Personality

Psychology of Difference:
Personality & Intelligence
Meghan Fraley, PhD
Skyline College, Summer 2015

Three Words
  If you had to describe yourself using three
words, it would be…

What does it mean to have
a personality?
Are there different types of people? What are some
examples?

The Depths and Potential of the
Personality

The Self: Identity & Personality
Self:
• All characteristics of a person
• Self-understanding, self-esteem, self-
concept
Identity:
• The set of behavioral or
personal characteristics by
which an individual is
recognizable as a member of a
group.
Personality:
• Enduring personal
characteristics of individuals.
• Young children perceive self
as external characteristics.
• Older children recognize
difference between inner and
outer states.
The Self

Issues with Self-Esteem
  Modest correlations link self-esteem and school performance; links vary
between adult job performance and self-esteem
  Self-esteem related to perceived physical appearance across life-span
  Depression lowers high self-esteem
The Self
Persons with high self-
esteem:
Increased happiness
Have greater initiative
Prone to both prosocial and
antisocial actions
Undeserved high self-
esteem:
Narcissism: self-centered, self-
concerned
Conceited
Lack of awareness linked to
adjustment problems

Self-Esteem Across the Lifespan
Prenatal Development

What is Identity?
Self-portrait of many identities:
  Vocational/career
  Political
  Religious
  Relationship
  Achievement/intellectual
Identity
•  Sexual
•  Cultural/ethnic
•  Interests
•  Personality
•  Physical

Models of Identity: Marcia & Erikson
Marcia:
  Individuals go through periods of-
  Crisis: exploring alternatives during identity
development.
  Commitment: individuals show personal investment in
what they are going to do.
_____________________________________________________________
Erickson:
  Identity versus identity confusion:
  Adolescents examine who they are, what they are about, and where they
are going in life.
  Psychosocial moratorium:
  Gap between childhood security and adult autonomy, part of adolescent
identity exploration.
Identity

Identity
Marcia’s Identity Statuses

Personality: Erikson
Erikson’s
Stages
MISGRIS
Stage Age Strength
M: Many Mistrust/Trust Infancy Hope
S: Steps Shame/Autonomy 1-3 Will
G: Go Guilt/Initative 3-6 Purpose
I: In Industry/Inferiority 7-12 Compete
nce
R: Really Role confusion/
Identity
Teens Fidelity
I:
Independent
Isolation/Intimacy 18-35 Love
S: Stages Stagnation/
Generativity
Midlife:
35-60
Care
D: During
Life
Despair/Integrity End of
life
Wisdom

Erikson’s Strengths and Pathologies

Definition of
Personality?
n  Personality refers to the
relatively enduring
characteristics that
differentiate one person
from another and that
lead people to act in a
consistent and
predictable manner,
both in different
situations and over
extended periods of
time.
n  Personality is defined
as: the enduring or
lasting patterns of
behavior and thought
(across time and
situation).

Personality
Four Major Perspectives on Personality
Psychoanalytic - unconscious motivations
Trait - specific dimensions of personality
Humanistic - inner capacity for growth
Social-Cognitive - influence of environment

Approaches to Personality
Trait
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Social Cognitive

We have Stable Internal Characteristics:
Trait Personality Theories
Source of information about personality:
Observation of
behavior
Questionnaires
People in
therapy.
Cause of behavior, thoughts, and
feelings:
Stable internal
characteristics;
Genetics
Outlook on humans:
neutral - neither positive nor negative.

Cardinal, Central, & Secondary Traits
n  Allport: Most important personality traits are those that
reflect our values.
n  Allport suggested that there are 3 kinds of traits:
•  cardinal: a single personality trait that directs most
of a person’s activities (e.g., greed, lust,
kindness).
•  central: a set of major characteristics that make up
the core of a person’s personality.
•  secondary: less important personality traits that do
not affect behavior as much as central and cardinal
traits do.

Eysenck:Two Major Trait Dimensions
n  Hans
Eysenck:
found two (2)
major
trait
dimensions:
•  introversion
versus
extroversion
(quiet versus
sociable).
•  Neuroticism
versus
emotional stability
(moody versus
calm).

Cattell’s Distinguishes 3 Types
of Traits
n  Cattell’s Trait Theory:
n  Distinguished 3 types of traits:
n  Dynamic.
n  Ability.
n  Temperament.
n  Also:
n  Surface Traits: Less important to personality.
n  Source Traits: More important basic underlying traits.
n  Cattell identified 16 basic traits.
•  He developed the 16PF to measure these traits.

