Mr. Jade Ibhar V.

Cuambot, MS, RPsy, LPT

Intensive Review Lecturer and Mind Master Session Facilitator
Faculty, Department of Psychology, University of Santo Tomas, Manila
Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology (On-Going), UST
Master of Science in Psychology major in Clinical Psychology, DLSU, Manila
Bachelor of Elementary Education major in Special Education – Cum Laude, UST Manila
Prof. Dianne G. Flores, MA, RPsy, RPm, RBT
Intensive Review Lecturer and Mind Master Session Facilitator
Faculty, Department of Psychology, Far Eastern University, Manila
Top 5, Licensure Examination for Psychologists, February 2022
Top 5, Licensure Examination for Psychometricians, October 2015
Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology, UST Manila
Bachelor of Science in Psychology-Cum Laude, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
Mr. Christopher Bacalan, RPm
Mind Master Session Facilitator and Lecturer
Top 8, Licensure Examination for Psychometricians,
MA in Clinical Psychology Student, University of Santo Tomas, Manila
Bachelor of Science in Psychology – Cum Laude, Far Eastern University, Manila
Prof. Mary Grace Manlunas, RPm
Mind Master Session Facilitator and Lecturer
Top 7, Licensure Examination for Psychometricians, October 2018
Faculty, Department of Psychology, University of San Carlos-Recoletos, Cebu City
Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology (On-going), University of San Carlos, Cebu City
Bachelor of Science in Psychology – Cum Laude, University of San Jose Recoletos, Cebu City

Ms. Mitos V. Vega, RPm

Mind Master Session Facilitator and Lecturer
Top 7, Licensure Examination for Psychometricians, October 2017
Master of Arts in Psychology major in Clinical Psychology, PLM
Bachelor of Science in Psychology – Dean’s Lister, PLM
Prof. Reyiel P. Tecson, MA, RPsy, RPm, LPT
Intensive Review Lecturer and Mind Master Session Facilitator
Department Chairperson and Faculty, Department of Psychology, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
Master of Arts in Psychology major in Industrial Psychology, PLM
Bachelor of Science in Psychology-Guidance and Counseling Stream, PNU Manila
Prof. Domingo O. Barcarse, RPsy, RPm, LPT
Psychology Professor and Counselor in various Universities and Colleges
Program Consultant and National Director, GSPTS Review for Psychology and Counseling (RPsy, RPm, RGC)
Theories of Personality B. Theory and Its Relatives

People often confuse theory with

Handouts philosophy, speculation, hypothesis, or
taxonomy. Although theory is related to each of
these concepts, it is not synonymous with any of
Chapter 1 them. Philosophy—the love of wisdom—is a
broader term than theory, but one branch of
Introduction of Personality Theory
philosophy –epistemology—relates to the
Summary Outline nature of knowledge, and theories are used by
scientists in pursuit of knowledge. Theories rely
I. Overview of Personality Theory on speculation, but speculation must be based
From the investigation of Freud during on the controlled observations of scientists.
the last decade of 19th century until the Science is the branch of study concerned with
present time, a number of personality the observation and classification of data and
theorists have (1) made controlled with the verification of general laws. Theories
observations of human behavior and (2) are practical tools used by scientists to guide
speculated on the meaning of those research. A theory is more general than a
observations. Differences in the theories of hypothesis and many generate a multitude of
these men and women are due to more hypotheses, that is, educated guesses. A
than differences in terminology. They stem taxonomy is a classification system, and
from differences on basic issues concerning classification is necessary to science.
the nature of humanity. Taxonomies, however, do not generate
II. What is Personality? hypotheses—a necessary criterion of a useful
theory. C. Why Different Theories?
The term personality comes from the
Latin word persona, meaning the mask people Psychologists and other scientists have
wear or the role they play in life. However, most developed a variety of personality theories
psychologists use the term to refer to much because they have differed in their personal
more than the face or façade people show to background, their philosophical orientation, and
others. Personality can be defined as a pattern the data they chose to observe. In addition,
of relatively permanent traits and unique theories permit individual interpretation of the
characteristics that give both consistency and same observations, and each theorist has had his
individuality to human behavior. or her own way of looking things.

III. What is a Theory? D. Theorists’ Personalities and

Their
The term theory is often used quite loosely Theories of Personality
and incorrectly to imply something other than a
useful scientific concept. Theories are used by Because personality theories evolve from a
scientists to generate research and organize theorist’s personality, psychologist interested in
observations. the psychology of science have begun to study
the personal traits of leading personality
A. Theory Defined theorists and their possible impact on their
A theory is a set of related assumptions that scientific theories and research.
allow scientists to use logical deductive E. What Makes a Theory Useful?
reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses
A useful theory (1) generates research, both I. Overview of Freud’s
descriptive and hypothesis testing; (2) is Psychoanalysis Theory
falsifiable; that is, it must generate research that
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis has endured
can either confirm or disconfirm its major tenets;
because it (1) postulated the primacy of sex and
(3) organizes and explains data into some
aggression— two universally popular themes,
intelligible framework; (4) guides action; that is,
(2) attracted a group of followers who were
it provides the practitioner with a road map for
dedicated to spreading psychoanalytic doctrine,
making day-to-day decisions; (5) is internally
and (3) advanced the notion of unconscious
consistent and relies on operational definitions
motives, which permit varying explanations for
that define concepts in terms of specific
the same observations.
operations; and (6) is parsimonious, or simple.
II. Biography of Sigmund Freud
IV. Dimensions for a
Concept of Humanity Born in the Czech Republic in 1856, Sigmund
Freud spent most of his life in Vienna. Early in
Personality theorists have had different
his professional career, Freud believed that
conceptions of human nature, and the authors
hysteria was a result of being seduced during
of Theories of Personality use six dimensions for
childhood by a sexually matured person, often
comparing these conceptions. The dimensions
a parent or other relative. In 1897, however,
include: determinism versus free choice,
Freud abandoned his seduction theory and
pessimism versus optimism causality versus
replaced it with his notion of the Oedipus
teleology, conscious versus unconscious,
complex, a concept that remained the center of
determinants of behavior, biological versus
his psychoanalytic theory near the end of his
social influences on personality, and uniqueness
life and to escape Nazi rule, Freud moved to
versus similarities among people.
London where he died in 1939.
V. Research in Personality Theory
III. Levels of Mental Life
Personality theories, like other theories, are
Freud saw mental functioning as operating on
based on systematic research that allows for
three levels—unconscious, preconscious,
the prediction of events. In researching human
conscious.
behavior, personality theorists often use
various measuring procedures, which must be A. Unconscious
both reliable and valid. Reliability refers to a
measuring instrument’s consistency and The unconscious includes drives and instincts
includes test-retest reliability and internal that are beyond awareness but that motivate
consistency. Validity refers to the accuracy or most human behaviors. Freud believed that
truthfulness of test and includes predictive unconscious drives can become conscious only
validity and construct validity. in disguised or distorted form, such as dream
images, slips of the tongue, or neurotic
symptoms. Unconscious processes originate
from two sources: (1) repression, or the blocking
Chapter 2
of anxietyfilled experiences and (2) phylogenetic
Freud: Psychoanalysis endowment, or inherited experiences that lie
beyond an individual’s personal experience.
Summary Outline
B. Preconscious
The preconscious contains images that are not in instinct is pleasure, which can be gained through
awareness but can become conscious either the erogenous zones, especially the mouth,
quite easily or with some level of difficulty. anus, and genitals. The object of the sexual
instinct is any person or thing that bring sexual
C. Conscious
pleasure. All infants possess primary narcissism,
Consciousness plays a relatively minor role in or selfcenteredness, but the secondary
Freudian theory. Conscious ideas stem from narcissism of adolescence and adulthood is nit
universal. Both sadism (receiving sexual pleasure
either the perception of external stimuli (our
from inflicting pain on another) and masochism
perceptual conscious system) of from the
(receiving sexual pleasure from painful
unconscious or preconscious after they have experiences) satisfy both sexual and aggressive
evaded censorship. IV. Provinces of the Mind drives. The destructive instinct aims to return a
person to an inorganic state, but this is ordinarily
Freud conceptualized three regions of the
directed against other people and is called
minds—the id, the ego, and the superego.
aggression.
A. The Id
B. Anxiety
The Id, which is completely unconscious, serves
Only the ego fells anxiety, but the id, superego,
the pleasure principle and contains our basic
and outside world can each be a source of
instincts. It operates through the primary
anxiety. Neurotic anxiety stems from the ego’s
process.
relation with the id; moral anxiety is similar to
B. The Ego guilt and results from the ego’s relation with the
superego; realistic anxiety, which is similar to
The ego, or secondary process, is governed by
fear, is produced by the ego’s relation with the
the reality principle and is responsible for
real world.
reconciling the unrealistic demands of the id and
the superego. VI. Defense Mechanisms
C. The Superego Defense mechanisms operate to protect the ego
against the pain of anxiety.
The superego, which serves the idealistic
principle, has two subsystems—the conscience A. Repression
and the egoideal. The conscience results from
Repression involves forcing unwanted,
punishment for improper behavior whereas the
anxietyloaded experiences into the unconscious,
ego-ideal stems from rewards for socially
it is the most basic of all defense mechanisms
acceptable behavior.
because it is an active process in each of the
V. Dynamics of Personality others.
Dynamics or personality refers for those forces B. Reaction Formation
that motivate people.
A reaction formation is marked by the
A. Instincts repression of one impulse and the ostentatious
expression of its exact opposite.
Freud grouped all human drives or urges under
two primary instincts—sex (Eros or the life C. Displacement
instinct) and aggression (the death or
destructive instinct). The aim of the sexual
Displacement takes place when people redirect pleasure through the mouth. During the second
their unwanted urges onto other objects or year of life, a child goes through an anal phase.
people in order to disguise the original impulse. If parents are too punitive during the anal phase,
the child may adopt an anal triad, consisting of
D. Fixation
orderliness, stinginess, and obstinacy. During the
Fixation develop when psychic energy is blocked phallic phase, boys and girls begin to have
at one stage of development, making differing psychosexual development. At this
psychological change difficult. Some adults may time, boys and girls experience the Oedipus
remain fixated on the anal stage of psychosexual complex in which they have sexual feelings from
development. one parent and hostile feelings for the other.
The male castration complex, which takes the
E. Regression form of castration anxiety, breaks up the male
Regressions occur whenever a person reverts to Oedipus complex and results in a well-formed
earlier, more infantile modes of behavior. Some male superego. For girls, however, the castration
adults may return to the oral stage as a means of complex takes the form of penis envy, precedes
reducing anxiety. the female Oedipus complex, leads to a gradual
and incomplete shattering of the female
F. Projection Oedipus complex and results it a weaker and
Projection is seeing in others those more flexible female superego.
unacceptable feelings or behaviors that actually B. Latency Period
reside in one’s own unconscious. When carried
to extreme, projection can become paranoia, Freud believed that psychosexual development
which is characterized by delusions of goes through a latency stage—from about age 5
persecution. years until puberty—in which the sexual instinct
is partially suppressed.
G. Introjection
C. Genital Period
Introjections take place when people
incorporate positive qualities of another person The genital period begins with puberty when
into their own ego to reduce feelings of adolescents experience a reawakening of the
inferiority. genital aim of Eros. The term “genital period”
should not be confused with “phallic period”.
H. Sublimation
D. Maturity
Sublimations involve the elevation of the sexual
instinct’s aim to a higher level, which permits Freud hinted at a stage of psychological maturity
people to make contributions to a society and in which the ego would be in control of the id
culture. VII. Stages of Development and the superego and in which consciousness
would play a more important role in behavior.
Freud saw psychosexual development as
VIII. Applications of
proceeding from birth to maturity through four
Psychoanalytic Theory
overlapping stages. A. Infantile Period
Freud erected his theory on the dreams, free
The infantile stage encompasses the first 4 to 5 associations, slips of the tongue, and neurotic
years of life and is divided into three subphases: symptoms of his patients during therapy. But he
oral, anal, and phallic. During the oral phase, an also gathered information from history,
infant is primarily motivated to received literature, and works of art.
A. Freud’s Early Therapeutic Technique Although Freudian theory has generated much
related research, it rates low on falsifiability
During the 1890’s Freud used an aggressive
because most research findings can be explained
therapeutic technique in which he strongly
by other theories. In recent years, however,
suggested to patients that they had been
many researchers have investigated hypotheses
sexually seduced as children. He later dropped
inspired by psychoanalytic theory. This research
this technique and abandoned his belief that
includes such topics as (1) unconscious mental
most patients had been seduced during
processing, (2) pleasure and the id: inhibition
childhood.
and the ego, (3) the defense mechanisms, and
B. Freud’s Later Therapeutic technique (4) dreams.

Beginning in the late 1890’s Freud adopted a A. Unconscious Mental Processing

much more passive type of psychotherapy, one In recent years, neuroscience has been
that relied heavily on free association, dream investigating the brain during a variety of
interpretation, and transference. The goal of cognitive and emotional task, and much of this
Freud’s later psychotherapy was to uncover work relates to Freud’s notion of unconscious
represses memories, and the therapist uses motivation. For example, one pair of reviewers
dream analysis and free association to do so. (Bargh & Chartrand, 1990) concluded that 95%
With free association patients are required to of human behaviors are unconsciously
say whatever comes to mind, no matter how determined, and that Freud’s metaphor of the
irrelevant or distasteful. Successful therapy rests iceberg was probably accurate. In addition, Marl
on the feelings onto the therapist and away from Solms (2000, 2004; Solms & Turnbull, 2002)
symptom formation. Patients’ resistance to argued tht many Freudian concepts are
change is seen as progress because it indicates consistent with modern neuroscience research.
that therapy has advanced beyond superficial These include unconscious motivation,
conversation. repression, and the pleasure principle.
C. Dream Analysis B. Pleasure and the Id/Inhibition an the
In interpreting dreams, Freud differentiated the Ego
manifest content (conscious description) from Some research (Solms, 2001; Solms and
the latent content (the unconscious meaning). Turnbull, 2002) has establish that the pleasure-
Nearly all dreams are wish-fulfillments, although seeking drives have their neurological origins in
the wish is usually unconscious and can be two brain structures, namely the brain stem and
known only through dream interpretation. To the limbic system.
interpret dreams Freud used both dreams
symbols and the dreamer’s associations to the C. Repression, Inhibition, and
dream content. Defense
Mechanisms
D. Freudian Slips
Solms (2004) reported cases from
Feud believed that parapraxes—now called
the neuropsychological literature
Freudian slips—are not change accidents but
reveal a person’s true but unconscious demonstrating repression information
intentions. when damage occurs to the right –hemisphere
and if this damaged region becomes artificially
IX. Related Research
stimulated the repression goes away; that is, Adler was an original member of Freud’s
awareness returns. psychoanalytic group but he never saw himself
as a disciple or a follower of Freud. If fact,
D. Research on Dreams throughout his life he carried with him the note
Research by Wegner and colleagues (Weger, Freud had sent to him proposing the
Wenzlaff, & Kozak, 2004) tested Freud’s establishment of an organization of physicians.
hypothesis that wishes repressed during the day Adler saw the invitation as Freud’s recognition of
will find their way into dreams during the night. Adler as an equal. After Adler broke from that
Results showed that people reamed about their group, he built a theory of personality that was
repressed targets than their non-repressed ones; nearly diametrically opposed to that of Freud.
that is, they were more likely to dream about Whereas Freud’s view of humanity was
people they spend some time thinking about, a pessimistic and rooted in biology, Adler’s view
finding quite consistent with Freud’s hypothesis. was optimistic, idealistic, and rooted in family
experiences. II. Biography of Alfred Adler
X. Critique of Freud
Alfred Adler was born in 1870 in a Viennese
Freud regarded himself as a scientist, but many suburb, a second son of middle-class Jewish
critics consider his methods to be outdated, parents. Like Freud, Adler was a physician, and in
unscientific, and permeated with gender bias. 1902, he became a charter member of Freud’s
On the six criteria of a useful theory, organization. However, personal and
psychoanalysis we rate its ability to generate professional differences between two men led
research as high, its openness to falsification as to Adler’s departure from the Vienna
very low, and its ability to organize data as Psychoanalytic Society in 1911. Adler soon
average. We also ate psychoanalysis as average founded his own group, the Society for
on its ability to guide action and to be Individual
parsimonious. Because it lacks operational Psychology. Adler’s strengths were his energetic
definitions, we rate it low on internal oral presentations and his insightful ability to
consistency. understand family dynamics. He was not a gifted
XI. Concept of Humanity writer. A limitation that may have prevented him
from attaining world recognition equal to that of
Freud’s concept of humanity was deterministic Freud.
and pessimistic. He emphasized causality over
III. Introduction of Adlerian Theory
teleology, unconscious determinants over
Although Adler’s individual psychology
conscious processes, and biology over culture,
but he took a middle position on the dimension is both complex and comprehensive, its
of uniqueness versus similarity of people. main tenets can be stated in simple
form.

IV. Striving for Success or Superiority The

Chapter 3
sole dynamic force behind people’s
Adler: Individual Psychology actions is the striving for success or
Summary Outline superiority.

I. Overview of Adler’s Individual A. The Final Goal

Psychology
The final goal of success or superiority toward VI. Unity and Self-Consistency
which all people strive unifies personality and of
makes all behavior meaningful. Personality

B. The Striving Force as Compensation Adler believed that all behaviors are directed
toward as single purpose. When seen in the
Because people are born with small, inferior
light of that sole purpose, seemingly
bodies, they feel inferior and attempt to
contradictory behaviors can be seen as
overcome these feelings through their natural
operating in a self-consistent manner.
tendency to move toward completion. The
striving force can take one of two courses— A. Organ Dialect
personal gain (superiority) or community benefit
People often use a physical disorder to express
(success).
style of life, a condition Adler called organ
C. Striving for Personal Superiority dialect, or organ jargon.
Psychologically unhealthy individuals strive for B. Conscious and Unconscious
personal superiority with little concern for other
Conscious and unconscious processes are
people. Although they may appear to be
interested in other people, their basic unified and operate to achieve a single goal.
motivation is personal benefit. The part of our goal that is not clearly
understood is unconscious; that part of our goal
D. Striving for Success
we fail to fully comprehend is conscious. VII.
In contrast, psychologically healthy people Social Interest
strive for the success of all humanity, but they
do so without losing their personal identity. Human behavior has value to the extent that it
is motivated by social interest, that is, a feeling
of oneness with all of humanity.
V. Subjective Perceptions A. Origins of Social Interest

