1. MEMORY AID – THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
I S E R V E W I T H P R I D E 1
PERSONALITY
Originated from the Latin word persona meaning
masks
Pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique
characteristics that give both consistency and
individuality to a person’s behavior
Traits – consistency of behavior over time; stable
across situations; pattern is different for each
individual
Characteristics – unique qualities of an individual
(i.e. physique, intelligence)
PERSPECTIVES OF PERSONALITY
Psychoanalytical approach
Innate desires
Unconscious
Early experiences
Trait approach
Personality lies in a continuum
Used statistical analysis
Biological approach
Physiological aspect; genetic
Humanistic approach
Person is innately good
Aim to achieve fullest potential
Behavioral approach
Environment influences us
Learned and acquired externally
Cognitive approach
Schema
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY
Sigmund Freud
Most influential: Twin cornerstones of
psychoanalysis – sex and aggression
Collaborated with Jean Charcot in treating
hysteria through hypnosis
Worked with Joseph Breuer; taught catharsis,
process of removing hysterical symptoms through
“talking them out”; discovered free association
technique
LEVELS OF MENTAL LIFE
Unconscious
Contains all drives, urges, or instincts beyond
awareness but motivate most of our words, feelings
and actions
Exist? Serves as explanation for the meaning behind
dreams, slips of the tongue, and repression
Enter into consciousness but only after being
disguised or distorted enough to elude censorship
Phylogenetic Endowment – inherited unconscious images;
a portion of our unconscious originates from experiences
of our early ancestors that have been passed through
generations
Preconscious
Contains memories that are not part of current thoughts
but can readily be available to mind if need arises
(equivalent to memory)
Conscious
Contains whatever we are thinking about or
experiencing at a given moment (all that our senses
detect)
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PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF
DEVELOPMENT
Childhood greatly influence personality in adulthood.
Oral Stage
Age: Birth – 1.5 years
Focus: mouth
Gratifying activity: Nursing – responsive nurturing is key.
PROVINCES OF THE MIND
Id
No contact with reality, but strives to reduce tension
by satisfying basic desires
Operate on pleasure principle
Ego
In contact with external world
Operate on reality principle
Tries to reconcile irrational claims of the id and the
superego with the realistic demands of the external
world
Uses defense mechanisms to protect against anxiety
Superego
Guided by moralistic and idealistic principles
No contact with external, unrealistic in demands for
perfection
Two subsystems: conscience and ego-ideal
Conscience – results from experiences with
punishments; what we should not do
Ego-ideal - develops from experiences with rewards
for proper behavior; what we should do
Guilt is function of conscience; inferiority feelings stem
from ego—ideal
*In a healthy individual, id and superego are integrated into
a smooth functioning ego and operate in harmony.
Drives
Characterized by impetus, source, aim and object
Impetus – amount of force
Source – region of body in a state of tension
Aim – seek pleasure by reducing that tension
Object – person or thing serves as means through
which aim is satisfied
Two major headings: sex or Eros and aggression or
Thanatos
Sex/Eros
Aim of sexual drive is pleasure
Erogenous zone – part of the body where libido is
centered (i.e. mouth and anus)
Aggression/Thanatos
Aim of destructive drive is to return the organism to an
inorganic state
Final aim is self-destruction
Explains the need for the barriers that people have
erected to check aggression (i.e. Love thy neighbour
as thyself.)
DEFENSE MECHANISMS
Ego uses to avoid dealing directly with sexual and
aggressive impulses and defend itself against
anxiety
Repression – forcing threatening feelings into
unconscious
Reaction formation – doing the opposite of what you
really feel in an exaggerated form
Displacement – people redirect their unacceptable
urges onto a variety of people or objects so that the
original impulse is disguised
Fixation – happens when the ego resort to remaining
at the present, more comfortable psychological
stage
Regression - going back to childhood behaviors
when faced with anxiety
Projection – attributing the unwanted impulse to an
external object; seeing in others unacceptable
feelings or tendencies that usually reside in one’s
own unconscious
Introjection – people incorporate positive qualities of
another person into their own ego
Rationalization – justify a regretful behavior or event
Sublimation – repression of genital aim of Eros by
substituting a cultural or social aim
3. MEMORY AID – THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
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Oral-receptive phase – needs are usually satisfied but as
infants grow older they become more frustrated as a result
of scheduled feedings. These are accompanied by feelings
of ambivalence toward their mother and by increased ability
to defend against environment
Oral-sadistic period – emergence of teeth; respond to
others through biting, smiling, crying and thumb-sucking
(satisfies sexual but not nutritional needs)
Symptoms of oral fixation: smoking, nail biting, and verbal
hostility
Anal Stage
Age 1.5 – 3
Focus: Anus
Gratifying activity: toilet training and urge control
Harsh toilet training: Anal-retentive personality
Lenient toilet training: Anal-expulsive personality
Phallic Phase
Age: 4-5
Focus: Genital
Gratifying activity: play with genitals; identification
Male Phallic Phase
1. Oedipus Complex – condition of rivalry toward their
father and sexual desire for mother
2. Castration complex – in the form of castration anxiety,
boy surrenders his incestuous desires
3. Identification with the father
4. Strong superego ensures repression of Oedipus
complex
Female Oedipus Complex
1. Castration complex in the form of penis envy
2. Oedipus complex develops as an attempt to obtain
penis (sexual desires for father; hostility for mother)
3. Gradual realization that Oedipal desires are self-
defeating
4. Identification with mother
5. Weak superego replaces the partially dissolved
Oedipus complex
ld
Age: 5-puberty
Repress sexual drive and direct their psychic energy toward
school, friends, hobbies
Time of learning, adjusting to the social environment, form
beliefs and values
Genital Stage
Age: Puberty+
Focus: Genital
Gratifying activity: heterosexual relationship
Renewed sexual interest
MAIN TENETS:
1. The one dynamic force behind people’s behavior is the
striving for success or superiority.
