Radwan Banimustafa MD

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Radwan Banimustafa MD

• Personality Theories and Assessment

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How do psychologists define and use the concept
of personality?

• The behaviors that make people different from one
  another are those behaviors that psychologists
  consider to be at the root of personality.
• 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.

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Personality
Characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and
acting.
Four Major Perspectives on Personality
Psychoanalytic - unconscious motivations Trait -
specific dimensions of personality Humanistic -
inner capacity for growth Social-Cognitive -
influence of environment
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Sigmund Freud pioneered personality psychology!
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Psychoanalytic Perspectivefirst comprehensive
theory of personality
University of Vienna 1873 Voracious
Reader Medical School Graduate
(1856-1939)
Specialized in Nervous Disorders Some patients
disorders had no physical cause!
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Sigmund Freud pioneered personality psychology!

• What is the structure and development of
  personality, according to Sigmund Freud and his
  successors (i.e.,psychoanalysts)?
• According to psychoanalysts, much of behavior is
  caused by parts of personality which are found in
  the unconscious.
• Freuds 3 levels of awareness/consciousness
• the conscious mind
• the preconscious mind and
• the unconscious mind.

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Psychoanalysis The Unconscious
the mind is like an iceberg - mostly hidden
Conscious Awareness small part above
surface (Preconscious)
Repression banishing unacceptable thoughts and
passions to unconscious Dreams and Slips
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Psychoanalysis Freuds Theory of Personality

• Freuds theory suggest that personality is
  composed of the id, the ego, and the superego.
• id the unorganized, inborn part of personality
  whose purpose is to immediately reduce tensions
  relating to hunger, sex, aggression, and other
  primitive impulses.
• ego restrains instinctual energy in order to
  maintain the safety of the individual and to help
  the person to be a member of society.
• superego the rights and wrongs of society and
  consists of the conscience and the ego-ideal.

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Freud and Personality Structure
Id - energy constantly striving to satisfy basic
drives Pleasure Principle
Ego - seeks to gratify the Id in realistic
ways Reality Principle
Super Ego - voice of conscience that focuses on
how we ought to behave
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Freud superego, id, and ego

• According to Freud, an individuals feelings,
  thoughts, and behaviors are the result of the
  interaction of the id, the superego, and the ego.

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Ego Defense Mechanisms
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Freud Stages of Personality Development

• Freuds psychoanalytic theory of personality
  suggests that personality develops through a
  series of stages, each of which is associated
  with a major biological function.
• .
• More specifically, Freud theorized that as people
  age, they pass through several systematic stages
  of psychosexual development in their personality.

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Freuds Stages of Personality Development

• Oral stage the oral state is the first period,
  occurring during the first year of life.
• Anal stage next comes the anal stage, lasting
  from approximately age 1 to age 3.
• Phallic stage the phallic stages follows, with
  interest focusing on the genitals.
• Latency period then follows the latency period
  lasting until puberty.
• Genital stage after puberty, people move into
  the genital stage, a period of mature sexuality.

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Summary of Freud (on personality)

• Freuds psychoanalytic theory has provoked a
  number of criticisms.
• a lack of supportive scientific data
• the theorys inadequacy in making predictions
  and
• its limitations owing to the restricted
  population on which it is based.
• Still, the theory remains popular.
• For instance, the neo-Freudian psychoanalytic
  theorists built upon Freuds work, although they
  placed greater emphasis on the role of the ego
  and paid greater attention to social factors in
  determining behavior.

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Psychoanalysis Freud and Personality
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Summary Freud and Personality
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Types of Personality Theories

• (1). Psychodynamic approaches to
  personality.
• (2). Humanistic approaches to personality.
• (3). Trait approaches to personality.
• (4). Social Cognitive approaches to
  personality.

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(1) Psychodynamic Personality Theories

• Source of information about personality
• Obtained from expert analyst from people in
  therapy.
• Cause of behavior, thoughts, and feelings
• unconscious internal conflict associated with
  childhood experiences.
• Also, unconscious conflicts between
  pleasure-seeking impulses and social restraints.

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Psychodynamic (Psychoanalytic) Theories

• Many are called Neo-Freudians.
• All place less emphasis on sex.
• Carl Jung
• Personal vs. Collective Unconscious.
• Balance between introversion and extroversion.
• Alfred Adler
• Striving for superiority motivation to master
  environment.
• Notion of an Inferiority Complex.
• Karen Horney
• Personality is Cultural rather than biological.

