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Personality
Theory, Research, and Assessment
Defining Personality: Consistency
and Distinctiveness
 Personality
Traits
– Dispositions and dimensions
 The
Five-Factor Model
– Extraversion
– Neuroticism
– Openness to experience
– Agreeableness
– Conscientiousness
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Psychodynamic Perspectives
Freud’s
psychoanalytic theory
– Structure of personality
• Id - Pleasure principle
• Ego - Reality principle
• Superego - Morality
– Levels of awareness
• Conscious
• Unconscious
• Preconscious
– Conflict
• Sex and Aggression
• Anxiety
• Defense Mechanisms
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Freud on Development:
Psychosexual Stages
 Sexual
= physical pleasure
 Psychosexual
stages
–Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital
• Fixation = Excessive gratification or frustration
• Overemphasis on psychosexual needs during
fixated stage
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Other Psychodynamic Theorists
 Carl
Jung
– Analytical Psychology
• Personal and collective
unconscious
• Archetypes
• Introversion/Extroversion
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Other Psychodynamic Theorists
 Alfred
Adler
– Individual Psychology
• Striving for superiority
• Compensation
• Inferiority complex/overcompensation
• Birth order
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Other Psychodynamic Theorists

Karen Horney
– Viewed anxiety as a powerful motivating force
– Environmental & social factors important
• as important as unconscious sexual conflict
– Neurotic trends
• Irrational strategies for coping with emotional
problems
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Other Psychodynamic Theorists

Erik Erikson
– Eight stages of personality development
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Trust vs. mistrust
Autonomy vs. shame and doubt
Initiative vs. guilt
Industry vs. inferiority
Identity vs. role confusion
Intimacy vs. isolation
Generativity vs. stagnation
Ego integrity vs. despair
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Evaluating Psychodynamic
Perspectives
Pros:
 Insights
regarding
– The unconscious
– The role of internal conflict
– The importance of early childhood experiences
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Evaluating Psychodynamic
Perspectives
Cons
– Poor testability
– Inadequate empirical base
– Sexist views
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Humanistic Perspectives
 Carl
Rogers
–Person Centered Theory
• Self-concept
– Conditional/unconditional positive regard
– Incongruence and anxiety
 Abraham
Maslow
–Self-actualization theory
–Hierarchy of needs
• The healthy personality
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Evaluating Humanistic
Perspectives
 Highlight
importance of person’s subjective
view of reality
 Attention on ingredients of healthy personality
 Criticized for:
weak research support
poor testability
overly optimistic view of human nature
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Trait Theories

Traits differ like dependency, aggressiveness,
or anxiety
 “Big Five” central traits
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Extroversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional stability
Culture, intellect, openness
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Biological Perspectives
 Eysenk’s
theory
– 3 higher order traits
– Extraversion, neuroticism & psychoticism
• Determined by genes
 Twin
studies
– Novelty seeking & genetics
 The
evolutionary approach
– Traits conducive to reproductive fitness
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Are the “Big Five” Traits
Universal?

Evidence of big five traits across
cultures

Findings suggest a genetic basis
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Evaluating Trait Theories
Unlike others, can study scientifically
 Merely descriptive
 Statistical averages of populations
rather than individuals
 Disagreement over minimum traits to
describe all human behavior
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Evaluating Biological Perspectives
 Pros
– Convincing evidence for genetic influence
 Cons
– Conceptual problems with heritability estimates
– Artificial carving apart of nature and nurture
– No comprehensive biological theory
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Social-Cognitive Learning
Theories

Behavior guided by thought, expectancies,
learning & environment
– Expectancies
• Person’s anticipations in a situation or as a
result of behavior
– Performance standards
• judge own behavior by individually determined
standards
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Social-Cognitive Learning
Theories

Self-Efficacy
– Expectancy that one’s efforts will be
successful

Locus of control
– Expectancy whether reinforcement under
internal or external control
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Evaluating Social-Cognitive
Learning Theories
Affirms role of cognition in personality
development
 Focuses on conscious behavior &
experience
 Can be studied scientifically
 Led to many useful therapies

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Behavioral Perspectives
Skinner’s
views
– Conditioning and response tendencies
– Environmental determinism
Bandura’s
views
– Social leaning theory
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Cognitive processes and reciprocal determinism
Observational learning
Models
Self-efficacy
Mischel’s
views
– The person-situation controversy
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Evaluating Behavioral
Perspectives
 Pros
– Based on rigorous research
– Insights into effects of learning and
environmental factors
 Cons
– Over-dependence on animal research
– Fragmented view of personality
– Dehumanizing views
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Personality Assessment

Personal interview
 Direct observation
 Objective tests
– Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)
– Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI-2)

Projective tests
– Rorschach test
– Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
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Contemporary Empirical
Approaches to Personality Traits
 Marvin
Zuckerman
– Sensation Seeking
 Mark
Snyder
– Self-monitoring
 Markus
and Kitayama
– Independence vs. interdependence and culture
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