Everyone begins life with physical deficiencies that
activate feelings of inferiority
People strive for superiority or success as a means of
compensation for feelings of inferiority or weakness
Striving for personal superiority (previously coined as
masculine protest) – personal goal; strivings are
motivated by exaggerated feelings of personal
inferiority or presence of inferiority complex
Striving for success – healthy individuals are
concerned with goals beyond themselves; sense of
personal worth is tied closely to their contributions to
human society.
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
Alfred Adler
Presented an optimistic view of people, relying on
notion of social interest, oneness with all humankind
Motivated by social influences and striving for
superiority or success
People are responsible for who they are
Present behavior is shaped by people’s view of the
future
Basic premise: People are born with weak, inferior
bodies – a condition that leads to feelings of
inferiority and consequent dependence on other
people. A feeling of unity with others (social interest)
is inherent in people and the ultimate standard for
psychological health.
4. MEMORY AID – THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
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2. People’s subjective perceptions shape their behavior
and personality.
Fictionalism – consistent with Adler’s teleological view
of motivation
People are motivated by present perceptions of the
future.
3. Personality is unified and self-consistent.
Each person is unique and indivisible.
Thoughts, feelings and actions are all directed toward
a single goal. (i.e. mystery film where everything
makes sense at the end)
Organ dialect – deficient organ expresses direction of
individual’s goal (i.e. boy who wet the bed at night to
send a message that he does not want to obey his
parents)
4. The value of all human activity must be seen from the
viewpoint of social interest.
Social interest – defined as an attitude of relatedness
with humanity in general and empathy for each
member of the community; manifests as cooperation
with others for social advancement rather than
personal gain
Yardstick for measuring psychological health
Origins of Social Interest
Originates from mother-child relationship
Mother must show genuine love for the child –
centered on child’s well-being which develops from a
true caring for child, her husband and other people.
A successful father avoids dual errors of emotional
detachment and paternal authoritarianism.
5. The self-consistent personality structure develops into
a person’s style of life.
Style of life refers to flavour of a person’s life.
Includes person’s goal, self-concept, feelings for
others and attitude towards the world
Healthy people see many ways of striving for success
and continually seek new options
6. Style of life is molded by person’s creative power.
Creative power – holds people in control of their own
lives; implies movement towards the goal
“law of the low doorway” – you can choose your own
action
Safeguarding Tendencies
Largely conscious
Create patterns of behavior to protect their exaggerated
sense of self-esteem against public disgrace
Limited to construction of a neurotic style of life
Excuses
“Yes, but” or “If only”
Aggression
Depreciation – undervalue other people’s achievements
and to overvalue one’s own
Accusation - blame others for one’s failures
Self-accusation – marked by self-torture or guilt
ABNORMAL DEVELOPMENT
Underdeveloped social interest – underlies all types
of maladjustments
Neurotics lack social interest, set their goals too
high, live in their own private world and have a rigid
style of life.
External Factors in Maladjustment
Exaggerated physical deficiencies –
overcompensate for their inadequacy; overly
concerned with themselves
Pampered style of life – have weak social interest but
a strong desire to perpetuate the pampered, parasitic
relationship with parents. Their parents
demonstrated their lack of love by doing too much
and thus they are treated as if they cannot solve their
own problems; also fearful when separated from their
parent
Neglected style of life – abused and mistreated
children are often distrustful of others, see society as
enemy and feel alienated from others.
