Personality and Health

Personality and Health

Psychoanalytic / Freud’s theories
Id / -source of mental energy and drive; encompasses all of the basic human needs and desires (food, sex) operates on
pleasure principle; in unconscious mind
Ego / -part of mind that allows a person to function in the environment and be logical, operates on reality principle; intermediary b/t id & superego
-partially conscious ; executive functions
-balances id’s desire for immediate gratification with superego’s harsh judgment of how one should behave
Superego / -internal representation of all of society’s rules, morals, and obligations, polar opposite of id
Pleasure Principal / -desire to maximize pleasure while minimizing plain
Reality Principal / -set of desires that can be satisfied only if the means to satisfy them exists and is available
Libido / -life/sexual energy force of the id (according to Freud)
Repression / -unconscious forgetting
-something painful is buried so deeply that we no longer even know it is part of us (ex: physical or sexual abuse)
Regression / -figuratively going back in time to a safer, simpler way of being
-reverting to childish behavior
Rationalization / -excuse making
-creating logical excuses for emotional or irrational behavior / -ex: telling yourself you had to cheat on the exam b/c everyone else was going to do it as well
Denial / -rejecting the truth of a painful reality, / - ex. person’s refusal to accept a frightening medical diagnosis
Reaction Formation / -“opposite”
-behave in ways that are exactly opposite of how we feel
-ego reverses the direction of a disturbing desire to make that desire safer or more socially acceptable / -ex: showering a person with affection even though you resent them
Identification / -resolve anxiety by identify w/ source; male child become like father
Displacement / -“taking out” an emotion on a safe or more accessible target than the actual source of emotion / -ex: punching a wall instead of confronting the boss
Projection / -attributing something that we don’t like about ourselves to someone else / -ex: accuse friends of being controlling when it is you who unconsciously fears your own tendencies toward such behavior
Sublimation / -“substitution”
-undesirable emotion or drive is unconsciously replaced by a socially acceptable one / -ex: surgeon making incisions a socially acceptable and heroic way to be aggressive
Oral (0-2) / -pleasure is derived from the mouth
Anal (2-4) / -focus on anus, especially as regards the control of urination and defecation
Phallic (4-6) / -derive pleasure from stimulation of genitals
Latency (6-Puberty) / -sexual energy is submerged/suppressed
Genital / -mature adult sexuality
-establishment and maintenance of standard heterosexual relationships
Oral Fixation / -erogenous zone in mouth
-first stage of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of development
Anal retentive / -orderly, obsessively neat, stingy, stubborn
-Freud’s second stage of psychoanalytic development
Oedipal Complex / -phallic stage is where this conflict occurs
-male child’s sexual desire for the mother, which conflicts with the child’s fear of the father
-inadequate resolution of these conflicts could lead to homosexuality
Anal Expulsive / -messy, disorganized, lose temper
-Freud’s second stage of psychoanalytic development
Electra Complex / -parallel situation to Oedipal complex
-girls desire their fathers while fearing their mothers
-inadequate resolution of these conflicts could lead to homosexuality
Penis Envy / -phallic stage phenomenon in which girls notice and are jealous of a boy’s penis
-contributes to a fundamental sense of inferiority in females
Free Association / -a therapist simply listens while the patient relaxes and reports anything that comes into his mind, no matter how absurd
-therapist analyzes this seemingly random jumble of thoughts, looking for themes that may demonstrate what lies in unconscious
Freudian Slip / -tell others things we don’t consciously wish to tell them, but which come out anyway / -ex: “That’s a nice mess… I mean dress you’re wearing”
Jung’s theories
Personal Unconscious / -comprising repressed memories and clusters of thoughts
Collective Unconscious / -set of common themes or archetypes inherited from the wealth of human experience and shared by all people
-behavior and memory common to all humans and passed down from our ancient and common ancestors
Archetypes / -behaviors and memories in the collective unconscious
-set of common themes / -ex: “shadow” = dark side we have inside of us; reverence for motherhood
Opposing Forces / -mind comprised of pairs of opposing forces according to Jung
-ex: each person has a persona, mask person presents to the outside world,deep passionate inner person (and dark side)
Adler’s theories
Striving For Superiority / -according to Adler, this tendency is a result from a need to compensate for our feelings of inferiority
Inferiority Complex / -Adler contended that we all have a drive to be competent but many of us feel a deep sense of inferiority (naturally impacts our personality)
-best way to overcome is to develop a lifestyle of social interest
Horney’s theories
Coping Mechanisms / -trouble when individual controls anxiety by exaggerating a single mode of interacting with others
-move toward others: depend on for love, support, or friendship
-move away: withdrawing, “loner”, “strong” and independent
-move against others: attack, compete, or seek power over people
Basic Anxiety / -feeling of being alone in an unfamiliar or hostile world
-central theme of childhood
Humanistic
Person Centered Therapy / -Carl Rogers
-reflective, non directive therapy
Self Concept / -mental representation of how we view ourselves
-internal conflicts when we experience incongruence (discrepancies b/t self concept and actual thoughts/behaviors and feedback from surroundings) / -“I love you only when you’re good” creates poor self concept
Unconditional Positive Regard / -people should be loved despite failures
-should not impose conditions of worth on children
