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Personal Unconscious
The unconscious refers to those psychic
images not sensed by the ego. Some
unconscious processes flow from our
personal experiences, but others stem
from our ancestors’ experiences with
universal themes. Jung divided the
unconscious into the personal
unconscious, which contains the
complexes (emotionally toned groups of
related ideas) and the collective
unconscious, or ideas that are beyond
our personal experiences and that
originate from the repeated
experiences of our ancestors.
Collective Unconscious
JUNG: ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY Collective unconscious images are not
inherited ideas, but rather they refer to
Overview of Jung’s Analytical Psychology our innate tendency to react in a
Carl Jung believed that people are extremely particular way whenever our personal
complex beings who possess a variety of experiences stimulate an inherited
opposing qualities, such as introversion and predisposition toward action. Contents
extraversion, masculinity and femininity, and of the collective unconscious are called
rational and irrational drives. archetypes.
Archetypes
Biography of Carl Jung Jung believed that archetypes originate
Carl Jung was born in Switzerland in 1875, the through the repeated experiences of
oldest surviving child of an idealistic Protestant our ancestors and that they are
minister and his wife. Jung’s early experience expressed in certain types of dreams,
with parents (who were quite opposite of each fantasies, delusions, and hallucinations.
other) probably influenced his own theory of Several archetypes acquire their own
personality. Soon after receiving his medical personality, and Jung identified these
degree he became acquainted with Freud’s by name. One is the persona – the side
writings and eventually with Freud himself. Not of our personality that we show to
long after he traveled with Freud to the United others. Another is the shadow – the
States, Jung became disenchanted with Freud’s dark side of personality. To reach full
pansexual theories, broke with Freud, and psychological maturity, Jung believed,
began his own approach to theory and we must first realize or accept our
therapy, which he called analytical psychology. shadow. A second hurdle in achieving
From a critical midlife crisis, during which he maturity is for men to accept their
anima, or feminine side, and for women influenced more by the real world than
to embrace their animus, or masculine by their subjective perception, whereas
disposition. Other archetypes include introverts rely on their individualized
the great mother (the archetype of view of things. Introverts and extraverts
nourishment and destruction); the wise often mistrust and misunderstand one
old man (the archetype of wisdom and another.
meaning); and the hero (the image we
have of a conqueror who vanquishes Functions
evil, but who has a single fatal flaw). The two attitudes or extroversion and
The most comprehensive archetype is introversion can combine four basic
the self; that is, the image we have of functions to form eight general
fulfillment, completion, or perfection. personality types. The four functions
The ultimate in psychological maturity are
is self-realization, which is symbolized (1) thinking, or recognizing the meaning
by the mandala, or perfect geometric of stimuli;
figure. (2) feeling, or placing a value on
something;
Dynamics of Personality (3) sensation, or taking in sensory
Jung believed that the dynamic principles that stimuli; and
apply to physical energy also apply to psychic (4) intuition, or perceiving elementary
energy. These forces include causality and data that are beyond our awareness.
teleology as well as progression and Jung referred to thinking and feeling as
regression. rational functions and to sensation and
intuition as irrational functions.
Causality and Teleology
Jung accepted a middle position Development of Personality
between the philosophical issues of Nearly unique among personality theorists was
causality and teleology. In other words, Jung’s emphasis on the second half of life. Jung
humans are motivated both by their saw middle and old age as times when people
past experiences and by their may acquire the ability to attain self-
expectations of the future. realization.
Attitudes Self-Realization
Attitudes are predispositions to act or Self-realization, or individuation,
react in a characteristic manner. The involves a psychological rebirth and an
two basic attitudes are introversion, integration of various parts of the
which refers to people’s subjective psyche into a unified or whole
perceptions, and extraversion, which individual. Self-realization represents
indicates an orientation toward the the highest level of human
objective world. Extraverts are development.
Critique of Jung
Although Jung considered himself as a
Jung’s Methods of Investigation scientist, many of his writings have more of a
Jung used the word association test, dreams, philosophical than a psychological flavor. As a
and active imagination during the process of scientific theory, it rates average on its ability
psychotherapy, and all these methods to generate research, but very low on its ability
contributed to his theory of personality. to withstand falsification. It is about average
Word Association Test on its ability to organize knowledge but low on
Jung used the word association test each of the other criteria of a useful theory.
early in his career to uncover Concept of Humanity
complexes embedded in the personal Jung saw people as extremely complex beings
unconscious. The technique requires a who are products of both conscious and
patient to utter the first word that unconscious personal experiences. However,
comes to mind after the examiner reads people are also motivated by inherited
a stimulus word. Unusual responses remnants that spring from the collective
indicate a complex. experiences of their early ancestors. Because
Jungian theory is a psychology of opposites, it
Dream Analysis receives a moderate rating on the issues of
Jung believed that dreams may have free will versus determinism, optimism versus
both a cause and a purpose and thus pessimism, and causality versus teleology. It
can be useful in explaining past events rates very high on unconscious influences, low
and in making decisions about the on uniqueness, and low on social influences.
future. “Big dreams” and “typical
dreams,” both of which come from the
collective unconscious, have meaning
that lie beyond the experiences of a
single individual.
Active Imagination
Jung also used active imagination to
arrive at collective images. This
technique requires the patient to
concentrate on a single image until that
image begins to appear in a different
form. Eventually, the patient should see
figures that represent archetypes and
other collective unconscious images.
Psychotherapy
The goal of Jungian therapy is to help
neurotic patients become healthy and
to move healthy people in the direction
of self-realization. Jung was eclectic in
his choice of therapeutic techniques
and treated old people differently than
the young.
