Personality, Psychological Disorders, and Therapy: Study Guide for PSY 1301

Personality Theories and Assessment

Definitions and Key Concepts

• Personality: The unique and relatively stable ways in which people think, feel, and behave.

• Id: The part of the personality present at birth; completely unconscious and driven by the pleasure principle.

• Ego: The rational, logical, and mostly conscious part of personality; operates on the reality principle.

• Superego: The moral center of personality, containing the conscience and ideals.

• Oedipus complex: In Freudian theory, a child's unconscious sexual desire for the opposite-sex parent and jealousy toward the same-sex parent (typically in boys).

• Electra complex: The counterpart to the Oedipus complex in girls.

• Psychoanalysis: Freud's therapeutic technique and theory of personality that emphasizes unconscious motives and conflicts.

• Archetypes: Universal, symbolic images that appear across cultures, proposed by Carl Jung as part of the collective unconscious.

• Self-efficacy: One's belief in their ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task.

• Self-concept: The image one has of oneself; it develops from interactions with significant people in one's life.

• Positive regard: Warmth, affection, love, and respect that come from significant others in one's life.

• Five-factor model (Big Five): A trait theory of personality that identifies five main characteristics: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

• Trait-situation interaction: The assumption that the particular circumstances of any given situation will influence the way in which a trait is expressed.

• Behavioral genetics: The study of the effects of heredity on behavior and personality.

• Heritability: The proportion of variation among individuals that can be attributed to genes.

Personality Assessment

• Rorschach inkblot test: A projective test that uses 10 inkblots as the ambiguous stimuli.

• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): A projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.

Freud's Levels and Components of the Mind

• Three Levels of the Mind:

  • Conscious: Thoughts and feelings we are aware of.

  • Preconscious: Information just below the surface of awareness; can be retrieved.

  • Unconscious: Thoughts, memories, and desires well below the surface of conscious awareness.

• Three Components of Personality: Id, Ego, Superego (see definitions above).

Freud's Stages of Personality Development

• Oral Stage (0-18 months): Pleasure centers on the mouth. Fixation can lead to oral activities in adulthood (e.g., smoking, overeating).

• Anal Stage (18-36 months): Focus on bowel and bladder control. Fixation can result in anal-retentive (orderly) or anal-expulsive (messy) traits.

• Phallic Stage (3-6 years): Focus on genitals; Oedipus/Electra complex arises. Fixation can lead to problems with authority or sexual dysfunction.

• Latency Stage (6-puberty): Dormant sexual feelings; focus on social and intellectual skills.

• Genital Stage (puberty onward): Maturation of sexual interests.

Other Perspectives on Personality

• Behavioral and Social Cognitive: Personality is shaped by learning, reinforcement, and observational learning (Bandura's reciprocal determinism).

• Humanistic: Emphasizes self-actualization, free will, and the importance of self-concept (Rogers, Maslow).

The Big Five Personality Traits

• Openness: Imagination, creativity, willingness to try new things.

• Conscientiousness: Organization, dependability, discipline.

• Extraversion: Sociability, assertiveness, emotional expression.

• Agreeableness: Trust, kindness, affection, cooperation.

• Neuroticism: Emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness.

Criticisms of Freudian Theories

• Lack of scientific evidence and testability.

• Overemphasis on sexuality and unconscious motives.

• Gender bias and cultural limitations.

Psychological Disorders

Definitions and Models

• Psychopathology: The scientific study of mental disorders.

• Psychological disorder: A pattern of behavior or psychological symptoms that impact multiple life areas and/or create distress for the person experiencing these symptoms.

• Cultural syndromes: Patterns of symptoms or behaviors that are recognized as illness or dysfunction only within a specific culture.

• Biopsychosocial model: A model that integrates biological, psychological, and social factors in understanding health and illness.

• Trephination: An ancient practice of drilling holes in the skull to treat mental illness.

• DSM-5: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals.

Abnormality and Diagnosis

• Abnormality is determined by statistical rarity, deviation from social norms, personal distress, and maladaptive behavior.

• Different perspectives (cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic) offer varying explanations for abnormal behavior.

Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety disorders: Disorders characterized by excessive fear and anxiety.

• Phobia: An irrational, persistent fear of an object, situation, or activity.

• Social phobia (Social anxiety disorder): Fear of social situations where one may be judged.

• Specific phobia: Fear of a specific object or situation (e.g., spiders, heights).

• Panic attack: Sudden episode of intense fear with physical symptoms.

• Panic disorder: Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks.

• Generalized anxiety disorder: Persistent, excessive worry about various aspects of life.

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Intrusive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions).

• Acute stress disorder: Short-term anxiety and dissociation following a traumatic event.

• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Persistent anxiety and intrusive memories following trauma.

• Overgeneralization: Cognitive distortion where a single event is seen as a never-ending pattern.

• Minimization: Downplaying the significance of an event or emotion.

Mood Disorders

• Affect: The emotional response or feeling state.

• Mood disorders: Disorders characterized by disturbances in mood.

• Major depressive disorder: Persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest.

• Mania: Period of abnormally elevated mood and high energy.

• Bipolar disorder: Alternating periods of depression and mania.

