It turned out to be a really good morning to play hooky from work

PersonalityIt turned out to be a really good morning to play hooky from work. Thatmorning, my neighbor Stephanie, who had graciously agreed to help merenovate the bathroom of my 1920s bungalow, dragged me to a homeimprovement store. That bathroom had not been refreshed since the previousowner swathed the entire room with gloomy grays and dingy tans. We had justreturned from looking at sinks when I got a call. It was Sharon, anotherpsychologist at Oxford College. “Do not come into work,” she commanded.“Oh… okay?” I responded inquisitively.Sharon then explained how a group of students had managed to wrangle ananimal to the third floor of my 19th-century Victorian brick office building as aprank.“Apparently,” I later explained to Stephanie, “the building is not fit to enter.The students… well, the students stole a zebra as a prank.” I blurted out like itwas all one word, hoping she would not ask for details.“A zebra?” she enunciated. “Are they sure it was a zebra?” She contortedher face to be sure that I understood that either she did not hear me correctlyor I must have been mistaken.I paused for a moment. “What else looks like a zebra?”“Goodness, what kind of person would steal a zebra and walk it up threeflights of stairs as a prank?”I slipped into professor mode and answered her question with a question(Socratic style). “What kind of person?” I began. “I suppose that depends onwho you ask.”Stephanie was right. It probably takes a special kind of person to coax ananimal up three flights of stairs… but what kind of person? What, in general,motivates us to do what we do?13.1. Defining PersonalityPsychologists define personality in many ways.Describe the characteristics of a well-crafted personality theory.Personality is your pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving. It is theenduring nature of who you are. It describes not only what you like but alsowhy you like what you like. Personality theorists try to explain aperson’s disposition, which is the way a person behaves across differentsituations as well as over time. Personality psychologists are interested notjust in describing personality but also in understanding where personalitycomes from and how it develops over time. Personality theory is a systemused to describe and explain the genesis and development of an individual’spattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving.According to Magnavita (2002), a well-crafted personality theory willpossess several characteristics:1.Clinical utility. Is the theory helpful to mental health practitioners tounderstand and treat psychological conditions?2.Practical utility. Can the theory be applied to everyday situations?3.Predictive value. Can the theory predict future behavior?4.Insight into human nature. Does the theory provide useful informationon what it means to be human?5.Ability to provide self-understanding. Does the theory offer anindividual some degree of insight into his or her own personality?6.Ability to understand complex human behavior. Does the theoryhelp explain nuances in our behavior?As convenient as it might be, people do not come with instruction manuals,so different theories have emerged about the nature and components ofpersonality. In this chapter, we will examine the major grand or allencompassing theories of personalities, including the psychoanalyticperspective, the humanistic perspective, the trait perspective, the socialcognitive perspective, and the biological perspective. And maybe, just maybe,we will figure out what kind of person would kidnap a zebra and hold ithostage as a prank.Concept Learning Check 13.1. Describing Personality TheoriesPlease match the goals of a useful personality theory to the examples below.Q:1. Clinical utility2. Practical utility of the theory3. Predictive value4. Insight into human nature5. Self-understanding6. Describes complex human behavior13.2. The Psychoanalytic PerspectiveAccording to the psychoanalytic perspective, unconscious processesdetermine your personality.Compare and contrast the psychoanalytic theories of Freud, Jung, andAdler.The Nature of the Psychoanalytic PerspectiveThe psychoanalytic theories (sometimes referred to as psychodynamic,dynamic, or Freudian) are a family of personality theories originated bySigmund Freud FIGURE 13-1 that focus on unconscious motivation. Thenotion is that the psyche, or personality, moves energy around to where theenergy is needed. The movement of energy is why the theory is calleddynamic.Figure 13-1 Dr. Sigmund Freud.Like many personality theories, the psychoanalytic tradition was developedalongside a psychotherapy technique. The psychoanalytic theorists haveassumptions about the formation and development of personality as well astreatment techniques known as psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is a type oftherapy, based on the psychoanalytic