Related Research
Although Jungian psychology has not
generated large volumes of research, some
investigators have used the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator to examine the idea of psychological
types. Some research suggests that extraverts
and introverts have different preferences in
their choice of partners. Other researchers
have reported that personality type is related
to academic performance and success.
life. Their most basic fantasies are
images of the “good” breast and the
“bad” breast.
Objects
Klein agreed with Freud that drives
have an object, but she was more likely
to emphasize the child’s relationship
with these objects (parents’ face,
KLEIN: OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY hands, breast, penis, etc.), which she
saw as having a life of their own within
Overview of Object Relations Theory the child’s fantasy world.
Many personality theorists have accepted
some of Freud’s basic assumptions while Positions
rejecting others. One approach to extending In their attempts to reduce the conflict
psychoanalytic theory has been the object produced by good and bad images, infants
relations theories of Melanie Klein and others. organize their experience into positions, or
Unlike Jung and Adler, who came to reject ways of dealing with both internal and external
Freud’s ideas, Klein tried to validate Freud’s objects.
theories. In essence Klein extended Freud’s
developmental stages downward to the first 4 Paranoid-Schizoid Position
to 6 months after birth. The struggles that infants experience
with the good breast and the bad breast
Biography of Melanie Klein lead to two separate and opposing
Melanie Klein was born in Vienna in 1892, the feelings: a desire to harbor the breast
youngest of four children. She had neither a and a desire to bite or destroy it. To
Ph.D. nor an M.D. degree but became an tolerate these two feelings, the ego
analyst by being psychoanalyzed. As an splits itself by retaining parts of its life
analyst, she specialized in working with young and death instincts while projecting
children. In 1927, she moved to London where other parts onto the breast. It then has
she practiced until her death in 1960. a relationship with the ideal breast and
the persecutory breast. To control his
Introduction to Object Relations Theory situations, infants adopt the paranoid-
Object relations theory differs from Freudian schizoid position, which is a tendency to
theory in at least three ways: see the world as having both
(1) it places more emphasis on interpersonal destructive and omnipotent qualities.
relationships, (2) it stresses the infant’s
relationship with the mother rather than the Depressive Position
father, and By depressive position, Klein meant the
(3) it suggests that people are motivated anxiety that infants experience around
primarily for human contact rather than for 6 months of age over losing their
sexual pleasure. mother and yet, at the same time,
The term object in object relations theory wanting to destroy her. The depressive
refers to any person or part of a person that position is resolved when infants
infants introject, or take into their psychic fantasize that they have made up for
structure and then later project onto other their mother and also realize that their
people. mother will not abandon them.
Relatedness
First is relatedness, which can take the
form of (1) submission, (2) power, and
(3) love. Love, or the ability to unite
with another while retaining one’s own
individuality and integrity, is the only
relatedness need that can solve our
basic human dilemma.
Transcendence
Being thrown into the world without
their consent, humans have to
transcend their nature by destroying or
FROMM: HUMANISTIC PSYCHOANALYSIS creating people or things. Humans can
destroy through malignant aggression,
Overview of Fromm’s Humanistic or killing for reasons other than
Psychoanalysis survival, but they can also create and
Erich Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis looks care about their creations.
at people from the perspective of psychology,
history and anthropology. Influenced by Freud
and Horney, Fromm developed a more Rootedness
culturally oriented theory than Freud’s and a Rootedness is the need to establish
much broader theory than Horney’s. roots and to feel at home again in the
world. Productively, rootedness enables
Biography of Erich Fromm us to grow beyond the security of our
Erich Fromm was born in Germany in 1900, the mother and establish ties with the
only child of orthodox Jewish parents. A outside world. With the nonproductive
thoughtful young man, Fromm was influenced strategy, we become fixated and afraid
by the bible, Freud, and Marx, as well as by to move beyond the security and safety
socialist ideology. After receiving his Ph.D., of our mother or a mother substitute.
Fromm began studying psychoanalysis and
became an analyst by being analyzed by Sense of Identity
Hanns Sachs, a student of Freud. In 1934, The fourth human need is for a sense of
Fromm moved to the United States and began identity, or an awareness of ourselves
a psychoanalytic practice in New York, where as a separate person. The drive for a
he also resumed his friendship with Karen sense of identity is expressed
Horney, whom he had known in Germany. nonproductively as conformity to a
Much of his later years were spent in Mexico group and productively as individuality.
and Switzerland. He died in 1980.
Frame of Orientation
Fromm’s Basic Assumptions By frame of orientation, Fromm meant a
Fromm believed that humans have been torn road man or consistent philosophy by
away from their prehistoric union with nature which we find our way through the
and left with no powerful instincts to adapt to a world. This need is expressed
changing world. But because humans have nonproductively as a striving for
irrational goals and productively as rather than passively receiving it.
movement toward rational goals. Hoarding characters try to save what
they have already obtained, including
The Burden of Freedom their opinions, feelings, and material
As the only animal possessing self-awareness, possessions. People with a marketing
humans are what Fromm called the “freaks of orientation see themselves as
the universe.” Historically, as people gained commodities and value themselves
more political freedom, they began to against the criterion of their ability to
experience more isolation from others and sell themselves. They have fewer
from the world and to feel free from the positive qualities than the other
security of a permanent place in the world. As orientations because they are
a result, freedom becomes a burden, and essentially empty.
people experience basic anxiety, or a feeling of
being alone in the world. The Productive Orientation
Psychologically healthy people work
Mechanisms of Escape toward positive freedom through
To reduce the frightening sense of productive work, love, and reasoning.
isolation and aloneness, people may Productive love necessitates a
adopt one of three mechanisms of passionate love of all life and is called
escape: biophilia.
