The Man with the Devil on His Shoulder

Remember: Assess what the theories of Freud and his successors tell us about the structure and development of personality

Most of us have seen the classic situation of a person deliberating between two ethical choices. In the midst of the debate, an imaginary devil appears on one should to encourage the person to do what s/he wants to do. Then, a cartoon angel appears on the other should to tell the person what s/he should do. Freud's theory of personality is very much like this image.

Imagine for a moment that it is a cold and rainy Monday morning. Your alarm clock goes off at 6:00 a.m. so you can be ready for your morning class. Imagine having the following conversations with yourself:

"I am exhausted; it's cold and rainy. I don't want to go to class! I want to stay in bed."

1. According to Freud, the part of your personality that directly relates to your primitive drives and impulsive behavior is called the ______________________.
   
   "I should go to school. Getting good grades is very important, and good students need to be in class every day."
2. According to Freud, the part of your personality that tells you what you should do is called the __________________________________.
   
   Most likely, there is a part of your personality that mediates between the angel and the devil and finds a common ground. This part of your personality may say, "Just 10 more minutes to rest and then you must get out of bed!"
3. According to Freud this part of your personality that mediates between the other two parts is called the _________________________.

Having a Devil of a Time

Relate: Assess what the theories of Freud and his successors tell us about the structure and development of personality

Humans are constantly faced with bridging the gap between what they want to do and what they ought to do. Think of the last time you had this debate with your self.

1. What did you want to do?
   ____________________________________________________________________
2. What did you think you "should" do?
   ____________________________________________________________________
3. What did you decide to do?
   ____________________________________________________________________
4. Which part of your personality usually wins these debates?
   ____________________________________________________________________
5. How does this affect your personality?

Defending the Home Front

Relate: Assess what the theories of Freud and his successors tell us about the structure and development of personality

Most humans engage a struggle between the id and the superego. If they do what they want or need to do, people often regret their discussions or feel guilty about their choices. If they always do what they should do, they feel anxious, tired and agitated. At times, our ego tries to help us balance the consequences of this struggle by explaining why we do something that we shouldn't do. These are called defense mechanisms. Examine each of the following defense mechanisms and describe how you use these in everyday life.

1. Denial: Wasn't me!
   ____________________________________________________________________
2. Repression: I didn't remember that!
   ____________________________________________________________________
3. Blame: It is someone else's fault.
   ____________________________________________________________________
4. Displacement: I am mad at you about what I did.

It's All about Balance

Relate: Assess what the theories of Freud and his successors tell us about the structure and development of personality

1. How do you balance your conflicting desires?
   ____________________________________________________________________
2. How does this affect your personality?
   ____________________________________________________________________
3. Is it working in your life? Why or why not?

What Do You Think?

React: Assess what the theories of Freud and his successors tell us about the structure and development of personality

1. The foundation of Freudian theory is the idea of the unconscious. The idea of the unconscious implies that there are forces in the human psyche that we are not conscious or aware of that drives some or all of our behavior. Do you agree with this premise? Explain your answer.

The New Freuds

Remember: Assess what the theories of Freud and his successors tell us about the structure and development of personality

1. Carl Jung:
   ____________________________________________________________________
2. Karen Horney:
   ____________________________________________________________________
3. Alfred Adler:

Once Upon a Time

Relate: Assess what the theories of Freud and his successors tell us about the structure and development of personality

1. What is you favorite fairy tale?
   ____________________________________________________________________
2. Describe your favorite character in this story.
   ____________________________________________________________________
3. List five personality traits of this character:
   1. ________________________________
   2. ________________________________
   3. ________________________________
   4. ________________________________
   5. ________________________________
4. Do you share any of these traits? If so, which ones?
   ____________________________________________________________________
5. Carl Jung would state that archetypes, or common characters in the stories humans tell, are an integral part of our personal development. What do you think your answers say about you?

Pink is for Girls

Relate: Assess what the theories of Freud and his successors tell us about the structure and development of personality

Consider what you have been told about gender. List ten adjectives associated with boys and ten that are associated with girls.

21. How do you match up with the gender adjectives you listed above?

I Can Do Anything Better Than You

1. Alfred Adler proposed that humans spend their lives trying to move from a state of inferiority to a state of superiority. For example, as a baby, you are inferior in every way. You can do nothing for yourself; everyone is more capable than you. As you age and grow you become more and more capable and confident. This sort of competition and strife affects much of our society. How does this affect the development of your personality? Are you driven to achieve? Do you feel superior or inferior in different circumstances?

Who Would Say That?

Remember: Compare and contrast approaches to personality

Decide which type of theorist would make the following statements about personality.

1. You can be anything you want to be!
   ____________________________________________________________________
2. You were just born shy.
   ____________________________________________________________________
3. You were always praised for your creativity.
   ____________________________________________________________________
4. You are just like your father!
   ____________________________________________________________________
5. You are introverted.

