CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY
PSYCHOLOGY

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Jinka, Ethiopia
 The Meaning of Personality Psychology
• Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which
studies about personality and individual differences.
A. One emphasis in this field is to construct a coherent picture
of a person and his or her major psychological processes
B. Another emphasis views personality as the study of
individual differences, in other words, how people differ
from each other.
C. A third area of emphasis examines human nature and how all
people are similar to one other. These three viewpoints merge
•Personality psychology looks for answers to
numerous questions like;
 In what ways do human beings differ?
 In what situations and along what dimensions do
they differ?
 Why do they differ?
 How much do they differ?
 How consistent are human differences?
•Personality psychology is also known as personology,
the study of the person, that is, the whole human
individual. Most people, when they think of personality,
are actually thinking of personality differences - types and
traits and the like. This is certainly an important part of
personality psychology, since one of the characteristics of
persons is that they can differ from each other quite a bit.
But the main part of personality psychology addresses the
broader issue of "what is it to be a person."
 1.1. Concept of Personality
• Personality is the total quality of an individual. The word
personality comes from the Latin word persona which means
the mask worn by players in the theater.
• Personality consists of observable behaviour. It is defined as
an individual, typical or consistent adjustment to his
environment.
• The elements of personality are called the traits of
personality; it is the traits that make one person different
from another person in his behaviour. Shyness and sociability
are different traits and characteristic of an individual.
•All characteristics which an individual possesses are his powers, needs,
abilities, wants, habits, his goal and aspirations. His patterns of behaviour to
objects and persons continue his personality. Since an individual is a bundle of
characteristics as traits we can define personality as an integrated pattern of
traits.
•According to worth, one's personality is made up of high physique, instincts,
and intelligence.
1. Material self (his body, clothes, family property etc.)
2. Social self (his home, club, office, church etc.)
3. Spiritual self (his ability to argue and discriminate consciousness, moral
sensitivities).
According to Medougali personality consists of his (a) disposition, (b) temper,
 1.2. The Meaning of Personality
• The word "personality" originates from the Greek

word ‘persona’, which means mask. The masks worn

by theatrical players in ancient Greek dramas term

came to encompass the actor’s roles as well. Thus,

personality is the public personality that people display

to those around them. The term personality has many

meanings, even within psychology there is

disagreement about the meaning of the term.

• In fact, there may be as many different meanings of the
term “personality” as there are psychologists who have
tried to define it; Gordon Allport defined it as “a
dynamic organization, inside the person, of
psychophysical systems that create the person’s
characteristic patterns of behavior, thoughts and feelings.”
Therefore, personality refers to the overall impression
that an individual makes on others, that is, a sum total or
constellation of characteristics that are typical of the
individual and thus observable in various social settings.
•Personality can also be defined as a dynamic and
organized set of characteristics possessed by a person
that uniquely influences his or her cognitions,
motivations, and behaviors in various situations
(Ryckman, 2004). It is the set of psychological traits and
mechanisms within the individual that is organized and
relatively enduring and that influences his or her
interactions with, and adaptations to the environment
(i.e. intra-psychic, physical, and social environment).
 1.3. Features of Personality

•The following are elements of personality pattern:

a) Personality is a set of traits or characteristics that
describe the ways in which people are different from
each other.
b) Psychological Mechanisms refers to the processes of
personality. Most Psychological Mechanisms involve
information processing activity. They are not activated
all the time rather they are activated under particular
c) Within the individual means that personality is
something that a person carries with him over time and
from one situation to next. So we are stable and consistent
across time and situation. Example we feel as the same
person we were yesterday, last week or month.
d) Personality is organized because traits and mechanisms
are organized or linked to one another in a coherent
fashion. Suppose that you have two desires or needs you
are hungry and you have to appear for a job interview.
Our personality is organized in the sense that it contains
decision rules which govern and control which needs are to
be activated and which needs are to be inactive. So in the
example the hunger need is to be inactive or passive and
the need for the preparation for the interview is to be
e) Influential forces in personality means that traits and
mechanisms can act as influence how we act, how we view our
selves, how we feel, how we interact with the world, how we
select our environments, how we react to our circumstances so
personality plays a key role in how people shape their lives.
f) Person- environment interaction is perhaps a difficult and
complex feature of personality. Perception refers to how we see
and interpret environment. Example smile of a clown and of a
stranger are seen and interpreted differently one as friendly and
other with suspicion.
g) Adaptation conveys the notion that central feature of
personality concerns adaptive functioning such as accomplishing
goals, coping, adjusting and dealing with challenges and problems
we face as we go through life. Example: People who worry a lot
receive a lot of social support and encouragement as a reward
1- Different Environments: There are three types of environments.

a. The physical environment often poses challenges for people some

of these are direct threats to the survival, such as extreme
temperatures, snakes, spiders, heights etc.

b. Social environment also poses challenges such as we desire

friends, mates, love, belongingness and unconditional positive
regard.

c. Intra-psychic environment: We have memories, dreams, desires,

fantasies, and a collection of private experiences we live every day.
The three physical, social and Intra- psychic are the ones which are
equally important for the survival of individual.
1.4. Patterns of Personality, their differences and elements
• Every individual is:
1- Like all others (the human nature level)
• This means, some traits or mechanisms are
possessed by all of us. For example nearly every
human being has language skills which allow him
(her) to learn and use language, so spoken language
is a universal human nature. At the psychological
level all humans possess fundamental psychological
mechanism for example to live in harmony and to
belong to social groups so there are many ways in
which each person is like every other person.
2- Like some others (the level of individual and group differences)

This second level pertains to individual and group differences. In

individual differences there are people who love to go out, have

parties and socialize, while we have people who want to be alone,

read a book or listen to music, so there are ways or dimensions in

which each person is like some others (introverts, extroverts). When

we say there is group difference, people in one group may have

certain personality features in common and these common features

make them different from other groups. Examples: Different cultures,

different age groups, different genders, different political parties.