5. MEMORY AID – THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
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Withdrawal – run away from problems by setting up a distance
Moving backward - revert to a more secured period
of life
Standing still – avoid all responsibility by ensuring
themselves against any threat or failure
Hesitating - procrastinations; “It’s too late now.”
Constructing obstacles – build something to knock
down
ANALYTIC PSYCHOLOGY
Carl Jung
Levels of the Psyche
Conscious
Ego as the center of consciousness but not the core of
personality
Personal Unconscious
Repressed, forgotten or subliminally perceived experiences
of one particular individual
‘formed by individual experiences and unique to each of us
Contains complexes – embedded themes (power, mother,
father, religion) that influence consciousness and behavior
Collective Unconscious
Rooted in ancestral past of the entire species
Responsible for people’s myths, legends and religious
beliefs
Innate tendency to react in a particular way when an
experience stimulates a biologically inherited response
tendency (i.e. mother save newborn infant)
Archetypes
Ancient or archaic images that derive from the collective
unconscious
Expressed through dreams, fantasies and delusions
Persona
Mask, public self
Strike a balance between demands of society and who we
really are
Shadow
Represents urges that are socially unacceptable
Strive to know our shadow
Anima
Representation of woman in a man
Men’s ancestral experiences relating to women
Animus
Representation of man in a woman
Women’s ancestral experiences relating to men
Great Mother
Opposing forces of fertility and destruction
Wise Old Man
Wisdom
Symbolizes human’s pre-existing knowledge of the
mysteries of life
BIRTH ORDER - influences behavior and personality
Eldest
Nurturing and protective of others
Must always be right
Exaggerated feelings of power
Middle
Tries to dethrone first born
Highly motivated
Competitive
Youngest
Most pampered and protected
Only Child
Socially mature
Pampered and spoiled
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Hero
Powerful but undone by some seemingly insignificant
person or event
Self
Most comprehensive
Unites all archetypes in the process of self-realization
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
Stage 1: Childhood
Problem-free age
Gradual awareness of existence as a separate individual
Stage 2: Youth
Extraversion period
Period of increased activity, maturing sexuality and
growing consciousness
Stage 3: Middle life
Give up extraverted goals of youth and move into
introverted direction of expanded consciousness
Stage 4: Old Age
Death is the goal of life
Self-realization – process of becoming an individual or whole
person
Must allow the unconscious self to become the core of
personality
PSYCHIC LIFE ON INFANT
Phantasies
Possess unconscious images of “good” and “bad”
Objects
Means through which the aim is satisfied
Internal objects have life of its own in the child’s fantasy
world
Example: Children who have introjected their mother
believe she is inside their body.
Positions
Infants are in constant conflict between good and bad
To reduce conflict, objects are organized into positions.
Paranoid-schizoid position
Infant comes into contact with the good and bad breast
Persecutory breast vs ideal breast
Organize experiences that includes both paranoid feelings
of being persecuted and a splitting of internal and external
objects into good and bad
Splitting of world into good and bad serves as a prototype
for developing ambivalent feelings toward a single person
Depressive Position
See that good and bad can exist in the same person
Tolerate destructive feelings
PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPES
Attitudes – predisposition to act or react in a
characteristic direction
A. Introversion – turning inward of psychic energy
with an orientation towards the subjective
B. Extroversion – turning outward of psychic energy
with an orientation towards objective
Functions
a. Thinking – logical intellectual activity that
produces a chain of ideas
b. Feeling – process of evaluating an idea or
event
c. Sensing – receives physical stimuli and
transmits to perceptual consciousness
d. Intuiting – perception beyond workings of
consciousness
OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY
Melanie Klein
Offspring of Freud’s instinct theory but placed
importance on consistent patterns of interpersonal
relationships
More maternal
Human contact and relatedness as primary motive
Emphasized on first 4 to 6 months after birth
Child’s relation to breast serves as a prototype for later
relation to whole objects like father and mother
Role of early fantasy
7. MEMORY AID – THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
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Fearing possible loss of the mother, the infant desires to
protect her from the destructive instincts but also realizes
that s/he lacks capacity to do so.
Infant experiences guilt.
Resolved when children fantasize that they made
reparation and recognize that their mother will not abandon
them
Internalization – introject aspects of external world and
organize in a meaningful framework
Ego – dual image of self to manage the good and bad
aspects of external objects
Superego – produces terror, reaction to ego’s aggressive
self-defense against its own destructive tendencies
Oedipus complex – earlier; overlaps with oral and anal
stages, reaches climax during the genital stage; based on
child’s fear that parents will seek revenge against them for
their fantasy
PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIAL THEORY
Karen Horney
Emphasized importance of cultural influences in shaping
personality
Modern culture is based on competition among individuals
which results in feelings of isolation.