People’s subjective view of the world-not Although social interest exists as potentiality in
realityshapes their behavior. all people, it must be fostered in a social
environment. Adler believed that the parent-
A. Fictionalism
child relationship can be so strong that it
Fictions are people’s expectations of the future. negates the effects of heredity.
Adler held that fictions guide behavior, because
B. Importance of Social Interest
people act as if these fictions are true. Adler
emphasized teleology over causality, or According to Adler, social interest is “the sole
explanations of behavior in terms of future criterion of human values,” and the worthiness
goals rather than past causes. of all one’s action must be seen by this standard.
Without social interest, societies could not exist;
B. Physical Inferiorities
individuals in antiquity could not have survived
Adler believed that all humans are “blessed” without cooperating with others to protect
with physical inferiorities, which stimulate themselves from danger. Even today an infant’s
subjective feelings of inferiority and move helplessness predisposes it toward a nurturing
people toward perfection or completion. person.
VIII. Style of Life Both normal and neurotic people create
symptoms as a means of protecting their fragile
The manner of a person’s striving is called style self-esteem. These safeguarding tendencies
of life, a pattern that is relatively well set by 4 or maintain a neurotic lifestyle and protect a
5 years of age. However, Adler believed that person from public disgrace. The three principal
healthy individuals are marked by flexible safeguarding tendencies are (1) excuses, which
behavior and that they have some limited ability allow people to preserve their inflated sense of
to change their style of life. personal worth; (2) aggression, which may take
IIII. Creative Power the form of depreciating others’
accomplishments, accusing others of being
Style of life is partially a product of heredity and responsible for one’s own failures, or self-
environment—the building blocks of accusation; and (3) withdrawal, which can be
personality—but ultimately style of life is shaped expressed by psychologically moving backward,
by people’s creative power, that is, by their standing still, hesitating, or constructing
ability to freely choose a course of action. obstacle.
IX. Abnormal Development D. Masculine Protest
Creative power is not limited to healthy people; Both men and women sometimes
unhealthy individuals also create their own overemphasize the desirability of being manly, a
personalities. Thus, each of us is free to choose condition Adler called the masculine protest.
either a useful or a useless style of life. The frequently found inferior status of women is
A. General Description not based on physiology but on historical
developments and social learning. Boys are
The most important factor in abnormal often taught early that being masculine means
development is lack of social interest. In being courageous, strong, and dominant. The
addition, people with a useless style of life tend ultimate accomplishment for boys is to win, to
to (1) set their goals too high, (2) have a be powerful, to be on top. In contrast, girls often
dogmatic style of life, and (3) live in their own learn to be passive and to accept an inferior
private world. position in society. In contrast to Adler’s more
democratic attitude, Freud believed that
B. External Factors in Maladjustment
anatomy is destiny and that women occupy the
Adler listed three factors that relate to abnormal ‘dark continent of “psychology. Near the end of
development: (1) exaggerated physical defects, his life, Freud was still asking the women
which do not by themselves cause abnormal wanted. According to Adler, Freud’s attitudes
development, but which may contribute to it by toward women would be evidence of a person
generating subjective and exaggerated feelings with a strong masculine protest. In contrast to
of inferiority; (2) a pampered style of life, which Freud’s views on women, Adler assumed that
contributes an overriding drive to establish a women—because they have the same
permanent parasitic relationship with the physiological and psychological means as men—
mother or a mother substitute; and (3) a want more or less the same things that men
neglected style of life, which lead to distrust of want.
other people.
X. Applications of Individual Psychology
C. Safeguarding Tendencies
Adler applied the principles of individual Although family constellation and birth order
psychology to family constellation, early have been widely researched, topics more
recollections, dreams, and psychotherapy. pertinent to Adlerian theory are early
recollections and career choice. For example,
A. Family Constellation
researched by Jon Kasler and Ofra Nevo (2005)
Adler believed that people’s perception of what found that early childhood recolletions did
they fit into their family is related to their style match career types in adulthood, which is
of life. He claimed that firstborn are likely to consistent with Adler’s view. Adler’s theory of
have strong feelings of power and superiority, to inferiority, superiority, and social feeling can be
be overprotective, and to have more than their applied to health-related behaviors such as
share of anxiety. Second born children (such as eating disorders and binge drinking. For
Adler) are likely to have strong social interest, example, Susan Belangee (2006) found that
provided they do not get trapped trying to dieting, overeating, and bulimia are unhealthy
overcome their older sibling. Youngest children ways of compensating for feelings of inferiority.
are likely to be pampered and to lack Moreover, eating disorders suggest that a
independence, whereas only children have some person’s Gemeinschaftsgefuhl or social feeling is
of the characteristics of both the oldest and the out of whack. Recently, Teresa Laird and Andrea
youngest child. Shelton (2006) examined binge drinking and
birth order among college students. They found
B. Early Recollections youngest children in a family significantly more
A more reliable method of determining style of likely to binge drink than older children. The
life I to ask people for their earliest recollections. researchers explained this using Adlerian theory,
Adler believed that early memories are in that youngest children are more likely to be
templates on which people project their current dependent, and dependent people are more
style of life. These recollections need not be likely to cope with stress by heavy drinking.
accurate accounts of early event, but true or Some evidence exists that early recollections
false, they have psychological importance change through the course of counseling. For
because they reflect a person’s current view of example, Gary Savil and Daniel Eckstein (1987)
the world. found significant changes in both mental status
C. Dreams and early recollections for a therapy group, but
not for people in a control group. Similarly, Jane
Adler believed that dreams can provide clues to Statton and Bobbie Wilborn (1991) found that
solving future problems. However, dreams are recollections of preadolescent children changed
disguised to deceive the dreamer and usually after receiving therapy, whereas those of a
must be interpreted by another person. control group did not. These results tend to
D. Psychotherapy support Adler’s teleological approach to
personality, in that early childhood experiences
The goal of Adlerian therapy is to create a are less important than adults’ views of those
relationship between therapists and patient that experiences.
fosters social interest. To ensure that the
patient’s social interest will eventually generalize XII. Critique of Adlerian Theory
to other relationships, the therapist adopts both Individual psychology rates high on its ability to
a maternal and a paternal role. generate research, organize data, and guide the
XI. Related Research practitioner. It receives a moderate rating on
parsimony, but because it lacks operational
definitions, it rates low on internal consistency. to theory and therapy, which he called analytical
It also rates low in falsification because many of psychology. From a critical midlife crisis during
its related research finding can be explained by which he nearly lost contact with reality, Jung
other theories. XIII. Concept of Humanity emerged to become one of the leading thinkers
of the 20th century. He died in 1961 at age of 85.
Adler saw people as forward moving, social
animals who are motivated by goals they set III. Levels of Psyche
(both consciously and unconsciously) for the
Jung saw the human psyche as being divided
future. People are ultimately responsible for
into a conscious and an unconscious level, with
their own unique style of life. Thus, Adler’s
the latter further subdivided into a personal
theory rates high on free-choice, social
unconscious and a collective unconscious.
influences, and uniqueness; very high on
optimism and teleology; and average on A. Conscious
unconscious influences.
Images sensed by the ego are said to be
conscious. The ego thus represents the
conscious side of personality, and in the
Chapter 4
psychologically mature individual, the ego is
Jung: Analytical Psychology secondary to the self.

Summary Outline B. Personal Unconscious

I. Overview of Jung’s Analytical The unconscious refers to those psychic images

Psychology not sensed by the ego. Some unconscious
processes flow from our personal experiences,
Carl Jung believed that people are extremely but others stem from our ancestor’s experiences
complex beings who possess a variety of with universal themes. Ung divided the
opposing qualities such as introversion and unconscious into the personal unconscious,
extraversion, masculinity and femininity, and which contains the complexes (emotionally
rational and irrational drives. toned groups of related ideas) and the collective
II. Biography of Carl Jung unconscious, which includes various archetypes.

Carl Jung was born in Switzerland in 1875, the C. Collective Unconscious

oldest by about 9 years of two surviving Collective unconscious images are those that are
children. Jung’s father was an idealistic beyond our personal experiences and that
Protestant minister and his mother was a strict originate from the repeated experiences of our
believer in mysticism and the occult. Jung’s early ancestors. Collective unconscious images are not
experience which parents who were quite inherited ideas, but rather they refer to our
opposite of each other probably influenced his innate tendency to react in a particular way
own theory of personality including his fanciful whenever our personal experiences stimulate an
No. 1 and No. 2 personalities. Soon after inherited predisposition toward action.
receiving his medical degree he became
acquainted with Freud’s writings and eventually D. Archetypes
with Freud himself. Not long after he travelled
Contents of the collective unconscious are called
with Freud to the United States, Jung became
archetypes. Jung believed that archetypes
disenchanted with Freud’s pansexual theories,
originate through the repeated experiences of
broke with Freud, and began his own approach
our ancestors and that they are expressed in
certain types of dreams, fantasies, delusions’ essential to a person’s forward movement
and hallucinations. Several archetypes acquire toward self-realization.
their own personality, and Jung identified these
V. Psychological Types
by name. One is the persona—the side of our
personality that we show to others. Another is Eight basic psychological types emerge from the
the shadow—the dark side of personality. In union of two attitudes and four functions.
order for people to reach full psychological
maturity, they must first realize or accept their A. Attitudes
shadow. A second hurdle in achieving maturity is Attitudes are predispositions to act or react in a
for men to accept their anima— their feminine characteristics manner. The two basic attitudes
side—and for women to embrace their animu— are introversion—which refers to people’s
their masculine side. Other archetypes include subjective perceptions—and extraversion—
the great mother (the archetype of nourishment which indicates an orientation toward the
and destruction) the wise old man (the objective world. Extraverts are influenced more
archetype of wisdom and meaning); and the by the real world than by their subjective
hero, (the image we have of a conqueror who perception whereas introverts rely on their
vanquishes evil but who has a single fatal flaw). individualized view of things. Introverts and
The most comprehensive archetype is the self; extraverts often mistrust and misunderstand
that is, the image we have of fulfilment, one another, but neither attitude is superior to
completion, or perfection. The ultimate in the other.
psychological maturity is self-realization, which
is symbolized by the mandala, or perfect B. Functions
geometric figure. These two attitudes can combine with four basic
IV. Dynamics of the Psyche functions to form eight general personality
types. The four functions are: (1) thinking, or
Jung believed that the dynamic principles that recognizing the meaning of stimuli; (2) feeling,
apply to physical energy also apply to psychic or placing a value of something; (3) sensation, or
energy. These forces include causality and taking in sensory stimuli; and (4) intuition, or
teleology as well as progression and regression. perceiving elementary data that are beyond our
A. Causality and Teleology awareness. Jung referred to thinking and feeling
as rational functions and to sensation and
Jung accepted a middle position between the intuition as irrational functions.
philosophical issues of causality and teleology.
In other words, humans are motivated both by VI. Development of Personality
their past experiences and by their expectations Nearly unique among personality theorists was
of the future. Jung’s emphasis on the second half of life. Jung
B. Progression and Regression saw middle and old age as times when people
may acquire the ability to attain self-realization.
To achieve self-realization people must adapt to
both their external and their internal worlds. A. Stages of Development
Progression involves adaptation to the outside Jung divided development into four broad
world and the forward flow of psychic energy, stages: (1) childhood, which lasts from birth until
whereas regression refers to adaptation to the adolescence; (2) youth, the period from puberty
inner world and the backward flow of psychic until middle life, which is a time for extraverted
energy. Jung believed that the backward step is development and for being grounded to the real
world of schooling, occupation, courtship, that image begins to appear in a different form.
marriage, and family; (3) middle life, from about Eventually, the patient should see figures that
35 or 40 until old age and a time when people represent archetypes and other collective
should be adopting an introverted, or subjective unconscious images.
attitude; and (4) old age, which is a time for
D. Psychotherapy
psychological rebirth, self-realization, and
preparation for death. The goal of Jungian therapy is help neurotic
patients become healthy and to move healthy
B. Self-Realization
people in the direction of self-realization. Jung
Self-realization, or individuation, involves a was eclectic in his choice of therapeutic
psychological rebirth and an integration of techniques and treated old people differently
various parts of the psyche into a unified or than the young.
whole individual.
VIII. Related Research
Self-realization represents the highest level of
Although Jungian psychology has not generated
human development.
large volumes of research, some investigators
VII. Jung’s Method of Investigation have used the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI; Myers, 1962) to examine the idea of
Jung used the word association test, dreams, psychological types. Some research suggests
and active imagination during the process of that engineering students who score high on
psychotherapy, and all these methods both extraversion and feeling are likely to drop
contributed to his theory of personality. out of school or change their major (Thomas et
A. Word Association Test al., 2000). Other research has found that
teachers-intraining are more likely than other
Jung used the word association test early in his people in general to score high in intuition and
career to uncover complexes embedded in the feeling (Willing, Guest, & Morford, 2001).
personal unconscious. The technique requires a Filbeck, Hatfield, & Horvath (2005) studied how
patient to utter the first word that comes to personality affects the ways people invest their
mind after the examiner reads a stimulus word. money, specifically as related to levels of risk
Unusual responses indicate a complex; that, an taking. The findings corresponded well with
element from the personal unconscious. Jungian personality types. The researchers
B. Dream Analysis concluded that personality of investors is an
important factor to consider.
Jung believed that dreams may have both cause
and a purpose and thus can be useful in IX. Critique of Jung
explaining past events and in making decisions Although Jung considered himself as a scientist,
about the future. ‘Big dreams” and “typical many of his writings have more of a
dreams,” both of which come from the collective philosophical than a psychological flavour. As a
unconscious, have meanings that lie beyond the scientific theory, it rates below average on its
experiences of a single individual. ability to generate research, but very low on its
C. Active Imagination ability to withstand falsification. It is about
average on its ability to organize knowledge but
Jung also used active imagination to arrive at low on each of the other criteria of a useful
collective images. This technique requires the theory.
patient to concentrate on a single image until
X. Concept of Humanity Object relations theory differs from Freudian
theory in three important ways: (1) it places
Jung saw people as extremely complex beings
more emphasis on interpersonal relationships,
who are a product of both conscious and
(2) it stresses the infant’s relationship with the
unconscious personal experiences. However,
mother rather than the father, and (3) it
people are also motivated by inherited remnants
suggests that people are motivated primarily for
that spring from the collective experiences of
human contact rather than for sexual pleasure.
their early ancestors. Because Jungian theory is a
The term object in object relations theory refers
psychology of opposites, it receives a moderate
to any person or part of a person that infants
rating on the issues of free will versus
introject, or take into their psychic structure and
determinism, optimism versus pessimism, and
then later project onto other people.
causality versus teleology. It rates very high on
unconscious influences, low of uniqueness and IV. Psychic Life of the Infant
low on social influences.
Klein believed that infants begin life with an
inherited predisposition to reduce the anxiety
that they experience as a consequence of the
Chapter 5
clash between the life instinct and the death
Klein: Object Relation Theory instinct.

Summary Outline A. Fantasies

I. Overview of Object Relations Klein assumed that very young infants possess
Theory an active, unconscious fantasy life. Their most
basic fantasies are images of the “good” breast
Many personality theorists have accepted some and the “bad” breath.
of Freud’s basic assumptions while rejecting
others. One approach to extending B. Objects
psychodynamic theory has been the object
Klein agreed with Freud that drives have an
relations theories of Melanie Klein and others.
object, but she was more likely to emphasize the
Unlike Jung and Adler who came to reject
child’s relationship with these objects (parents’
Freud’s ideas, Klein tried to validate Freud’s
face, hands, breast, penis, etc.), which she saw
theories. In essence, Klein extended Freud’s
as having a life of their own within the child’s
developmental stages downward to the first 4 to
fantasy world.
6 months after birth.
V. Positions
II. Biography of Melanie Klein
In their attempts to reduce the conflict produced
Melanie Klein was born in Vienna in 1892, the
by good and bad images, infants organize their
youngest of four children. She had neither a PhD
experience into positions, or ways of dealing
nor an MD degree but became an analyst by
with both internal and external objects.
being psychoanalyzed. As an analyst, she
specialized in working with young children. In A. Paranoid-Schizoid Position
1927, she moved to London where she practiced
The struggles that infants experience with the
until her death in 1960.
good breast and the bad breast lead to two
III. Introduction to Object separate and opposing feelings—a desire to
Relations Theory harbor the breast and a desire to bite or destroy
it. To tolerate these two feelings, the ego splits
itself by retaining parts of its life and death adults, because it allows them to like themselves
instincts while projecting other parts onto the while still recognizing some unlikable qualities.
breast. It then has a relationship with the ideal
D. Projective Identification
breast and the persecutory breast. To control
this situation, infants adopt the paranoid- Projective identification is the psychic defense
schizoid position, which is tendency to see the mechanism whereby infants split off
world as having both destructive and unacceptable parts of themselves, project them
omnipotent qualities. onto another object, and finally introject them in
an altered form.
B. Depressive Position
VII. Internalizations
By depressive position, Klein meant the anxiety
that infants experience around 6 months of age After introjecting external objects, infants
over losing their mother and yet, at the same organize them into a psychologically meaningful
time, wanting to destroy her. The depressive framework, a process that Klein called
position is resolved when infants fantasize that internalization.
they have made up of their previous
transgressions against their mother and also A. Ego
realize that their mother will not abandon them. Internalizations are aided by the early ego’s
VI. Psychic Defense Mechanism ability to feel anxiety, to use defense
mechanisms, and to form object relations in
According to Klein, children adopt various both fantasy and reality. However, a unified ego
psychic defense mechanisms to protect their emerges only after first splitting itself into the
egos against anxiety aroused by their own two parts—those that deal with the life instinct
destructive fantasies. and those that relate to the death instinct.
A. Introjection B. Superego

Klein defined introjection as the fantasy of Klein believed that the superego emerged much
taking into one’s own body the images that one earlier than Freud had held. To her, the
has of an external object, especially the superego preceded rather than followed the
mother’s breast. Infants usually introject good Oedipus complex. Klein also saw the superego as
objects as a protection against anxiety, but they being quite harsh and cruel.
also introject bad objects in order to gain control
of them. C. Oedipus complex

B. Projection Klein believed that the Oedipus complex begins

during the first few months of life, then reaches
The fantasy that one’s own feelings and its zenith during the genital stage, at about 3 or
impulses reside within another person is called 4 years of age—the same time that Freud had
projection. Children project both good and bad suggested it began. Klein also believed that
images, especially onto their parents. much of the Oedipus complex is based on
children’s fear that their parents will seek
C. Splitting
revenge against them for their fantasy of
Infants tolerate good and bad aspects of emptying the parent’s body. For healthy
themselves and of external objects by splitting, development during the oedipal years, children
or mentally keeping apart, incompatible images. should retain positive feelings for each parent.
Splitting can be beneficial to both children and
According to Klein, the little boy adopts a mothers and achieving individuation, or a sense
“feminine” position very early in life and has no of personal identity.
fear of being castrated punishment for his sexual
B. Heinz Kohut’s View
feelings toward his mother. Later, he projects his
destructive drive onto his father, whom he fears Kohut was a native of Vienna who spent most of
will bite or castrate him. The male Oedipus his professional life in the United States. More
complex is resolved when the boy establishes than any of the other object relations theorists,
good relations with both parents. Kohut emphasized the development of the self.
In caring for their physical and psychological
The little girl also adopts a “feminine” position
needs, adults treat infants as if they had a sense
toward both parents quite early in life. She has a
of self. The parents’ behaviors and attitudes
positive feeling for both her mother’s breast and
eventually help children from a sense of self that
her father’s penis, which she believes will feed
gives unity and consistency to their experiences.
her with babies. Sometimes the girl develops
hostility toward her mother, whom she fears will C. John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
retaliate against her and rob her babies, but in
most cases, the female Oedipus complex is Bowlby, a native of England, received training in
resolved without ant jealousy toward the child psychiatry from Melanie Klein. By studying
mother. human and other primate infants, Bowlby
observed three stages of separation anxiety: (1)
VIII. Later Views of Object Relations protest, (2) apathy and despair, and (3)
A number of other theorists have expanded and emotional detachment from people, including
altered Klein’s theory of object relations. the primary caregiver. Children who reach the
Notable among them are Margaret Mahler, third stage of separation anxiety lack warmth
Heinz Kohut, John Bowlby, and Mary Ainsworth. and emotion in their later relationships.

D. Mary Ainsworth and the

A. Margaret Mahler’s View
Strange
Mahler, a native of Hungary who practiced Situation
psychoanalysis in both Vienna and New York,
Mary Ainsworth was born in Ohio in 1919 and
developed her theory of object relations from
died in 1999. She and her colleagues developed
careful observations of infants as they bonded
a technique called the Strange Situation for
with their mothers during their first 3 years of
measuring one of three the types of attachment
life. In their progress toward achieving a sense of
styles—secure attachment, anxious-resistant
identity, children pass through a series of three
attachment, and anxious-avoidant attachment.
major developmental stages. First is normal
autism, which covers the first 3to 4 weeks of life, IX. Psychotherapy
a time when infants satisfy their needs within
the all-powerful protective orbit of their The goal of Klein’s therapy was to reduce
mothers’ care. Second is normal symbiosis, depressive anxieties and persecutory fears and
when infants behave as if they and their mother to lessen the harshness of internalized objects.to
were an omnipotent, symbiotic unit. Third is do this, Klein encouraged patients to re-
separationindividuation, from about 4 months experience early fantasies and pointed out the
until about 3 years, a time when children are differences between conscious and unconscious
becoming psychologically separated from their wishes.