 3- Like no others (the individual uniqueness level)

• There are no two similar individuals, even identical twins raised by

the same parents in the same home, country and culture are

different. This indicates that no two individuals have exactly the same

personalities. Personality psychology focuses on the uniqueness of

individual differences.

• The important point is that personality psychology is concerned with

all the three levels of personality analysis: Every individual is

1-Like all others (universal level)

2-Like some others (individual and group level)

 1.6. Temperament and Personality

• Definitions, Origins and Characteristics of Temperament

•Temperament is a consistent style of behavior and
emotional reactions that are present from infancy onward,
presumably due to biological influences (Clonigner, 2004).
• Temperament implies a genetic foundation for individual
differences in personality. Temperaments are general
patterns of behavior and mood that can be expressed in
many different ways and that, depending on one’s
experiences, develop into different personality traits.
•Temperament is defined as constitutionally based individual
differences in emotional, motor and attentional reactivity and self-
regulation, showing consistency across situations and relative
stability over time (Rothbart and Derryberry 1981).
•The term ‘constitutional’ refers to links between temperament and
biology.
•The term ‘reactivity’ refers to the latency, rise time, intensity and
duration of the person’s responsiveness to stimulation.
•The term ‘self-regulation’ refers to processes that serve to
modulate reactivity; these include behavioral approach, withdrawal,
inhibition and executive or effortful attention.
 three temperament dimensions
(1) Emotionality refers to the intensity of emotional reactions. Children, who cry
frequently, easily frightened, and often express anger are high in this temperament.
As adults, these individuals are easily upset and may have a “quick temper.”

(2) Activity refers to a person’s general level of energy. Children high in this
temperament move around a lot, prefer games that require running and jumping,
and tend to fidget and squirm when forced to sit still for an extended period of time.
Adults high on this dimension are always on the go and prefer high-energy activities
like playing sports and dancing in their free time.

(3) Sociability relates to a general tendency to affiliate and interact with others.
Sociable children seek out other children to play with. Adults high in this
temperament have a lot of friends and enjoy social gatherings.

Adult personalities are determined by both inherited temperament and the

environment.
• Moreover, temperament influences the environment, and
the environment then influences the way temperament
develops into stable personality traits. Two children born
with identical temperaments can grow up to be two very
different people. A child with a high activity level may
become an aggressive, achieving, or athletic adult. But that
child will probably not become lazy and indifferent. A child
does not represent a blank slate on which parents may
draw whatever personality they desire. But neither is a
child’s personality set at birth, leaving the parents and
society to settle for whatever they get.
• Temperament and personality represent two distinct but
interrelated approaches to studying individuality.
• In the newborn, individual differences in irritability and orienting
can be observed along with variations in alertness, and by two to
three months, infants demonstrate clear positive responses to
stimulation. Early forms of what will later be called Extraversion or
Surgency are present in the smiling, laughter and rapid approach
of infants to a novel object by six months, and measures of
approach tendencies and smiling and laughter at this early age
predict children’s extraverted tendencies at seven years.
• Throughout early development, children who are more
extraverted also appear to express greater anger and frustration,
and are more prone to externalizing disorders.
• More extrovert temperament may also be a protective factor in a
highly stressful environment. For instance, children who are more
sociable may attract warmth and responsiveness from adults, thereby
protecting them from the effects of poor parenting. Better social skills
have also been shown for children whose temperament matched
parental expectations and desires, who were more persistent, and
whose parents were higher on warmth. When infants are four
months of age, their distress and body movement to laboratory-
presented stimulation predict later fear and behavioral inhibition.
Positive affect and body movement, on the other hand, predict later
surgency.
 Chapter Two: Determinants of Personality
I. Physical
II. Psychological
III. Cultural
IV. Social
V. Family
VI. Sexual
VII.Intellectual
VIII.Environmental
 I. Biological /Physical Determinants of Personality
•Physical Determinants of Personality
•The primary criterion that represents numerous aspects of a
person's personality is their biological composition. Being the
primary factor in determining character, it also includes many
additional elements that bring out numerous insights about an
individual. Under the heading of "physical factors of personality,"
some significant components include:
•Hereditary: Hereditary characteristics can be predicted from the
moment of conception. Typically inherited from parents include
sex, physical stature, temperament, muscular composition, facial
features, height, and others. As a result, it is clear from the
hereditary perspective that the genes found in chromosomes are
the best explanation for personality.
•Physical characteristics: One of the critical factors
influencing personality is one's looks. One's physical
appearance has a significant impact on how others
see them. Whether short, tall, thin, overweight, black,
or white, it is evident that this will impact how others
perceive them, affecting how they perceive
themselves. Height, weight, skin tone, hair color, and
beauty are just a few physical characteristics.
 2.2. Psychological Determinants of Personality
•The psychological approach views personality as a distinctive
style unique to each individual, one of the critical factors
influencing personality. The accumulative traits of mental
trends, emotions, sentiments, thought patterns, and
complexes determine this particular style, which varies for
each individual. Additionally, it investigates a person's mental
conflicts, desires, aspirations, repressed feelings, sublimation,
and emotional health.
 2.3. Cultural Determinants of Personality

