Theories of Personality

What is Personality?
I. Relatively stable patterns of affect, behavior, and cognition
II. Comes from the word persona which means mask

Temperament - nature of a person (biological roots); guides the development of personality.

Already present during infancy
Trait - quality to act in the same way in a range of situation
Character - like traits, but with moral implication

III. PSYCHODYNAMIC
A. FREUDIAN
B. NEOFREUDIAN
IV. BEHAVIORAL
V. HUMANISTIC
VI. COGNITIVE
VII. SOCIAL COGNITIVE
VIII. TRAIT

Psychodynamic Theories
I Freudian - theories and concepts by Freud
IX. Neofreudian - theories and concepts that are influenced by Freud (i.e., psychoanalytic in
nature)
X. Childhood events significant affect adult life

sigmund freud (psychoanalytic theory)

I Levels of consciousness (Iceberg model)
A. Conscious
B. Preconscious
C. Unconscious
XI. Personality Structure
A. Id - pleasure principle, primary-process thoughts
B. Ego - reality principle, secondary-process thoughts
C. Superego - morality principle, secondary-process thoughts
XII. Psychosexual Development
A. Oral (birth-1.5)
B. Anal (1.5-3) - autonomy, shame and doubt
C. Phallic (4-5) - Oedipal complex
D. Latency (5-puberty) - industry vs inferiority
E. Genital (puberty-beyond)
XIII. Defense Mechanisms
A. Repression
B. Regression
C. Denial
D. Sublimation
E. Projection
F. Displacement
G. Rationalization
H. Reaction Formation
I. Undoing
J. Compensation
K. Suppression
XIV. Concepts
A. Eros and Thanatos (Life Instinct and Death Instinct)
B. Erogenous Zones
C. Libido
D. Fixation
1. Oral - dependent/aggressive (getting personality)
2. Anal - too clean/dirty (controlling personality)
3. Phallic - Oedipal/Electra Complex
4. Latency -
5. Genital - Masturbation/heterosexual relationships

erik erikson (8 psychosocial stages of development)

I stages
E. basic trust vs. mistrust (0-1) infancy; basic strength : HOPE
F. will, autonomy vs shame and doubt (1-3) toddler
G. initiative vs guilt (3-6) early childhood
H. industry vs inferiority (6-11) late childhood
I. identity vs role confusion (12-18) adolescence
J. intimacy vs isolation (18-35) early adulthood
K. generativity vs stagnation (35-64) middle adulthood
L. ego integrity vs despair (65-on) late adulthood
XV. the EGO IDENTITY is the most important aspect of the ego
XVI. the ego develops within a social structure
XVII. EPIGENETIC PRINCIPLES: the ego develops in a sequence; each stage emerges
from/builds from the previous stage

melanie klein & mahler (extended psychoanalytic theory)

I Examined childrens play
XVIII. Object-Relations Theory
A. Theres an external object (i.e. mother) that is imbibed within the infant (inside the infant, it
is the internal object)
 B. compared to Freudian theory, this theory places more emphasis on interpersonal relations
XIX. Positions
A. PARANOID-SCHIZOID - self is disintegrated, due to disconnected internal objects. who am
i?
B. DEPRESSIVE - self is slowly integrating; there are feelings of anxiety about losing a loved
one and a sense of guilt for desiring to destroy that object (e.g. mother)
XX.at separation-individuation stage, children begin to develop feelings of personal identity

john bowlby & mary ainsworth (attachment theory)

I Bowlby
A. A child has an innate (i.e. inborn) need to attach to one main attachment figure (i.e.
monotropy).
B. A child should receive the continuous care of this single most important attachment figure
for approximately the first two years of life.
C. The long term consequences of maternal deprivation might include the following:
delinquency, reduced intelligence, increased aggression, depression, affectionless
psychopathy
D. Robertson and Bowlby (1952) believe that short term separation from an attachment figure
leads to distress (i.e. the PDD model - protest, despair, detachment).
E. The childs attachment relationship with their primary caregiver leads to the development of
an
internal
working
model
XXI.

Ainsworth (Attachment Styles) Strange Situation

carl jung (analytic psychology)
I Unconscious and libido: not just sex and aggression
XXII. center of consciousness: the ego
XXIII. Psyche: the soul ; mind/spirit
A. yin-yang - opposites
XXIV. Personal unconscious - same as Freuds unconscious
XXV. Collective unconscious - unconscious that is passed down from generation to generation;
manifests itself in each culture. Contains latent memory traces of ancestors
XXVI. Archetype - powerful images that come from the collective unconscious.
A. Anima/Animus
B. Persona/Shadow (our negative/bad side); the first test of courage is to realize the shadow
C. Self - unity and harmony in personality
D. Wise Old Man - personification of wisdom
E. Hero - is strong and powerful, can defeat many but has a weakness
harry stack sullivan (self system)
I zonal needs: needs that originate from a particular area of the body
XXVII. anxiety is a disruptive force in interpersonal relations

alfred adler (individual psychology)

