Ch 12: Personality

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Ch 12 Personality

• Psyc103
• Introduction to Psychology
• Spring, 2009

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Hermann Brain Dominance Inventory

• Assumption is that certain fundamental brain
  processing differences result in different
  personality types
• Left Right brain dominance
• Some of us appear to use one hemisphere in
  processing more than the other.
• Left side more logical, sequential, ordered in
  processing
• Right side more visual, holistic, intuitive,
  random in processing
• Cerebral Limbic dominance
• Some of us appear to be more rational (cerebral
  processing), while others appear more emotional
  (limbic processing).

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Dominant brain types

• Theorists These are people who like lecture,
  facts, and details, critical thinking, textbooks
  and readings, etc.  The brain dominance for
  theorists is the upper left (cerebral).
• Organizers These are people who prefer to learn
  by outlining, checklists, exercises and problem
  solving with steps, policies and procedures.
  People with these preferences have lower left
  (limbic) brain dominance.
• Innovators Innovators prefer brainstorming,
  metaphors, illustrations and pictures, mind
  mapping and synthesis, and holistic approaches. 
  The brain dominance for innovators is upper right
  (cerebral).
• Humanitarians Prefer cooperative learning and
  group discussion, role-playing, and
  dramatization.  Their brain preference is lower
  right (limbic)

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What is Personality

• Distinguishing pattern of psychological
  characteristics that differentiate us from others
  lead to somewhat consistent behaviors.
• Includes thinking, feeling, behaving

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Personality

• What is personality?
• Describe each of the following people BUT you can
  NOT use any physical descriptors
• George W. Bush Tom Cruz
• Martin Luther King Jack Black
• Paris Hilton Donald Trump

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Measuring Personality

• Trait theories systems for assessing how people
  differ (stable dispositions)
• Psychometric approach- identify stable individual
  differences analyze performance of large groups
  on ratings/questionnaires

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Factor Analytic Approach

• Mathematical procedure used to analyze
  correlation patterns along test responses
• Goal identify set of factors that predict
  performance
• Examples of factor theories
• Catells Source Traits
• Eysencks Superfactors
• The Big-Five

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Underlying personality

• Where do these stable dispositions (traits) come
  from?
• Differences in ego/superego development
• Personality as construction of conscious
  representation of ID
• Defense mechanisms
• Differences in neurological functioning
• HBDI brain dominances
• BIS/BAS differences in introverts and extroverts
• Genetic environmental influences
• Temperament
• Environmental molding of temperament

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Questions?

• Is there such a thing as personality?
• Problem of situational influence
• We find extreme variation in peoples
  thoughts/attitudes/ behaviors from situation to
  situation
• This is a problem only on one way of
  understanding personality
• Personality traits as a statistical truth of a
  person
• Personality traits as a essential truth of a
  person

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• Statistical truths
• It rains a lot in Seattle.
• There are more red MMs than blue.
• Essential truths
• Dogs have four legs.
• Sea turtles live to be very old.
• How should we understand personality claims?
• Susy is a friendly, outgoing person
• Bob is egotistical and argumentative

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• Problem of post-hoc interpretation/confirmation
  bias
• How good of judges are we really about
  personality?
• Personality assessments
• Completely bogus, random assessments
• Exactly the same for everyone!
• And yet, they seem true of us.

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• Do we have any control over our personality?
• Is personality ever a matter of personal choice?
• Bandura reciprocal determinism

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Humanistic Perspective

• Focus on healthy people personal growth
• Maslow Hierarchy of needs
• 1st basic physiological needs
• 2nd safety needs
• 3rd belongingness love needs
• 4th esteem needs
• 5th self actualization

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Carl Rogers

• Person Centered Approach
• People good negative environments thwart them
• 3 key conditions for growth genuineness,
  acceptance, empathy
• Self concept poor due to conditions of worth
• Unconditional positive regard