Trait Theories of Personality

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Trait Theories of Personality

• EYSENCK (1953)
• The INTROVERT personality
• A typical introvert is quiet, retiring,
  introspective, fond of books rather than of
  people, reserved distant...

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Trait Theories of Personality

• EYSENCK (1953)
• The EXTROVERT personality
• A typical extrovert is sociable, likes parties,
  has many friends, needs people to talk to, craves
  excitement, and likes change

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Freud s psychodynamic theory of personality

• The tripartite structure of personality
• ID
• EGO
• SUPEREGO

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What is Multiple Personality Disorder? (MPD)
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MPD or Schizophrenia?

• Schizophrenia does literally mean split-mind,
  however this is referring to the loss of unity
  between psychological functions
• MPD is dissociative disorder in which two or
  more distinct personalities co-exist within the
  same individual
• MPD is also known as Dissociative Identity
  Disorder (DID)- mainly in the USA.

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Dissociation

• Is a mental process which produces a lack of
  connection in a persons thoughts, memories,
  feelings, actions or sense of identity. This is
  on a spectrum, we have all be affected mildly
  e.g. daydreaming, getting lost in a book or
  film or driving on auto-pilot.

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MPD Symptoms

• At least two distinct identities or personality
  states.
• Each personality has it own lasting pattern of
  sensing, thinking and relating to self and the
  environment.
• At least two of these personalities assume
  control of the patients behaviour

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MPD Symptoms continued

• Common forgetfulness cannot explain the patients
  extensive inability to remember important
  personal details
• This behaviour is not directly caused by
  substance abuse or by a general medical condition.

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What causes MPD?

• Believed it is a response to extremely traumatic
  situations in which there are no physical means
  of escape. If the person goes away in their
  head they can remove themselves from the pain
  and function if it has not occurred.

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Does it Exist? Can you fake it?Why would you
want to?
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Thigpen and Cleckley (1954)

• Aim to record the symptoms and treatment of a
  multiple personality disorder
• This is a case study (and a record of a
  therapeutic process)
• Their paper was published in the Journal of
  abnormal social psychology (1954)

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A case of multiple personality disorder

• Who was EVE?
• A 25 year old woman who was referred
• because of her SEVERE BLINDING HEADACHES and
  spells of amnesia
• Thigpen Cleckley tested her with
• Psychometric tests, projective tests,

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A case of multiple personality disorder

• In the initial interviews (EVE WHITE)
• EVE complained of (symptoms)
• Blinding Headaches
• Blackouts
• Marital Problems
• Personal problems

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A case of multiple personality disorder

• What was EVE WHITE like?
• IQ score 110
• memory - excellent
• repressive personality
• conservative, shy, dutiful
• loving wife and mother

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A case of multiple personality disorder

• THEN WHAT HAPPENED?
• EVE WHITE
• EVE showed amnesia for a recent trip and was
  HYPNOTISED in order to restore her memory

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A case of multiple personality disorder

• THEN WHAT HAPPENED?
• FIRST SIGN OF SOMETHING ODD!
• A letter arrived which was written in two kinds
  of handwriting!

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A case of multiple personality disorder
The letter is objective evidence
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A case of multiple personality disorder

• What did EVE say about the letter?
• She denied writing it, though she did say she had
  begun a letter which she had not finished

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A case of multiple personality disorder

• What happened then?
• Eve became distressed and asked
• whether hearing voices in her head meant she was
  insane
• she said that she had heard a voice in her head
  speaking to her

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A case of multiple personality disorder

• This was a critical interview
• Several times she put her hands to her head as
  if in pain
• AND THEN...

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• THE TRANSFORMATION!
• EVE WHITE CHANGED and became EVE BLACK!
• 1st alter-ego?

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• THE TRANSFORMATION!
• The therapist noted
• A quick reckless smileHI DOC
• Eve White now displayed
• a childishly daredevil air
• an erotic glance
• even her sitting posture changed
• Eve White became Eve Black!

