Personality and Abnormal Psychology

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William Sheldon's: early theory of personality

associated physique, personality, and delinquency.

Sheldon became convinced that the psychological makeup of humans had biological foundations. He constructed a classification system that associated physiology and psychology, which he outlined in The Varieties of Human Physique(1940) and The Varieties of Temperament (1942).

Endomorphy: who are rounded and soft, were said to have a tendency toward a “viscerotonic” personality (i.e., relaxed, comfortable, extroverted);

Mesomorphy: who are square and muscular, were said to have a tendency toward a “somotonic” personality (i.e., active, dynamic, assertive, aggressive);

Ectomorphy: who are thin and fine-boned, were said to have a tendency toward a “cerebrotonic” personality (i.e., introverted, thoughtful, inhibited, sensitive).

He later used this classification system to explain delinquent behaviour, finding that delinquents were likely to be high in mesomorphy and low in ectomorphy and arguing that mesomorphy’s associated temperaments (active and aggressive but lacking sensitivity and inhibition) tended to cause delinquency and criminal behaviour. Although his research was groundbreaking, it was criticized on the grounds that his samples were not representative and that he mistook correlation for causation.

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Structuralism, in psychology, a systematic movement founded in Germany by Wilhelm Wundt and mainly identified with Edward B. Titchener. Structuralism sought to analyze the adult mind (defined as the sum total of experience from birth to the present) in terms of the simplest definable components and then to find the way in which these components fit together in complex forms.

The major tool of structuralist psychology was introspection (a careful set of observations made under controlled conditions by trained observers using a stringently defined descriptive vocabulary).

"Titchener held that an experience should be evaluated as a fact, as it exists without analyzing the significance or value of that experience."

For him, the “anatomy of the mind” had little to do with how or why the mind functions. In his major treatise, A Textbook of Psychology (1909–10), he stated that the only elements necessary to describe the conscious experience are sensation and affection (feeling). The thought process essentially was deemed an occurrence of sensations of the current experience and feelings representing a prior experience.

Although structuralism represented the emergence of psychology as a field separate from philosophy, the structural school lost considerable influence when Titchener died. The movement led, however, to the development of several countermovements (i.e., functionalism, behaviourism, and Gestalt psychology) that tended to react strongly to European trends in the field of experimental psychology. Behaviour and personality were beyond the scope considered by structuralism. In separating meaning from the facts of experience, structuralism opposed the phenomenological tradition of Franz Brentano’s act psychology

Concerned with mental processes, or acts, Brentano revived and modernized the scholastic philosophical theory of “intentional existence,” or, as he called it, “immanent objectivity”; in psychical phenomena, he held, there is a “direction of the mind to an object” (e.g., one sees something). The object seen is said to “inexist” within the act of seeing or to have “immanent objectivity.” He suggested that, fundamentally, the mind can refer to objects by perception and ideation, including sensing and imagining; by judgment, including acts of acknowledgment, rejection, and recall; and by loving or hating, which take into account desires, intentions, wishes, and feelings.

and Gestalt psychology, as well as the functionalist school and John B. Watson’s behaviourism. Serving as a catalyst to functionalism, structuralism was always a minority school of psychology in America.

Pictured above- Wilhelm Wundt

Wundt firmly established the method of experimental, analytical introspection as psychology's characteristic procedure. Wundt recognized that conscious experiences, called conscious contents, are fleeting and in continual flux; he therefore laid down explicit rules for proper use of the introspective method: 1) the observer, if at all possible, must be in a position to determine when the process is to be introduced; 2) He must be in a state of "strained attention;" 3) the observation must be capable of being repeated several times; 4) the conditions of the experiment must be such that they are capable of variation through introduction or elimination of certain stimuli and through variation of the strength and quality of the stimuli.

Wundt asserted that in psychology pure self-observation is insufficient. It is only when additional recourse to experiment is made that exact quantitative results are possible. The essence of an experiment is to vary the conditions of a stimulus situation and then to observe the changes in the experiences of the observer. In advocating experimental control of conditions of introspection, Wundt was taking a giant step.

Wundt held that the elements of experience were describable in terms of two dimensions or attributes, quality and intensity. Quality is what we typically call the experience, blue, sour, C#, and so forth. These qualities are not analyzable into anything simpler. Intensity is how much of the quality there is, loudness, brightness, magnitude and the like. With the dimensions of quality and intensity, experiment becomes possible for Wundt.

