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Explore major theoretical approaches to understanding personality.
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Personality refers to the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish individuals and persist over time and situations. Personality psychology examines individual differences, their origins, development, and consequences.
Freud's Structural Model: - Id: Pleasure principle; unconscious drives - Ego: Reality principle; mediates id and superego - Superego: Moral standards; conscience
Psychosexual Stages: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital
Defense Mechanisms: Unconscious strategies to manage anxiety - Repression, denial, projection, displacement, sublimation, rationalization
Neo-Freudians: - Jung: Collective unconscious, archetypes - Adler: Inferiority and striving for superiority - Horney: Basic anxiety, neurotic needs - Erikson: Psychosocial stages across lifespan
Trait Theory: Personality consists of stable, enduring characteristics.
Big Five Model (OCEAN): - Openness: Imagination, curiosity, creativity - Conscientiousness: Organization, dependability, self-discipline - Extraversion: Sociability, assertiveness, positive emotions - Agreeableness: Cooperation, trust, compassion - Neuroticism: Emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness
Evidence for Big Five: - Cross-cultural replication - Heritability (40-60%) - Stability in adulthood - Predicts important life outcomes
HEXACO Model: Adds Honesty-Humility dimension.
Carl Rogers Person-Centered Theory: - Self-Concept: How one perceives oneself - Ideal Self: Who one wants to be - Congruence: Alignment between self-concept and experience - Conditions of Worth: Conditional acceptance leads to incongruence - Unconditional Positive Regard: Acceptance without conditions promotes growth
Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of Needs: - Physiological → Safety → Love/Belonging → Esteem → Self-Actualization - Self-Actualization: Realizing one's full potential - Peak Experiences: Moments of transcendence
Critique: Difficult to test empirically; culturally limited.
Eysenck's Biological Theory: - Extraversion: Cortical arousal levels - Neuroticism: Limbic system reactivity - Psychoticism: Testosterone levels
Behavioral Genetics: - Twin studies show heritability of traits - Shared environment has minimal effect in adulthood - Non-shared environment matters more
Temperament: Early-appearing, biologically based individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation.
Evolutionary Personality Psychology: Traits as adaptations to ancestral environments.
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Larsen, R. J., & Buss, D. M. (2021). Personality Psychology: Domains of Knowledge About Human Nature. McGraw-Hill (7th ed.).
Cervone, D., & Pervin, L. A. (2019). Personality: Theory and Research. Wiley (14th ed.).
McAdams, D. P., & Pals, J. L. (2006). A New Big Five: Fundamental Principles for an Integrative Science of Personality. American Psychologist, 61(3), 204-217.
Roberts, B. W., Walton, K. E., & Viechtbauer, W. (2006). Patterns of Mean-Level Change in Personality Traits Across the Life Course. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 1-25.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. W.H. Freeman.
Mischel, W., & Shoda, Y. (1995). A Cognitive-Affective System Theory of Personality. Psychological Review, 102(2), 246-268.
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) Professional Manual. Psychological Assessment Resources.
Caspi, A., Roberts, B. W., & Shiner, R. L. (2005). Personality Development: Stability and Change. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 453-484.
John, O. P., Robins, R. W., & Pervin, L. A. (2008). Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research. Guilford Press (3rd ed.).
Friedman, H. S., & Kern, M. L. (2014). Personality, Well-Being, and Health. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 719-742.
Social-Cognitive Perspectives
Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory: - Reciprocal Determinism: Behavior, person, environment mutually influence each other - Self-Efficacy: Beliefs about ability to succeed in specific situations - Observational Learning: Learning through modeling
Mischel's Cognitive-Affective System: - Behavior varies across situations - Person-situation interaction - Cognitive-affective units: Encodings, expectancies, affects, goals, self-regulatory plans
Strengths: Emphasizes learning, cognition, and situation Limitations: May underemphasize biological factors and stable traits