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PERSPECTIVES OR DOMAINS OF PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY

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Personality Psychology ­ PSY 405
VU
Lesson 41
PERSPECTIVES OR DOMAINS OF PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY
Personality can be approached or studied Using the six perspectives or domains.
1-Dispositional
2-Biological
3-Intrapsychic
4-Cognitive/ Experiential
5-Social and Cultural
6-Adjustment
Dear students we have covered at least two to three personality theories related to each of the perspectives.
1-Dispositional
2-Biological
3-Intrapsychic
4-Cognitive/ Experiential
5-Social and Cultural
6-Adjustment
Outline of the Perspectives
1-Dispositional
It deals centrally with the ways in which individuals differ from one another.
This domain cuts across all other domains
It tries to explore how individuals differ in their emotions, self concepts, in physiological characteristics
and even in their intra-psychic mechanisms
2-Biological
Humans are first and foremost collections of biological systems and these systems provide the building
blocks for behavior, thought and emotions
The biological approach refers to three areas genetics, psychophysiology and evolution.
3-The Intra-psychic approach was founded by Freud, who assumes that a human personality is formed
out of conflicts between basic needs and demands of the society. Most of these conflicts are at the
unconscious level and they affect our everyday behavior.
4-The Cognitive / Experiential Approach it focuses on the cognition and subjective experiences such as
conscious thoughts feelings, beliefs and desires about oneself and others. The psychological mechanisms
involved in subjective experience, however, differ in form and content from one another.
5-Social and Cultural
The assumption that personality not merely something that resides within the brain, nervous system and
genes of individuals rather the social and cultural context also has an important role.
6- Adjustment
This refers to the fact that personality plays a key role in how we cope, adapt, and adjust to events in our
every day live
Personality is linked with important health issues such as heart disease, sleep, diet, and the role of exercise
in long live of an individual.
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Personality Psychology ­ PSY 405
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Let us talk about the first three approaches or perspectives in more detail
1- Dispositional
2-Biological
3-Intrapsychic
1-Dispositional
It deals centrally with the ways in which individuals differ from one another.
This domain cuts across all other domains
It tries to explore how individuals differ in their emotions, self concepts, in physiological characteristics
and even in their Intra-psychic mechanisms
The goal of the psychologist is to identify and measure the important ways in which individuals differ from
one another,
The origin of these differences and how these develop and how they are maintained
The term disposition refers to an inherent tendency to behave in a specific way or traits or stable internal
characteristics.
So traits are the raw material of personality structure.
This Approach assumes that personality is made up of a set of stable internal characteristics that guide
behavior. These characteristics are described as personality types but more often each person's unique
combination of traits, factors or needs. These inherited tendencies or traits are the raw material which is
molded into a unique personality by the environment.
The questions that come to our mind is
How many personality traits exist?
What is the best classification system of traits?
How many personality traits exist?
A person's personality is viewed as being built out of a set of common as well as important traits. The
psychologists use three strategies to identify fundamental traits, out which differences between people can
be formed.
What is the best classification system of traits?
1- The language Approach
2- The Statistical Approach
3- The Theoretical Approach
The psychologist blend the three together to classify or identify the fundamental traits
How are traits measured?
Qualitatively as well as Quantitatively
Work is being done to develop such measures which are standardized objective reliable and valid and not
easily faked.
Example is Cattle's 16PF
Traits are used in selecting people for specific careers or for specific education,
Will an aggressive person be suitable for the post of a police officer, or a kind hearted lady will be suitable
for the nursing job?
Allport's Theory and Cattle's Theory
Kelly's Theory and Murray's Theory
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Personality Psychology ­ PSY 405
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Allport`s trait is the unit of analysis for understanding and studying personality.
Traits are predispositions to various kinds of stimuli. They may be classified under cardinal, central, or
secondary according to their degree of pervasiveness within a personality.
The construct that unifies traits and provides direction for the person's life is termed the Proprium. This
concept refers to the "self" including all aspects of personality.
For Cattell factor analysis is a method used to discover traits which he considers the building blocks of
personality. An ability discovered in such a cluster is called a factor and in Cattell's theory, the term factor
is equated with the term trait.
Traits
A trait is a "mental structure" that is observed to account for regularity or consistency in individual's
behavior.
