Phillip Easley
Psychology 4130: Theories of Personality
October 15, 2015
Arthur D. Kemp, Ph.D., M.S.
Associate Professor of Psychology Science
Albert Ellis
Albert Ellis was a known as a 20th century psychologist who developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. “Ellis was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the 1913” (“Albert Ellis (1913-2007),” 2015). He was also known to have a distant relationship with parents. Ellis attended the City College of Downtown New York obtaining a bachelor’s degree in business (Cherry, 2015a). Ellis earned both his M.A. degree and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Columbia University. He was the oldest of three therefore found himself in a position of taking care of his younger siblings
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Ellis was also known as one of the founding individuals of the American sexual revolution and atheism. Earlier in his career he was also known as a sexologist. One of his most famous publications was “Sex Without Guilt”. His books led to many heated debates between religious therapist and peers (“Albert Ellis (1913-2007),” 2015). During this time Ellis stated his own personal beliefs about homosexuality. He “emphasized his that it was neither good nor bad and that homosexual feelings and behaviors are resistant to change, even through therapy” (“Albert Ellis (1913-2007),” 2015).
The ABC Model
One thing that Ellis is known for is the development of the ABC model. He suggested that individuals may blame external events for their particular unhappiness. Cherry (2015b) states that Ellis argued that it is ones interpretations of these events that truly lies at the heart of our psychological distress. In the ABC model the each letter has its own abbreviation. “A” was label as activating events; “B” was labeled as beliefs; and “C” was labeled as consequences. Activating events are said to be somethings that happens in the particular environment around an individual (Cherry, 2015b). Beliefs was something you hold a belief about such as a certain event or situation. While consequence were when one has an emotional response to your belief. Ellis’s ABC method has been very beneficial in today’s
Social psychology and personality psychology both came into fruition around the same time – the 1920’s and 1930’s. Needless
Burton, western & Kowaslki (2015) describes Personality as the enduring patterns of thought, feeling, motivation and behaviour that are expressed in different circumstances. In other words it can be defined as differences in characteristics in a person, including their way of thinking, likes, dislikes, sociability, openness, feelings and behaviour, which make them the person they are and differentiates them from others. All these traits when brought together is known to be the personality of that particular person.
Over the last 100 years, the underpinning concepts in the fields of psychology and counseling were wrought. Within this period, these concepts have transformed and evolved from somewhat crude conceptions of the psyche toward more holistic interventions and approaches. As the profession continues to move forward, adaptations of the original theorists regarding the nature of man and the development of personality continue to emerge. These adaptations, along with the integration of new concepts and ideas, continue to contribute to the field. The author describes his view of man and human nature, personality development, and explores potential implications for counseling.
In psychology, there are four major theories of personality: psychodynamic, trait or five-factor model, humanistic, and social-cognitive. The psychodynamic theory primarily focuses on the role of the unconscious mind. The social cognitive theory focuses on the effect of the environment on behavior and is based on theories of learning. Whereas, the humanistic theory emphasizes conscious life experiences and choices. The trait or five-factor model focuses on characteristics themselves and not the roots of personality.
However with advantages come disadvantages. For example, with correlational studies there is no background information obtained. Therefore, the reliability of the correlational studies is questioned.
Freud developed a theory to describe the structure of personality called a psychoanalytic theory. This theory suggested that personality consists of the interaction of three component parts of personality and the mind: the id, ego, and superego. These three components are separate, but work together to make up the self. Each of these are important when it comes to development, and they are all a part of everyone. However, even though these components are at work in everyone, one may be more prominent in one person than another. It is important to understand what each of these components mean.
