Psych Study Guide 3 Chapter 14 Personality I Personality What Is It and How Can We Study It a Fundamental attribution error the tendency to attribute too much of others behavior to their dispositions including their personalities and not enough to the situations they confront b Personality people s typical ways of thinking feeling and behaving i Traits relatively enduring predispositions that influence our behavior c Two major approaches for studying personality i Nomothetic approach approach to personality that focuses on ii identifying general laws that govern the behavior of all individuals Idiographic approach approach to personality that focuses on identifying the unique configuration of characteristics and life history experiences within a person d Three broad sets of influences on personality i Genetic factors ii Shared environmental factors experiences that make individuals within the same family more alike iii Nonshared environmental factors experiences that make individuals within a family less alike e Investigating the Causes of Personality Overview of Twin and Adoption Studies i Related Together Twins Genes or Environment 1 Numerous personality traits are influenced by genetic factors 2 Nonshared environment plays an important role in personality ii Related Apart Twins Shining a Spotlight on Genes 1 2 Identical twins reared apart tend to be strikingly similar in their personality traits Identical twins reared apart are about the same as identical twins reared together iii Adoption Studies Further Separating Genes and Environment 1 Adoption studies permit investigators to separate the effects of genes and environment by examining children who were separated at an early age from their biological families 2 Correlations between biological parents and their adopted away children in their sociability levels are slightly higher than correlations between adoptive parents and their adopted children f Behavior Genetic Studies A Note of Caution i Genes influence a variety of behaviors that are often associated with personality traits ii Molecular genetic study investigation that allows researchers to pinpoint genes associated with specific personality traits 1 Two premises a Gene codes for proteins that in turn often influence the functioning of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin Psych Study Guide 3 b The functioning of many neurotransmitters is associated with certain personality traits 2 Novelty seeking a trait that refers to the tendency to search out and enjoy new experiences II Psychoanalytic Theory The Controversial Legacy of Sigmund Freud and His Followers a Freud s Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality i Psychic determinism the assumption that all psychological events have a cause do ii Symbolic meaning no action is meaningless iii Unconscious motivation we rarely understand why we do what we b The Id Ego and Superego The Structure of Personality i The Id Basic Instincts 1 Id reservoir of our most primitive impulses including sex and aggression 2 Pleasure principle tendency of the id to strive for immediate gratification ii The Ego The Boss 1 Ego psyche s executive and principal decision maker 2 Reality principle tendency of the ego to postpone gratification until it can find an appropriate outlet iii The Superego Moral Standards 1 Superego our sense of morality iv How The Psychic Agencies Interact 1 Wish fulfillment dreams expressions of the id s impulses v Anxiety and the Defense Mechanisms 1 Defense mechanisms unconscious maneuvers intended to minimize anxiety a Repression motivated forgetting of emotionally threatening memories or impulses b Denial refusal to acknowledge current events in our lives c Regression the act of returning psychologically to a younger and typically simpler and safer age d Reaction Formation transformation of an anxiety provoking emotion into its opposite e Projection unconscious attribution of our negative characteristics to others f Displacement directing an impulse from a socially unacceptable target onto a safer and more socially acceptable target g Rationalization providing a reasonable sounding explanation for unreasonable behaviors or for failures h Sublimation transforming a socially unacceptable impulse into an admired goal Psych Study Guide 3 c Stages of Psychosexual Development i The Oral Stage ii The Anal Stage 1 Oral stage psychosexual stage that focuses on the mouth iii The Phallic Stage 1 Anal stage psychosexual stage that focuses on toilet training 2 Anal personalities anally fixed individuals tend toward excessive neatness stinginess and stubbornness in adulthood 1 Phallic stage psychosexual stage that focuses on the genitals 2 Oedipus complex conflict during phallic stage in which boys supposedly love their mothers romantically and want to eliminate their fathers iv The Latency and Genital Stages 1 Latency stage psychosexual stage in which sexual impulses are submerged into the unconscious 2 Genital stage psychosexual stage in which sexual impulses awaken and typically begin to mature into romantic attraction toward others d Psychoanalytic Theory Evaluated Scientifically i Unfalsifiability 1 Many hypotheses derived from Freudian theory are difficult or impossible to refute ii Failed Predictions 1 Portions of the theory that can be falsified often have been iii Questionable Conception of the Unconscious 1 Subliminally presented stimuli can affect our behavior in subtle ways iv Reliance on Unrepresentative Samples 1 Based his theories on atypical samples and generalized them to the rest of humanity v Flawed Assumption of Shared Environmental Influence 1 Presume that shared environment plays a key role in molding personality e Freud s Followers The Neo Freudians i Neo Freudian Theories Core Features 1 Neo Freudian theories theories derived from Freud s model but with less emphasis on sexuality as a driving force in personality and more optimism regarding the prospects for long term personality growth ii Alfred Alder The Striving For Superiority 1 Style of life according to Alter each person s distinctive way 2 of achieving superiority Inferiority complex feelings of low self esteem that can lead to overcompensation for such feelings iii Carl Jung The Collective Unconscious Psych Study Guide 3 1 Collective unconscious according to Jung our shared storehouse of memories that ancestors have passed down to us across generations 2 Archetype cross culturally universal symbols iv Karen Horeny Feminist Psychology v Freud s