(1) authoritarianism, or the tendency to
give up one’s independence and to Personality Disorders
unite with a powerful partner; Unhealthy people have nonproductive ways of
(2) destructiveness, an escape working, reasoning, and especially loving.
mechanism aimed at doing away Fromm recognized three major personality
with other people or things; and disorders:
(3) conformity, or surrendering of one’s (1) necrophilia, or the love of death and the
individuality in order to meet the hatred of all humanity;
wishes of others. (2) malignant narcissism, or a belief that
everything belonging to one’s self is of
Positive Freedom great value and anything belonging to
The human dilemma can only be solved others is worthless; and
through positive freedom, which is he (3) incestuous symbiosis, or an extreme
spontaneous activity of the whole, dependence on one’s mother or mother
integrated personality, and which is surrogate.
achieved when a person becomes
reunited with others. Psychotherapy
The goal of Fromm’s psychotherapy was to
Character Orientations work toward satisfaction of the basic human
People relate to the world by acquiring and needs of relatedness, transcendence,
using things (assimilation) and by relating to rootedness, a sense of identity, and a frame of
self and others (socialization), and they can do orientation. The therapist tries to accomplish
so either nonproductively or productively. this through shared communication in which
the therapist is simply a human being rather
Nonproductive Orientations than a scientist.
Fromm identified four nonproductive
strategies that fail to move people
closer to positive freedom and self-
realization. People with a receptive
orientation believe that the source of all Fromm’s Methods of Investigation
good lies outside themselves and that Fromm’s personality theory rests on data he
the only way they can relate to the gathered from a variety of sources, including
world is to receive things, including psychotherapy, cultural anthropology, and
love, knowledge, and material objects. psychohistory.
People with an exploitative orientation
also believe that the source of good lies Social Character in a Mexican
outside themselves, but they Village
aggressively take what they want
Fromm and his associates spent several Overview of Sullivan’s Interpersonal
years investigating social character in Theory
an isolated farming village in Mexico Although Sullivan had a lonely and isolated
and found evidence of all the character childhood, he evolved a theory of personality
orientations except the marketing one. that emphasized the importance of
interpersonal relations. He insisted that
A Psycho-historical Study of Hitler personality is shaped almost entirely by the
Fromm applied the techniques of relationships we have with other people.
psychohistory to the study of several Sullivan’s principal contribution to personality
historical people, including Adolf Hitler – theory was his conception of developmental
the person Fromm regarded as the stages.
world’s most conspicuous example of
someone with the syndrome of decay, Biography of Harry Stack Sullivan
that is, necrophilia, malignant Harry Stack Sullivan, the first American to
narcissism, and incestuous symbiosis. develop a comprehensive personality theory,
was born in a small farming community in
Related Research upstate New York in 1892. A socially immature
Fromm’s theory ranks near the bottom of and isolated child, Sullivan nevertheless
personality theories with regard to stimulating formed one close interpersonal relationship
research. Recently, Shaun Saunders and Don with a boy five years older than himself. In his
Munro have developed the Saunders Consumer interpersonal theory, Sullivan believed that
Orientation Index (SCOI) to measure Fromm’s such a relationship has the power to transform
marketing character. To date, much of their an immature preadolescent into a
work has consisted in establishing the validity psychologically healthy individual. Six years
of this instrument. In general, Saunders has after becoming a physician, and with no
found that people with a strong consumer training in psychiatry, Sullivan gained a
orientation tend to place low value on position at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in
freedom, inner harmony, equality, self-respect, Washington, D.C., as a psychiatrist. There, his
and community. ability to work with schizophrenic patients won
him a reputation as a therapeutic wizard.
Critique of Fromm However, despite achieving much respect from
The strength of Fromm’s theory is his lucid an influential group of associates, Sullivan had
writings on a broad range of human issues. As few close interpersonal relations with any of
a scientific theory, however, Fromm’s theory his peers. He died alone in Paris in 1949, at
rates very low on its ability to generate age 56.
research and to lend itself to falsification; it
rates low on usefulness to the practitioner, Tensions
internal consistency, and parsimony. Because Sullivan conceptualized personality as an
it is quite broad in scope, Fromm’s theory rates energy system, with energy existing either as
high on organizing existing knowledge. tension (potentiality for action) or as energy
transformations (the actions themselves). He
Concept of Humanity further divided tensions into needs and
Fromm believed that humans were “freaks of anxiety.
the universe” because they lacked strong
animal instincts while possessing the ability to Needs
reason. In brief, his view is rated average on Needs can relate either to the general
free choice, optimism, unconscious influences, well-being of a person or to specific
and uniqueness; low on causality; and high on zones such as the mouth or genitals.
social influences. General needs can be either
physiological, such as food or oxygen,
or they can be interpersonal, such as
tenderness and intimacy.
Anxiety
Unlike needs – which are conjunctive
and call for specific actions to reduce
SULLIVAN: INTERPERSONAL THEORY them – anxiety is disjunctive and calls
for no consistent actions for its relief. All
infants learn to be anxious through the interpersonal tensions. One such
emphatic relationship that they have security operation is dissociation, which
with their mothering one. Sullivan includes all those experiences that we
called anxiety the chief disruptive force block from awareness. Another is
in interpersonal relations. A complete selective inattention, which involves
absence of anxiety and other tensions blocking only certain experiences from
is called euphoria. awareness.
Dynamisms Personifications
Sullivan used the term dynamism to refer to a Sullivan believed that people acquire certain
typical pattern of behavior. Dynamisms may images of self and others throughout the
relate either to specific zones of the body or to developmental stages, and he referred to
tensions. these subjective perceptions as
personifications.
