Personality Theory in a Cultural Context

505 Pages·2015·4.93 MB·English

Personality Theory in a Cultural Context
By:
Mark Kelland

Personality Theory in a Cultural Context
By:
Mark Kelland
Online:
< http://cnx.org/content/col11901/1.1/ >
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This selection and arrangement of content as a collection is copyrighted by Mark Kelland. It is licensed under the
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Collection structure revised: November 4, 2015
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For copyright and attribution information for the modules contained in this collection, see p. 496.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction to Personality ......................................................................1
2 Culture and Personality .........................................................................29
3 Sigmund Freud ...................................................................................43
4 Alfred Adler and Harry Stack Sullivan ........................................................73
5 Neo-Freudian Perspectives on Personality ....................................................103
6 Karen Horney and Erich Fromm ..............................................................129
7 Psychology of Women ..........................................................................147
8 Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow ............................................................159
9 Viktor Frankl, Rollo May, and Existential Psychology ......................................193
10 Trait Theories of Personality .................................................................221
11 Biology and Personality .......................................................................261
12 Erik Erikson ....................................................................................281
13 Carl Jung .......................................................................................303
14 Yoga and Buddhism as Personality Development Paths ...................................327
15 Religious Perspectives on Personality .......................................................351
16 African Perspective on Personality ..........................................................363
17 Learning Theory and Personality Development .............................................371
18 Social Learning Theory and Personality Development .....................................389
19 Cognitive Perspectives on Personality Development .......................................415
20 Personality Disorders ..........................................................................439
21 References for Personality ....................................................................445
Index ...............................................................................................494
Attributions ........................................................................................496
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Chapter 1
Introduction to Personality
1
When you (cid:28)rst think of personality, what comes to mind? When we refer to certain people as being
(cid:16)personalities,(cid:17) we usually mean they are famous, people like movie stars or your favorite band. When we
describeapersonashaving(cid:16)lotsofpersonality,(cid:17) weusuallymeantheyareoutgoingandfun-loving, thekind
of person we like to spend time with. But does this tell us anything about personality itself? Although
we may think we have an understanding of what personality is, professional psychologists always seek to
move beyond what people think they know in order to determine what is actually real or at least as close to
real as we can come. In the pursuit of truly understanding personality, however, many personality theorists
seem to have been focused on a particularly Western cultural approach that owes much of its history to the
pioneering work of Sigmund Freud.
Freud trained as a physician with a strong background in biomedical research. He naturally brought
his keen sense of observation, a characteristic of any good scientist, into his psychiatric practice. As he
worked with his patients, he developed a distinctly medical model: identify a problem, identify the cause
of the problem, and treat the patient accordingly. This approach can work quite well, and it has worked
wonderfully for medical science, but it has two main weaknesses when applied to the study of personality.
First, it fails to address the complexity and uniqueness of individuals, and second, it does not readily lend
itself to describing how one chooses to develop a healthy personality.
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1
2 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY
Figure 1.1
The diversity that is the human experience can be seen in the faces of the people around us.
Quite soon in the history of personality theory, however, there were in(cid:29)uential theorists who began to
challenge Freud’s perspective. Alfred Adler, although a colleague of Freud’s for a time, began to focus
on social interest and an individual’s style of life. Karen Horney challenged Freud’s perspective on the
psychology of women, only to later suggest that the issue was more directly related to the oppression of
women as a minority, rather than a fundamental di(cid:27)erence based on gender. And there were Carl Jung
and Carl Rogers, two men profoundly in(cid:29)uenced by Eastern philosophy. Consequently, anyone in(cid:29)uenced
by Jung or Rogers has also been in(cid:29)uenced, in part, by Eastern philosophy. What about the rest of the
world? Have we taken into account the possibility that there are other, equally valuable and interesting
perspectives on the nature of people? Many (cid:28)elds in psychology have made a concerted e(cid:27)ort to address
cross-cultural issues. The primary purpose of this textbook is to address some of these di(cid:27)erent cultural
perspectives, and to compare them to, and contrast them with, the traditional Western perspectives. In
addition, we will examine the relationships between the traditional approaches as well. In particular, the
(cid:28)nal section of this book introduces a number of paths developed throughout history to help people choose
how to live their lives. Although each path is intimately identi(cid:28)ed with a religious perspective, the paths
themselves represent more of a style of life. As we examine these perspectives, you will see that they are
all quite similar in their essential elements, making it clear that the principles involved transcend religious
culture. My hope is that when you have read this book, you will have a broad understanding of the (cid:28)eld of
personality, and an appreciation for both what we have in common and what makes us unique, as members
of our global community.
