PERSONALITY I:Definition of Personality, Theories of Personality

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Introduction to Psychology PSY101

Lesson 31

PERSONALITY I

What do we mean when we say:

She has got a gorgeous personality!

He has a powerful personality!

He has a dull personality!

She has a vibrant personality!

In saying so, and while describing someone's personality, what are we referring to?

· The looks of a person? or

· The overall impression that one leaves on our mind? or

· The way a person behaves with us? or

· The way, as we feel, others treat a person?

And what about when we say:

He has a strong personality.

She is a good decision maker.

He has a strong will power.

She is too sensitive.

He is very aggressive.

Here while describing someone's personality, we are talking about:

The feelings,

Emotions,

Cognitions, and

Psychological make up of a person.

Definition of Personality

Personality can be defined and understood in a number of ways:

Personality is the sum total of characteristics on the basis of which people can be differentiated from each other.

Personality is the stability in a person's behavior across different situations.

It can also be seen as the characteristic ways in which people behave.

Personality consists of characteristics that are relatively enduring, and that make us behave in a consistent and predictable

way.

Theories of Personality

Also known as approaches to personality

These are the approaches to understanding the "WHAT", "HOW", and "WHEN" of characteristics and features that

make up an individual's personality.

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"WHAT": This part consists of:

What is personality?

What are the different aspects of personality?

What variables account for these characteristics?

What factors can have an impact, positive or negative, on our personality?

"HOW": This part consists of:

How do these characteristics develop?

How do we become what we are?

How can we manipulate, improve, or modify our own, or someone else's personality?

"WHEN": This part consists of:

When does personality develop?

When is personality more pliable, and modifiable?

When can others influence a person's personality more?

1. Psychodynamic Approach

Approach that focuses upon the unconscious determinants of personality i.e., psychologists

belonging to this approach believe that unconscious forces determine our personality.

Unconscious

The part of personality, which we are not aware of.

Unconscious contains instinctual drives:

· Infantile wishes,

· Desires,

· Demands, and

· Needs

These instinctual drives are hidden in the unconscious, and do not surface at the conscious level.

At the same time the person seeks satisfaction and fulfillment of these drives, as they can be a source of

pleasure and satisfaction.

Why are these drives hidden then?

·Because they can cause conflict and pain if they became an obvious or overt part of our lives.

·Therefore, they are pushed into the depths of our unconscious.

Sigmund Freud, the most influential figure in the history of psychology, founded psychodynamic Approach.

According to this approach the basis of motivation and behavior lies in inner forces: forces that are

predetermined...forces over which humans have little control... which the person is not aware of i.e., these

are the unconscious determinants of behavior. Significance of Psychodynamic Approach

It was the most influential theory of the 20th century.

· It affected psychology and related disciplines in a revolutionary manner.

· It gave an entirely new perspective to the understanding of behavior and mental processes, as well as

mental illness.

· It was the first theory to raise the awareness that not all behavior is rational, well thought of, and

planned.

· Besides giving an impressive, broad based, therapeutic approach, it provided a basis for understanding

everyday life phenomena e.g. interpersonal relationships, aggression, and prejudice.

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· Many other approaches built their paradigms on this approach, some by refining it, some by deviating

from it. Foundations of Psychodynamic Approach

Psychic Determinism

All behavior is determined i.e., it has a cause that lies in the mind/psyche.

Role of Unconscious

A significant part of our behavior is generated by unconscious forces.

Structure of Consciousness

Conscious

Contains thoughts and feelings which one is immediately aware of

Subconscious

Mind level below the level of conscious awareness

Preconscious

Part of the sub conscious that can be accessed by deliberate choice.

Unconscious

Part of the sub conscious that cannot be accessed directly, although impulses, ideas, and

feelings may permeate out through other sources e.g. dreams, slips of tongue etc.

Dreams in Freudian Approach

Dreams reflect unconscious needs, desires, and impulses.

Symbolism

Dreams have two levels or types of content: manifest content and latent content.

The manifest content is in a symbolic form, converted into this form by the `dream censor, a

mechanism that ensures that sleep is not disturbed by unconscious desires, and those desires

are presented in a socially acceptable form.

Psychodynamic Model of Personality

The structure of personality consists of Id. Ego, and super ego.

The source of basic drives; operates under the `pleasure principle' i.e., wants

immediate gratification of needs.

Ego

Mediates the link of the self with the outside world, the ` real world', as well as between the id and

superego; ego operates under the "reality principle' or the demands of the environment.