Leads to intensified needs for affection - > development of
neuroses
Basic Hostility – when parents do not satisfy child’s needs
for safety and satisfaction, child develops basic hostility
toward the parents which is repressed - > leads to insecurity
Basic anxiety – feeling of being isolated and helpless in a
hostile world
Compulsive Drives
Normal individuals use variety of defensive maneuvers but
neurotics compulsively repeat same strategy
Neurotic Trends – basic attitude toward self and others
Moving toward people – protect oneself against feelings of
helplessness; compliant people who strive approval or seek
a powerful partner (co-dependency)
Moving against people – everyone is hostile; appear tough
and ruthless; play to win rather than enjoy the contest
Moving away from people – behave in a detached manner;
build their own world; greatest fear is to need other people
Intrapsychic conflicts – originate from interpersonal
experiences
PSYCHIC DEFENSE MECHANISM – protect ego from
anxiety formulated by own destructive fantasies
Introjection – incorporate unconsciously the good
and bad external object
Projection - one’s own feelings and impulses
reside in another person and not within one’s body
Splitting – separate good and bad aspects of
themselves; “good me” and “bad me”
Projective Identification – infants split off
unacceptable parts of themselves, project them into
another object and finally, introject them into
themselves in a disguised form
10 NEUROTIC NEEDS
Need for affection and approval – attempt to please
others
Need for a powerful partner – overvaluation of love and
dread of being alone
Need to restrict one’s life within narrow borders –
downgrade one’s abilities
Need for power – control others
Need to exploit others – evaluate others based on their
use
Need for social recognition or prestige – trying to be
first
Need for personal admiration – inflated self-esteem
Need for ambition and personal achievement – confirm
superiority by defeating others
Need for self-sufficiency and independence – get along
without others
Need for perfection and unassailability – dread making
mistakes
8. MEMORY AID – THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
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Idealized self-image
Early negative influences impede a person’s natural
tendency toward self-realization -> feelings of alienation
from themselves -> need to acquire a stable sense of
identity -> create idealized self-image (painting a godlike
picture of oneself)
Lose touch with real self and use idealized self as standard
for self-evaluation
Real self cannot measure up -> leads to self- hatred
(neurotics to hate their actual self because it cannot match
the glorified self-image)
Goal of Horneyian therapy : direct towards self-realization
Existential needs
Existential needs – needs that must be met for a meaningful
existence
Different from animal needs
Relatedness
Drive for union with another person or other persons
1. Submission – transcend separateness of his individual
existence by becoming part of something bigger
2. Power – symbiotic relationship
3. Love – union with somebody and retain separateness
Transcendence
Rise above passive existence and into realm of
purposefulness
Create: life, art, religion, laws
Destroy life: malignant aggression: kill for reasons other
than survival
Rootedness
Establish roots and feel at home again in the world
Productive: actively relate to the world and become whole
Nonproductive: fixation – reluctant to move beyond security
Sense of Identity
Capacity to be aware of ourselves as a separate entity
But the identity of most people reside in their attachment to
others or to institutions
Frame of Orientation
Humans need a road map, to make their way through the
world
Object of devotion: focus energy to a single direction; gives
meaning to our lives
Burden of Freedom
Free from the security of being one with the mother
Results to basic anxiety: feeling of being alone
Humanistic Psychoanalysis
Erich Fromm
Modern people have been torn away from their
prehistoric union with nature and also with one
another but have the power of reasoning, foresight
and imagination.
Lack of animal instincts and presence of rational
thought leads to human dilemma
People have been separated from nature and yet are
aware of themselves as isolated beings
MECHANISMS OF ESCAPE
Authoritarianism
Give up one’s own independence and fuse with
somebody or something outside
Masochism or sadism
Destructiveness
Do away with other people to restore power
Conformity
Become what other people desire them to be; reactive
Robots who conform to standards
Positive Freedom
Achieve full expression of both rational and emotional
potentialities
Twin components : love and work
Character Orientations
Relatively permanent way of relating to people and
things
Nonproductive Orientations
Receptive - More concerned with receiving things than
giving
Exploitative - Aggressively take what they desire
Hoarding - Save which has already been obtained
Marketing – see self as commodity; personal value lies
on exchange value, ability to sell themselves
Productive Orientation
• Productive work – not as end in itself but as means of
creative self-expression
• Productive love
- care, responsibility, respect and knowledge
- Biophilia – love of live and all that is alive (i.e.
