Chapter 13

Understanding Human Personality

 What is Personality

Personality
Unique psychological
qualities of individual
that influence variety of
characteristic behavior
patterns across different
situations and over time
 What is Personality?

Personality trait Enduring

personal quality
or attribute that
influences
behavior across
situations
 Type Personality Theories

Predispositions Descriptions
Trait Personality Theories

• Three kinds of
traits
• cardinal
Allport’s • central
• secondary
Trait
• Personality
Approach structures as
determinants of
individual
behavior
Trait Personality Theories

• James
Cattell’s 16
Trait Factors
• Hans
Theories Eysenck’s
Dimensional
Theory
Four Quadrants of Eysenck’s Personality
Circle
Trait Personality Theories

Five-Factor
Model
(Big Five)
• Extraversion
• Agreeableness
• Conscientiousness
Factors • Neuroticism
• Openness to
experience
Evolutionary Perspectives on Trait
Dimensions

• Consider great
variation among
and within
Allport
dimensions
Evolutionary • Diversity of
Approach environments
• People embody
both low and
high values on
each of five
dimensions
Traits and Heritability

• Family
Studies
• Twin
Research Studies
Design • Monozygotic
twins
• Dizygotic
twins
 Traits and Heritability

Behavioral Genetics
Study of degree to
which personality
traits and behavior
patterns are
inherited
Do Traits Predict Behaviors?

Consistency Paradox
(Mischel, 2004)

Personality Behavior
ratings are ratings are
consistent not
Evaluation of Type and Trait Theories

Advantages Disadvantages
• Type and Trait theories • Type and Trait theories
describe people’s do not explain how
personalities behavior is generated
or how it develops
• Type and Trait theories
only portray static view
of personality as it
currently exists
Psychodynamic Theories

Psychodynamic
Personality is
shaped by and
Personality
Theories
behavior is
motivated by
powerful inner
forces
Drives and Psychosocial Development

Psychoanalysis

Concept of Libido
Freud
Oedipus and
Electra Complexes

Concept of
Fixation
 Freudian Psychoanalysis

Mental and
behavioral reactions
Psychic Determinism
determined by
previous experiences

Stores repressed
Unconscious urges and primitive
impulses
 Structure of the Personality

Primitive, Internalization of Self-

Ego
Superego
Id

unconscious society’s values, preservation

part of the standards, and activities
personality morals Directing
Pleasure Morality instinctual
Principle Ego ideal drives and
urges into
appropriate
channels
Reality Principle
Evaluation of Freudian Theories
Advantages
• Some aspects continued to
modified and improved with
empirical scrutiny
• Some evidence for some of
habits of mind
• Still influences some areas
of contemporary
psychology
Criticisms
• Vague concepts
• No operational definitions
• No predictive reliability
• Retrospective application
• No observations of children
• Traumatic experience
minimization
• Androcentric bias
Extending Psychodynamic Theories

Alfred
Adler

Do you know
the
contributions
of these
people?
Carl Karen
Jung Horney
 Humanistic Theories

Abraham
Carl Rogers
Maslow

Unconditional
Self- Self-
Self-concept Positive
actualization actualization
Regard
 Features of Humanistic Theories

Holistic Dispositional Phenomenological

• Explain people’s • Focus on innate • Emphasize

separate acts in qualities within individual’s frame
terms of their person that exert of reference and
entire major influence subjective view
personalities over direction of reality
behavior will take
Evaluation of Humanistic Theories

Advantages Criticisms
• Focus on healthy • Fuzzy terms
personality that strives for • Theories not about
happiness and self- individual personality
actualization • Ignores important
• Related to contemporary environmental variables
research related to that influence behavior
narrative identities and life
stories (psychobiographies)
 Comparing Personality Theories

Learning
Emphasis on
Heredity versus processes versus
past, present, and
environment innate laws of
future
behavior

Consciousness Inner disposition

versus versus outer
unconsciousness situation
Assessing Personality

Personality
Inventories

Objective Tests

MMPI,
NEO-PI MMPI-2,
MMPI-2-RF
Assessing Personality

Rorschach

Projective
Tests

TAT
Inkblot Similar to Those Used in Rorschach
Test