Sociological Perspective: Theory of Personality

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
THEORY OF PERSONALITY
 There are different perspectives on the nature of personality development and how
to study it.
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
 Psychoanalytic theorists generally use in-depth interviews, dream analysis, and
similar techniques to get below the surface of the person and her behavior and to
understand the inner dynamics of personality.
FREUD: PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

 Sigmund Freud, the Viennese physician who lived from 1856 to 1939. Freud’s
psychoanalytic theory has one of the first, and one of the most influential,
theories of how the personality develops from childhood to adulthood.
INSTINCTS & UNCONSCIOUS MOTIVES

 Freud strongly believe in unconscious motivation-the power of instincts and other
inner forces to influence behavior without awareness.
FREUD: PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF ID, EGO, AND SUPEREGO

 Accordingly, to Freud, each individual has a fixed amount of psychic energy that
can be used to satisfy basic urges or instincts and to grow psychologically. As
a child develops, this psychic energy is divided among 3 components of personality
1. ID
- At birth, all psychic energy resides in the id
- The illogical, irrational, impulsive part of the personality. Young infants/baby do
seem to be all id in some ways. When they are hungry or wet, they cry until their
need are met.
2. EGO
- The rational dimension of personality. The ego begins to emerge during infancy
when psychic energy is diverted from the id to energize cognitive processes
such as perception, learning & problem solving.
3. SUPEREGO
- Moralistic, judgmental dimension of personality. The superego develops from
the ego as 3 to 6 years old children internalize the moral standards & values of
their parents. Once the superego emerges, children have a parental voice in
their heads that
- keeps them from violating society’s rule and take them feel guilty
FREUD’S THEORY OF PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

 Personality was formed during first 5 years of life. Early experiences play a large
role in personality development and continue to influence behavior later in life.
 Freud didn’t see psycho-sexual growth continuing during adulthood. Freud
developed a theory that described development in terms of a series of
psychosexual stages.
 According to Freud, conflicts that occur during each of these stages can have a
lifelong influence on personality and behavior
 Freud maintained that as the child matures biologically, the psychic energy of the
sex instinct, which he called libido, shift from one part of the body to another,
seeking to gratify different biological needs.
5 PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES
1. ORAL STAGE (1ST YEAR)
- Libido is focused on the mouth as source of pleasure.
- Obtaining oral gratification (satisfaction) from a mother figure is critical to
later development.
2. ANAL STAGE (1 TO 3 YEARS)
- Libido is focused on the anus, and toilet training creates conflicts between the
child’s biological urges and the society’s demand
3. PHALLIC STAGE (3 TO 6 YEARS)
- Libido centers on the genitals. Resolution of the Oedipus or the Electra complex
results in identification with the same-sex parent and development of superego
4. LATENT PERIOD (6 TO 12 YEARS)
- Libido is quiet; psychic energy is invested in school work and play with same-sex
friends
5. GENITAL STAGE (12 YEARS AND OLDER)
- Puberty re-awakens the sexual instincts as youths seek to establish mature
sexual relationships and pursue the biological goal of production
GORDON ALLPORT’S TRAIT THEORY

 In1936, psychologist Gordon Allport found that one English-language dictionary
alone contained more than 4,000 words describing different personality traits.
1. Cardinal traits
- Allport suggested that cardinal traits are rare, and dominate, usually developing
later in life. They tend to define a person to such an extent that their names
become synonymous with their personality.
- Examples of this include the following descriptive terms: Machiavellian,
narcissistic, Don Juan, and Christ-like.
2. Central traits:
- These general characteristics form basic personality foundations. While central
traits are not as dominating as cardinal traits, they describe the major
characteristics you might use to describe another person.
- Terms such as "intelligent," "honest," "shy," and "anxious" are considered central
traits.
3. Secondary traits
- Secondary traits are sometimes related to attitudes or preferences. They often
appear only in certain situations or under specific circumstances.
- Some examples include public speaking anxiety, or impatience while waiting in
line.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

- a theory that attempts to explain socialization and its effect on the development of
the self.
 There are many different theories that explain how people become socialized,
including psychoanalytic theory, functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic
interaction theory.
 Social learning theory, like these others, looks at the individual learning process, the
formation of self, and the influence of society in socializing individuals.
 considers the formation of one’s identity to be a learned response to social stimuli. It
emphasizes the societal context of socialization rather than the individual mind.
 This theory postulates that an individual’s identity is not the product of the
unconscious (such as the belief of psychoanalytic theorists), but instead is the result
of modeling oneself in response to the expectations of others.
 Behaviors and attitudes develop in response to reinforcement and encouragement
from the people around us. While social learning theorists acknowledge that
childhood experience is important, they also believe that the identity people acquire
is formed more by the behaviors and attitudes of others.
 The principles of social learning are assumed to operate in the same way
throughout life. Observational learning may take place at any age. Insofar as
exposure to new influential, powerful models who control resources may occur at
life stage, new learning through the modeling process is always possible. (Newman
B.M. & P.R, 2007).
WAYS TO DEVELOP YOUR PERSONALITY