influence others and self-love)
• Productive thinking – concerned interest in another
person; see others as they are
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STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
Infancy: Feelings about “good” and “bad” caregivers
Age 0-2 y/o
Significant other: mother/caregiver
Interpersonal process: tenderness (feeding process –
receive food and satisfy tenderness need)
Important learning: dual personification of mother
Childhood: Learning applicable to social habits
Age 2-6 y/o
Significant other: parents
Interpersonal process: acculturation and protect security
through imaginary playmates
Important learning: learn moral value and use language
Juvenile Era: Finding playmates and questioning parents
Age 6-8.5 y/o
Significant other: playmates of equal status
Interpersonal process: orientation toward living in the world
of peers
Important learning: compete, compromise and cooperate
Preadolescence: Collaborating with a friend
Age 8.5-13 y/o
Significant other: single chum
Interpersonal process: Intimacy with a person of same age
and gender
Important learning: affection and respect from peers; start
of capacity to love
Early Adolescence: Experiencing lust toward a single partner
Age 13-15 y/o
Significant other: several chums
Interpersonal process: Intimacy and lust toward different
persons
Important learning: balance of lust, intimacy and security
operations
Late Adolescence: establishing an adult love relationship
Age 15 y/o to adulthood
Significant other: lover
Interpersonal process: fusion of Intimacy and lust
Important learning: mature interpersonal relationship and
self-discovery
Adulthood: completion of the personality
Significant other: lover/life partner
Interpersonal process: maturity/high intimacy
Important learning: perceptive of other’s needs, anxiety and
security
INTERPERSONAL THEORY
Harry Stack Sullivan
Personality as an energy system
Exist as tension or energy transformation
Tension: potentiality for action
2 types: needs and anxiety
NEEDS - help integrate personality
General needs – facilitate overall well-being of a
person
a. Interpersonal – tenderness, intimacy and love
b. Physiological – food, oxygen, water etc.
Zonal needs – arise from a particular area of the
body
Anxiety – interferes with satisfaction of needs
Energy Transformations – overt or covert behaviors
aimed at satisfying needs or reducing anxiety
Dynamisms – trait or behavioral patterns
Malevolence - feeling of living in enemy country
“Once upon a time everything was lovely, but that was
before I had to deal with people.”
Intimacy – integrating experience marked by a close
personal relationship with another person who is more
or less of equal status
Lust – isolating dynamism characterized by an
impersonal sexual interest in another person
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STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Stages follow the epigenetic principle
Interaction of opposites: syntonic vs dystonic; both are
needed for development
Conflict of opposites produces basic strength
Too little basic strength: core pathology
Stage 1: Infancy Age 0 to 1
Oral-sensory mode: not just mouth; involves all senses
Stage of incorporation: accepting and giving
Significant person: primary caregiver
Basic Trust Basic Mistrust
If needs are met by
responsive parents
If care is inconsistent,
inconsistent
Hope Withdrawal
Stage 2: Early Childhood Age 2 to 3
Anal-urethral-muscular mode: mastering of bodily
functions; impulsive and compulsive behavior
Children strives for autonomy and parents try to control
the child through use of shame and doubt
Allow expression within reasonable control
Autonomy Shame and doubt
Encourage initiative Disapproving parents
Will Compulsion
Stage 3: Play Age Age 3 to 5
Genital locomotor mode: development of motor skill,
imagination and goal-setting
Initiative Guilt
Selection and pursuit of
goal
Inhibited goal
Purpose Inhibition
Stage 4: School Age Age 6 to 12
Sexual latency period: divert energy to learning their
culture and social interaction; form pictures of themselves
as competent
Industry Inferiority
Be productive; acquire
job skills
Insufficient work to
accomplish goal
Competence Inertia
Stage 5: Adolescence Age – Age 12 to 18
Social latency period: try out new roles, beliefs, career
possibilities and lifestyle while establishing a sense of ego
identity
Identity crisis: find out who you are; turning point which
can promote growth or maladjustment
Identity Identity Confusion
Faith in one’s ideology,
decide how to behave
Divided self-image
Fidelity Role repudiation
Stage 6: Young Adulthood Age – Age 19 to 30
Genitality: relationship; fuse identity with another person
while maintaining sense of individuality
Intimacy Isolation
Share mutual trust;
commitment of 2
equals
Fear commitment,
unable to accept
responsibility
Love Exclusivity
Post-Freudian Theory
Erik Erikson
Ego
Not a slave of id/superego
Deal with reality by unifying one’s experiences and
actions in an adaptive manner
3 aspects:
Body ego - experiences with the body
Ego ideal – self-image in comparison with our ideal
Ego identity – different social roles
Epigenetic Principle
Develop through a predetermined rate in a fixed
sequence
Ego grows at a certain time
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Stage 7: Adulthood Age – Age 31 to 60
Procreativity: assume responsibility for the care of offspring
that result from sexual contact; transmit culture
Generativity Stagnation
Guide next generation;
leave legacy through
parenting/mentoring
Motivated by self-
interest and self-
indulgence
Care Rejectivity
Stage 8: Old Age – Age 60 to end
Generalized sensuality: take pleasure in variety of
physical sensations
Integrity Despair
Wholeness; hold self
together despite
diminishing physical and
intellectual powers
Without hope; fear of
death
Wisdom Disdain
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Physiological Needs – most prepotent, recurring, can be
completely or overly satisfied
Safety Needs – cannot be overly satisfied
Love and Belongingness Needs – need to both give and
receive love
Esteem Needs – reputation and self-esteem
Self-Actualization Needs – continuous desire to fulfill
potentials to be “all you can be”; embraced B-values (i.e.