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Functionlism:

"A psychological approach, popular in the early part of the twentieth century, that focused on how consciousness functions to help human beings adapt to their environment."

The goal of the first psychologists was to determine the structure of consciousness just as chemists had found the structure of chemicals. Thus, the school of psychology associated with this approach earned the name structuralism. This perspective began in Germany in the laboratory of Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920).

Before long, however, psychologists suggested that psychology should not concern itself with the structure of consciousness because, they argued, consciousness was always changing so it had no basic structure. Instead, they suggested that psychology should focus on the function or purpose of consciousness and how it leads to adaptive behavior. This approach to psychology was consistent with Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, which exerted a significant impact on the character of psychology. The school of functionalism developed and flourished in the United States, which quickly surpassed Germany as the primary location of scientific psychology.

The early functionalists included the pre-eminent psychologist and philosopher William James. James promoted the idea that the mind and consciousness itself would not exist if it did not serve some practical, adaptive purpose. It had evolved because it presented advantages. Along with this idea, James maintained that psychology should be practical and should be developed to make a difference in people's lives.

One of the difficulties that concerned the functionalists was how to reconcile the objective, scientific nature of psychology with its focus on consciousness, which by its nature is not directly observable. Although psychologists like William James accepted the reality of consciousness and the role of the will in people's lives, even he was unable to resolve the issue of scientific acceptance of consciousness and will within functionalism.

Other functionalists, like John Dewey, developed ideas that moved ever farther from the realm that structuralism had created. Dewey, for example, used James's ideas as the basis for his writings, but asserted that consciousness and the will were not relevant concepts for scientific psychology. Instead, the behavior is the critical issue and should be considered in the context in which it occurs. For example, a stimulus might be important in one circumstance, but irrelevant in another. A person's response to that stimulus depends on the value of that stimulus in the current situation. Thus, practical and adaptive responses characterize behavior, not some unseen force like consciousness.

This dilemma of how to deal with a phenomenon as subjective as consciousness within the context of an objective psychology ultimately led to the abandonment of functionalism in favor of behaviorism, which rejected everything dealing with consciousness. By 1912, very few psychologists regarded psychology as the study of mental content—the focus was on behavior instead. As it turned out, the school of functionalism provided a temporary framework for the replacement of structuralism, but was itself supplanted by the school of behaviorism.

Interestingly, functionalism drew criticism from both the structuralists and from the behaviorists. The structuralists accused the functionalists of failing to define the concepts that were important to functionalism. Further, the structuralists declared that the functionalists were simply not studying psychology at all; psychology to a structuralist involved mental content and nothing else. Finally, the functionalists drew criticism for applying psychology; the structuralists opposed applications in the name of psychology.

On the other hand, behaviorists were uncomfortable with the functionalists' acceptance of consciousness and sought to make psychology the study of behavior. Eventually, the behavioral approach gained ascendance and reigned for the next half century.

Functionalism was important in the development of psychology because it broadened the scope of psychological research and application. Because of the wider perspective, psychologists accepted the validity of research with animals, with children, and with people having psychiatric disabilities. Further, functionalists introduced a wide variety of research techniques that were beyond the boundaries of structural psychology, like physiological measures, mental tests, and questionnaires. The functionalist legacy endures in psychology today.

Some historians have suggested that functional psychology was consistent with the progressivism that characterized American psychology at the end of the nineteenth century: more people were moving to and living in urban areas, science seemed to hold all the answers for creating a Utopian society, educational reform was underway, and many societal changes faced America. It is not surprising that psychologists began to consider the role that psychology could play in developing a better society.

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PSYCHODYNAMIC

Postulates the existence of unconscious internal states that motivate the overt actions of individuals and determine personality.

SIgmund Freud's Theory of Personality: The Structural Dynamic Model

Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that human behavior is the result of the interactions among three component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and superego.

This "structural theory" of personality places great importance on how conflicts among the parts of the mind shape behavior and personality. These conflicts are mostly unconscious.

According to Freud, personality develops during childhood and is critically shaped through a series of five psychosexual stages, which he called his psychosexual theory of development.

