Personality Who We Are 04 15 2013 How do you define personality What does it mean if someone is extraverted What does it mean if someone is conscientious Personality Definition stable tendencies within individuals that influence how they respond to their environments Causes of Personality Nature vs Nurture Do genes influence how extraverted we are Or does the environment How much How could we use a family to determine this Behavior genetic methods attempt to disentangle the effects of Genetic factors Shared environmental factors Non shared environmental factors Use the twin and adoption studies to do this Twin Studies Identical MZ twins 100 same genetics Fraternal DZ twins 50 same genetics Concordance rate the degree to which two twins are the same on a given variable like how extraverted they are Concordance MZ twins DZ twins evidence for a genetic contribution to that variable High concordance MZ twins DZ twins evidence for shared environment Low concordance MZ twins DZ twins evidence for non shared environment Causes of Personality Numerous personality traits are influenced by genetics but all much below a 1 0 correlation Demonstrates non shared environmental influence Turns out that shared environment plays little to no role in adult personality Supported by twin and adoption studies Shared Environment MZ twins reared apart no shared environment similar in personality to MZ twins raised together Adoption studies children more like their biological parents than adoptive parents A Note of Caution Remember genes code for proteins not specific behaviors Genes have indirect influence on traits while the environment influences how these are displayed in our lives Sigmund Freud Viennese neurologist who developed first comprehensive theory of personality Psychoanalytic Theory Developed by Sigmund Freud rests on three primary assumptions 1 Psychic determinism 2 Symbolic meaning 3 Unconscious motivation Structure of Personality Freud thought that the psyche consisted of three components Id basic instincts operates on pleasure principle Ego principal decision maker reality principle Superego sense of morality Conflicts between these cause distress Anxiety and Defense Mechanisms The ego will try to minimize anxiety via defense mechanisms Although essential for psychological health Freud thought over reliance on one or two could cause problems Defense Mechanisms Repression Motivated forgetting of emotionally threatening memories or impulses Projection Unconscious attribution of our negative qualities onto others Sublimation Transforming a socially unacceptable impulse into an admired goal Stages of Psychosexual Development Freud believed that we pass through stages each of which is focused on an erogenous zone Insisted that sexuality begins in infancy Individuals who get fixated on a stage and have difficulty moving on Psychoanalytic Theory Evaluated Scientifically Five major criticisms Un falsifiability Failed predictions Questionable conception of the unconscious Reliance on unrepresentative samples Flawed assumption of shared environmental influence Trait Models Interested primarily in describing and understanding the structure of personality Used statistical techniques to reduce diversity of personality descriptors to underlying traits Five traits have repeatedly appeared in such studies The Big Five Model of Personality Extraversion Neuroticism Agreeableness Conscientiousness Openness to experience Alternative Trait Models Big Three Positive Emotionality Extraversion Negative Emotionality Big Five and Behavior Predict many important real world behaviors Job performance and grades in school Physical health and life span Relatively similar traits seen across cultures but different prevalence rates Neuroticism Constraint Impulse Control Agreeableness Conscientiousness Openness Can Personality Change Some variability prior to age 30 but little thereafter Evaluated Scientifically Mischel s argument concerning behavioral inconsistency Response was that traits are predictors of aggregate not isolated behaviors Primarily describe individual differences rather than what causes them Personality Assessment How do we measure personality Need two key criteria reliability and validity Structured Personality Tests Paper and pencil tests consisting of questions you respond to in one of a few fixed ways Consist of questions that people can answer in only one of a few fixed ways Some are developed empirically MMPI 2 and CPI Others are developed rationally theoretically NEO PI R Self Report Measures and Surveys Advantages Easy to administer Person can provide subtle information regarding his or her emotional states that others may not know Disadvantages Respondents may not have insight to report on their personality characteristics accurately Respondents may not be honest in responses Pitfalls in Personality Assessment The PT Barnum effect and the tendency to accept high base rate descriptors as accurate Astrology and tarot readings Overall personality assessment can be useful but only if using valid reliable instruments Projective Tests Consist of ambiguous stimuli that the examinee must interpret Rorschach test Thematic Apperception Test TAT Human figure drawings Graphology Rorschach Evaluated Scientifically Unknown test retest and problematic interrater reliability scores Little evidence that it detects features of mental disorders Lack of incremental validity Generally these flaws apply to all projective tests not just Rorschach Psychological Disorders When Adaptation Breaks Down What is Mental Illness 04 15 2013 Psychological Disorders When Adaptation Breaks Down 04 15 2013 Psychopathology abnormal psychology is often seen as a failure of adaptation to the environment Failure analysis approach tries to understand mental disorders by examining breakdowns in functioning Not a clear cut definition of how to define a mental disorder Characteristics of Mental Disorders Dysfunction Does the symptom cause the person to be unable to function properly Can the person still work Can the person maintain friendships Biological dysfunction Can be informative to look at this but is not always the most useful Distress Is the person uncomfortable as a result of the behavior or symptom If they have distress it can turn into stress for the people around them Deviant Are behaviors unusual versus typical Statistically how rare are these symptoms Dangerousness Behaviors and feelings that are potentially harmful
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