Personality

CHAPTER 13
Personality: The pattern of enduring characteristics that produce consistency and individuality in a given
person
Personality: The pattern of enduring characteristics that produce consistency and individuality in a given
person
Psychodynamic Approaches to Personality
Psychodynamic approaches to personality: Approaches that assume that personality is primarily
unconscious and motivated by inner forces and conflicts about which people have little awareness.
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Psychoanalytic Theory – Sigmund Freud

Unconscious: A part of the personality that contains the memories,

knowledge, beliefs, feelings, urges, drives, and instincts of which the
individual is not aware.

Id: The instinctual and unorganized part of personality whose sole

purpose is to reduce tension created by primitive drives related to
hunger, sex, aggression, and irrational impulses.

Ego: The part of personality that attempts to balance the desires of the
id and the realities of the objective, outside world.

Superego: The part of personality that harshly judges the morality of

our behavior.
Psychosexual Stages of Development
Psychosexual stages: Developmental periods that children pass through during which they encounter
conflicts between the demands of society and their own sexual urges.

Fixations: Conflicts or concerns that persist beyond the developmental period in which they first occur.
Defense Mechanisms
Defense mechanisms: In Freudian theory, unconscious strategies that people use to reduce anxiety by
distorting reality and concealing the source of the anxiety from themselves

Although anxiety can arise from realistic fears—such as seeing a poisonous snake about to
strike—it can also occur in the form of neurotic anxiety in which irrational impulses
emanating from the id threaten to burst through and become uncontrollable.
Evaluating Freud’s Legacy
Evaluating Freud’s Legacy
● Lack of compelling scientific data to support it
● Freud’s conception of personality is built on unobservable abstract concepts
● It is not clear that the stages of personality Freud laid out provide an accurate
description of personality development. We also know now that important changes in
personality can occur in adolescence and adulthood
● The vague nature of Freud’s theory also makes it difficult to predict how an adult will
display certain developmental difficulties.
● The most serious problem that Freud's theory is criticized for is that it offer after-the-
fact explanations of any characteristic, yet it fails to predict behaviors and traits.
● Freud can be faulted for seeming to view women as inferior to men because he
argued that women have weaker superegos than men do and in some ways
unconsciously yearn to be men
● Freud made his observations and derived his theory from a limited population. His
theory was based almost entirely on upper-class Austrian women living in the strict,
puritanical era of the early 1900s, who had come to him seeking treatment
● Freud’s emphasis on the unconscious has been partially supported by current research
on dreams and implicit memory. Cognitive and social psychologists have found
increasing evidence that unconscious processes help us think about and evaluate our
world, set goals, and choose a course of action. Unconscious processes also help
determine how we form attitudes toward others.
Neo-Freudian Psychoanalysts
Neo-Freudian psychoanalysts: Psychoanalysts who were trained in traditional Freudian theory but who
later rejected some of its major points.
Neo-Freudian Psychoanalysts
Neo-Freudian psychoanalysts: Psychoanalysts who were trained in traditional Freudian theory but who
later rejected some of its major points.

1. Carl Jung
Neo-Freudian Psychoanalysts
Neo-Freudian psychoanalysts: Psychoanalysts who were trained in traditional Freudian theory but who
later rejected some of its major points.

1. Carl Jung
2. Karen Horney
Neo-Freudian Psychoanalysts
Neo-Freudian psychoanalysts: Psychoanalysts who were trained in traditional Freudian theory but who
later rejected some of its major points.

1. Carl Jung
2. Karen Horney
3. Alfred Adler
4. Erik Erikson
5. Anna Freud
Trait Approaches to Personality
Traits: Consistent, habitual personality characteristics and behaviors that are displayed across different situations.

Trait theory: A model of personality that seeks to identify the basic traits necessary to describe personality.

They propose that all people possess a set of traits, but the degree to which a particular
trait applies to a specific person varies and can be quantified.
Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory: Identifying Basic Characteristics
A cardinal trait is a single characteristic that directs most of a person’s activities.

