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Dissonance In Psychology

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At one point in life, at a young age or as a resident in an elderly home, the question of who am I will arise. It is a convoluted mesh of thoughts and feelings that a person will go through before coming up with an answer. Some people may even experience cognitive dissonance in trying to explain different stages of life, while others will be comfortable in responding instantaneously with minimal cognition. In going through this process and drawing up the ‘who am I’ and individual is further confronted with others people’s perception. Where does this lead, when presented with other’s opinion, and what is it based it on? Response from outside sources is mainly based on perspective concerning an individual’s personality.
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Enough to understand the reason behind the varying approaches used in studying personality. As analyzed by Feist & Feist (2009), theorists who lean toward the quantitative side of psychology such as behaviorists, social learning theorists, and trait theorists tend to differ in personality and further account for the fundamental disagreements between those inclined toward the clinical and qualitative side of psychology such as psychoanalysts, humanists, and existentialists. In considering a theoretical approach in the study of personality, theories brought forth due to these differences are the following: psychoanalytic, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, and neurobiological theories. The scientific process may be influenced by the personal characteristics of the scientist, but the ultimate usefulness of the scientific product is and must be evaluated independently of the process (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 8).
In using any of the five theoretical approaches in studying personality, an individual must then consider the factors involved and decide upon which approach to adopt. When deciding on a psychoanalytic approach, for example, a person is going to be looking into personality as it is influenced by childhood experiences and the unconscious mind. On how these experiences are engrained and are manifested on personality throughout life. In a behavioral approach,

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