GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Source: General Psychology

(Sanchez, et al., 2013)

4th

Ed.

- the organism learns to respond to a

new stimulus in the same or similar way it
responds to the old conditioned stimulus.

Prepared by: Nicasio, Mark Bernard B.

- Conditional responses are usually

associated with incidents.

Professor Luz Javier - Centeno

2. Instrumental Conditioning
- also known as operant conditioning
or instrumental learning

Chapter 7 - Learning

Learning
- has been defined as "a form of
adaptation, mode of adjustment, and a
change in behaviour.
- "the mental activities by means of
which knowledge and skills, habits, attitudes
and ideals are acquired, retained and
utilized resulting in the adaptation and
modification of behaviour." (Bugelski, 1986)
- process that needs to be
stimulated and guided toward desirable
outcome.
How learning takes place
1. Classical Conditioning
- the simplest form of all forms of
learning.
- Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), a
Russian physiologist and Nobel Prize
winner was the first to conduct systematic
studies on conditional responses.
- conditioned reflex : the fact that the
dog has already been conditioned to
associate the ringing of the bell with meat
because in the past, the meat was
presented every time the bell was rung.
- Conditioning is the associating, as
a result of reinforcement, of a response with
a stimulus with which it was not previously
associated. (Keeton, 1969)

- the subject's response to stimuli is

instrumental in accomplishing a given
purpose
- involves a selection from many
responses of the one that habitually will be
given in stimulus situation. It allows the
learner to discover how his behaviour
affects the environmental and vice versa.
- started with the experiments of
Edward Lee Thorndike (1898). His
experiments involved puzzle boxes and he
used hungry cuts a subjects. The hungry cat
was placed inside the puzzle box. Outside
the box was food which served as a reward
for the cat if and when it could open the
door by pushing the button or pulling a
string. After several trials, the cat was able
to perform the correct action as soon as it
was placed in the box, which Thorndike
referred to as 'trial and error learning'. From
these experiments, he formulated the law of
effect. The cats that have the tendency to
retain reactions that led to their freedom.
Those that brought discomfort were not
repeated.
- most extensive and systematic
experiments on operant conditioning were
done by B.F. Skinner (1951). He used two
kinds of responses: Respondents, which are
responsive responses which can be elicited
by a known effective stimulus, and
Operants, which are ordinary kinds of bodily
response which an organism emits in the
course of his behaviour without being
stimulated by a specific external stimulus.
Motor acts and emotions are example of
respondents. Doing homework, driving a

car, dressing oneself are examples of

operant behaviour. Skinner used an
experiment wherein a rat learned to press a
lever in order to obtain food. The rat placed
inside the Skinner box which has
contraptions that controlled the release of
food, first showed exploratory behaviour. It
went about touching various places.
Accidentally, it pressed the lever which
yielded the food pellet. Because of the
reward (food pellet), the rat tried to press
the lever again. In other words, the reaction
became reinforced. The subject soon
pressed the lever more frequently which
resulted in obtaining more food pellets. The
subject's increase for pressing is known as
operant behaviour because it operates on
the environment to produce a desired result.
Thus in operant conditioning, the organism
plays an active part in the learning process;
responses that are rewarded tends to be
repeated, when followed by punishment, the
response seems to be avoided.
Principle
of
Reinforcement.
Reinforcement is any stimulus event that
will maintain or increase the strength of a
response.

Reinforcement Punishment
Positive

Negative

Something is
added in order
to increase the
likelihood of a
behaviour.

Something is
added to
decrease the
likelihood of a
behaviour.

Something is
removed in
order to
increase the
likelihood of a
behaviour.

Something is
removed in
order to
decrease the
likelihood of a
behaviour.

3. Insight Learning
-an insight is the discovery of
relationships that lead to the solution of a
problem.

- Hildegard defined insight as "the

process of solving a problem through
perceiving the relationship essential to its
solution."
- The earliest and best known
experiment son insight learning were done
by Gestalt psychologist, Wolfgang Kohler
(1877) to describe problem solving by
describing relations, especially if the
solution is arrived at suddenly.
- Insight learning depends on the
capacity of the individual to organize and
see relationships among different factors. In
a problem solving situation, the mental
manipulation of concepts which are related
to the thinking process develops into a
pattern of response which can be used to
solve the problem intelligently.
- Although insight learning appears
to be spontaneous, it relies not only on
present experiences but also on past
experiences. Occasionally, insight comes
dramatically, and has been appropriately
called an "Aha experience" because it can
come as a sudden discovery of a solution to
a problem.