During each stage, a child is presented with a conflict between biological drives and social expectations; successful navigation of these internal conflicts will lead to mastery of each developmental stage, and ultimately to a fully mature personality.

Based upon his experience treating neurosis, Freud critized the emphasis of consciousness, and reasoning on human behavior.

neurosis

A mental disorder marked by anxiety or fear; less severe than psychosis because it does not involve detachment from reality (e.g., hallucination).

Narrow Focus

In his singular emphasis on the structure of the human mind, Freud paid little to no attention to the impact of environment, sociology, or culture. His theories were highly focused on pathology and largely ignored "normal," healthy functioning. He has also been criticized for his myopic view of human sexuality to the exclusion of other important factors.

ID

Its the reservoir of all psychic energy consists of everything psychological that's present at birth.

it functions according to the pleasure principle, whose aim is to immediately discharge any energy-build up.

The primary process is the ID's response to frustration operating under the dictum of "obtain satisfaction now, not later"

Mental images created to relieve tension are known as wish-fulfillments.

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Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980 with the publication of DSM III.

Neurosis should not be mistaken for psychosis, which refers to a loss of touch with reality. Neither should it be mistaken for neuroticism, which is a fundamental personality trait.

Symptoms and causes

There are many different neuroses: obsessive–compulsive disorder, obsessive–compulsive personality disorder, impulse control disorder, anxiety disorder, hysteria, and a great variety of phobias.

According to C. George Boeree, professor emeritus at Shippensburg University, the symptoms of neurosis may involve:

... anxiety, sadness or depression, anger, irritability, mental confusion, low sense of self-worth, etc., behavioral symptoms such as phobic avoidance, vigilance, impulsive and compulsive acts, lethargy, etc., cognitive problems such as unpleasant or disturbing thoughts, repetition of thoughts and obsession, habitual fantasizing, negativity and cynicism, etc. Interpersonally, neurosis involves dependency, aggressiveness, perfectionism, schizoid isolation, socio-culturally inappropriate behaviors, etc.[1]

Neurosis may be defined simply as a "poor ability to adapt to one's environment, an inability to change one's life patterns, and the inability to develop a richer, more complex, more satisfying personality."[1]

Jung's theory[edit]

Main article: Jung's theory of neurosis

Carl Jung found his approach particularly effective for patients who are well adjusted by social standards but are troubled by existential questions.

I have frequently seen people become neurotic when they content themselves with inadequate or wrong answers to the questions of life. (Jung [1961] (1989) p. 140)

The majority of my patients consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith. (Jung [1961] (1989) p. 140)

[Contemporary man] is blind to the fact that, with all his rationality and efficiency, he is possessed by "powers" that are beyond his control. His gods and demons have not disappeared at all; they have merely got new names. They keep him on the run with restlessness, vague apprehensions, psychological complications, an insatiable need for pills, alcohol, tobacco, food — and, above all, a large array of neuroses. (Jung (1964) p. 82)

Jung found that the unconscious finds expression primarily through an individual's inferior psychological function, whether it is thinking, feeling, sensation, or intuition. The characteristic effects of a neurosis on the dominant and inferior functions are discussed in Psychological Types.

Jung saw collective neuroses in politics: "Our world is, so to speak, dissociated like a neurotic." (Jung (1964) p. 85)

Psychoanalytical theory[edit]

Main article: Psychoanalysis

According to psychoanalytic theory, neuroses may be rooted in ego defense mechanisms, but the two concepts are not synonymous. Defense mechanisms are a normal way of developing and maintaining a consistent sense of self (i.e., an ego). But only those thoughts and behaviors that produce difficulties in one's life should be called neuroses.

A neurotic person experiences emotional distress and unconscious conflict, which are manifested in various physical or mental illnesses. The definitive symptom is anxiety.

Neurotic tendencies are common and may manifest themselves as acute or chronic anxiety, depression, an obsessive–compulsive disorder, a phobia, or a personality disorder.

Horney's theory[edit]

In her final book, Neurosis and Human Growth, Karen Horney laid out a complete theory of the origin and dynamics of neurosis.[2]

In her theory, neurosis is a distorted way of looking at the world and at oneself, which is determined by compulsive needs rather than by a genuine interest in the world as it is.

