Chapter 12: Personality

and Personality
Assessment
Personality is derived
from the Latin
persona, which refers
to mask used by the
Greek actors in a play.
Theories of Personality

I. Psychoanalytic theory
of Sigmund Freud
Structure of Personality
1. Id the primitive of man,
influenced by biological,
animalistic instincts. It operates
under the pleasure principle, thus
only wanting to seek that which is
pleasurable.


2. Ego the second component of
personality. The ego is realistic
component of personality, which
can identify and consider the
realistic consequences of ones
action.
3. Superego the repository of ones
abstract morals values religious,
social, artistic, and others - the
superego tells the child what he
should and should not do.
The ego ideal contains the values
and ideals to which one aspires.
The conscience is part of personality
that causes one to feel guilty after
the violation of a moral principle.
Development of personality
1. Oral Stage This stage is characterized
by receiving gratification the mouth,
examples are: sucking, crying, and
exploring objects with the mouth.
2. Anal Stage The stage of
toddlerhood where children
achieve gratification of basic
drives through anal means.
3. Phallic Stage The stage where
the superego develops.
The child becomes interested in
his body and recognizes his own
sexuality.


4. Latency Stage Sexual and
aggressive urges continue to
operate, but tends to channel
them into age-appropriate
interests and activities such as
academics, sports and hobbies.
5. Genital Stage The body is
physiologically mature, and if no
major fixations have occurred at
an earlier stage of development,
the individual may be able to lead
a normal heterosexual life.
Sigmund Freud Levels of
consciousness

Just below the conscious in the
preconscious which includes mental
activities.
The third level is the unconscious,
which is the repository of all our past
and forgotten experiences and
storehouse of our primitive.
Ego defense mechanism-the ego
unconsciously uses to protect self
from anxiety-provoking or
threatening situations.
II. Psychosocial Theory of
Erik Erickson
The epigenetic principle-each
component proceeds in a step-by-
step fashion with later growth
building on earlier development.
Psychosocial crisis an appropriate
basic strength enables the person
to move on the next stage.
Stage 1: Basic trust vs. Mistrust-
relationship with the main
caregiver usually the mother, is
said to be crucial here. If the
mother is responsive to the babys
physical needs and provides
generous amount of love and
security.
Stage 2: Autonomy vs. shame and
doubt this stage, children rapidly
develop a variety of mental and
physical abilities and take pride in
their skills.
The basic strength built is will which
involves a determination to exercise
freedom of choice and self resistant
in the face of social pressures.
Stage 3: Initiative or guilt able to
accomplish more by his time, the
child builds a strong desire to take
the initiative
The basic strength is purpose
involving the courage to picture
and pursue goals.
Stage 4: Industry vs. inferiority
Childs normally starts formal
schooling and his radius of
significant relations expands
beyond the family.
This is a good time for developing
good work and study habits, from
which the basic strength
competence emerges.
Stage 5: Identity vs. role confusion
a crucial stage because ones clear
and consistent image of self-ego
identity should emerge from this
period.


Erickson describes the
statuses of the adolescence:
Achievement. In here are
adolescents who have explored
alternatives and have deliberately
chosen a specific identity.
Moratorium. In this status are
adolescents who are still
examining different alternatives
and have yet to find satisfactory
identity
Foreclosure. We find individuals
whose identity was determined
largely by adults, rather than from
personal exploration of alternatives.
Diffusion. Here are those individuals
who are confused or often
overwhelmed by the task of
achieving an identity and are doing
little to achieve one.


Fidelity is the basic strength that
grows out of a clearly formed and
accepted ego identity.
Stage 6: Intimacy vs. isolation
characterizes the psychosocial
crisis in this young adult period
that starts at the end of
adolescence and extends to about
age 35.
Ideally, intimacy should win out in
its conflict with isolation and
produce basic strength called love.
Stage 7: Generality vs. stagnation. This
is a time when the person needs to be
involved in guiding the younger
generation and where his more long-
range concern should include the
future generations and the kind of
the world he shall leave to them.
The basic strength that emerges in
this period because of generatively is
care.
Stage 8: Ego integrity vs. despair is
the psychological crisis in this final
stage, the old age or late
adulthood. This is a time when the
person examines what he has
done with his life.
III. Individual Psychology of
Alfred Adler
Adler believes that each of us begins
life feeling incomplete and
inferior. This feeling of inferiority
becomes the source of all human
striving.
This striving for superiority is the
ultimate goal toward which we move.
Adler recognizes the fact that this
ultimate goal is fictional, an ideal.
He suggested that the best
formulation of this ideal developed
by man so far is the concept of God.
Each of us develops a distinct pattern
of behavior called the style of life.
IV. Psychoanalytic Social
Theory of Karen Horney
To Horney, the foundation on
which later neuroses develops is
basic anxiety the insidiously
increasing, all-pervading feeling of
being lonely and helpless in a
hostile world.
Basic anxiety in three ways
1. Moving toward people securing
affection and love by being
submissive; such persons believe
that If I give in, I will not be
hurt.
2. Moving against people attaining
power; such as persons believe
that If I have power, no one can
hurt me
3. Moving away from people
becoming independent and self-
sufficient; such as persons believe
that If I withdraw, no one can
hurt me.
Horney identifies two major
intrapsychic conflicts the
idealized image and self hatred.
Self-Hatred is the tendency for
neurotics to hate and despair the
real self.
3 aspects of the idealized
image
Neurotic search for glory, or drive
toward actualizing the ideal self.
Neurotic Claims, or unrealistic
demands and expectations to be
entitled to special consideration
and privilege.
Neurotic ride, a false pride based
on the persons idealized image.
V. Person-Centered Theory of
Carl Rogers
He noted that conditional positive
regard fosters un healthy
development. If parents withhold
love from a child when he
misbehaves.
Rogers thought that unconditional
positive regard fosters healthy
development. The person is accepted
and respected without conditions
placed upon him in order to receive
such treatment.
Personality Assessment
Reliability is a measure of the
stability of test scores over time.
Validity is the extent to which a
test measures what it was designed
to measure.
Interviews and
Observational Methods.
Interviewing and observing If we want to
know more about our new friends,
personalities, we talk to them and watch
how they behave.
Unstructured interview - are often used for
job and college selection and for diagnosing
psychological problems.
Structured interviews contain specific
questions and follow a set of procedures so
that the persons being assessed can be
compared more objectively.
Observation an assessment procedure is a
very sophisticated technique.
Personality Testing
Objective tests generally consist
of paper-and-pencil
questionnaires that ask peoples to
describe themselves to self
report.
Clinical Psychologist use protective
tests for two reason. Diagnosis and
treatment selection.