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3
1.1 De(cid:28)nitions and Descriptions of Personality
It would seem to make sense that we should begin our study of personality by de(cid:28)ning the term. Unfor-
tunately, there is no single de(cid:28)nition that (cid:28)ts the variety of theories that have been developed in the (cid:28)eld
of personality research. Most psychologists agree that the term personality comes from the Latin word
persona, a term referring to the masks worn by actors performing ancient Greek plays. Often there were
not enough actors available to play all of the roles in a play, so they would wear these masks to let the
audience know that they were playing di(cid:27)erent roles. But are our personalities just masks? Freud certainly
consideredtheunconsciousmindtobeveryimportant,Cattellconsideredsourcetraitstobemoreimportant
than surface traits, and Buddhists consider the natural world (including the self) to be an illusion. Adler
believed the best way to examine personality is to look at the person’s style of life, and Rogers felt that the
only person who could truly understand you is yourself. What de(cid:28)nition could possibly encompass all that?
Still, we need a working de(cid:28)nition as a starting point for discussion. Borrowing loosely from Allport’s
de(cid:28)nition of personality, personality can be viewed as the dynamic organization within an individual of
various psychological factors that determines the person’s characteristic thoughts and behaviors. In simpler
terms,avarietyoffactorsblendtogethertocreateeachperson,andasaresultofthosefactorstheindividualis
mostlikelytothinkandactinsomewhatpredictableways. However,giventhecomplexityofhumanlife,those
predictions may prove to be elusive. Theodore Millon (1996, 2004; Millon & Grossman, 2005), a renowned
clinicianandtheoristinthe(cid:28)eldofpersonalitydisorders,hassoughtade(cid:28)nitionofpersonalitybroadenough
to encompass both normal and abnormal personality. Millon describes the modern view of personality as a
complexpatternofpsychologicalcharacteristicsthataredeeplyembedded,largelyunconscious,andresistant
to change. These intrinsic and pervasive traits arise from a complex matrix of biological dispositions and
experiential learning, and express themselves automatically in nearly every aspect of the individual’s unique
pattern of perceiving, feeling, thinking, coping, and behaving (e.g., Millon, 1996).
Another challenge we face in de(cid:28)ning personality is how we approach the question in the (cid:28)rst place.
Traditionally,therehavebeentwobasicapproachestothestudyofpersonality: thenomotheticperspective
and the idiographic perspective. The nomothetic perspective seeks to identify general rules that pertain
to personality as a construct (a working hypothesis or concept used to identify something we can describe
but not see, such as IQ or the self). Thus, it can be rather abstract, and often fails to appreciate the
uniqueness of individuals. In contrast, the idiographic perspective focuses speci(cid:28)cally on the individuality
and uniqueness of each person. Although the idiographic approach often seems more appealing to students,
especially since it enhances their self-esteem by considering them as individually important, it is di(cid:30)cult
for any theory of personality to encompass research that treats only one person at a time. Such a theory
would naturally su(cid:27)er from problems of generalizability, and may be useful for therapists working with one
patient or client at a time, but it will not be particularly useful for enhancing our overall understanding of
personality in general. It is important to note, however, that many early personality theories were based on
individual case studies, and this critique is one that we will see several times in this book.
As is often the case in psychology, the best approach may be to attempt blending the nomothetic and
idiographic perspectives, seeking the generalizability of the nomothetic perspective’s general principles on
personalityandpersonalitydevelopment-whilemaintaininganappreciationfortheidiographicperspective’s
recognition of the value of an individual’s unique character. Millon (1996) suggests an integrative approach
to de(cid:28)ning personality. Not only would an integrative approach combine the nomothetic and idiographic
perspectives,itwouldalsohelptobringtogetherthetwobroadtraditionsofclinicalandappliedpsychology.
Clinicalpsychologistsarecompelledbythenatureoftheirworkwithpatients,orclients,totrytounderstand
the individual. Thus, they need to follow a more idiographic approach. In contrast, applied psychologists
(e.g., experimental psychologists) are more construct-focused, and (cid:28)nd the nomothetic approach more ap-
pealing and useful for developing generalizable theories on the nature of various aspects of personality. If
personalitycanbede(cid:28)nedinasatisfactorywaybyanintegrativeapproach,thencliniciansmaybene(cid:28)tmore
from applied research, and experimental psychologists may see their work more directly applied in clinical
settings where it may help people in our society.