•We are raised with cultural determinants of personality, just

as we are born with biological ones. Family rituals and
traditions, early conditioning, how we are nurtured, and the
social groups we associate with are the elements that impact
the development of our personalities. Every culture teaches
and demands that its members act and breathe in a manner
acceptable to the broader community.
•As a result, critical cultural influences on personality
determination include traits like hostility, independence,
cooperation, and competition. Since the cultures in which we
were raised are so opposed, it is obvious to separate those
raised in the west from the residents of our nation.
 2.4. Social Determinants of Personality

•The social determinants examine an individual's

personality in light of their position within their social
group or community and consider how they see their
place. The primary consideration in this method is
that how others perceive us affects how we develop
as people. Communication tools have been more
widely available in this period, mainly through social
media. Social media influencers can have a global
impact on the masses.
•Consequently, the social lives that people lead and are
a part of greatly influence each person's personality.
Through interacting, whether online or in person, we
contact a wide variety of people who, in some way or
another, leave an impression on our personalities.
•As soon as we leave playschool and enter the real
world, the process begins when we interact with peers
and friends, among other people. We are constantly
urged to choose our social circle carefully because it is
one of the critical factors in personality that our social
life influences.
 2.5. Family Determinants
•The primary factors contributing to our personalities are the
family environment and parents' direct impact. The impact of
familial factors on nature is the greatest. Families influence,
especially when children are young. A child raised in a warm,
tolerant, and healthy environment will be different
emotionally, socially cautious, and frigid.

•Let's examine the idea put forth by American-Australian

psychologist Walter Mischel to comprehend the significance
of parents and family as significant factors of personality:
•Identification can be accomplished by comparing the
child's behavior, emotions, and attitude to their
parents.

•The desire and aspiration of a child to be like their

parents can be seen as identification.

•It can be viewed as the process through which a child

truly inherits traits from their parents that make up
their personality.
 2.6. Sex Determinants
• Sex differences: Boys are generally more assertive,
tough minded and vigorous. They have better need
to succeed with regard to interest and aptitudes.
• Boys show interest in machinery and outdoor
activities. They prefer adventures. But girls are less
vigorous games. They are quieter, and interested in
personal appearance. They have better sense of fine
art. They are more injured by personal, emotional
and social problems. Thus sex differences play a
vital role in the development of personality of
individual
 IV. Intellectual Determinants of Personality

• Intelligence is another essential factor that can play

an important role in the development of our
personality. Our intellect can influence various
aspects and areas of our behaviour which in turn,
can determine our personality. Here are the
intellectual determinants of Personality:
• Humour is one of the integral intellectual determinants
of personality as it helps us get a realistic view of things,
facilitates social acceptance and further also ironically
brings forward a lighter perspective of life.
• Morality: Our intellect and worldview plays a crucial
role in the development of our morality and how we
see certain things as moral or immoral. Thus, morality is
another factor that determines our intellect and thus
overall personality as well.
• Values: An individual learns about values from his/her
upbringing as well as from the society they are brought
up in. These values and beliefs also form our intellectual
behaviour and thus are an important determinant of
our personality.
 2.8. Environmental Determinants
:

i. Geographical environment and personality:

ii. Early childhood experiences and personality:
iii.Neighborhood
iv.Friends and Companions
v. School