Malevolence
The disjunctive dynamism of evil and
hatred is called malevolence, defined
by Sullivan as a feeling of living among Bad-Mother, Good-Mother
one’s enemies. Those children who The bad-mother personification grows
become malevolent have much out of infants’ experiences with a nipple
difficulty giving and receiving that does not satisfy their hunger
tenderness or being intimate with other needs. All infants experience the bad-
people. mother personification, even though
their real mothers may be loving and
Intimacy nurturing. Later, infants acquire a good-
The conjunctive dynamism marked by a mother uringpersonification as they
close personal relationship between two become mature enough to recognize
people of equal status is called the tender and cooperative behavior of
intimacy. Intimacy facilitates their mothering one. Still later, these
interpersonal development while two personifications combine to form a
decreasing both anxiety and loneliness. complex and contrasting image of the
real mother.
Lust
In contrast to both malevolence and Me Personifications
intimacy, lust is an isolating dynamism. During infancy, children acquire three
That is, lust is a self-centered need that “me” personifications:
can be satisfied in the absence of an (1) the bad-me, which grows from
intimate interpersonal relationship. In experiences of punishment and
other words, although intimacy disapproval,
presupposes tenderness or love, lust is (2) the good-me, which results from
based solely on sexual gratification and experiences with reward and
requires no other person for its approval, and
satisfaction. (3) the not-me, which allows a person
to dissociate or selectively inattend
Self-System the experiences related to anxiety.
The most inclusive of all dynamisms is
the self-system, or that pattern of Eidetic Personifications
behaviors that protects us against One of Sullivan’s most interesting
anxiety and maintains our interpersonal observations was that people often
security. The self-system is a create imaginary traits that they project
conjunctive dynamism, but because its onto others. Included in these eidetic
primary job is to protect the self from personifications are the imaginary
anxiety, it tends to stifle personality playmates that preschool-aged children
chance. Experiences that are often have. These imaginary friends
inconsistent with our self-system enable children to have a safe, secure
threaten ur security and necessitate our relationship with another person, even
use of security operations, which though that person is imaginary.
consist of behaviors designed to reduce
Levels of Cognition Childhood
Sullivan recognized three levels of cognition, or The stage that lasts from the beginning
ways of perceiving things – prototaxic, of syntaxic language until the need for
parataxic, and syntaxic. playmates of equal status is called
childhood. The child’s primary
Prototaxic Level interpersonal relationship continues to
Experiences that are impossible to put be with the mother, who is now
into words or to communicate to others differentiated from other persons who
are called prototaxic. Newborn infants nurture the child.
experience images mostly on a
prototaxic level, but adults, too, Juvenile Era
frequently have preverbal experiences The juvenile stage begins with the need
that are momentary and incapable of for peers of equal status and continues
being communicated. until the child develops a need for an
intimate relationship with a chum. At
Parataxic Level this time, children should learn how to
Experiences that are prelogical and compete, to compromise, and to
nearly impossible to accurately cooperate. These three abilities, as well
communicate to others are called as an orientation toward living, help a
parataxic. Included in these are child develop intimacy, the chief
erroneous assumptions about cause dynamism of the next developmental
and effect, which Sullivan termed stage.
parataxic distortions.
Preadolescence
Perhaps the most crucial stage is
preadolescence, because mistakes
Syntaxic Level made earlier can be corrected during
Experiences that can be accurately preadolescence, but errors made during
communicated to others are called preadolescence are nearly impossible
syntaxic. Children become capable of to overcome in later life.
syntaxic language at about 12 to 18 Preadolescence spans the time from the
months of age when words begin to need for a single best friend until
have the same meaning for them that puberty. Children who do not learn
they do for others. intimacy during preadolescence have
added difficulties relating to potential
Stages of Development sexual partners during later stages.
Sullivan saw interpersonal development as Early Adolescence
taking place over seven stages, from infancy to With puberty comes, the lust dynamism
mature adulthood. Personality changes can and the beginning of early adolescence.
take place at any time but are more likely to Development during this stage is
occur during transitions between stages. ordinarily marked by a coexistence of
intimacy with a single friend of the
Infancy same gender and sexual interest in
The period from birth until the many persons of the opposite gender.
emergence of syntaxic language is However, if children have no preexisting
called infancy, a time when the child capacity for intimacy, they may confuse
receives tenderness from the mothering lust with love and develop sexual
one while also learning anxiety through relationships that are devoid of true
an empathic linkage with the mother. intimacy.
Anxiety may increase to the point of
terror, but such terror is controlled by Late Adolescence
the built-in protections of apathy and Chronologically, late adolescence may
somnolent detachment that allow the start at any time after about age 16,
baby to go to sleep. During infancy but psychologically, it begins when a
children use autistic language, which person is able to feel both intimacy and
takes place on a prototaxic or parataxic lust toward the same person. Late
level. adolescence is characterized by a
stable pattern of sexual activity and the
growth of the syntaxic mode, as young with their intimate friend, a finding that
people learn how to live in the adult suggests that women develop deeper
world. same-gender friendships than do men.
Related Research
Erikson's theory has generated a moderately
large body of research, must of it investigating
the concept of identity. In addition, some
researchers have looked at Erikson's concept
of generativity.
Related Research
Skinner's theory has generated more research
than any other personality theory. Much of this
research can be divided into two questions:
(1) How does conditioning affect
personality?
(2) How does personality affect
conditioning?
Human Agency
Bandura believes that human agency is the
essence of humanness; that is, humans are
defined by their ability to organize, regulate,
and enact behaviors that they believe will
produce desirable consequences. Human
agency has four core features:
(1) intentionality, or a proactive
commitment to actions that may bring
about desired outcomes;
(2) foresight, or the ability to set goals;
(3) self-reactiveness, which includes people
monitoring their progress toward
fulfilling their choices; and
(4) self-reflectiveness, which allows people
to think about and evaluate their
motives, values, and life goals.