X. Related Research
Research on object relations has included a understanding a wide range of adult
variety topics, including eating disorders and relationships.
adult relationships. One study of both topics was
XI. Critique of Object Relations Theory
conducted by Smolak and Levine (1993) who
found that bulimia was associated with Object relations theory shares with Freudian
detachment from parents, whereas anorexia theory an inability to be either falsified or
was associated with high levels of guilt and verified through empirical research.
conflict over separation from parents. More Nevertheless, some clinicians regard the theory
recently, Steven Huprich and colleges (Huprich, as being a useful guide to action and as
Stepp, Graham, & Johnson, 2004) found that possessing substantial internal consistency.
men and women who were insecurely attached However, the theory must be rated low on
and self-focused. Attachment theory was parsimony and also low on its ability to organize
originally conceptualized by John Bowlby, who knowledge and to generate research.
emphasized the relationship between parent
and child. Since the 1980s, researchers have XII. Concept of Humanity
begun to examine systematically the attachment Object relations theorists see personality as
relationships in adults, especially in romantic being a product of the early mother-child
relationships. The usefulness of attachment relationship, and thus they stress determinism
theory was investigated in a classic study by over free choice. The powerful influence of early
Cindy Hazan and Phil Shaver (1987). These childhood also gives these theories a low rating
researchers found that people with secure early on uniqueness, a very high rating on social
attachments experienced more trust, closeness, influences, and high ratings on causality and
and positive emotions in their adult love unconscious forces. Klein and other object
relationships than did other people. Steven relations theorists’ rate average on optimism
Rholes and colleagues found that as they versus pessimism.
predicted, avoidant individuals do not seek out
additional information about their romantic
partners’ intimate feelings and dreams, and Chapter 6
anxious individuals seek more information about
their partners’ intimacyrelated issues and goals Horney: Psychoanalytic Social Theory
for the future (Rholes, Simpson, Tran, Martin, &
Summary Outline
Friedman, 2007). Rivka Davidovitz and others
also examined attachment style in leader- I. Overview of Horney’s
follower relationships, specifically military Psychoanalytic Social Theory
officers and their soldiers (Davidovitz,
Mikulincer, Shaver, Izsak, & Popper, 2007; Karen Horney’s psychoanalytic social theory,
Popper & Mayseless, 2003). They found units assumes that social and cultural conditions,
with officers who had an avoidant attachment especially during childhood, have a powerful
style to be less cohesive, and their soldiers effect on later personality. Like Melanie Klein,
reported lower psychological well-being than Horney accepted many of Freud’s observations,
members of other unit. Anxiously attached but she objected to most of his interpretations,
officers’ units rated low on instrumental including his notions of feminine psychology.
functioning, but high on socioemotional II. Biography of Karen Horney
functioning. Recent research shows that
attachment theory is important to
Karen Horney, was born in Germany in1885, was IV. Basic Hostility and Basic
one of the first women in that country admitted Anxiety
to medical school. There, she became
All children need feelings of safety and security,
acquainted with Freudian theory and eventually
but these can be gained only by love from
became a psychoanalyst and a psychiatrist. In
parents. Unfortunately, parents often neglected,
her mid-40s, Horney left Germany to settle in
dominate, reject, or overindulge their children,
the United States, first in Chicago and then in
conditions that lead to the child’s feelings of
New York. She soon abandoned orthodox
basic hostility toward parents. If children repress
psychoanalysis in favour of a more socially
basic hostility, they will develop feelings of
oriented theory—one that had a more positive
insecurity and a pervasive sense of apprehension
view of feminine development. She died in 1952
called basic anxiety. People can protect
at age 67.
themselves from basic anxiety by (1) affection,
III. Introduction to Horney’s (2) submissiveness, (3) power of prestige, and (4)
Psychoanalytic Social Theory withdrawal. Normal people have the flexibility to
use any or all of these approaches, but neurotics
Although Horney’s writings deal mostly with
are compelled to rely rigidly on only one.
what she called neuroses and neurotic
personalities, her theories are also appropriate V. Compulsive Drives
to normal development. She agreed with Freud
Neurotic individuals are frequently trapped in a
the early childhood traumas are important, but
vicious circle in which their compulsive need to
she placed far more emphasis on social factors.
reduce basic anxiety leads to a variety of self-
A. Horney and Freud Compared defeating behaviors; these behaviors then
produce more basic anxiety, and the circle
Horney criticized Freudian theory on at least
continues.
three accounts: (1) its rigidity toward new ideas,
(2) its skewed view of feminine psychology, and A. Neurotic Needs
(3) its overemphasis on biology and the pleasure
Horney identified 10 neurotic needs that mark
principle.
neurotic people in their attempt to reduce basic
B. The Impact of Culture anxiety. These include (1) needs for affection
and approval, (2) needs for a partner, (3) needs
Horney insisted that modern culture is too
to restrict one’s life within narrow borders, (4)
competitive and that competition leads to
needs for power, (5) needs to exploit others, (6)
hostility and feelings of isolation. These
needs for social recognition or prestige, (7)
conditions lead to exaggerated needs for
needs for personal admiration, (8) needs for
affection and cause people to overvalue love.
ambition and personal achievement, (9) needs
C. The Importance of Childhood for self-sufficiency and independence, and (10)
Experiences needs for perfection and unassailability.

Neurotic conflict stems largely from childhood B. Neurotic Trends

traumas, most of which are traced to a lack of
Later, Horney grouped these 10 neurotic needs
genuine love. Children who do not receive
into three basic neurotic trends; (1) moving
genuine affection feel threatened and adopt
toward people, (2) moving against people, and
rigid behavioural patterns in an attempt to gain
(3) moving away from people. Each of these
love.
trends can apply to both normal and neurotic
individuals in their attempt to solve basic VII. Feminine Psychology
conflict. However, whereas neurotic people are
Horney believed that psychological differences
compelled to follow only one neurotic trend,
between men and women are not due to
normal individuals are sufficiently flexible to
anatomy but to culture and social expectations.
adopt all three. People who move neurotically
Her view of the Oedipus complex differed
toward others adopt a compliant attitude in
markedly from Freud’s in that she insisted that
order to protect themselves against feelings of
any sexual attraction or hostility the child feels
helplessness; people who move against others
for the parent would be the result of learning
do so through aggressive behaviors that protect
and not biology.
them against perceived hostility from others;
and people who move away from others do so in VIII. Psychotherapy The goal
a detached manner that protects them against of Horney’s psychotherapy was to help
feelings of isolation by appearing arrogant and patients grow toward self-realization,
aloof. VI. Intrapsychic Conflicts give up their idealized self-image,
People also experienced inner tensions or relinquish their neurotic search for
intrapsychic conflicts that become part of their glory, and change self-hatred to self-
belief systems and take on lives of their own, acceptance. Horney believed that
separate from the interpersonal conflicts that successful therapy is built on self-
created them. analysis and self-understanding.

A. The Idealized Self-Image IX. Related Research

People who do not receive love and affection Most research on neuroticism highlights its
during childhood are blocked in their attempt to negative side. Neuroticism is associated with
acquire a stable sense of identity, feeling setting avoidance goals rather than approach
alienated from self, they create an idealized self- goals (Elliot & Thrash, 2002). Horney’s view
image, or an extravagantly positive picture of (1942) was that neurotics compulsively protect
themselves. Horney recognized three aspects of themselves against anxiety, and this defensive
the idealized self-image: (1) the neurotic search strategy traps them in a negative cycle.
for glory, or a comprehensive drive toward While the negative view of neuroticism is
actualizing the ideal self: (2) neurotic claims, or understandable, recent researchers have begun
a belief that they are entitled to special looking at some benefits of neuroticism. A study
privileges; and (3) neurotic pride, or a false pride by Michael Robinson and colleagues asked how
based not only in reality but on an distorted and one could be a “successful neurotic” (Robinson,
idealized view of self. Ode, Wilkowski, & Amodio, 2007). They found
that for those predisposed toward neuroticism,
B. Self-Hatred the ability to react adaptively to errors while
Neurotic individuals dislike themselves because assessing threat was related to less negative
reality always falls short of their idealized view mood in daily life. The conclusion was that many
of self. Therefore, they learn self-hatred, which neurotic people, while they cannot change their
can be expressed as: (1) relentless demands on personalities and stop being neurotic, often
self, (2) merciless self-accusation, (3) self- develop great skills at avoiding negative
contempt, (4) selffrustration, (5) self-torment or outcomes, and that their successful avoidance of
self-torture, and (6) self-destructive actions and these outcomes improves their mood, making
impulses. them feel better on a daily basis.
X. Critique of Horney III. Fromm’s Basic Assumptions

Although, Horney painted a vivid portrait of the Fromm believed that human have been torn
neurotic personality, her theory rates very low in away from their prehistoric union with nature
generating research, low on its ability to be and left with no powerful instincts to adapt to a
falsified, to organize data, and to serve as a changing world. But because humans have
useful guide to action. Her theory is rated about acquired the ability to reason, they can think
average on internal consistency and parsimony. about their isolated condition—a situation
Fromm called the human dilemma.
XI. Concept of Humanity
IV. Human Needs
Horney’s concept of humanity is rated very high
on social factors, high on free choice, optimism, Our human dilemma cannot be solved by
and unconscious influences, and about average satisfying our animal needs. It can only be
on causality versus teleology and on the addressed by fulfilling our uniquely human
uniqueness of the individual. needs, an accomplishment that moves us
toward a reunion with the natural world. Fromm
identified five of these distinctively human of
Chapter 7 existential needs.

Fromm: Humanistic Psychoanalysis A. Relatedness

Summary Outline First is relatedness, which can take the form of

(1) submission, (2) power, or (3) love. Love, or
I. Overview of Fromm’s the ability to unite with another while retaining
Humanistic Psychoanalysis one’s own individuality and integrity, is the only
relatedness need that can solve our basic human
Erich Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis looks
dilemma.
at people from the perspective of psychology,
history, and anthropology. Influenced by Freud B. Transcendence
and Horney. Fromm developed a more culturally
oriented theory that Freud and much broader Being thrown into the world without their
theory than Horney. II. Biography of Erich consent, humans have to transcend their nature
Fromm by destroying or creating people or things,
human can destroy through malignant
Erich Fromm was born in Germany in 1900, the aggression, or killing for reasons other than
only child of orthodox Jewish parents, a survival, but they can also create and care about
thoughtful young man, Fromm was influenced their creations.
by the bible, Freud, and Marx, as well as by
socialist ideology. After receiving his PhD, C. Rootedness
Fromm began studying psychoanalysis and Rootedness is the need to establish roots to feel
became an analyst by virtue of being analyzed by at home again in the world. Productively,
Hanns Sachs, a student of Freud. In 1934, Fromm rootedness enables us to grow beyond the
moved to the United States and began a security of our mother and establish ties with
psychoanalytic practice in New York, where he the outside world. With the nonproductive
also resumed his friendship with Karen Horney. strategy. We become fixated and afraid to move
Much of his later years were spent in Mexico beyond the security and safety of our mother or
and Switzerland. He died in 1980. a mother substitute.
D. Sense of identity reunited with others. VI. Character
Orientation
The fourth human need is for a sense of identity,
or an awareness of ourselves as a separate People relate to the world by acquiring and
person. The drive for a sense of identity is using things (assimilation) and by relating to self
expressed non-productively as conformity to a and others (socialization), and they can do so
group and productively as individuality. either nonproductively and productively.
E. Frame of Orientation A. Non-productive Orientations

By frame of orientation, Fromm meant a road Fromm identified four non-productive strategies
map or consistent philosophy by which we find that fail to move people closer to positive
our way through the world. This need is freedom and selfrealization. People with a
expressed nonproductively as a striving for receptive orientation believe that the source of
irrational goals and productively as movement all good lies outside themselves and that the
toward rational goals. only way they can relate to the world is to
receive things, including love knowledge, and
V. The Burden of Freedom
material objects. People with an exploitative
As the only animal possessing self-awareness, orientation also believe that the source of good
humans are the freaks of the universe. lies outside themselves, but they aggressively
Historically, as people gained more political take what they want rather than passively
freedom, they began to experience more receiving it. Hoarding characters try to save
isolation from others and from the world and to what they have already obtained, including their
feel free from the security of a permanent place opinions, feelings, and material possessions.
in the world. As a result, freedom becomes a People with a marketing orientation see
burden, and people experience basic anxiety, or themselves and commodities and value
a feeling of being aloe in the world. themselves against the criterion of their ability
to sell themselves. They have fewer positive
A. Mechanisms of Escape
qualities than the other orientations because
To reduce the frightening of isolation and they are essentially empty.
aloneness, people may adopt one of three
B. The Productive Orientation
mechanisms of escape:
(1) authoritarianism, or the tendency to give up Psychologically healthy people work toward
one’s independence and to unite with a positive freedom through productive work, love,
powerful partner; (2) destructiveness, an escape and reasoning. Productive love necessitates a
mechanism aimed at doing away with other passionate love of all life and is called biophilia.
people or things; and (3) conformity, or
VII. Personality Disorders
surrendering of one’s individuality in order to
meet the wishes of others. Unhealthy people have non-productive ways of
working, reasoning, and especially loving.
B. Positive Freedom
Fromm recognized three major personality
The human dilemma can only be solved through disorders: (1) necrophilia, or the love of death
positive freedom, which is the spontaneous and the hatred of all humanity; (2) malignant
activity of the whole, integrated personality, narcissism, or a belief that everything belonging
to one’s self is of great value and anything
and which is achieved when a person becomes
belonging to others id worthless; and incestuous
symbiosis, or an extreme dependence on one’s For example, Mark Bernard and his colleagues
mother or mother surrogate. VIII. found, as they predicted, that perceived
Psychotherapy The goal of Fromm’s discrepancies between one’s values and those of
psychotherapy was to work toward satisfaction society lead to feelings of estrangement, and
of the basic human needs of relatedness, that these feelings of estrangement lead to
transcendence, rootedness, a sense of identity, anxiety and depression (Bernard, Gebauer, &
and a frame of orientation. The therapist tries to Maio, 2006). These findings support Fromm’s
accomplish this through shared communication ideas. Another area of researched influenced by
in which the therapist is simply a human being Fromm’s ideas is that political beliefs. Jack and
rather than a scientist. Jeanne Block (2006) made a longitudinal study,
first assessing the personality types of pre-
IX. Fromm’s Methods schoolers, then following up almost 20 years
of later on the political beliefs of the participants,
Investigation who were now young adults. They found that
Fromm’s personality theory rests on data he children described as easily offended, indecisive,
gathered from a variety of sources, including fearful, and rigid were more likely to be
psychotherapy, cultural anthropology, and politically conservative in their 20s, and those
psychohistory. described as self-reliant, energetic, somewhat
dominating, and relatively under-controlled
A. Social Character in a Mexican Village were more likely to be politically liberal in their
Fromm and his associates spent several years 20s. This research not only shows how people
investigating social character in an isolated deal differently with their “burden of freedom,”
farming village in Mexico and found evidence of but also hoe powerfully predictive personality
all the character orientations except the types are, even when measured at early ages.
marketing one. XI. Critique of Psychoanalytic
B. A Psychohistorical Study of Hitler Social Theory

