-Analyzing Personality

thinking that distinguishes one person from another.

Consistent
Distinctive

Personality Tests

Objective Personality Tests (Self-Report): Tests consisting of specific written statments that require individuals to indicate -- for example, by checking "true" or "false"--whether the statments do or do not apply to them; also called self-report questionnaires.

MMPI & MMPI-2:

16 Personality Factor Test (16PF)

California Psychological Inventory (CPI Scales)

Psychological-mindednesses
Dominance
Capacity for status
Communality
Sociability
Achievement via conformity
Achievement via independence
Social Presence
Intellectual efficiency
Self-acceptance
Flexibility
Femininity
Self-control
Good impression
Sense of well-being
Responsibility
Socialization
Tolerance

Projective Personality Tests
Tests in which the subject is presented with some type of ambiguous stimulus -- such as a meaningless object or ambiguous photo -- and then asked to make up a story about the stimulus. The assumption is that the person will project conscious or unconscious feelings, needs, and motives in his or her responses.

Rorschach



Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Sentence Completion Test

The Rotter Sentence Completion Stems are similar to the sentence stems shown below. (The examples shown below are NOT the actual sentence stems used in the Rotter test blank, we're precluded from using those by copyright law, but these examples should illustrate what they are like.) If only I could_____________________ People I know____________________ I can always _____________________ I think guys______________________ What makes me sad is ____________ I think girls______________________ My father _______________________ Where I live_____________________ My mother was the type____________ My health is____________________

Barnum Effect: The tendency to accept generalized personality descriptions as accurate descriptions of oneself.

-Major Approaches to Personality

Trait Approaches: The trait approach assumes that personality is made up of stable internal characteristics (traits, factors, dimensions, etc.) which appear at varying strengths in different people & which guide their behavior.

Assumptions of the Trait Approach:

Personality traits are relatively stable & predictable over time.
Personality traits are relatively stable across diverse situations & they can explain why people act in predictable ways in many different situations.
People differ with regard to how much of a particular personality trait they possess; no two people are exactly alike on all traits.

Biological Factors In Personality

Phrenology

Body typology in determining personality:

Psychologist William H. Sheldon, (1899-1977). Classified bodies into three types or somatypes and linked personality tendencies to them. His theories on body type and personality have influenced more contemporary work on personality.




Ectomorph: A person with a tall, thin, fragile frame and a large head tended to be intellectual, introverted, self-conscious and often nervous.



Endomorph: With a rounded soft, plump body, this person was thought to be sociable, friendly, relaxed with a fondness for food and comfort.

Mesomorph: This athletic body type had a muscular, sturdy and thick-necked frame. A mesomorph tended to be active and noisy, risk-taking and sometime insensitive in interpersonal relationships.

Sensation Seeking Scale (Web Survery)

Relationship to MAO

Twin Studies

Psychodynamic Perspective

Basic Concepts:

Psychic Determinism: (Example: DREAMS)
Instincts
Levels of Consciousnes

Structure of The Mind

The Structure of Personality:

The id is a reservoir of unconscious energy that includes the basic desires, and impulses with which all people are born.
The id seeks immediate gratification and operates on the pleasure principle, which guides people toward whatever feels good.
As significant others place more restrictions on direct expression of id impulses, the ego evolves from the id.
The ego operates according to the reality principle, making compromises between the unreasonable demands of the id , the practical constraints of the real world & the unreasonable demands of the superego
The superego develops as children internalize, parental and societal values into the personality.
The conscience is the part of the superego that contains the rules and the "that's a NO NO" the things people believe are wrong.
The ego ideal is the part of the superego containing an image of what you ideally can be and how you ideally ought to behave.
The superego operates on the morality principle, and violating its rules results in guilt.