vi.Radio, clubs, cinemas

vii.Names and personality

viii.Clothes and personality

i. Geographical environment and personality: Physical or
geographical conditions or areas that we dwell influence the
personality of the individual. People of cold countries are
industrious and hard working.
ii. Early childhood experiences and personality: Childhood
experiences play a very important role in the development
of the individual. Tensions and emotional upsetting of early
life influence personality development. Methods of breast
feeding and toilet training do play a significant role in the
personality development as of the Freud’s theory.
iii. Neighborhood: If the people in the neighborhood are
cultured and educated then the child may also grow into a
good person through imitation and modeling.
iv. Friends and Companions: Psychologists like Burt and
Kretschmer view that friends and companions greatly affect
the personality of the child. Children of laborers go to third
rate school and play with half naked children in dirty streets or
slums. They live amidst hunger and poverty. This may lead to
delinquency.
v. School: School plays a vital role in the development of personality:
a. Teacher’s personality, i.e. his attitudes, beliefs, ideas, habits,
ambitions, aspirations, sentiments and emotional maturity affect the
personality development of the child.
b. Curriculum of school i.e. richness or drabness of curriculum also
affects the personality of an individual.
c. Methods of teaching and co-curricular activities also influence
personality development.
d. General atmosphere in school: congenial or uncongenial
atmosphere influence personality development.
vi. Radio, clubs, cinemas have a significant role to play in the
personality development. Children can learn a lot from these
agencies of education.
vii. Names and personality: impressive names may give us an
air of superiority and poor or undesirable names are source of
resentment. These names shape our ideas of ourselves and
hence influence personality development.
viii. Clothes and personality: if we wear funny clothes people
will laugh at us and as a result we may develop inferiority
complex. Our clothes should resemble with great persons
whom we admire. The type of clothes we prefer also indicates
our personality.
 CHAPTER FIVE
5. FACTORS AFFECTING PERSONALITY
The major factors affecting personality are
1. Biological
2.Socio-cultural
3.Situational
 Biological Factors
Heredity: refers to physical stature, facial attractiveness, sex,
temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level, and
biological rhythms are characteristics that are considered to be
inherent. It plays an important part in determining an individual's
personality. Heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation
of an individual's personality is the molecular structures of the
genes, which are located in the chromosomes. Recent research
studies shows that young children lend strong support to the power
of heredity and finding shows that some personality traits may be
built into the same genetic code that affects factors like height and
•Nervous System: It is the second biological factor to
determine personality. Nervous system plays a vital
role in the development of personality. Man’s
intellectual ability, motor ability, physical strength and
ability to adjust upon the structure and modification
of nervous system. Any injury to nervous system will
affect the personality of the individual. Nervous
system limits one’s learning capacity.
•So it is evident that the development of personality
is influenced by the nature of nervous system.
•Brain is part of the nervous system that plays an
important role in determining personality. Electrical
Stimulation of the Brain (ESB) and Split brain psychology
results indicates that a better understanding of human
personality and behavior might come from a closer study
of the brain. The definite areas of the human brain are
associated with pain and pleasure.
• Biofeedback: It is third biological approach to determine
personality. Physiologists and psychologists felt that
biological functions like brainwave patterns, gastric and
hormonal secretions, and fluctuations in blood pressure and
skin temperature were beyond conscious control. Recent
research shows that these functions can be consciously
controlled through biofeedback techniques. For this
purpose, individual can learns the internal rhythms of a
particular body process through electronic signals that are
feedback from equipment which is wired to body. In this
process, the person can learn to control the body process
through questions. It is one of the interesting topics to do
future research work in personality.
•Physical Features. It is vital ingredient of the
personality, it focus an individual person's external
appearance which also determined the personality.
Physical features like tall or short, fat or skinny,
black or white. These physical features will be
influenced the personal effect on others and also affect
self concept of individual.
•Chemical organization is the fifth important biological factor that affects
personality. Endocrine glands play an important role in the development of
personality of individual. Their malfunctioning leads to various physical and
mental defects.
a) Adrenal glands: The malfunctioning of adrenal glands causes Addison’s
disease which causes the impairing of judgment, loss of sleep, sex, interest
and weakness. The over activity of this gland makes the individual
energetic, persistent and vigorous. If this gland is under active the individual
becomes indecisive, irritable and neurasthenic.
b) Thyroid glands: The over activity of thyroid glands makes the individual
restless, irritable, worried and unstable. The under activity of this gland
causes a disease known as cretinism. It makes the individual dull, sluggish,
c.) Pituitary glands: Pituitary glands which are
sometimes called master glands have their effect on
personality and intelligences. They help in the growth of
the body. Their under activity causes ‘Dwarfness’ and over
activity causes ‘Giantness; in size; physical and mental
activities are impeded.
d) Sex glands or gonads: They exert great influence on
the sex life of the individual. If they are over active they
will make the individual over sexed. On the other hand if
they are under active the sex urge becomes weak.
 5.2. Socio-Cultural and Economic Factors
•Cultural factors are also major factors which influence to
determine individual personality. It refers to traditional practice,
customs, procedure, norms and rules and regulation followed by
the society. It significantly influence to individual behavior
compared to biological factors. Cultural factors determine
attitudes towards independence, aggression, competition,
cooperation, positive thinking, team spirit, and a host of the
human being and discharge his/her duties towards valuable
responsibilities to society. For instance, Western culture
influenced Indian society. It is best example of the cultural factors
also determine the personality.
• To a large extent, one’s culture determines what are
considered proper practices in courtship, marriage,
childrearing, politics, religion, education, and justice.
These, and other cultural variables, explain many important
individual differences among humans, that is, differences
among people of different cultures. More specifically, some
theorists say that one’s personality can be viewed as a
combination of the many roles one plays. If you were asked
to start a blank sheet of paper with the words “I am” and
then to list all of your qualities, you would have a rather
• For example, you may be female, 19 years old, a college
student, a Lutheran, 5 feet 8 inches tall, attractive, a
Cancer, a psychology major, and so on. Each entry on your
list has a prescribed role associated with it, and for each
role, society has defined what is called an acceptable
range of behavior (norms). If you deviate from that
range, you will confront social pressure of some type.
Indeed, what is considered normal behavior and what is
considered abnormal is, to a large extent, determined by
how you behave relative to societal expectations.
• Other socio-cultural determinants of personality include
the socioeconomic level of one’s family, one’s family size,
birth order, ethnic identification, religion, the region of
the country in which one was raised, the educational level
attained by one’s parents, and the like.
• One simply does not have the same experiences in a
financially secure home as one would have in an
impoverished home. These fortuitous circumstances into
which a person is born (e.g., culture, society, and family)
certainly have a major impact on personality.
• Again, this point is one that all personality theorists
accept; it is just a matter of how much each one
emphasizes it. The theories of Adler, Horney, and Erikson
stress the importance of socio-cultural determinants of
personality.
• Personality is said to be the image or mirror of culture.