Hierarchy of Needs / -5 levels, each lower level must be met in order for an attempt to be made to fill the next category of needs in the hierarchy
-lowest level physiological, then: safety and security; needs to belong and be loved; self esteem
-highest: self actualization: when people creatively and meaningfully fulfill their potential, ultimate goal of humans
Cognitive Behavioral
Operant Conditioning / -connecting behaviors with their consequences
-learner chooses a response and it is either reinforced or punished
Reciprocal Determinism / -we develop through watching others in our surroundings, but we also choose which environments to be in, which in turn exposes us to certain types of individuals and situations, which in turn leads us to make other choices, which in turn afford us specific types of experiences that again lead us toward particular choices, and so on
Locus of Control / -Julian Rotter proposed that the extent to which people believe that their successes or failures are due to their own efforts play a major role in personality
-internal: successes or failures are a direct result of their efforts
-external: people attribute success or failure to luck or chance
Dispositional-Trait Theory / Sheldon’s Body types
Endomorph / - round, spherical body; lover of comfort; social
Mesomorph / -domineering, aggressive, and muscular
Ectomorph / - thin, frail body; introversion and intelligence
Big Five: Emotional Stability, Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness / -5 traits describe everyone to some greater/lesser degree
-openness: degree to which one is open to new experiences -conscientiousness: degree to which one is responsible, hard working, and reliable
-agreeableness: degree to which one is considerate, likeable and tolerant
-extroversion: outgoingness
-neuroticism: degree to which one is anxious, unstable, or irrational
Projective Tests (Rorschach, TAT) / -ambiguous stimuli open to interpretation
Rorschah Inkblot Test: 10 inkblots, each to be observed and characterized; diff descriptions are scored to yield an evaluation of individual’s personality
-Thematic Apperception Test: series of pics of people in ambiguous relationships w/ other people, generate a story; responses used to make judgments on personality
Objective Personality Inventories (MMPI, Briggs -Myers / -MMPI-2: presents the participant with a variety of statements; must answer “true”, “false” or “can’t say”; used to diagnose abnormalities
-Briggs-Myers: “forced choice: test; asked to choose which of 2 statements is most representative of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors
Sigmund Freud / -psychoanalytic theory – focuses on unconscious conflict rooted in early childhood
-believed mind can be divided into conscious and unconscious
-discovered free association gets a glimpse at unconscious mind
Alfred Adler / -psychoanalyst who disagreed with Freud
-conception of inferiority complex
-childhood is crucial formative period
-personality a product of birth order
Carl Jung / -neo-Freudian
-postulated the existence of collective unconscious
-believed mind comprises pairs of opposing forces
-proposed personal and collective unconsciousness
Karen Horney / -neo-Freudian
-pointed out inherent male bias in Freud’s work à argued males may feel jealous on an unconscious level of female ability to have children: womb envy
-developed a theory of personality based on need for security: basic anxiety central theme in childhood
Carl Rogers / -humanist
-people strive to reach fullest potential
-self constitutes most important aspect of personality
-self concept
-conditions of worth
-path to goal built on relationships characterized by unconditional positive regard
-happiest individuals had smallest gaps b/t idea self and real self
Abraham Maslow / -humanist
-proposed a hierarchical system for organizing needs
-self actualization is ultimate goal for humans
Gordon Allport / -first to try to describe fundamental human personality traits
-cardinal trait: one/two characteristics in people that are most dominant and consistent
-central trait: tendencies that are less pervasive than cardinal traits
-secondary trait: characteristics present in individuals but not “defining” like a cardinal trait
Hans Evsenck / -developed Eysenck Personality Inventory, questionnaire designed to examine people’s personalities
-3 essential components of personality: psychoticism, extroversion, and neuroticism (PEN)
Stress / -causes a person to feel challenged or endangered
Hans Seyle’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) / -physiological response to stress
-enhanced by Walter Cannon
-alarm: arousal of sympathetic nervous system, resulting in release of various stimulatory hormones, energized for immediate action
-resistance: result of parasympathetic rebound, reduces arousal
-exhaustion: stressor persists for long periods of time, body’s resources exhausted, tissue cannot be repaired
Type A and B Personalities / -Type A: driven, competitive, rigid, intense, sense of time urgency, elevated feelings of anger and hostility; respond to stress quickly and aggressively; related to stress illnesses (heart disease)
-Type B: calm, laid back, easy going
Biofeedback / -a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and giving back information regarding a subtle physiological state
Types of Conflict
Approach – Approach Conflict / -decide between two desirable options / -ex: two equally attractive options on a Sat. night and couldn’t decide which one to choose
Approach – Avoidance Conflict / -certain situation has both attractive and unattractive elements that make it difficult for you to decide what to do / -ex: ordering a rich dessert ruins your diet but satisfies your chocolate cravings
Avoidance – Avoidance Conflict / -decide between two unpleasant alternatives / -ex: go to dentist even though you’d rather not out of fear and anxiety or let your teeth rot
Double Approach – Avoidance Conflict / -many options are available but each has positives and negatives / -ex: choosing one college out of many that are suitable but not ideal