What Are Your Personality Traits?

Relate: Explain trait approaches to personality

1. We often think about personality in terms of specific personality traits. List at least ten personality traits that describe you:
   1.  
   2.  
   3.  
   4.  
   5.  
   6.  
   7.  
   8.  
   9.  
   10.  
2. Do these traits paint an accurate picture of your personality? Why or why not?

Whatever Works

Relate: Explain learning approaches to personality

1. Learning theorists would maintain that personality is learned. In other words, we repeat only those traits that work in a given situation. For example, if your brother is a model student, you may not get as much attentions if you are just like him. Therefore, you might develop a different set of traits than your siblings. What personality traits work for you in your life? List them below.
   1.  
   2.  
   3.  
   4.  
   5.  
   6.  
   7.  
   8.  
   9.  
   10.  
2. Do these traits give paint an accurate picture of your personality? Do you believe you learned your behavior? Why or why not?
   _____________________________________
   

It All Runs in the Family

Relate: Explain learning approaches to personality

1. Social-cognitive theorists would maintain that your personality is learned by examples set by others. For example, you repeat patterns that you see in your environment that are rewarded. List 10 personality characteristics of your family or social group.
   1.  
   2.  
   3.  
   4.  
   5.  
   6.  
   7.  
   8.  
   9.  
   10.  
2. Which of these traits do you have? What role do they serve?

You're Just Born with It

Relate: Explain biological and evolutionary approaches to personality

1. Biological and evolutionary psychologists maintain that personality is simply genetic; you are born with a set of personality traits inherited from your parents. Make a list of ten personality traits from each of your parents.

Who Do You Want to Be?

React: Explain humanistic approaches to personality

1. Humanists believe in the inherent goodness of all people, and that everyone will continue working toward higher levels of functioning. Keeping this in mind, list 10 personality traits you would like to have:
   1.  
   2.  
   3.  
   4.  
   5.  
   6.  
   7.  
   8.  
   9.  
   10.  
2. Do you think you can change and adopt these traits? Why or why not?

What Do You Think?

Remember: Compare and contrast approaches to personality

1. Which theory makes the most sense to you? Explain your answer.

What's Your Sign?

Relate: Discuss self-report measures of personality

1. If you do not already know, use the Internet to look up your astrological sign. What is it?
   ____________________________________________________________________
2. How accurately does it describe you?
   ____________________________________________________________________
3. How do you explain either its accuracy or inaccuracy?
   ____________________________________________________________________
4. Setting spiritual beliefs aside, what would scientists have to do in order to prove or disprove the validity of astrology?

Try This at Home

Create your own Rorschach inkblot. Ask three people to describe what they see in the inkblot. Then, ask each of them to write a short story for you based on what they see. Using information pulled from their writing, try to analyze their personalities. What can you guess about them? Record your results.

1. Person One:
   1. Inkblot:
      ____________________________________________________________________
   2. Story:
      ____________________________________________________________________
   3. Analysis:
      ____________________________________________________________________
2. Person Two:
   1. Inkblot:
      ____________________________________________________________________
   2. Story:
      ____________________________________________________________________
   3. Analysis:
      ____________________________________________________________________
3. Person Three:
   1. Inkblot:
      ____________________________________________________________________
   2. Story:
      ____________________________________________________________________
   3. Analysis:
      ____________________________________________________________________
4. Do you think any of these assessments gave you valuable information about your subjects? Explain your answer.

Watch This

Think back to three participants in the previous exercise. Consider their behavior. Perhaps you have observed them in other situations. If not, try to do so. What do you notice about their personalities?

1. Person One:
   ____________________________________________________________________
2. Person Two:
   ____________________________________________________________________
3. Person Three:

Whatever Works

1. Which tests do you think gave you the most information? Explain your answer.

A Penny for Your Thoughts

Relate: Summarize the theories of theories of intelligence

Howard Gardener suggested that there are multiple levels of human intelligence. Suppose that each person was born with a set amount of intelligence, but this intelligence is distributed among different areas. Imagine that all human beings have exactly 50 pennies to spend on Gardner's multiple levels of intelligence, how many pennies would you have invested in each of the following types of intelligences?

1. Musical: _______
2. Bodily Kinesthetic: ___________
3. Logical-Mathematical: _____________
4. Linguistic: __________
5. Spatial: __________
6. Interpersonal: ______________
7. Intrapersonal: __________
8. Naturalistic: _____________

Career Considerations

Think for a minute about your career. Comment on the role practical intelligences will play in your future success.

1. What role will emotional intelligence play?
   ____________________________________________________________________
2. What areas can you improve on to increase you success in your field?

How Smart Are You?

Remember: Explain approaches to assessing intelligence

1. List the methods psychologists currently use to measure intelligence.
   ____________________________________________________________________
2. What do you think about these methods?