Most people do not have a single, comprehensive cardinal trait. Instead, they possess a
handful of central traits that make up the core of personality. Central traits, such as
honesty and sociability, are an individual’s major characteristics; they usually number
from five to ten in any one person.

Secondary traits are characteristics that affect behavior in fewer situations and are less
influential than are central or cardinal traits.
Cattell and Eysenck: Factoring Out Personality
Later attempts to identify primary personality traits centered on a statistical technique
known as factor analysis.

Using factor analysis, personality psychologist Raymond Cattell suggested that 16 pairs of
traits represent the basic dimensions of personality. Using that set of traits, he developed
the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, or 16 PF, a personality scale that is still in
use today
The Big Five Personality Traits
Evaluating Trait Approaches to Personality
Evaluating Trait Approaches to Personality
● They provide a clear, straightforward explanation of people’s behavioral
consistencies.
● Traits allow us to readily compare one person with another.
● Various trait theories describing personality come to different conclusions about
which traits are the most fundamental and descriptive
● The difficulty in determining which of the theories is the most accurate has led some
personality psychologists to question the validity of trait conceptions of personality in
general.
● Even if we are able to identify a set of primary traits, all that we have done is provide
a set of labels for personality—but not an explanation of behavior.
This is a free version of the official Myers-Briggs Type Indicator -
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This test is based on the Big Five personality traits -

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Learning Approaches to Personality
Behaviorist Approach –
B.F. Skinner
Personality is a collection of
learned behavior patterns

Similarities in responses across

different situations are caused by
similar patterns of reinforcement

Learning theorists are less

interested in the consistencies in
behavior across situations than in
ways of modifying behavior
Learning Approaches to Personality
Behaviorist Approach –
B.F. Skinner
Personality is a collection of
learned behavior patterns
Similarities in responses across
different situations are caused by
similar patterns of reinforcement
Learning theorists are less
interested in the consistencies in
behavior across situations than in
ways of modifying behavior
Social Cognitive Approach –
Albert Bandura
Emphasize the influence of cognition—
thoughts, feelings, expectations, and
values—as well as observation of
others’ behavior, on personality
People can foresee the possible
outcomes of certain behaviors in a
specific setting without actually having
to carry them out. This understanding
comes primarily through observational
learning
Learning Approaches to Personality
Behaviorist Approach
– B.F. Skinner
Personality is a collection of
learned behavior patterns
Similarities in responses across
different situations are caused
by similar patterns of
reinforcement
Learning theorists are less
interested in the consistencies
in behavior across situations
than in ways of modifying
behavior
Social Cognitive Approach –
Albert Bandura
Emphasize the influence of cognition—
thoughts, feelings, expectations, and
values—as well as observation of
others’ behavior, on personality
People can foresee the possible
outcomes of certain behaviors in a
specific setting without actually having
to carry them out. This understanding
comes primarily through observational
learning
Social Cognitive
Approach – Walter
Mischel
He sees personality as
considerably more variable from
one situation to another
Personality cannot be considered
without taking the context of the
situation into account people’s
thoughts and emotions about
themselves and the world
determine how they view, and then
react, in particular situations.
Evaluating Learning Approaches
● Because they ignore the internal processes, such as thoughts and emotions, traditional
learning theorists such as Skinner have been accused of oversimplifying personality
far too much.
● Learning approaches tend to share a highly deterministic view of human behavior,
which maintains that behavior is shaped primarily by forces beyond the individual’s
control. Learning theory’s reliance on deterministic principles de-emphasizes
people’s ability to pilot their own course through life
● They have helped make personality psychology an objective, scientific venture by
focusing on observable behavior and the effects of their environments.
● In addition, they have produced important, successful means of treating a variety of
psychological disorders.
Are we born with personality?
Biological and Evolutionary Approaches
Are we born with personality?

Biological and evolutionary approaches to personality: Theories that suggest that important
components of personality are inherited.

