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THEORIES OF
PERSONALITY
(CLASS LECTURES)

2

THE NATURE OF PERSONALITY

While there are many definitions of personality existing, little will be lost if, for the present,
we limit ourselves to its most general and abstract meaning: Personality is a hypothetical construct
referring to an organized system of reaction tendencies that mediates relations between the person
and his/her environment, rendering the person’s behavior distinctive and more or less uniquely
identifying
...
The construct is a complex one in that it refers not only to
“surface” behavior but also to its purported underlying causes, its “dynamics” so to speak, whether
or not these may be accessible to the consciousness of the individual concerned
...
" It would seem, then, that a person's personality represents his
or her largely acquired style of coping with the world, including certain underlying structural
characteristics where, however, the system normally retains a degree of malleability on a
continuing basis
...
He was an active member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society (formerly known as
the Wednesday Psychological Society)
...
However, in 1912 while on a lecture tour of America Jung
publicly criticized Freud’s theory of the Oedipus complex and his emphasis on infantile sexuality
...

Most of Jung's assumptions of his analytical psychology reflect his theoretical differences
with Freud
...


THEORY OF THE LIBIDO
Jung (1948) disagreed with Freud regarding the role of sexuality
...

For Jung, the purpose of psychic energy was to motivate the individual in a number of
important ways, including spiritually, intellectually, and creatively
...
The three main ones were the ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective
unconscious
...
The ego is largely responsible for feelings of identity
and continuity
...
However, he proposed that the unconscious consists of two layers
...
The personal unconscious contains temporality forgotten information and well
as repressed memories
...

A complex is a collection of thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and memories that focus on a single
concept
...

Jung also believed that the personal unconscious was much nearer the surface than Freud suggested
and Jungian therapy is less concerned with repressed childhood experiences
...


Theories of Personality

5

THE COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS
However, by far the most important difference between Jung and Freud is Jung’s notion of
the collective (or transpersonal) unconscious
...

The collective unconscious is a universal version of the personal unconscious, holding
mental patterns, or memory traces, which are shared with other members of human species (Jung,
1928)
...

According to Jung, the human mind has innate characteristics “imprinted” on it as a result
of evolution
...
Fear of the dark, or of
snakes and spiders might be examples, and it is interesting that this idea has recently been revived
in the theory of prepared conditioning (Seligman, 1971)
...
Jung (1947) called
these ancestral memories and images archetypes
...
Archetypes have universal meanings across cultures and
may show up in dreams, literature, art or religion
...


Theories of Personality

6

For Jung, our primitive past becomes the basis of the human psyche, directing and
influencing present behavior
...

Jung labeled these archetypes the Self, the Persona, the Shadow and the Anima/Animus
...
It conceals our real self
and Jung describes it as the “conformity” archetype
...

The Anima/Animus
Another archetype is the anima/animus
...

Each sex manifests attitudes and behavior of the other by virtue of centuries of living
together
...


The Shadow
Next is the shadow
...
It is
the source of both our creative and destructive energies
...

The Self

Theories of Personality

7

Finally, there is the self which provides a sense of unity in experience
...

That was certainly Jung’s belief and in his book “The Undiscovered Self” he argued that
many of the problems of modern life are caused by “man’s progressive alienation from his
instinctual foundation
...

Jung argues that these archetypes are products of the collective experience of men and
women living together
...
For Jung, the result was
that the full psychological development both sexes was undermined
...


Theories of Personality

8

THE NEO-FREUDIAN: ALFRED ADLER

Alfred Adler, a colleague of Freud’s and the first president of the Vienna Psychoanalytical
Society (Freud’s inner circle of colleagues), was the first major theorist to break away from Freud
([link])
...
Adler (1937, 1956) proposed the
concept of the inferiority complex
...
Adler’s ideas about
inferiority represent a major difference between his thinking and Freud’s
...

One of Adler’s major contributions to personality psychology was the idea that our birth
order shapes our personality
...
The youngest children, according to Adler, may be spoiled, leaving the
middle child with the opportunity to minimize the negative dynamics of the youngest and oldest
children
...

One of Adler’s major contributions to personality psychology was the idea that our birth
order shapes our personality
...

First-born characteristics:


Reliable



Conscientious



Structured



Cautious



Controlling



Achieving

THE MIDDLE CHILD
Difficult to categorize, they avoid being boxed in and have a more go-with-the-flow
attitude than their older siblings
...