truth, goodness, beauty, aliveness, uniqueness etc.)
Aesthetic Needs – desire for beauty and order
Cognitive Needs – desire to know, understand
Neurotic Needs – unproductive and unhealthy;
compensation for an unfulfilled basic need
Self-Actualization
Free from psychopathology
Progressed through hierarchy of needs
Embracing of B-values
Full use of talents, capacities and potentialities
The Self
*Self – little sense of self – becomes aware and learns to value
his experiences – discriminate between positive and negative
experiences – perceive ME experiences – tendency to actualize
blossoms into self-actualizationlp
a. Self-concept – how we perceive ourselves
b. Ideal self – how we would aspire to be
Incongruence – wide gap between ideal self and self-concept
Is self-concept an accurate gauge? It depends on a person’s
level of awareness. Some aspects may be:
1. Ignored/denied
2. Accurately symbolized
3. Distorted
Holistic-Dynamic Theory
Abraham Maslow
Assumes that the person is constantly motivated by
one need or another and people have the potential to
grow toward self-actualization
Assumptions on Motivation:
Whole organism is motivated at any one time
Motivation is complex and unconscious motives often
underlie behavior
Continually motivated
People in different cultures are motivated by same
basic needs
Needs can be arranged on a hierarchy
Person-Centered Theory
Carl Rogers
Non-directive
Client-centered
Client is the expert
Basic Assumptions:
1. Formative Tendency: general tendency of all matter to
develop from simple to complex forms
2. Actualizing Tendency: all living things tend to move
toward completion or fulfillment of potentials
a. Maintenance – basic needs and status quo
b. Enhancement – develop, achieve and grow
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How does one become a person?
Individual develops a need to be loved or positive regard
Individual develops a prizing/valuing of one’s self or
positive self-regard
PSYCHOTHERAPY
Conditions
If the following conditions exist:
1. A vulnerable or anxious client
2. Contacts a counselor who possesses
3. Congruence in the relationship (Feelings, awareness and
expression),
4. Unconditional positive regard for client
5. Empathic understanding of clients internal frame of
reference
6. The client perceives conditions 3,4, and 5
Then the process of therapeutic change occurs:
1. Unwillingness to communicate about themselves
2. Discuss only external events and other people
3. Talk about themselves but only as an object
4. Discuss past emotions
5. Begin to express present feelings
6. Freely allow into awareness those experiences that were
previously distorted/denied
7. Experience change and growth
If process of therapeutic change is set into motion, then certain
observable outcomes can be expected.
Outcome: Help client become person of tomorrow (more
congruent, less defensive and more open to experience)
Basic Concepts
Being-in-the-world (oneness of subject and object)
Adopt a phenomenological approach
Unity of person and environment: Dasein (meaning to
exist there)
Alienation of self from the world is manifested in three areas:
1. Separation from nature
2. Lack of meaningful interpersonal relations
3. Alienation from one’s authentic self
Modes
1. Umwelt – environment around us
2. Mitwelt – relations with other people
3. Eigenwelt – relationship with our self
Nonbeing
Awareness of self as living being leads to dread of
nonbeing or death
Provokes us to live defensively and to receive less from
life
Healthier: face inevitability of death and to realize that
nonbeing is an inseparable part of being
Barriers to Psychological Health
1. Conditions of worth – values and expectations we
put upon ourselves that are based on the
expectations of others
2. Incongruence – discrepancy between self-concept
and ideal self
a. Vulnerability – lack awareness of our
incongruence
b. Anxiety and Threat – gain awareness of
incongruence; can be healthy
3. Defensiveness – protection of the self-concept
against anxiety and threat by denying/distorting
experiences inconsistent with it
a. Distortion – misinterpretation of experience in
order to fit into some aspect of our self-concept
b. Denial – refuse to perceive an experience in
awareness
*When defenses fail, an individual may manifest psychotic
behavior: Disorganization
Existential Psychology
Rollo May
Existentialism vs Essentialism
Existence means to become; essence implies a static
immutable substance
Existence suggests process; essence refers to a
