1. Ch. 14 – Theories of Personality

2. Personality
• The consistent, enduring, and unique
characteristics of a person
• General trends, not absolutes

3. Purposes of Theories
• Ultimately, personality theories attempt to
explain, understand and predict behavior by
understanding general trends in the cognitive
processes of individuals
• Also, to identify trait correlations, identify the
differences among individuals, and improve
life of individuals

4. Major Schools of Personality Theory
• Psychoanalytical
• Behaviorists
• Social Learning
• Cognitive
• Humanistic
• Trait

5. Section 2 – Psychoanalytic Theories
• Sigmund Freud and the Unconscious, Historical
Background – 3min

6. Unconscious/Subconscious
• The part of the mind that contains material of
which we are unaware but that strongly
influences conscious processes and behaviors

7. ID, EGO, SUPEREGO

8. ID
• The part of the unconscious personality that
contains our needs, drives, instincts and
repressed materials
• Selfish, demands instant gratification

9. EGO
• The part of the
personality that is in
touch with reality and
strives to meet the
demands of the id
and the superego in
socially acceptable
ways.

10. SUPEREGO
• The part of the personality that is the source
of conscience and counteracts the socially
undesirable impulses of the id.

11. Defense Mechanisms – certain specific means
by which the ego unconsciously protects itself
against unpleasant impulses or circumstances
• Rationalization
• Repression
• Denial
• Projection
• Reaction Formation
• Regression
• Displacement
• Sublimation

12. Rationalization
• “Excuse making”
• To attribute (one’s actions) to rational and
creditable motives without analysis of true
and especially unconscious motives
• Using incorrect but self-serving explanations
to justify unacceptable behavior, thoughts, or
feelings
• Example – I cheated on the test because the
teacher makes the tests way too hard

13. Repression
• “a mental process by which distressing
thoughts, memories, or impulses that may
give rise to anxiety are excluded from
consciousness and left to operate in the
unconscious”

14. “Freudian Slip” – saying something you
consciously wouldn’t want to say, but that really
reveals repressed desires

15. Freudian Slip

16. Freudian Slip

17. Freudian Slip

18. Denial
• “Confrontation with a personal problem or
with reality is avoided by denying the
existence of the problem or reality”

19. Projection
• “the attribution of one’s own
ideas, feelings, or attitudes to other people or
to objects”
• Externalizing blame, guilt, or responsibility.
• “Blaming”
• Example – I’m not a jerk he is…
• …I’m not trying to hook up with her, she is
trying to hook up with me…

20. Reaction Formation
• One form of behavior substitutes for or
conceals the opposite behavior in order to
protect against it
• Example – a guy that is gay acting like a player
trying to deny it (Rajj on Big Bang Theory?)

21. Regression
• “Reversion to an earlier mental or behavioral
level or to an earlier stage of development in
response to stress”
• Example – your girlfriend makes you mad, so
you stick your tongue out at her and go
“pfhew”

22. Displacement
• Transferring feelings about a person or event
onto someone or something else
• Example – being best friends with your dog

23. Sublimation
• Channeling unacceptable thoughts and
feelings into socially acceptable behavior
• Example – getting good grades, working
out, holding the door…

24. Defense Mechanism Songs

25. Carl Jung – Collective
Unconscious/Archetype
• Personal unconscious – similar to Freud’s
ideas of unconscious
• Collective unconscious – universal memories
of the common human past
• Archetypes – images or thoughts that have
the same meaning for all human beings

26. Alfred Adler – Inferiority Complex
• A pattern of avoiding feelings of inadequacy
rather than trying to overcome their source
• To Adler, these feelings of inadequacy are the
main motivating factor of behavior

27. Learning Theories - Personality

28. B.F. Skinner - Behaviorism
• Belief that the proper subject matter of
psychology is objectively observable behavior
and nothing else
• Concerned with what causes a behavior, how
he/she is behaving, not personality
• Contingences of reinforcement – occurrence
of rewards or punishments following
particular behaviors

29. Albert Bandura
• Personality
acquired through a
combination of
reinforcement/puni
shment and
observational
learning/imitation

30. Humanistic and Cognitive Theories

31. Humanistic Psychology
• a school of psychology that emphasizes
person growth and the achievement of
maximum potential by each unique individual.

32. Self Actualization – humanist term for
realizing one’s unique potential

33. Abraham Maslow – Growth and Self
Actualization

34. Carl Rogers – Self Theory
• Self - one’s experiences or image of
oneself, developed through interaction with
others.

35. Carl Rogers - Concepts
• Positive Regard- viewing oneself in a positive light due
to positive feedback received from interaction with
others.
• Condition of worth- the conditions a person must meet
in order to regard himself or herself positively.
• Unconditional positive regard- the perception that
individuals’ significant others value them for what they
are, which leads the individuals to grant themselves
the same regard.
• Fully functioning- an individual whose person and self
coincide.

36. Carl Rogers

37. Cognitive Theory
• Personal Construct theory – our ideas of
ourselves, others, and of our world shape our
behavior and personalities
• Constructs = schemas (mental representations
of people, events, concepts)

38. Section 5 – Trait Theories

39. Trait – a tendency to react to a situation in
a way that remains stable over time

40. Gordon Allport: Identifying Traits
• Cardinal Trait- a characteristic or feature that
is so pervasive the person is almost identified
with it.

41. Raymond Cattell – 16 Trait Theory
• Factor Analysis - a complex statistical
technique used to identify the underlying
reasons variables are correlated.
• Surface Traits - a stable characteristic that can
be observed in certain situations
• Source Traits - a stable characteristic that can
be considered to be at the core of personality.

43. Hans Eysenck Dimensions of Personality
Extroverts- an outgoing, active person who
directs his or her energies and interests toward
other people and things.
Introverts- a reserved, with drawn person who is
preoccupied with his or her inner thoughts and
feelings.