Types of Traits
1- Unique traits,
2- Common traits
3- Surface traits
4- Source traits
Need
A need is a construct is a force which organizes perception, apperception, interjection, conation and action.
Types of Needs
1- Primary and Secondary
2- Overt Needs and Covert Needs
3- Focal Needs and Diffuse Needs
The TAT was developed (Morgan & Murray, 1935) out of Murray's belief that many of the basic human
motives exist outside of conscious awareness.
Murray's TAT is a projective test. If we present a person with an ambiguous picture and then ask what is in
the picture, the response must be a reflection of what is important to the person or the themes the person
uses to organize the world.
2-Biological
Humans are first and foremost collections of biological systems and these systems provide the building
blocks for behavior, thought and emotions
The biological approach refers to three areas genetics, psychophysiology and evolution.
1- Genetics
It is concerned with the genetics of personality
Some important research questions are
Are identical twins more alike or fraternal twins in their personalities?
What happens when identical twins are reared together versus when they are reared apart?
It is behavior genetics which asks such important questions.
2-The psychophysiology of personality summarizes what is known about personality in terms
nervous system functioning, neurotransmitters, cardiac reactivity, pain tolerance, circadian rhythms
(whether you are a morning or night person) and links hormones and personality
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3- How evolution has shaped human psychological functioning; this approach assumes that
psychological mechanisms that constitute human personality have evolved over thousand of years because
they were effective in solving adaptive problems.
The research study related to following areas has contributed in biological approach.
·
Selective Breeding only Conducted in Animals
·
Family Studies
·
Twin Studies
·
Adoption Studies
Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory
Sheldon's Theory
Erikson's emphasis on biology
Freud's theory is biological in nature
Emphasis on sex and aggression
Stages of development are five, beginning from birth up till adolescence
Freud's account of psychosexual development is based on the premise that sexuality begins at birth and
progresses thereafter through a biologically defined zones until adulthood is reached. Freud conceived of
personality development as proceeding through the following stages: oral, anal, phallic, and genital.
Sheldon's Somatotype Theory
Sheldon looks at the physique or body type (soma) for the explanation of human behavior.
1- A discrete number of physical and
2- Temperamental variables that he considers of primary importance in representing human behavior.
1- According to Erickson biology or genetics is one strong determinant of personality but culture is another
important determinant.
2- Thus biologically determined differences between the two sexes can be explained as result of social
expectations or cultural expectations.
Karen Horney deemphasized the biological motives and focused on a need for a feeling of security in the
child is important.
Karen Horney totally rejected the concept that anatomy is destiny and males are superior. Males are equal
to females.
3- The Intra-psychic approach was founded by Freud, who assumes that a human personality is formed out
of conflicts between basic needs and demands of the society. Most of these conflicts are at the unconscious
level and they affect our everyday behavior.
There are other psychodynamic theorists who differed from Freud such as:
·
Jung
·
Adler
·
Karen Horney
Freud proposed three levels of consciousness- the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious- to describe
the degree to which mental events vary in accessibility to awareness. The most significant mental events
take place in the unconscious.
In Freudian theory, human psychological makeup comprises three structural components- id, ego, and
superego. The id, representing the instinctual core of the person, is irrational, impulsive, and obedient to the
pleasure principle.
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The ego represents the rational component of personality and is governed by the reality principle. Its task is
to provide the individual with a suitable plan of action in order to satisfy the demands of the id within the
restrictions of the social world. The superego, the final structure developed, represents the moral branch of
personality.
Freud's motivational theory is based on the concept of instinct, life and death instincts
Freud recognized three types of anxiety such as reality, neurotic, and moral. He proposed that anxiety
serves as a warning signal to the ego of impending danger from instinctual impulses. In response, the ego
employs a number of defense mechanisms, including, sublimation, projection, displacement,
rationalization, reaction formation, and regression.
The Personal Un-conscious consists of repressed or forgotten or not very vivid or clear memories. It
consists of clusters of emotionally loaded thoughts-- complexes.
The Collective Un-conscious
It refers to our ancestral experiences, memories or all human history that we inherit from our forefathers.
Jung labeled these ancestral experiences as archetypes.
Fragments of all human history that we inherit from our forefathers. Jung labeled these ancestral
experiences as archetypes.
