Chapter 13: Personality
● Personality: Unique and relatively stable pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions
Trait Theories
● Trait: Relatively stable personal characteristic used to describe someone
○ Key Figures:
○ Early Trait Theorists: Allport, Cattell, and Eysenck
○ Modern Trait Theorists:McCrae and Costa-Five-Factor Model (FFM)
● Five-Factor Model(FFM)
○ Openness(open to new ideas vs. conventional & narrow in interests)
○ Conscientiousness(responsible and organized vs. irresponsible careless)
○ Extroversion(sociable and talkative vs. withdrawn and quiet)
○ Agreeableness(trusting and good-natured vs. suspicious and ruthless)
○ Neuroticism(emotionally unstable and moody vs. emotionally stable and
easygoing)
○ Researchers found that there is a high degree of agreement and the five-factor
traits are at the top of both lists. (What men want in men, what women want in
men)
● Evaluating trait Theories
○ Pro:
■ Five-factor model helps describe and organize personality characteristics
using the fewest number of traits.
■ Evolutionary, cross-cultural, and cross-species studies support the five-
factor model.
○ Con:
■ Lacks explanation
■ Stability vs. change
■ Ignores situational effects
● Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Theories
○ P&P Theories: examine how unconscious mental forces interplay with thoughts,
feelings, and actions
■ Early Key figures:
■ Founding Father-Freud
■ Neo-Freudians-Adler, Jung, Horney
● Levels of Consciousness
○ Conscious: thoughts or motives person is currently aware of or remembering
○ Preconscious: thoughts, motives, or memories that can be voluntarily brought to
mind.
○ Unconscious: thoughts, motives, or memories blocked from normal awareness.
● Personality Structures
○ Id: instinctual energy(pleasure principle)
○ Ego: rational part of psyche(reality principle)
○ Superego: the conscience(morality principle)
● Defense Mechanisms
○ Defense Mechanisms: ego’s protective method of reducing anxiety by distorting
● Personality: Unique and relatively stable pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions
Trait Theories
● Trait: Relatively stable personal characteristic used to describe someone
○ Key Figures:
○ Early Trait Theorists: Allport, Cattell, and Eysenck
○ Modern Trait Theorists:McCrae and Costa-Five-Factor Model (FFM)
● Five-Factor Model(FFM)
○ Openness(open to new ideas vs. conventional & narrow in interests)
○ Conscientiousness(responsible and organized vs. irresponsible careless)
○ Extroversion(sociable and talkative vs. withdrawn and quiet)
○ Agreeableness(trusting and good-natured vs. suspicious and ruthless)
○ Neuroticism(emotionally unstable and moody vs. emotionally stable and
easygoing)
○ Researchers found that there is a high degree of agreement and the five-factor
traits are at the top of both lists. (What men want in men, what women want in
men)
● Evaluating trait Theories
○ Pro:
■ Five-factor model helps describe and organize personality characteristics
using the fewest number of traits.
■ Evolutionary, cross-cultural, and cross-species studies support the five-
factor model.
○ Con:
■ Lacks explanation
■ Stability vs. change
■ Ignores situational effects
● Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Theories
○ P&P Theories: examine how unconscious mental forces interplay with thoughts,
feelings, and actions
■ Early Key figures:
■ Founding Father-Freud
■ Neo-Freudians-Adler, Jung, Horney
● Levels of Consciousness
○ Conscious: thoughts or motives person is currently aware of or remembering
○ Preconscious: thoughts, motives, or memories that can be voluntarily brought to
mind.
○ Unconscious: thoughts, motives, or memories blocked from normal awareness.
● Personality Structures
○ Id: instinctual energy(pleasure principle)
○ Ego: rational part of psyche(reality principle)
○ Superego: the conscience(morality principle)
● Defense Mechanisms
○ Defense Mechanisms: ego’s protective method of reducing anxiety by distorting
