Download Theories of Personality

Theories of Personality
©2002 Prentice Hall
Theories of Personality
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The Elements of Personality
The Biological Contribution
The Learning Contribution
The Cultural Contribution
The Psychodynamic Contribution
The Humanist Contribution
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The Elements of Personality
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Five Central Factors in Personality
Extroversion versus Introversion
 Neuroticism
 Agreeableness
 Conscientiousness
 Openness to Experience
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The Biological Contribution
Heredity and Temperament
Heredity and Traits
Evaluating Genetic
Theories
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Heredity and Temperament
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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.
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Heredity and Traits
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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.
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Twins
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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.
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Twin Studies
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Studying identical twins
separated near birth is one
behavior genetic method
Gerald and Mark (right) met
at age 31 after being
separated at birth. Both
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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)
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Evaluating Genetic Theories
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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
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The Learning Contribution
The Behavioral School
The Social-Cognitive
Learning School
Evaluating Learning
Theories
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The Behavioral School
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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.
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The Social-Cognitive Learning
School
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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.
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Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
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Expectations lead
to behavior that
makes prediction
come true
Expecting to fail
leads to behavior
that guarantees
failure
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The Cultural Contribution
Culture and Personality
Evaluating Cultural
Theories
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Culture and Personality
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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
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Individualism or Community?
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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.
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Cultures and Time
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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.
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The Psychodynamic Contribution
Freud and Psychoanalysis
Two Other Psychodynamic
Approaches
Evaluating Psychodynamic
Theories
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Psychodynamic Theories
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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
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The Structure of Personality
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Id: Operates according to the
pleasure principle
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Ego: Operates according to
the reality principle
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Primitive and unconscious part of
personality
Mediates between id and
superego
Superego: Moral ideals and
conscience
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Defense Mechanisms
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Repression: Threatening idea is blocked from
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.
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Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
Oral
 Anal
 Phallic
 Latency period
 Genital
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Two Other Psychodynamic
Approaches
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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.
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Evaluating Psychodynamic Theories
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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.
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The Humanist Contribution
The Inner Experience
Evaluating Humanist
Theories
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Humanist Psychology
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A psychological approach that
emphasizes personal growth and the
achievement of human potential rather
than the scientific understanding and
assessment of behavior.
©2002 Prentice Hall