product
Existentialists affirm that people’s essence is their
power to continually redefine themselves
People are both subjective and objective
People search for meaning and are responsible for
who they become
13. MEMORY AID – THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
I S E R V E W I T H P R I D E 13
Anxiety
Aware that our existence can be destroyed
Threat to some value essential to one’s existence
Normal anxiety – proportionate to the threat, does not
involve repression and can be confronted constructively
(i.e. growth)
Neurotic anxiety – reaction disproportionate to the threat
and involves repression (i.e. values become dogma)
Guilt
Arises when people deny their potentialities, fail to
accurately perceive the needs of fellow humans or remain
oblivious to their dependence to the natural world
Umwelt (Separation guilt) – lack of awareness of Dasein,
removed from nature
Mitwelt - See people only through our own eyes
Eigenwelt – denial of potentialities or failure to fulfill them
Intentionality
Structure that gives meaning to experience and allows
people to make decisions about the future
Man’s action depend on his intentions
Care, Love and Will
Care – recognize the person as a fellow human being;
source of love
Love – delight in the presence of the other person and
affirming their value and development
Will – organize one’s self in order to move to a certain
goal
Forms of Love
Sex – biological function, satisfied through sexual
intercourse
Eros – psychological desire that seeks procreation or
creation through an enduring union with a loved one
Philia – intimate nonsexual relationship between people;
philia makes eros possible
Agape – concern for other’s welfare beyond any gain,
disinterested love
Freedom
Capacity to know that he is the determined one;
possibility of changing
Existential freedom (freedom of doing) – act on the
choices one makes
Essential freedom (freedom of being) – destiny
makes us more concerned about beingp’
Destiny
Goal that cannot be erased but we can choose how
we can respond
Myths
Conscious and unconscious belief systems that provide
explanations for personal and social problems
Stories that unify a society
Role of Conscious Motivation
Healthy adults are generally aware of what they are doing
and their reasons for doing it
Accept self-reports at face value
Structure of Personality
Common traits – general characteristics held in common
by many people; inferred from factor analytic studies
Personal Dispositions – permit researchers to study a
single individual
Levels of Personal Dispositions
Cardinal Dispositions – eminent characteristic that
dominates their lives; every action revolves around it (i.e.
Machiavellian, Narcissistic)
Central Dispositions – 5 to 10 most outstanding
characteristics around which a person’s life focuses
Secondary dispositions – not central to the personality yet
occur with some regularity
Psychology of the Individual
Gordon Allport
Emphasized the uniqueness of an individual
Morphogenic science – study of the individual
Nomothetic science – focus on gathering data on
groups of people
Personality is both physical and psychological;
includes both overt behaviors and covert thought; it
not only is something but it does something.
14. MEMORY AID – THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
I S E R V E W I T H P R I D E 14
Motivational and Stylistic Disposition
Motivational Dispositions – initiate action; received
motivation from basic needs or drives
Stylistic Disposition – guide action
PROPRIUM – behaviors and characteristics that people regard
as warm and central in their lives; includes values and
conscience
Functional Autonomy – some human motives are functionally
independent from the original motive responsible for the human
behavior; explanation for the behavior itself
Perseverative Functional Autonomy – tendency of an
impression to leave an influence on subsequent experience
Propriate Functional Autonomy – self-sustaining motives
related to proprium (i.e. hobbies)
Neuroticism – tend to be anxious, self-conscious,
emotional, and vulnerable to stress
Extraversion – tend to be affectionate, jovial, talkative
and fun-loving
Openness to experience – seek out different and
varied experiences, question traditional values,
imaginative, creative and curious
Agreeableness – tend to be trusting, generous, soft-
hearted and good-natured
Conscientiousness – hardworking, punctual,
persevering, organized and self-disciplined.