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(2) Humanistic Personality Theories

• Source of information about personality
• obtained from self-reports from the general
  population and people in therapy.
• Cause of behavior, thoughts, and feelings
• self concepts,
• self-actualizing tendencies.
• conscious feelings about oneself (based on ones
  previous experiences).

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Humanistic Personality TheoriesMaslow and Rogers

• Humanistic approach (Third Force)
• Rejected Freuds pessimistic view of personality.
• Rejected Behaviorists 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.

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Humanistic Personality Theories Carl Rogers

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

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Maslows Hierarchy of human motives one must
satisfy lower needs before one satisfies higher
needs.
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Humanistic Personality TheoriesAbraham Maslow

• 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
• Creative and open to new experiences.
• Committed to a cause or a higher goal.
• Trusting and caring of others, yet not dependent.
• Have the courage to act on their convictions.

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(3) Trait Personality Theories

• Source of information about personality
• obtained from observation of behavior and
  questionnaire responses from the general
  population as well as from people in therapy.
• Cause of behavior, thoughts, and feelings
• stable internal characteristics
• some emphasize genetic basis.
• Outlook on humans
• neutral - neither positive nor negative.
• Comprehensiveness of theory
• not very comprehensive.

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(3) Trait Personality Theories (cont)

• Trait approaches have tried to identify the most
  basic and relatively enduring dimensions along
  which people differ from one another--dimensions
  known as traits.
• How many trait dimensions are there?
• How can we measure these trait dimensions?
• Where do these trait dimensions originate?

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(3) Trait Personality Theories (cont)Allport

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

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(3) Trait Personality Theories (cont)Eysenck

• Hans Eysenck found two (2) major trait
  dimensions
• introversionversusextroversion(quiet versus
  sociable).
• Neuroticismversusemotional stability (moody
  versus calm).

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(3) Trait Personality Theories (cont)Cattells
Theory of Personality

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

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(3) Trait Personality Theories (cont)

• Recently personality theorists have begun to
  converge on the view that there are 5 basic
  personality dimensions
• 1 emotional stability versus neuroticism
• calm, secure, self-satisfied VS anxious,
  insecure, self-pitying.
• 2 extraversion versus introversion
• sociable, fun-loving, affectionate VS retiring,
  sober, reserved.
• 3 openness versus close-mindedness
• imaginative, independent VS practical,
  conforming.
• 4 agreeableness versus disagreeableness
• kind, trusting, helpful VS ruthless, suspicious,
  uncooperative.
• 5 conscientiousness versus undependable
• organized, careful, disciplined VS disorganized,
  careless, impulsive.

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Trait Theories of PersonalitySummary

• Traits
• Characteristics or typical ways of acting
• Consistency
• across situations, over time.
• Distinctiveness
• each personality is unique.
• Explain why individuals behave in certain ways.
• How many traits are there, and what are they?
• Not easy to answer little consensus.

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Assessing Personality Traits
How can we assess traits? (aim to simplify a
persons behavior patterns)
Personality Inventories

• MMPI
• most widely used personality inventory.
• assess psychological disorders (not normal
  traits).
• empirically derived - test items selected based
• upon how well they discriminate between groups of
  traits.

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Do traits exist?The Trait-Situation Debate

• Walter Mischel (1968) argued that
• Behavior is not consistent across time or
  situation.
• If no consistency, not much point in arguing for
  personality.
• Thus, personality is an illusion.
• Situationism
• Mischel believed that behavior is influenced more
  by the situation than any internal trait.
• Person x situation interactionism
• Both (a) internal traits and (b) the situation we
  are in are important determinants of behavior.

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(4) Social-Cognitive (Learning) Approaches to
Personality Theories

• Source of information about personality
• Obtained from experiments, observations of
  behavior, and questionnaire responses from the
  general population.
• Cause of behavior, thoughts, and feelings
• reciprocal influence between people (cognitions
  and behavior) and their environmental situations,
  colored by their perceptions of control.
• Outlook on humans
• neutral neither positive nor negative.
• Comprehensiveness of theory
• not very comprehensive.

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

• Bandura Theoretical origins in behaviorism.
• Emphasizes the role of learning in personality.
• Classical Conditioning.
• Operant Conditioning .
• Modeling.
• Instead of studying whats going on inside the
  person (traits), study what is going on outside
  the person (environment).
• How does the environment shape personality?

