Personality A person s general style of interacting with the world People differ from one another in ways that are relatively consistent over time and place Personality Chapter 15 Personality Psychoanalytic Theory Trait Theory Social Cognitive Approach Humanistic Approach Psychoanalytic Approach Developed by Sigmund Freud Psychoanalysis is both an approach to therapy and a theory of personality Emphasizes unconscious motivation the main causes of behavior lie buried in the unconscious mind Psychoanalytic Divisions of the Mind Id instinctual drives present at birth does not distinguish between reality and fantasy operates according to the pleasure principle Ego develops out of the id in infancy understands reality and logic mediator between id and superego Superego internalization of society s moral standards responsible for guilt Defense Mechanisms Unconscious mental processes employed by the ego to reduce anxiety Post Freudian Psychodynamic Theories Karen Horney s focus on security Object relations theories Alfred Adler s individual psychology Erik Erikson s psychosocial development Carl Jung s collective unconscious Trait Theories Trait a relatively stable predisposition to behave in a certain way Goal of trait theories is to specify a set of distinct personality dimensions for use in summarizing fundamental psychological differences Trait Theories Trait a relatively stable predisposition to behave in a certain way Goal of trait theories is to specify a set of distinct personality dimensions for use in summarizing fundamental psychological differences Trait Theories Specific behaviors Surface traits linked directly to a set of related behaviors Central traits fundamental dimensions of personality Predictive Value of Traits Stability of personality Relationship to actual behaviors Situation specific traits their lives and accomplish goals Social Cognitive Perspective Locus of Control Social Cognitive Perspective Based on research on learning cognition and social influence Focuses on beliefs and habits that increase or decrease people s ability to take control of proposed by Julian Rotter belief that rewards either are or are not controllable by one s own efforts may be internal or external Social Cognitive Perspective Self Efficacy proposed by Albert Bandura belief about one s ability to perform specific tasks can be high or low Humanistic Perspective Focuses on the human tendency to create belief systems and to govern our lives in accordance with these beliefs Phenomenological reality one s conscious understanding of his her world Humanistic Perspective Carl Rogers s person centered approach self concept is central to personality conditional positive regard love and praise is withheld unless one conforms to unconditional positive regard accepting a person regardless of who they are or others expectations what they do Humanistic Perspective Abraham Maslow hierarchy of needs self actualization the realization of one s dreams and capabilities