Types of Learning
1. Rational Learning
- clearly intellectual in nature and
involves the process of abstraction by which
concepts are formed.
- the outcome sought in this type of
learning is knowledge.
- Kelly (?) feels that rational learning
should culminate in the application of
knowledge acquired, for the effective use of
knowledge is the real goal of living. It should
provide the foundation for the mastery of
principles, the application of generalizations,
the determining of relationships, especially
of cause and effect and the development of
additional knowledge through the ability to

deal adequately with physical and social

environment and to recognize values.

2. Motor Learning
- in this type of learning, the
outcome sought is skill which may be
described as the adaptation of movement to
stimuli resulting in speed or precision of
performance. Skills may vary from simple
muscular reaction to complex motor
processes. However, it always involves the
development of patterns of neuromuscular
coordination and adjustment of perceptual
situation. Thus, accuracy of perception is a
basic factor in motor learning.
3. Associative Learning
- Involves the development of
associative patterns by which ideas and
experiences are retained, recalled, and
recognized, through the process of linking
together or establish relationships between
and among these ideas and experiences so
that one will serve as the stimulus for the
revival and recall of the other or others
previously experienced. Thus, this type of
learning is manifested primarily in the
functioning of the process of association
and memory.
- involves drills, frequent repetition,
and review, but it is more than a mere
repetition and accumulation of experiences.
The outcome sought in this type of learning
is the acquisition and retention of facts and
information.
4. Appreciational Learning
- the outcome sought in this type of
learning is appreciation or aesthetic
improvement.
- involves the process of acquiring
attitudes, ideals, judgement, and knowledge
concerning values as well as recognition of
the worth and importance which the learner
gains from participating in learning activities
(Mursell,1950).

- it involves the acquisition of a taste

for, the development of liking for, and the
expression of enjoyment of certain aspects
of life, such as literature, music, fine arts,
and the like.
- This type of learning is determined
by large measure by training and
experiences, and involves also the
constructive imagination, the process of
association and understanding, which are
necessary for the formation of appreciation.
It
connotes
desirable
emotional
accompaniments of affective outcomes, in
addition to knowledge and understanding.
Laws of Learning
Thorndike proposed three primary laws of
learning:
1. Law of Readiness
- related to maturation
- this law states that other things
being equal, when the individual is ready to
act, to do so is satisfying, and not to do so is
annoying.
2. Law of Exercise
a. Law of Use
- other things being equal,
the more frequently a modifiable connection
between a situation and response is used,
the stronger is that connection.
b. Law of Disuse
- other things being equal,
when a modifiable connection between a
situation and response is not used over a
period of time, the strength of that
connection is weakened.
3. Law of Effect
- supplements the law of exercise.
- states that connections which are
pleasant tend to be repeated and

strengthened, and those that are unpleasant

tend to be avoided and weakened.

In addition to the three major laws of

learning,
Thorndike
formulated
five
secondary characteristics for the purpose of
amplifying the basic laws.
a. The Law of Mind-set
- refers to the mental condition of the
individual when the reaction is made to a
situation. Learning becomes much easier
when the mind is set on it, and the result is
satisfying, but when the mind is not set on
what is to be learned, then dissatisfaction
results and no good work is done.
b. Multiple Response
- this means that in a situation where
some elements are new, the learner will
respond in one way, and if such response
does not prove satisfactory, he will try one
response after another until the appropriate
response is attained, that is, trial-and-error
learning. This response, being satisfying,
will be selected and "stamped in".
c. Partial Activity
- designates the fact that an element
or aspect of a situation may be "prepotent"
in causing the response. This involves
selectivity in learning. The learner may
select the important elements from a
situation instead of responding in an
unselected way or at random.

- When stimuli occur together

frequently, the response elicited by one will
tend to become attached to the other as
well. When responses occur frequently
together, the stimulus for one tends to
suggest the other as well.
Other Laws of Learning
1. The Law of Apperception (Herbart)
- refers to the application of past
experiences of the pupil in performing a new
connection
or
integrating
his
past
experiences with the new situation.
- Learning proceeds from the known
to the related unknown. The process of
assimilation of the new by the old is called
apperception.
2. The Law of Association (Kant)
- A new connection is formed
through the association of the past and the
new situations. It is the process of relating
two or more experiences to each other.
3. The Law of Use and Disuse (Gates)
- explains the use of the connection
strengthens the response, the stronger the
connection, the more prompt, easy, and
certain the response will be. It weakens
when the response is not used.
4. The Law of Frequency and Recency
(Watson)

- indicates that when a situation

involves a stimulus from which the learner
has no native or acquired response, he may
react by interpreting the situation in the light
of similar experiences, and adjust himself as
best as he can.

