Psychodynamic and Humanistic Personality
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Psychodynamic theory/ˌsaɪkəʊdaɪˈnæmɪk ˈθɪəri/ | Psychodynamic theory |
| unconscious processes/ʌnˈkɒnʃəs ˈprəʊsesɪz/ | unconscious processes |
| Ego defense mechanisms/ˈiːɡəʊ dɪˈfens ˈmekənɪzəmz/ | In psychodynamic theory, largely unconscious ways of reducing anxiety arising from threatening thoughts or conflicts. |
| denial/dɪˈnaɪəl/ | In psychodynamic theory, refusing to acknowledge a distressing aspect of reality. |
| displacement/dɪˈspleɪsmənt/ | In psychodynamic theory, redirecting an emotion from its original target towards a less threatening target. |
| projection/prəˈdʒekʃn/ | In psychodynamic theory, attributing one's own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone else. |
| rationalisation/ˌræʃənəlaɪˈzeɪʃn/ | rationalisation |
| reaction formation/rɪˈækʃn fɔːˈmeɪʃn/ | In psychodynamic theory, expressing attitudes or behaviour opposite to an unacceptable impulse. |
| regression/rɪˈɡreʃn/ | A proposed psychological defence mechanism involving a return to patterns of behaviour associated with an earlier stage of development. |
| repression/rɪˈpreʃn/ | In psychodynamic theory, keeping distressing thoughts or memories outside conscious awareness. |
| sublimation/ˌsʌblɪˈmeɪʃn/ | A proposed defence mechanism in which unacceptable impulses are channelled into socially acceptable activities. |
| projective tests/prəˈdʒektɪv tests/ | Personality assessments using ambiguous material to elicit responses interpreted as revealing underlying concerns. |
| Humanistic psychology/ˌhjuːməˈnɪstɪk saɪˈkɒlədʒi/ | Humanistic psychology |
| unconditional positive regard/ʌŋkənˈdɪʃənl ˈpɒzɪtɪv rɪˈɡɑːd/ | Acceptance and valuing of a person without making that acceptance depend on particular behaviour. |
| self-actualising tendency/self ˈæktʃuːəlaɪzɪŋ ˈtendənsi/ | self-actualising tendency |
Two theories that disagree about what a person is
- One says personality is driven by forces you cannot see and do not control.
- The other says it is driven by a tendency to become what you could be.
- Both are on the exam, and the contrast is what makes them memorable.
The psychodynamic account
- Psychodynamic theory 精神动力学理论 holds that unconscious processes 无意识过程 drive personality.
- Behaviour is therefore explained by causes the person cannot report.
- That claim is what makes the theory hard to test — and why the CED pairs it with a method note.
Four approaches to personality, each with a different driver and a different way of measuring it
Psychodynamic theory holds that personality is driven mainly by...
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Unconscious processes are the core claim — which is also why the theory is hard to test.
Ego defense mechanisms
- Ego defense mechanisms 自我防御机制 protect the person from distress.
- The CED names denial 否认, displacement 转移, projection 投射, rationalisation 合理化, reaction formation 反向形成, regression 退行, repression 压抑 and sublimation 升华.
- Each one distorts reality in a different direction — that direction is what identifies it.
Which defense mechanism?
Identify the mechanism from the direction the distortion runs.
Projection means redirecting a feeling onto a safer target.
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That is displacement. Projection attributes your own feeling to someone else.
Select all the defense mechanisms the CED names.
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Shaping is an operant conditioning term, not a defense mechanism.
Projection and displacement are easy to confuse. Projection attributes your own feeling to someone else; displacement redirects the feeling onto a different target. The direction of the distortion is what tells them apart.
Projective tests
- Psychodynamic psychologists assess personality with projective tests 投射测验.
- These present an ambiguous stimulus and treat the response as revealing the unconscious.
- Because the stimulus is ambiguous, scoring is difficult — which is the standard criticism.
The humanistic tendency to grow toward one's potential is called the self-____ tendency.
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Self-actualisation and unconditional positive regard are the humanistic pair.
Match each theory to how it explains personality.
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One looks beneath, one looks ahead, and the third is the psychodynamic measurement tool.
The humanistic account
- Humanistic psychology 人本主义心理学 focuses on unconditional positive regard 无条件积极关注 and the self-actualising tendency 自我实现倾向.
- Personality is what a person is growing toward, not what is buried underneath.
- The two theories therefore explain the same behaviour by looking in opposite directions.
A student angry at a teacher shouts at a sibling instead — displacement, the same feeling aimed at a safer target. Had he instead insisted the teacher was angry at him, that would be projection.
Psychodynamic theory explains personality by unconscious processes, protected by ego defense mechanisms and assessed with projective tests. Humanistic psychology explains it by unconditional positive regard and the self-actualising tendency — the same behaviour, looked at from the opposite direction.
Write from a slammed locker
- A player is angry at a coach and slams a locker. Another version has him say the coach wants him off the team when that wish is his own anger.
- Name both defences. A counsellor then accepts him without demanding a win.
A player angry at a coach slams a locker. In another version he says the coach wants him off the team. A counsellor accepts him whether or not he wins. Name each response.
The feeling stays the player's. The defence changes its target or its owner.
What is slamming the locker?
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The anger is aimed at the locker instead of the coach. That is displacement.