Multiple Perspectives on Personality

Psychoanalysis: The Unconscious
“the mind is like an iceberg - mostly hidden”
Conscious Awareness
small part above surface
(Preconscious)
Unconscious
below the surface
(thoughts, feelings,
wishes, memories)
Repression
Banishing unacceptable
thoughts and passions to
unconscious:
Dreams and Slips

Psychoanalysis:
Freud’s Theory of Personalityn  Three levels of consciousness:
n  Conscious mind:
things we are
focusing on.
n  Preconscious mind:
things are are not
currently aware of
but which we could
focus on.
n  Unconscious mind:
that which we are
unaware of.

Freud’s Theory of Personality:
Id, Ego, & Superego
n  The id, the ego, and the
superego are continually in
conflict with one another.
n  This conflict generates anxiety.
n  If the ego did not effectively
handle the resulting anxiety,
people would be so
overwhelmed with anxiety that
they would not be able to carry
on with the tasks of everyday
living.
n  The ego tries to control anxiety
(i.e., to reduce anxiety)
through the use of ego defense
mechanisms.

The Humanistic Perspective
Maslow’sMaslow’s
Self-ActualizingSelf-Actualizing
PersonPerson
Roger’sRoger’s
Person-CenteredPerson-Centered
PerspectivePerspective
“Healthy” rather than “Sick”
Individual as greater than the sum of test scores

Humanistic Personality Theories:
Maslow and Rogers
  Humanistic approach (Third Force):
  Rejected Freud’s pessimistic view of personality.
  Rejected Behaviorist’s mechanistic view.
  More optimistic/positive about human nature.
  Humans are free and basically good.
  Humans are inner-directed.
  Everyone has the potential for healthy growth.
  Health growth involves Self actualization:
  “Be all you can be.”
  Given the right environmental conditions,
we can reach our full potential.

Roger’s Person-Centered Perspective
People are basically good
with actualizing tendencies.
Given the right environmental
conditions, we will develop
to our full potentials
Genuineness, Acceptance, Empathy
Self ConceptSelf Concept: central feature
of personality (+ or -)

Carl Rogers
n  Self-concept: our image or perception of ourselves
(Real Self versus Ideal Self).
n  We have a need for positive regard/approval from others.
n  Conditions of worth or conditional positive regard.
n  The conditions under which other people will approve
of us.
n  We change our behavior to obtain approval.
n  What we need is: Unconditional positive regard.
n  Anxiety signifies that we are not being true to our ideal self.
n  Well-adjusted persons: self-concept & experience.
n  Poorly adjusted person: self-concept & experience.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of human motives:
one must satisfy lower needs before one
satisfies higher needs.

Abraham Maslow
n  Self-actualization is the culmination of a lifetime of
inner-directed growth and improvement:
•  Challenging ourselves to the fullest.
•  Can you identify a self-actualized individual?
•  Characteristics of the self-actualized person:
n  Creative and open to new experiences.
n  Committed to a cause or a higher goal.
n  Trusting and caring of others, yet not dependent.
n  Have the courage to act on their convictions.

Social-Cognitive-Learning
Perspective
Behavior learned through
conditioning and observation
What we think about our situation
affects our behavior
Interaction of
Environment and Intellect

Social-Cognitive Personality Theories:
Reciprocal Determination

Social-Cognitive Personality Theories:
Outcomes of Personal Control
Learned Helplessness:
Uncontrollable
bad events
Perceived
lack of control
Generalized
helpless behavior
Important Issues:
• Nursing Homes
• Prisons
• Colleges

How do we measure
“Personality”?
n  (1) Interview:
n  Ask the person about themselves.
n  Obtain information that reveals personality.
n  (2) Behavioral Observation:
n  Watch the individual’s behavior in an actual or simulated
situation.
n  Personality Tests:
n  (3) Objective tests (questionnaire tests).
n  (4) Projective tests.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory (MMPI-2)
n  Most widely used personality instrument.
n  Used in clinical and employment settings.
n  MMPI-2 Has several different scales (multiphasic).
n  MMPI sample items:
n  ‘I usually feel that life is worthwhile and
interesting (FALSE) = Depression.
n  ‘I seem to hear things that other people can’t
hear’ (TRUE) = Schizophrenia.
n  Measures aspects of personality that, if extreme,
suggest a problem:
n  Extreme suspiciousness may indicate paranoia.

Rorschach Inkblot Test
n  Most popular projective technique.
n  Respond to inkblot: “What could this be?”

Assignments
  Enneagram RHETI
Sampler
  What were the top two
types and what is more or
less like you?
Forum Topic & Discussion
  Attribution Style
Questionnaire Discussion
Reflection Activity & Journal
OtherChapter Reading & Review
Read & Review Personality
Chapter
Clarify the Who, What, Where,
Why, and When of the problem

Personality

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