Skinner’s Theory of Personality
Individual History of Conditioning
1. Classical Conditioning – neutral stimulus is paired with an
unconditioned stimulus until it brings about a previously
unconditioned response, now called the conditioned
response
2. Operant Conditioning – consequences of behavior
produces changes in the probability of a behavior’s
occurrence
*Shaping – process of reinforcing successive
approximations that lead to a desired, more complex
behavior
Trait and Factor Theories
Eysenck’s Factor Theory
Hierarchy of Behavior Organization
1. Specific acts or cognition – individual behaviors or
thoughts that may or may not be characteristic of a
person
2. Habits – responses that recur under similar cognitions
3. Trait – semi-permanent personality dispositions;
significant intercorrelation among habitual behaviors
4. Types/Superfactors – made up of several interrelated
traits
Dimensions of Personality
Extraversion – characterized by sociability and
impulsiveness and other traits indicative of people who
are rewarded for their association with others; low level
of cortical arousal
Neuroticism – tendency to overreact emotionally and to
have difficulty returning to a normal state after emotional
arousal
Psychoticism – characterized as cold, egocentric,
impulsive, hostile, aggressive and antisocial
Behavioral Analysis
Burrhus Frederic Skinner
Precursors to Skinner’s Scientific Behaviorism
Edward Thorndik
Law of Effect
Satisfiers – strengthen the behavior
Annoyers – inhibits the behavior
John Watson
Goal: prove that fear is learned
Procedure: white rat + loud noise
Contributions: use of objective and scientific method in
studying behavior
Goal of psychology: prediction and control of behavior
15. MEMORY AID – THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
I S E R V E W I T H P R I D E 15
Reinforcement – strengthens the behavior and rewards the
person
Positive Reinforcement – any stimulus that when added
to the situation, increases the probability that a given
behavior will occur
Negative Reinforcement – removal of an aversive
stimulus from a situation also increases the probability that
the preceding behavior will occur
Punishment – suppress behavior and association of negative
feelings
Positive Punishment – application of aversive stimulus
Negative Punishment – removal of a pleasant stimulus
Conditioned vs Generalized Reinforce
Social Cognitive Theory
Albert Bandura
Learning
Observational Learning - allows people to learn without
performing any behavior; seeing other people being reinforced
can be reinforcing already
Process: Modeling – involves adding and subtracting from
observed behavior
Factors:
1. Characteristics of the Model – model high-status,
competent people
2. Characteristics of the Observer – lack status, skill or power
3. Consequences of the Behavior – tend to model if it’s
rewarding
Processes involved:
1. Attention
2. Representation
3. Behavioral Production
4. Motivation
Enactive Learning – complex human behaviors can be learned
when people think about and evaluate the consequences of
their behavior.
1. Informs us of the effects of our actions which serve as
guide for future actions.
2. Motivate our anticipatory actions – visualize possible
outcomes.
3. Reinforce behavior.
TRIADIC RECIPROCAL CAUSATION
Chance Encounter – unintended meeting of persons unfamiliar
to each other
Fortuitous Event – environmental experience that is
unexpected and unintended
Human Agency – have capacity to exercise control over their
own lives
Intentionality – proactive commitment to actions that bring
desired outcomes
Forethought – ability to set goals
Self-reactiveness – monitor one’s progress toward fulfilling
choices
Self-reflectiveness – evaluate motives, values and goals
Self-Efficacy – person’s confidence that they have the ability
to perform certain behaviors
Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed-Ratio – behavior is reinforced after a required
number of responses
Variable Ratio - behavior is reinforced after a number
of unpredictable responses
Fixed Interval - behavior is reinforced after a fixed
amount of time has elapsed
Variable Interval - behavior is reinforced after an
unpredictable amount of time has elapsed
16. MEMORY AID – THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
I S E R V E W I T H P R I D E 16
Proxy Agency – capacity to rely on others for goods and
services
Collective Efficacy – confidence that groups of people have
that their combined efforts will produce social change
Sikolohiyang Pilipino – psychology born out of experience,
thought and orientation of Filipinos based on the full use of
Filipino culture and language.
Virgilio Enriquez – came up with a definition of psychology that
takes into account the study of emotions and experienced
language (kalooban at kamalayan), awareness of one’s
surroundings (ulirat), information and understanding (isip),
habits and behavior (diwa), and soul (kaluluwa)
Rethinking Filipino Values
Bahala Na
Compared with American fatalism, resignation, leaving
everything to God
Determination and risk-taking
Telling themselves that they are ready to face a difficult
situation and will do their best to achieve their objective
Pump courage
Hiya
Shame, uncomfortable feeling of being in an socially
unacceptable position
Did not give importance to affixations which can give a new
meaning
Internal aspect: sense of propriety
Utang na Loob
Principle of reciprocity incurred when an individual helps
another; colonizer as benefactor
“gratitude or solidarity”
Calling heard by Filipinos who go to other lands but to still
remain ties with their homeland
Pakikisama
Maintain smooth interpersonal relations by going along with
the group’s decision
Kapwa (shared identity) – heart of the structure of Filipino
values
Pakikiramdam (shared inner perception) – pivotal
interpersonal value, request to feel or be sensitive
Pakikipagkapwa
Treat the other person as kapwa or human being
2 categories of kapwa: Ibang-tao (outsider) and Hindi-
Ibang-Tao (one of us); level of interaction varies
Ibang-tao – pakikitungo (transaction/civility with),
pakikilahok (joining/participating), and pakikisama
Hindi-Ibang-Tao – pakikipagpalagayang loob
(rapport/understanding), pakikisangkot (getting involved)
and pakikiisa (being one with)-