Objectives Chapter 14 Personality NOTE Our coverage of this chapter will be limited to pp 540 541 pp 545 558 and pp 561 566 1 Define personality l A characteristic pattern of thinking feeling and behaving Your personality gives coherence to life and reflects the ideas of both nature and nurture 1 Know Freud s view of personality structure in terms of the id ego and superego l Freud believed that all conscious actions were simply a reflection of unconscious desires l Id The most primitive part of personality is the most animalistic Similar to the functions of the Hippocampus the 4 F s l Ego Our largely conscious self and is driven by the reality principle meaning that the ego understands that not all the desires of the id can be immediately gratified Instead the ego tries to find socially acceptable ways of meeting the demands of the id l Superego Represents the internalized rules and ideals pressed upon us It s our conscience or Jimminy Crickett 1 Know Freud s psychosexual stages of development and describe the effects of fixation on behavior l 1 Oral stages mouth related pleasure Babies want immediate gratification and the conflict occurs when babies cannot deal with the fact that immediate gratification is not possible resulting in an Oral Fixation as an adult cigarette addiction biting pens always needing something in your mouth l 2 Anal stage Bowel and bladder related pleasure the pleasure in relieving yourself The central conflict is gaining a sense of control or mastery over the body Children that had problems potty training Results in anal fixation that causes personality anxieties related to order cleanliness l 3 Phallic stage Genital related pleasure Conflict being that there is tension between illicit sexual desires and civilization s approved sexuality Also known as the Oedipus complex and results in a genital fixation or anxiety related to genital pleasure l 4 Latency stage Not much going on dormant sexual feelings no notable conflicts no fixations l 5 Genital stage Maturation of sexual desires Success entails finding a healthy expression of sexuality No new fixation but prior fixations can emerge 1 Know how defense mechanisms may serve to protect the individual from anxiety you do not need to know all the specific defense mechanisms l Defense mechanisms are the ego s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality examples repression denial regression displacement rationalization sublimation 1 Understand psychology s current assessment of Freud s theory of psychoanalysis including its portrayal of the unconscious l Most contemporary psychologists do NOT deem sex the sole basis of personality They consider the unconscious as vital for information processing but not id driven impulses Personality development is a life long process and while repression is a key idea in psychoanalysis it is rare that people will engage in full scale repression 1 Know the definition of trait as it is used in personality psychology l A trait is a relatively stable predisposition to feel and act a certain way Many traits compose personality 1 Know the Big Five trait dimensions l O C E A N l Openness to experience on the high end you re imaginative intellectual curious unconventional On the low end you re simple down to earth closed to new ideas l Conscientiousness on the high end cautious serious responsible thorough organized disciplined Low end irresponsible disorganized careless lazy impulsive easy going l Extroversion High end Sociable assertive energetic adventurous enthusiastic outgoing Low end reserved reflective quiet prefers being with a few close friends alone l Agreeableness High end Good natured courteous sympathetic helpful Low end irritable rude cold unkind demanding stubborn show off l Neuroticism High end nervous anxious excitable high strung moody irritable Low end Calm composed relaxed happy stable flexible 1 Know the person situation controversy l Personality is not totally fixed it s responsive to situational factors Therefore you cannot try and predict behavior based on someone s personality
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