Reciprocal Determinism
Social cognitive theory holds that human
functioning is molded by the reciprocal
interaction of
(1) behavior;
(2) person variables, including cognition;
BANDURA: SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY and
(3) environmental events
Overview of Bandura's Social Cognitive – a model Bandura calls reciprocal
Theory determinism.
Bandura's social cognitive theory takes an
agentic perspective, meaning that humans Differential Contributions
have some limited ability to control their lives. Bandura does not suggest that the
In contrast to Skinner, Bandura three factors in the reciprocal
(1) recognizes that chance encounters and determinism model make equal
fortuitous events often shape one's contributions to behavior. The relative
behavior; influence of behavior, environment, and
(2) places more emphasis on observational person depends on which factor is
learning; strongest at any particular moment.
(3) stresses the importance of cognitive
factors in learning; Chance Encounters and Fortuitous
(4) suggests that human activity is a Events
function of behavior and person The lives of many people have been
variables, as well as the environment; fundamentally changed by a chance
and meeting with another person or by a
(5) believes that reinforcement is mediated fortuitous, unexpected event. Chance
by cognition. encounters and fortuitous events enter
the reciprocal determinism paradigm at
Biography of Albert Bandura the environment point, after which they
Albert Bandura was born in Canada in 1925, influence behavior in much the
but he has spent his entire professional life in same way as do planned events.
the United States. He completed a Ph.D. in
clinical psychology at the University of Iowa in Self-System
1951 and since then has worked almost The self-system gives some consistency to
entirely at Stanford University, where he personality by allowing people to observe and
continues to be the most active of all symbolize their own behavior and to evaluate
it on the basis of anticipated future
consequences. The self-system includes both (2) complex technology can decrease
self-efficacy and self-regulation. people's perceptions of control over
their environment;
Self-Efficacy (3) entrenched bureaucracies
How people behave in a particular discourage people from attempting
situation depends in part on their self- to bring about social change; and
efficacy-that is, their beliefs that they (4) the size and scope of world-wide
can or cannot exercise those behaviors problems contribute to people's
necessary to bring about a desired sense of powerlessness.
consequence. Efficacy expectations
differ from outcome expectations, Self-Regulation
which refer to people's prediction of the By using reflective thought, humans
likely consequences of their behavior. can manipulate their environments and
Self-efficacy combines with produce consequences of their actions,
environmental variables, previous giving them some ability to regulate
behaviors, and other personal variables their own behavior. Bandura believes
to predict behavior. It is acquired, that behavior stems from a reciprocal
enhanced, or decreased by any one or influence of external and internal
combination of four sources: factors. Two external factors contribute
(1) mastery experiences or to self-regulation: (1) standards of
performance, evaluation, and (2) external
(2) social modeling, or observing reinforcement. External factors affect
someone of equal ability succeed or self-regulation by providing people with
fail at a task; standards for evaluating their own
(3) social persuasion, or listening to a behavior. Internal requirements for self-
trusted person's encouraging words; regulation include:
and (1) self-observation of performance;
(4) physical and emotional states, such (2) judging or evaluating performance;
as anxiety or fear, (3) self-reactions, including self-
which usually lowers self-efficacy. High reinforcement or self-punishment.
self-efficacy and a responsive Internalized self-sanctions prevent
environment are the best predictors of people from violating their own moral
successful outcomes. standards either through selective
activation or disengagement of internal
Proxy Agency control. Selective activation refers to
Bandura has recently recognized the the notion that self-regulatory
influence of proxy agency through influences are not automatic but
which people exercise some partial operate only if activated. It also means
control over everyday living. Successful that people react differently in different
living in the 21st century requires situations, depending on their
people to seek proxies to supply their evaluation of the situation.
food, deliver information, provide Disengagement of internal control
transportation, etc. Without the use of means that people are capable of
proxies, modern people would be forced separating themselves from the
to spend most of their time securing the negative consequences of their
necessities of survival. behavior. People in ambiguous moral
situations-who are uncertain that their
behavior is consistent with their own
Collective Efficacy social and moral standards of conduct –
Collective efficacy is the level of may separate their conduct from its
confidence that people have that their injurious consequences through four
combined efforts will produce social general techniques of disengagement
change. At least four factors can lower of internal standards or selective
collective efficacy. activation. First is redefining behavior,
(1) Events in other parts of the world or justifying otherwise reprehensible
can leave people with a sense of actions by cognitively restructuring
helplessness; them. People can use redefinition of
behavior to disengage themselves from Enactive Learning
reprehensible conduct by: All behavior is followed by some
(1) justifying otherwise culpable consequence, but whether that
behavior on moral grounds; consequence reinforces the behavior
(2) making advantageous comparisons depends on the person's cognitive
between their behavior and the evaluation of the situation.
even more reprehensible behavior
of others; and Dysfunctional Behavior
(3) using euphemistic labels to change Dysfunctional behavior is learned through the
the moral tone of their behavior. mutual interaction of the person (including
A second method of disengagement cognitive and neurophysiological processes),
from internal standards is to distort or the environment (including interpersonal
obscure the relationship between relations), and behavioral factors (especially
behavior and its injurious previous experiences with reinforcement).
consequences. People can do this by
minimizing, disregarding, or distorting Depression
the consequences of their behavior. A People who develop depressive
third set of disengagement procedures reactions often
involves blaming the victims. Finally, (1) underestimate their successes and
people can disengage their behavior overestimate their failures,
from its consequences by displacing or (2) set personal standards too high, or
diffusing responsibility. (3) treat themselves badly for their
faults.