- states that the more frequently the

connection is exercised, the stronger the
connection will be. The response or
connection most frequently made will be
retained. The more recently the connection
is formed, the easier it is to recall or the
more effective to reproduce. Watson
believes that recency is less prepotent than
frequency. Recency or repetition is
essential.

e. Associative Shift

5. Law of Intensity (Carr)

d. Analogy

- related to conditioned reflex

- the more intense or vivid the

exercise, the stronger the connection will
be. An intense connection will be
remembered longer than the ones less
intense. Carr assumed that all responses
are retained but that some are strengthened
and are therefore more likely to be aroused
when a situation is presented.
6. The Law of Primacy (Watson)
- states that the first learned act will
be better remembered than acts learned
later
7. The Law of Forgetting (Ebbinghause)
- forgetting is typically rapid during
the time shortly after learning and less rapid
during subsequent periods. Forgetting is
less rapid if the material is meaningful, if
there is an overlearning or if there is not
intervening activity between learning and
recall.

Retention and Transfer

Retention refers to the extent to which
material originally learned still persists
(Deese, 1967). Deese pointed out that
almost all educational and training programs
are built upon the basic premise that human
beings have the ability to transfer what they
have learned in one situation to another.
Transfer occurs when whatever is learned in
one situation is used in a new or different
situation (Klausmeier and Ripple, 1991).
The influence that learning one task may
have on the subsequent learning of another
is called transfer of learning (Morgan and
King, 1986). Facts, concepts, skills, and
general information taught in school
subjects transfer effectivity to new learning
situations. Transfer of learning is of two
kinds: positive or negative. If transfer is
practicable, positive transfer has transpired.
There is also a condition known as
compartmentalization, in which there is no
transfer. Compartmentalization, is in
essence, a separation, one learned thing

does not transfer to bolster or to hamper a

person in a later situation (Sorenson, 1964).
Memory and Forgetting
Herman Ebbinghaus, a distinguished
German psychologist, pioneered the studies
involving memory. He found that meaningful
materials are more easily learned and
remembered
longer
than
nonsense
materials.
Memory is a term to label the way
facts are impressed, retained and later
recalled while forgetting is a failure to retain
what was learned. Forgetting also refers to
the extent that learned materials are lost.
Without memory, there can be no learning.
On the other hand, if there were no learning,
there is nothing to remember.
Evidence for memory can be found
in different tasks:
Recall is the most difficult of these
tasks since most of the related stimuli are
absent.
Recognition involves differentiation
of the familiar from the unfamiliar.
Relearning is an attempt to regain
material or a skill that has been partially or
completely lost.
For optimal learning, retention or
remembering should be improved and
forgetting prevented. Improvement in
retention comes through improved methods
of fixating the material and through practice
in recall.
Theories of Forgetting
a. Passive Decay through Disuse
This theory assumes that the
passage of time is responsible for forgetting.
When something is learned and used
repeatedly, it is remembered, but when it is
not used, it is forgotten.
b. Interference Effects

Interferences of present learning

with what has been previously learned leads
to forgetting. This phenomenon is called
retroactive inhibition.
Another kind of interference works in
the opposite direction. In what is called
proactive
inhibition,
initial
learning
interferes with subsequent learning. The
main difference between the two is in
sequence; in proactive inhibition, the
learned material is encountered first, in
retroactive inhibition, it is encountered last.
c. Absence of Adequate Stimulation
Most often, we are unable to recall
some event in the past because the
appropriating stimuli are absent. The
suddenly, we are able to recall the event
because of a particular odour, name, or
other stimulus. Subjects are also aided in
recall when they are brought to the scene of
the scene of the experience or are asked to
recall incidents under the same conditions
where the original experience occurred
(Munn et al., 1974).
d. Obliteration of the memory trace
This state occurs because of other
certain conditions other than time. The most
widely accepted explanation is that
emotional shock or other conditions
prevented consolidation. In this theory, the
engram is disrupted before consolidation
has taken place.

Intelligence. Success in school is

generally closely related to the level of
intelligence. The native capacity of the
individual is of prime importance in
determining the effectiveness of the learning
process.
Opportunities for Learning. There
are many children, who, because of adverse
economic conditions, are forced to withdraw
or quit school at an early age, thus they are
deprived of the opportunities to learn.
Environmental Conditions. School
facilities like good ventilation, comfortable
chairs or desks, proper lighting conditions,
wide green lawns, and playgrounds provide
a better background for learning than
crowded, "seat shop" classrooms.
Health of the Learner. Children
suffering from visual, auditory and other
physical defects are seriously handicapped
in developing skills as in reading and
spelling.
Emotional Factor. If a child is
emotionally upset or frustrated because of
home problems or social difficulties, the
likelihood is that he will not be in the right
and proper condition to learn.