technique, in which unconsciousconflicts or motivations are uncovered, explored, and redirected.Not all psychoanalytic perspectives are Freudian. They all, however, doshare some assumptions about the nature of human personality, including thepresence of the unconscious. In this section, we will discuss three: those ofSigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Alfred Adler.Freud’s Psychoanalytic TheorySigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, is often considered to be thefounder of the first well-organized grand theory of personality. Trained inneurology, his early work focused on using hypnosis to bring about a releaseof emotions, or catharsis. Freud’s research in this area led to one of his firstpublications, Studies on Hysteria (Breuer & Freud, 1895). Later, heabandoned the use of hypnosis and shifted to examining the unconscious, orthe thoughts, memories, feelings, and wishes that reside outside ofawareness.Structure of PersonalityFreud describes the landscape of the mind as having several realms, some inawareness and some outside of it. The components of awareness includethe conscious mind, which encompasses your current thoughts andexperiences. As you are reading this text, for example, the words are in yourconscious mind. Sometimes, however, you have memories that you can pullinto your consciousness fairly easily. Until I mentioned it, you might not havehad in your consciousness what you had for lunch yesterday. It was in yourpreconscious, but it now resides in your consciousness. The preconscious,according to Freud, is the part of your mind that contains material just outsideof awareness that is easy to pull into awareness. The majority of our mind,however, is in the vast unconscious. The unconscious contains thoughts,memories, feelings, and wishes that reside outside of awareness, includinginstincts, drives, and memories that may have been repressed or forgotten. Asyou can see in FIGURE 13-2, most of personality resides outside of yourawareness in your unconscious mind. Many people compare the massivenessof the unconscious to an iceberg: You might only see the tip, but there is muchlurking beneath.Figure 13-2 According to the psychoanalytic perspective, yourpersonality is like an iceberg—there is a lot more to it than what you canperceive.Freud suggested that there are three main structures within our psyche: theid, ego, and superego. The id, according to Freud, is the part of thepersonality that operates on the pleasure principle, meaning the id is alwayslooking to reduce the tension that comes from basic physiological drives. Theid is not especially smart, but it knows what it likes, and what it likes isreduction of tension. What kind of tension? All kinds. As a human, you have allsorts of physiological needs and drives. When these needs are unmet, tensionbuilds up. Being thirsty creates tension; sipping a tart lemonade will reducethat tension. Being hungry creates tension; munching on a juicy chickensandwich will reduce that tension. When the tension is reduced, the id feelssatisfied, sometimes referred to as gratification. When the id feels tension, thefirst thing it does is to create an image of the thing that it wants. This cansatisfy the id in the short run, but thinking of a moist four-layer chocolate cakewill not make
you less hungry. The need becomes stronger, and you might notbe able to think of anything else. Think of a time when you drank so muchwater that you really needed to use the restroom but you were not in a placewhere you could do so. After awhile, all you can think about is going to therestroom. Freud says that this is due to your id.The tension reduction of a rollercoaster is fun for your id.Your id tries to reduce tension by creating images of the things thatit wants.The main driving force of the id is that pleasure principle—the drive toreduce tension at all costs. The physical and physiological needs that motivatethe id keep us alive, causing us to eat, drink, and perpetuate the species byhaving sex. Freud grouped these drives into a cluster of instincts called eros,or the life instinct. Eros is the id instinct that reduces tension associated withbasic biological drives. A type of eros is libido, or the energy linked withsexuality.Some people smoke even though they know it’s not good for them.Freud might suggest that this motivation is generated from thanatos,the death instinct.Life instincts are not all that motivate the id; there is another way the idseeks the pleasure principle. Remember the id is not very smart, but it knowswhat it likes. Freud also suggested that the id has a death instinct, anunconscious desire to be dead—the ultimate state of tension reductioncalled thanatos. According to Freud, thanatos is a way in which we reducetensions that are aggressive and destructive.What stops you from satisfying your id instincts in inappropriate ways? Letus say I am thirsty in class and a student