Chapter Six

Personality Psychology
 Personality:
• “Personality” = “persona”; a theatrical
mask worn by Roman actors in Greek
dramas.
• Persona is how we present ourselves to the
world.
• It represents all of the different social
masks that we wear among various groups
and situations.
 Personality
• It is a pattern of relatively permanent
traits and unique characteristics that
give both consistency and individuality
to a person’s behavior.
• It is a dynamic and organized set of
characteristics possessed by a person
that uniquely influences their
environment.
 Major Concepts of Personality
• Temperament: is a general pattern of behavior
and mood. It is the hereditary emotional aspects
of personality
• Trait: is a dimension of personality used to
categorized people according to the degree
which they manifest a particular characteristics
Character: a judgment of individual based upon
certain qualities (e.g. Good or bad character).
• Type: Personality type refers to the psychological
classification of different types of individuals.
 Match the Following
Concepts of Personality Examples
• Temperament • Moody
• Trait • Sensitive
• Sociability
• Character
• Aggressiveness
• Type
• Goodness
• Badness
• A and B
 Characteristics of Personality

It is unique and specific to the person

It includes everything about the person (i.e., the cognitive,
affective, psychomotor, conscious, unconscious, etc.)
It is dynamic in nature, and there is coherence and
consistency in personality
It is the product of heredity and environment
It is an integrated organization of all psychological
structures and processes
It can be measured qualitatively as well as quantitatively
It is subjective to disorganization and disintegration
 Determinants of Personality

• Biological/Physical Determinants of
Personality
• Psychological Determinants of Personality
• Social Determinants of Personality
• Intellectual Determinants of Personality
 Levels of personality
• Universals; like all others (the human
nature level);
• Particular; like some others (the level
of individual and group differences);
and
• Uniqueness; like no others (the
individual uniqueness level).
 Theories of Personality
• Psychoanalytic
• Trait
• Humanistic
 The Psychoanalytic Theory of
Personality
• The funder is Sigmund Freud (1940/1964)
• He saw personality as the product of driving forces
within a person that were often conflicting and
sometimes unconscious.
• He raised the issues of:
-The Levels of Awareness
-The Structure of Personality
-The Defense Mechanisms
-Life Instincts and the Death Instinct
-Psychosexual Development
 The Levels of Awareness
• Conscious Level: the thoughts, perceptions,
and explanations of behavior of which the
person is aware.
• Preconscious Level: a holding place for
easily accessible memories, thoughts, or
impulses of which you could become aware.
• Unconscious Level: contains all those
thoughts, impulses, memories, and
behaviors of which you are unaware.
 The Structure of Personality
• The id: is an unconscious energy force that
seeks pleasure and gratification. It operates
according to the pleasure principle.
• The ego: acts as a negotiator between the
instinctual needs of the id and the demands
of membership in human society. It operates
according to the reality principle.
• The superego: represents your moral
conscience. It operates according to the
Moral principle.
 Freud Different Kinds of Anxieties
• Neurotic Anxiety. This is the fear of being
overcome by impulses from the id.
• Realistic Anxiety: This is the fear of being
overwhelmed by impulses from the ego.
• Moral Anxiety. This is what we feel when
the threat comes not from the outer,
physical world, but from the internalized
social world of the superego.
 The Defense Mechanisms
They are unconscious tactics that either prevent
threatening material from surfacing or disguise it
when it does.
People use defense mechanisms to reduce their
anxiety and guilt.
Methods used by the ego to prevent anxiety.
They make us feel normal.
 Some of the psychological defense mechanisms
are:
 Types of Defense Mechanisms
1. Repression: is an active mental process by
which a person “forgets” by “pushing down”
into the unconscious any thoughts that arouse
anxiety. Example, a woman is unable to recall
that she was raped.
2. Regression: Reverting to an older, less mature
way of handling stresses and feelings
 Cnd…
3. Denial: is refusal to recognize or
acknowledge a threatening situation. Example;
Mr. Geremew is an alcoholic who denies/
doesn‘t accept being an alcoholic.
4. Reaction Formation: Adopting beliefs,
attitudes, and feelings contrary to what you
really believe. Example; When you say
you're not angry when you really are.
 Cnd…
5. Projection: Blaming others or projection is a way
of coping with ones unwanted motives by shifting
onto some one else.
Example, a man sexually attracted to a neighbor
perceives the neighbor as sexually attracted to him.
6. Rationalization: giving socially acceptable reasons
for one's inappropriate behavior. Example; I always
study hard for tests and I know a lot of people who
cheat so it's not a big deal I cheated this time.
 Cnd…
7. Intellectualization: the intensity of the anxiety is
reduced by retreat into detached, unemotional, abstract
language. Example; Your boyfriend breaks up with
you and you rationalize that you never really liked
him that much anyway

