Invitation to Psychology

Chapter 2

t

heories of

p

ersonality

COn

C

ept Map

76 Chapter 2 Theories of Personality

Sigmund Freud

To Freudians, personality

consists of three systems,

which ideally should be

in balance: id, ego, and

superego.

Defense mechanisms

include repression,

projection, displacement,

regression, and denial.

They protect the ego

from conflict, but can

distort reality and cause

self-defeating behavior.

Psychosexual stages of

personality development:

• Oral


• Anal


• Phallic (Oedipal)


• Latency


• Genital

Personality is a distinctive pattern of behavior, mannerisms, thoughts, and emotions that characterizes

an individual over time. Traits are habitual ways of behaving, thinking, and feeling.

Carl Jung

Jung believed that all

people share a collective

unconscious, consisting

of universal memories

and archetypes—symbols,

stories, or characters

representing good, evil,

heroes, villains, and other

aspects of human

experience.

Object-Relations School

The object-relations

school emphasizes the

importance of the first two

years of life and formative

relationships, especially

with the mother.

Evaluating Genetic Theories

These theories are often guilty of three

scientific flaws:

• They violate the principle of
  falsifiability.


• They draw universal principles
  from the experiences of a few
  atypical patients.


• They are based on retrospective
  accounts and fallible memories
  of patients.
  Some psychodynamic concepts have been
  empirically supported:
  -^ unconscious processes.
  -^ some defense mechanisms (e.g., denial
  and projection).

Psychodynamic theories emphasize unconscious processes, the role of childhood experiences, and unconscious conflicts.

Psychodynamic Theories of Personality

Core Personality Traits

-^ Many popular personality tests, especially those designed to identify “types,” lack
reliability and validity.

• Objective tests (inventories) are standardized questionnaires about all aspects of person-
  ality.
  -^ Raymond B. Cattell used factor analysis to identify the core clusters of personality traits.
  -^ Factor-analytic studies support the existence of the Big Five personality factors:


• extroversion versus introversion.


• neuroticism versus emotional stability.


• agreeableness versus antagonism.


• conscientiousness versus impulsiveness.


• openness to experience versus resistance to new experience.
  The Big Five dimensions have been documented around the world. They are remarkably
  stable over a lifetime, although neuroticism tends to decrease and conscientiousness tends to
  increase in young adulthood.

The Modern Study of Personality

Puppies and Personalities

Personalities

Some researchers study the

biological basis of person-

ality by identifying traits in

other species. They have

found evidence for some of

the Big Five in species as

varied as octopuses, bears,

and dogs.

Heredity and Temperament

Temperament

Newborn babies differ

in certain key

temperaments, such

as reactivity and

soothability, which

may form the basis of

later personality traits.

Heredity and Traits

• Some researchers investi-
  gate genetic contributions to
  personality by doing
  heritability studies of twins
  and adopted individuals.


• Behavioral-genetic data from these studies
  show that the heritability of most traits is about
  50 percent.

Evaluating

Genetic Theories

A genetic predisposi-

tion does not imply

genetic inevitability

because biology and

experience are

constantly interact-

ing.

Genes are the basic units of heredity, accounting for about half of the variation in many human personality traits. The

activation of genes can change over time because of mutations that arise before or after birth, and because of epigenetic

changes that affect the expression of certain genes.

Genetic Influences