CHAPTER 8
A Different View
Ego Psychologies
and Projective Methods
The finding of stability in discrete traits we have discussed is not likely
to impress those who think of personality in terms other than traits. Be-haviorists in general do not think of personality at all. They are inter-ested in studying—and especially in controlling—behavior, and traitsoffer little promise of a way to reshape behavior; in fact, they may repre-sent the greatest resistance to change.
Our concern in this chapter, however, is with a different set of ap -
proaches to personality: the psychodynamic psychologies that see per -
sonality not as a collection of traits, each operating more or less inde -
pendently to influence behavior, but as an organization of needs,
motives, dispositions, habits, and abilities, an organization generallythought to be in the service of certain overarching goals. Depending onthe version of psychodynamic theory , these goals might be set by bio -
logical instincts, the dictates of culture, or the individual’s own experi -
ence and convictions.
In this chapter we also turn to an evaluation of projective methods,
a form of personality assessment frequently advocated by ego psycholo -
gists. Do they make satisfactory substitutes for self-report inventories,
or do they provide unique insights? Or does a careful consideration leadto a rejection of projective techniques altogether? And what do they sayabout stability or change?
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