Eating Disorders

• Anorexia nervosa: Restriction of food intake leading to significantly low body weight and intense fear of gaining weight.

• Bulimia nervosa: Recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors (e.g., vomiting, excessive exercise).

Dissociative Disorders

• Dissociative disorders: Disorders involving disruptions in consciousness, memory, identity, or perception.

• Dissociative amnesia: Inability to recall important personal information, usually after trauma or stress.

• Dissociative identity disorder: Presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states.

Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders

• Schizophrenia: A severe disorder characterized by disorganized thinking, hallucinations, delusions, and impaired functioning.

• Psychotic disorder: Severe mental disorder involving a loss of contact with reality.

• Delusions: False beliefs not based in reality.

• Hallucinations: Sensory experiences without external stimuli.

• Stress-vulnerability model: Proposes that mental disorders develop from a combination of genetic vulnerability and stressful environmental factors.

• Positive symptoms: Excesses or distortions (e.g., hallucinations, delusions).

• Negative symptoms: Deficits or decreases in normal functions (e.g., flat affect, lack of motivation).

Personality Disorders

• Personality disorders: Enduring patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience that deviate from cultural expectations.

• Antisocial personality disorder: Disregard for the rights of others, lack of remorse.

• Borderline personality disorder: Instability in relationships, self-image, and emotions.

• Narcissistic personality disorder: Grandiosity, need for admiration, lack of empathy.

• Histrionic personality disorder: Excessive emotionality and attention-seeking behavior.

Treatment and Therapy

Types of Therapy

• Therapy: Treatment methods aimed at making people feel better and function more effectively.

• Insight therapy: Aimed at increasing awareness of underlying motives and defenses.

• Action therapy: Focuses on changing disordered or inappropriate behavior directly.

• Biomedical therapy: Use of medication or other biological treatments.

Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Therapy

• Psychoanalysis: Freud's method involving free association, dream analysis, and analysis of resistance and transference.

• Free association: Patient says whatever comes to mind to uncover unconscious thoughts.

• Resistance: Patient's unconscious defense strategies that interfere with therapy.

• Transference: Patient projects feelings about important people onto the therapist.

• Psychodynamic therapy: Modern therapy based on psychoanalysis but more focused on current relationships and conscious processes.

• Manifest content: The actual content of a dream.

• Latent content: The hidden, symbolic meaning of a dream.

Humanistic Therapies

• Person-centered therapy (Rogers): Emphasizes unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness.

• Gestalt therapy: Focuses on awareness and understanding of feelings in the present moment.

• Comparison: Both are insight therapies, but Gestalt is more directive and confrontational, while person-centered is non-directive.

Behavioral Therapies

• Behavior modification: Use of learning techniques to change undesirable behaviors.

• Flooding: Exposing clients to feared objects or situations intensely and rapidly.

• Systematic desensitization: Gradual exposure to feared stimuli while practicing relaxation.

• Aversion therapy: Pairing an undesirable behavior with an unpleasant stimulus.

• Modeling: Learning through observation and imitation.

• Applied behavior analysis: Applying operant conditioning principles to change behavior.

Cognitive and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies

• Cognitive therapy: Focuses on changing distorted thinking patterns.

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): Combines cognitive and behavioral techniques.

• Three basic goals of CBT:

  1. Relieve symptoms and solve problems.

  2. Develop strategies for coping with future problems.

  3. Change irrational, distorted thinking.

• Evidence-based treatment: Therapies supported by scientific research.

Biomedical Therapies

• Psychopharmacology: The use of drugs to control or relieve symptoms of psychological disorders.

• Antipsychotic drugs: Used to treat symptoms of psychosis (e.g., schizophrenia).

• Antianxiety drugs: Used to treat anxiety disorders.

• Antidepressants: Used to treat depression and some anxiety disorders.

• Psychosurgery: Surgical procedures on the brain to treat psychological disorders (e.g., lobotomy, cingulotomy).

• Rebound anxiety: Return of anxiety symptoms when medication is discontinued.

Effectiveness of Psychotherapies

• Effectiveness depends on the type of disorder, the quality of the therapeutic relationship, and client characteristics.

• Most therapies are more effective than no treatment; some disorders respond better to specific therapies.

Table: Comparison of Major Therapy Types

Therapy Type	Main Focus	Key Techniques	Disorders Treated
Psychoanalysis/Psychodynamic	Unconscious conflicts	Free association, dream analysis	Depression, anxiety, personality disorders
Humanistic (Person-centered, Gestalt)	Self-actualization, self-concept	Unconditional positive regard, empathy	Depression, self-esteem issues
Behavioral	Changing behavior	Systematic desensitization, modeling, aversion therapy	Phobias, OCD, behavioral problems
Cognitive/Cognitive-Behavioral	Changing thoughts and behaviors	Cognitive restructuring, exposure, homework	Depression, anxiety, eating disorders
Biomedical	Biological functioning	Medication, ECT, psychosurgery	Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression

Additional info:

• Some explanations and examples have been expanded for clarity and completeness.

• For exam preparation, students should be able to define all listed terms, describe major theories and therapies, and compare/contrast different approaches to understanding and treating psychological disorders.