8.Sublimation: Sublimation consists of a redirection of

sexual impulses to socially valued activities and goals.
Example, a person with strong feelings of aggression
becomes a soldier or a butcher.
 Cnd…
9. Displacement: Channeling a feeling or
thought from its actual source to something or
someone else.
Example 1; a child who quarreled with his
mother hits his little sister.

Example 2; When you get mad at your sister,

you break your drinking glass by throwing it
against the wall.
 Life instincts and the death instinct

• Life instincts: to seek food, water, and

sex. The motivational energy of these
life instincts he called ‘Eros’

• The Death Instinct: wish to die. The

motivational energy these death
instincts he called “Thanatos”.
 Psychosexual Development
• Psychosexual: the psychological
significance of these sexual drives in the
formation of a healthy personality.

• Sexuality meant not only intercourse, but

all pleasurable sensation from the skin.

• Erogenous zones: certain body parts

stimulation of sexual pleasure.
 The oral stage (Birth -1 ½ yrs):
• Erogenous zone; mouth and the infant
needs oral gratifications such as sucking,
swallowing, chewing, biting etc.

• The treatment of caregiver (Breastfeeding)

will have successful attainment of its
desires.

• Success at this stage; normal, flexible &

desirable personality characteristics. While
failure leads to oral fixation.
The result of oral stage fixation in the later development

Over Gratification Under Gratification

• Overeating • Being pessimistic,

• Smoking • Suspiciousness,
• Being Optimistic, • Dependency
(passively)
• Trustfulness,
• Envy (verbal biting
• Manipulative and
hostile-greedy).
• Admiration
 The Anal Stage (11 /2 and 3 years)

• Sexual energies (Erogenous Zone);

anus.

• This is the time when the child gets

parental influence on toilet training.

• Success leads to flexible personality.

Failure leads to fixation.
The result of anal stage fixation in the later
development

Over Gratification Under Gratification

• Dirtiness, • Strictness,
• Over generosity, • Parsimony,
• Disorderliness • Orderliness
 The Phallic stage (3-6 years)

• Erogenous Zone; Sex organs (penis & vagina)

• Child loves sexually the opposite sex parents
and hates the same sex parent.
• Here how parents respond to the genital
desire of their children will determine their
later personality development.
• The boy: Oedipus complex & Castration
Anxiety.
• The Girl: Electra complex & Penis Envy
The result of phallic stage fixation in
the later development
Over Gratification Under Gratification
• Arrogance, • Self hatred,
• Superiority, • Shyness,
• Stylishness, • Isolated,
• Sociability • Lack of genuine
feeling for others
 The Latency Stage(6-12 years)

• Pre-genital desires are repressed.

• It is the period when sexual interest is
relatively inactive.
• Attention shifts from sexual activities to
friend ship and schooling, riding bicycle
and participating in sports.
• Sexual activities are now hidden.
 The Genital stage (12 plus years)

• The center of attention is on genital organ

and experimentation with sexual activities in
the form of heterosexual relationships.
• Sexual and romantic interest in others
becomes a central motive.
• Parental successfully ruled out as sex objects
through the Oedipus and Electra complexes,
the new sex objects are peers of the same
age and opposite sex (girl or boy friend).
 The Trait Approach

• It describes personality and emphasizes its

biological aspects.
• It assumes that we all have internal traits.
• These traits remain relatively stable as we age
and explain why people generally behave the
same way across a variety of situations.
 The Five Factor Trait Theory

