Theories Personality Paradoxes Stability: "You have changed" Consistency: "You are not yourself today"
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Seymour Epstein Both sides of consistency issue are correct Situations control behavior in a given instance, and broad consistencies do exist Consistencies become visible when we add behaviors together, an approach termed aggregation The interactionalists approach Personality Consistency Is personality more consistent at some points in lifespan? Evidence indicates that personality is at least stable The trait approach: "You are what you are born" People have a number of characteristics or traits such as honesty, aggressiveness or anxiousness that control specific types of behavior No outside influences (nature, not nurture) Do not explain developmentally how things came by Can we specify a LIMITED number of basic traits that we can use to accurately describe people's personalities? Ideographic approach say no Nomothetic approach say yes Eysenck's Hierarchical model of personality Types of traits: Cardinal traits (superordinate trait level) Central traits (Habitual response level, HR2) Secondary traits (Specific response level, SR) 3 Traits Introversion vs Extraversion Neuroticism vs Stability Psychoticism vs Considerate Melancholic (moody), Choleric, Phlegmatic (controlled), Sanguine The "Big Five" Personality Dimensions (OCEAN) Openness/ Culture/ Intellect
Neuroticism/Emotional stability Research on the "Big Five" traits Dark side to conscientiousness Not helpful for jobs that require creativity, innovation, spontaneity, or quick decision making ("analysis paralysis") Openness to Emotional stability (neuroticism) Cope poor with stress Negatively related to career satisfaction Testing
Conscientiousness/ Dependability Extraversion Agreeable
Objective test (paper and pencil) Answer series of questions about self Assumes you can accurately report No right or wrong answers From responses, develop picture of you called "personality profile" Projective test: What is going on in the inner psyche Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Most widely used personality instrument (MMPI-2) Clinical and employment settings Measures aspects of personality, if extreme, suggest a problem (e.g. extreme suspiciousness) Long test-- 567 questions Genetic influences on personality 123 pairs of identical twins and 127 pairs of fraternal twins measured on big five personality dimensions results suggest that personality differences in population are 40-50 percent Critique of trait personality theory Weak predictions Does not explain the "Why" Does not account for cultural influence and norms Relies on self report
The psychodynamic approach: "You are what you were" People's behavior is controlled by inner forces of which they are unaware; nature of unconsciousness forces in each person depends largely on childhood experiences Sigmund Freud Intra-psychic dynamics, unconscious; Childhood events; Fantasies; Projective tests; Popular culture; Stage theory Pleasure principle: The id's boundless drive for immediate gratification Reality Principle: The ego's capacity to delay Freudian gratification Personality Structure Id: operates according to pleasure principle Primitive and unconscious part of personality Ego: operates according to reality principle Mediates between id and superego Superego: moral ideals and conscience Levels of consciousness conscious preconscious unconscious Defense Mechanisms Repression Denial Projection Regression Reaction formation Sublimation (conversion of an unacceptable behavior to something more morally acceptable) Displacement Rationalization
Freud's Psychosexual Stages Oral (0-18 months) mouth, sucking, chewing Anal ( Phallic Latency Genital Testing Inkblot tests Causes of psychological disorders Unconscious conflict over impulses Critique of Psychodynamic approach Few Objective observations After-the-fact explanations (no predictive ability) Inaccessible to controlled studies Theory is too flexible No consideration of cultural factors Little support for influence of childhood events on long-lasting events
The behavioralistic approach People's behavior is controlled by their history of reinforcement and punishments: behaviors that have been reinforced are more likely to recur Causes of psychological disorders Positive reinforcements of inappropriate behavior Punishment of appropriate behavior B.F. Skinner Critique of the behaviorists approach ignores emotions low in comprehensiveness Cognitive learning The cognitive social learning approach: "You are what you do" People's behavior is affected by cognitive processes such as interpreting the characteristics of particular situation and holding beliefs about locus of control and self-efficacy Self-efficacy: belief that one is capable of performing the behaviors required to produce a desired outcome Locus of control (Rotter study): expectancy that one's reinforcements are generally controlled by internal/external factors Internal ("What happens to me is my own doing") vs external ("I have no control over the direction my life is taking") The humanistic approach: "You are what all you can be" People are basically good at birth, but many acquire a poor self-image a poor self-image if they grow up in a non-supportive environment Carl Rogers (1902-1987) Unconditional positive regard: a situation in which the acceptance and love one receives from significant others is unqualified Conditional positive regard: a situation in which the acceptance and love one receives from significant others is contingent upon one's behavior Self-discrepancy theory (Higgins) Self-Guides The actual self -- who you are The ideal self -- who you want to be
"Ideal selves" (what you want to be) discrepancy leads to depression, disappointment The ought self -- who you believe you should be "Ought selves" (what you should be) discrepancy leads to anxiety, guilt, shame Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Physiological (eating, drinking, biological drives) Safety Belongingness (relationship issues) Esteem (job- and career-wise) Self-Actualization Causes of Psychological Disorders Critique of Humanistic theory Weak operational definitions (self actualization) Lacks explanation from where the drives come from Is it too idealistic?