- Observation
- Imitation
- Modeling
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
 Social scientists and anthropologists have long recognized the idea that people
in different parts of the world view themselves in different ways. These different
ways of viewing one’s self may be attributed to biological or genetic variants
and partly to social or cultural variation.
 Your racial category, family structure, ethnic affiliation, religious customs,
language, social beliefs and values, cultural expression and identification
indubitably contribute on your formation as a person, and accordingly, on your
self-construal.
Main focus of it is: Life of man with his culture
ANTHROPOLOGY
- stemmed from two Greek words, Anthropos meaning man and logos meaning study or
science. Thus, anthropology is the science of man
- It is concerned about the various aspects of the human species, irrespective of time
and place, from ancient to the contemporary
CULTURE
-is considered a way of life – it encompasses the values, behaviors, beliefs, customs,
languages and traditions of a particular social or ethnic group.
-divided into 2
 Material Culture- can be held like artifacts, bible
 Non-material culture- language, values, beliefs, practices
THE SELF AND THE PERSON IN CONTEMPORARY ANTHROPOLOGY

 In their book, Personality in Nature, Society and Culture, psychologist Henry Murray
and anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn (1953) claimed that “Every man is in certain
respects like all other men, like some other men, and like no other man.”
 Anthropology Professor Katherine Ewing asserted an integrative stance on the self
by defining it as one that which “encompasses the physical organism, possessing
all aspects of psychological functioning, and social attributes ”, (1990:254).
 Even the neurobiologist Joseph LeDoux described the self as the totality of what an
organism is physically, biologically, psychologically, socially, and culturally. He
further claimed that though the self is a unit, it is not unitary” (2002: 31).
THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE
- Culture is a broad construct which covers a wide range of elements – from your
clothing designs to your food preferences, the dialect you use for communicating, the
festivals you enjoy, the religious beliefs and customs you observe, the set of values you
conform to, or even the kinds of books you read, or the jokes you crack – all these
illuminate your way of life and all these elements form part of the culture you were
raised to.
OUR BODIES AND CULTURE

 Your bodies and what you do with it is a reflection of the life you live and the culture
you were accustomed to. Body modifications and embellishments for instance are
regarded as part of the norms and representations of some cultures.
Examples:
 A woman from the Karen Tribe (also known as Padaung People) of Thailand
with heavy brass rings on the neck.
 A member of the Bagobo people from coastal Mindanao in the Philippines
with filed and blackened teeth.
THE SELF EMBEDDED IN CULTURE

 The figure illustrates a hypothetical self-concept of Mr. Juan Dela Cruz. Given the
different roles he assumes, he may be viewed in different ways by people around
him. This demonstrates Mead’s idea that the meaning or the characterization that
we ascribe to the self depends on our roles in the society. The self as a basic
psychological concept which is commonly assumed to be static and have a
universal nature is therefore susceptible to changes depending on social situations
and cultural contexts. The self is malleable and can act in different ways depending
on circumstances; it is multi-faceted yet unified
 Harry Triandis (2019), a psychology professor at the University of Illinois, furthered

the discourse about the self being culturally shaped.
 In his research, The Self and Social Behavior in Differing Cultural Contexts (1989),
he introduced and distinguished three aspects of the self: private, public, and
collective self.
1. PRIVATE SELF
- are cognitions that involve traits, states, or behaviors of the person; it is an
assessment of the self by the self.
- Statements like “I am amiable”; “I am outspoken”; “I will buy X” are examples of
our self-assessments about ourselves.
2. PUBLIC SELF
- on the other hand, refers to cognitions concerning the generalized other’s view of
the self, such as statements like “People think I am shy” or “People think I will
buy X”.
- The public self is an assessment of the self by the generalized others.
3. COLLECTIVE SELF
- are cognitions concerning a view of the self that is found in some collective (e.g.,
family, co-workers, tribe, scientific society), such as, “My family thinks I am
introverted” or “My co-workers believe I shop too much.”
- The collective self-corresponds to an assessment of the self by a specific
reference or groups. These aspects of the self are heavily influenced by culture.

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SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

FREUD: PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

INSTINCTS & UNCONSCIOUS MOTIVES

FREUD: PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF ID, EGO, AND SUPEREGO

FREUD’S THEORY OF PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

GORDON ALLPORT’S TRAIT THEORY

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

WAYS TO DEVELOP YOUR PERSONALITY

THE SELF AND THE PERSON IN CONTEMPORARY ANTHROPOLOGY

OUR BODIES AND CULTURE

THE SELF EMBEDDED IN CULTURE

 Harry Triandis (2019), a psychology professor at the University of Illinois, furthered

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