Personality: psychodynamic models

• What is the main focus of the study by Kimoto et al. (2017)?

  Responses to the Rorschach test in dementia
• How does Allport (1961) define personality?

  A dynamic organization of psychophysical systems
• What does Weinberg & Gould (1999) say about personality?

  It is a blend of characteristics that make a person unique
• What are the aims of studying personality?

  • Explain motivational basis of behavior
  • Determine basic nature of human beings
  • Describe and categorize behavior
  • Measure personality
  • Understand personality development
  • Assist in behavior change interventions
  • Assess heredity versus environment effects
• What are the two approaches in studying personality?

  • Idiographic approach: Focus on individual uniqueness
  • Nomothetic approach: Focus on traits across groups
• What is the goal of the idiographic approach?

  Develop an in-depth understanding of the individual
• What are the advantages of the idiographic approach?

  Depth of understanding of the individual
• What is a disadvantage of the idiographic approach?

  Difficult to make generalizations from data
• What is the goal of the nomothetic approach?

  Identify basic structure of personality traits
• What are the advantages of the nomothetic approach?

  Discovery of general principles with predictive function
• What is a disadvantage of the nomothetic approach?

  Superficial understanding of any one person
• What are the two strands of personality theorizing?

  • Clinical strand: Developed from case studies of the mentally ill, founded by Freud
  • Individual differences strand: Documents personality differences through research and statistics, advanced by Galton
• Who is considered the founder of psychoanalysis?

  Sigmund Freud
• What was Freud's approach to treating patients?

  Encouraging patients to talk about their problems
• What are the components of Freud's theory of personality?

  Levels of consciousness, structure, and development
• How many levels of consciousness did Freud propose?

  Three levels of consciousness
• What is the conscious mind according to Freud?

  Thoughts and feelings we are aware of
• What is the preconscious mind?

  Thoughts that can be recalled into consciousness
• What does Freud mean by the unconscious mind?

  Thoughts kept unconscious due to their nature
• What is repression according to Freud?

  The active process of keeping material unconscious
• What did Freud argue about dreams?

  They are a direct route to the unconscious
• What are the two elements of dreams according to Freud?

  Manifest content and latent content
• What is manifest content of dreams?

  The description of the dream as recalled
• What is latent content of dreams?

  The true meaning identified by the analyst
• What are the three biological drives according to Freud?

  Sexual drives, life-preserving drives, death instinct
• What are the three elements of personality according to Freud?

  Id, ego, and superego
• What does the id represent in Freud's theory?

  The unconscious part with primitive behaviors
• What does the ego represent in Freud's theory?

  The conscious part responsible for reality
• What does the superego represent in Freud's theory?

  The conscience holding values and morals
• What is intra-psychic conflict according to Freud?

  Conflict between id, ego, and superego
• What are the five psychosexual stages of personality development according to Freud?

  1. Oral stage
  2. Anal stage
  3. Phallic stage
  4. Latency stage
  5. Genital stage
• What is the pleasure zone during the oral stage?

  The mouth (feeding, sucking, chewing)
• What can result from over-stimulation during the oral stage?

  An oral receptive personality type
• What can result from under-stimulation during the oral stage?

  An oral aggressive personality type
• What is the pleasure zone during the anal stage?

  The anal region (bowel and bladder elimination)
• What can result from excessive control during the anal stage?

  An anal-retentive personality type
• What can result from inappropriate toilet training during the anal stage?

  Fixation and abnormal personality development
• What are the five psychosexual stages described by Freud?

  Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital
• What does each psychosexual stage represent according to Freud?

  Each stage has a distinct pleasure zone.
• What occurs during the Oral stage of personality development?

  • Age: Birth to 1 year
  • Pleasure zone: Mouth (feeding, sucking)
  • Over-stimulation leads to oral receptive personality.
  • Under-stimulation leads to oral aggressive personality.