Fromm applied the techniques of psychohistory The strength of Fromm’s theory is his lucid
to study several historical people, including writings on a broad range of human issues, as a
Adolf Hitler—the person Fromm regarded as the scientific theory, however, Fromm’s theory rates
world’s most conspicuous example of someone very low on its ability to generate research and
with syndrome of decay, that is, necrophilia, to lend itself to the falsification; it rates low on
malignant narcissism, and incestuous symbiosis. usefulness to the practitioner, internal
consistency, and parsimony.
X. Related Research Because it is quite broad in scope, Fromm’s
theory rates high on organizing existing
Although Fromm’s writings are brilliant and
knowledge. XII. Concept of Humanity Fromm
insightful, his theory ranks near the bottom of
believed that humans are the “freaks of nature,”
personality theories with regard to stimulating
because they lack strong animal instincts while
research. Reasons for this may be Fromm’s
possessing the ability to reason. In brief, his view
broad approach, and that his ideas are more
is rated average on free choice, optimism,
sociological than psychological in many ways,
unconscious influences, and uniqueness; low on
however, topics of interest to Fromm, such as
causality; and high o social influences.
alienation from culture and nature in general,
can be studied psychologically at the individual
level and can have implications for wellbeing.
Chapter 8 The ego develops within a given society and is
influenced by child-rearing practices and other
Erikson: Post-Freudian Theory
cultural customs. All cultures and nations
Summary Outline develop a pseudospecies, or a fictional notion
that they are superior to other cultures.
I. Overview of Erikson’s
Post- B. Epigenetic Principle
Freudian Theory The ego develops according to the epigenetic
Erikson postulated eight stages of psychosocial principle; that is, it grows according to a
development through which people progress. genetically established rate and in a fixed
Although he differed from Freud in his emphasis sequence.
on the ego and on social influences, his theory is IV. Stages of Psychosocial
an extension, not a repudiation of Freudian Development
psychoanalysis.
Each of the eight stages of development is
II. Biography of Erik Erikson marked by a conflict between a syntonic
When Erik Erikson was born in Germany in 1902 (harmonious) element and a dystonic
his name was Erik Salomonsen. After his mother (disruptive) element, which produces a basic
married Theodor Homberger, Erik eventually strength or ego quality. Also, from adolescence
took his stepfather’s name. At age 18 he left on, each stage is characterized by an identity
home to pursue the life of a wandering artist crisis or turning point, which may produce either
and to search for selfidentity. He gave up that adaptive or maladaptive adjustment.
life to teach young children in Vienna where he A. Infancy
met Anna Freud. Still searching for his personal
identity, he was psychoanalyzed by Ms. Freud, Erikson’s view of infancy (the 1st year of life) was
an experience that allowed him to become a similar to Freud’s concept of the oral stage,
psychoanalyst. In mid-life, Erik Homberger except that Erikson expanded the notion of
moved to the United States, changed his name incorporation beyond the mouth to include
to Erikson, and took a position at the Harvard sense organs such as the eyes and ears. The
Medical School. Later, he taught at Yale, the psychosexual mode of infancy is oralsensory,
University of California at Berkeley, and several which is characterized by both receiving and
others universities. He died in 1994, a month accepting. The psycho-social crisis of infancy is
short for his 92nd birthday. basic trust versus basic mistrust. From the crisis
between basic trust and basic mistrust emerges
III. The Ego in Post-Freudian hope, the basic strength of infancy. Infants who
Psychology do not develop hope retreat from the world, and
One of Erikson’s chief contributions to this withdrawal is the core pathology of infancy.
personality theory was his emphasis on ego B. Early Childhood
rather than id functions. According to Erikson,
the ego is the center of personality and is The 2nd to 3rd year of life is early childhood, a
responsible for a unified sense of self. It consists period that compares to Freud’s anal stage, but
of three interrelated facets: the body ego, the it also includes mastery of other body functions
ego ideal, and ego identity. such as walking, urinating, and holding. The
psychosexual mode of early childhood is anal-
A. Society’s Influence urethral-muscular, and children of this age
behave both impulsively and compulsively. The Adolescence begins with puberty and is marked
psychosocial crisis of early childhood is by a person’s struggle to find ego identity. It is a
autonomy versus shame and doubt. The time of psychosexual growth, but it is also a
psychosocial crisis between autonomy on the period of psychosocial latency. The psychosexual
one hand and shame and doubt on the other mode of adolescence is puberty or genital
produces will, the basic strength of early maturation. The psychosocial crisis of
childhood. The core pathology of early childhood adolescence is identity versus identity
is compulsion. confusion. Psychologically healthy individuals
emerge from adolescence with a sense of who
C. Play Age
they are and what they believe; but some
From about the 3rd to the 5th year, children identity confusion is normal. The conflict
experience the play age, a period that parallels between identity and identity confusion
Freud’s phallic phase. Unlike Freud, however, produces fidelity, or faith in some ideological
Erikson saw the Oedipus complex as an early view of the future. Lack of belief in one’s own
model of lifelong playfulness and a drama played selfhood results in role repudiation, or an
out in children’s minds as they attempt to inability to bring together one’s various self-
understand the basic facts of life. The primary images.
psychosexual mode of the play age is genital-
F. Young Adulthood
locomotor, meaning that the children have both
an interest in genital activity and an increasing Young adulthood begins with the acquisition of
ability to move around. The psychosocial crisis of intimacy at about age 18 and ends with the
the play age is initiative versus guilt. The conflict development of generativity at about age 30.
between initiative and guilt helps children to act The psychosexual mode of young adulthood is
with purpose and to set goals. But if children genitality, which is expressed as mutual trust
have too little purpose, they develop inhibition, between partners in a stable sexual relationship.
the core pathology of the play age. Its psychosocial crisis is intimacy versus
isolation. Intimacy is the ability to fuse one’s
D. School Age
identity with that of another without fear of
The period from about 6 to 12 or 13 years of age losing it; whereas isolation is the fear of losing
is called the school age, a time of psychosexual one’s identity in an intimate relationship. The
latency, but it is also a time of psychosocial crisis between intimacy and isolation results in
growth beyond the family, because sexual the capacity to love. The core pathology of
development is latent during the school age young adulthood is exclusivity, or inability to
children can use their energies to learn the love.
customs of their culture, including both formal
G. Adulthood
and informal education. The psychosocial crisis
of this age is industry versus inferiority. Children The period from about 31 to 60 years of age is
need to learn to work hard, but they also must adulthood, a time when people make significant
develop some sense of inferiority. From the contributions to society. The psychosexual mode
conflict of industry and inferiority emerges of adulthood is procreativity, or the caring for
competence, the basic strength of school age. A one’s children, the children of others, and the
lack of industry leads to inertia, the core material products of one’s society. The
pathology of this age. psychosocial crisis of adulthood is generativity
versus stagnation, and the successful resolution
E. Adolescence
of this crisis results in care. Erikson saw care as
taking care of the persons and products that one the concepts of identity and generativity. In this
has learned to care for. The core pathology of section, the authors focused on (1) generativity
adulthood is rejectivity, or the rejection of and parenting and (2) generativity versus
certain individuals or groups that one is stagnation.
unwilling to take care of.
A. Geberativity and Parenting
H. Old Age
Dan McAdams and colleagues have developed
The final stage of development is old age, from the Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS) to measure
about age 60 until death. The psychosexual generativity and to conduct research on this
mode of old age is generalized sensuality; that concept. Researchers have used the LGS to
is, taking pleasure in a variety of sensations and investigate the impact of parental generativity
an appreciation of the traditional life style of on the development of children. Bill Peterson
people of the other gender. The psychosocial (2006) tested his prediction that parents with
crisis of old age is the struggle between integrity high generativity should produce happy, well-
(the maintenance of ego-identity) and despair adjusted offspring. His results were supportive
(the surrender of hope). The struggle between of the general notion that having a sense of
integrity and despair may produce wisdom (the generativity is important to effective parenting.
basic strength of old age), but it may also lead to Not only did children of highly generative
disdain (a core pathology marked by feelings of parents have more selfconfidence, a stronger
being finished or helpless). sense of freedom, and more general happiness
with life; they also had a stronger future time
V. Erikson’s Methods of orientation (Peterson, 2006)
Investigation
B. Generativity vs. Stagnation
Erikson relied mostly on anthropology and
psychohistory to explain and describe human Erikson generally considered stagnation and
personality. generativity to be opposite ends of the same
continuum, so that an individual who is high on
A. Anthropological Studies
generativity tends to be low on stagnation and
Erikson’s two most important anthropological vice versa. But recently researchers have been
studies were of the Sioux of South Dakota and exploring stagnation and generativity as
the Yurok tribe of northern California. Both somewhat independent constructs. Van Hiel and
studies demonstrated his notion that culture colleagues, again using the LGS, found that
and history help shape personality. generativity and stagnation can operate
separately in adults. In addition, they found that
B. Psychohistory when measured separately, stagnation is related
Erikson combined the methods of to problems in emotional regulation, while
psychoanalysis and historical research to study generativity is not. Moreover, they discovered
several personalities, most notably Gandhi and that some people measure high on both
Luther. In both cases, the central figure generativity and stagnation, and that such a
experienced an identity crisis that produced a personality profile is not mentally or emotionally
basic strength rather than a core pathology. healthy, as it includes difficulties both with
emotional regulation and with intimacy (Van
VI. Related Research Hiel, Mervielde, De Fruyt, 2006). In that this
research preserves Erikson’s two constructs of
Erikson’s theory has generated a moderately
generativity and stagnation. It is not a big
large body of research, much of it investigating
departure fromErikson; however, it does show worked with Harry Harlow conducting animal
that these two constructs can, and sometimes studies. Most of his professional career was
do, function independently in adult spent at Brooklyn College and Brandeis
development. University. Poor health forced him to move to
California, where he died in 1970 at age of 62.
VII. Critique of Erikson
III. Maslow’s View of Motivation
Although Erikson’s work is a logical extension of
Maslow’s theory rests on five basic
Freud’s psychoanalysis, it offers a new way of
looking of human development. As a useful assumptions about motivation: (1) the
theory, it rates high on its ability to generate whole organism is motivated at any
research, about average on its ability to be one time; (2) motivation is complex,
falsified, to organize knowledge, and to guide and unconscious motives often
the practitioner. It rates high on internal underlie behavior; (3) people are
consistency and about average on parsimony. continually motivated by one need or
VIII. Concept of Humanity another; (4) people in different
Erikson saw humans as basically social animals cultures are motivated by the same
who have limited free choice and who are basic needs; and (5) the basic needs
motivated by past experiences, which may be can be arranged on a hierarchy.
both conscious and unconscious. In addition, A. Hierarchy of Needs
Erikson is rated high on both optimism and
uniqueness of individuals. Maslow held that lower level needs have
prepotency over higher level needs; lower needs
must be satisfied before higher need become
Chapter 9 motivators. Maslow’s hierarchy includes: (1)
physiological needs, such as oxygen, food,
Maslow: Holistic-Dynamic Theory water, and so on; (2) safety needs, which
Summary Outline include physical security, stability, dependency,
protection, and freedom from danger, and which
I. Overview of Maslow’s Holistic- result in basic anxiety if not satisfied; (3) love
Dynamic Theory and belongingness needs, including the desire
for friendship, the wish for a mate and children,
Maslow’s holistic-dynamic theory assumes that
and the need to belong; (4) esteem needs,
people are continually motivated by one or
which result from the satisfaction of love needs
more needs, and that under the proper
and which include selfconfidence and the
circumstances, they can reach a level of
recognition that we have a positive reputation;
psychological health called selfactualization.
and (5) self-actualization needs, which are
II. Biography of Abraham H. Maslow satisfied only by the psychologically healthiest
people. Unlike other needs that automatically
Abraham H. Maslow was born in New York City are activated when lower needs are met, self-
in 1908, the oldest of seven children of Russian actualization needs do not inevitably follow from
Jewish immigrants. After 2 or 3 mediocre years the satisfaction of esteem needs. Only by
as a college student, Maslow improved in his embracing such B-values as truth, beauty,
academic work at about a time he was married. oneness, justice, etc., can people achieve self-
He received both a bachelor’s degree and a PhD actualization. The five needs on Maslow’s
from the University of Wisconsin, where he hierarchy are conative needs. Other categories
of needs include aesthetic needs, cognitive expressive behaviors have no aim or goal but are
needs, and neurotic needs. merely a person’s mode of expression. In
comparison, coping behavior deal with a
B. Aesthetic Needs
person’s attempt to cope with the environment.
Aesthetic needs include a desire for beauty and The conative needs ordinarily call forth coping
other, and some people have much stronger behaviors. Deprivation of any of the needs leads
aesthetic needs than do others. When people to pathology of some sort. For example, people’s
fail to meet their aesthetic needs, they become inability to reach self-actualization results in
sick. metapathology; defined as an absence of values,
a lack of fulfilment, and loss of meaning in life.
C. Cognitive Needs Maslow suggested that instinctoid needs are
Cognitive needs include the desire to know, to innately determined even though they can be
understand and to be curious. Knowledge is a modified by learning. Maslow also believed that
prerequisite for each of the five conative needs. higher level needs (love, esteem, and self-
Also, people who are denied knowledge and actualization) are later on the evolutionary scale
kept in ignorance become sick, paranoid, and than lower level needs and that they produce
depressed. more genuine happiness and more peak
experiences.
D. Neurotic Needs
IV. Self-Actualization
Neurotic needs include the desire to dominate,
to inflict pain, or to subject oneself to the will of Maslow believed that a very small percentage of
another person. With conative, aesthetic, and people reach an ultimate level of psychological
cognitive needs, some type of illness results health called self-actualization.
when they are not satisfied. Neurotic needs, A. Values of Self-Actualizers
however, lead to pathology whether are not
they are satisfied. Maslow held that self-actualizing people are
metamotivated by such B-values as truth,
E. General Discussion of Needs goodness, beauty, justice, and simplicity.
Maslow believed that most people satisfy lower B. Definition and Description
level needs to a greater extent than they do
higher needs, and that the greater the Four criteria must be met before a person
satisfaction of one need, the more fully the next achieves self-actualization: (1) absence of
highest need is likely to emerge. In certain rare psychopathology, (2) satisfaction of each of the
cases, the order of needs might be reversed. For four lower level needs, (3) full realization of
example, a starving mother may be motivated one’s potentials of growth, and (4) acceptance of
by love needs to give up food in order to feed the B-values.
her starving children. However, if we understand
C. Characteristics of Self-Actualizing
the unconscious motivation behind many
People
apparent reversals, we might see that they are
not genuine reversals at all. Thus, Maslow Maslow listed 15 qualities that characterize
insisted that much of our surface behaviors are selfactualizing people, although not all self-
actually motivated by more basic and often actualizers possess each of these characteristics
unconscious needs. Maslow also believed that to the same extent. The characteristics of self-
some expressive behaviors are unmotivated, actualizing people are: (1) more efficient
even though all behaviors have a cause perception of reality; they often have an almost
uncanny ability to detect phoniness in others, V. Philosophy of Science
and they are not fooled by sham;
Maslow criticized traditional science as being
(2) acceptance of self, others, and nature; (3) valuefree, with a methodology that is sterile and
spontaneity, simplicity, and naturalness; they nonemotional. He argued for a Taoistic attitude
have no need to appear complex or for psychology in which psychologists are willing
sophisticated; (4) problem-centered; they view to resacralize their science, that is, to instill it
old-age problems on a solid philosophical with human values and to view participants with
position; (5) the need for privacy, or a awe, joy, wonder, rapture, and ritual.
detachment that allows them to be alone
VI. Measuring Self-Actualization
without being lonely; (6) autonomy, they have
grown beyond dependency on other people for Maslow’s methods for measuring self-
their self-esteem; (7) continued freshness of actualization were consistent with his
appreciation and the ability to view everyday philosophy of science. He began his study of self-
things with a fresh vision and appreciation; (8) actualizing people with little evidence that such
frequent reports of peak experiences, or those a classification of people even existed. He looked
mystical experiences that give a person a sense at healthy people, learned that they had in
of transcendence and feelings of awe, wander, common, and then established a syndrome for
ecstasy, reverence, and humility; (9) psychological health. Next, he refined the
Gemeinschaftsgefuhl, that is, social interest or a definition of self-actualization, studied other
deep feeling of oneness with all humanity; (10) people, and changed the syndrome. He
profound interpersonal relations but with no continued this process until he was satisfied that
desperate need to have a multitude of friends; he had a clear definition of selfactualization.
(11) the democratic character structure, or the Other researchers have developed personality
ability to disregard superficial differences inventories for measuring selfactualization. The
between people; (12) discrimination between most widely used of these is Everett Shostrom’s
means and ends, meaning that self-actualizing Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), a 150-
people have a clear sense of right and wrong, forced-choice inventory that assesses a variety
and they experience little conflict about basic of self-actualization facets.
values; (13) a philosophical sense of humor, or
humor that is spontaneous, unplanned, and VII. The Jonah Complex
intrinsic to the situation; (14) creativeness; they Because humans are born with a natural
possess a keen perception of truth, beauty, and tendency to move toward psychological health,
reality; (15) resistance to enculturation; they any failure to reach self-actualization can be
have the ability to set personal standards and to technically called abnormal development. One
resist the mold set by the dominant culture. such abnormal syndrome is the Jonah complex,
D. Love, Sex, an Self-Actualization or fear of being or doing one’s best, a condition
that all of us have to some extent. Maslow
Maslow compared D-love (deficiency love) to B- believed that many people allow false humility
love (love for being or essence of another to stifle their creativity and to fall short of self-
person). Selfactualizing people are capable of B- actualization.
love; that is, they have the ability to love without
expecting something in return. B-love is mutually VIII. Psychotherapy
felt and shared and not based on deficiencies The hierarchy of needs concept has obvious
within the lovers. ramifications for psychotherapy. Most people
who seek psychotherapy probably do so because people become more self-actualizing as they
they have not adequately satisfied their love and grow older. Recently, Jack Bauer and Dan
belongingness needs. This suggests that much of McAdams (2004a) tested this hypothesis using
therapy should involve a productive human college students and middle-age and older
relationship and that he job of a therapist is to community volunteers. Their procedure called
help clients satisfy love and belongingness for measuring two kinds of growth— extrinsic
needs. and intrinsic. External growth includes an
interest in money, fame, and physical
IX. Related Research
appearance, whereas intrinsic growth focuses on
Recent research in positive psychology has happiness and healthy interpersonal relations.
reawakened an interest in humanistic As hypothesized, Bauer and McAdams found
psychology including the work of Maslow, Carl that older participants had higher intrinsic goals,
Rogers, Gordon Allport, and other person- whereas college students tended to report
centered personality theorists. needs for extrinsic goals.

A. Hierarchy of Needs X. Critique of Maslow

Reiss & Havercamp (2006) measured need Maslow’s theory has been popular in psychology
fulfilment to test the idea in Maslow’s theory and other disciplines, such as marketing,
that lower order needs must be met early in life management, nursing, and education. The
while higher order needs such as self- hierarchy of needs concept seems both
actualization are fulfilled later in life. Their elementary and logical, which give Maslow’s
results supported Maslow’s theory in this point. theory the illusion of simplicity. However, the
theory is somewhat complex, with four
B. Positive Psychology dimensions of needs and the possibility of
One area of positive psychology where Maslow’s unconsciously motivated behavior. As a scientific
ideas have been especially influential is in the theory, Maslow’s model rates high in generating
role of positive experiences in people’s lives. research but low in falsifiability. On its ability to
Burton & King (2004) found support for their organize knowledge and guide action, the theory
hypothesis that writing about positive rates quite high; on its simplicity and internal
experiences would be associated with better consistency, it rates only average.
physical health. Lyubomirsky, Sousa, and XI. Concept of Humanity
Dickerhoof (2004) found additionally that while
simply thinking about past positive experiences Maslow believed that people are structured in
did not confer physical health benefits, it did such a way that their activated needs are exactly
result in participant’s reporting greater well- what they want most. Hungry people desire
being than those who wrote about the positive food, frightened people look for safety, and so
experiences. This recent research in positive forth. Although he was generally optimistic and
psychology supports Maslow’s prediction that hopeful, Maslow saw that people are capable of
peak experiences often have lasting impact on great evil and destruction. He believed that, as a
people’s lives. species, humans are becoming more and more
fully human and motivated by higher level
C. Personality Development, Growth, and needs. In summary, Maslow’s view of humanity
Goals rates high on free choice, optimism, teleology,
Implicit in Maslow’s theory of self-actualization and uniqueness and about average on social
is the assumption that psychologically healthy influences. Chapter 10
Rogers: Person-Centered Theory people (or plants and animals) to become
actualized, certain identifiable conditions must
Summary Outline
be present. For a person, these conditions
I. Overview of Roger’s Person-Centered include a relationship with another person who
Theory is genuine, or congruent, and who demonstrates
complete acceptance and empathy for that
Although Carl Rogers is best known as the person.
founder of client-centered therapy, he also
developed an important theory of personality B. The Self and Self-Actualization
that underscores his approach to therapy. A sense of self or personal identity begins to
II. Biography of Carl Rogers emerge during infancy, and once establish, it
allows a person to strive toward self-
Carl Rogers was born into a devoutly religious actualization, which is subsystem of the
family in a Chicago suburb in 1902. After the actualization tendency and refers to the
family moved to a nearby farm, Carl became tendency to actualize the self as perceived in
interested in scientific farming and learned to awareness. The self has two subsystems: (1) the
appreciate the scientific method. When he selfconcept, which includes all those aspects of
graduated from the University of Wisconsin, one’s identity that are perceived in awareness
Rogers intended to become a minister, but he and (2) the ideal self, or our view of our self as
gave up that notion and completed a PhD in we would like to be or aspire to be. Once
psychology from Columbia University in 1931. In formed, the self-concept tends to resist change,
1940, after nearly a dozen years away from an and gaps between it and the ideal self result in
academic life working as a clinician, he took a incongruence and various levels of
positions at the University of Chicago and the psychopathology.
University of Wisconsin. In 1964, he moved to
California, where he helped found the Center of C. Awareness
Studies of the Person. He died in 1987 at age 85. People are aware of both their self-concept and
III. Person-Centered Theory their ideal self, although awareness need not be
accurate. For example, people may have an
Rogers carefully crafted his person-centered inflated view of their ideal self but only a vague
theory of personality to meet his own demands sense of their self-concept. Rogers saw people as
for structural model that could explain and having experiences on three levels of awareness:
predict outcomes of client-centered therapy. (1) those that are symbolized below the
However, the theory has implications far beyond threshold of awareness and are ignored, denied,
the therapeutic setting. or not allowed into the self-concept; (2) those
A. Basic Assumptions that are distorted or reshaped to fit it into an
existing self-concept; and (3) those that are
Person-centered theory rests on two basic consistent with the self-concept and thus are
assumptions: (1) the formative tendency that accurately symbolized and freely admitted to the
states that all matter, both organic and self-structure. Any experience not consistent
inorganic, tends to evolve from simpler to more with the self-concept—even positive
complex forms and (2) an actualizing tendency, experiences—will be distorted or denied.
which suggests that all living things, including
humans, tend to move toward completion, of D. Needs
fulfilment of potentials. However, in order for
The two basic human needs are maintenance__ whenever the person becomes more clearly
and enhancement, but people also need positive aware of this incongruence. To prevent
regard and self-regard. Maintenance needs incongruence, people react with defensiveness,
include those for food, air, and safety, but they typically in the forms of distortion and denial.
also include our tendency to resist change and With distortion, people misinterpret an
to maintain our self-concept as it is. experience so that it fits into their self-concept;
Enhancement needs include needs to grow and with denial, people refuse to allow the
to realize one’s full human potential. As experience into awareness. When people’s
awareness of self emerges, an infant begins to defences fail to operate properly, their behavior
receive positive regard from another person, becomes disorganized or psychotic. With
that is, to be loved or accepted. People naturally disorganization, people sometimes behave
value those experiences that satisfy their needs consistently with their organismic experience,
for positive regard, but unfortunately, this value and sometimes in accordance with their
sometimes becomes more powerful than the shattered selfconcept.
reward they receive for meeting their organismic
IV. Psychotherapy
needs. This sets up the condition of
incongruence, which is experienced when basic For client-centered psychotherapy to be
organismic needs are denied or distorted in effective, six conditions are necessary: (1) a
favour of needs to be loved or accepted. As a vulnerable client must (2) have contact of some
result of experiences with positive regard, duration with a counsellor who is (3) congruent
people develop the need for self-regard which and who demonstrates (4) unconditional
they acquire only after they perceive that positive regard and who (5) listens with empathy
someone else cares for them and values them. to a client. In addition, the client must (6)
Once established, however, self-regard becomes perceives the congruence, unconditional positive
autonomous and no longer dependent on regard, and empathy. If these conditions are
another person’s continuous positive evaluation. present, then the process of therapy will take
place and certain predictable outcomes will
E. Conditions of Worth
result.
Most people are not unconditionally accepted.
A. Conditions
Instead, they receive conditions of worth; that is,
they feel that they are loved and accepted only Three of these conditions are crucial to client-
when and if they meet the conditions set by centered therapy, and Rogers called them the
others. necessary and sufficient conditions for
therapeutic growth. The first is counselor
F. Psychological Stagnation
congruence, or a therapist whose organismic
When the organismic self and self-concept are at experiences are matched by an awareness and
variance with one another, a person may by the ability and willingness to openly express
experience incongruence, anxiety, threat, these feelings. Congruence is more basic than
defensiveness, and even disorganization. The the other two conditions because it is a
greater the incongruence between self-concept relatively stable characteristic of the therapist,
and the organismic experience, the more whereas the other two conditions are limited to
vulnerable that person becomes. Anxiety exists a specific therapeutic relationship.
whenever the person becomes dimly aware of Unconditional positive regard exists when the
the discrepancy between organismic experience therapist to sense the feeling of a client and also
and self-concept, whereas threat is experienced to communicate these perceptions so that the
client knows that another person has entered experiencing a constant state of fluidity and
into his or her world of feelings without change. They would see each experience with a
prejudice, projection, or evaluation. new freshness and appreciate it fully in the
present moment. Rogers (1961) referred to this
B. Process
tendency to live in the moment as existential
Rogers saw the process of therapeutic change as living. Fourth, persons of tomorrow would
taking place in seven stages: (1) clients are remain confident of their own ability to
unwilling to communicate anything about experience harmonious relations with others.
themselves; (2) they discuss only external events They would feel no need to be liked or loved by
and other people; (3) they begin to talk about everyone, because they would know that they
themselves, but still as an object; (4) they are unconditionally prized and accepted by
discuss strong emotions that they have felt in someone. Fifth, they would be more integrated,
the past; (5) they begin to express present more whole, with no artificial boundary between
feelings; (6) they freely allow into awareness conscious processes and unconscious ones.
those experiences that were previously denied Because they would be able to accurately
or distorted; and (7) they experience irreversible symbolize all their experiences in awareness,
change and growth. they would see clearly the difference between
what is and what should be. Sixth, persons of
C. Outcomes tomorrow would have a basic trust of human
When client-centered therapy is successful, nature. They would experience anger,
clients become more congruent, less defensive, frustration, depression, and other negative
more open to experience, and more realistic. emotions, but they would be able express rather
The gap between their ideal self and their true than repress these feelings. Finally, because
self narrows and as a consequence, clients persons of tomorrow are open to all their
experience less physiological and psychological experiences, they would enjoy a greater richness
tension. Finally, clients’ interpersonal in life than do other people. They would live in
relationships improve because they are more the present and thus participate more richly in
accepting of self and others. the ongoing moment.

V. The Person of Tomorrow VI. Philosophy of Science

If people receive the three necessary and Rogers agreed with Maslow that scientists must
sufficient conditions for psychological health care about the phenomena they study and that
person, then they will grow toward becoming psychologists should limit their objectivity and
the “fully functioning person” or the “person of precision to their methodology, not to the
tomorrow”. Rogers listen seven characteristics creation of hypotheses or to the communication
of the person of tomorrow. First, persons of of research findings.
tomorrow would be more adaptable and more VII. The Chicago Studies
flexible in their thinking. Second, they would be
open to their experiences, accurately When he taught at the University of Chicago and
symbolizing them in awareness rather than again at the University of Wisconsin, Rogers
denying or distorting them. Persons of along with colleagues and graduate student
tomorrow would listen to themselves and hear conducted an experimental investigation on the
their joy, anger, discouragement, fear, and effectiveness of psychotherapy. These studies,
tenderness. A third characteristic would be a though now old, remain as some of the best
tendency to live fully in the moment,
designed and most sophisticated of all such A. Self-Ideal, Congruence, and Mental Health:
investigations. Self-Discrepancy Theory

A. Hypotheses In the 1980s, E. Tory Higgins developed a version

of
This study at the University of Chicago tested
Rogers’ model called self-discrepancy theory.
four broad hypotheses. As a consequence of
Higgins hypothesized that individuals with high
therapy (1) clients will become more aware of
levels of selfdiscrepancy were most likely to
their feelings and experiences, (2) the gap
experience high levels of negative affect in their
between the real self and ideal self will lessen;
lives, such as anxiety and depression. Ann
(3) clients’ behavior will become more
Phillips and Paul Silvia (2005) predicted that the
socialized; and (4) clients will become both more
negative emotion experienced from either real-
selfaccepting and more accepting of others.
ideal or real-ought discrepancies would be
B. Method greatest when people are more self-aware or
selffocused. Their hypothesis was supported by
Participants were adults who sought therapy at their findings when they compared participants
the University of Chicago counseling center. completing their questionnaires in front of a
Experimenters asked half of them to wait 60 mirror to participants without a mirror.
days before receiving therapy while beginning
therapy with the other half. In addition, they Other researchers have found that college
tested a control group of “normals” who were students with a high discrepancy between real
matched with the therapy group. This control and ideal selfperceptions tended to drink more
group was also divided into a wait group and a alcohol in a controlled setting (Wolfe & Maisto,
non-wait group. 2000). Others applied Higgins’ self-discrepancy
theory to eating disorders (Veale, Kinderman,
C. Findings
Riley, & Lambrou,
Rogers and his associates found that the therapy 2003), and to general mental health (Liao & Fan,
group—but not the wait group—showed a 2003). In general, these results supported
lessening of the gap between real self and ideal Rogers’ notion that people whose ideal self is at
self. They also found that clients who improved variance with their real self may turn to
during therapy showed changes in social unhealthy behaviors as a means of coping with
behavior, as reported by their friends. this discrepancy.