Inordertobetterunderstandhowsomeofthedi(cid:27)erentdisciplineswithinthe(cid:28)eldofpsychologycontribute
toourde(cid:28)nitionofpersonality,let’stakeabrieflookatsomeofthewidelyrecognizedfactorsthatcomeinto
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4 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY
play:
Discussion Question: The nomothetic and idiographic perspectives approach personality in very dif-
ferent ways. Do you believe that your personality can be described in a way that might also be used to
describethepersonalitiesofotherpeople(maybeyourfriends),ordoyoufeelitisnecessarytodescribeeach
person as an individual?
Psychodynamic Factors
The very word (cid:16)psychodynamic(cid:17) suggests that there are ongoing interactions between di(cid:27)erent elements
of the mind. Sigmund Freud not only o(cid:27)ered names for these elements (id, ego, and superego), he proposed
di(cid:27)erent levels of consciousness. Since the unconscious mind was very powerful according to Freud, one of
the (cid:28)rst and most enduring elements of psychodynamic theory is that we are often unaware of why we think
and act the way we do. Add to that the belief that our personality is determined in early childhood, and
you can quickly see that psychological problems would be very di(cid:30)cult to treat. Perhaps more importantly,
since we are not aware of many of our own thoughts and desires, it would di(cid:30)cult or even impossible for us
to choose to change our personality no matter how much we might want to.
Most psychodynamic theorists since Freud have expanded the in(cid:29)uences that a(cid:27)ect us to include more
of the outside world. Those theorists who remained loyal to Freud, typically known as neo-Freudians,
emphasized the ego. Since the ego functions primarily in the real world, the individual must take into
account the in(cid:29)uence of other people involved in their lives. Some theorists who di(cid:27)ered signi(cid:28)cantly from
the traditional Freudian perspective, most notably Alfred Adler and Karen Horney, focused much of their
theories on cultural in(cid:29)uences. Adler believed that social cooperation was essential to the success of each
individual (and humanity as a whole), whereas Horney provided an intriguing alternative to Freud’s sexist
theories regarding women. Although Horney based her theories regarding women on the cultural standing
between men and women in the Victorian era, to a large extent her theory remains relevant today.
Learning and Cognitive Factors
As a species, human beings are distinguished by their highly developed brains. Animals with less-
developednervoussystemsrelyprimarilyoninstinctivebehavior,butverylittleonlearning. Whilethestudy
of animals’ instinctive behavior is fascinating, and led to a shared Nobel Prize for the ethologists Nikolaas
Tinbergen,KonradLorenz,andKarlvonFrisch,animalbehaviorremainsdistinctlylimitedcomparedtothe
complex learning and cognitive tasks that humans can readily perform (Beck, 1978; Gould, 1982). Indeed,
the profound value of our abilities to think and learn may be best re(cid:29)ected in the fact that, according to
Tinbergen’sstrictde(cid:28)nitionofinstinct(seeBeck,1978),humansappearnottohaveanyinstinctivebehavior
anymore. Yet we have more than made up for it through our ability to learn, and learning theory and
behaviorism became dominant forces in the early years of American psychology.
JohnB.WatsonandB.F.Skinnerareamongthemostfamousandin(cid:29)uentialofAmericanpsychologists.
Learning about their groundbreaking research on classical and operant conditioning is standard fare in
psychologycourses. Morerecently, AlbertBandurahasenjoyedsimilarpopularityandrespectinthe(cid:28)eldof
social learning theory. Anyone who has children knows full well how eagerly they observe us and mimic our
actions and speech. An important aspect of the learning perspective is that our personalities may develop
as a result of the rewards and/or punishments we receive from others. Consequently, we should be able to
shape an individual’s personality in any way we want. Early behaviorists, like Watson, suggested that they
could indeed take any child and raise them to be successful in any career they chose for them. Although
most parents and teachers try to be a good in(cid:29)uence on children, and to set good examples for them,
children are often in(cid:29)uenced more by their peers. What children (cid:28)nd rewarding may not be what parents
andteachersthinkisrewarding. Thisiswhyasocial-cognitiveapproachtolearningbecomesveryimportant
in understanding personality development. Social-cognitive theorists, like Bandura, recognize that children
interactwiththeirenvironment,partlydeterminingforthemselveswhatisrewardingorpunishing,andthen
react to the environment in their own unique way.
As suggested by the blend of behaviorism and cognition that Bandura and others proposed, there is a
close association between behaviorism and the (cid:28)eld of cognitive psychology. Although strict behaviorists
rejectedthestudyofunobservablecognitiveprocesses,thecognitive(cid:28)eldhasactuallyfollowedtheguidelines
ofbehaviorismwithregardtoadispassionateandlogicalobservationoftheexpressionofcognitiveprocesses
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