Psychology · Ch 2 — Self and Personality
Summary
Summary
- Self is the totality of an individual’s conscious experiences, ideas, feelings, and attitudes; personality refers to the unique, relatively stable pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that distinguishes one person from another.
- Self-concept is the cognitive aspect of the self — how one perceives oneself (e.g., “I am hardworking”). Self-esteem is the evaluative component — how much one values oneself. Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations.
- Indian perspective on self: The self is seen as part of a larger cosmic order, with an emphasis on Atman (the inner, eternal self) and its unity with Brahman (universal consciousness). The goal is self-realisation, not just individual identity.
- Type approaches to personality: Hippocrates–Galen (four temperaments: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic); Sheldon (body types: endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph); Jung (introversion vs. extraversion). Types are discrete categories.
- Trait approaches: Allport (cardinal, central, secondary traits); Cattell (16 source traits via factor analysis); Eysenck (three dimensions: extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism). Traits are continuous dimensions.
- Big Five model (OCEAN): Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism — the most widely accepted trait framework.
- Psychodynamic approach (Freud): Personality is shaped by unconscious conflicts among the id (pleasure principle), ego (reality principle), and superego (moral conscience). Psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) influence adult personality.
- Post-Freudian developments: Adler (inferiority complex, striving for superiority); Jung (collective unconscious, archetypes); Horney (basic anxiety, need for security); Erikson (psychosocial stages across the lifespan).
- Humanistic approach (Rogers, Maslow): Emphasis on free will, self-actualisation, and the self-concept. Rogers stressed unconditional positive regard for healthy development; Maslow proposed a hierarchy of needs culminating in self-actualisation.
- Behavioural approach (Skinner, Bandura): Personality is learned through reinforcement and observational learning. Bandura’s social-cognitive theory highlights reciprocal determinism (person, behaviour, environment interact) and self-efficacy.
- Cultural context: Individualistic cultures (e.g., USA) emphasise independent self; collectivistic cultures (e.g., India) emphasise interdependent self, with greater focus on social roles and duties. …