• Both material and non- material culture play important role

in shaping the personality of the individual. Material
culture brings about the development of various material
needs and goods. Non- material culture brings about the
development of various social traditions and culture. Studies
have been conducted by Mead, Ruth Benedict, Malinowski,
Baldwin, Cooley and many others. Mead found that in the
“Samoa” culture, girls are free from the stress and strain of
modern society because early sexual relations are allowed
•Malinowski has reported that adolescent period among Trobrianders
also does not involve stress and strain because of the absence of sex
taboos. In ‘Mundudumor’ culture persons are violent and aggressive,
while in ‘Arapesh’, they are responsive and mild. In ‘Tchambuli’ women
are aggressive and sexually dominant, while men are submissive.
•In other words Ogburn and Nimkoof concluded that “Biological
heredity ushers infant actors on the stage of which the physical
environment, the group and culture have set. The dramatic actor now
begins and new born baby transforms into social person.” They further
said, “Birth is the signal of experience to begin its work of converting
the biological individual into social person.”
 Situational Factors

•Situational factors of personality also have a

complete share in the formation of personality of an
individual. Situational factors of personality are
charging according to the social situations. Every
person may face different situations in life, which
demands change in his/her behavior. For example, a
teacher may be rigid and strict with students but may
not with his/her family.
•An officer may behave with the subordinates differently as
compared to his/her friends.
•Personality is not the result of only one factor but every
factor is responsible to give complete share in its
formation.
•A person behave and his/her personality exists when
interacts with the environment, culture, society, friends,
and to those who come in contact by chance.
 THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

What is theory?

• Theory refers to set of unconfirmed hypothesis or speculation

concerning reality that is not definitely known but when a theory has
confirmatory data or evidence it is a fact. Different systems of consistent
constellations of concepts about personality make theories of personality.
Each theory of personality is concerned about human nature and the
goal of each theory is the understanding of the diversity and complexity
of the whole person functioning in the real world.
1) A theory is useful when it can efficiently generate predictions and
propositions.
2) A theory should contain two parts a cluster of relevant assumptions
systematically related to each other and a set of empirical
 I. What purpose do theories of personality serve?

1. A personality theory is descriptive. In other words, a theory

provides a meaningful framework (i.e. a kind of map) for
simplifying and integrating all that is known about a related
set of events. For example, without the benefit of theory, it
would be very difficult to explain why 5-year-old boy has a
romantic attraction to his mother along with undue
resentment toward his father. A good personality theory,
then, provides a meaningful context within which human
behavior can be consistently described and interpreted.
2. The second function of a personality theory is therefore to
provide a basis for the prediction of events and outcomes that
have not yet occurred.
3. Personality theories provide a means in which concepts must
be testable and capable of being confirmed or disconfirmed. For
example, what does it means to be a human being? Ideally, the
concepts of a theory should be formulated to permit rigorous
and precise empirical testing. A good personality theory
directly stimulates psychological research. Conversely, the
scientific value of theories that are untestable is still unknown
4. Personality theorists are people, and, like the rest of us, they hold
divergent views about human nature. Some theorists, for example,
believe that human actions have their roots in unconscious motives
whose true nature is outside the individual’s awareness and whose
sources lie deeply buried in the distant past. Others believe that
people are reasonably aware of their real motives and that their
behavior is primarily a result of present conditions. Therefore, the
foundations of a personality theory are rooted in the basic
assumptions of the theorist; a theory’s implications about human
nature, i.e., about what humans are? or what it means to be a human
 II. How can we evaluate Theories of Personality?
a)Verifiability
b)Heuristic Value
c) Internal Consistency
d)Parsimony (simple)
e) Comprehensiveness
f) Functional Significance
a)Verifiability: A theory is positively evaluated to the
degree that its concepts lend themselves to verification
by independent investigators. This means that a theory
must be stated in such a way that its concepts are clearly,
explicitly defined and logically related to one another so
that the theory can be empirically tested.
A good theory should be empirically testable, leading to
modification of the theory if necessary.
b) Heuristic Value: The degree to which a theory directly stimulates a
research. A theory by translating its core concepts into a form of
operationalization can allow for relevant research activity.
Personality theories differ immensely in their capacity to fulfill this
goal. Some of the most provocative theoretical formulations of
personality (e.g., Maslow’s self-actualizing theory) are practically
devoid of empirical support. This state of affairs usually results from
the theorist’s failure to define his or her concepts operationally i.e.,
in manner whereby they can readily be subjected to empirical test.
c) Internal Consistency: This criterion stipulates that a
theory should not contradict itself that is a good theory is
internally consistent way.

