Personality
Personality:
- the individual's common & unique experiences interact with inherited
potential to shape personality.
- trait theory:
- a personality can be described by its position on a number of
continuous dimensions or scales
- a trait refers to any characteristic in which one individual differs
from another in a relatively permanent & consistent way
- trait dimensions:
- extraversion
- agreeableness
- conscientiousness
- emotional stability
- culture
- psychoanalytic theory:
- personality is composed of 3 major systems:
- id
- the original source of personality, present in the newborn
from which the ego & superego later develop
- consists of everything innate including the instinctual drives
sex & aggression and provides the energy source (libido) for
the operation of all 3 systems
- it seeks immediate gratification of primitive pleasure-seeking
impulses & if this is not achieved, tension develops which
may result in wish fulfilment via dreams & such attempts to
satisfy needs irrationally is regarded as primary process
thinking.
- thus it obeys the pleasure principle
- ego
- develops out of the id in order to deal with the real world as
mental imagery cannot satisfy needs
- thus it obeys the reality principle which requires it
to test reality and delay discharge of tension until the
appropriate environmental conditions are found
- it operates by secondary process thinking which is realistic
& logical and plans how to achieve satisfaction
- superego
- is the internalised representation of the values and morals of
society as taught to the child by parents & others.
- it judges whether an action is right or wrong, striving for
perfection
- develops in response to parental rewards & punishment
& is composed of:
- the conscience - those things which are punished for =>
results in making person feel guilty
- the ego-ideal - those things which are rewarded =>
results in making person feel proud
- conflict between the id impulses and the restraining influences of the
ego & superego constitute the motivating source of personality
- these conflicts result in anxiety which may then be reduced by defence
mechanisms:
- displacement - express the id impulses in another form (eg.
sports instead of violence)
- repression of id impulses
- denial of reality - refuse to acknowledge reality
- rationalisation - assign logically or socially desirable
motives to what we do so that we seem to have acted properly
- projection - we protect ourselves from recognising our own
undesirable qualities by assigning them in exaggerated amount to
other people
- reaction formation - conceal a motive from oneself by
giving strong expression to its opposite
- intellectualisation - attempt to gain detachment from an
emotionally threatening situation by dealing with it in abstract,
intellectual terms
- undoing - an action designed to prevent or attone for some
unacceptable thought or impulse
- personality develops by passing through various psychosexual
stages and problems encountered at any one stage, either of
deprivation or over-indulgence may result in fixation at that
stage:
- social learning theory:
- focuses on the patterns of behaviour the individual learns in coping
with the environment
- how a person will behave in a certain circumstance then depends on:
- competencies - IQ, social skills & other abilities
- cognitive strategies - habitual ways of organising information and
selecting it
- outcome expectancies
- subjective value of outcome
- self-regulatory systems and plans
- humanistic theory:
- emphasise man's potential for self-direction & freedom of choice
& are concerned with "self" and the individual's
subjective experiences
- development of self
- characteristics of self actualisers:
- perceive reality efficiently & are able to tolerate
uncertainty
- accept themselves and others for what they are
- spontaneous in thought & behaviour
- problem-centred rather than self-centred
- good sense of humour
- highly creative
- resistant to enculturation, although not purposely unconventional
- concerned for the welfare of mankind
- capable of deep appreciation of the basic experiences of life
- establish deep satisfying interpersonal realtionships with a few
rather than many people
- able to look at life from an objective viewpoint
- behaviours leading to self actualisation:
- experience life as a child does - full absorption &
concentration
- try something new rather than sticking to secure & safe ways
- listen to your own feelings in evaluating experiences rather than
to be a voice of tradition or authority or the majority
- be honest, avoid pretenses & game playing
- be prepared to be unpopular if your views don't coincide with
those of most people
- assume responsibility
- work hard at whatever you decide to do
- try to identify your defenses and have the courage to give them up