Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
Rogers believed that the most basic human motive was the actualizing tendency. He viewed the self-concept as the most important aspect of personality. Conditional positive regard by parents or other caregivers causes a person to deny or distort aspects of experience, leading to a state of incongruence with regard to the self-concept. In contrast, unconditional positive regard leads to a state of congruence. The fully functioning person experiences congruence, the actualizing tendency, and psychological growth.
The humanistic perspective on personality has been criticized for being difficult to validate or test scientifically and for being too optimistic.
The Social Cognitive Perspective on Personality
Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory stresses the role of conscious thought processes, goals, and self-regulation. Reciprocal determinism emphasizes the interaction of behavioral, cognitive, and environmental factors in behavior and personality.
Self-efficacy beliefs influence behavior, performance, motivation, and persistence.
Social cognitive theories emphasize the interaction of multiple factors in determining personality and behavior. Although a key strength of this perspective is its grounding in empirical research, it has been criticized for its limited view of human personality, which ignores unconscious conflicts and emotions.
The Trait Perspective on Personality
Trait theories focus on measuring and describing individual differences, or traits. Surface traits can be easily inferred from observable behaviors. Source traits are thought to represent the basic, fundamental dimensions of personality.
Raymond Cattell believed that there were 16 basic personality factors. Hans Eysenck proposed that there were three basic personality dimensions: extraversion–
According to the five-factor model, there are five basic personality dimensions: extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience.
Traits are generally stable over time and across situations, although situations do influence how and whether traits are expressed.
Behavioral genetics research uses twin and adoption studies to measure the relative influence of genetics and environment. Extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, and conscientiousness seem to have a significant genetic component.
The trait perspective is useful in describing individual differences and in predicting behavior. Trait theories have been criticized for their failure to explain human personality and the development of individual differences.
Assessing Personality: Psychological Tests
Valid psychological tests accurately reflect personal characteristics on some dimension and predict future psychological functioning or behavior. The two basic types of personality tests are projective tests and self-report inventories. Projective tests developed out of the psychoanalytic approach and include the Rorschach Inkblot Test and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).
Projective tests provide qualitative information about an individual. They have some limitations: Responses may be affected by the examiner or the situation; scoring is very subjective; results may be inconsistent; and they do not predict behavior well.
Self-report inventories are objectively scored and differentiate among people on particular personality characteristics. Selfreport inventories include the MMPI, CPI, and 16PF. The reliability, validity, and predictive value of self-report inventories are high. However, people do not always respond honestly or accurately to items in self-report inventories. Psychological tests provide just one measure of personality at a particular point in time.
Match each of the terms on the left with its definition on the right. Click on the term first and then click on the matching definition. As you match them correctly they will move to the bottom of the activity.
actualizing tendency archetypes behavioral genetics California Psychological Inventory (CPI) collective unconscious conditional positive regard displacement ego ego defense mechanisms Eros five-factor model of personality free association graphology humanistic psychology id identification libido Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Oedipus complex personality personality theory pleasure principle possible selves projective test psychoanalysis psychological test psychosexual stages reality principle reciprocal determinism repression Rorschach Inkblot Test self-concept self-efficacy self-report inventory Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) social cognitive theory source traits sublimation superego surface traits Thanatos Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) trait trait theory unconditional positive regard unconscious | A projective personality test, developed by Henry Murray and colleagues, that involves creating stories about ambiguous scenes. A theory of personality that focuses on identifying, describing, and measuring individual differences in behavioral predispositions. An individual's unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. The most fundamental dimensions of personality; the broad, basic traits that are hypothesized to be universal and relatively few in number. In Freud's theory, a term used to describe thoughts, feelings, wishes, and drives that are operating below the level of conscious awareness. The unconscious exclusion of anxiety-provoking thoughts, feelings, and memories from conscious awareness; the most fundamental ego defense mechanism. A theory that attempts to describe and explain similarities and differences in people's patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. In Freud's theory, the partly conscious, self-evaluative, moralistic component of personality that is formed through