Learning
People learn through observing others and by Phobias
attending to the consequences of their own Phobias are learned by
actions. Although Bandura believes that (1) direct contact,
reinforcement aids learning, he contends that (2) inappropriate generalization, and
people can learn in the absence of (3) observational experiences.
reinforcement and even of a response. Once learned they are maintained by
negative reinforcement, as the person
Observational Learning is reinforced for avoiding fear-producing
The heart of observational learning is situations.
modeling, which is more than simple
imitation, because it involves adding Aggressive Behaviors
and subtracting from observed When carried to extremes, aggressive
behavior. At least three principles behaviors can become dysfunctional. In
influence modeling: a study of children observing live and
(1) people are most likely to model filmed models being aggressive,
high-status people, Bandura and his associates found that
(2) people who lack skill, power, or aggression tends to foster more
status are most likely to model, and aggression.
(3) people tend to model behavior that
they see as being rewarding to the Therapy
model. The goal of social cognitive therapy is self-
Bandura recognized four processes that regulation. Bandura noted three levels of
govern observational learning: treatment:
(1) attention, or noticing what a model (1) induction of change,
does; (2) generalization of change to other
(2) representation, or symbolically appropriate situations, and
representing new response patterns (3) maintenance of newly acquired
in memory; functional behaviors.
(3) behavior production, or producing Social cognitive therapists sometimes use
the behavior that one observes; and systematic desensitization, a technique aimed
(4) motivation. at diminishing phobias through relaxation.
That is, the observer must be motivated
to perform the observed behavior. Related Research
Bandura's concept of self-efficacy has on free choice, optimism, conscious influences,
generated a great deal of research and uniqueness. As a social cognitive theory, it
demonstrating that people's beliefs are related rates very high on social determinants of
to their ability to enact a wide variety of personality.
performances, including stopping smoking and
academic performance.
Concept of Humanity
Rotter and Mischel see people as goal-directed,
cognitive animals whose perceptions of events
are more crucial than the events themselves. DISPOSITIONAL THEORIES
Cognitive social learning theory rates very high
on social influences, and high on uniqueness of CATTEL AND EYSENCK: TRAIT AND
the individual, free choice, teleology, and FACTOR THEORIES
conscious processes. On the dimension of
optimism versus pessimism, Rotter's view is Overview of Factor Analytic Theory
slightly more optimistic, whereas Mischel's is Raymond Cattell and Hans Eysenck have each
about in the middle. used factor analysis to identify traits (that is,
relatively permanent dispositions of people).
Cattell has identified a large number of
personality traits, whereas Eysenck has
extracted only three general factors.
Measuring Superfactors
Eysenck and his colleagues developed
Criteria for Identifying Factors four personality inventories to measure
Eysenck insisted that personality superfactors or types. The two most
factors must: frequently used by current researchers
(1) be based on strong psychometric are the Eysenck Personality Inventory
evidence, (which measures only E and N) and the
(2) must possess heritability and fit an Eysenck Personality Questionnaire
acceptable genetic model, (which also measures P).
(3) make sense theoretically, and
(4) possess social relevance.
Personal Dispositions
Allport distinguished between common
traits, which permit inter-individual
comparisons, and personal dispositions,
ALLPORT: PSYCHOLOGY OF THE which are peculiar to the individual. He
INDIVIDUAL recognized three overlapping levels of
personal dispositions, the most general
Overview of Allport's Psychology of the of which are cardinal dispositions that
Individual are so obvious and dominating that
Gordon Allport, whose major emphasis was on they cannot be hidden from other
the uniqueness of each individual, built a people. Not everyone has a cardinal
theory of personality as a reaction against disposition, but all people have 5 to 10
what he regarded as the non-humanistic central dispositions, or characteristics
positions of both psychoanalysis and animal- around which their lives revolve. In
based learning theory. However, Allport was addition, everyone has a great number
eclectic in his approach and accepted many of of secondary dispositions, which are
the ideas of other theorists. less reliable and less conspicuous than
central traits. Allport further divided
Biography of Gordon Allport personal dispositions into (1)
Gordon W. Allport was born in Indiana in 1897. motivational dispositions, which are
He received an undergraduate degree in strong enough to initiate action and (2)
philosophy and economics from Harvard, and stylistic dispositions, which refer to the
taught in Europe for a year. While in Europe, he manner in which an individual behaves
had a fortuitous meeting with Sigmund Freud and which guide rather than initiate
in Vienna, which helped him decide to action.
complete a Ph.D. in psychology. After receiving
his Ph.D. from Harvard, Allport spent two years Proprium
studying under some of the great German The proprium refers to all those
psychologists, but he returned to teach at behaviors and characteristics that
Harvard. Two years later he took a position at people regard as warm and central in
Dartmouth, but after four years at Dartmouth, their lives. Allport preferred the term
he again returned to Harvard, where he proprium over self or ego because the
remained until his death in 1967. latter terms could imply an object or
thing within a person that controls
Allport's Approach to Personality behavior, whereas proprium suggests
Allport believed that psychologically healthy the core of one's personhood.
humans are motivated by present mostly
conscious drives and they not only seek to Motivation
reduce tensions but to establish new ones. He Allport insisted that an adequate theory of
also believed that people are capable of motivation must consider the notion that
proactive behavior, which suggests that they motives change as people mature and also
can consciously behave in new and creative that people are motivated by present drives
ways that foster their own change and growth. and wants.