D. Summary Results B. Motivation and Pursuit of Goals

Although client-centered therapy was successful Rogers’ propose (1951) that we all have an
in changing clients, it was not successful in organismic valuing process (OVP), or a natural
bringing them to the level of the fully instinct guiding as toward the most fulfilling
functioning persons or even to the level of pursuits. Ken Sheldon and colleagues (2003)
“normal” psychological health. explored the existence of an OVP in college
students. Their hypothesis that if people have an
VIII. Related Research OVP, over time they will rate more inherently
More recently, other researchers have fulfilling goals as more desirable than
investigated Rogers’ facilitative conditions both materialistic goals, was supported by their
outside therapy and within therapy. findings. Schwartz and Waterman found from
their longitudinal study (2006) that the more
self-realizing experiences people have, the more
intrinsic motivation they are likely to experience, He then served 2 years as a pastor, but quit in
just as Carl Rogers would have predicted. IX. order to pursue a career in psychology. He
Critique of Rogers received a PhD in clinical psychology from
Columbia in 1949 at the relatively advanced age
Rogers’ person-centered theory is one of the
of 40. During his professional career, he served
most carefully constructed of all personality
as lecturer or visiting professors at a number of
theories, and it meets quite well each of the six
Universities, conducted a private practice as a
criteria of a useful theory. It rates very high on
psychotherapist, and wrote a number of popular
internal consistency and parsimony, high on its
books on the human condition. May died in
ability to be falsified and to generate research,
1994 at age of 85.
and high average on its ability to organize
knowledge and to serve as a guide to the III. Background of Existentialism
practitioner.
Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and
X. Concept of Humanity theologian, is usually considered to be the
founder of modern existentialism. Like later
Rogers believed that humans have the capacity
existentialists, he emphasized a balance
to change and grow—provided that certain
between freedom and responsibility. People
necessary and sufficient conditions are present.
acquire freedom of action by expanding their
Therefore, his theory rates very high on
self-awareness and by assuming responsibility
optimism. In addition, it rates high on free
for their actions. However, this acquisition of
choice, teleology, conscious motivation, social
freedom and responsibility is achieved at the
influences, and the uniqueness of the individual.
expense of anxiety and dread.

A. What is Existentialism?
Chapter 10
The first tenet of existentialism is that existence
May: Existential Psychology takes precedence over essence, meaning that
process and growth are more important than
Summary Outline product and stagnation. Second, existentialists
I. Overview of May’s Existential Theory oppose the artificial split between subject and
object. Third, they stress people’s search for
Existential psychology began in Europe shortly meaning in their lives. Fourth, they insist that
after World War II and spread to the United each of us is responsible for who we are and
States, where Rollo May played a large part in what we will become. Fifth, most existentialists
popularizing it. A clinical psychologist by training, take an antitheoretical position, believing that
May took the view that modern people theories tend to objectify people.
frequently run away both from making choices
B. Basic Concepts
and from assuming responsibility. II. Biography
of Rollo May According to existentialists, a basic unity exists
Rollo May was born on Ohio in 1909, but grew between people and their environments, a
up in Michigan. After graduating from Oberlin unity expressed by the term Dasein, or being-in-
College in 1930, he spent 3 years as an itinerant the-world. Three simultaneous modes of the
artist roaming throughout eastern and southern world characterize us in our Dasein: Umwelt, or
Europe. When he returned to United States, he the environment around us; Mitwelt, or our
entered the Union Teleological Seminary, from
world with other people; and Eigenwelt, or our
which he received a Master of Divinity degree.
relationship with our self. People are both whenever one’s values are transformed into
aware of themselves as living beings and also dogma. Neurotic anxiety blocks growth and
aware of the possibility of nonbeing or productive action.
nothingness. Death is the most obvious form of VI. Guilt
nonbeing, which can also be experienced as
Guilt arises whenever people deny their
retreat from life’s experiences.
potentialities, fail to accurately perceive the
IV. The Case of Philip needs of others, or remain blind to their
dependence on the natural world. Both anxiety
Rollo May helped illustrate his concepts of and guilt are ontological; that is, they refer to
existential theory and therapy by the case of the nature of being and not to feelings arising
Philip, a successful architect in his mid-50s. from specific situations.
Despite his apparent success, Philip experienced
severe anxiety when his relationship with Nicole VII. Intentionality
(a writer in her mid-40s) took a puzzling turn.
The structure that gives meaning to experience
Uncertain of his future and suffering from low
and allows people to make decisions about the
self-esteem, Philip went into therapy with Rollo
future is called intentionality. May believed that
May. Eventually, Philip was able to understand
intentionality permits people to overcome the
that his difficulties with women were related to
dichotomy between subject and object because
his early experiences with a mother who was
it enables them to see that their intentions are a
unpredictable and an older sister who suffered
function of both themselves and their
from severe mental disorders. However, he
environment.
began to recover only after he accepted that his
“need” to take care of unpredictable Nicole was VIII. Care, Love, and Will
merely part of his personal history with unstable
Care is an active process that suggests that
women.
things matter. Love means to care, to delight in
V. Anxiety the presence of another person, and to affirm
that person’s value as much as one’s own, care is
People experienced anxiety when they become
also an important ingredient in will, defined as a
aware that their existence or something
conscious commitment to action.
identified with it might be destroyed. The
acquisition of freedom inevitably leads to A. Union of Love and Will
anxiety, which can be either pleasurable and
May believed that our modern society has lost
constructive or painful and destructive.
sight of the true nature of love and will. Equating
A. Normal Anxiety love with sex and will with will power. He further
held that psychologically healthy people are able
Growth produces normal anxiety, defined as
to combine love and will because both imply
that which is proportionate to the threat, does
care, choice, action, and responsibility.
not involve repression, and can be handled on a
conscious level. B. Forms of Love

B. Neurotic Anxiety May identified four kinds of love in Western

tradition—sex, eros, philia, and agape. He
Neurotic anxiety is a reaction that is
believed that Americans no longer view sex as a
disproportionate to the threat and that leads to
natural biological function, but have become
repression and defensive behaviors. It is felt
preoccupied with it to the point of trivialization.
Eros is a psychological desire that seeks an thought she should have done. The objective
enduring union with a loved one. It may include facts of his childhood had not changed, but
sex, but it is built on care and tenderness. Philia, Philip’s subjective perceptions had. As he came
an intimate nonsexual friendship between two to terms with his destiny, Philip began to be able
people, takes time to develop and does not to express his anger, to feel less trapped in his
depend on the actions of the other person. relationship with Nicole, and to become more
Agape, is an altruistic or spiritual love that aware of his possibilities. In other words, he
carries with it the risk of playing God. Agape is gained his freedom of being.
undeserved and unconditional.
X. The Power of Myth
IX. Freedom of Destiny
According to May, the people of contemporary
Psychologically healthy individuals are Western civilization have an urgent need to
comfortable with freedom, able to assume myths. Because they have lost many of their
responsibility for their choices, and willing to traditional myths, they turn to religious cults,
face their destiny. drugs, and popular culture to fill the vacuum.
The Oedipus myth has had a powerful effect on
A. Freedom Defined
our culture because it deals with such common
Freedom comes from an understanding of our existential crises as birth, separation from
destiny. We are free when we recognize that parents, sexual union with one parent and
death is a possibility at any moment and when hostility toward the other, independence in
we are willing to experience changes even in the one’s search for identity, and finally death.
face of not knowing what those changes will
XI. Psychopathology
bring.
May saw apathy and emptiness—not anxiety or
B. Forms of Freedom
depression—as the chief existential disorders of
May recognized two forms of freedom: (1) our time. People have become alienated from
freedom of doing or freedom of action, which he the natural world (Umwelt), from other people
called existential freedom, and (2) freedom of (Mitwelt) and from themselves (Eigenwelt).
being or an inner freedom, which he called Psychopathology is a lack of connectedness and
essential freedom. an ability to fulfil one’s destiny.

C. Destiny Defined XII. Psychotherapy

May defined destiny as “the design of the The goal of May’s psychotherapy was not to cure
universe speaking through the design of each patients of any specific disorder, but rather to
one of us.” In other words, our destiny includes make them more fully human. May said that the
the limitation of our environment and our purpose of psychotherapy is to set people free,
personal qualities, including our morality, that is, to allow them to make choices and to
gender and genetic predispositions. Freedom assume responsibility for those choices.
and destiny constitute a paradox because
XIII. Related Research
freedom gains vitality from destiny, and destiny
gains significance from freedom. May’s theory of personality does not easily lend
itself to direct empirical research. Nevertheless,
D. Philip’s Destiny
some researchers have investigated the concept
After some time in therapy, Philip was able to of terror management, which is based on more
stop blaming his mother for not doing what he readily testable hypotheses. Rollo May’s
existential theory has not generated much If thoughts of death are highly anxiety
objective, scientific research, a situation that provoking, then people should protect
May would have approved. themselves against thoughts of death (terror-
Nevertheless, one existential topic to receive management) by doing things that can decrease
some empirical attention has been existential their likelihood of dying, such as exercising and
anxiety and terror management. Ernest Becker, performing other healthy behaviors. Jamie Arndt
an American Psychiatrist inspired by Kierkegaard and colleagues investigated this issue and found
and Otto Rank, has presented research that has support for the hypothesis that, for people who
been a major source of inspiration for terror value health and fitness, thoughts of death are
management theorists. related to greater interest in health-related
behaviors. They also confirmed the importance
A. Mortality Salience and Denial of Our Animal
of distinguishing between proximal or conscious
Nature
and distal or unconscious defences against
Also, Jamie Goldenberg and colleagues found death. In summary, terror management seems
that cultural worldviews (religion, politics, and to be a powerful force behind much of human
social norms) and self-esteem function to behavior.
defend people against thoughts of death, so that
XIV. Critique of May
when death becomes salient through disasters,
death of a loved one, or images of death, people May’s psychology has been legitimately
respond by clinging more closely to cultural criticized as being antitheoretical and unjustly
worldviews and bolstering their self-esteem. criticized as being anti-intellectual. May’s
They predicted that mortality salience would antitheoretical approach calls for a new kind of
increase feelings of disgust, and their science—one that considers uniqueness and
experiment found this prediction to be true. personal freedom as crucial concepts.
Goldenberg and colleagues found that their However, according to the criteria of present
results supported the basic terror management science,
assumption that people distance themselves May’s theory rates low on most standards. More
from animals because animals remind us of our specifically, we give it a very low rating on its
own physical mortality. Cathy cox and colleagues ability to generate research, to be falsified, and
recently extended Goldenberg’s findings by to guide action; low on internal consistency
investigating disgust reactions to breast feeding (because it lacks operationally defined terms),
(Cox, Greenberg, Arndt, & Pyszczynski, 2007; average on parsimony, and high on its
Cox, Goldenberg, Pyszczynski, & Weise, 2007). organizational powers, due to its consideration
Their findings supported the conclusions of a of a broad scope of the human condition.
growing body of research than when mortality is
XV. Concept of Humanity
made more salient, people are increasingly
disgusted by human features that remind us of May viewed people as complex beings, capable
our animal nature. This body of work points to of both tremendous good and immense evil.
the general conclusion that disgust serves the People have become alienated from the world,
function of defending us against the existential from other people, and, most of all, from
threat posed by our inevitable death. themselves. On the dimensions of a concept of
humanity May rates high on free choice,
B. Fitness as a Defense against Mortality
teleology, social influences, and uniqueness. On
Awareness
the issue of conscious or unconscious forces, his
theory takes a middle position.
psychophysical systems that determine [the
person’s] behavior and thought”. This definition
Chapter 12
includes both physical and psychological
Allport: Psychology of the Individual properties and both stability and flexibility.
Also, personality not only is something but it
Summary Outline does something; that is, it includes both
I. Overview of Allport’s Psychology of the behavior and thinking.
Individual B. What is the Role of Conscious
As a 22-year-old student, Gordon Allport had a Motivation?
short nut pertinent visit with Freud in Vienna, a More than any other personality theorist, Allport
meeting that changed Allport’s life and altered recognized the importance of conscious
the course of personality psychology in the motivation. His emphasis of conscious
United States. In motivation probably began with his short-lived
Allport’s mature theory, his major emphasis discussion with Freud, when Allport had not yet
was on the uniqueness of each individual. selected a career in psychology.
Allport built a theory of personality as a Rather than viewing Freud’s comments as an
reaction against what he regarded as the non- expression of an unconscious motive, Allport
humanistic positions of both psychoanalysis believed that Freud missed the point of Allport’s
and animal-based learning theory. However, story. Whereas Freud would attribute an
Allport was eclectic in his approach and unconscious desire in the story of the young boy
accepted many of the ideas of other theorists. on the tram car, Allport saw the story as an
II. Biography of Gordon Allport expression of a conscious motive.
Gordon W. Allport was born in Indiana in 1897. C. What are the Characteristics of a
He received an undergraduate degree in Healthy Person?
philosophy and economics in Harvard. After
receiving a PhD in Harvard, Allport spent 2 Several years before Maslow conceptualized the
years studying under some of the great German selfactualizing personality, Allport listed six
psychologists, but he returned to teach at criteria fpr psychological health. These include
Harvard. Two years later he took a position at (1) an extension of the sense of self, (2) warm
Dartmouth, but after 4 years at Dartmouth, he relationships with others, (3) emotional security
returned to Harvard, where he remained until or self-acceptance, (4) a realistic view of the
his death in 1967. world.

III. Allports Approach to Personality Theory IV. Structure of Personality

Answers to three questions reveal Allport’s To Allport, the most important structures of
view of personality theory. (1) What is personality are those that permit description of
personality? (2) What is the role of conscious the individual in terms of individual
motivation? (3) What are the characteristics of characteristics, and he called these individual
the psychologically healthy person? structures personal dispositions.

