Define personality.docx

Extra Credit

1. Define personality-
Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. The study of personality focuses on two broad areas: One is, understanding individual differences in particular personality characteristics, such as sociability or irritability. The other is, understanding how the various parts of a person come together as a whole.

2. Explain the five-factor model of personality.
The Five-Factor Model refers to a basic group of personality traits that can be assessed through interviews and standardized testing. These basic traits are referred to as Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. This group of traits can be assessed and evaluated to produce a very basic psychological profile of how a person organizes and runs their life. 

3. Describe the processes that take place in the conscious, unconscious, and preconscious mind.

The conscious mind includes everything that we are aware of. This is the aspect of our mental processing that we can think and talk about rationally. A part of this includes our memory, which is not always part of consciousness but can be retrieved easily at any time and brought into our awareness.

The preconscious mind is the part of the mind that represents ordinary memory. While we are not consciously aware of this information at any given time, we can retrieve it and pull it into consciousness when needed.

The unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict. According to Freud, the unconscious continues to influence our behavior and experience, even though we are unaware of these underlying influences.

Define and identify the functions of the id, ego, and superego.
We are born with our Id, according to Freud. The id operates on the pleasure principle. The id is an important part of our personality because as newborns, it allows us to get our basic needs met. Id is based on our pleasure principle, meaning, id wants whatever feels good at the time, with no consideration for the reality of the situation.  When a child is hungry, the id wants food, and therefore the child cries. When the child is uncomfortable, or just wants attention, the id speaks up until his or her needs are met. The id doesn’t care about reality or about the needs of anyone else. It is not considerate of their parents’ wishes. They have no care for time, whether their parents are sleeping, relaxing, eating dinner, or bathing.
Within the next three years, as the child interacts more and more with the world, the second part of the personality begins to develop. Freud called this part the Ego. The ego is based on the reality principle. The ego understands that other people have needs and desires and that sometimes being impulsive or selfish can hurt us in the long run. It is the ego’s job to meet the needs of the id, while taking into consideration the reality of the situation.
By the age of five, or the end of the phallic stage of development, the Superego develops. The Superego is the moral part of us and develops due to the moral and ethical restraints placed on us by our caregivers. Many equate the superego with the conscience as it dictates our belief of right and wrong.
According to Freud, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation. Not an easy job, but if the id gets too strong, impulses and self-gratification take over the person’s life. If the superego becomes too strong, the person would be driven by rigid morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her interactions with the world. 

Explain the purpose of defense mechanisms in Freud’s theory.
In order to deal with conflict and problems in life, Freud stated that the ego employs a range of defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms operate at an unconscious level and help ward off unpleasant feelings (such as anxiety) or make good things feel better for the individual.
If the ego is obliged to admit its weakness, it breaks out in anxiety regarding the outside world, moral anxiety regarding the superego, and neurotic anxiety regarding the strength of the passions in the id. 

Freud’s theory of psychosexual development is based on the idea that parents play a crucial role in managing their children’s sexual and aggressive drives during the first few years of life to foster their proper development.
Oral (0-1 years of age): During this stage, the mouth is the pleasure center for development. Freud believed this is why infants are born with a sucking reflex and desire their mother’s breast. If a child’s oral needs are not met during infancy, he or she may develop negative habits such as nail biting or thumbsucking to meet this basic need.
Anal (1-3 years of age): During this stage, toddlers and preschool-aged children begin to experiment with urine and feces. The control they learn to exert over their bodily functions is manifested in toilet-training. Improper resolution of this stage, such as parents toilet training their children too early, can result in a child who is uptight and overly obsessed with order.
Phallic (3-6 years of age): During this stage, preschoolers take pleasure in their genitals and, according to Freud, begin to struggle with sexual desires toward the opposite sex parent (boys to mothers and girls to fathers). For boys, this is called the Oedipus complex, involving a boy’s desire for his mother and his urge to replace his father who is seen as a rival for the mother’s attention. At the same time, the boy is afraid his father will punish him for his feelings, so heexperiences castration anxiety. The Electra complex, later proposed by Freud’s protégé Carl Jung, involves a girl’s desire for her father’s attention and wish to take her mother’s place.
Latency (6-12 years of age): During this stage, sexual instincts subside, and children begin to further develop the superego, or conscience. Children begin to behave in morally acceptable ways and adopt the values of their parents and other important adults.
Genital (12+ years of age): During this stage, sexual impulses reemerge. If other stages have been successfully met, adolescents engage in appropriate sexual behavior, which may lead to marriage and childbirth.

1. Summarize the characteristics of each of Freud’s psychosexual stages

Bandura included the concept of observational learning as one of the main theoretical points. He argued that reinforcement does not simply work as a mechanism, but it is actually the provider of information of the next reinforcement to be given once the behavior is repeated. What his theory entails is that humans learn through observing others actions, behaviors, and the outcome of these behaviors. Essentially what he believes is that human’s behavior is effected by and affects the world/environment around them. This chief concept in his theory is called reciprocal determinism. Reciprocal determinism refers to the notion that a complex reciprocal interaction exists among the individual, his or her behavior, and environmental stimuli and that each of these components affects the others.

1. Explain Bandura’s and Mischel’s approaches to personality

Walter Mischel’s Theory of Personality is similar to Bandura’s proposal, and it states that an individual’s behavior is influenced by two things- the specific attributes of a given situation and the manner in which he perceives the situation. In contrast to the traditional social cognitive theories, Mischel argued that a person only behaves in a similar manner whenever these actions are highly probable to yield into the same results. He emphasized that we have individual differences, so our values and expectancies must be consider in predicting a person’s behavior and personality.

 The humanist approach to personality has been developed by famous theorists like Rogers, Kelly and Maslow. 