Neal Miller, a well-known psychologist, was an important theorist who dedicated a lot of time and effort into studying the work of Sigmund Freud and Clark Hull. Miller became interested in Clark Hull’s work on his study of classical conditioning (Coon, 2010). While at Yale University, Miller joined John Dollard and several other individuals to write the book Frustration and Aggression (Coon, 2010). After this book was wrote, Miller and Dollard joined together in writing many other books, including Personality and Psychotherapy: An Analysis in Terms of Learning, Thinking and Culture and Social Learning and Imitation (Coon, 2010). Having joined together for
Allport defines personality as ‘the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment’ (Allport, 1937). An individual’s unique personality traits and attributes are a powerful indicator of how he/she will interact with the work environment. The difference between average and outstanding employees can often be solely personality related. As the employee is the most valuable asset to the company, ‘selecting the right employee during the process is critical’ (Carbery and Cross, 2013, pp. 41-53)
Leigh Anne Touhy is the fictional representation of the real life Leigh Anne, famed adoptive mother of Michael Oher from the 2009 film The Blind Side. Leigh Anne is a white interior designer, living in the south with her husband and two children. The family is considered to be part of the upper class, and made their money from owning a string of fast food chains. Leigh Anne and her family take in a black homeless boy, Michael, and throughout the film experience a growing love and bond. They eventually adopt Michael and the Leigh Anne becomes a fiercely protective mother. Very little is revealed about her upbringing
Albert Ellis is the father of cognitive behavioral therapy. He introduced Rational Emotive Behavioral Theory. He stated that people are not disturbed by things, but the view they take and what they tell themselves about it. He believed that thoughts, feelings, and behavior were all integrated. Though thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interactive, he stated that thoughts are most important and cognition can be altered. Emotions and behaviors can change when a person changes what he/she thinks. By what we think we change our response. It was important to recognize what the client truly believed. What a person thinks is true to him/her.
The father of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is Albert Ellis. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1913, New York became Dr. Ellis’ home since his family move there when he was four years old. Ellis struggled with health problems and physical ailments from childhood until his death in 2007. As a child, Ellis survived on his own as his parents were absent. His father was a traveling business person and his mother was emotionally absent (Albert Ellis Institute, 2012). The foundation of REBT developed when a youthful Ellis utilized a philosophy of viewing life to deal with his physical and family issues (Corey, 2013).
However, I misjudged the severity of the client’s depression and changed my theoretical approach to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy using the ABC model. This approach was used to show the client that the activating event does not cause his depression but his beliefs about the activating events is what causes his
The study of personality traits is beneficial in identifying the many variables that exist from human to human; the combinations of these variables provide us with a true level of individuality and uniqueness. In the field of psychology, trait theory is considered to be a key approach to the study of human personality (Crowne, 2007; Burton, Westen & Kowalski, 2009). This paper aims to identify a number of significant contributors who have played crucial roles in both the development and application of trait theory. This paper then moves focus to these theorists, outlining their theory and analysing both the strengths and weaknesses of those theories. An illustration of the methods used in trait measurement is given and includes the
1.The foundations of the third force of psychology were laid by Carl Rogers, William Glasser and Abraham Maslow who coined the term of the third force of psychology. The main belief of the third psychology is that all people are good in an inherent manner and through a constant change in the beliefs, attitudes as well as the values; a person can become self-actualized who has the morals and the beliefs that can help him in getting their aims in a more rightful manner. The paths thereby adopted by the individuals thereby are constructive and self-satisfying. Initially it was being thought that the third force has been developed for the betterment of people who are mentally ill but nowadays it is being seen that the third force is now being used in the classrooms on healthier children and individuals (Feist, and Feist, 2008, p. 55).
“We are influenced by our own internal forces, forces of which we are unaware, have feelings towards, or urges we do not quite understand “(Freidman, 2012, p. 17). This is the struggle that personality psychology tries to understand, how and to what extent the unconscious forces plays a role in human behavior. It is believed that people are responsible for their own actions. There is a continuous struggle with personality psychology and the comprehension of and to what extent unconscious forces play in human behavior. “Meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances; if there is any reaction both are transformed” (Carl Jung 1993, p.57). There are various questions that are asked about the issues in personality psychology such as, “How important are social influences on the self, such as parental deprivation or excessive praise? Is the sense of self merely an inconsequential epiphenomenon or secondary perception arising from other forces that really matter? What is the core of who we are? A second core issue with the studies of personality studies is does each person require a unique approach? “Gordon Allport argued that a key aspect of the study of personality must focus on the individual and thus be idiographic” (p.18). To generalize an individual is a complication in itself because the personality of each person is complex in its own way so how can we generalize? Obtaining an answer to that question is still a dilemma. Allport complained