He called his study of the individual
morphogenic science and contrasted it with Reactive and Proactive Theories of
traditional nomothetic methods. Motivation
To Allport, people not only react to their
Personality Defined environment, but they also shape their
Allport defined personality as "the dynamic environment and cause it to react to
organization within the individual of those them. His proactive approach
psychophysical systems that determine his emphasized the idea that people often
characteristic behavior and thought." seek additional tension and that they
purposefully act on their environment in general laws from a study of groups of
a way that fosters growth toward people, but Allport used idiographic or
psychological health. morphogenic procedures that study the
single case. Unlike many psychologists,
Functional Autonomy Allport was willing to accept self-reports
Allport's most distinctive and at face value.
controversial concept is his theory of
functional autonomy, which holds that The Diaries of Marion Taylor
some (but not all) human motives are In the late 1930's, Allport and his wife
functionally independent from the became acquainted with diaries
original motive responsible for a written by woman they called Marion
particular behavior. Allport recognized Taylor. These diaries-along with
two levels of functional autonomy: (1) descriptions of Marion Taylor by her
perseverative functional autonomy, mother, younger sister, favorite
which is the tendency of certain basic teacher, friends, and a neighbor-
behaviors (such as addictive behaviors) provided the Allports with a large
to continue in the absence of quantity of material that could be
reinforcement, and (2) propriate studied using morphogenic methods.
functional autonomy, which refers to However, the Allports never
self-sustaining motives (such as published this material.
interests) that are related to the
proprium. Letters from Jenny
Even though Allport never published
Conscious and Unconscious data from Marion Taylor's dairies, he did
Motivation publish a second case study-that of
Although Allport emphasized conscious Jenny Gove Masterson. Jenny had
motivation more than any other written a series of 301 letters to Gordon
personality theorist, he did not and Ada Allport, whose son had been a
completely overlook the possible roommate of Jenny's son. Two of Gordon
influence of unconscious motives on Allport's students, Alfred Baldwin and
pathological behaviors. Most people, Jeffrey Paige used a personal structure
however, are aware of what they are analysis and factor analysis
doing and why they are doing it. respectively, while Allport used a
commonsense approach to discern
The Psychologically Healthy Personality Jenny's personality structure as
Allport believed that people are motivated by revealed by her letters. All three
both the need to adjust to their environment approaches yielded similar results
and to grow toward psychological health; that which suggest that morphogenic
is, people are both reactive and proactive. studies can be reliable.
Nevertheless, psychologically healthy persons
are more likely to engage in proactive Related Research
behaviors. Allport listed six criteria for Allport believed that a deep religious
psychological health: commitment was a mark of a mature person,
(1) an extension of the sense of self, but he also saw that many regular churchgoers
(2) warm relationships with others, did not have a mature religious orientation and
(3) emotional security or self-acceptance, were capable of deep racial and social
(4) a realistic view of the world, prejudice. In other words, he saw a curvilinear
(5) insight and humor, and relationship between church attendance and
(6) a unifying philosophy of life. prejudice.
Critique of Maslow
Maslow's theory has been popular in
psychology and other disciplines, such as
management, nursing, and education. The MAY: EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY
hierarchy of needs concept seems both
elementary and logical, which gives Maslow's Overview of May's Existential Theory
theory the illusion of simplicity. However, the Existential psychology began in Europe shortly
theory is somewhat complex, with four after World War II and spread to the United
dimensions of needs and the possibility of States, where Rollo May played a large part in
unconsciously motivated behavior. As a popularizing it. A clinical psychologist by
scientific theory, Maslow's model rates high in training, May took the view that modern
generating research but low in falsifiability. On people frequently run away both from making
its ability to organize knowledge and guide choices and from assuming responsibility.
action, the theory rates quite high; on its
simplicity and internal consistency, it rates Biography of Rollo May
only average. Rollo May was born in Ohio in 1909, but grew
up in Michigan. After graduating from Oberlin
Concept of Humanity College in 1930, he spent three years roaming
Maslow believed that people are structured in throughout eastern and southern Europe as an
such a way that their activated needs are itinerant artist. When he returned to the United
exactly what they want most. Hungry people States, he entered the Union Theological
desire food, frightened people look for safety, Seminary, from which he received a Master of
and so forth. Although he was generally Divinity degree. He then served for two years
optimistic and hopeful, Maslow saw that people as a pastor, but quit in order to pursue a
are capable of great evil and destruction. He career in psychology. He received a Ph.D. in
believed that as a species, humans are clinical psychology from Columbia in 1949 at
becoming more and more fully human and the age of 40. During his professional career,
motivated by higher level needs. In summary, he served as lecturer or visiting professor at a
Maslow's view of humanity rates high on free number of universities, conducted a private
choice, optimism, teleology, and uniqueness practice as a psychotherapist, and wrote a
and about average on social influences. number of popular books on the human
condition. May died in 1994 at age 85.
Background of Existentialism
Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and
theologian, is usually considered to be the
founder of modern existentialism. Like later
existentialists, he emphasized a balance
between freedom and responsibility. People
acquire freedom of action by expanding their Anxiety
self-awareness and by assuming responsibility People experience anxiety when they become
for their actions. However, this acquisition of aware that their existence or something
freedom and responsibility is achieved at the identified with it might be destroyed. The
expense of anxiety and dread. acquisition of freedom inevitably leads to
anxiety, which can be either pleasurable and
What Is Existentialism? constructive or painful and destructive.
The first tenet of existentialism is that
existence take precedence over Normal Anxiety
essence, meaning that process and Growth produces normal anxiety,
growth are more important than defined as that which is proportionate
product and stagnation. Second, to the threat, does not involve
existentialists oppose the artificial split repression, and can be handled on a
between subject and object. Third, they conscious level.
stress people's search for meaning in
their lives. Fourth, they insist that each Neurotic Anxiety
of us is responsible for who we are and Neurotic anxiety is a reaction that is
what we will become. Fifth, most take disproportionate to the threat and that
an antitheoretical position, believing leads to repression and defensive
that theories tend to objectify people. behaviors. It is felt whenever one's
values are transformed into dogma.