Defense Mechanisms

Stages of Psychosexual Development

Psychosexual Stages

The Oral Stage. This stage occurs during the first year. The mouth is the center of pleasure. Early weaning or greatly delayed weaning may leave a child overly attached to forms of oral satisfaction. Fixation at the oral stage can produce adult characteristics such as talking too much, overeating, smoking, drinking excessively, or using "biting" sarcasm. Another sign may be a desperate dependence on others. The Anal Stage. This stage occurs during the second year when toilet training interferes with the child's instinctual pleasure in having bowel movements at will. If toilet training is too harsh or is started too early, conflicts may result. Adults fixated at this stage can be stingy, extremely organized, stubborn, and perhaps excessively concerned with control, cleanliness, orderliness, or details. Or they can be sloppy, disorganized, or impulsive. The Phallic Stage. This stage occurs between the ages of three and five, when the focus of pleasure shifts to the genital area. A boy's id impulses involve sexual desire for the mother and a desire to eliminate, even kill, the father. This is called the Oedipus complex. The boy's hostile fantasies about his father create a fear of retaliation called castration anxiety, which leads the boy's ego to repress the incestuous desires and identify with the father. The female child begins with a strong attachment to her mother. She experiences penis envy and blames her mother for the missing penis and considers her inferior for lacking a penis. The child transfers her love to her father, but she identifies with her mother by adopting female gender-role behaviors. Freud believed that most people are fixated at the phallic stage. Extreme fear, aggression, or difficulties with an authority figure may reflect unresolved conflicts with the same-sex parent. Uncertainty about one's identity as a male or female, problems maintain a stable love relationship, and the appearance of disordered or socially disapproved sexual behavior may also stem from poorly resolved conflicts of the phallic stage. The Latency Period and the Genital Stage. The latency period occurs between the ages of six and adolescence. During this period sexual impulses lie dormant and the child focuses on education and other matters. The genital stage begins in adolescence and continues the rest of life. Note: Freud did not believe that fixated behavior arises from the latent or genital stage.

Neo-Freudians


Evaluation of Freudian Theory

Learning & Cognitive Perspectives

Skinner's Perspective

Rotter's Social Learning Theory
Past Reinforcement History plus Beliefs
Locus of Control:

Locus of Control: Our beliefs concerning how much control we have over situations or rewards.

Internal Locus of Control
Belief that we have control over situations and rewards.

External Locus of Control
Belief that we do not have control over situations and rewards and that events outside ourselves (fate) determine what happens.

Measure of Locus of Control:

Locus of Control Research Differences

Resist pressures to conform
Involved in social activism
Perform well in school
Follow health regimens
React to warnings about potential disasters
More likely to lose money gambling on games of pure chance.
More likely to blame themselves when victimized in some way

Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory

Reciprocal Determinism


Self-Efficacy

Albert Bandura & Self-Efficacy

Research Differences:
Stop smoking
Lose weight
Overcome a phobia
Do well in school

Humanistic Perspective

A). Carl Rogers


Phenomenology: The subjective experiencing of reality serves as the basis of all the individual's behavior.

Actualizing tendency: A drive toward fulfillment of our potentials that enables us to maintain & enhance ourselves.

Self-Concept: Our perception of our abilities, behaviors, characteristics, etc. We act in accordance with our self-concept.

Real & Ideal Selves.

B) Abraham Maslow

Hierarchy of Human Needs


Characteristics of Self-Actualizing People:

An accurate perception of reality.They perceive the world as it is, not as they would like it to be.
They are willing to accept uncertainty and ambiguity when necessary.
Independence, creativity, and spontaneity. They follow their own impulses.
Acceptance of themselves and others. They treat people with unconditional positive regard.
A problem-centered outlook,rather than a self-centered outlook. They think about how best to solve a problem, not how to make themselves look good.
Enjoyment of life. They are open to positive experiences, including "peak experiences."
A good sense of humor.

Eight ways to self-actualize:

Experience things fully, vividly, selflessly. Throw yourself into the experiencing of something: concentrate on it fully, let it totally absorb you. Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (out of fear and need for defense) and risk (for the sake of progress and growth): Make the growth choice a dozen times a day. Let the self emerge. Try to shut out the external clues as to what you should think, feel say, and so on, and let your experience enable you to say what you truly feel. When in doubt, be honest. If you look into yourself and are honest, you will also take responsibility. Taking responsibility is self-actualizing. Listen to your own tastes. Be prepared to be unpopular. Use your intelligence, work to do well the things you want to do, no matter how insignificant they seem to be. Make peak experiencing more likely: get rid of illusions and false notions. Learn what you are good at and what your potentialities are not. Find out who you are, what you like and don't like, what is good and what is bad for you, where you are going, what your mission is. Opening yourself up to yourself in this way means identifying defenses - - and then finding the courage to give them up.

That's My Theory