Chapter 10 - Emotions

e. Motivated Forgetting

Nature and Definitions of Emotions

This
may
be
illustrated
by
repression. According to this principle, some
of our memories become inaccessible to
recall because of the negative effect on us.

- comes from the Latin word movare

which means to stir up, agitate, upset, or
move.

Factors Affecting Learning

Learning cannot be effective unless
maturation or readiness exists. Keen
interest and his attitude will greatly
determine whether or not the child will learn.
These can be developed through guidance
and training.

- a descriptive term referring to

variations in levels of arousal affective state
or mood expressive movements, and
attitudes (Smith, 1973).
- has also been defined as a feeling
which is accompanied by characteristic
behavioural or physiological events.

Aspects of Emotions
Physiological Aspects
a. Circulatory system. When you
are excited, the speed and the strength of
the heartbeat is increased. Emotion has
been regarded as the most common cause
of the acceleration of the heartbeat. Blood
pressure also increases and blood is driven
to the head and limbs causing increase in
the volume of the blood in these places.
b. Respiratory System. Gasping for
breath and sighing are the external
manifestations of these changes.
c. Secretion of Glands. An example
of gland stimulated by emotional response
is the sweat gland. The endocrine or
ductless glands are also stimulated by
strong emotion.
The
nervous
system
and
emotions. All parts of the nervous system
seem to take part in emotional behaviour,
but the autonomic nervous system seems to
be the most affected. It keeps the internal
environment in balance. The sympathetic
division excites an organ while the
parasympathetic division decreases or
inhibits its activity.
The brain and the emotions. The
cortical and the subcortical structures of the
brain have been found to be related to
emotions (Gilmer, 1970). Overactivity in
emotional reactions is inhibited by the
cerebral cortex.
Emotional Behaviour
A person who experiences an
emotion manifests it almost always in some
form of overt behaviour. The most common
of these manifestations are facial and vocal
expressions.
a. Facial Expressions - It is said that many
of the animal expressions (hissing, snarling,
etc.) have been modified into human
expressions.

Many psychological studies have

been made on facial expressions and
among the findings are following (Sartainet
al., 1973):
1. Culture differences influence emotional
expressions of behaviour
2. Emotional behaviour is a result of both
maturation and learning.
3. A number of facial expressions do not
depend on whether or not one has seen
these in others.
4. Among normal children and adults, the
same facial expressions may accompany a
number of different emotions.
b. Vocal Expressions - Sometimes, we are
able to tell very accurately the emotional
behaviour of a person by merely listening to
their vocal expression.
Vocal expressions re detected by
means of cues. Loudness, pitch or change
of pitch may serve as a cue to the emotion
being expressed. However, like facial
expressions, we may err in identifying the
emotional behaviour simply from listening to
the vocal expression.
Emotional Experience
Emotional experiences are personal,
subjective, and varied. No two individuals
will experience the same feelings in
response to the same stimulus. A stimulus
may arouse quite intense feelings or
emotions. The same stimulus may motivate
some people either to action or inactivity.
Theories of Emotion
James-Lange theory of emotion
This theory has been proposed in
two different places - one in America, the
other in Denmark. William James, the
famous
American
philosopher
and
psychologist, proposed the following steps
in emotion: (1) We perceive the situation,

(2) We react to the situation, and (3) We

become aware of the emotion.
Carl G. Lange, a Danish physiologist and
psychologist, also proposed the same
explanation in the occurrence of emotion.
Lange, like James, thought that emotion is
not due to the perceived, physiological
changes that occur, the emotion follows.
Hypothalamic theory of emotions
According to this view, an emotional
sequence should be described as follows
(Haber and Fried, 1975):
First, the organism perceives a
situation to be fearsome. Second, the
hypothalamus takes over and at the same
time, impulses go out from his control centre
to the brain and other parts of the body.
Hence, we have the same feeling of fear at
the same time that the bodily changes and
the action of running away are taking place.
According to some researchers, the main
contribution of this theory is the recognition
that a control centre for emotions is located
in the hypothalamus of the brain.
Activation theory of emotions
This theory states that emotion is a
heightened state of activity of the nervous
system, particularly the cerebral cortex.
Heightened activity refers to the increased
rate of discharge of neural impulses.
Sensory feedback from the muscle to the
central nervous system increase activation.
(Lindsley, 1951)
Limbic System and Emotion

terms of emotions or feelings that go with

the emotional experience.

