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Theories of Personality
Chapter 2
Theories of Personality
 The Psychodynamic Theories
 The Modern Study of Personality
 Genetic Influences
 Environmental Influences
 Cultural Influences
 The Inner Experience
Psychodynamic Theories
 Emphasis on unconscious intrapsychic
dynamics
 Belief in the importance of early childhood
 Belief that development occurs in fixed stages
 Focus on fantasies and symbolic meanings of
events
 Reliance on subjective rather than objective
methods
The Structure of Personality
 Id: Operates according
to the pleasure principle
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Primitive and
unconscious part of
personality
 Ego: Operates
according to the reality
principle
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Mediates between id
and superego
 Superego: Moral ideals
and conscience
Defense Mechanisms
 Repression: Threatening idea is blocked from
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consciousness
Projection: Unacceptable feelings are attributed to
someone else
Displacement: Directing emotions toward objects or
people that aren’t the real target
Reaction Formation: A feeling that produces anxiety
is transformed into its opposite.
Regression: A person reverts to a previous phase of
psychological development.
Denial: A person refuses to admit that something is
unpleasant.
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
 Oral
 Anal
 Phallic
 Latency period
 Genital
Other Psychodynamic Approaches
 Jungian Theory: A psychodynamic theory that
includes the concepts of the collective
unconscious (the universal memories of the
species) and archetypes (universal symbolic
images in myths, art, and dreams).
 Object Relations Theory: A psychodynamic
approach that emphasizes the importance of
the infant’s first two years of life and the
baby’s formative relationships, especially with
the mother.
Evaluating Psychodynamic Theories
 Psychodynamic theories violate the principle
of falsifiability
 Psychodynamic theories are criticized for
drawing universal principles from the
experiences of a few atypical patients.
 Psychodynamic theories are criticized for
basing theories upon the retrospective
accounts and fallible memories of patients.
The Modern Study of Personality
Personality Factor Theories
Five Central Factors in Personality
 Extroversion versus Introversion
 Neuroticism
 Agreeableness
 Conscientiousness
 Openness to Experience
The Genetic Contribution
 Heredity and Temperament
 Heredity and Traits
 Evaluating Genetic Theories
Heredity and Temperament
 Temperaments: Physiological dispositions to
respond to the environment in certain ways;
they are present in infancy and are assumed
to be innate.
 Genes: The functional units of heredity; they
are composed of DNA and specify the
structure of proteins.
Heredity and Traits
 Heritability: A statistical estimate of the
proportion of the total variance in some trait
that is attributable to genetic differences
among individuals within a group.
 Behavioral genetics: An interdisciplinary field
of study concerned with the genetic basis of
behavior and personality.
Twins
 Identical (Monozygotic) Twins: Twins that
develop when a fertilized egg divides into two
parts that develop into separate embryos
 Fraternal (Dizygotic) Twins: Twins that
develop when two separate eggs are
fertilized by different sperm; they are no more
alike genetically than any other pair of
siblings.
Twin Studies
 Studying identical twins separated near birth is one
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behavior genetic method
Gerald and Mark (right) met at age 31 after being
separated at birth.
Both are volunteer firefighters
Like to hunt, eat Chinese
food, and
watch John
Wayne movies
Drink the same brand
of beer,
with their hands
held the same way
(pinky curled)
Evaluating Genetic Theories
 Reasons for Caution
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Not all traits are equally heritable or unaffected
by shared environment.
Some studies may underestimate the impact
of the environment.
Even traits that are highly heritable are not
rigidly fixed.
 Genetic predisposition does not imply
inevitability
Environmental Influences
on Personality
The Behavioral School
The Social-Cognitive Learning School
The Power of Parents
The Power of Peers
The Behavioral School
 Behaviorism: An approach to psychology that
emphasizes the study of observable behavior and the
role of the environment as a determinant of behavior.
 Operant Conditioning: The process by which a
response becomes more likely to occur or less so,
depending on its consequences.
 Reinforcer: A stimulus or event that strengthens or
increases the probability of the response it follows.
The Social-Cognitive
Learning School
 A theory that emphasizes how behavior is
learned and maintained through the
interaction between individuals and their
environment, an interaction strongly
influenced by such cognitive processes as
observations, expectations, perceptions, and
motivating beliefs.
The Cultural Contribution
Culture and Personality
Evaluating Cultural Theories
Culture and Personality
 Culture: A program of shared rules that
govern the behavior of members of a
community or society, and a set of values,
beliefs, and attitudes shared by most
members of that community
Individualism or Community?
 Individualist Culture: The self is regarded as
autonomous, and individual goals and wishes
are prized above duty and relations with
others.
 Collectivist Culture: The self is regarded as
embedded in relationships, and harmony with
one’s group is prized above individual goals
and wishes.
Cultures and Time
 Monochronic Culture: Cultures in which time
is organized sequentially; schedules and
deadlines are valued over people.
 Polychronic Culture: Cultures in which time is
organized horizontally; people tend to do
several things at once and value relationships
over schedules.
The Inner Experience
Humanist Approaches
 An approach that emphasizes personal growth and the
achievement of human potential rather than the
scientific understanding and assessment of behavior.
 Abraham Maslow
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Previous Psychological Theories Avoided the Positive
Focused on the Qualities of the Self-Actualized Person
Hierarchy of Needs
 Carl Rogers
 Unconditional Positive Regard
 Congruence
 Rollo May
 Existentialism
Narrative Approach
 The story that we each develop over time
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Core Beliefs