Middle-child characteristics:


People-pleasing



Somewhat rebellious



Good friend



Social



Peacemaker

THE BABY

Theories of Personality

10

These children usually receive the least discipline, the fewest responsibilities and the
biggest audience
...
They learn that
being funny and adorable gains attention and approval
...
Many are
high achievers, with a few rebelling and following their own path
...
Trait theorists are primarily interested in the measurement of traits, which can
be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion
...
g
...
Traits are
in contrast to states, which are more transitory dispositions
...

He did not believe that people can be classified according to a small number of trait dimensions,
maintaining that each person is unique and distinguished by peculiar traits
...
Allport states
that the personality of a person is the single most unique thing about a person
...
Cardinal Trait - These traits are rare but is the trait that dominate and shape a person’s
behavior
...

2
...
These are the basic building blocks that shape most of our behavior although they are not
as overwhelming as cardinal traits
...
An example of
a central trait would be honesty
...
Secondary Trait - These traits are the bottom tier of the hierarchy and are not as
apparent as central traits
...
They must be included to
provide a complete picture of human complexity
...
Abstractedness: Imaginative versus practical
2
...
Dominance: Forceful versus submissive
4
...
Liveliness: Spontaneous versus restrained
6
...
Perfectionism: Controlled versus undisciplined
8
...
Reasoning: Abstract versus concrete
10
...
Self-reliance: Self-sufficient versus dependent
12
...
Social boldness: Uninhibited versus shy
14
...
Vigilance: Suspicious versus trusting
16
...
According to this
viewpoint, personality consist of physiologically based traits which guide our behavior
...
States, on the
other hand, are responses to situational cues-reactions which may be modified, strengthened or
weakened by individual inclination
...
Traits may thus be regarded as dispositions to
states (Humphreys an Revelle, 1984)
...
Persons with high negative affectivity would overall be particularly
sensitive to any kind of threat: they would feel nervous in performance situations, anxious related
to health concerns and likely to worry about possible setbacks
...

The five factor model (FFM) is based on five personality factors, often referred to by the
acronym OCEAN for Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and
Neotroticism
...


Theories of Personality

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Openness to experience: People with a strong tendency in this trait are considered to be
imaginative and creative
...

Conscientiousness: People with a strong tendency in this traits are considered to be goal
focused and organized and have self- discipline
...

Extraversion: People with a strong tendency in this trait are considered to be outgoing and
energetic
...

Agreeableness:

People with a strong tendency in this trait are considered to be

compassionate, kind, and trustworthy
...

Neuroticism: People with a strong tendency in this trait are considered to be anxious, selfconscious, impulsive, and pessimistic
...


Theories of Personality

15

HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVES: ROGERS

Carl Rogers’ humanistic personality theory emphasizes the importance of the selfactualizing tendency in forming a self-concept
...
Along with Abraham Maslow, he focused on the growth potential of healthy
individuals and greatly contributed to our understanding of the self and personality
...

They emphasized free will and self-determination, with each individual desiring to become the
best person they can become
...
Rogers advanced the field by stressing that the human person is an
active, creative, experiencing being who lives in the present and subjectively responds to current
perceptions, relationships, and encounters
...
Through personcentered counseling and scientific therapy research, Rogers formed his theory of personality
development, which highlighted free will and the great reservoir of human potential for goodness
...
He believed that everyone exists in a constantly changing world

Theories of Personality

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of experiences that they are at the center of
...

The phenomenal field: The phenomenal field refers to a person’s subjective reality, which
includes external objects and people as well as internal thoughts and emotions
...

Rogers believed that all behavior is motivated by self-actualizing tendencies, which drive
a person to achieve at their highest level
...
If a person has a positive self-concept, they tend
to feel good about who they are and often see the world as a safe and positive place
...


