Personality

Class: 3.A
Teacher: Rajna Sušanj
Definition of personality

• The term personality is derived

from the Latin word persona
Personality is the meaning a Mask
sum total of ways
in which an
individual reacts • Personality is a relatively
and interacts with stable set of *characteristics
others. that influences an individual’s
behavior

*Characteristics: physical, mental, emotional

and social characteristic …
 Defining Some Terms

• Personality: A person's unique long-term pattern

of thinking, emotion, and behavior; the
consistency of who you are, have been, and will
become
• Character: Personal characteristics that have
been judged or evaluated; desirable or undesirable
qualities
• Temperament: Hereditary aspects of personality,
including sensitivity, moods, irritability, and
distractibility
 Personality theory
 Personality theory: System of concepts,
assumptions, ideas, and principles proposed to
explain personality

• Includes four perspectives:

1. Trait Theories
2. Psychodynamic Theories
3. Behavioristic and Social Learning Theories
4. Humanistic Theories
 Trait Theories

• Attempt to learn what traits make up personality

and how they relate to actual behavior

• Remember: Personality traits are the stable

qualities that a person shows in most situations

 Can be used to predict behaviour based on

traits
 1. Trait Theories
Psychologist have
tried to define or
understand
personality with
reference to:
1. TRAITS -
personal
characteristics or
virtues
2. TYPES –
People who have
several traits in
common
What is a personality trait?
A personality trait is a durable
disposition to behave in a particular
way in a variety of situations

Adjective such as honest, dependable,

moody, domineering, friendly, kind,
timid, self-assured
 Type A Personality traits
 Type A personalities are competitive, high achievers
and have a high sense of time urgency.

• Type A's are always found to be busy working on their

own projects.

• They are always moving, walking and eating rapidly,

strive to think or do two or more things at once, feel
impatient, cannot cope with leisure time..
 Type B personality traits
 Type B's are the opposite of type A's. They
are relaxed, laid back and not easily stressed.

• While type B can be achievers too still they

won't be as competitive as Type A’s.

• Tybe B can delay work and do it in the last

moment, some of them can turn into
procrastinators which is something that a type
A can never do.
 Type C Personality traits
 Type C personalities love details and can spend a lot of
time trying to find out how things work and this makes
them very suitable for technical jobs.

• Type C’s are not assertive at all and they always

suppress their own desires even if there is something
that they dislike. The lack of assertiveness results in
tremendous stress and sometimes in depression.

• Type C’s are very vulnerable to depression compared

to type A and type B.
 Type D Personality traits
 D stands for distressed, Type D's have a
negative outlook towards life and are
pessimistic.
• A small event that is not even noticed by
type B can ruin type D's day.

• Type D might become socially withdrawn as

a result of fear of rejection even if they like
to be around people.
 Jung’s Theory of Two Types
• Carl Jung, Swiss • In his book, he noted 4
psychiatrist believed that main psychological
we are one of two functions: THINKING,
personality types: FEELING, SENSATION
1. Introvert - shy, self - AND INTUITION
centered person whose • He introduced them with
attention is focused having either an internally
inward focused (introverted) or
2. Extrovert - bold, outgoing externally focused
person whose attention is (extraverted) tendency
directed outward which he called attitudes
Three factors theory
Four basic temperaments
• Hans Eysenck, English
psychologist, believed that The first two factors create 4
there are three combinations, related to four basic
fundamental factors in temperaments reorganized by ancient
personality Greeks:
oMelancholic (introverted
1. Introversion versus +unstable) : sad, gloomy
Extraversion oCholeric (extroverted + unstable) :
2. Emotionally stable hot-tempered, irritable
oPhlegmatic (introverted + stable):
versus Unstable sluggish, calm
(neurotic) oSanguine (extroverted + stable):
3. Impulse control cheerful, hopeful
versus Psychotic
 2. Psychodynamic Theories
• Focus on the inner workings of
personality, especially internal
conflicts and struggles

Freud’s Theory of Personality

 Sigmund Freud: 1856-1939
• Father of Modern
Psychoanalytic thought
• Primary Concern?
– Workings of unconscious
• Main insight?
– Personality made up of id,
ego, super-ego (a complex)
• View of religion?
– Religion a function of super-
ego: socialization of moral
beliefs
– An illusion, not real
 Freud’s Theory of Personality
• The Topographical Model:
– Conscious: connects to external world; small, limited
part of mental life
– Preconscious: where much of work happens:
unconscious made conscious
– Unconscious: dominant force in personality

