This is a comprehensive and detailed note on the nature of personality,the intro part and more key concepts are also included in this document.
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The Nature of Personality
● Personality is “an individual’s unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits.”
● A personality trait is “a durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of
situations.”
○ Common personality traits include:
■ Honest
■ Moody
■ Impulsive
■ Friendly
○
Psychodynamic Perspectives
● Psychodynamic theories include a variety of theoretical models derived from the work of
Sigmund Freud
● All focus on unconscious mental forces that shape our personalities
● Well-known psychodynamic theorists:
○ Freud
○ Jung
○ Adler
● Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory of personality is somewhat controversial
○ Based on three main assumptions:
■ Personality is governed by unconscious forces that we cannot control
■ Childhood experiences play a significant role in determining adult
personality
■ Personalities are shaped by the manner in which individuals cope with
sexual urges
○ Freud argued that personality is divided into three structures:
■ The id is “the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates
according to the pleasure principle.”
, ■ The ego is “the decision-making component of personality that operates
according to the reality principle.”
■ The superego is “the moral component of personality that incorporates
social standards about what represents right and wrong.”
○
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○ Recently, studies have found that:
■ Reliance on defense mechanisms increases when people experience
stress or a threat to their sense of self
■ Defense mechanisms serve a protective function by shielding individuals
from emotional distress
■ Excessive dependence on defenses is associated with impairments in
mental health
■ Repressors have an impoverished memory for events that are likely to
trigger unpleasant emotions
● Jung’s Analytical Psychology
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