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Summary PSYCH 144: Personality Theories Notes
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Notes of the Personality Theories section within Stellenbosch University's Psychology 144 course.
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Personality Theories - Psych 144The Nature of Personality
Defining Personality: Consistency & Distinctiveness
● To describe a personality of somebody, usually it is due to a consistent tendency of behaviour
○ This is the core, day to day may differ
● Distinctiveness is also a central concept of personality traits
● Personality explains why people don’t react the same in similar situations & explains
○ The stability in a person’s behaviour over time + across situations (consistency)
○ The behavioural differences among ppl reacting to the same situation (distinctiveness)
● Personality = an person’s unique set of consistent behavioural traits
Personality Traits: Dispositions & Dimensions
● Descriptive statements such as, “Kels is very conscientious,” describes personality traits
● Personality trait = durable disposition to behave in a certain way in diff situations
● Adjectives used to describe incl. Honest, dependable, moody, impulsive, friendly, etc.
● Gordon Allport identified more than 4500 personality traits
● Some traits are the fundamental traits (core personality) which determine others, like, a
irritable tendency may come from being excitable
● Factor analysis = correlations among many variables are analysed to identify closely related
cluster of variables
○ If measurements of variables correlate highly with each other, assumption = there’s a
single factor influencing them
○ Factor analysis allows for the ordering of basic, higher-order + less basic traits
The 5-Factor Model of Personality Traits
● Robert McCrae + Paul Costa stated that most personality traits are derived from 5
higher-order traits
● Extraversion = ppl that’re characterised as outgoing, sociable, upbeat, friendly, assertive +
gregarious + have a more pos outlook on life + motivated to engage in social contact,
intimacy + interdependence
● Neuroticism = more anxious, hostile, self-conscious, insecure + vulnerable. They’re more
impulsive + emotionally unstable
○ Females on ave. scored slightly higher than males
○ Higher probability of divorce
○ Higher prevalence of physical + mental disorders and increased mortality
○ Foster higher levels of perceived threat, could fuel hoarding
● Openness to experience = associated w. Curiosity, flexibility, imagination, intellectual
pursuits, interests in new ideas + unconventional attitudes & more tolerant to ambiguity
○ May foster creative achievement in the Arts
, ● Agreeableness = warm, sympathetic, trusting, compassionate, cooperative, modest +
straightforward. Also related to empathy + a helping behaviour
○ Females on ave. scored slightly higher than males
○ Negatively associated w. Income, esp. among men
○ Lesser probability of divorce
○ Predictor of prosocial behaviour - willingness to help others in need
○ Less illness reported
● Conscientiousness = diligent, well-organised, punctual + dependable. Strong self-discipline +
ability to regulate oneself effectively
○ Females on ave. scored slightly higher than males
○ Lower probability of divorce
○ Less illness reported
○ Increased longevity reported
○ Higher rates of hoarding
● Gender differences also incl. Both genetic and environmental influences
● Personality tendencies also nudges towards life outcomes
○ E.g. higher grades in uni = associated w. Higher conscientious because they tend to
work harder
● Extraversion + conscientious = pos predictors of occupational attainment, neuroticism = neg
● Higher success (measured by increased income) within a career is seen when 5 traits +
personality traits for job fits well
Psychodynamic Perspectives
● From Sigmund Freud, focusing on the unconscious mental forces
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
● Freud was a physician in neurology , treating people with ‘nervous problems’ like irrational
fears, obsessions + anxieties, eventually focusing on mental disorders through psychoanalysis
○ Incl. long verbal interactions with patients, understanding their lives
○ The theory attempts to explain personality by focusing on early childhood
experiences, unconscious conflicts + sexual urges
● Freud inadvertently said that ppl aren’t masters of their own minds due to unconscious factors
governing their behaviour
● Also suggested that they’re also not masters of their own destinies due to childhood
experiences being beyond their control
Structure of Personality
● 3 sections: Id. Ego and Superego - behaviour = interactions between these
● Id = primitive, instinctive part of personality that operates according to pleasure
○ Incl. raw biological needs (to eat, sleep, defecate, copulate, ect.)
○ Behaves w. Pleasure principle = demands immediate gratification of it’s urges
○ Primary-process thinking = primitive, illogical, irrational + fantasy
● Ego = decision-making component of personality that behaves according to reality
○ Reality principle = seeks to delay gratification of id’s urges until appropriate outlets +
situations are found
, ○ Ego considers social realities - society’s norms, etiquette, rules + customs
○ Wants to max gratification in the long run just like the id but with secondary-process
thinking = better for problem solving, trying to avoid neg consequences from society
+ it’s reps (e.g. parents/teachers punishment)
○ Wants long-term goals which may require temporarily delaying gratification
● Superego = moral part of personality that incl. social standards abt right and wrong
○ Internalised social norms regarding morality develop in childhood
○ Superego develops around 3-5yrs which can be irrationally demanding to strive for
moral perfection which causes major guilt
Levels of Awareness
● Freud recognised that unconscious forces can influence behaviour
● E.g. of existence of unconscious: when someone accidentally says something that reveals a
person’s true feelings (Freudian slip) + said that his patient’s dreams showed their real desires
● Psychoanalysis allowed him to help patients discover feelings + conflicts that they weren’t
aware of before
● 3 levels of awareness: Unconscious, Conscious & Preconscious
● Conscious = involves whatever one is aware of at a certain point in time
○ E.g. rn may incl your train of thought while reading and others like hunger
● Preconscious = incl things that’re just beneath the surface of awareness + easily retrievable
○ E.g. your middle name, what you had for supper last night or even gossip
● Unconscious = thoughts, memories + desires that’re super below the surface of conscious
awareness but exert a large influence on behaviour
○ E.g. forgotten trauma from childhood, hidden feelings of hostility towards a parent,
repressed sexual desires
○ According to freud’s iceberg theory, the unconscious = much larger than pre + consc
● The ego + superego operate all 3 levels of awareness, whereas the id is unconscious &
expresses it’s urges at a conscious level through the ego
Conflict & The Tyranny of Sex + Aggression
● Freud assumed behaviour = outcome of ongoing series of internal conflicts, with the id, ego
and superego constantly battling due to society vs nature
● Conflicts centering on sexual + aggressive impulses have much far-reaching consequences
● Why he pinted out sex + aggression:
○ It’s more complex and ambiguous social controls than other things according to him
○ This basic biological process was opposed/thwarted more than others
Anxiety & Defence Mechanisms
● Most internal conflicts resolve quickly but others can go on for dys, months or years, creating
internal tension - mostly incl sexual + aggressive impulses, done in the unconscious
○ This can produce anxiety that slips to the conscious of awareness
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