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Social-Cognitive Personality TheoriesSocial
Learning Theory

• Bandura also emphasized the importance of
  cognition in personality development.
• People develop a sense of self-efficacy
• Our beliefs about our ability to achieve goals.
• Individuals with higher self-efficacy
• accept greater challenges.
• try harder to meet challenges.
• Bandura also discusses the notion of Reciprocal
  Determinism
• The individual and the environment continually
  influence one another.

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Social-Cognitive Personality TheoriesReciprocal
Determination
Personal/ Cognitive Factors
Environment Factors
Behavior
Internal World External World Us
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Social-Cognitive Personality TheoriesReciprocal
Determination
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Social-Cognitive Personality TheoriesPersonal
Control
Internal Locus of Control You pretty much
control your own destiny
External Locus of Control Luck, fate and/or
powerful others control your destiny.

• Methods of Study
• Correlate feelings of control with behavior.
• Experiment by raising/lowering peoples sense of
  control and noting the consequences and
  effects.

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Social-Cognitive Personality TheoriesOutcomes
of Personal Control
Learned Helplessness
Uncontrollable bad events
Perceived lack of control
Generalized helpless behavior

• Important Issues
• Nursing Homes
• Prisons
• Colleges

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Comparison of Personality Theories
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Personality Assessment

• Personality assessment involves the techniques
  for systematically gathering information about a
  person in order to understand and predict
  behavior.
• Goal of personality assessment to obtain
  reliable, valid measures of individual
  differences that will permit the accurate
  prediction of behavior.

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How do we measure Personality?

• (1) Interview
• Ask the person about themselves.
• Obtain information that reveals personality.
• (2) Behavioral Observation
• Watch the individuals behavior in an actual or
  simulated situation.
• Personality Tests
• (3) Objective tests (questionnaire tests).
• (4) Projective tests.

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How do we measure personality? (2) Behavioral
assessment

• Behavioral assessment is based on the principles
  of learning theory.
• Behavioral assessment employs direct measurement
  of behavior to determine the characteristics
  related to personality.

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How do we measure personality? (3) Objective
Test Assessment

• Objective personality tests (self-report
  questionnaires) present the test taker with a
  number of specific items to which she is asked to
  respond, either on paper or on a computer screen.
  
• Self-report measures ask people about a sample
  range of their behaviors.
• These reports are used to infer the presence of
  particular personality characteristics.

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How do we measure personality? (3) Objective
Test Assessment

• Examples of objective personality measures
• the MMPI (the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
  Inventory).
• the 16 PF (the Sixteen Personality Factor
  Questionnaire).
• the NEO-PI (the NEO Personality Inventory).
• The most commonly used self-report measure is the
  Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
  (MMPI-2), designed to differentiate people with
  specific sorts of psychological difficulties from
  normal individuals.

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Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI-2)

• Most widely used personality instrument.
• Used in clinical and employment settings.
• MMPI-2 Has several different scales
  (multiphasic).
• MMPI sample items
• I usually feel that life is worthwhile and
  interesting (FALSE) Depression.
• I seem to hear things that other people cant
  hear (TRUE) Schizophrenia.
• Measures aspects of personality that, if extreme,
  suggest a problem
• Extreme suspiciousness may indicate paranoia.

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How do we measure personality? (4) Projective
Test Assessment

• A projective personality test is one in which the
  subject is given an ambiguous stimulus and asked
  to respond spontaneously.
• pictures or inkblots.
• No clear answer.
• The ambiguous stimulus allows test takers to
  project their own needs, dreams, feelings into
  their response.
• The observers responses to the stimulus are then
  used to infer information about the observers
  personality.

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How do we measure personality? (4) Projective
Test Assessment (continued)

• All projective tests are based on the projective
  hypothesis which states that the individual's
  response to an ambiguous stimulus represents a
  projection of his or her own inner, often
  unconscious, feelings and needs.
• Indirect method of personality assessment
• Based on psychoanalytic assumptions
• Personality is mostly unconscious.
• People are unaware of contents of unconscious.

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How do we measure personality? (4) Projective
Test Assessment (continued)

• The 2 most frequently used projective tests are
• the Rorschach reactions to inkblots are
  employed to classify personality types.
• the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) stories
  about ambiguous pictures are used to draw
  inferences about the storytellers personality.

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Rorschach Inkblot Test

• Most popular projective technique.
• Respond to inkblot What could this be?

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THE END