Basic Concepts Neurotic anxiety blocks growth and
According to existentialists, a basic productive action
unity exists between people and their
environments, a unity expressed by the Guilt
term Dasein, or being-in-the-world. Guilt arises whenever people deny their
Three simultaneous modes of the world potentialities, fail to accurately perceive the
characterize us in our Dasein: Umwelt, needs of others, or remain blind to their
or the environment around us; Mitwelt, dependence on the natural world. Both anxiety
or our world with other people; and and guilt are ontological; that is, they refer to
Eigenwelt, or our relationship with our the nature of being and not to feelings arising
self. People are both aware of from specific situations.
themselves as living beings and also
aware of the possibility of nonbeing or
nothingness. Death is the most obvious
form of nonbeing, which can also be Intentionality
experienced as retreat from life's The structure that gives meaning to
experiences. experience and allows people to make
decisions about the future is called
The Case of Philip intentionality. May believed that intentionality
Rollo May helped illustrate his notion of permits people to overcome the dichotomy
existentialism with the case of Philip, a between subject and object, because
successful architect in his mid-50s. Despite his it enables them to see that their intentions are
apparent success, Philip experienced severe a function of both themselves and their
anxiety when his relationship with Nicole (a environment.
writer in her mid-40s) took a puzzling turn.
Uncertain of his future and suffering from low Care, Love, and Will
self-esteem, Philip went into therapy with Rollo Care is an active process that suggests that
May. Eventually, Philip was able to understand things matter. Love means to care, to delight in
that his difficulties with women were related to the presence of another person, and to affirm
his early experiences with a mother who was that person's value as much as one's own.
unpredictable and an older sister who suffered Care is also an important ingredient in will,
from severe mental disorders. However, he defined as a conscious commitment to action.
began to recover only after he accepted that
his "need" to take care of unpredictable Nicole Union of Love and Will
was merely part of his personal history with May believed that our modern society
unstable women. has lost sight of the true nature of love
and will, equating love with sex and will
with will power. He further held that gains vitality from destiny, and destiny
psychologically healthy people are able gains significance from freedom.
to combine love and will because both
imply care, choice, action, and Philip's Destiny
responsibility. After some time in therapy, Philip was
able to stop blaming his mother for not
Forms of Love doing what he thought she should have
May identified four kinds of love in done. The objective facts of his
Western tradition: sex, eros, philia, and childhood had not changed, but Philip's
agape. May believed that Americans no subjective perceptions had. As he came
longer view sex as a natural biological to terms with his destiny, Philip began
function, but have become preoccupied to be able to express his anger, to feel
with it to the point of trivialization. Eros less trapped in his relationship with
is a psychological desire that seeks an Nicole, and to become more aware of
enduring union with a loved one. It may his possibilities. In other words, he
include sex, but it is built on care and gained his freedom of being.
tenderness. Philia, an intimate
nonsexual friendship between two The Power of Myth
people, takes time to develop and does According to May, the people of contemporary
not depend on the actions of the other Western civilization have an urgent need for
person. Agape is an altruistic or myths. Because they have lost many of their
spiritual love that carries with it the risk traditional myths, they turn to religious cults,
of playing God. Agape is undeserved drugs, and popular culture to fill the vacuum.
and unconditional. The Oedipus myth has had a powerful effect on
our culture because it deals with such common
Freedom and Destiny existential crises as birth, separation from
Psychologically healthy individuals are parents, sexual union with one parent and
comfortable with freedom, able to assume hostility toward the other, independence in
responsibility for their choices, and willing to one's search for identity, and, finally, death.
face their destiny.
Psychopathology
Freedom Defined May saw apathy and emptiness-not anxiety
Freedom comes from an understanding and guilt-as the chief existential disorders of
of our destiny. We are free when we our time. People have become alienated from
recognize that death is a possibility at the natural world (Umwelt), from other people
any moment and when we are willing to (Mitwelt), and from themselves (Eigenwelt).
experience changes, even in the face of Psychopathology is a lack of connectedness
not knowing what those changes will and an inability to fulfill one's destiny.
bring.
Psychotherapy
Forms of Freedom The goal of May's psychotherapy was not to
May recognized two forms of freedom: cure patients of any specific disorder, but to
(1) freedom of doing, or freedom of make them more fully human. May said that
action, which he called existential the purpose of psychotherapy is to set people
freedom, and (2) freedom of being, or free, to allow them to make choices and to
an inner freedom, which he called assume responsibility for those choices.
essential freedom.
Related Research
Destiny Defined May's theory of personality does not lend itself
May defined destiny as "the design of to easily testable hypotheses, and, therefore, it
the universe speaking through the has not generated much research.
design of each one of us." In other Nevertheless, Jeff Greenberg and his
words, our destiny includes the colleagues have investigated the concept of
limitations of our environment and our terror management, which is based on the
personal qualities, including our notion of existential anxiety. In general,
mortality, gender, and genetic Greenberg's findings are consistent with May's
predispositions. Freedom and destiny definition of existential anxiety as an
constitute a paradox, because freedom apprehension of threats to one's existence.
However, this research can also be explained uniqueness. On the issue of conscious or
by other psychological theories. unconscious forces, his theory takes a middle
position.
Critique of May
May's psychology has been legitimately
criticized as being antitheoretical and unjustly
criticized as being anti-intellectual. May's
antitheoretical approach calls for a new kind of
science-one that considers uniqueness and
personal freedom as crucial concepts.
However, according to the criteria of present
science, May's theory rates low on most
standards. Currently, his theory is very low on
its ability to generate research, to be falsified,
and to guide action; low on internal
consistency (because it lacks operationally
defined terms), average on parsimony, and
high on its organizational powers due to its
consideration of a broad scope of the human
condition.
Concept of Humanity
May viewed people as complex beings,
capable of both tremendous good and
immense evil. People have become alienated
from the world, from other people, and, most
of all, from themselves. On the dimensions of a
concept of humanity, May rates high on free
choice, teleology, social influences, and