the internalization of parental and societal rules. A pseudoscience that claims to assess personality, social, and occupational attributes based on a person's distinctive handwriting, doodles, and drawing style. Latin for I; in Freud's theory, the partly conscious rational component of personality that regulates thoughts and behavior, and is most in touch with the demands of the external world. A relatively stable, enduring predisposition to consistently behave in a certain way. The ego defense mechanism that involves unconsciously shifting the target of an emotional urge to a substitute target that is less threatening or dangerous. Latin for the it; in Freud's theory, the completely unconscious, irrational component of personality that seeks immediate satisfaction of instinctual urges and drives; ruled by the pleasure principle. A type of personality test that involves a person's interpreting an ambiguous image; used to assess unconscious motives, conflicts, psychological defenses, and personality traits. A self-report inventory developed by Raymond Cattell that generates a personality profile with ratings on 16 trait dimensions. The aspect of the self-concept that includes images of the selves that you hope, fear, or expect to become in the future. The motive to obtain pleasure and avoid tension or discomfort; the most fundamental human motive and the guiding principle of the id. In Freud's theory, age-related developmental periods in which the child's sexual urges are focused on different areas of the body and are expressed through the activities associated with those areas. Largely unconscious distortions of thoughts or perceptions that act to reduce anxiety. The psychological and emotional energy associated with expressions of sexuality; the sex drive. The theoretical viewpoint on personality that generally emphasizes the inherent goodness of people, human potential, self-actualization, the self-concept, and healthy personality development. Albert Bandura's theory of personality, which emphasizes the importance of observational learning, conscious cognitive processes, social experiences, self-efficacy beliefs, and reciprocal determinism. A test that assesses a person's abilities, aptitudes, interests, or personality on the basis of a systematically obtained sample of behavior. The capacity to accommodate external demands by postponing gratification until the appropriate time or circumstances exist. The set of perceptions and beliefs that you hold about yourself. In Rogers's theory, the innate drive to maintain and enhance the human organism. In psychoanalytic theory, an ego defense mechanism that involves reducing anxiety by imitating the behavior and characteristics of another person. An interdisciplinary field that studies the effects of genes and heredity on behavior. In Rogers's theory, the sense that you will be valued and loved only if you behave in a way that is acceptable to others; conditional love or acceptance. The death instinct, reflected in aggressive, destructive, and self-destructive actions. A trait theory of personality that identifies extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience as the fundamental building blocks of personality. A projective test using inkblots, developed by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach in 1921. A self-report inventory that assesses personality characteristics and psychological disorders; used to assess both normal and disturbed populations. In Rogers's theory, the sense that you will be valued and loved even if you don't conform to the standards and expectations of others; unconditional love or acceptance. Sigmund Freud's theory of personality, which emphasizes unconscious determinants of behavior, sexual and aggressive instinctual drives, and the enduring effects of early childhood experiences on later personality development. A psychoanalytic technique in which the patient spontaneously reports all thoughts, feelings, and mental images that arise, revealing unconscious thoughts and emotions. Personality characteristics or attributes that can easily be inferred from observable behavior. The beliefs that people have about their ability to meet the demands of a specific situation; feelings of self-confidence. A self-report inventory that assesses personality characteristics in normal populations. In Jung's theory, the hypothesized part of the unconscious mind that is inherited from previous generations and that contains universally shared ancestral experiences and ideas. The self-preservation or life instinct, reflected in the expression of basic biological urges that perpetuate the existence of the individual and the species. A model proposed by psychologist Albert Bandura that explains human functioning and personality as caused by the interaction of behavioral, cognitive, and environmental factors. An ego defense mechanism that involves redirecting sexual urges toward productive, socially acceptable, nonsexual activities; a form of displacement. A type of psychological test in which a person's responses to standardized questions are compared to established norms. In Freud's theory, a child's unconscious sexual desire for the opposite-sex parent, usually accompanied by hostile feelings toward the same-sex parent. In Jung's theory, the inherited mental images of universal human instincts, themes, and preoccupations that are the main components of the collective unconscious. |
Alfred Adler (1870–
Albert Bandura (b. 1925) Contemporary American psychologist who is best known for his research on observational learning and his social cognitive theory of personality; key ideas include self-efficacy beliefs and reciprocal determinism. (p. 462)
Raymond Cattell (1905–
Hans Eysenck (1916–
Sigmund Freud (1856–
Karen Horney (1885–
Carl G. Jung (1875–
Abraham Maslow (1908–
Carl Rogers (1902–