Emotional Response
Among the more common emotional
responses are fear, rage and love. These
have been referred to as the basic
emotions, since other emotions emerge or
develop from them.
Fear. Fear has been used in
brainwashing and other forms of torture.
Learning and experience add to our
repertoire of fears and anxiety. Other
manifestations of fear are distress, grief,
and worry.
Anger. It is a strong emotion that
can even be disastrous. Annoyance,
disgust, disappointment, wrath, scorn,
hatred and frustration are among the
manifestations of anger. Like fear, anger
can be controlled, and it is said that the
more educated the individual is, the more or
greater the control he has over his anger.
Love. The pleasant experiences of
joy, elation, laughter, excitement, thrill,
affection, and happiness have their roots in
the emotional response of love.
Emotional
responses
vary
in
intensity, how we respond to stimuli
depends on the circumstances and the
environment.
Control of Emotions
Outward manifestations

According to this theory, we have a

visceral brain that comprises the limbic
system composed of a variety of neural
centres lying in the old area of the cortex
and the hypothalamus.

Gilmer believes that in our effort to

control our emotions, we learn to suppress
or modify our overt responses.

This theory holds that while the

cortex
is
engaged
in
intellectual
interpretation of verbal and related symbols,
the lymbic system makes interpretations in

Since
most
situations
trigger
emotional responses, we try to avoid or
change the situation which would give rise
to an undesirable response.

Emotional Situations

Temperament
Emotional control can be attained
through patient and persistent effort to
overcome the bad habit.
Emotional Suppression
Suppressing emotions has both
beneficial and negative effects. Suppressing
our anger especially while engaged in an
argument may be good, but suppressing
anger on all occasions can be disastrous.
The psychologists and psychoanalysts hold
that repressed feelings are not lost. They
merely sink into the subconscious. A
healthy balance between emotional release
and suppression may sometimes prevent a
person from certain undesirable actions.

as a term to describe the sounds that a

masked actor projects.
- " a pattern of habits, attitudes and
traits that determine an individual's
characteristics, behaviour and traits."
(Allport,1990). Allport further describes
personality as " the dynamic organization
within the individual of those psychological
systems that determine his characteristic
behaviour and thoughts."
- The Encyclopedia International
(1967) describes personality as " the end
result of the typical ways in which a person
reacts: the product of his motivation,
emotions, feeling tones, style of thinking,
and attitudes."

In teaching children their emotions,

two things should be emphasized: (1) they
must learn to face reality, and (2) that
emotional problems need time for their
solution.

- Personality is partly inborn, partly

acquired. Such biological factors as the
endocrine glands and nervous system are
largely responsible for the inborn aspects.
The acquired aspects are picked up chiefly
from the people with whom we associate,
either through imitation or through hostile
reactions when we are thwarted.

Expecting emotional situations

Components of Personality

As we grow older, we learn to

develop emotional responses that are
sanctioned by society. For proper emotional
adjustment, we experience these expected
emotional situations. Part of emotional
control involves a general awareness of the
types of emotional problems one has to
encounter and what emotional reactions are
expected to the individual meeting the
problem.

1. Habits - are reactions so often repeated

as to become fixed characteristics or
tendencies. Good habits result from choice
and are acquired through effort.

Teaching emotional control

Chapter 11 - Personality

2. Attitudes - are certain ways of viewing

things gained from the environment,
changed by the working of the mind, and
the imagination and somewhat influenced
by the physical endowment, particularly by
the emotions. It may be positive or negative,
favourable or unfavourable, learned or
acquired.

Definition of Personality

3. Physical Traits - include facial

appearance, height, weight, physical
defects, complexion, strength, and health.

- Personality literally means "to

sound through" which is derived from the
Latin words - "per sonare". It was first used

.4. Mental Traits - include our ability to

control the mind. Allport lists the following
mental abilities.
a. problem-solving ability

b. memory and learning ability

c. perceptual ability

d. constructive imagination
e. special imagination
f. soundness of judgement
g. general adaptability

5 .Emotional Traits - give an individual the

capacity to face different situations in life,
and still maintain his composure. He is said
to have a stable personality.
6. Social Traits - give an individual the
ability to get along with others - to be
sociable a friendly.
7. Moral and Religious Traits - are the
standards for a person's actions and
behaviour. His moral traits are manifested
by this product. His religious traits guide his
actions according to his beliefs.
Sociologists view personality as "a
product of social conditioning" (Bossard and
Bell, 1984). They advocate that ou r
personality is a result of our interaction with
other people.
Personality according to Amparo
and Tuazon (1960) can be one of two
things. (a) one's biggest asset leading to
success, (b) his heaviest liability leading to
failure.
Measurement of Personality
Personality Questionnaire
- the most elementary variety of
personality questionnaire, it is a self-report
type of instrument that asks the subject to
questions.
Projective Tests