A. What is Personality? A. Personal Dispositions

Allport defined personality as “the dynamic Allport distinguished between common traits,
organization within the individual of those which permit inter-individual comparison, and
personal dispositions, which are peculiar to the
individual. He recognized three overlapping people often seek additional tension and that
levels of personal dispositions, the most general they purposefully act on their environment in a
of which are cardinal dispositions that are so way that fosters growth toward psychological
obvious and dominating that they cannot be health.
hidden from other people. Not everyone has a
B. Functional Autonomy
cardinal disposition, but all people have 5 to 10
central dispositions, or characteristics around Allport’s most distinctive and controversial
which their lives revolve. In addition, everyone concept is his theory of functional autonomy,
has a great number of secondary dispositions, which holds that some (but not all) human
which are less reliable and less conspicuous than motives are functionally independent from the
central traits. original motive responsible for a particular
behavior. Allport recognized two levels of
B. Motivational and Stylistic
functional autonomy: (1) perseverative
Dispositions
functional autonomy, which is the tendency of
Allport further divided personal dispositions into certain basic behaviors (such as addictive
(1) motivational dispositions, which are strong behaviors) to perseverate or continue in the
enough to initiate action and (2) stylistic absence of reinforcement: and (2) propriate
dispositions, which refer to the manner in which functional autonomy, which refers to
an individual behaves and which guide rather selfsustaining motives (such as interests) that
than initiate action. are related to the proprium. According to
Allport, a behavior is functionally autonomous to
C. Proprium
the extent that it seeks new goals, as when a
The proprium refers to all those behaviors and need (eating) turns into an interest (cooking).
characteristics that people regard as warm and Not all behaviors are functionally autonomous,
central in their lives. Allport preferred the term and Allport listed eight such process: (1)
proprium over self or ego, because the latter biological drives, such as eating, breathing and
terms could imply an object or thing within a sleeping: (2) motives directly linked to the
person that controls behavior, whereas reduction of basic drives (3) reflex actions such
proprium suggests the core of one’s as an eye blink; (4) constitutional equipment
personhood. such as physique, intelligence, and
temperament; (5) habits in the process of being
formed; (6) patterns of behavior that require
V. Motivation primary reinforcement; (7) sublimations that can
be tied to childhood sexual desires, and (8) some
Allport insisted that an adequate theory of neurotic or pathological symptoms. VI. The
motivation must consider the notion that Study of the Individual
motives change as people mature and also that
people are motivated by present drives and Allport strongly felt that psychologists should
wants. develop and use research methods that study
the individual rather than groups.
A. A Theory of Motivation
A. Morphogenic Science
To Allport, people not only react to their
environment, but they also shape their Allport favored morphogenic procedures over
environment and cause it to react to them. His nomothetic ones. Morphogenic investigations
proactive approach emphasized the idea that study only one person at a time person and are
opposed to nomothetic methods that study between church attendance and prejudice. That
large numbers of people. Presently, nearly all is, people who score high on the Intrinsic scale of
psychology studies investigate groups of people. the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) tend to
Allport’s two most famous morphogenic reports have overall better personal functioning than
were the diaries of Marion Taylor and the letters those who score high on Extrinsic scale. Early
from Jenny. studies found that some highly religious people
had high levels of psychological health, whereas
B. The Diaries of Marion Taylor
others suffered from a variety of psychological
In the late 1930s, Allport and his wife became disorders. The principal difference between the
acquainted with diaries written by a woman they two church-going groups is one of intrinsic and
called Marion Taylor. These diaries, along with extrinsic religious orientation; that is, people
descriptions on Marion Taylor by her mother, with an intrinsic orientation tend to be
younger sister, favourite teacher, friends, and a psychologically health, but those with an
neighbour provided the Allports with a large extrinsic orientation suffer from poor
quantity of material that could be studied using psychological health.
morphogenic methods. However, the Allports
A. The Religious Orientation Scale
never published this material.
This insight led Allport to develop and use the
C. Letters from Jenny
Religious Orientation Scale to assess both an
Even though Allport never published data from intrinsic orientation and an extrinsic orientation
Marion Taylor’s diaries, he did published a toward religion. Allport and Michael Ross (1967)
second case study—that of Jenny Gove found that people with an extrinsic orientation
Masterson, whose son had been Gordon toward religion tend to be quite prejudiced,
Allport’s college roommate. During the last 11 ½ whereas those with intrinsic orientation tend to
years of her life, Jenny wrote a series of 302 be low on racial and social prejudice.
letters to Gordon and Ada Allport (although
B. Religion, Prayer, and Health
Allport tried to hide the identity of the young
couple who had received these letters). Two of Recent research has found a consistent
Gordon relationship between religious involvement and
Allport’s students, Alfred Baldwin and Jeffrey health. Attending church regularly tends to be
Paige, used a personal structure analysis and associated with feeling better and living longer
factor analysis respectively, while Allport used a (Poweel, Shahabi, & Thoresen, 2003). Kevin
common-sense approach to discern Jenny’s Masters and his colleagues (2005) studied
personality structure as revealed by her letters. religious orientation and cardiovascular health.
All three approaches yielded similar results, They found that, as they predicted, those with
suggesting that morphogenic studies can be an intrinsic religious orientation did not have the
reliable. same increases of blood pressure in reaction to
moderate stress as those with an extrinsic
VII. Related Research
orientation did. These results demonstrated that
Allport believed that a deep religious an intrinsic religious orientation serves as a
commitment was a mark of a mature person, buffer against the stressors of everyday life.
but he also saw that many regular church-goers Timothy Smith and colleagues (2003) reviewed
did not have a mature religious orientation and all the research on religion and depression to
were capable of deep racial and social prejudice. see whether religion could also serve as a buffer
In other words, he saw a curvilinear relationship against depression. Their findings generally
supported Allport’s view that there are good and average on its ability to generate research and to
bad ways to be religious: The more intrinsically help the practitioner.
oriented toward religion a person is, the less
IX. Concept of Humanity
likely the person is to experience depression; the
more extrinsically oriented, the more likely a Allport saw people as thinking, proactive,
person is to be depressed. The conclusion is that purposeful beings who are generally aware of
while religion can be good for one’s health, it is what they are doing and why. On the six
important to be religious for the right reasons in dimensions for a concept of humanity, Allport
order to derive health benefits. rates higher than any other theorist on
conscious influences and on the uniqueness, and
C. Prejudice Reduction: Optimal Contact
teleology and about average on social
Allport conducted some research himself on the influences.
topic of reducing prejudice, and he proposed the
contact hypothesis, stating that more contact
under optimal conditions was one of the most Chapter 13
important components to reducing prejudice
(Allport, 1954). Thomas Pettigrew, one of McCrae & Costa’s Five Factor Trait Theory
Allport’s students, has continued the work on Summary Outline
prejudice that Allport began (Pettigrew & Tropp,
2006; Tropp & Pettigrew, 2005). Pettigrew and I. Overview of Factor and Trait Theories
Linda Tropp reviewed more than 500 studies
McCrae, Costa and others have used factor
testing Allport’s contact hypothesis. They found
analysis to identify traits, that is, relatively
that the four specific criteria originally outlined
permanent dispositions of people. Robert
by Allport are indeed essential to reduction of
McCrae and Paul Costa have insisted that the
prejudice. They also found that while the
proper number of personality factors is five—no
concept of optimal contact as originally a way to
more and no fewer.
reduce racial prejudice, it also works to reduce
prejudice toward the elderly and the mentally ill II. The Pioneering Work of Raymond B. Cattell
(Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). While Allport’s ideas
In chapter 13, we saw that Gordon Allport used
continue to enrich research in personality
common sense to identify both common and
psychology, his method for prejudice reduction
unique personality traits. In comparison,
additionally have enriched the lives of people
Raymond Cattell used factor analysis to identify
who have benefited, perhaps without knowing
a large number of traits, including personality
it, from his deep commitment to reducing
traits. Included in personality traits were
prejudice in our society.
temperament traits, which are concerned with
VIII. Critique of Allport how a person behaves. Temperament traits
include both normal and abnormal traits. Of the
Allport wrote eloquently about personality, but
23 normal traits, 16 are measured by Cattell’s
his views are based more on philosophical
famous PH scale.
speculation and common sense than on
scientific studies. As a consequence, his theory III. Basics of Factor Analysis
rates low on its ability to organise psychological
Factor analysis is a mathematical procedure for
data and to be falsified. It rates high on
reducing a large number of scores to a few more
parsimony and internal consistency and about
general variables or factors. Correlations of the
original, specific scores with a factors are called In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Costa and
factor loadings. Traits generated through factor McCrae, like most other factor researchers, were
analysis may be either unipolar (scaled from building elaborate taxonomies of personality
zero to some large amount) or bipolar (having traits, which they were using to examine the
two opposing poles, such as introversion and stability and structure of personality. As with
extraversion). For factors to have psychological many other factor theorists, they quickly
meaning, the analyst must rotate the axes on discovered the traits of extraversion (E),
which the scores are plotted. Eysenck used an neuroticism (N), and openness to experience
orthogonal rotation whereas Cattell favored an (O).
oblique rotation. The oblique rotation
A. Five Factors Found
procedure originally results in more traits than
the orthogonal method. As late as 1983, McCrae and Costa were arguing
for a three-factor model of personality, but by
IV. The Big Five: Taxonomy or Theory?
1985 they begin to report work on the five
A large number of researchers, including Robert factors of personality, having added
McCrae and Paul Costa, Jr., have insisted that all agreeableness (A) and conscientiousness (C).
personality structure can be subsumed under Costa and McCrae did not fully develop the A
five, and only five, major factors. and C scales until the revised NEO-PI personality
inventory appeared in 1992. Recently, the five
V. Biographies of Robert McCrae and Paul T.
factors have been found across a variety of
Costa, Jr.
cultures and using a number of languages. In
Robert Roger McCrae was born April 28 1949 in addition, the five factors shoe some permanence
Maryville, Missouri, the youngest of three with age; that is, adults tend to maintain a
children, after completing an undergraduate consistent personality structure as they grow
degree in philosophy from Michigan State older.
University, he earned a PhD in psychology from
B. Description of the Five Factors
Boston University. Following the lead of
Raymond Cattell, he began using factor analysis McCrae and Costa agreed with Eysenck that
as a means of measuring the structure of human personality traits are basically bipolar, with some
traits. After completing his academic work, people scoring high on one factor and low on its
McCrae began working with Paul Costa at the counterpart. For example, people who score
National Constitute of Health, where he is still high on N tend to be anxious, temperamental,
employed. Paul T. Costa was born September 16 self-pitying, selfconscious, emotional, and
in Franklin, New Hampshire. He earned his vulnerable to stress-related disorders, whereas
undergraduate degree in psychology from Clark people with low scores on N tend to have
University and a PhD from the University of opposite characteristics. People who score high
Chicago. In 1978 he began working with Robert on E tend to be affectionate, jovial, talkative, a
McCrae at the National Institute of Aging, where joiner, and fun-loving, whereas low E scorers
he continues to conduct research on human tent to have opposing traits. High O scorers
development and aging. The collaboration prefer variety in their life and are contrasted to
between Costa and McCrae has been unusually low O scorers who have a need for closure and
fruitful, with well over 200 coauthored research who gain comfort in their association with
articles and chapters, and several books. familiar people and things. People who score
high on A tend to be trusting, generous, yielding,
VI. In Search of the Big Five
acceptant, and good natured. Low A scorers are
generally suspicious, stingy, unfriendly, irritable, Basic tendencies have four postulates—
and critical of other people. Finally, people high individuality, origin, development, and structure.
on the C scale tend to be ordered, controlled, The individuality postulate stipulates that every
organized, ambitious, achievement-focused, and adult has a unique pattern of traits. The origin
self-disciplined. Together these dimensions postulate assumes that all personality traits
make up the personality traits of the five factor originate solely from biological factors, such as
model, often referred to as the genetics, hormones, and brain structures. The
“Big-Five.” development postulate assumes that traits
develop and change through childhood,
VII. Evolution of the Five-Factor Theory
adolescence, and mid-adulthood. The structure
Originally, the five factors were simply a postulate states that traits are organized
taxonomy, a classification of personality traits. hierarchically from narrow and specific to broad
By the late 1980s, Costa and McCrae were and general.
confident that they had found a stable structure VIII. Related Research
of personality. In shaping a theory from the
remnants of a taxonomy, McCrae and Costa The five-trait theory of McCrae and Costa has
were insisting that their personality structure drawn a considerable amount of research, and is
was able to incorporate change and growth into very popular in the field of personality. Costa
its tenets and to stimulate empirical research as and McCrae have developed a widely used
well as organize research findings. In other personality inventory: the NEO-PI (Costa &
words their Five-Factor taxonomy was being McCrae, 1985, 1992). Traits have been linked to
transformed into a Five-factor Theory (FFT). vital outcomes such as physical health (Martin,
Friedman, & Schwartz, 2007), well-being (Costa
A. Units of the Five-Factor Theory
& McCrae, 1980), and academic success (Noftle
McCrae and Costa predict behavior through an & Robins, 2007; Zyphur, Islam, & Landis, 2007).
understanding of three central of core Traits have also been linked to more everyday
components and three peripheral ones. The outcomes such as mood (McNiel & Fleeson,
three core components include: (1) basic 2006).
tendencies, (2) characteristic adaptations, and A. Personality and Culture
(3) self-concept. Basic tendencies are the
universal raw material of personality. If personality has a strong biological bases, then
Characteristic adaptations are acquired the structure of personality should not differ
personality structures that develop as people much from culture to culture. The major traits
adapt to their environment. Self-concept refers do appear consistent in most countries of the
to knowledge and attitudes about oneself. world (McCrae, 2002; Poortinga, Van De Vijver,
Peripheral components include (1) biological & Van Hemert, 2000). Our biological makeup
bases, which are the sole cause of basic influences our personalities on similar
tendencies; (2) objective biography, which is dimensions such as extraversion or neuroticism;
everything a person does or thinks over how and when traits are expressed are
alifetime; and (3) external influence, or influenced by cultural and social context. In
knowledge, views, and evaluations of the self. short, personality is shaped by both nature and
nurture.
B. Basic Postulates
B. Traits and Academics
The two most important core postulates are
basic tendencies and characteristic adaptations.
Erik Noftle and Richard Robins (2007) studied information can influence the relationship
the relationship of traits and academic between neuroticism and negative mood, such
performance. They found that conscientiousness that not everybody who scores high on
was the most important trait for predicting GPAs neuroticism experiences more negative
in high school and college, but not for SAT emotion. They discovered that people who
scores. The “Big 5” factors were not strong process environmental stimuli faster do not
predictors of SAT math scores, but openness was need to rely on neuroticism to interpret events
related to SAT verbal scores. These differences and interpret their environment objectively,
are attributed to differences between aptitude whereas slower processors are more subjective
and achievement measured by SATs versus in their evaluations by relying on trait
GPAs. Michael Zyphur and colleagues (2007) dispositions to interpret events. So those high on
studied the relationship between neuroticism neuroticism but fast at processing did not report
and retaking the SAT. Their findings are any more negative emotion than those low on
important in that high scores on neuroticism are neuroticism. These results show that the early
often viewed negatively, but the anxious research findings that the extraversion is related
tendencies of these high on neuroticism were to positive mood and neuroticism to negative
very adaptive in this study, because these mood, while not inaccurate, do not give the full
tendencies led them to retake the SAT and score of the complex relationship between traits and
higher each time they did. emotions. In sum, even though your traits
predispose you to certain types of behavior,
C. Traits and Emotion
your actions can override those dispositions.
Though the relation between traits and moods
IX. Critique of Trait and Factor Theories
has been clear in terms of positivity vs.
negativity to early researchers, what has not The factor theories of Eysenck and of McCrae
been clear is causality: Does the trait cause the and Costa rate high on parsimony, on their
experience of a positive or negative mood, or ability to generate research, and on their
does the experience of that mood and its usefulness in organizing data; they are about
emotions cause people to behave in ways average on falsifiability, usefulness to the
concordant with the traits? And similarly, does practitioner, and internal consistency.
the mood cause the behavior, or does the
X. Concept of Humanity
behavior cause the mood?
Factor theories generally assume that human
Murray McNiel and William Fleeson (2006)
personality is largely the product of genetics and
studied the direction of causality for the
not the environment. Thus, we rate these two
relationships between extraversion and positive
theories very high on biological influences and
mood, and neuroticism and negative mood.
very low on social factors. In addition, we rate
They wanted to know if behaving in an
both about average on conscious versus
extraverted manner causes the people to have
unconscious influences and high on the
positive feelings and behaving in a neurotic
uniqueness of individuals, the concepts of free
manner causes them to have negative feelings.
choice, optimism versus pessimism, and
Their results showed that when people act in a
causality versus teleology are not clearly
certain way, their behavior does indeed
addressed by these theories.
influence their mood to fit the behavior. On the
other hand, Michael Robinson and Gerald Clore
(2007) have found recently that individual
differences in the speed of processing Chapter 14
Eysenck’s Biologically Based Factor Theory Although many triads exist, Eysenck’s methods
of measuring personality limited the number
Summary Outline
bipolar
I. Overview of Factor and Trait Theories personality types to only three—
extraversion/introversion, neuroticism/stability,
Hans Eysenck and others have used factor and psychoticism/superego function. Each of
analysis to identify traits, that is, relatively three bipolar factors has a strong genetic
permanent dispositions of people. Eysenck component.
extracted only three general factors, which
yielded three general bipolar factors or types: A. Extraversion
extraversion/introversion, neuroticism/stability,
Extraverts are characterized by sociability,
and psychoticism/superego. II. Biography of
impulsiveness, jocularity, liveliness, optimism,
Hans J. Eysenck
and quick-wittedness, whereas introverts are
Hans J. Eysenck was born in Berlin in 1916, but quite, passive, unsociable, careful, reserved,
as a teenager, he moved to London to escape thoughtful, pessimistic, peaceful, sober, and
Nazi tyranny. Eysenck was trained in the controlled. Eysenck, however, believed that the
psychometrically oriented psychology principal difference between extraverts and
department of the University of London, from introverts is one of cortical arousal level.
which he received a bachelor’s degree in 1938
B. Neuroticism
and a PhD in 1940. Eysenck was perhaps the
most prolific writer of any psychologist in the Like extraversion/introversion,
world, and his books and articles often stirred neuroticism/stability is largely influenced by
worldwide controversy. He died in September of genetic factors. People high in neuroticism have
1997. such traits as anxiety, hysteria, and obsessive-
compulsive disorders. They frequently have a
III. Eysenck’s Factor Theory tendency to overreact emotionally and to have
The personality theory of Hans Eysenck has difficulty returning to a normal state after
strong psychometric and biological components. emotional arousal. They often complain of
Hans Eysenck (1) was more likely to theorize physical symptoms such as headache, but they
before collecting and analyzing data; (2) also may be free from psychological symptoms.
extracted fewer factors; (3) used a wider variety C. Psychoticism
of approaches to gather data.
The latest and weakest of Eysenck’s personality
A. Criteria for Identifying Factors factors is psychoticism/superego. High psychotic
Eysenck insisted that personality factors must (1) scores may indicate anxiety, hysteria,
be based on strong psychometric evidence, (2) egocentrism, non-conformance, aggression,
fit an acceptable genetic model, (3) make sense impulsiveness, hostility, and obsessive-
theoretically, and (4) possess social relevance compulsive disorders. Both normal and
abnormal individuals may score high on the
B. Hierarchy of Behavior Organization neuroticism scale.
Eysenck recognized a four-level hierarchy of V. Measuring Personality
behavior organization: (1) specific behaviors or
cognitions; (2) habitual acts or cognitions; (3) Eysenck and his colleagues developed four
traits, or personal dispositions, and (4) types of personality inventory to measure superfactors,
superfactors. IV. Dimensions of Personality or types. The two most frequently used by
current researchers is the Eysenck Personality VIII. Related Research
Inventory (which measures only E and N) and
The three-factor theory of Eysenck has drawn a
the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (which
considerable amount of research, and is very
also measures all three factors).
popular in the field of personality. Eysenck
VI. Biological Bases of Personality developed the Eysenck Personality Inventory
and its offshoots (Eysenck, 1959; Eysenck &
Eysenck believed that P, E, and N all have a
Eysenck, 1964, 1968, 1975, 1993).
powerful biological components, and he cited as
evidence the existence of these three types in a Biology and Personality
wide variety of cultures and languages.
Eysenck assumed that personality springs from
VII. Personality as a Predictor genetic and neurophysiological bases. If this
assumption has validity, neurophysiological
Eysenck’s complex model of personality suggests
differences should exist between people high no
that the psychometric traits of P, E, and N can
one end of a dimension (for instance,
combine with one another and with genetic
introversion) and those high on the other end of
determinants, biological intermediates, and
that dimension (extraverts). Second, the basic
experimental studies to predict a variety of
personality dimensions should be universal and
social behaviors, including those that contribute
not limited to a given culture. Over the last 30
to disease.
years, a substantial amount or research has
A. Personality and Behavior shown physiological differences between
extraverts and introverts, thus supporting
According to Eysenck’s model, P, E, and N should Eysenck’s biology-based theory (Beauducel,
predict both proximal and distal consequences Brocke, & Leue, 2006; Eysenck, 1990; Stelmack,
(see Figure 14.7), and he and his colleagues cited 1990, 1997). Interestingly, one study found that
studies that predicted behavior in both extraverts may move faster, but they do not
laboratory studies and studies of social behavior. think faster than introverts (Doucet & Stelmack,
They found a relationship between superfactors 2000). Another of Eysenck’s hypotheses that has
and a large number of behaviors and processes, generated some research is optimal level of
such as academic performance, creativity, arousal. Eysenck theorized that introverts should
antisocial behavior, as well as behaviors that work best with lower levels of sensory
may lead to disease. stimulation and extraverts with higher levels
B. Personality and Disease (Dornic & Ekehammer, 1990). Russell Geen
studied this (1984), and his findings, supported
For many years, Eysenck researched the Eysenck’s theory.
relationship between personality factors and
disease. He teamed with Ronald Grossarth- IX. Critique of Factors Theories
Maticek to study the connection between The factor theories of Eysenck and others rate
personality characteristics and both cancer and high on parsimony, on their ability to generate
cardiovascular disease. According to this research, and on their usefulness in organizing
research, people with a helpless/hopeless data; they are about average on falsifiability,
attitude are more likely to die from cancer, usefulness in the practitioner, and internal
whereas people who react to frustration with consistency.
anger and emotional arousal are more much
more likely to die from cardiovascular disease. X. Concept of Humanity
Factor theories generally assume that human Emeritus. Arnold Buss’ research focused on
personality is largely the product of genetics and aggression, psychopathology, self-
not the environment. Thus, we rate these two consciousness, and social anxiety.
theories very high on biological influences and
III. Principles of Evolutionary Psychology
very low on social factors. In addition, we rate
both about average on conscious versus Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer were the
unconscious influences and high on the first thinkers to argue for an evolutionary
uniqueness of individuals. The concepts of free perspective of psychological thought and
choice, optimism versus pessimism, and behavior. The term evolutionary psychology can
causality versus teleology are not clearly be defined as the scientific study of human
addressed by these theories. thought and behavior from an evolutionary
perspective and focuses on four bug questions
(Buss, 1999):
Chapter 15
1. Why is the human mind designed the way
Buss: Evolutionary Theory of Personality it is and how did it come to take its current form?
Summary Outline 2. How is the human mind designed, that is,
what are its parts and current structure?
I. Overview of Evolutionary Theory of
Personality 3. What function do the parts of the mind
have and what is it designed to do?
Charles Darwin (1859) laid the foundation for
modern theory of evolution, even though the 4. How do the evolved mind and current
theory itself has been around since the ancient environment interact to shape human behavior?
Greeks. Darwin’s major contribution was not the
theory of evolution but rather an explanation for IV. Evolutionary Theory of Personality
how evolution works, namely through selection Most personality theories, as you have seen in
(natural and sexual) and chance. Chance occurs sections I to III, assume that personality is
mostly through random genetic mutation and caused by environmental events alone and
we won’t have much to say about chance. seldom mention a biological component.
Instead, we focus on selection of three different Evolutionary theory, however, assumes that the
kinds: artificial selection, natural selection, and true origins of personality traits reach far back in
sexual selection. The evolutionary process ancestral times. The true origin of personality is
(natural and sexual selection and chance) results evolution, meaning that it is caused by an
in three distinct outcomes: adaptations, by- interaction between an ever changing
products and noise. environment and a changing body and brain.
II. Biography of David Buss Evolutionary theory is one of the few recent
theories of personality that attempts once again
David Buss was born April 14, 1953 in to explain the grand view of human
Indianapolis personality—its ultimate origins as well as its
Indiana to Arnold H. Buss, Sr. and Edith Nolte. overall function and structure.
Arnold H. Buss Sr. earned his PhD in Psychology
from Indiana University in the early 1950s and The field of evolutionary personality psychology
was a professor of psychology at the University itself has been divided by psychologists arguing
of Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and finally the University for two solutions: personality differences were
of Texas, where he is currently Professor either “noise” or they were perhaps “by-
products” of evolved adaptive strategies. More VII. Critique of Evolutionary Theory
recently, however, other theorists have made of
the case for personality traits being something Personality
more than noise or by-products, namely
Evolutionary psychology in general and
adaptations. David Buss was the first and most
evolutionary psychology in particular have
prominent theorist to take up the cause of
stimulated a lot of controversy but also a
developing an evolutionary theory of
relatively large body of empirical research. The
personality. The essence of Buss’s theory of
field has its own scientific society (Human
personality revolves around adaptive problems
Behavior and Evolutionary Society, HBES), and its
and their solutions or mechanism, with a
own scientific journal Evolution and Human
foundational understanding of the nature and
Behavior. The discipline also rests upon other
nurture of personality.
scientific disciplines, such as evolutionary
V. Common Misunderstanding in biology, ethology, behavioural genetics, and
Evolutionary Theory neuroscience, so there is a solid empirical
foundation to the field.
When evolutionary theory first became popular
in the 1980s it cause quite a bit of controversy. VIII. Concept of Humanity
There was a lot of resistance both from inside
It is difficult to say on which side of the
and outside university settings against applying
optimismpessimism debate evolutionary theory
evolutionary ideas to human thought and
would fall. It is mostly descriptive and, in that
behavior. Evolution is all about the body
sense, tends to be somewhat neutral about
changing due to changes in the environment.
describing human nature.
In this sense it is inherently a “nature and
nurture” interaction perspective. Evolution Evolutionary psychology has a complex view on
occurs from the interaction between the question of determinism versus free-will. A
adaptations and input from the environment common assumption of evolutionary theory by
that triggers the adaptations. More generally, critics us that it is harshly deterministic in that it
the discovery of epigenetics is an even more explains behavior in terms of an evolved past
powerful example of how genetic influence is and genetic influence. Indeed, evolutionary
not set in stone at the moment of conception psychology is often criticized from condoning
and interacts with input from the environment. traditional sex-roles (e.g., women are attracted
Epigenetics is change in gene function that does to high status men and men are attracted to
not involve changes in DNA. physically attractive women). Buss and
evolutionary theorists make clear, however, that
VI. Related Research
evolutionary psychology is a theory of how these
The evolutionary model of personality cannot be traits began, not how they should be. On the
tested directly in so far as we cannot conduct question of causality versus teleology it is clear
studies over hundreds of generation. And yet, that evolutionary theory comes down heavily on
just like in biology, there is much support for the the causality side of the equation. Evolutionary
evolutionary basis of human personality, which theory sides more with the unconscious
can be divided into at least three general topics: influences on thought, behavior and personality
temperament, genetics, and animal personality. that on conscious one. The concept of humanity
All three lines of evidence support the view that that will be most surprising to many people will
personality has a biological basis and that these be evolutionary psychology’s stance on
biological systems have evolved. biological versus social influence. Clearly there is
a strong emphasis on biological influences, from Modern learning theory has roots in the work of
brain systems, neurochemicals, and genetics. Edward L. Thorndike and his experiments with
Evolutionary theory is also balanced on the animals during the last part of the 19th century.
question of the uniqueness of the individual Thorndike’s law of effect stated that responses
compared to general commonality among all followed by a satisfier tend to be learned, a
people. concept that anticipated Skinner’s use of
positive reinforcement to shape behavior.
Skinner was even more influenced by John
Chapter 16 Watson who argued that psychology must deal
with the control and prediction of behavior and
Skinner: Behavioral Analysis that behavior—not introspection, consciousness,
Summary Outline or the mind—is the basic data of scientific
psychology.
I. Overview of Skinner’s Behavioral Analysis
IV. Scientific Behaviorism
During the 1920s and 1930s, while Freud, Adler,
and Jung were relying on clinical practice and Skinner believed that human behavior, lie any
before Eysenck and McCrae and Costa were natural phenomena, is subject to the laws of
using psychometric procedures to build science, and that psychologists should not
personality theories, a number of behaviourists attribute inner motivations to it. Although he
were constructing models based on laboratory rejected internal states (thoughts, emotions,
studies of human and nonhuman animals. Early desires etc.) as being outside the realm of
behaviourists included E. L. Thorndike and J. B. science, Skinner did not deny their existence. He
Watson, but the most influential of the later simply insisted that they should not be used to
theorists was B. F. Skinner. Behavioural models explain behavior.
of personality avoided speculations about A. Philosophy of Science
hypothetical constructs and concentrated
almost exclusively on observable behavior. Because the purpose of science is to predict and
Skinner rejected the notion of free will and control, Skinner argued that psychologists
emphasized the primacy of environmental should be concerned with determining the
influences in behavior. conditions under whih human behavior occurs.
By discovering these conditions, psychologists
II. Biography of B. F. Skinner can predict and control human behavior.
B. F. Skinner was born in Susquehanna, B. Characteristics of Science
Pennsylvania in 1904, the older of two brothers.
While in college, Skinner wanted to be a writer, Skinner held that science has three principal
but after having little success in this endeavour, characteristics: (1) its findings are cumulative, (2)
he turned to psychology. After earning a PhD it rests on an attitude that values empirical
from Harvard, he taught at the Universities of observation, and (3) it searches for order and
Minnesota and Indiana before returning to reliable relationships.
Harvard, where he remained until his death in V. Conditioning
1990.
Skinner recognized two kinds of conditioning:
III. Precursors to Skinner’s Scientific classical and operant.
Behaviorism
A. Classical Conditioning
In classical conditioning, a conditioned stimulus with a primary reinforcers, such as food.
is paired with an unconditioned stimulus until it Generalized reinforcers are conditioned
is capable of bringing about a previously reinforcers that have become associated with
unconditioned response. For example, Watson several primary reinforcers. Reinforcement can
and Rainier conditioned a young boy to fear a follow behavior on either a continuous schedule
white rat (the conditioned stimulus) by or an intermittent schedule. There are four basic
associating it to a loud sudden noise (an intermittent schedules: (1) fixed-ratio, on which
Unconditioned stimulus). Eventually, through the organism is reinforced intermittently
the process of generalization, the boy learned to according to the number of responses it makes;
fear stimuli that resembled the white rat. (2) variable-ratio, on which the organism is
reinforced after an average of a predetermined
B. Operant Conditioning
number of responses; (3) fixedinterval, on which
With operant conditioning, reinforcement is organism is reinforced for the first response
used to increase the probability that a given following a designated period of time; and (4)
behavior will recur. Three factors are essential in variable interval, on which the organism is
operant conditioning: (1) the antecedent, or reinforced after the lapse of various periods of
environment in which behavior takes place; (2) time. The tendency of a previously acquired
the behavior, or response; and (3) the response to become progressively weakened
consequence that follows the behavior. upon non reinforcement is called extinction.
Psychologists and others use shaping to mold Such elimination or weakening of a response is
complex human behavior. Different histories of called classical extinction in a classical
reinforcements result in operant discrimination, conditioning model and operant extinction when
meaning that different organisms will respond the response is acquired through operant
differently to the same environmental conditioning.
contingencies. People may also respond similarly
VI. The Human Organism
to different environmental stimuli, a process
Skinner called stimulus generalization. Anything Skinner believed that human behavior is shaped
within the environment that strengthens a by three forces: (1) natural selection, (2) the
behavior is a reinforcer. Positive reinforcement evolution of cultures, and (3) the individual’s
is any stimulus that when added to a situation personal history of reinforcement, which we
increases the probability that a given behavior discussed above.
will occur. Negative reinforcement is the
A. Natural Selection
strengthening of behavior through the removal
of an aversive stimulus. Both positive and As a species, our behavior is shaped by the
negative reinforcement strengthen behavior. contingencies of survival; that is, those
Any event that decreases a behavior either by behaviors (e.g. sex and aggression) that were
presenting an aversive stimulus or by removing a beneficial to the human species tended to
positive one is called punishment. The effects of survive, whereas those that did not tended to
punishment are much less predictable than drop out.
those of reward. Both punishment and
reinforcement can result from either natural B. Cultural evolution
consequences or from human imposition. Those societies that evolved certain cultural
Conditioned reinforcers are those stimuli that practices (e.g. tool making and language) tended
are not by nature satisfying (e.g. money), but to survive. Currently, the lives of nearly all
that can become so when they are associated people are shaped, in part, by modern tools
(computers, media, various modes of conditioning, including positive and negative
transportation, etc.) and by their use of reinforcement and punishment; (2) describing
language. However, humans do not take contingencies, or using language to inform
cooperative decisions to do what is best for their people of the consequence of their behaviors;
society, but those societies whose members (3) deprivation and satiation, techniques that
behave in a cooperative manner tended to increase the likelihood that people will behave in
survive. a certain way; and (4) physical restraint,
including the jailing of criminals. Although
C. Inner States
Skinner denied the existence of free will, he did
Skinner recognized the existence of such inner recognize that people manipulate variables
states as drives and self-awareness, but he within their own environment and thus exercise
rejected the notion that they can explain some measure of self-control, which have
behavior. To Skinner, drives refer to the effects several techniques: (1) physical restraint, (2)
of deprivation and satiation and thus are related physical aids, such as tools; (3) changing
to the probability of certain behaviours, but they environmental stimuli; (4) arranging the
are not the causes of behavior. Skinner believed environment to allow escape from aversive
that emotions cam be accounted for by the stimuli; (5) drugs; and (6) doing something else.
contingencies of survival and the contingencies
VII. The Unhealthy Personality
of reinforcement; but like drives, they do not
cause behavior. Similarly, purpose and intention Social control and self-control sometimes
are not causes of behavior, although they are produce counteracting strategies and
felt sensations and exist within the skin. inappropriate behaviors.