Which are followings:
·
Persona
·
Anima
·
Animus
·
Shadow
·
Self
For Karen Horney, child's relationship to his parents is very important and that determines whether or not
the child would develop the basic anxiety.
For Karen Horney, basic anxiety leads to development of neurosis and causes basic hostility,
which is unconscious.
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Table of Contents:
  1. THE NATURE OF PERSONALITY THEORY:Objectives of Personality Psychology
  2. PERSONALITY MEASUREMENT:Observational Procedures, Rating Scales
  3. MAIN PERSPECTIVES:Psychometrics, observation, Behavioral Coding Systems
  4. SIGMUND FREUD: A PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF PERSONALITY
  5. INSTINCT: WHAT MOTIVATES HUMAN BEHAVIOR?, The Oral Stage
  6. PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF SIGMUND FREUD:The Ego, Free association
  7. THEORY OF CARL JUNG:Biographical Sketch, Principles of Opposites, The Persona
  8. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPES:Childhood, Young Adulthood, Middle Ages
  9. ALFRED ADLER:Biographical Sketch, Individual Psychology, Feeling of Inferiority
  10. INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY:Fictional Finalism, Social Interest, Mistaken Styles of Life
  11. KAREN HORNEY:Adjustment to Basic Anxiety, Adjustment Techniques
  12. ADJUSTMENT TO BASIC ANXIETY:Moving Towards People, Moving Against People
  13. ERIK ERIKSON:Anatomy and Destiny, Ego Psychology, Goal of Psychotherapy
  14. ERIK ERIKSON:Human Development, Goal of Psychotherapy
  15. SULLIVAN’S INTERPERSONAL THEORY:Core Concepts, The Self-System
  16. SULLIVAN’S INTERPERSONAL THEORY:Cognitive Process, Tension
  17. CONSTITUTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY:The Structure of Physique, Evaluation
  18. SHELDON’S SOMATOTYPE THEORY:The Structure of Physique
  19. MASLOW’S THEORY:Self-Actualizers Aren't Angels, Biographical Sketch
  20. MASLOW’S THEORY:Basic Concepts of Humanistic Psychology, Problem Centering
  21. ROGERS PERSON CENTERED APPROACH:Humanistic, Actualizing tendency
  22. ROGERS PERSON CENTERED APPROACH:Fully functioning person
  23. ROGERS PERSON CENTERED APPROACH:Client Centered Therapy,
  24. KELLY’S COGNITIVE THEORY OF PERSONALITY THEORY:Biographical Sketch
  25. CORE CONCEPTS OF GEORGE KELLY’S COGNITIVE THEORY OF PERSONALITY
  26. GORDON ALLPORT: A TRAIT THEORY OF PERSONALITY:Personality as a
  27. GORDON ALLPORT: A TRAIT THEORY OF PERSONALITY:Secondary Traits
  28. FACTOR ANALYTIC TRAIT THEORY:Factor Analysis, The Nature of Personality
  29. FACTOR ANALYTIC TRAIT THEORY:The Specification Equation, Research Methods
  30. HENRY MURRAY’S PERSONOLOGY:Need, Levels of Analysis, Thema
  31. HENRY MURRAY’S PERSONOLOGY (CONTINUED)
  32. ALBERT BANDURA’S SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY:BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
  33. ALBERT BANDURA’S SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY:Reciprocal Determinism
  34. THE STIMULUS RESPONSE THEORY OF DOLLARD AND MILLER:Core Concepts
  35. THE STIMULUS RESPONSE THEORY OF DOLLARD AND MILLER:Innate Equipment
  36. SKINNER’S THEORY OF PERSONALITY:Biographical Sketch, Books
  37. SKINNER’S THEORY OF PERSONALITY:Positive Reinforcement, Generalization
  38. ALBERT ELLIS THEORY OF PERSONALITY:Biographical Sketch, Social Factors
  39. THE GRAND PERFECT THEORY OF PERSONALITY:Genes and Biology
  40. PERSPECTIVES OR DOMAINS OF PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY:Dispositional
  41. PERSPECTIVES OR DOMAINS OF PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY
  42. PERSPECTIVES OR DOMAINS OF PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY:Need
  43. THE GRAND THEORY OF PERSONALITY:Psychosexual Stages of Development
  44. PERSONALITY APPRAISAL:Issues in Personality Assessment
  45. PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY: NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE DISCIPLINE