Horney proposed that neurosis is transmitted to a child from his or her early environment and that there are many ways in which this can occur:

When summarized, they all boil down to the fact that the people in the environment are too wrapped up in their own neuroses to be able to love the child, or even to conceive of him as the particular individual he is; their attitudes toward him are determined by their own neurotic needs and responses.[3]

The child's initial reality is then distorted by his or her parents' needs and pretenses. Growing up with neurotic caretakers, the child quickly becomes insecure and develops basic anxiety. To deal with this anxiety, the child's imagination creates an idealized self-image:

Each person builds up his personal idealized image from the materials of his own special experiences, his earlier fantasies, his particular needs, and also his given faculties. If it were not for the personal character of the image, he would not attain a feeling of identity and unity. He idealizes, to begin with, his particular "solution" of his basic conflict: compliance becomes goodness, love, saintliness; aggressiveness becomes strength, leadership, heroism, omnipotence; aloofness becomes wisdom, self-sufficiency, independence. What—according to his particular solution—appear as shortcomings or flaws are always dimmed out or retouched.[4]

Once he identifies himself with his idealized image, a number of effects follow. He will make claims on others and on life based on the prestige he feels entitled to because of his idealized self-image. He will impose a rigorous set of standards upon himself in order to try to measure up to that image. He will cultivate pride, and with that will come the vulnerabilities associated with pride that lacks any foundation. Finally, he will despise himself for all his limitations. Vicious circles will operate to strengthen all of these effects.

Eventually, as he grows to adulthood, a particular "solution" to all the inner conflicts and vulnerabilities will solidify. He will be expansive and will display symptoms of narcissism, perfectionism, or vindictiveness. Or he will be self-effacing and compulsively compliant; he will display symptoms of neediness or codependence. Or he will be resigned and will display schizoid tendencies.

In Horney's view, mild anxiety disorders and full-blown personality disorders all fall under her basic scheme of neurosis as variations in the degree of severity and in the individual dynamics.

The opposite of neurosis is a condition Horney calls self-realization, a state of being in which the person responds to the world with the full depth of his or her spontaneous feelings, rather than with anxiety-driven compulsion. Thus the person grows to actualize his or her inborn potentialities. Horney compares this process to an acorn that grows and becomes a tree.

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HUMANISM vs Psychoanalysis Behaviorism

Humanism believed in the notion of free will and the idea that people should be considered as whiles rather than terms of stimuli and responses= behaviorism, or instincts= psychoanalysis.

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)

Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

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History of Treatments

1792- Philippe Pinel changed the conditions of an asylum in Paris; he allowed patients to go outside, gave the, beds to sleep on, and made sure the patients were treated humanely vs like animals.

@USA- Dorothea Dix was an American activist on behalf of the indigent insane who, through a vigorous program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first generation of American mental asylums.

Late 19th Century (1800's) - The discovery of the etiology (cause) of general paresis. General paresis was a disorder characterized by delusions of grandeur, mental deterioration, eventual paralysis, and death. It was eventually discovered that general paresis was due to brain deterioration cause by syphilis(which was untreatable until 1909). The idea that psychological factors could underlie mental disorders was an important advance in our understanding of abnormal psychology.

1883- Emil Kraepelin noticed that some symptoms of mental disorders occurred together regularly enough that the symptom patterns could be considered a specific types of mental disorders. Kraeplin's classification system was effective in classifying what was known at that time. It served as a precursor to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

1935-1955 prefrontal lobotomies were performed to treat schizophrenia. Unfortunately, this procedure also destroyed parts of the frontal lobe responsible for most of the traits that make us distinctly human. Lobotomy didn't cure schizophrenia- it just made the patient easier to handle, since the patient became tranquil and showed absence of feeling.

1938, Cerletti & Bini introduced the use of electroshock for the artificial production of convulsive seizures in psychiatric patients. They believed that epileptic-like convulsions could cure schizophrenia (they were wrong).

1950s- Introduction of antipsychotic drugs to treat schizophrenia. Surgeons stopped performing lobotomies and using electroshock therapy. Many formerly "hopeless" patients were released from psychiatric hospitals completely.

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Theories of personality can be categorized into 4 areas: psychodynamic (psychoanalytic), behaviorist, phenomenological, and type and trait.