is gulping a refreshing root beer.What prevents me from stopping mid-sentence, snatching the beverage frommy student’s hand, and downing the entire can? According to Freud, my goodbehavior is due, in part, to the ego and the reality principle. The ego is the partof the personality responsible for interacting with conscious reality. Ratherthan the pleasure principle, the ego is governed by the reality principle.The reality principle suggests that the ego will defer pleasure until areasonable way to satisfy id instincts is available.But the ego has another master, the superego. While not fully developeduntil age 2 or 3, the superego is the internalization of your parental andsocietal values. The superego is governed by the perfection principle. Alsoknown as the ego ideal, the perfection principle is the image of the perfectperson, or ego, that inspires the superego. The superego makes us feel proudwhen we do well, but it can also cause us to feel shame and guilt when we donot measure up to expectations. While the id’s demands are generated frombiological needs, the superego’s demands come from societal pressures. Asyou can imagine, sometimes these demands can clash, forcing the ego tocompromise.Personality DevelopmentFreud noticed that the tension-reduction pleasure principle did not alwaysmanifest itself in the same way throughout life. In fact, as people grow anddevelop, the area of the body involved in tension reduction shifts. He namedthese developmental phasespsychosexual stages, developmental periods inwhich tension reduction focuses on different areas of the body (oral, anal,phallic, latency, genital) TABLE 13-1. For example, think about the jobdescription of a newborn child. It does not do much. Nevertheless, biologicalneeds still build tension in its body. It gets hungry, gassy, and thirsty. The mainarea of the body where tension reduction is centered is the mouth. Biting,sucking, chewing, and crying are ways tension is reduced. Freud decided toname the stages of development after the part of the body where tensionreduction is centered.Table 13-1 Freud’s Stages of DevelopmentAge0–18 months18–38 months3–6 yearsStageOralAnalPhallicAgeStage6 years–pubertyLatencyPuberty–Adulthood GenitalBut the tension reduction does not stay in the mouth forever. Imagine a childhaving the urge to defecate. As an infant, the child would just go—likeexhaling. Defecation is not really something children think about much. Thensomewhere around 18 months, it is as if someone taps them on the shoulderand says, “Hey, you know that thing you used to do that you never thoughtabout? Today is a new day. You have to go at a certain time and in a certainplace.” What happens if you do not? Well, for the first time in your very shortlife, you are something that you have never been before—bad. Being a goodboy or good girl involves delay of gratification (reduction of tension) and aninternalization of your parental and societal values concerning how to relieveyourself appropriately. After all, getting along with others really requires thatyou avoid defecation around other people.Guilt is a feeling that comes from the internalization of parental andsocietal values. The superego creates these feelings to encourageus to behave in an ideal way, according to Freud.The anal stage starts at around 18 months and goes until about age 3,where the tension reduction is focused on the genitals during the phallicstage. Masturbation is common in this stage. In the latent stage from age 5 toaround age 12, sexual impulses are suppressed. The genital stage startsaround puberty when sexual impulses return.In the oral stage, tension reduction is centered in the mouth.Something else occurs during the phallic stage for boys, the Oedipalcomplex. According to Freud, the Oedipal complex is a boy’s unconsciousdesire for his mother that results in copying the behavior of or identificationwith his father. The Oedipal complex gets its name from the Greek story ofOedipus, who inadvertently murdered his dad and married his own mother. Iknow you might be thinking that this sounds very odd, but stick with me. TheOedipal crisis was a way to solve a dilemma that Freud noticed and needed toexplain. Why is it that as boys grow up, they come to identify with their fathersright after puberty but cling so closely to their moms before that?The Oedipus complex is the psychoanalytic explanation of why boysend up identifying with Dad rather than Mom.Back in the 1800s, women had the responsibility of raising children, andchildren were drawn to their mothers. After all, mothers are the id’s ticket tomost tension reduction, and children crave attention, affection, and love fromher. Some boys even say they want to grow up and marry their mom. There isat least one wrinkle in this plan—Dad. Freud suggested that the id becomesjealous of Dad because he, too, receives attention from Mom. The child seesDad as competition and a threat. The