• It is widely accepted trait theory derived from

factor analysis by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae’s
(1992).
• This theory proposes five core dimensions:
-Extraversion
-Neuroticism
-Openness
-Agreeableness
-Conscientiousness
 Five Core Dimensions
• Extroversion: the degree to which energy is
directed inward or outward.
• Neuroticism: the degree to which one is
emotionally stable or unstable.
• Openness: the degree to which one is thoughtful
and rational in considering new ideas.
• Agreeableness: the degree to which one gets
along well with others.
• Conscientiousness: the degree to which one is
aware of and attentive to other people and/or the
details of a task.
 The Five Factor Trait Theory
Type Description Examples
Openness High Openness: imaginative, I have excellent ideas
creative, I have a rich vocabulary
I use difficult words
Low Openness: routine and
more narrow-minded

Conscientiousness High Conscientiousness: •I am always prepared

hardworking, ambitious, • I follow a schedule
reliable, and self-controlled, • I like order
Low Conscientiousness:
unreliable, lazy, and
spontaneous.
 The Five Factor Trait Theory
Type Description
Extraversion High Extraversion: talkative, sociable, and
prefer to be around others. Low
Extraversion(introverts): quiet, reserved,
and comfortable on their own.
Examples
I am the life of the party
 I start conversations
 I like being the center of
attention

Agreeableness High Agreeableness: Being easygoing and I am interested in people

trusting I take time out for others
Low Agreeableness: unfriendly,  I feel others emotions
antagonistic, and suspicious

Neuroticism High Neuroticism: temperamental, •I am easily disturbed

worrisome, and pessimistic. •I change my mood a lot
Low Neuroticism: more even-tempered and •I get stressed out easily
calm.
 The Humanistic Approach
• It emphasizes the individual, personal choice,
and free will in shaping personality.
• It assumes that humans have a built-in drive
toward fulfilling their own natural potential.
• The attainment of this potential is referred to as
self-actualization.
• Three well-known humanistic theorists:
-Abraham Maslow
-Carl Rogers
Abraham Maslow and the Hierarchy of Needs Theory

• He focusing on subjective experiences and

free will.
• Concerned with an individual's innate drive
toward self-actualization.
• He studied the personalities of people who
he considered to be healthy, creative, and
productive, including Albert Einstein,
• Such people share similar characteristics,
such as being open, creative, loving, etc.
Personality & Hierarchy of Needs
Hierarchy of Needs
 Hierarchy of Needs
• Maslow believed that successful
fulfillment of each layer of needs was
vital in the development of personality.
• He shed a more positive light on
personality psychology.
• The highest need for self-actualization
represents the achievement of our fullest
potential,
 Characteristics of Self-Actualizers

• They are supreme achievers in the human

race.
• They had a great sense of awareness,
• They often described peak experiences.
• They actively engaged in activities that
would bring about feeling of unity and
meaningfulness.
• They deeply rooted in reality and were
active problem-seekers and solvers etc.
 Carl Rogers and Self Theory
• He believed that understanding human
personality required an understanding of
how people view themselves and how they
interpret events around them.
• He believed that human beings naturally
struggle for fulfillment and enhancement, a
basic motive that he referred to as the
actualizing tendency.
 Cont’d…
• Actualizing tendency is set at birth and moves the
infant to recognize that she/he is separate from the
mother and an independent being.
• The infant begins to experience the self as “I” or “me.”
• This self gradually evolves into the person’s self-
concept.
• Self-concept is our perception or image of our abilities
and our uniqueness.
• At first one’s self-concept is very general and
changeable,
• As we grow older, these self-perceptions become much
more organized, detailed, and specific.
 Cont’d…
• Rogers’s actualizing tendency is an
organismic valuing process.
• Experiences that maintain or enhance the
person are valued, and therefore preferred
and liked.
• Experiences that do not maintain or
enhance the person are not valued, and
therefore are rejected.
• People accept us and love us for who we
are.
How To Improve
Personality?
 What Is Personality Development?
• It refers to the process by which the organized
thought and behaviour patterns that make up a
person's unique personality emerge over time.
• Many factors influence personality, including
genetics and environment, how we were parented,
and societal variables.
How to improve your personality?

• Read more
• Be a better listener
• Improve your communication skills
• Offer a helping hand
• Treat everyone with respect
• Be patient
• Work on your confidence
• Be humble
 Cnd…
• Expand your interests
• Work on your empathy and spread praise
• Cultivate a positive attitude
• Be yourself
• Practice some self-care
• Meditate
• Think positive thoughts, both about
yourself and others
• Develop your personal grooming
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