1. Explain the views of humanistic theorists regarding the personality.

Rogers stated that the organism has one basic goal: self-actualization. He expressed his extremely optimistic approach when he explained that all of us have the tendency to grow until we reach “actualization”. According to him, we exist because we need to gratify this need.

One of the most common models used in psychology, the Hierarchy of Needs was the result of Abraham Maslow’s research on the basic motivations of animals and humans. Maslow explained the human needs in a pyramid-like figure. At the bottom of the pyramid are the physiological needs (air, food, water, etc.). Next to it are the safety and security needs (shelter, protection, etc.). Love and belongingness needs come next (acceptance, affection, friendship, etc.). The fourth portion includes the self-esteem needs (sense of mastery, power, appreciation, etc.). And at the top is self-actualization, or the tendency of being your finest. These five human needs are the ones that motivate us- to go from primitive needs to the higher needs.

The theory developed by George Kelly was grounded in the thinking that we have various ways of interpreting and predicting circumstances, and that this leads to our individual differences. These differences he dubbed as “personal constructs” are the tools we use in acquiring information from the outside world and processing them inside our minds. When we interact with our environment and within ourselves, this manner of interacting is, for Kelly, our personality.

1. Explain the views of Abraham Maslow regarding self-actualizing persons.

Maslow’s (1943, 1954) hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.
Self-actualized people are those who were fulfilled and doing all they were capable of. The growth of self-actualization refers to the need for personal growth and discovery that is present throughout a person’s life. For Maslow, a person is always ‘becoming’ and never remains static in these terms. In self-actualization a person comes to find a meaning to life that is important to them. As each individual is unique the motivation for self-actualization leads people in different directions. For some people self-actualization can be achieved through creating works of art or literature, for others through sport, in the classroom, or within a corporate setting. Maslow believed self-actualization could be measured through the concept of peak experiences. This occurs when a person experiences the world totally for what it is, and there are feelings of euphoria, joy and wonder. It is important to note that self-actualization is a continual process of becoming rather than a perfect state one reaches of a ‘happy ever after’.  Maslow did not equate self-actualization with perfection. Self-actualization merely involves achieving one’s potential. Thus, someone can be silly, wasteful, vain and impolite, and still self-actualize. Less than two percent of the population achieves self-actualization.

Personality is inherited:

1. Explain the evidence for and against the view that personality is inherited.

The field of behavioral genetics focuses on the relationship between genes and behavior and has given psychologists a glimpse of the link between genetics and personality. A large part of the evidence collected linking genetics and the environment to personality comes from twin studies, which compare levels of similarity in personality between genetically identical twins. In the field of behavioral genetics, the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart conducted research with twins from 1979 to 1999. In studying 350 pairs of twins, including pairs of identical and fraternal twins reared together and apart, researchers found that identical twins, whether raised together or apart, have very similar personalities.
These findings suggest the heritability of some personality traits, implying that some aspects of our personalities are largely controlled by genetics.

The first adoption study performed on schizophrenia showed that family environment contributes little to a child’s risk for a disorder such as schizophrenia. This study was performed through interviews of adopted-away children of biological mothers who suffered from schizophrenia, and interviews of adopted children whose birth parents did not suffer from any mental disorders. Several of the adopted away children of schizophrenic mothers suffered from schizophrenia themselves, while the adoptees whose parents didn’t have schizophrenia also did not have schizophrenia themselves. This supports the theory that it doesn’t matter what specific environment a child is raised in; if its parent or parents suffer from a mental disorder, the risk for suffering from the same disorder will be equal regardless of if the child was raised with its biological parents or with its adoptive parents.

First-degree relatives of suicide victims, also called suicide probands, had a greater likelihood of suicide attempts, but it also has to be taken into consideration that they also had an increased risk of other psychological disorders. The suicide probands who had high rates of aggression also had higher risk for attempts at suicide. The increased risk for suicidal behavior in suicide probands, it was concluded from this study, is probably a trait independent of Axis I and II psychiatric disorders.
Personality is not hereditary:
The personality can be developed based on these environmental factors-

Cultural factors are related to the cultural values earned by someone in the course of his/her life, especially during the period when his/her personality is formed. These cultural values have a great impact upon an individual’s behavior. For example, a person that is fond of reading or any other form of art will behave more elegantly than someone that does not manifest any interest in culture. Obviously, the latter will be more insensitive and will have a more violent behavior than the former.

Situational factors emphasize or diminish some aspects of one’s personality. For example, a person that has experienced recently one failure after another would not wish to be involved in another project – at least for a period of time – even if this particular one might be successful.

Social factors are represented by family, religion and the groups of people one has made part of through the years.

A self-report inventory is a type of psychological test often used in personality assessment. This type of test is often presented in a paper-and-pencil format or may even be administered on a computer. It’s a type of test in which a person fills out a survey or questionnaire with or without the help of an investigator. Self-report inventories often ask direct questions about personal interests, values, symptoms, behaviors, and traits or personality types. Inventories are different from tests in that there is no objectively correct answer; responses are based on opinions and subjective perceptions. Most self-report inventories are brief and can be taken or administered within five to 15 minutes
Projective personality tests are supposed to be able to measure areas of your unconscious mind such as personality characteristic, fears, doubts and attitude. Some employers use these types of tests to try and see if you are an appropriate fit for their work environment. Projective test is designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts projected by the person into the test. This is sometimes contrasted with a so-called “objective test” or “self-report test” in which responses are analyzed according to a presumed universal standard (for example, a multiple choice exam), and are limited to the content of the test. The responses to projective tests are content analyzed for meaning rather than being based on presuppositions about meaning, as is the case with objective tests. 

1. Explain the difference between self-report inventories and projective personality tests.