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67737defa17b6Personality

Personality encompasses unique patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors shaped by both biology and environment, remaining relatively stable throughout life. Various theories categorize personality into types (e.g., Type A, B, C, D) and traits (e.g., agreeableness, conscientiousness), while prominent theories include psychodynamic, behavioral, and humanist perspectives. Defense mechanisms, such as displacement and denial, are unconscious responses that protect individuals from anxiety and emotional distress.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
4 views25 pages

67737defa17b6Personality

Personality encompasses unique patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors shaped by both biology and environment, remaining relatively stable throughout life. Various theories categorize personality into types (e.g., Type A, B, C, D) and traits (e.g., agreeableness, conscientiousness), while prominent theories include psychodynamic, behavioral, and humanist perspectives. Defense mechanisms, such as displacement and denial, are unconscious responses that protect individuals from anxiety and emotional distress.

Uploaded by

Sajjad Ahmed
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Personality

Personality
• Unique patterns of thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors that distinguish a person from
others. A product of both biology and
environment, it remains fairly consistent
throughout life.
• Examples of personality can be found in how
we describe other people's traits. For instance,
"She is generous, caring, and a bit of a
perfectionist," or "They are loyal and
protective of their friends."
• The word "personality" stems from the Latin
word persona, which refers to a theatrical
mask worn by performers to play roles or
disguise their identities.
Personality Types

• Type A: Perfectionist, impatient, competitive,


work-obsessed, achievement-oriented,
aggressive, stressed.
• Type B: Low stress, even-tempered, flexible,
creative, adaptable to change, patient,
tendency to procrastinate
• Type C: Highly conscientious, perfectionist,
struggles to reveal emotions (positive and
negative)
• Type D: Worrying, sad, irritable, pessimistic,
negative self-talk, avoidance of social
situations, lack of self-confidence, fear of
rejection, appears gloomy, hopeless
• There are other popular theories of
personality types such as the Myers-Briggs
theory. The Myers-Briggs Personality Type
Indicator identifies a personality based on
where someone is on four continuums:
• introversion-extraversion, sensing-intuition,
thinking-feeling, and judging-perceiving.
Personality Traits

• Trait theories tend to view personality as the


result of internal characteristics that are
genetically based and include:
• Agreeable: Cares about others, feels empathy,
enjoys helping others
• Conscientiousness: High levels of
thoughtfulness, good impulse control, goal-
directed behaviors
• Eager-to-please: Accommodating, passive,
and conforming
• Extraversion: Excitability, sociability,
talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts
of emotional expressiveness
• Introversion: Quiet, reserved
• Neuroticism: Experiences stress and dramatic
shifts in mood, feels anxious, worries about
different things, gets upset easily, struggles to
bounce back after stressful events
• Openness: Very creative, open to trying new
things, focuses on tackling new challenges
Theories of Personality
• Psychodynamic Theories of Personality
• Behavioral Theories of Personality
• Humanist Theories of Personality
Psychodynamic Theory
• The psychodynamic perspective of personality
emphasizes the importance of early childhood
experiences and the unconscious mind. This
perspective on personality was created by
psychiatrist Sigmund Freud who believed that
things hidden in the unconscious could be
revealed in a number of different ways,
including through dreams, free association,
and slips of the tongue.
Defense Mechanisms

• Defense mechanisms are unconscious


psychological responses that protect people
from feelings of anxiety, threats to self-
esteem, and things that they don't want to
think about or deal with.
Displacement

• Displacement involves taking out our


frustrations, feelings, and impulses on people
or objects that are less threatening.
• Displaced aggression is a common example of
this defense mechanism. Rather than express
your anger in ways that could lead to negative
consequences (like arguing with your boss),
you instead express your anger toward a
person or object that poses no threat (such as
your spouse, children, or pets).
Denial
• Refusal to accept external realities because
too threatening to enter awareness.
• For example denying that your physician’s
diagnosis of cancer is correct and seeking a
second opinion.
Repression

• Painful memories, or irrational beliefs can upset


you. Instead of facing those thoughts, people
may unconsciously choose to hide them in
hopes of forgetting them entirely.
• That does not mean, however, that
the memories disappear entirely. They may
influence behaviors, and they may impact
future relationships. You just may not realize
the impact this defense mechanism is having.
• For example, a person who has repressed
memories of abuse suffered as a child may
later have difficulty forming relationships.
Regression

• Some people who feel threatened or anxious


may unconsciously “escape” to an earlier
stage of development.
• This type of defense mechanism may be most
obvious in young children. If they experience
trauma or loss, they may suddenly act as if
they’re younger again. They may even begin
wetting the bed or sucking their thumb as a
form of regression.
• Adults can regress, too. Adults who are
struggling to cope with events or behaviors
may return to sleeping with a cherished
stuffed animal, overeat foods they find
comforting, or begin chain-smoking or
chewing on pencils or pens. They may also
avoid everyday activities because they feel
overwhelmed.
Reaction formation
• People who use this defense mechanism
recognize how they feel, but they choose to
behave in the opposite manner of their
instincts.
• A person who reacts this way, for example,
may feel they should not express negative
emotions, such as anger or frustration. They
choose to instead react in an overly positive
way.
Projection

• Some thoughts or feelings you have about


another person may make you uncomfortable.
When people project those feelings, they
misattribute them to the other person.
• For example, you may dislike your new co-
worker, but instead of accepting that, you
choose to tell yourself that they dislike you.
You start to interpret their words and actions
toward you in the worst way possible, even
though they don’t actually dislike you.
Behavioral Theories of Personality
Behavioral Theories of Personality

• Behavioral theorists include B. F. Skinner and John


B. Watson. Behavioral theories suggest that
personality is a result of interaction between the
individual and the environment.
• Behaviorists do not believe personality
characteristics are based on genetics or inborn
predispositions. Instead, they view personality as
shaped by the reinforcements and consequences
outside of the organism. In other words, people
behave in a consistent manner based on prior
learning.
Humanist Theories of Personality
Humanist Theories of Personality

• Abraham Maslow is an American psychologist


who believed that people possess free
will and self-determination: the ability to
make decisions and shape their own life.
Maslow believed that you can choose to
become whoever you want to be and you can
achieve self-actualization.
Humanistic Theory of Personality by Carl Rogers

• Humans had the ability to change and grow into


better people. Rogers believed that a person
needed an environment that had empathy and
genuineness so that they could become a good
person. Rogers believed that it was not possible
for a human to learn how to have healthy
relationships and be healthy without this
environment.
• Carl Rogers believed that there are three parts to
your beliefs about yourself (your self-concept):
• Self-Worth
• Self-Image
• Ideal Self
• Carl Rogers believed that these three
components need to be congruent and
overlap with each other in order to achieve
self-actualization.

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