Identity and Personality

Self Concept and Self-Schema

• Self-schema = ways we define ourselves
  • Example: Athlete self-schema → youth, fitness, dress
• Identity = components of self-concept
  • Relate to group memberships
  • Context-dependent; may shift with social situations

Types of Identity

• Gender identity
  • Masculinity and femininity are separate dimensions
  • Androgyny = both high; undifferentiated = low on both
  • Gender schema theory: identity influenced by culture/society
• Ethnic and National Identity
  • Ethnicity = shared group characteristics
  • Nationality = political boundaries, independent of ethnicity or citizenship
  • Hierarchy of salience: identity prominence depends on context
• Other types: age, class, religion, sexual orientation

Self-Evaluation

• Self-Discrepancy Theory
  • Actual self: current self-perception
  • Ideal self: desired self
  • Ought self: how others think we should be
  • Smaller discrepancies → higher self-esteem
• Self-Esteem
  • Maslow: 4th level of hierarchy
  • Low self-esteem → critical, poor criticism acceptance, pessimism, higher risk behaviors
• Self-Efficacy
  • Belief in ability to succeed; varies by task
  • High → motivation, too high → overconfidence
  • Learned helplessness → cessation of effort (e.g., dog study)
• Locus of Control
  • Internal: outcomes controlled by self
  • External: outcomes due to luck/external events

Freud: Psychosexual Development

• Libido present at birth; drives psychological processes
• 5 stages with potential fixation → neurosis
  • Oral (0–1 yr): gratification through mouth → dependency
  • Anal (1–3 yr): toilet training → orderliness/sloppiness
  • Phallic/Oedipal (3–5 yr): Oedipal/Electra conflict → internalize morals
  • Latency: libido sublimated until puberty
  • Genital (puberty+): normal development → heterosexuality; unresolved trauma → atypical sexual expression

Erikson: Psychosocial Development

• Emphasis on emotional and social interaction
• Stages, favorable vs. unfavorable outcomes:
  • Trust vs Mistrust (0–1 yr): world trust vs suspicion
  • Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt (1–3 yr): control & choice vs doubt
  • Initiative vs Guilt (3–6 yr): purpose & initiative vs fear/punishment
  • Industry vs Inferiority (6–12 yr): competence vs inadequacy
  • Identity vs Role Confusion (12–20 yr): fidelity vs confusion
  • Intimacy vs Isolation (20–40 yr): love & commitment vs withdrawal
  • Generativity vs Stagnation (40–65 yr): productivity vs boredom/self-indulgence
  • Integrity vs Despair (65+ yr): wisdom & life acceptance vs bitterness

Kohlberg: Moral Reasoning

• Development of moral thinking; Heinz dilemma
• Preconventional: punishment & self-interest
  • Stage 1: obedience
  • Stage 2: self-interest (instrumental relativist)
• Conventional: relationships & social order
  • Stage 3: conformity (approval)
  • Stage 4: law and order
• Postconventional: abstract principles, social mores
  • Stage 5: social contract
  • Stage 6: universal ethics
• Stages often sequential, culturally biased toward individualistic societies, research male-centric

Vygotsky: Cultural and Biosocial Development

• Cognitive growth via internalization of culture
• Zone of proximal development: skills needing guidance
  • Example: learning to ride a bike with adult assistance

Influences of Others

• Observational learning → mimic behaviors
• Role taking → perspective-taking practice
• Theory of mind → understanding others’ thoughts
• Looking-glass self → reflection of others’ perceptions
• Reference groups → social comparison (e.g., salary perception vs neighbors)

Psychoanalytic Perspective

• Freud
  • Id: primal urges, pleasure principle, primary process (wish fulfillment)
  • Ego: reality principle, secondary process, organizes mind, moderates id & superego
  • Superego: perfectionist, moral conscience
    • Conscious (improper actions)
    • Ego ideal (proper actions)
• Levels of consciousness: conscious, preconscious, unconscious
• Instincts
  • Life (Eros): survival, hunger, sex
  • Death (Thanatos): destruction
• Defense Mechanisms
  • Repression, suppression, regression, reaction formation, projection
  • Rationalization, displacement, sublimation
• Carl Jung
  • Libido = general psychic energy
  • Personal unconscious: like Freud’s unconscious
  • Collective unconscious: shared human experiences, archetypes
    • Persona, anima/animus, shadow, self, mandala
  • 3 dichotomies → MBTI: E/I, S/N, T/F
• Alfred Adler
  • Inferiority complex, striving for superiority
  • Creative self & style of life, fictional finalism
• Karen Horney
  • Personality from interpersonal relationships
  • Neurotic needs → manage anxiety/hostility
  • Basic anxiety from neglect/rejection
  • Coping strategies: move toward, against, away from people
• Object Relations Theory
  • Objects = representations of parents, persist into adulthood

Humanistic Perspective

• Value of individual, self-centered approach
• Gestalt theory: focus on whole person
• Force field theory (Lewin): present influences
• Maslow: self-actualization, peak experiences
• George Kelly: personal construct psychology
• Rogers: client-centered therapy, unconditional positive regard

Type and Trait Perspectives

• Type Theorists: taxonomy of personality
  • Sheldon: body types → personality traits
  • Type A vs Type B
• Trait Theorists: describe personalities via behaviors
  • Eysenck: PEN model → Big Five (OCEAN)
  • Allport: cardinal, central, secondary traits
  • Functional autonomy: behavior continues beyond original drive
  • McClelland: need for achievement (N-Ach), realistic goal-setting

Other Theories

• Behaviorist (Skinner): personality = reinforced behaviors
• Social Cognitive: reciprocal determinism, environment-behavior interaction
• Biological: genetic influences; debate between dispositional vs situational determinants