I inferiority complex - rooted from unconscious
XXVIII. goals of a pathological person: exaggerated and unrealistic
XXIX. goal is to compensate for inferiorities and strive for superiority
A. two roads to superiority:
1. social interest
2. exaggerated personal gain
XXX. focused a lot on sibships
XXXI. birth order theory
A. eldest are most responsible; pampered until dethroned by second child
B. second child becomes most successful except that he will be the rebel
C. youngest are most pampered; least socially empathic
XXXII. Fictional Finalism - guiding principle of a person; very humanistic
XXXIII. Creative self - shapes our final goal

karen horney (neurotic trends)

I moving TOWARDS / AWAY FROM / AGAINST others
XXXIV. personal relations are significant
XXXV. humans goal is not instinctual satisfaction but rather security and satisfaction
XXXVI.basic hostility - towards parents; when needs of child are not met. usually not expressed
towards the parents
XXXVII. basic anxiety - the unexpressed hostility becomes this; feeling of being lonely and
helpless
XXXVIII. neurotic needs - means of the child to adjust from basic anxiety; these are excessive
A. moving towards: need for affection/approval; helplessness; leans on others
B. moving away from: isolation; build a world of his own; self-admiration and perfectionism
C. moving against: feels safe/superior when he overpowers/defeats others
XXXIX.Known for her womb envy response to penis envy of Freud

erich fromm (sociopsychological approach)

I aka HUMANISTIC PSYCHOANALYSIS
XL. talks about innate existential needs - goal is to feel connected and accomplished
XLI. humans used to have animal instincts but because of the development of reason we are
isolated from other humans this results into basic anxiety (loneliness and isolation) called
THE HUMAN DILEMMA
XLII. Social Character - character as formed by society and culture; individual character is lost as
it is subsumed by social character
 A. productive (working; love and reason) or unproductive (masochistic, sadistic, destructive,

indifferent, murderous)
XLIII. has developed 8 existential needs that must be met to have a meaningful life.
Behavioral Theories
I assumes that personality is shaped by environment
XLIV. high empirical value

ivan pavlov (classical conditioning)

I experiment with salivating dogs
XLV. elements
A. Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) + Neutral Stimulus (NS) > Unconditioned Response (UCR)
B. Conditioned Stimulus (CS) > Conditioned Response (CR)
XLVI. John Watson + Rosalie Rayner = Little Albert
XLVII. John Watson : Father of Behaviorism
XLVIII. Concepts
A. generalization - reacting similarly to like stimuli
B. discrimination - reacting only to a particular stimuli
C. extinction - cessation of response due to reduced pairing
D. spontaneous recovery - a behavior that has become extinct can come back

burrhus frederick bf skinner (operant conditioning)

I rewards/punishments are being used to elicit voluntary responses
E. reinforcement - increases behavior occurrence
F. punishment - decreases behavior occurrence
XLIX. positive (youre adding something) and negative (youre removing something)
L. he preferred rewards over punishment because punishment effects are less predictable
LI. Reinforcement Schedules: Fixed/Variable Ratio/Interval
A. most likely to sustain the behavior: variable ratio

Humanistic Theories
I response to behaviorist perspective
LII. personality is formed by how we exercise our free will
LIII. high heuristic value

abraham maslow (hierarchy of needs)

I Hierarchy of needs
A. Self-actualization
B. Esteem needs
C. Love and belongingness
D. Safety and security
E. Physiological needs
LIV. Lower level needs have prepotency (should be met first) before higher level needs
LV. a self actualized person is free from mental illness, has progressed through the hierarchy of
needs, and has embraced b-values (truth, goodness, honesty, wholeness)
LVI. the order of needs could be reordered in some cases (but no need can be skipped)

carl rogers (phenomenological perspective)

I believed that humans are innately good
LVII. lifes master motive: tendency to actualize
LVIII. phenomenological approach = reality is dependent on the person who is perceiving it
LIX. a person is known for who he is now; we shouldnt look at what he was or what we think
he will be
LX. The self concept = real self (what we are) + ideal self (what we want to be)
LXI. goal is to narrow the distance between the real and ideal self
LXII. need for positive self-regard: conditional vs. unconditional (ideal)

Cognitive Theories

albert ellis (irrational beliefs)

I what we think affects the way we feel and behave
LXIII. elements:
A. A - activating event (I failed the test)
B. B - belief formation (if I failed then I am stupid)
C. C - consequence (depression)
LXIV. Correct irrational beliefs:
A. D - dispute old belief with a new one
B. E - effect of new belief
 C. F - feeling you get from new belief

aaron beck (irrational cognitive processes)

