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CHAPTER 14： UNDERSTANDING HUMAN PERSONALITY
c） Ectomorphic： Thin； long； fragile
3。 Sulloway proposed a theory of personality based on birth order
a） Each child fills a niche within the family
b） Firstborn children fill the most convenient niche； they identify
with their parents
c） Laterborn children must find different niches； and； thus； are
usually more open to experience and deviance
B。 Describing with Traits
1。 Traits are enduring qualities or attributes that predispose individuals
to behave consistently across situations
2。 Allport’s trait approach
a） Allport posited that each individual has a unique
bination of traits； the building blocks of personality。 Three
kinds of traits have been identified：
（i） Cardinal traits are those around which the individual
organizes his or her life
（ii） Central traits represent major characteristics of the
individual
（iii） Secondary traits are specific； personal features that
help predict the individual’s behavior； but are less
useful for understanding personality
b） Allport’s interest was in discovery of the unique binations
of these traits that made each individual a singular entity。 He
viewed personality structures rather than environmental
conditions to be the critical determinants of individual
behavior
3。 Identifying Universal Trait Dimensions
a） Cattell proposed that 16 factors provide the underlying source
of the surface behaviors that we think of as personality
b） Eysenck derived three broad personality dimensions：
（i） Extroversion： internal vs。 external orientation
（ii） Neuroticism： emotionally stable vs。 emotionally
unstable
（iii） Psychoticism： kind and considerate vs。 aggressive and
antisocial
c） Eysenck proposed that personality differences on these
dimensions were caused by genetic and biological differences
4。 Five…Factor Model： Recent research indicates that five factors overlap
Eysenck’s original three； best characterize personality structure
a） The five…factor model （the Big Five） brings categories having a
mon theme together in the following dimensions：
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（i） Extroversion： Talkative； energetic； and assertive vs。
quiet； reserved； and shy
（ii） Agreeableness： Sympathetic； kind； and affectionate vs。
cold； quarrelsome； and cruel
（iii） Conscientiousness： Organized； responsible； and
cautious vs。 careless； frivolous； and irresponsible
（iv） Neuroticism （emotional stability）： Stable； calm； and
contented vs。 anxious； unstable； and temperamental
（v） Openness to experience： Creative； intellectual； and open
minded vs。 simple； shallow； and unintelligent
b） Factors are not intended as replacement for specific trait
terms； rather they outline a taxonomy that better describes
individuals in capturing the dimensions on which they differ
C。 Traits and Heritability
1。 Behavioral genetics： The study of the degree to which personality traits
and behavior patterns are inherited
2。 Heritability studies show that almost all personality traits are
influenced by genetic factors
D。 Do Traits Predict Behaviors？
1。 The consistency paradox refers to the observation that personality
ratings across time and different observers are consistent； while
behavior ratings of a person across situations are not consistent
2。 Paradox refers to levels of analysis； the use of specific vs。 summary
types of data； rather than to actual consistency
3。 Different situations are more or less likely to “allow” expression of
traits； with those situations most likely to influence behavior occurring
when：
a） Situations are novel
b） Situations are ill…defined； offering multiple alternatives but
without guidelines on propriety
c） Situations are stressful or challenging
4。 Forced definition of traits in a more precise manner resulted in the
observation that personality is not about behavioral consistency；
rather it is a matter of patterns of behavioral coherence
E。 Evaluation of Type and Trait Theories
1。 Criticism based on fact that these theories do not generally explain
how behavior is generated； or how personality develops； they only
identify and describe characteristics correlated with behavior
2。 Trait theories typically portray a static （or at least stabilized） view of
personality structure； as it currently exists
III。 Psychodynamic Theories
A。 mon to all psychodynamic personality theories is the assumption that powerful inner
forces shape personality and motivate behavior
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CHAPTER 14： UNDERSTANDING HUMAN PERSONALITY
B。 Freudian Psychoanalysis
1。 Freud’s theory attempts to explain：
a） Origins and course of personality development
b） Nature of mind
c） Aspects of abnormal personality
d） Ways personality can be changed by therapy
2。 Presumes the core of personality to be the events within a person’s
mind （intrapsychic events） that motivate behavior
3。 Freud presumed all behavior was motivated； that so…called chance or
accidents did not cause behavior； but were determined by motives
4。 Drives and Psychosexual Development
a） Postulating a mon biological basis for behavioral patterns
observed in his patients； Freud ascribed motivational source
to psychic energy within each individual
b） Individuals presumed to have inborn instincts or drives that
were tension systems
c） Freud originally postulated two basic drives：
（i） Self…preservation； associated with the ego
（ii） Eros is related to sexual urges and preservation of the
species； and is used with the term libido to identify
source of energy for sexual urges
d） After World War I； Freud added Thanatos； the concept of the
death instinct
e） Eros operates from birth； and is evident in infants’ pleasure in
stimulation of erogenous zones； leading Freud to posit that
the physical source of sexual pleasures changed in an orderly
progression （i。e。； five stages of psychosexual development）
5。 Psychic determinism： Assumption that all mental and behavioral
reactions are determined by earlier experiences； leading to belief in
unconscious processes
a） Freud believed behavior has both manifest and latent content
（i） Manifest content of behavior refers to what one says；
does； and perceives （indicating awareness）
（ii） Latent content includes neurotic symptoms； dreams；
slips of the pens and slips of the tongue at the
unconscious level of and information…processing
6。 The Structure of Personality
a） Id： Storehouse of fundamental drives； operating irrationally
and on impulse； pushing for expression and immediate
gratification； governed by the pleasure principle
b） Superego： Storehouse of individual’s values； including moral
values； corresponds roughly to the notion of conscience
（i） The inner voice of “oughts” and “should nots”
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（ii） Includes ego ideal； the individual’s view of the kind
of person he/she should strive to bee
（iii） Often in conflict with the id
c） Ego： Reality…based aspect of the self； arbitrating conflict
between id’s impulses and superego’s demands and choosing
a