The Theories Of Personality Theories

In this class, we have discussed many different opinions and ideas about the theories of personalities. Of these, I have chosen to incorporate ideas from myself, McAdams, Freud, Jung, Adler, and Horney. I believe that there are seven personality types and each is displayed as a personification in a character from the Peanuts cartoons and comics. The personalities are Neuroticism, Openness to Experience and Imagination, Psychoticism, Passive Aggressive Dependency, Histrionicism, Introversion, and Extraversion. These personality types make up the world, and I believe that any single person can actually have several different personalities.

There are many theories that have been created to help try and explain how personality

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.

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

“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

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)

Rogers was the fourth of six children in his family. His parents were very strict, religious, and domineering. He and his siblings were not allowed to “dance, play cards, attend movies, smoke, drink, or show any sexual interest” (Schultz & Schultz, 1998, p. 310). There was a lot of competitiveness between them because Rogers felt that his parents showed favoritism towards his older brother.

The Behaviorist theory states that we are born with a blank slate and that we are a product of our environment and a product of our nurture. It is basically stating that our behavior is learned. I agree with this theory because life experiences whether good or bad help make us stronger and become a better person. The quote that comes to mind is that we are born hating one another and that type of behavior is taught. When you are young, you are innocent and naïve, but overtime you become more aware of your surroundings and have a better understanding of how things are. At an early age, I was taught the importance

Over the variation of the project, subject A has been tested over three different models of personality. Each one provided different points to her personality and allowed for the most in-depth explanation of the subject’s personality. Each of these models are also capable of acting as a check and balance for the other. For example, between the trait and psychodynamic models. One could compare the results from the Big 5 and how that matches to the Myers-Briggs since essentially those gave similar feedback. Once those are both taken accounted for, these could give rise to a more accurate basis for the biological model, which is mainly inferred and not factual in the first place.

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.

It explains behaviors as well as makes predictions about future behaviors. The First theory is the Psychoanalytic theories which view development as unconscious and points out childhood experiences on the development of personality. For example, the Sigmund Fred's Psychosexual Theory says that personality is molded by our capability to content bodily urges throughout childhood (nature) while Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Theory says personality is molded by our capability to make social crisis decisions throughout the lifespan

Theories of personality, among many other theories in the field of psychology, must use some sort of scientific basis in order for the theory or research to be looked upon by others as credible. Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior, therefore it should be crucial for theories of personality to be evaluated according to scientific criteria. Forming a hypothesis, testing it out, observing, racking up data -- it should all be used during research. There needs to always be a theory in conjunction with research (Cloninger, S. 2013). Scientific criteria gives psychologists or reseachers a firm base to follow, which makes it easier to validate theories. Evaluating a theory based on personality without using scientific criteria

“Humans have the capacity for love, solidarity, compassion and the capacity for great aggression and cruelty.” Although, humans have the capability to be affectionate and considerate, I believe that most of society decides to be belligerent and spiteful instead. To try and prove this theory, I designed an experiment in which the hypothesis was that if I ask random people to complete a generous act, then more people will complete a kind act if they are bribed with candy because they are easily getting something they want.

Even though my interests leaned a certain way I think all of the theories have their good points. Freud’s unconscious, and neo-freudian’s collective unconscious, inferiority complex, and psychosocial stages all contain decent explanations of how parts of our personalities are form. Along with those there are also humanistic theories focus on the actual person, and cognitive approaches emphasis on the mental capacity of our brains. All of them have their own unique ideas, many of them have research backing their claims. I fell like in their own ways they are all right. We could fight for any of these theories as the key decision maker of or peronalites. We just have to decide which theory we agree with more. One important thing to remember is, I feel like we will never be a perfect judge of our own personalities. If it was not for other people pointing out my better attributes I would only ever seen the unfavorable parts of myself. Self doubt is such a big part of me. It is safe to say I am nowhere near a self actualized person. Even in my partners collage she pointed out how I am too critical of myself. I assume these means I am insecure in my own identity. I feel like there is two sides to every person; how they view themselves, and how the ones closest to them view them. Together, both the favorable, and imperfect qualities customize a

One of the foremost authorities on trait theory is Eysenck. He worked at the Maudsley Psychiatric Hospital where his task was to make the initial assessment of anyone admitted. After several years, he developed a questionnaire with which he would interrogate his patients. He then applied the questionnaire to 700 soldiers and solidified his evidence. He found that the answers seemed to reveal a lot about the personality traits of each soldier (Gergen, 1973). He then assigned a weight to the answers and called them factors. He created two broad categories with which the various traits tallied and presented the results to the world. His work still influences psychology today.