Super Ego

Governed by the moral constraints

Opposes the id and represents the moral

Demands of the family and society; it is the ` moral self' or the

`conscience' of a person.

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Oedipal Conflict and Electra complex

Oedipal conflict

(Also known as Oedipus complex). During the phallic stage, the male child begins to develop love

and positive feelings for the mother: whereas negative feelings for the father since he is seen as a

rival. But as the father is seen as too strong and powerful, the child fears retaliation and ultimately

begins to develop ` identification' with the father.

Electra complex

The female child feels the same way toward the father, as the male felt for mother in Oedipal

conflict, but ultimately chooses `identification' with the mother.

Anxiety

An emotional state experienced as a result of felt threat to the self.

Anxiety arises when ego cannot cope too much of:

Demands of the id,

Demands of the ego,

External danger

In order to protect itself against anxiety and threat, ego uses defense mechanism.

Defense Mechanisms

Ego defense system that may be distorting reality. A number of defense mechanisms may be used by us for

coping with anxiety:

i. Repression

Blocking unpleasant/ unacceptable thoughts by pushing them into the unconscious e.g. forgetting

events of the painful childhood.

ii. Regression

Reverting back to a stage that was satisfying e.g. a boss showing temper tantrums like

a child; or acting like a baby.

iii. Displacement

Redirecting the expression of unwanted desires or impulses to a substitute rather than

the actual target e.g. beating children when a wife cannot express anger toward

husband

iv.Rationalization

In order to justify one's behavior, one develops a socially acceptable explanation or reasoning e.g.

going for a second marriage saying that the first wife was quarrelsome.

v.Denial

Refusing to acknowledge or accept anxiety provoking thoughts or impulses e.g. being a heavy

smoker but saying `I am an occasional smoker'.

vi.

Projection

Attributing one's unwanted thoughts and impulses to others e.g. a person takes bribe and

blames the organization for paying him not enough salary.

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vii.

Sublimation

Converting unwanted impulses into socially approved thoughts, feelings and actions e.g. disliking

the in-laws but behaving in a very friendly manner, or becoming a stamp collector to overcome the

impulse to steal.

Criticism against Freudian Psychodynamic Theory

1. There is no scientific proof that many psychodynamic constructs, e.g. unconscious, exist.

2. Psychic Determinism: Freudian approach is deterministic and leaves not much

room for conscious, rational, decision making or personal will to act.

3. It emphasizes the early childhood experiences too much.

4. It ignores the external variables and the environment.

5. Mostly criticized for its interpretation of the relationship between the two

genders.

6. The therapy based upon this theory is too time consuming and therefore expensive.

The Psychoanalytic Approach after Freud

The Neo Freudian

The theorists who belonged to the Freudian school and supported it, but later digressed on some issues and

differed from Freud.

Basis of Neo-Freudian's disagreement with Freud

Their emphasis on the functions of ego, and the control that it had over routine-life activities.

The impact of social variables.

Their emphasis on the role of society and culture on personality development.

Freud's idea of the primary importance of sexual urges.

The neo-Freudians emphasized, more than Freud, the following:

The role of current social environment.

Life experiences have a continuing influence and childhood alone should not be of prime

importance.

Positive interpersonal relations of love, and social motivation have a significant role.

Ego functioning is more significant rather than id.

Development of self-concept is important.

Self-esteem is important.Significant neo Freudians

Carl Gustav Jung

The founder of the analytical school of psychology, Jung was mystical in his understanding and description

of personality. He had a positive approach toward one's ability to control one's destiny.

Jung's disagreements with Freud

He disagreed with Fred on:

· The understanding and description of the genders.

· The nature of unconscious.

Major Goal of Life

Unification of all aspect of our personality:

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Main concepts

Conscious and Unconscious

Introversion (inner directed), extroverted (outer directed).

Libido

Energy for personal growth and development

Types of Unconscious

Personal: Similar to Freudian view

Collective: ideas, and influences beyond personal experience, inherited from all generations of our ancestors

and common to all humanity.

Archetypes

Part of collective unconscious; universal forms and patterns of thought. These include themes that can be

seen in myths e.g. masculinity, femininity, good, evil opposites, motherhood.

Archetypes are the universal representations of a particular person, object, or experience, e.g. archetypes of

mother, good, or evil.

Adler's Approach

Disagreed with Freud's emphasis on the significance of sexual needs.

Main concepts: Esteem, inferiority complex, birth order, will to power and style of life.

i. We are a product of the social influences on our personality.

ii. Goals and incentives drive us more than drives and instincts.

iii. Our goal in life is to achieve success and superiority.