- determine the inner personality and

the motives, aspirations, and thoughts of the
individual. He is presented with stimuli that
are more or less ambiguous and for which
there are no obvious or socially
predetermined responses. Inasmuch as the
stimulus provided by the test has no
meaning in and by itself, he subject is
forced to "project" something of himself into
his response and as a result provides more
clues as to the way in which he functions
with respect to himself and his environment.
The commonly used and best known
of the projective devices is the Rorschach
test. The subject is presented with ten
different ink blots and he is asked to say
what the blots might resemble or represent
to him. His replies when recorded,
classified, scored, and analyzed, provide a
cross-sectional view of the way in which he
perceives his environment, his relations with
others, his emotional tendencies, and
others.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
- is another projective device which
is commonly used. The subject is presented
sequentially with a series of photographs or
drawings and is asked to say who the
individuals are in each picture, what is going
on, and what the outcome will be. Because
the subject matter is more "structured" in
the TAT than that in the Rorschach, it is
possible to get reactions to certain kinds of
situations and relationships that are of
particular interest to the psychologist
administering the test (Morgan, 1986).
Sentence Completion Test (SCT)
- another type of semi-structured
projective test, the subject is asked to write
a number of sentences, each of which
begins with one of a prepared series of
"stems" or phrases.
Rosenzweig's Picture
- Frustration study is a good
example of the ingenuity that goes into the

construction of some projective tests. The

subject is presented with 24-cartoon-like
pictures involving two central characters,
one of whom is involved in a frustrating or
annoying situation. The other character is
depicted as saying something that adds to
the frustration of the first character or helps
to define the nature of the frustration. The
subject is asked to supply the reply that
would be made by the first character in the
cartoon.
Theories of Personality
A. Theory
Sheldon)

of

Body

2. Pyknic - such type of individuals are

called "human ball" because of their short
statute and round solid body.
3. Athletic - the individual is strong and
robust, and has the stamina for real hard
work. He is a picture of good health and his
personality is often the envy of others.
4. Dysplastic - are those persons who
cannot be classified among the other three
types.
C. Psychological Type Theory (Carl Jung)

Types

(William

This theory relates personality with

bodily constitution, health and vigour. The
types' names are derived from the names of
cell layers of the embryo where different
bodily tissues originate.
1. Endomorphic Components
This means prominence of intestines
and visceral organs, and fats are in
proportion to height. Individuals under this
type are classified temperamentally as
viscerotonic.

1. Introverted Individual - tends to withdraw

into himself in times of emotional stress or
conflicts.
His
characteristics
include
shyness and preference to work alone.
2 .Extroverted Individual - tends o be very
sociable, well-dressed and outgoing. His
decisions and actions are determined
primarily by objective relationships. His
attention and interest are centered on the
immediate environment, ad he tends to lose
himself among people.
D. Theory based on Body Chemistry,
Endocrine Balance and Temperaments.

2. Mesomorphic Components

1. Sanguine - warm-hearted and pleasant.

He looks alive and very optimistic

These refer to bones and muscles.

This individual is strong, tough and athletic.
He is well built and proportionate.
Temperamentally, he is somatotonic.

2. Phlegmatic - listless, slow, unexcitable,

and calm, attributed to the phlegm

3. Ectomorphic Components
The individual tends to be long, thin,
and poorly developed. He is generally weak
physically.
Temperamentally,
he
is
cerebratonic.

B. Theory based on Body Build and

Strength (Ernest Kretschmer)
1. Aesthenic - are those who are thin, tall
and emaciated. They look very sickly and
weak.

3. Melancholic - one who suffers from

depression and sadness because of having
too much black bile. He is very pessimistic
4. Choleric - is easily angered or
temperamental as influenced by his yellow
bile. He is serious, easily provoked, and
aggressive when he fails.
E. Theory Personality Based on Birth
Order (Maxime Abrams, 1978)
The advocates of this theory, amidst
controversy, stress that a growing
personality trait is attributed to family rank.
They say that whatever kind of personality

you possess is in one way or another

influenced by the rank you occupy in the
family.
F. Psychoanalytic Theory
Freudian. Believes that personality
has three structures, the id, the ego, and
the superego.
G. Superiority and Compensation Theory
Alfred Adler, an early disciple of
Freud, rejected Freud's theory emphasizing
the biological drives, sex in particular. He
emphasized the drive for superiority or
power. It is to Adler that we owe the concept
of the inferiority complex.
Adler also introduced the concept of
compensation. Being aware of a weakness,
we may strive especially hard to overcome it
by excelling in other fields.
H. Trait Theory
Gordon Allport developed this theory
assuming a multiplicity of needs that are
never quite the same from one individual to
the next. This theory can be distinguished
from other theories in two important aspects
(Morgan, 1986).
1. Uniqueness of Personality
2. Functional Autonomy of Motives

Chapter 12 - Personality Disorders and

Adjustments

Frustrations
- are experiences which are part of
our everyday lives. They occur when goal
achievement is blocked. A wide range of
obstacles both environmental and internal
can lead to frustration.
- can be described as the thwarting
of motivated behaviour directed at a goal.