Certain traits are more heavily influenced by heredity than are others. For example, social potency (the degree to
which a person assumes mastery and leadership roles in social situations) and traditionalism (the tendency to follow
authority) had particularly strong genetic components, whereas achievement and social closeness had relatively
weak genetic components

Furthermore, it is increasingly clear that the roots of adult personality emerge early in life. Infants are born with a
specific temperament, an individual’s behavioral style and characteristic way of responding.
Evaluating Biological and Evolutionary Approaches

● Although studies of identical twins raised in different environments are helpful, they are not definitive
because it is impossible to assess and control environmental factors fully. Furthermore, estimates of the
influence of genetics are just that—estimates—and apply to groups, not individuals.
● More important, genes interact with the environment. It is impossible to completely divorce genetic factors
from environmental factors. For one thing, genetically determined characteristics may not be expressed if
they are not “turned on” by particular environmental experiences. Furthermore, behaviors produced by genes
may help to create a specific environment.
● In a sense, then, genes not only influence a person’s behavior—they also help produce the environment in
which a person develops
● Although an increasing number of personality theorists are taking biological and evolutionary factors into
account, no comprehensive, unified theory that considers biological and evolutionary factors is widely
accepted. Still, it is clear that certain personality traits have substantial genetic components and that heredity
and environment interact to determine personality
Humanistic Approaches
Seeing people as controlled by unconscious, unseen forces (psychodynamic approaches)

A set of stable traits (trait approaches)

Situational reinforcements and punishments (learning theory)

Inherited factors (biological and evolutionary approaches)

Humanistic approaches to personality: Theories that emphasize people’s innate goodness and
desire to achieve higher levels of functioning
The Need for Self-Actualization – Carl Rogers
People have a fundamental need for self-actualization, a state of self-fulfillment in which people realize
their highest potential, each in a unique way. He further suggests that people develop a need for positive
regard that reflects the desire to be loved and respected.

Because others provide this positive regard, we grow dependent on them. We begin to see and judge
ourselves through the eyes of other people, relying on their values and being preoccupied with what they
think of us.

Self-concept is the set of beliefs and perceptions people hold about their own abilities, behavior, and
personality. If the discrepancies between people’s self-concepts and what they actually experience in
their lives are minor, the consequences are minor. But if the discrepancies between one’s experience and
one’s self-concept are great, they will lead to psychological disturbances in daily functioning.
Unconditional positive regard refers to an attitude of acceptance and respect on the observer’s part, no matter what a
person says or does.
Evaluating Humanistic Approaches
Evaluating Humanistic Approaches
● The criticisms have centered on the difficulty of verifying the basic assumptions of
the approach as well as on the question of whether unconditional positive regard
does.
● Humanistic approaches have also been criticized for making the assumption that
people are basically “good”—a notion that is unverifiable.
● Still, humanistic theories have been important in highlighting the uniqueness of
human beings and guiding the development of a significant form of therapy designed
to alleviate psychological difficulties.
Self Esteem
Self-esteem is the component of personality that encompasses our positive and negative self-evaluations.

Although people have a general level of self-esteem, it is not unidimensional. We may see ourselves positively in
one domain but negatively in others.

The causes of self-esteem are strongly affected by cultural factors.

Although almost everyone goes through periods of low self-esteem (for instance, after an undeniable failure), some
people are chronically low in self-esteem. For them, failure seems to be an inevitable part of life. In fact, low self-
esteem may lead to a cycle of failure in which past failure breeds future failure.

According to a growing body of data, an increasing number of college-age students have high levels of narcissism,
in which people show self-absorption and hold inflated views of themselves.
Openness People who like to learn new things
and enjoy new experiences.

Conscientiousness People that have a high

degree of conscientiousness are reliable and prompt.

Extraversion Extraverts get their energy from

interacting with others, while introverts get their energy
from within themselves.

Agreeableness These individuals are friendly,

cooperative, and compassionate.

