Last updated Oct 26, 2025

PSY 101        Class 25: Personality I: The Big Five and Psychoanalysis (Outline)

               

What are they like?   Why are they like this?

Personality

In their behavior, human beings tend to be

• Consistent

• Distinctive

Trait Theory: The "Big Five"

Robert McCrae       Paul Costa

The "Five-Factor" model (also known at the "Big Five" model)  traits, i.e., a set of durable dispositions to act or behave in a certain way across different situations.

Susan Cain: Quiet: The Power of Introverts (2012)
TED Talk: Feb 2012

OCEAN: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism

Trait (Pole 1) Correlated life outcome			Trait (Pole 2) Correlated life outcome
Openness to Experience Intelligence, musical instrument, politically liberal, longer life (?),	Inquisitive, intellectually curious, sensitive to beauty, nonconforming, imaginative, tolerant, thinker, dreamer	Pragmatic, data-driven, conforming, down-to-earth, unartistic, conventional	Closedness Politically conservative
Conscientiousness Career  success, healthier, longer life, honesty	Dependable, ethical, goal-directed, organized, self-directed	Aimless, unreliable, sloppy, careless	Lack of Direction Addictive disorders, poorer health choices, mental disorders
Extraversion Career success, social popularity, party goer	Outgoing, sociable, talkative, affectionate	Inward-looking, secure with self, solo reflection, quiet This is NOT a negative trait	Introversion Work free from distractions: programming, accounting,
Agreeableness lower divorce, honesty, lower income	Warm, pleasant, trusting, empathetic	Unpleasant, argumentative, always competitive	Antagonistic Higher income (men), addictive disorders
Neuroticism Lack of career success, divorce, mental & physical illness, addictive disorders	Neurotic, anxious, guilty, hostile, worrying, shy, withdrawn	Secure, placid, flexible, unruffled, solid	Emotionally Stable Intelligence

Psychoanalytic (Freudian) Theory

        

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

• Viennese, Jewish, middle-class, neurologist
• Psychoanalysis

Structure of the Personality TWO (2) different but complementary theories

(1) Structure of the Personality Model

Id    (Latin for "It")	Sexualized energy = libido + Aggressive energy = "thanatos" (death instinct) Pleasure Principle
Ego    (Latin for "I")	In touch with world Reality Principle Makes decisions
Superego       (Latin for "Above I")	Perfection Principle Mostly unconscious Develops at 4-6 years old Conscience is the part of our superego that we are conscious of Incorporates the rules, regulations, & moral viewpoints of society, particularly those of the parents

(2) Levels of Awareness (or Consciousness) Model

• Conscious
• Preconscious
• Unconscious

The graphic below uses the metaphor of the iceberg which is mostly below water (i.e., below the level of consciousness) to portray Freud's two theories of how the mind works.

  

Conflict: Tyranny of Sex and Aggression

Anxiety & Defense Mechanisms

• Defense Mechanisms
  
• Examples of the many defense mechanisms persons use:
• Repression
• Projection
• Intellectualization
• Reaction Formation
• Sublimation
  

Stages of Psychosexual Development

Stage	Age	Erotic Focus	Experiences
Oral	Birth-1	Mouth	Experience of mother's breast; weaning
Anal	2-3	Anus	Toilet Training
Phallic	4-5	Genitals	Oedipal Crisis: Identification with same-sex parent
Latency	6-12	None (repression of sexual feelings)	Learning in school and social contact with outside world
Genital	From onset of puberty	Genitals	Developing capacity for Love and Work (Lieben und Arbeiten)

This page was originally posted on 10/24/03