d) Parsimony (simple): A theory may also be judged on

the basis of the number of concepts it requires to explain
events within its domain. The law of parsimony states
that the preferred explanation is the one which demands
the fewest number of concepts, i.e., is most economical.
e) Comprehensiveness: This criterion refers to the range and diversity
of phenomena encompassed by a theory. The more comprehensive a
personality theory is the more behavioral ground it covers. The
theorist should include behavioral events such as biological,
emotional, cognitive, social, and cultural in human behavior. At the
same time, it must be recognized that no present theory can account
for all human functioning.
f) Functional Significance: Finally, a theory may be evaluated on the
basis of how useful it is in helping people to understand everyday
human behavior. All of us are interested in knowing more about
ourselves and other people.
 Theories of Personality
•A personality theory is a system of concepts, assumptions, ideas, and
principles proposed to explain personality.

i. Psychodynamic theories focus on the inner workings of

personality, especially internal conflicts and struggles.
ii. Trait and type theories attempt to learn what traits make up
personality and how they relate to actual behavior.
iii. Humanistic theories stress on private, subjective experience, and
personal growth.
iv. Behavioral and social learning theories place importance on the external
environment and on the effects of conditioning and learning. Social learning
theories attribute differences in personality to socialization, expectations, and
mental processes.
 i. Psychodynamic theories
•Psychodynamic theorists are not content with studying traits. Instead,
they try to probe under the surface of personality to learn what drives,
conflicts, and energies animate us. Psychodynamic theorists believe
that many of our actions are based on hidden, or unconscious, thoughts,
needs, and emotions. Psychodynamic theories explain human behavior
in terms of the interaction of various components of personality. Freud
was the founder of this school. Freud drew on the physics of his day
(thermodynamics) to coin the term psychodynamics. Based on the idea
of converting heat into mechanical energy, he proposed that psychic
energy could be converted into behavior. Freud’s theory places central
importance on dynamic, unconscious psychological conflicts.
•Psychoanalytic theory, the best-known
psychodynamic approach, grew out of the work of
Sigmund Freud, a Viennese physician. As a doctor,
Freud was fascinated by patients whose problems
seemed to be more emotional than physical. From
about 1890 until he died in 1939, Freud evolved a
theory of personality that deeply influenced modern
thought. Let’s consider some of its main features.
 Psychoanalysis:
+ Freud’s Theory of Personality
 Freud’s theory suggest that personality is composed of

the id, the ego, and the superego.

 id: the unorganized, inborn part of personality whose purpose is

to immediately reduce tensions relating to hunger, sex, aggression,
and other primitive impulses.

 ego: restrains instinctual energy in order to maintain the safety of

the individual and to help the person to be a member of society.

 superego: the rights and wrongs of society and consists of the

conscience and the ego-ideal.
+Freud and Personality Structure
Id - energy constantly striving to satisfy basic drives
Pleasure Principle

Ego - seeks to gratify the Id in realistic ways

Reality Principle
Super
Ego
Ego
Super Ego
- voice of conscience
that focuses on how
Id we ought to behave
 “the ID”
+
 The id uses the most primitive of thinking process.
 Basic biological urges (e.g., hunger, self-protection).
 The id operates on the Pleasure Principle.
 Seeks pleasure and avoids pain:“I want what I want NOW!”

 The id operates completely at an unconscious level.

 No direct contact with reality.

 The id has 2 major instincts:

 Eros: life instinct = motivates people to focus on pleasure-seeking
tendencies (e.g., sexual urges).
 Thanatos: death instinct = motivates people to use aggressive
urges to destroy.

 Theenergy for the id’s instincts comes from the libido, (the
energy storehouse).
+ “the Ego”
 The ego consists of a conscious faculty for perceiving
and dealing intelligently with reality.

 The ego acts as a mediator between the id and the

superego.
 The ego is partly conscious.

 Deals with the demands of reality.

 Makes rational decisions.
+ “the Ego”
 The ego serves the ID:
 Governed by ‘Reality Principle’
 The ego is the Executive of the personality
 The ego controls higher mental processes.
 Reasoning, problem solving.

 The ego uses these higher mental processes to help

satisfy the urges of the ID.
+ “the Superego”
 Superego: the moral part of personality.
 Internalized rules of parents and society.

 Superego consists of two parts:

 Conscience: “notions of right/wrong.”
 Ego Ideal: “how we ideally like to be.”

 Superego: constrains us from gratifying every impulse (e.g.,

murder) because they are immoral, and not because we might get
caught

 Superego: partly conscious, partly unconscious.

+ Freud: superego, id, and ego
 According to Freud, an individual’s feelings,
thoughts, and behaviors are the result of the
interaction of the id, the superego, and the
ego.
 The Dynamics of Personality
+
How do the id, ego, and superego interact? Freud
didn’t picture the id, ego, and superego as parts of the
brain or as “little people” running the human psyche.
Instead, they are conflicting mental processes. Freud
theorized a delicate balance of power among the three.
For example, the id’s demands for immediate pleasure
often clash with the superego’s moral restrictions.
+
Perhaps an example will help clarify the role of each part of
the personality.
The id clamors for immediate satisfaction of its sexual
desires
but is opposed by the superego. The id says, “Go for it!”
The superego icily replies, “Never even think that again!”
And what does the ego say? The ego says, “I have a plan!”
Of course, this is a drastic simplification, but it does capture
the core of Freudian thinking
+
To reduce tension, the ego could begin actions
leading to friendship, romance, courtship,
and marriage. If the id is unusually powerful, the ego may
give in and attempt a seduction. If the superego prevails,
the ego may be forced to displace or sublimate sexual
energies to other activities (sports, music, dancing, push-
ups, and cold showers).
 + Freud’s Theory of Personality:
 The id, the ego, and the superego are continually in conflict
with one another.