D. Complex Behavior A. Counteracting Strategies

Human behavior is subject to the same People can counteract excessive social control
principles of operant conditioning as simple by (1) escaping from it, (2) revolting against it, or
animal behavior, but it is much more complex (3) passively resisting it.
and difficult to predict or control. Skinner
B. Inappropriate Behaviors
explained creativity as a result of random of
accidental behaviors that happen to be Inappropriate behaviors follow from self-
rewarded. Skinner believed that most of our defeating techniques and counteracting social
behavior is unconscious or automatic and that control of from successful attempts at self-
not thinking about certain experiences is control.
reinforcing. Skinner viewed dreams a covert and
symbolic forms of behavior that are subject to VIII. Psychotherapy
the same contingencies of reinforcement as any Skinner was not a psychotherapist, and he even
other behavior. criticized psychotherapy as being one of the
E. Control of Human Behavior major obstacles to a scientific study of human
behavior. Nevertheless, others have used
Ultimately, all of a person’s behavior is operant conditioning principles to shape
controlled by the environment. Societies behavior in a therapeutic setting. Behavior
exercise control over their members through therapists play an active role in the treatment
laws, rules, and customs that transcend any one process, using behavior modification techniques
person’s means of counter control. There are and pointing out the positive consequences of
four basic methods of social control: (1) operant
some behaviors and the aversive effects of contradicted the separable subsystem
others. hypothesis, for highly anxious people,
impulsivity acts as a buffer to responsiveness to
IX. Related Research
negative stimuli. Again, the main point was also
Skinner’s theory has generated more research reinforced by this study: people vary in their
than any other personality theory. Much of this responses to reinforcers depending on their
research can be divided into two questions: (1) personalities.
How does operant conditioning affect
C, Reinforcement and the Brain
personality? and (2) How does personality affect
conditioning? In addition to these two questions, Recent advances in imaging have allowed
a recent development in research, due to researchers to analyze individual differences in
technological advances, has been the study of brain activation as responses to stimuli such as
reinforcement as related to brain activation. food (Beaver et al, 2006). Using functional
magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, John
A. How Conditioning Affects Personality
Beaver and his colleagues gave the behavioural
A plethora of studies have demonstrated that activation scale (BAS) self-report to participants
operant conditioning can change personality, to measure how actively they tend to pursue
that is, behavior. For example, a study by Tidey rewards. They then measured the subjects’ brain
et al. found that, when given a choice, smokers activation upon exposure to pictures of
would choose a cigarette rather than money. rewarding foods versus bland foods. They found
that people who scored higher on the
B. How Personality Affects Conditioning personality variable of behavioural activation
Research has also found that different also had greater activation to pictures of
personalities may react differently to the same rewarding foods in five specific areas of the
environmental stimuli. This means that the same brain. These results supported the general
reinforcement strategies will not have the same conclusion that personality is related to
effect on all people. For example, Alan Pickering differences in how we biologically respond to
and Jeffrey Gray have developed and tested rewards. This research holds future promise, for
reinforcement sensitivity theory, which suggests possibly helping to alter health outcomes such
that impulsivity, anxiety, and as obesity, and for understanding what people
introversion/extraversion relate to ways people find rewarding and why.
respond to environmental reinforcers. More X. Critique of Skinner
recently, researchers have begun to explore the
association between reinforcement sensitivities On the six criteria of a useful theory, Skinner’s
and other personality dimensions. Philip Corr approach rates very high on its ability to
(2002) conducted one of the first studies to generate research and to guide action, high on
examine differences in anxiety and impulsivity its ability to be falsified, and about average on
and their association to response sensitivities. its ability to organize knowledge. In addition, it
Corr also reformulated the reinforcement rates very high on internal consistency and high
sensitivity theory (RST) of Pickering and Gray: on simplicity.
originally the personality dimensions should
XI. Concept of Humanity
operate independently, while in Corr’s
reformulation they can operate somewhat Skinner’s concept of humanity was a completely
jointly and interdependently. His results deterministic and causal one that emphasized
supported his joint subsystem hypothesis and unconscious behavior and the uniqueness of
each person’s history of reinforcement within a The heart of observational learning is modeling,
mostly social environment. Unlike many which is more than simple imitation, because it
determinists, Skinner is quite optimistic in his involves adding and subtracting from observed
view of humanity. behavior. At least three principles influence
modeling:
Chapter 17
(1) people are most likely to model high status
Bandura: Social Cognitive Theory people, (2) people who lack skill or status are
most likely to model, and (3) people tend to
Summary Outline model behavior that they see as being rewarding
I. Overview of Bandura’s Social Cognitive to the model. Bandura recognized four
Theory processes that govern observational learning: (1)
attention, or noticing what a model does; (2)
Bandura’s social cognitive theory takes an representation, or symbolically representing
agentic perspective, meaning that humans have new response patterns in memory; (3) behavior
some limited ability to control their lives. In production, or producing the behavior that one
contrast to skinner, Bandura (1) recognizes that observes; and (4) motivation; that is, the
chance encounters and fortuitous events often observer must be motivated to perform the
shape one’s behavior; (2) places more emphasis observed behavior.
on observational learning; (3) stresses the
importance of cognitive factors in learning; (4) B. Enactive Learning
suggest that human activity is a function of All behavior is followed by some consequence,
behavior and person variables, as well as the but whether that consequence reinforces the
environment and (5) believes that reinforcement behavior depends on the person’s cognitive
is mediated by cognition. evaluation of the situation.
II. Biography of Albert Bandura V. Triadic Reciprocal Causation
Albert Bandura was born in Canada in 1925, but Social cognitive theory holds that human
he has spent his entire professional life in the functioning is molded by the reciprocal
United States. He completed a PhD in clinical interaction of (1) behavior, (2) personal factors,
psychology at the University of Iowa in 1951 and including cognition; and (3) environmental
since then has worked almost entirely at events—a model Bandura calls triadic reciprocal
Stanford University, where he continues to be an causation.
active researcher and speaker.
A. Differential Contributions
III. Learning
Bandura does not suggest that the three factors
Bandura takes a broad views of learning, in the triadic reciprocal causation model make
believing that people learn through observing equal contributions to behavior. The relative
others and by attending to the consequences of influence of behavior, environment, and persons
their own actions. Although he believes that depends on which factor is strongest at any
reinforcement aids learning, he contends that [particular moment.
people can learn in the absence of
reinforcement and even of a response. B. Chance Encounters and Fortuitous
Events
A. Observational Learning
The lives of many people have been
fundamentally changed by a chance meeting
with another person or by a fortuitous, environment are the best predictors of
unexpected event. Chance encounters and successful outcomes.
fortuitous events enter the triadic reciprocal
C. Proxy Agency
causation paradigm at the environment point,
after which they influence behavior in much the Bandura also recognizes the influence of proxy
same way as do planned events. agency through which people exercise some
partial control over everyday living. Successful
VI. Human Agency
living in the 21st century requires people to seek
Bandura believes that human agency is the proxies to supply their food, deliver information,
essence of humanness; that is, human are provide transportation, etc. without the use of
defined by their ability to organize, regulate, and proxies, modern people would be forced to
enact behaviors that they believe will produce spend most of their time securing the necessities
desirable consequences. of survival.

A. Core Features of Human Agency D. Collective Efficacy

Human agency has four core features: (1) Collective efficacy is the level of confidence that
intentionality, or a proactive commitment to people have that their combined effort will
actions that may bring about desired outcomes: produce social change. At least four factors can
(2) foresight, or the ability to set goals; (3) self- lower collective efficacy. First, events in other
reactiveness, which includes monitoring their parts of the world can leave people with a sense
progress toward fulfilling their choices; and (4) of helplessness; second, complex technology can
self-reflectiveness, which allow people can think decrease people’s perceptions of control over
about and evaluate their motives, values, and their environment; third, entrenched
life goals. bureaucracies discourage people from
attempting to bring about social change; and
B. Self-efficacy
fourth, the size and scope of worldwide
How people behave in a particular situation problems contribute to people’s sense of
depends in part on their self-efficacy, that is, powerlessness.
their beliefs that thy can or cannot exercise
VII. Self-Regulation
those behaviors necessary to bring about a
desired consequence. Efficacy expectations By using reflective thought, humans can
differ from outcome expectations, which refer to manipulate their environments and produce
people’s prediction of the likely consequences of consequences of their actions, giving them some
their behavior. Self-efficacy combines with ability to regulate their own behavior. Bandura
environmental variables, previous behaviors, believes that behavior stems from a reciprocal
and other personal variables to predict behavior. influence of external and internal factors.
It is acquired, enhanced, or decreased by any
A. External Factors in Self-Regulation
one or combination of four sources: (1) mastery
experiences or performance, (2) social Two external factors contribute to self-
modeling, or observing someone of equal ability regulation: (1) standards of evaluation, and (2)
succeed or fail at a task; (3) social persuasion or external reinforcement. External factors affect
listening to a trusted person’s encouraging self-regulation by providing people with
words; and (4) physical and emotional states, standards for evaluating their own behavior.
such as anxiety of fear, which usually lowers self-
efficacy. High self-efficacy and a responsive B. Internal Factors in Self-Regulation
Internal requirements for self-regulation include: VIII. Dysfunctional Behavior
(1) self-observation of performance; (2) judging
Dysfunction behavior is learned through the
or evaluating performance; (3) and self-reaction,
mutual interaction of the person (including
including self-reinforcement or self-punishment.
cognitive and neurophysiological processes), the
C. Self-Regulation through Moral environment (including interpersonal relations),
Agency and behavioural factors (especially previous
experiences with reinforcement).
Internalized self-sanctions prevent people from
violating their own moral standards either A. Depression
through selective activation or disengagement of
People who develop depressive reactions often
internal control. Selective activation refers to
(1) underestimate their successes and
the notion that self-regulatory influences are not
overestimate their failures, (2) set personal
automatic but operate only if activated. It also
standards too high, or (3) treat themselves badly
means that people react differently in different
for their faults.
situations, depending on their evaluation of the
situation. Disengagement of internal control B. Phobias
means that people are capable of separating
themselves from the negative consequences of Phobias are learned by (1) direct contact, (2)
their behavior. People in ambiguous moral inappropriate generalization, and (3)
situations—who are uncertain that their observational experiences. Once learned they
behavior is consistent with their own social and are maintained by negative reinforcement, as
moral standards of conduct—may separate their the person is reinforced for avoiding fear-
conduct from its injurious consequences through producing situations.
four general techniques of disengagement of C. Aggression
internal standards or selective activation. The
first is redefining behavior, or justifying When carried to extreme, aggressive behaviors
otherwise reprehensible actions by cognitively can become dysfunctional. In a study of children
restructuring them. People can use redefinition observing live and filmed models being
of behavior to disengage themselves from aggressive, Bandura and his associates found
reprehensible conduct by: (1) justifying that aggression tends to foster more aggression.
otherwise culpable behavior on moral grounds; IX. Therapy
(2) making advantageous comparisons between
their behavior and the even more reprehensible The goal of social cognitive therapy is self-
behavior of others; (3) using euphemistic labels regulation. Bandura noted three levels of
to change the moral tone of their behaviour. treatment: (1) induction of change, (2)
Second, people can disengage their behavior generalization of change to other appropriate
from its consequences by displacing and situations, and (3) maintenance of newly
diffusing responsibility. A third set of acquired functional behaviors. Social cognitive
disengagement procedures involves therapists sometimes use systematic
dehumanizing or blaming the victims. A fourth desensitization, a technique aimed at
method is to distort or obscure the relationship diminishing phobias through relaxation.
between behavior and its injurious
X. Related Research
consequences. People can do this by minimizing,
disregarding, or distorting the consequences of Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy has generated
their behavior. a great deal of research demonstrating that
people’s beliefs are related to their ability to overall well-being and longevity (Bandura, 1998).
perform in a wide variety of situations, including Recently, William Sacco and colleagues (2007)
coping with the threat of terrorism and studied self-efficacy related to diabetes. Since
managing Type 2 diabetes. depression is twice as prevalent in diabetics as in
the general population (Anderson, Freeland,
A. Self-Efficacy and Terrorism
Clouse, & Lustman, 2001), and a hallmark of
Psychologists have always been interested (even depression is lack of motivation, the strict
before 9/11/01) in both how people are drawn adherence to diet and exercise plan required of
into terrorist culture, and how innocent people Type 2 diabetes management is especially
cope with the constant threat of terrorism (Ben- problematic. Sacco and his colleagues (2007)
Zur & Zeidner, 1995; Moghaddam & Marsella, thus wanted to explore the role of self-efficacy
2004; Zeidner, 2007). After 2001, this interest in in raising adherence to disease management
terrorism increased exponentially, and some plans, and in lowering negative physical and
researchers began to consider how self-efficacy mental health symptoms. The results clearly
might help people cope with terrorism. People showed that self-efficacy is important to
report feeling less personal security following a managing chronic disease: higher levels of self-
terrorist attack (Gallup, 2002). An increased efficacy were related to lower levels of
sense of self-efficacy may help to offset this depression, lower BMI, lower incidence and
insecurity and negativity. Peter Fischer and severity of diabetes symptoms, and higher levels
colleagues wanted to investigate relationships of adherence to doctors’ orders. BMI was
among selfefficacy, religion and coping with the positively correlated with depression, and
threat of terrorism (Fischer, Greitemeyer, adhering the doctors’ orders was negatively
Kastenmuller, Jonas, & Frey, 2006). They used correlated with depression. Self-efficacy was
Allport’s Religious Orientation Scale (ROS; see directly responsible for the relationships of
Chapter 13). Previous research had found that depression to both BMI and adherence. Of the
using prayer as a coping mechanism is related to many parts of social-cognitive theory that have
an increased feeling of internal control over influenced psychological research, these studies
events (Ai, Peterson, Rodgers, & Tice, 2005), so on terrorism and diabetes shoe the farreaching
Fischer and colleagues predicted that implications of the construct of self-efficacy.
intrinsically religous people would experience
Bandura’s theory continues to generate an
greater self-efficacy. The results of their study
impressive amount of research.
found that the intrinsically religious did report
greater feeling of selfefficacy, and better moods XI. Critique of Bandura
due to the increased sense of self-efficacy, but
Bandura’s theory receives he highest marks of
not only when the salience of terrorism was
any in the text largely because it was
high. When salience of terrorism was low,
constructed through a careful balance of
religiosity caused no difference among test
innovative speculation and data from rigorous
subjects. The conclusion is that in the face of a
research. In summary, the theory rates very high
threat, self-efficacy is crucial to decreasing the
on its ability to generate research and on its
threat’s harmful effects.
internal consistency. In addition, it rates high on
B. Self-Efficacy and Diabetes parsimony and on its ability to be falsified,
organize knowledge, and guide the practitioner.
Bandura himself has written about the
usefulness of his theory for encouraging people XII. Concept of Humanity
to engage in healthy behaviors that can increase
Bandura sees humans as relatively fluid and of learning. Third, personality has a basic
flexible. People can store past experiences and unity, suggesting that personality has some
then use this information to chart future actions. basic stability. Fourth, motivation is goal
Bandura’s rates near the middle on teleology directed, and firth, people are capable of
versus causality and high on free choice, anticipating events, and thus they are
optimism, conscious influences, and uniqueness. capable of changing their environments
As a social cognitive theory, it rates very high on and their personalities.
social determinants of personality. Chapter 18
IV. Predicting Specific Behaviors
Rotter and Mischel: Cognitive Social Learning
Theory Rotter suggested four variables that must be
analyzed in order to make accurate predictions
Summary Outline in any specific situation. These variables are
I. Overview of Cognitive Social Learning behavior potential, expectancy, reinforcement
Theory value, and the psychological situation.