- It is also a response, emotional in

nature, that is presumed to be made by a
person when his motivated behaviour is
interfered with.
- Whether or not frustration does
arise can be seen from the person's
subsequent behaviour that exists when
interference with a person's ongoing
behaviour leads to aggression.
Conflict
- defined as the " the simultaneous
occurrence of two mutually antagonistic
motives or impulses."
- in theories of personality, conflict is
considered as state of discomfort or stress
caused by an individual's experiencing two
or more desires or needs that are
incompatible.
Defense Mechanism
Conflicts and frustrations may cause to
develop to develop feelings of anxiety and
tension. Consciously or unconsciously, the
individual develops adjustment habits which
he uses to extricate himself from tensional
situations. These habits or devices are
commonly
called
mechanisms
of
adjustments.
1. Repression
- is an unconscious process wherein
shameful thoughts, painful experiences, or
distasteful tasks are pushed down into the
subconscious state of mind. As modern
psychologists suggest, repression is simply
a refusal to think about something because
we find the thoughts unpleasant. (Morgan,
1986)
2. Suppression
- is the deliberate, conscious control
of unpleasant experiences, and undesirable
thoughts or impulses. This serves the same
purpose as repression but involves the
conscious intent of the individual.

3. Projection
- is the process of shifting
responsibility for an act or thought from
oneself to an outside agency or to another
person. A person may blame someone else
for his own failure, thus relieving him from
the tensional situation.
4. Displacement
- is a special form of projection. This
is the shifting of a response or reaction from
its original object to another which is less
dangerous. Most often, the motive is
displacement is aggression, which for some
reason the person cannot vent on the true
object (Morgan, 1977).
5. Reaction formation
- is the unconscious attempt to
reverse the original behaviour by a
substituted activity. This takes place where
the original behaviour or impulse is heavily
laden with guilt feelings. Under such
condition, the alcoholic becomes rigorously
non-alcoholic and denounces all drinkers;
the atheist joins a church and becomes an
ardent reformer.
6. Rationalization
- is a device whereby the individual
provides plausible reasons for his
behaviour, rather than the actual reasons
which are too painful to acknowledge.
Kaplan and Baron (1958) state that by
providing a reason or explanation that
justifies his actions, or removes feelings of
guilt and anxiety, the person avoids
discomfort and makes peace with himself.
7. Fantasy
- is a mental mechanism whereby a
person substitutes imaginary satisfactions
for real satisfactions. The failures and
frustrations of everyday life sometimes
become difficult to beat, and it is quite
common fro people to seek escape in selfcreated, fanciful worlds.

Fantasy is very common, especially

among adolescents. Surveys show that
nearly all college students fantasized when
they are supposed to be studying (Morgan,
1977). Engaging in fantasy among
adolescents is normal provided the fantasy
is used as a device in normal living.
8. Identification
- is used to cope with frustration by
identifying with someone else. An individual
makes himself feel like, or act like, another
person. Becoming friends with an important
person, for example, can make us feel
important.
9. Regression
- is defined as a return to more
primitive modes of behaviour (Hilgard,
1996). There are two interpretations of
regression. Retrogression which is a return
to behaviour once engaged in and
primitivation, which is simply a more
primitive kind of behaviour, do not actually
return to earlier behaviour. This is a childish
behaviour following frustration.
10. Compensation
- is usually defined as the
exaggeration of a desirable trait to reduce
feeling of inferiority caused by an
undesirable trait. Some psychologists have
used the term to describe extra efforts put
forth by an individual to achieve along lines
where he is most defective. According to
Adler, compensation is the reason why
certain people become great.
11. Sublimation
- is the inner defense mechanism by
which more primitive and socially less
acceptable forms of motive gratification are
replaced and are then further developed by
socially more acceptable forms. This
mechanism was originally applied to
diversion of sexual energies into behaviour
which satisfies the individual and is
acceptable to society. Great works of art,