 This conflict generates anxiety.

 If the ego did not effectively handle the resulting anxiety,

people would be so overwhelmed with anxiety that they
would not be able to carry on with the tasks of everyday
living.

 The ego tries to control anxiety (i.e., to reduce anxiety)

+ Ego Defense Mechanisms:
Defense Mechanisms
Ego Id
When the inner war
gets out of hand, the
result is Anxiety

Ego protects itself via

Defense Mechanisms
Super
Ego
Defense Mechanisms reduce/redirect
anxiety by distorting reality
 Ego Defense Mechanisms
 Definition: An defense mechanism is a psychology
tendency that the ego uses to help prevent people from
becoming overwhelmed by any conflict (and resulting
anxiety) among the id, the ego, and the superego.

 Defense mechanisms operate at an unconscious level:

 We are not aware of them during the time that we are
actually using them.
 However, we may later become aware of their previous
operation and use.
 Defense Mechanisms
 Repression: pushing unacceptable and anxiety-
producing thoughts into the unconscious; involves
intentional forgetting but not consciously done;
repressed material can be memories or unacceptable
impulses.
 A rape victim cannot recall the details of the attack.

 Regression: acting in ways characteristic of earlier life

stages/earlier stage of personality.
 A young adult, anxious on a trip to his parents/ home,
sits in the corner reading comic books, as he often did
in grade school.
 Reaction formation: replacing an anxiety-producing
feeling with its exact opposite, typically going overboard;
repressed thoughts appear as mirror opposites.
A man who is anxious about his interest in gay men
begins dating women several times a week.

 Rationalization: creating false but believable excuses to

justify inappropriate behavior; real motive for behavior is
not accepted by ego.
A student cheats on an exam, explaining that cheating is
 Projection: attributing one’s own unacceptable feelings
or beliefs to others; perceiving the external world in
terms of one’s own personal conflicts.
 An employee at a store, tempted to steal some
merchandise, suspects that other employees are
stealing.

 Sublimation: substitute socially acceptable behavior for

unacceptable impulses.
 Playing video games instead of getting in a fight.
 Levels of Awareness
 What is the structure and development of personality, according
to Sigmund Freud and his successors (i.e.,psychoanalysts)?

 According to psychoanalysts, much of behavior is caused by

parts of personality which are found in the unconscious and of
which we are unaware.

 Freud’s 3 levels of awareness/consciousness:

A. the conscious mind;

B. the preconscious mind; and

C. the unconscious mind.

+ Psychoanalysis: The Unconscious
“the mind is like an iceberg - mostly hidden”

Conscious Awareness Unconscious

small part above surface below the surface
(Preconscious) (thoughts, feelings,
wishes, memories)

Repression
Banishing unacceptable
thoughts and passions to
unconscious:
Dreams and Slips
+ Three levels of consciousness:
 Conscious mind:
things we are
focusing on.
 Preconscious mind:
things are are not
currently aware of
but which we could
focus on.
 Unconscious mind:
that which we are
unaware of.
• The conscious refers to those ideas and sensations of
which we are aware. It operates on the surface of
personality, and plays a relatively small role in
personality development and functioning. While it is
true that psychologically healthy people have a greater
awareness of their experiences than do unhealthy ones,
still Freud believed that even relatively mature people
are governed, to a degree greater than they would care to
admit, by unconscious needs and conflicts
•The preconscious contains those experiences that
are unconscious but that could become conscious
with little effort. For example, you may have forgotten
the foods you had for supper yesterday, but you could
probably recall them readily if you were asked to list
them for a dietician who is trying to help you lose
weight. The preconscious exists just beneath the
surface of awareness.
• the unconscious operates on the deepest level of personality.
It consists of those experiences and memories of which we are
not aware. Such mental states remain out of awareness
because making them conscious would create tremendous
pain and anxiety for us. The unconscious could include
sexual abuse that we experienced during early childhood at
the hands of a parent, relative, or family friend.
• It could consist of incestuous feelings, strong emotional
reactions of anger or rage toward certain authority figures, or
painful feelings of shame and humiliation growing out of
competitive experiences.
 Freud:
Stages of Personality Development

 Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality suggests

that personality develops through a series of stages, each
of which is associated with a major biological function.

 More specifically, Freud theorized that as people age,

they pass through several systematic stages of
psychosexual development in their personality.
+ Psychosexual Stages of Development are
Source of Unconscious Conflicts.
 Thestages of personality development involve critical
events that occur in every child’s life.
 Ateach level, there is a conflict between pleasure and
reality.
 The resolution of this conflict determines personality.