Ideal Self vs
...
The ideal
self is the person that you would like to be; the real self is the person you actually are
...
We experience
congruence when our thoughts about our real self and ideal self are very similar—in other words,
when our self-concept is accurate
...
Conversely, when there is a great discrepancy between our ideal and actual
selves, we experience a state Rogers called incongruence, which can lead to maladjustment
...
People raised in an environment of unconditional positive
regard, in which no preconceived conditions of worth are present, have the opportunity to fully
actualize
...
Their ideal self is thereby determined
by others based on these conditions, and they are forced to develop outside of their own true
actualizing tendency; this contributes to incongruence and a greater gap between the real self and
the ideal self
...
These
principles exist in fluid processes rather than static states
...
” These people would allow personality and self-concept to emanate
from experience
...
A growing openness to experience–they move away from defensiveness
...
An increasingly existential lifestyle–living each moment fully, rather than distorting the
moment to fit personality or self-concept
...
Increasing organismic trust–they trust their own judgment and their ability to choose
behavior that is appropriate for each moment
...
Freedom of choice–they are not restricted by incongruence and are able to make a wide
range of choices more fluently
...

5
...

6
...
Even
aggressive needs will be matched and balanced by intrinsic goodness in congruent individuals
...
A rich full life–they will experience joy and pain, love and heartbreak, fear and courage
more intensely
...
The holistic approach of humanism allows for a great deal of variation but does not
identify enough constant variables to be researched with true accuracy
...


Theories of Personality

19

EXISTENTIAL PERSPECTIVES: ROLLO MAY

Since he was an existential psychologist, existence and freedom were the central themes of
Rollo May’s analyses
...
Humans are objects because other people’s actions affect
them, but they’re also active agents of their own individual realities
...
The mere fact of existing already
raises a series of conflicts humans never get to fully resolve
...
On the
contrary, they’re all inside of us
...

The existential psychotherapy Rollo May proposed is a process by which people explore
the existence of those individuals who ask for help
...
Its goal is to identify prejudice and detect the things that lead
to negative consequences
...


Theories of Personality

20

LEARNING THEORY APPROACHES: SKINNER

Learning theory describes how students receive, process, and retain knowledge during
learning
...

Skinner developed behavior analysis, especially the philosophy of radical behaviorism, and
founded the experimental analysis of behavior, a school of experimental research psychology
...
To study operant conditioning, he invented the
operant conditioning chamber (aka the Skinner Box), and to measure rate he invented the
cumulative recorder
...
This
philosophy of behavioral science assumes that behavior is a consequence of environmental
histories of reinforcement
...
Such behaviors may be measured by their latency or strength
...
They are strengthened through operant conditioning (aka instrumental
conditioning), in which the occurrence of a response yields a reinforcer
...


Theories of Personality

21

Most behavior of humans cannot easily be described in terms of individual responses
reinforced one by one, and Skinner devoted a great deal of effort to the problem of behavioral
complexity
...
Complex behavior
often appears suddenly in its final form, as when a person first finds his way to the elevator by
following instructions given at the front desk
...
First, relatively simple behaviors come under the control
of verbal stimuli: the child learns to “jump,” “open the book,” and so on
...

Reinforcement, a key concept of behaviorism, is the primary process that shapes and
controls behavior, and occurs in two ways: positive and negative
...
e
...
This definition would subsequently be re-defined in Science
and Human Behavior (1953)
...
g
...
g
...

Both types of reinforcement strengthen behavior, or increase the probability of a behavior
reoccurring; the difference being in whether the reinforcing event is something applied (positive

Theories of Personality

22

reinforcement) or something removed or avoided (negative reinforcement)
...
Though punishment is often used to suppress behavior, Skinner argued
that this suppression is temporary and has a number of other, often unwanted, consequences
...

The most notable schedules of reinforcement studied by Skinner were continuous, interval,
and ratio
...

Continuous reinforcement (CRF): Each time a specific action is performed the subject
receives a reinforcement
...

Fixed Interval schedule (FI): A procedure in which reinforcements are presented at fixed
time periods, provided that the appropriate response is made
...

Variable Interval schedule (VI): A procedure in which behavior is reinforced after
scheduled but unpredictable time durations following the previous reinforcement
...

Fixed Ratio schedule (FR): A procedure in which reinforcement is delivered after a
specific number of responses have been made
...
g
...


Theories of Personality

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The lower the number of responses required, the higher the response rate tends to be
...

Skinner advocated the use of teaching machines for a broad range of students (e
...
,
preschool aged to adult) and instructional purposes (e
...
, reading and music)
...
”
Skinner believed that effective teaching must be based on positive than punishment
...
The
use of educational activities as punishment may induce rebellious behavior such as vandalism or
absence
...

Skinner suggests that any age-appropriate skill can be taught
...


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purchasing! I hope you
learned something!



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