I author of Beck Depression Scale
LXV. Dichotomous reasoning - no grey area
LXVI. Overgeneralization - like a stereotype, but this is formed by the individual himself (not
learned by other people)
LXVII. magnification - something small would grow very big
LXVIII. arbitrary inference - one evidence is enough to prove you guilty
LXIX. selective abstraction - if it happens to others its not a big deal, but if it happens to you it is a
big deal
LXX. excessive responsibility - i am responsible for all bad things happening
LXXI. self-references - i am at the center of everyones attention

george kelly (personal construct theory)

I construct - template/pattern that help people make sense of the world
LXXII. personality is an organization of constructs

LXXIII. people use construct system to explain any thing under the sun
LXXIV. corollaries

Social Cognitive Theory

albert bandura (social cognitive theory)

I person factors :: behavior :: environment (triarchic)
LXXV. humans are proactive (rather than reactive)
LXXVI. believed that learning can occur in the absence of a response
LXXVII. observational/vicarious learning (modelling)
A. attention
B. retention
C. motor reproduction
D. motivation
E. development of self-efficacy
LXXVIII. human agency
A. intentionality - we dont just do something because
B. forethought - we can anticipate effects of our behavior
C. self-reactiveness - we can respond to the effects of our behavior
D. self-reflectiveness - evaluation of our behavior; should we continue behavior?

Trait Theories
I traits - predisposition to act in the same way in a wide range of situations
LXXIX. most functional significance (we use it to describe ourselves, others)

gordon allport (dispositional theory)

I adopted an eclectic approach; went through dictionary and took all adjectives that could
describe a person; then organized these into three levels of traits
LXXX. traits
A. common (nomothetic) - shared by many individuals of the culture (ex. Filipinos are
hospitable)
B. individual - unique in each individual
LXXXI. levels of personal disposition
A. cardinal disposition - very pervasive; shapes a persons behavior ex. need for fame, money;
evident in everything the person does (e.g. quixotic Don Quixote)
B. central disposition - less pervasive but very observable in a person; building blocks of
personality (e.g. words that other people would describe you)
C. secondary disposition - other traits of yours that are only apparent in certain circumstances
(people might say i cant believe you said that)

raymond cattell (factor analytic approach)

I categories of traits
D. surface - multiple traits that go together
E. source - building blocks of personality; consistently present (16PF)
F. EXAMPLE: altruistic = surface trait; unselfishness, not greedy, sharing, being thoughtful =
source traits
LXXXII. four scales of Myers-Briggs
A. Extraversion/Introversion (E/I) - attitude: outward vs inward-turning
B. Sensing/Intuition (S/N) - information-gathering (perceiving) functions; describe how new
information is understood and interpreted (Sensing: concrete, tangible; Intuition: trust info
less dependent on the senses)
 C. Thinking/Feeling (T/F) - decision-making (judging) functions; both used to make rational
decisions, based on the data received from their information-gathering functions (Thinking:
detached standpoint; Feeling: empathizing with the situation)
D.

Judging/Perception (J/P) - lifestyle preferences: show the world their preferred judging function
(T/F) OR show the world their preferred sensing function (S/I)

LXXXIII. 16 personality factors (16 PF) - where the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) is
based on
A. reserved - outgoing
B. less intelligent - more intelligent
C. stable - emotionality
D. sober - happy go lucky
E. humble - assertive
F. expedient - conscientious
G. shy - venturesome
H. tough - tender minded
I. trusting - suspicious
J. practical - imaginative
K. forthright - shrewd
L. placid - apprehensive
M. conservative - experimenting
N. undisciplined - controlled
O. relaxed - tensed

hans eysenck (three factor theory)

I There are three personality dimensions, all of which are biologically driven
P. Psychoticism - aggressiveness and interpersonal hostility
1. at the other end of spectrum: impulse control
Q. Extraversion - sociable, lively, optimistic, quick-witted
 R.

R.

R.

R. Neuroticism - overreacting, low emotional stability, difficulty returning to normal state

paul costa and robert mccrae (five factor theory)

I Openness - general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination,
curiosity, and variety of experience
LXXXIV. Conscientiousness - tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for
achievement against measures or outside expectations.
LXXXV. Extraversion - characterized by breadth of activities (as opposed to depth), surgency
from external activity/situations, and energy creation from external means
LXXXVI. Agreeableness - reflects individual differences in general concern for social
harmony.
LXXXVII. Neuroticism - he tendency to experience negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety,
or depression

Other notable notes:

I case report write-ups should be observable (concrete and specific)
LXXXVIII. praise that is given to a person with a negative view of self will only be distorted
LXXXIX. personality inventories and psychometric tests are descriptive rather than
explanatory/predictive/controlling
XC.genogram: family constellations
XCI. locus of control: internal or external? (source of control)
XCII. scaffolding: partial assistance given when a student is having a hard time on a certain
activity