 At any stage, “a fixation” can occur:

 If needs are either under-gratified or over-gratified, we
become fixated at a particular stage.
 Each stage also involves an erogenous zone.
 Parts of the body that involve sexual pleasure.
 Freud and Personality Development
“personality
“personality forms
forms during
during the
the first
first few
few years
years of
of life,
life,
rooted
rooted in
in unresolved
unresolved conflicts
conflicts of of early
early childhood”
childhood”

Psychosexual Stages
Oral (0-18 mos) - centered on the mouth
Anal (18-36 mos) - focus on bowel/bladder elim.
Phallic (3-6 yrs) - focus on genitals/“Oedipus Complex”
(Identification & Gender Identity)
Latency (6-puberty) - sexuality is dormant
Genital (puberty on) - sexual feelings toward others

Strong conflict can fixate an individual at Stages 1,2 or 3

+ Freud’s Stages of Personality Development:

 Oralstage: the oral state is the first period, occurring

during the first year of life.
 Anal
stage: next comes the anal stage, lasting from
approximately age 1 to age 3.
 Phallic
stage: the phallic stages follows, with interest
focusing on the genitals.
 Latency period: then follows the latency period lasting
until puberty.
 Genitalstage: after puberty, people move into the
genital stage, a period of mature sexuality.
+
(1) Oral stage of development:
 Time period: Birth to 18 months:
 Erogenous zone is mouth.
 Gratification through sucking and swallowing.

 Oral fixation has two possible outcomes.

 Oral receptive personality:
 Preoccupied with eating/drinking.
 Reduce tension through oral activity.
 eating, drinking, smoking, biting nails
 Passive and needy; sensitive to rejection.
 Oral aggressive personality:
 Hostile and verbally abusive to others.
+
(2) Anal stage of development:
 Time period: 1 1/2 to 3 years of age.
 Erogenous zone is the anus.
 Conflict surrounds toilet training.
 Analfixation has two possible outcomes.
 Anal retentive personality.
 Stingy, compulsive orderliness, stubborn,
perfectionistic.
 Anal expulsive personality.
 Lack of self control, messy, careless.
+
(3) Phallic stage of development:
 Time period: 3 to 6 years.
 Erogenous zone is the genitals: self-stimulation of the
genitals produces pleasure.
 At age 5 or 6, near the end of the phallic stage, children
experience the Oedipal conflict (boys)/the Electra conflict
(girls)--a process through which they learn to identify with
the same gender parent by acting as much like that parent
as possible.
 Oedipus complex (boys) vs Electra complex (girls)
 Child is sexually attracted to the other sex parent and
wishes to replace the same sex parent.
+
(3) Phallic stage of development:
 Oedipus complex (little boys):
 Castration anxiety:
 Son believes father knows about his desire for mom.
 Fears dad will castrate him.
 Represses his desire and defensively identifies with
dad.
+
(3) Phallic stage (continued):
 Electra complex (little girls):
 Penis envy:
 Daughter is initially attached to mom.
 Shift of attachment occurs when she realizes she lacks a
penis.
 She desires dad whom she sees as a means to obtain a
penis substitute (a child).
 Represses her desire for dad.
 incorporates the values of her mother
 accepts her inherent “inferiority” in society
+
(4) Latency Period:

 During the latency period, little girls and little boys try
to socialize only with members of their own gender.
 Freudposits that children do this so as to help
minimize the awareness of “sexuality.”
 Thus,they continue the process of sexual repression
that began in the previous stage (for those who
successfully made it through the Oedipal
Complex/Electra Complex).
+
(5) Genital Stage:

 When adolescence begin puberty, they enter the 5th stage of

psychosexual development.

 They develop secondary sexual characteristics (e.g., pubic hair).

 The onset of the physical sexual characteristics “re-awakens” people

sexual urges, and thus they are no longer able to successfully repress
their sexual desires, impulses, and urges.

 They begin searching for a marital mate, with whom they can share
sex and intimacy.
 The Neo-Freudians
•Freud’s ideas quickly attracted a brilliant following. Just
as rapidly, the importance Freud placed on instinctual
drives and sexuality caused many to disagree with him.
Those who stayed close to the core of Freud’s thinking are
called neo-Freudians (neo means “new”). Neo- Freudians
accepted the broad features of Freud’s theory but revised
parts of it. Some of the better-known neo-Freudians are
Karen Horney, Anna Freud (Freud’s daughter), Otto Rank,
and Erich Fromm.
 + Neo-Freudians
Other early followers broke away more completely
from Freud and created their own opposing theories.
All place less emphasis on sex.
 Carl Jung:
Personal vs. Collective Unconscious.
Balance between introversion and extroversion.

 Alfred Adler:
Strivingfor superiority = motivation to master environment.
Notion of an Inferiority Complex.

 Karen Horney:
Personality is Cultural rather than biological.
 Alfred Adler (1870–1937)

•Adler broke away from Freud because he disagreed with

Freud’s emphasis on the unconscious, on instinctual drives,
and on the importance of sexuality. Adler believed that we
are social creatures governed by social urges, not by
biological instincts (Shulman, 2004). According to Adler,
Individual Psychology is a science that attempts to
understand the experiences and behavior of each person as
an organized entity. He believed that all actions are guided
by a person’s fundamental attitudes toward life.