Both Julian Rotter and Walter Mischel believe A. Behavior Potential

that cognitive factors, more than immediate Behavior potential is the possibility that a
reinforcements, determine how people will particular response will occur at a given time
react to environmental forces. Both theorists and place in relation to its likely reinforcement.
suggest that our expectations of future events
are major determinants of performance. B. Expectancy

II. Biography of Julian Rotter People’s expectancy in any given situation is

their confidence that a particular reinforcement
Julian Rotter was born in Brooklyn, New York in will follow a specific behavior in a specific
1916. As a high school student, he became situation or situations. Expectancies can be
familiar with some of the writings of Freud and either general or specific, and the overall
Adler, but he majored in chemistry rather than likelihood of success is a function of both
psychology at Brooklyn College. In 1941, he generalized and specific expectancies.
received a PhD in clinical psychology from
Indiana University. After World War II, he took a C. Reinforcement Value
position at Ohio State, where one of his students
Reinforcement value is a person’s preference for
was Walter Mischel. In 1963, he move to the
any particular reinforcement over other
University of Connecticut and has remained
reinforcements if all are equally likely to occur.
there since retirement.
Internal reinforcement is the individual’s
III. Introduction to Rotter’s Social learning perception of an event, whereas external
Theory Rotter’s interactionist theory is reinforcement refers to society’s evaluation of
based on five basic hypotheses. First, it an event. Reinforcement-reinforcement
assumes that humans interact with their sequences suggest that the value of an event is a
meaningful environments: that is, human function of one’s expectation that a particular
behavior stems from the interaction of reinforcement will lead to future
reinforcements.
environmental and personal factors
(Rotter). Second, human personality is D. Psychological Situation
learned, which suggests it can be changed
or modified as long as people are capable
The psychological situation is that part of the at securing food, good health, and physical
external and internal world to which a person is security. Three need components are: (1) need
responding. Behavior is a function of the potential, or the possible occurrences of a set of
interaction of people with their meaningful functionally related behaviors directed toward
environment. the satisfaction of similar goals; (2) freedom of
movement, or a person’s overall expectation of
E. Basic Prediction Formula
being reinforced for performing those behaviors
Hypothetically, in any specific situation, behavior that are directed toward satisfying some general
can be predicted by the basic prediction need; and (3) need value, or the extent to which
formula, which states that the potential for a people prefer one set of reinforcements to
behavior to occur in a particular situation in another. Need components are analogous to the
relation to a given reinforcement is a function of more specific concepts of behavior potential,
people’s expectancy that their behavior will be expectancy and reinforcement value.
followed by that reinforcement in that situation.
C. General Prediction Formula
V. Predicting General Behaviors
The general prediction formula states that need
The basic prediction is too specific to give clues potential is a function of freedom of movement
about how a person will generally behave. and need value. Rotter’s two most famous scales
for measuring generalized expectancies are the
A. generalized Expectancies InternalExternal Control Scale and the
To make more general predictions of behavior, Interpersonal Trust Scale.
one must know people’s generalized D. Internal and External Control of
expectancies, or their expectations based on Reinforcement
similar past experiences that a given behavior
will be reinforced. Generalized expectancies The Internal-External Control Scale (popularly
include people’s needs, that is, behaviors that called “locus of control scale”) attempts to
move them toward a goal. measure the degree to which people perceive a
causal relationship between their own efforts
B. Needs
and environmental consequences.
Needs refer to functionally related categories of E. Interpersonal Trust Scale
behaviors. Rotter listed six broad categories of
needs, with each need being related to The Interpersonal Trust Scale measures the
behaviors that lead to the same or similar extent to which a person expects the word or
reinforcements: (1) recognitionstatus refers to promise of other person to be true.
the need to excel, to achieve, and to have others
VI. Maladaptive Behavior
recognize one’s worth; (2) dominance is the
need to control the behavior of others, to be Rotter defined maladaptive behavior as any
incharge, or to gain power over others; (3) persistent behavior that fails to move a person
independence is the need to be free from the closer to a desired goal. It is usually the result of
domination of others;(4) protection- unrealistically high goals in combination with
dependence is the need to have others take care low ability to achieve them.
of us and to protect us from harm; (5) love and
VII. Psychotherapy
affection are needs to be warmly accepted by
others and to be held in friendly regard; (6) In general, the goal of Rotter’s therapy is to
physical comfort includes those behaviors aimed achieve harmony between a client’s freedom of
movement and need value. The therapist is Mischel originally believed that human behavior
actively involved in trying to (10 change the was mostly a function of the situation, but more
client’s goals and (2) eliminate the client’s low lately he has recognized the importance of
expectancies for success. relatively permanent cognitive-affective units.
Nevertheless, Mischel’s theory continues to
A. Changing Goals
recognize the apparent inconsistency of some
Maladaptive behaviors follow from three behaviors.
categories of inappropriate goals: (1) conflict
A. The Consistency Paradox
between goals, (2) destructive goals, and (3)
unrealistically lofty goals. The consistency paradox refers to the
observation that, although both lay people and
B. eliminating Low Expectancies
professionals tend to believe that behavior is
In helping clients change low expectancies of quite consistent, research suggests that it is
success, Rotter uses a variety of approaches, not. Mischel recognizes that, indeed, some
including reinforcing positive behaviors, ignoring traits are consistent over time, but he contends
inappropriate behaviors, giving advice, modeling that there is little evidence to suggest they are
appropriate behaviors, and pointing out the consistent from one situation to another.
long-range consequences of both positive and
B. Person-Situation Interaction
negative behaviors.
Mischel believes that behavior I best predicted
VIII. Introduction to Mischel’s Personality from an understanding of the person, the
System situation, and the interaction between person
Like Bandura and Rotter, Mischel believes that and situation. Thus, behavior is not the result of
cognitive factors, such as expectancies, some global personality trait, but rather of
subjective perceptions, values, goals, and people’s perceptions of themselves in a
personal standards are important in shaping particular situation.
personality. in his early theory, Mischel seriously XI. Cognitive-Affective Personality System
questioned the consistency of personality, but
more recently, he and Yuichi Shoda have However, Mischel does not believe that
advanced the notion that behavior is also a inconsistencies in behavior are due solely to the
function of relatively stable cognitive-cognitive situation; he recognizes that inconsistent
units. IX. Biography of Walter Mischel behaviors reflect stable patterns of variation
within a person. He and Shoda see these stable
Walter Mischel was born in Vienna in 1930, the
variations in behavior in the following
second son of upper-middle-class parents.
framework: If A, then X; but if B, then Y.
When the Nazis invaded Austria in 1938, his
people’s pattern of variability is their
family moved to the United States and
behavioural signature, or their unique and
eventually settled in Brooklyn. Mischel received
stable pattern of behaving differently in
an MA from City College of New York and a PhD
different situations.
from Ohio State, where he was influenced by
Julian Rotter. He is currently a professor at A. Behavior Prediction
Columbia University.
Mischel’s basic theoretical position for
X. Background of the Cognitive-Affective predicting and explaining behavior is as follows:
Personality System If personality is a stable system that processes
information about the situation, then as people
encounter different situations, they should Mischel and Shoda’s cognitiveaffective
behave differently as those situations vary. personality system also receiving wide attention.
Therefore, Mischel believes that, even though
A. Lotus of Control, Depression,
people’s behavior may reflect some stability
and Suicide
over time, it tends to vary as situations vary.
During the genocide of 6 million Jews by the
B. Situation Variables
Nazi’s during World War II, only one half of one
Situation variables include all those stimuli that percent of people in Nazi-occupied territory
people attend to in a given situation. helped Jewish neighbors whose lives were in
Peril (Oliner & Oliner, 1988), in part because the
C. Cognitive-Affective Units
peril to their own lives equaled the danger to the
Cognitive-affective units include all those lives of those they assisted. Elizabeth Midlarsky
psychological, social, and physiological aspects and her colleagues wanted to use personality
of people that permit them to interact with their variables to predict who was a Holocaust hero
environment with some stability in their and who was a bystander during World War II
behavior. Mischel identified five such units. First (Midlarsky, Fagin Jones, & Corley, 2005). One of
are encoding strategies, or people’s the personality variables they selected was locus
individualized manner of categorizing of control, along with autonomy, risk taking,
information they receive from external stimuli. social responsibility, authoritarianism, empathy,
Second are the competencies and selfregulatory and altruistic moral reasoning. They found that
strategies. One of the most important of these internal locus of control was positively related to
competencies is intelligence which Mischel more autonomy, risk taking, sense of social
argues is responsible for the apparent responsibility, tolerance, empathy, and altruistic
consistency of other traits. In addition, people moral reasoning, and to less authoritarianism.
use self-regulatory strategies to control their Statistical analysis supported the researchers’
own behavior through selfformulated goals and hypothesis that personality would predict who
self-produced consequences. The third was a hero and who was not, being correct 93%
cognitive-affective units are expectancies and of the time. A higher sense of internal control
beliefs, or people’s guesses about the was associated with heroism in this study.
consequences of each of the different
B. Person-Situation Interaction
behavioural possibilities. The fourth cognitive-
affective unit includes people’s subjective goals Mischel and associates have reported hundreds
and values, which tend to render behavior fairly of studies influenced by his cognitive-affective
consistent. Mischel’s fifth cognitive-affective personality system. These—studies which are
unit includes affective responses, including based on the statement, “If I am in situation A,
emotions, feelings, and the affect that then I do X; but if I am in situation B, then I do
accompanies physiological reactions. Y.” these studies have generally supported
Mischel and Shoda’s conception of the
XII. Related Research
conditional nature of human behavior. One of
The theories of both Rotter and Mischel have Mischel’s students, Lara Kammrath, and her
sparked an abundance of related research, with colleagues recently conducted an elegant study
Rotter’s locus of control being one of the most (2005) illustrating the “If…then…” framework
frequently researched areas in psychology, and very clearly (Kammrath, Mendoza-Denton, &
Mischel’s notion of delay of gratification, and Mischel, 2005). This study showed that people
understand the if-then framework and use it
when judging others; in other words, the I. Overview of Kelly’s Personal Construct
average person understands that people behave Theory
differently in different situations, and depending
Kelly’s theory of personal constructs can be seen
on their personality, people adjust their
as a metatheory, or a theory about theories. It
behavior to match the situation. Mischel and
holds that people anticipates events by the
colleagues conducted further studies on the
meanings or interpretations personal constructs.
conditional nature of dispositions (Mendoza-
His philosophical position, called constructive
Denton, Ayduck, Mischel, Shoda, & Testa, 2001),
alternativism, assumes that alternative
and found that conditional and interactionist
interpretations are always available to people.
self-evaluations tend to buffer negative
reactions to failure. They concluded that their II. Biography of George Kelly
conceptualization of the personsituation
environment as social-cognitive and George Kelly was born on a farm in Kansas in
interactionist is more applicable to 1905. During his school years and his early
understanding human behavior than the professional career, he dabbled in a wide variety
traditional, “ decontextualized” views of jobs, but he eventually received a PhD in
personality, in which people behave in a given psychology from the University of Iowa. He
way regardless of the context. began his academic career at
Fort Hays State College in Kansa; then after
XIII. Critique of Cognitive Social Learning World War II, he took a position at Ohio State.
Theory He remained there until 1965 when he joined
the faculty at Brandeis University. He died 2
Cognitive social learning theory combines the
years later at age 61.
rigors of learning theory with the speculative
assumption that people are forward-looking III. Kelly’s Philosophical Position
beings. It rates high on generating research,
internal consistency; it rates about average on Kelly believed that people construe events
its ability to be falsified, to organize data, and to according to their personal constructs, rather
guide action. than reality.

XIV. Concept of Humanity A. Person as Scientist

Rotter and Mischel see people as goal-directed, People generally attempt to solve everyday
cognitive animals whose perceptions of problems in much the same fashion as do
eventsare more crucial than the events scientists; that is, they observe, ask questions,
themselves. Cognitive social learning theory formulate hypotheses, infer conclusions, and
rates very high on social influences, and high on predict future events.
uniqueness of the individual, free choice, B. Scientist as Person
teleology, and conscious processes. On the
dimension of optimism versus pessimism, Because scientist are people, their
Rotters view s slightly more optimistic, whereas pronouncement should be regarded with the
Mischel’s is about in the middle. same scepticism as any other data. Every
scientific theory can be viewed from an alternate
Chapter 19 angle, and every competent scientist should be
Kelly: Psychology of Personal Construct open to changing his or her theory.

Summary Outline C. Constructive Alternativism

Kelly believed that all oue interpretations of the corollary suggests that people continually revise
world are subject to revision or replacement, an their personal constructs as the result of their
assumption he called constructive alternativism. experiences. (8) The modulation corollary
He further stressed that, because people can assumes that only permeable constructs lead to
construe their world from different angles, change; concrete constructs resist modification
observations that are valid at one time may be through experience. (9) The fragmentation
false at a later time. corollary states that people’s behavior can be
inconsistent because their construct systems can
IV. Personal Constructs
readily admit incompatible elements. (10) The
Kelly believed that people look at their world commonality corollary suggests that are
through templates that they create and then personal constructs tend to be similar to the
attempt to fit over the realities of the world. He construction systems of other people to the
called these templates, or transparent patterns, extent that we share experiences with them.
personal constructs, which he believed shape (11) The sociality corollary states that people
behavior. are able to communicate with other people
because they can construe those people’s
A. basic Postulate constructions. With the sociality corollary, Kelly
Kelly expressed his theory in one basic postulate introduced the concept of role, which refers to a
and 11 supporting corollaries. The basic pattern of behavior that stems from people’s
postulate assumes that human behavior is understanding of the constructs of others. Each
shaped by the way people anticipate the future. of us has a core role and numerous peripheral
roles. A core role gives us a sense of identity
B. Supporting Corollaries whereas peripheral roles are less to our self-
The 11 supporting corollaries can all be inferred concept.
from this basic postulate. (1) Although no two V. Applications of Personal Construct Theory
events are exactly alike, we construe similar
events as if they were the same, and this is Kelly’s many years of clinical experience enabled
Kelly’s construction Corollary. (2) The him to evolve concepts of abnormal
individuality corollary states that because development and psychotherapy, and to
people have different experiences, they can develop a Role Construct Repertory (Rep) Test.
construe the same event in different ways. (3) A. Abnormal Development
The organizational corollary assumes that
people organize their personal constructs in a Kelly saw normal people as analogous to
hierarchical system, with some constructs in a competent scientists to test reasonable
superordinate position and other subordinate to hypotheses, objectively view the results, and
them. (4) The dichotomy corollary assumes that willingly change their theories when the data
people construe events in an either/or manner, warrant it. Similarly, unhealthy people are like
e.g. good or bad. (5) incompetent scientists who test unreasonable
Kelly’s choice corollary assumes that people hypotheses, reject or distort legitimate results,
tend to choose the alternative in a dichotomized and refuse to amend outdated theories. Kelly
construct that they see as extending the range of identified four common elements in most
their future choices. (6) The range corollary human disturbances:
states that constructs are limited to a particular (1) threat, or the perception that one’s basic
range of convenience; that is, they are not constructs maybe drastically changed; (2) fear,
relevant to all situations. (7) Kelly’s experience which requires an incidental rather than a
comprehensive, restricting of one’s construct individual differences in the degree to which
system; (3) anxiety, or the recognition that one people internalize cultural views of gender. The
cannot adequately deal with a new situation; authors found that the less information
and (4) guilt, defined as “the sense of having lost someone has about a person, the more likely
one’s core role structure.” they will use stereotypic gender schemas to
evaluate that person; that is, participants who
B. Psychotherapy
used gender stereotypes in perceiving strangers
Kelly insisted that clients should set their own tended to have limited perceptions of other
goals for therapy and that they should be actives people.
participants in the therapeutic process. He
B. Smoking and Self-Concept
sometimes used a procedure called fixed-role
therapy. In which clients act out a Previous research on self-concept and
predetermined role for several weeks. By playing adolescent smoking has tended to find relatively
the part of a psychologically healthy person, negative selfconcepts of smokers compared with
clients may discover previously hidden aspects non-smokers. Specifically, smokers have more
of themselves. disparity between real and ideal self-concepts,
as well as lower selfesteem (Burton, Sussman,
C. The Rep Test
Hansen, Johnson, & Flay, 1989; Webster,
The purpose of the Rep Test is to discover ways Hunger, & Keats, 1994). But since people smoke
in which clients construe significant people in for different reasons, an idiographic approach
their lives. Clients place names of people they such as the Rep Test was thought to be better
know on a repertory grid in order to identify than conventional measures for these
both similarities and differences among these differences. Peter Weiss, Neill Watson, and
people. Howard Mcguire (2003) used the REP test to
investigate hypothesis that smokers would
VI. Related Research identify with and rate their own personalities
Kelly’s personal construct theory and his Rep more similar to the personality descriptions they
Test have generated a substantial amount of have of other smokers than of nonsmokers. They
empirical research in both the United States and also predicted a lower self-concept for smokers
the United Kingdom. Although many researchers than non-smokers. As predicted, both smokers
in the field of social cognition use conventional and non-smokers identified with and valued
questionnaires, some have followed Kelly’s lead more highly the traits of non-smokers (such as
and use phenomenological or ideographic quite, studious, etc.) than of smokers. However,
measures, such as the Rep Test or some the prediction that smokers would have lower
modified version of it (Neimeyer, & Neimeyer, self-esteem (greater real versus ideal self-
1995). More recent applications of the Rep Test disparity) did not hold. Weiss et al concluded
methodology have analyzed the different that not only is the Rep Test useful for assessing
construct systems of sexually abused versus self-concept, but it also may be a more valid and
non-abused individuals (Lewis-Harter, Erbes, & individualized tool than standard questionnaire.
Hart, 2004). C. Personal Constructs and the Big Five
A. Gender as a Personal Construct While recently researcher have been exploring
In 2003, Marcel Harper and Wilhelm Schoeman connections between Kelly’s personal constructs
reported on a study of college students in South and the Big Five personality traits, some
Africa that had used the REP test to detect personality psychologists disagree with the fact
that Kelly’s constructs have not received as
much attention as the Big Five. James Grice and
colleagues directly compared the two
approaches (Grice, 2004; Grice, Jackson, &
McDaniel, 2006). They found only about 50%
overlap; i.e., the repertory grid captured aspects
the Big five did not, and the Big Five captured
aspects the repertory grid did not. So while both
approaches are important, and the Big Five
framework has provided common descriptors
that have facilitated a great deal of research,
Kelly’s personal construct theory emphasizes the
uniqueness of individuals, which is invaluable to
the study of individual differences central to
personality psychology.

VIII. Critique of Kelly

Kelly’s theory probably is most applicable to

relatively normal, intelligent people.
Unfortunately, it pays scant attention to
problems of motivation, development and
cultural influences. On the six criteria of a useful
theory, it rates very high on parsimony and
internal consistency and about average on its
ability to be falsified, to guide the practitioner,
and to organize knowledge. IX. Concept of
Humanity
Kelly saw people as anticipating the future and living their
lives in accordance with those anticipations. His
concept of elaborative choice suggest that people increase
their range of future choices by the present
choices they freely make. Thus, Kelly’s theory rates
very high in teleology and high in choice and
optimism. In addition, it receives high ratings
for conscious influences and for its emphasis on
the uniqueness of the individual. Finally,
personal construct theory is about average on
social influences.