music, science and literature have been

described as the sublimated outpourings of
sexual energy.
Psychological Disorders or Abnormal
Psychology
Abnormality is defined is many
ways. Behaviour may be labeled normal
when it is unusual, causes distress to
others, and makes it difficult for a person to
adjust to his or her environment. One of the
definitions of the word abnormal is "not
average, typical or usual." This is a
statistical definition, describing as normal
what most people do, and as abnormal any
deviation from the average,
Abnormality may also be defined in
the light of what the culture defines as
acceptable and normal behaviour. Under
this definition, as act that is abnormal in one
culture may not be abnormal in another.
1. The Anxiety Disorders
These were once described as
neurosis. It manifests itself principally in
diffused and consciously experienced
feeling or anxiety and apprehension for
which there seems to be no specific basis in
reality. The condition many be chronic or
continuous, with the patient always tense or
worried, easily upset, and preoccupied with
future calamities or past errors.
Such attacks are accompanied by
palpitation of the heart tremor, difficulty in
breathing,
and
profuse
perspiration.
Sedation may be required.
2. The Conversion Disorders
The neurotic reaction is the most
intriguing and diagnostically apparent of
adjustment through the illness. The patient,
facing some difficulty which he cannot
accept, develops a physical ailment which in
one way or another protects him in his
situation. It is understandable that while the
symptom persists, the patient shows little
concern about it. The reason is that he feels

better with the symptoms than facing the

reality he is escaping from.
Hysteria then, is a behaviour
disorder in which psychological conflicts are
converted into physical symptoms. It
represents a learned reaction to frustration
(Coville, 1969)
The
hysteric
personality
is
characterized by extroversion, egocentrism,
suggestibility,
sensitivity
to
criticism,
ambition, emotional immaturity, and need
for praise. Being essentially extrovert, the
individual enjoys people and would like to
express himself freely, but being tense he
cannot usually do so. He is not so interested
in liking people as he is in making people
like him.
3. The Dissociative Disorder
Dynamically, this reaction is identical
with conversion, except that the patient's
flight is into unawareness rather than into
sickness.
The principal common aspect of all
dissociative reactions is an interruption or
breakdown of the conscious contact for
reality; thus giving rise to some loss of
personal identity,: a brief amnesia, a fugue
state, development of multiple personality,
or somnambulism.
4. The Phobic Disorders
A phobia is an irrational dread of an
object, person, act, or situation. It is an
irrational dread that may be developed
toward any developed aspect of the
environment: from this, a host of terms has
arisen with the prefixes describing the
stimulus for the phobia.
Phobic reactions are neurotic
adjustments in which the outstanding
symptom is the development of disabling
phobias. When an individual is confronted
with feared object or situation, he is set by
overwhelming anxiety. Phobias are also
found as part of the symptom picture in

anxiety reactions, and they are seen

associated
with
obsessive-compulsive
reactions.

compulsions include: handwashing, throatclearing, and mumbling. They frequently

take the form of undressing.

The most common phobias are:

6. The Depressive Disorders

Acrophobia, fear of high places

The neurotic depressive disorder is

always precipitated by a saddening stress
situation to which the depressive reaction is
immediate and severe. The depression is
not accompanied by delusional beliefs.
(Coville, 1989)

Agoraphobia, fear of open places

Algophobia, fear of pain
Claustrophobia, fear of closed places

Mysophobia, fear of contamination

There is difficulty in sleeping and the

patient complains of restlessness, lack of
concentration, and tension. Frequently, the
patient becomes aware of his illness only
when he realizes he is not recovering from
the effects of the bereavement or other
shocks.

Necrophobia, fear of corpses or cadaver

7. The Hypochondriasis

Nyctophobia, fear of darkness

The outstanding manifestation of this

type of neurotic reaction is an all-dominating
pre-occupation with the bodily processes.

Hematophobia, fear of the sight of blood

Hydrophobia, fear of water
Monophobia, fear of being alone

Pharmacophobia, fear of medicines

Photophobia, fear of strong light
Thanatophobia, fear of death
Toxophobia, fear of being poisoned
Zoophobia, fear of animals
5. The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
The symptoms that make up this
reaction are organized around a core of
obsessions or compulsions.
An obsession may be simply defined
as a useless or irrational thought which
persistently
forces
itself
into
the
consciousness and compulsions.
Morbid obsessions and compulsions
very widely in the form they take, but certain
classical reactions are seen. Obsessions
frequently encountered are thoughts about
vicious
diseases
and
infections;
blasphemous thoughts occurring due to
highly detailed or extreme - perhaps
perverse sexual acts. Some common

The patient expresses the suspicion

that he suffers from all kinds of diseases,
offers odd explanations for his bodily
processes, and complains of specific and
nonspecific aches and pains. The patient
has little anxiety. When the hypochondriacal
complaints are of bizarre nature, it is
necessary to consider the possibility that a
schizophrenic reaction is present.
If the person complains of general
nervousness, fatigue and insomnia, he is
called a neurasthenic (Baughman, 1984).
The word literally means "nervous
weakness" and it refers to the person's
chronic inability to do anything. The
neurasthenic, indeed, frequently claims that
he is unable to works because he feels
fatigued and worn out all the time. But, of
course, the nervous weakness is not due to
physical deterioration or a disease of the
nervous system; the symptoms are
psychogenic - they are caused by anxiety.
-END-