• Key insight: we are governed primarily by

unconscious
 Levels of Awareness
• Unconscious: Holds repressed memories and
emotions and the id's instinctual drives

• Conscious: Everything you are aware of at a given

moment including thoughts, perceptions, feelings,
and memories

• Preconscious: Material that can easily be brought

into awareness
 The Id
• Only part of personality present at birth

• Innate biological instincts and urges; self-serving,

irrational, and totally unconscious

• Works via pleasure principle: Wishes to have its

desires (pleasurable) satisfied NOW, without
waiting and regardless of the consequences
 The Ego
• Part of personality responsible for dealing
with reality.
• Develops from the id, and ensures that the
impulses of the id can be expressed in a
manner acceptable in the real world.
• Present in conscious, and unconscious mind
• Operates on reality principle( strives to
satisfy the id’s desires in realistic and
socially appropriate ways. Delays action until
it is practical and/or appropriate
 The Superego
• Last to develop
• Holds all our moral standards that we get from
parents and society ( sense of right and wrong)
• Provides guidelines for making judgements
• Emerges at around 5 or 6
• Acts to perfect and civilize our behaviour.
• Works to suppress unacceptable urges of the id
and struggles to make the ego act upon
idealistic standards.
ID vs. EGO vs. SUPEREGO
Externalworld
 Defense Mechanism
• Mental process that protects individuals from strong
emotions
• Part of ego, ego’s way of coping with anxiety, frustration,
unacceptable impulses
• Ways people deal with stresses in their
lives. Used to try to solve problems, hide
or counterbalance feelings or actions.
 Defense Mechanisms +/- impacts

• *Defense mechanisms do not

usually get rid of the problem
and are not a very effective way
to deal with stress…
• Positive?: Builds up ego: important
• Minus?: distorts reality; prevents us from
growing emotionally
 Positive Defenses
 Direct Attack: Recognize the heart of the
problem
• Work to solve the problem
• The goals must be realistic
– “If I look at this realistically, I can set my goals
and overcome this problem”
 Sublimation: redirecting bad or unacceptable
behavior/emotions into positive behavior.
-We sublimate the desire to fight into the ritualistic
activities of formal competition.
-When I’m angry, I box at the gym.
 Negative Defenses
 Compensation: covering a weakness
by overachieving in another area.
• May be negative or positive
– “OK, maybe I’ll never be able to pass the class, but I’ll
have fun and that teacher will be sorry”

 Daydreaming: escaping from an

unpleasant situation by using your
imagination.
• Living in a fantasy world
- “I love animals so much, so even if I fail biology
I can still be a veterinarian”
 Denial: failure to accept reality.
• “This is not happening. It can’t happen to
me.”

 Displacement: the transfer of

negative emotions from one person
or thing to an unrelated person or
thing.
• “I did so poorly on my SAT, I’ll just go
home and kick my dog.”
 Projection: Blame other people or
things for your failure

• Use a scapegoat
• “It’s my math teacher’s fault I failed the test”

 Rationalization: justifying when you

behave irrationally.
• “We got caught up in the romance of the
moment.. And now I’m pregnant!”
 Regression: using childlike
ways for expressing emotions.
• Crying, name calling, throwing things,
swearing.

 Repression: subconsciously
blocking out unpleasant
memories
• “I can remember everything up to the
accident, but nothing after that.”
 Reaction formation: expressing emotions that are the exact
opposite of what you feel.
– Conceal anger/hate with kindness.
– Teasing/bothering someone you like.

Conversion: Transfer the energy of a desire you can’t

express into a physical complaint or symptom (headache,
stomach aches)
•“I think I have the flu… I can’t take my test today.”
 Idealization – Valuing something more than it is
worth.
• Yourself (conceited) “I am so wonderful. Everyone
has to like me.”
• Others or possession (money, house, car)
• “I need that new Coach purse! It will complete
me!!!”

 Giving Up – No situation = No problem

• “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care”
 Substitution: replacing an
unattainable goal with an
attainable goal to relieve
disappointment.

• “I am not good at football so I will

try the swim team.”
 Assignment
• What are Defense Mechanisms and why are
they important?
• What are their +/- aspects?
• Worksheet: Write the name of the defense
mechanism.
• In your group (2 people) create a situation
(example) for your assigned defense
mechanism.
• Tell the definition and give an example
demonstrating it.