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• What was EVE BLACK like?
• IQ score 104
• memory - poor
• regressive personality
• childish, extrovert, mischievous
• denied being a wife mother

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• The therapy lasted 14 months and 100 hours of
  interviews
• Eve Black would sometimes appear but could only
  be CALLED OUT under hypnosis

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• Eve White was not aware of Eve Black
• Eve Black was aware of Eve White
• Eve Black had existed since childhood
• Eve Black - would emerge, would behave badly and
  then retreat and let Eve White take the
  blame(parents verified incidents)

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• How T C described Eve Black
• childish, irresponsible shallow
• seeking pleasure excitement
• denied marriage to EWs husband
• whom she despised
• denied relationship with EWs daughter

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The Three Faces of Eve

• Did her family not notice ANYTHING odd
• When they observed EB they put her harshness
  aggression down to occasional temper tantrums in
  a normally gentle woman

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• Personality tests (psychometric tests)
• Rorschach ink blot tests
• EW repressive (FREUD)
• EB regressive (FREUD)
• Electroencephalograms (EEG) to record brain
  activity)

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How did the therapists measure the variables of
personality?

• Rorschach ink blot test a projective test

• Discussion
• What do you see?
• Is what you see a projection of your unconscious
  mind?
• Is this a quantitative or qualitative measure?
• How valid is this measure?

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How did the therapists measure the variables of
personality?

• Thematic Apperception Test a projective test

• Write a storyline for the pic
• What has been happening?
• What is happening?
• What will happen?
• Is your story a projection of your unconscious
  fears/desires?
• How valid is this measure?

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As treatment progressed

• EW headaches recurred got worse
• Blackouts increased
• Both EW EW denied awareness in these blackouts
• EW state of mind deteriorated
• (confinement was considered)
• THEN WHAT HAPPENED!!

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Another personality appears!

• A THIRD personality
• who called herself JANE
• JANE had full awareness of EW and EB
• Neither EW nor EB were aware of JANE

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What did Thigpen Cleckley do?

• All THREE personalities were tested by
  electroencephalogram
• clear differences were recorded
• therapy continued to treat all THREE women in the
  ONE body

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Psychological Tests
TESTS EW EB Jane
IQ 110 104 Not done
Memory test superior inferior Not done
EEG 11 per second (normal) 12.5 per second (psycho-pathic?) 11 per second
Personality Repressive Regressive No test
Drawings Rigid but healthy Hysterical tendencies Not done
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The decision of Thigpen Cleckley

• Jane seemed to be
• the person most likely
• to bring a solution
• to the troubled mind
• She was increasingly dominant over the other
  personalities

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The moral dilemma- ethics!

• Killing one or more personality- how ethical is
  this?
• Who should decide which personality stays and
  which goes?

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Other explanations?

• Was the woman a very good actress
• (were T C conned?)
• Was the woman psychotic (schizophrenic?)
• Could the hypnotism have caused the multiple
  personality effect?

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What did T C conclude?

• They did wonder whether they had become so
  involved that they lost their sense of judgement
  and over dramatised the case
• They remain convinced that they witnessed a case
  of multiple personality
• Note A film was made!

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The Three faces of Eve - postscript

• In 1975 a woman came forward and said SHE was EVE
  White
• said she had experienced many other personalities
  both before therapy and since (22 in all)
• that the fragmentation of her personality had
  been to protect herself from unbearable
  experiences

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Ethical problems

• Killing one/more of the personalities - who
  should decide this?
• Making a film for profit - who benefits what
  about patient confidentiality?
• During the treatment Eve White got worse
• Who gives informed consent for the treatment
  procedures ?

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Ethical problems

• Which personality do you think T C approved of
  most?
• Might there be a culture gender bias issue
  here? Were their judgements biased by the social
  norms of the 1950s

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Key Concepts

• EEG electroencephalogram electrodes placed on
  head measure brain patterns from the different
  lobes
• MPD a neurosis, not a psychosis like
  schizophrenia

• Repressed suppresses feelings and emotions
• Regressive reverts to a childlike stage
• Psychopath no empathy for others, egocentric,
  amoral

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Questions you should be able to answer

• What were the similarities differences between
  Eve White and Eve Black?
• What is the main difference between multiple
  personality disorder schizophrenia?
• What problems with the case study method does
  this study highlight?
• What factor(s) may have influenced their
  diagnosis?

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Questions you should be able to answer

• If Eysencks theory of biological basis for
  personality is CORRECT could Eve have had
  multiple personalities?
• Note These days MPD is called DID !
• Disassociative Identity Disorder