ego uses a defense mechanism toprotect the ego from this danger and satisfy the id instinct of wanting Mom.The ego identifies with the aggressor. By identifying with Dad, the ego is nolonger in danger from the aggressor and is safe. Plus there is a bonus. SinceDad is married to Mom, by identifying with Dad, the child will be connected toMom as well. The Oedipal crisis happens unconsciously. Freud believed thatthe Oedipal crisis resulted in boys’ identification with Dad.There are some after effects of the psychosexual stages. Freud suggestedthat too much or too little tension reduction at a certain stage can lead tofixation at that stage. Fixation is a habit of obtaining tension reduction from acertain stage of psychosexual development. For example, a child who alwaysgets a bottle during the oral stage may become fixated at that stage later. Thatmeans that during adulthood, he or she may seek oral tension reduction whenunder stress. If you talk a lot, eat, or chew your pencil when you are stressed,you may have an oral fixation. Fixation is not bad; it just describes where yougo to seek a reduction of tension—it is a way of explaining one aspect of yourpersonality. Fixation can occur at any stage. For example, too much tensionreduction during the anal stage can lead to an anal-retentive personality.Those who are perfectionistic or exceptionally clean are attempting to controltheir world in the same way they receive pleasure from the tension reductionof controlling their bowels.Defense MechanismsRemember, the ego has two masters: the id and the supe
rego. It has to meetthe demands of the id and the prohibitions of the superego. Often, to satisfythe id, the superego, and the realities of life, the ego has to compromise. Oneway the ego does this is through defense mechanisms, which areunconscious arrangements that the ego uses to satisfy id instinctsindirectly TABLE 13-2.Table 13-2 Freudian Defense MechanismsDefenseMechanismDenialDisplacementIdentificationProjectionRationalizationReactionformationRegressionDescriptionA psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which a person fails to accept arealityA psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an impulse is unconsciouslydirected to a substitute object or personAccording to Freud, the unconscious process of copying the behavior of apersonA defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously attributes theirthreatening impulses to another personA defense mechanism in which an irrational behavior is unconsciouslyexplained as acceptable in order to reduce anxietyA defense mechanism where a person will unconsciously replace a feelingA defense mechanism in which a person reverts to an earlier age offunctioningRepressionSublimationA defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously forces a threateningexperience from their awarenessA defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously redirects an idinstinct in a socially acceptable wayThese compromises often take the form of defense mechanisms that havebeen described by Sigmund Freud and his daughter, Anna Freud (Freud,1967) FIGURE 13-3. All defense mechanisms occur unconsciously, not onpurpose.Figure 13-3 Sigmund Freud and his daughter, Anna.Not all defense mechanisms are problematic. In sublimation, a personunconsciously redirects an id instinct in a socially acceptable fashion,basically performing an id instinct in a superego way. A person who has an idinstinct to beat up another person may unconsciously transform that into adesire to be a boxer, or a person with a hostile unconscious impulse to cutother people may long to be a surgeon. All positive activities, according toFreud, are sublimations of negative id impulses.Tongue piercings are an example of an oral fixation, according tosome psychoanalytic theorists.Jung’s Analytical PsychologyFreud’s work inspired other psychologists to develop other theories ofpersonality. Carl Jung, FIGURE 13-4 for example, was an early neoFreudian, meaning a theorist inspired by Sigmund Freud. Jung called hisversion of psychoanalytic theory “analytical psychology.” It divided the psycheinto three realms: the ego was the conscious mind, what you are aware of atany given moment; the personal unconscious, which contains informationthat can be made conscious; and the collective unconscious, which includesall personal unconsciousness from everyone who has ever lived. One way tothink about the contents of the psyche as Jung described it is with a computermetaphor: The conscious is what is on your screen at that moment, thepersonal unconscious is what might be on your hard drive, and the collectiveunconscious is the Internet.The collective unconscious contains a collection of thoughts knownas archetypes. Examples of archetypes include the great mother, theshadow, the persona, the hero, the wise old man, and the trickster. Thesefigures are universal symbols: a great mother is not