Primary human motivation

· Striving for superiority; achievement of self-improvement, and perfection, and not superiority

over others.

Inferiority complex, on the other hand, is the state when people feel that they have not been

able to conquer, as adults, the feelings of inferiority that they developed as children.

Inferiority complex: the feeling of being less able than others.

Motivating Forces of Human Life

i. Feeling of inferiority, and a desire to overcome it through striving for superiority.

ii. People are primarily motivated to overcome inherent feelings of inferiority.

Birth Order

Has effect on personality.

Sibling Rivalry

Karen Horney 1885-1952

She agreed with Freud on the levels of unconscious, anxiety, and repression. She emphasized childhood

experiences, social interaction and personal growth.

Disagreement with Freud

Differed from Freud on primary impulses; impulses are not the main motivating force

Disagreed on Freudian position regarding the biological basis of differences between the males and females.

Horney's Main Concepts

Basic Anxiety

A major concept: if the environment is hostile and the child feels lonely and isolated, then this type of

anxiety develops. It can be overcome by proper parental nurturing

Basic Hostility

Children develop such hostility if parents are over strict, punishing, indifferent, or inconsistent.

Children feel very aggressive and hostile but cannot express it. Repressed hostility leads to anxiety.

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Social Interaction and Interpersonal Styles

The ways in which people interact with each other is important. There can be three consequences:

·Moving away from others: seeking self-sufficiency and independence.

·Moving toward others: being compliant and dependant.

·Moving against others: trying to gain control, power, and independence.

Neuroses

Arise from emotional conflicts that arise from childhood experiences, and disturbances in interpersonal

relationships in later life

Erik Erickson's Theory of Psychosocial Development

Student and follower of Sigmund Freud.

Broke with his teacher over the fundamental view of what motivates/ drives human behavior.

For Freud, it was `biology' or more specifically the biological instincts of life and aggression (Eros and

Thanatos)

For Erikson, the most important force that drives human behavior and which helps in the

development of personality was "social interaction"

His developmental theory of the "Eight Stages of Man" (Erikson, 1950) was unique and different

in the sense that it covered the entire lifespan rather than `childhood' and `adolescent

development'

He believed that social environment combined with biological maturation results in a set of

"crises" that must be resolved

The individual passes through the "sensitive period" in different stages, which has to be resolved

successfully before a new crisis is presented. The results of the resolution, whether successful or not,

passed on to the next crisis and provide the foundation for its resolution

He proposed eight stages of psychosocial development that have been discussed in detail

in the section on cognitive development in lecture 11.

2. Trait Approaches

Approaches that propose that there are certain traits that form the basis of an individual's

personality.

These approaches seek to identify the basic traits necessary to describe and understand

personality.

Traits

Enduring dimensions of personality characteristics that differentiate a person from others.

Trait theories do not imply the absence or presence of different traits in different people i.e.,

either/or situation. These do not say that if one trait exists the other does not.

These theories assume that some people are relatively high on some traits whereas, some are low on

the same traits.

The difference in people in terms of these traits is a matter of degree or extent to which the traits

exist and manifest them. Some people have more of one trait and less of other ones.

The degree to which a trait is present can be quantified e.g. "depression" is a

tendency found in people; some have it more and some less

Similarly " friendliness"; some are more friendly and some less

The point to remember is that all traits may exist in all but these vary in the degree of impact

Allports' Trait Theory

After skimming an unabridged dictionary, Gordon Allport identified 18000 separate terms that

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could be used to describe personality.

After eliminating synonyms he came up with a list of 4500 descriptions

But the important question was that: WHAT WERE THE MOST BASIC TRAITS?

Allports' Basic Traits Categories

There are three classic categories of traits:

Cardinal traits

Central traits

Secondary traits

Cardinal Traits

A single personality trait directing most of the person's behaviors and activities e.g. affection,

affiliation, kindness, greed.

The person's whole life, or behavior, is influenced by this trait. A person who served the poor

and the weak all his life may have a very high degree of " kindness" or " nurturance".

·Or a person who likes to hoard things, people, and wealth may be ruled by a high degree of "

greed", or perhaps " inferiority".

Central Traits

Do all people possess cardinal traits that encompass all aspects of their being?

PERHAPS NOT!!!

Most people develop a group or set of traits rather than a single one, that form the core of

their personality.

Central traits are those major characteristics that make up the core of someone's

personality.

Central traits usually number from 5- 10 in a person.e.g., affection, love for humanity, and

nurturance will form one type of personality.

Inferiority, need for control, and greed may give a different shape to personality.

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