Neuroticism Neuroticism is also sometimes

called Emotional Stability. This dimension relates to
one’s emotional stability and degree of negative
emotions.
Assessing Personality
Psychologists interested in assessing personality must be able to define the most meaningful ways of discriminating
between one person’s personality and another’s. To do this, they use psychological tests, standard measures devised
to assess behavior objectively. With the results of such tests, psychologists can help people better understand
themselves and make decisions about their lives.

Reliability refers to a test’s measurement consistency. If a test is reliable, it yields the same result each time it is
administered to a specific person or group. In contrast, unreliable tests give different results each time they are
administered. For meaningful conclusions to be drawn, tests also must be valid. Tests have validity when they
actually measure what they are designed to measure. If a test is constructed to measure sociability, for instance, we
need to know that it actually measures sociability and not some other trait.

Finally, psychological tests are based on norms, the average test performance of a large sample of individuals that
permit the comparison of one person’s score on a test with the scores of others who have taken the same test. The
establishment of appropriate norms is not a simple endeavor.
Self Report Measures of Personality
Self-report measures: A method of gathering data about people by asking them questions about their own
behavior and traits.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) : A

widely used self-report test that identifies people with psychological difficulties and is employed to predict some
everyday behaviors.

Test standardization: A technique used to validate questions in personality tests by studying the responses of
people with known diagnoses.
Projective Methods
Projective personality test: A test in which a person is shown an ambiguous stimulus and asked to describe
it or tell a story about it.

Rorschach test: A test that involves showing a series of symmetrical visual stimuli to people who then are
asked what the figures represent to them.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): A test consisting of a series of pictures about which a person is
asked to write a story. (Module 42)

Tests with stimuli as ambiguous as those used in the Rorschach and TAT require a high
degree of skill and care in their interpretation—too much skill and care, in the view of
many critics.
Behavioral Assessment
Behavioral assessment—direct measures of an individual’s behavior designed to describe characteristics indicative
of personality. As with observational research, behavioral assessment may be carried out naturalistically by
observing people in their own settings. In other cases, behavioral assessment occurs in the laboratory under
controlled conditions in which a psychologist sets up a situation and observes an individual’s behavior

Regardless of the setting in which behavior is observed, an effort is made to ensure that behavioral assessment is
carried out objectively and quantifies behavior as much as possible.

It provides a means of assessing the specific nature and incidence of a problem and subsequently allows
psychologists to determine whether intervention techniques have been successful.
Group Work
Imagine you are on the hiring committee of a big firm. You’re looking to design a personality test as
part of your upcoming recruitment cycle. This personality test will be the first step in the recruitment
process. The purpose of this test is to give you the information you need to decide whether an
applicant should be move ahead in the recruitment process.

1. Which approach to personality will you use as the foundation of your test (psychodynamic, trait,
learning, biological and evolutionary or humanistic)? Why?
2. What will be the design of your test?
3. Which specific personality traits, behaviors, cognitive patterns, etc. are you looking to measure?
Why? List your top five.
Group 1 Group 4

Arsalaan Jamil Areeba Ramzan Muhammad Anas Mahnoor Iftikhar

Aqsa Irshad Hussain Ali Obaida Ashraf Saad Kasbati
Hasan Jawaid Hamna Kashif Mohsin Raza Ali Sherazi
Iman Fatima Alishba Atif

Group 2 Group 5

Sadia Maqsad Mariah Marfani Qaseem ur Rehman Amna Tariq

Hamda Abid Abdullah Chaudhry Abeeha Raza Yusra Batool
Zain Kashif Mustafa Imran Muskan Elahi Mustafa Farhan
Ishna Khan Syed Faizan

Group 3 Group 6

Sarosh Abdullah Bilal Khan Lachman Das Huzaifa Rana

Hiba Imran Maham Khan Huzaifa Naveed Muhammad Bin Omer
Armish Khan Nuwarrah Farooqi Sheeda Ali Ahmad Khan
Faiz Uddin Hiba Nouman Laiba Noman Syed Muhammad Abdullah