necessarily a woman or aman or even a mother. The great mother archetype symbolizes a person orthing that loves to nurture without wanting anything in return. You probablyknow someone to whom you go when you have had a bad day and they willmake you soup and listen to your story. A great mother is a bottomless supplyof support and love.Sublimation suggests that even the most noble actions may berooted in id instincts.Another archetype is the shadow, your dark side, which is part of your dailylife and awareness. Why are you reading your textbook? Maybe, for some ofyou, before you opened the book you considered other things that you wouldrather do, like play a game, talk to friends, surf the Internet. But you arereading. Why? What would happen if you did not read for class… ever? Somepeople imagine that they would not do well on the next exam or the one afterthat. If you did not read for class… why attend? That might lead to you failingone or several classes, maybe losing your job, or who knows what else? Whatmight happen next would be the first step in a spiral downward to the worstpossible version of you. Like Freud, Jung believed you have a dark side, onethat you are well aware of: the shadow. The shadow is the archetype thatdescribes your view of what you think you would become if you gave in toyour negative impulses. Sometimes those impulses drive you to be a betterperson. The only problem is that the more successful you become, the darkerand more destructive your shadow becomes. Jung also suggested thatsometimes you might have negative, unexplained reactions to peoplebecause they remind you of your shadow. While this may lead to empathy,you might avoid telling them, “I’m sorry I’ve been so mean to you; you seem toremind me of the worst possible version of myself.” You will not make a friendthat way. Monsters, snakes, witches, warlocks, and villains in fiction are allsymbols of the shadow archetype.Content removed due to copyright restrictionsThe persona is the archetype that represents your public face. It is like amask that you wear to the outside world. You may have different personas atwork, school, home, or around your friends and family. These variouspersonas can also cause problems if they clash. When I was a collegestudent, I worked as a server at a gourmet pizza restaurant in the mall. I hadmy peppy pizza server persona, which was very different than my coolpeacemaking resident advisor persona. When students who lived in myresidence hall came to visit, the personas clashed, which led to very bad tips.Freud (front row, left) inspired many theorists including Carl Jung(front row, right).The hero is the archetype of someone who saves the day. The hero oftenfights other archetypes such as the shadow or the trickster in stories with helpfrom the great mother or wise old man. Stories like “Little Red Riding Hood” or“Hansel and Gretel” often feature the hero battling against the shadow orother archetypes. The wise old man is a source of unending wisdom. Like thegreat mother archetype, the wise old man does not need to be a man, or old,just wise. Yoda and Dumbledore are examples of the wise old man archetype.The trickster is an archetype that represents someone who pretends to besomething that he or she is not.Jung suggested that personality operated by three fundamental principles:the principle of opposites, the principle of equivalence, and the principle ofentropy. The principle of opposites states that every wish unconsciouslyproposes its opposite. As you carefully take a cake out of the oven and workas carefully as you can to place it on the table gingerly, unconsciously youwould love to smash it. The second principle is the principle of equivalence.The principle of equivalence extends from the principle of opposites. Itsuggests that the energy devoted to do one thing will equally be devoted tothe opposite activity. Denying negative feelings can be a problem since itfeeds your shadow archetype. The last principle is a principle of entropy.The principle of entropy suggests that opposites tend to come together overtime. The principle of entropy explains why people tend to mellow as they getolder. As you can see, Jung suggested that we are a dichotomy, alwayswanting to do two things. The principle of entropy suggests that over time, wecan resolve this dichotomy. The process of trying to resolve and rise abovethe dichotomy of who we are is called transcendence.The shadow is the archetype that describes what you might becomeif you give in to your negative impulses.Perhaps the most widely known of Jung’s theories is his theory ofpreferences for the internal or external world. Introverts prefer their internalworld to the external world. Introverts may be reserved when interactingsocially. Extroverts, on the other hand, prefer the external world to theinternal world.
While some extroverts tend to be outgoing and sociable, theactive ingredient for introversion…