The Theory Of Personality Psychology

Burger (2008), says that there are many theories of personality and psychologists try to explain it with their own approaches. Discussed here will be the psychoanalytic approach, the trait approach, the biological approach the humanistic approach, the behavioural/social learning approach and the cognitive approach. They were devised to search for specific patterns in behaviour and ways of thinking about these

Personality is one of the concepts that often be used by social scientists.According to Schultz (2009), “Personality can be defined as the unique, relatively enduring internal and external aspects of a person’s character that influence behaviour in different situations”. In general, personality theories can be classified based on four major approaches which are psychoanalytic theory, trait theory, social learning theory, and humanistic theory (Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).

Avoidant attachment of a male present in a romantic relationship (Male super ego and madonna-whore complex)

1. Explain how a person committed to each of the following contemporary perspectives would explain human aggression.

Gordon Allport, born on November 11, 1897, is considered the founder of “personality psychology” and “trait theory”. Allport, just like any other psychologist, had his own definition on what personality is. According to Allport, “ no two psychologists could easily agree on one definition of the term ‘personality’” (Kendall, 2010, p. 282), Allport believed that personality could be characterized in two ways, idiographic and nomothetic; while Freud believed that personality is composed by the Id, Ego and Superego.

Although there are advantages to each personality theory, all of perspectives have disadvantages as well. Based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the psychodynamic

In the article “Our Personality- Is it Genetically Inherited or Determined by The Environmental Factors” written by Alexandra Lupu, she demonstrates three possible process that is done to form one’s personality and argues that she believes individual’s personality is formed uniquely with environment inheritage interacting with each other. After stating her argument, Lupu explains the three types of approaches that divides the psychologist that determines one’s personality. First, nomothetic approaches, which is believed that one’s personality is constant and it is minimally influenced by external factors. Second, Idiographic approaches, which is similar to Lupu’s argument that both factors takes a big role in personality and finally, the complementary

Extraversion is one of the five core personality traits described in the big five theory of personality. This trait is characterized by sociability, assertiveness, emotional expressiveness and excitability. People who are high in this trait are often described as being outgoing ad talkative, while those low in this trait are described as quiet and reserved. An extroverted disposition ; concern with what is outside the self rather what is inside.

The psychodynamic perspective focuses on the role of the unconscious mind in the development of personality. Freud believed that the personality develops in a series of five stages that develop the three divisions of personality. In the oral stage, the fixation is in the mouth, and would be the cause of his introverted nature; likewise, in the anal stage, Roberto would discover his reserved nature, while the phallic stage, he would further refine his reserved nature as a sense of humility in his actions, also defining his mild mannered portion of his personality. In the latency stage, his social skills would refined and he would become introverted. Freud would think that Roberto’s mild-mannered, reserved, and invertedness is caused by intense suppressing of the id by the ego, having Roberto adopt the personality that he does; however, Karen Horney would classify Roberto’s personality in respect to her theory of neurotic personalities- personalities typified by maladaptive ways of dealing with relationships- with moving away from people by withdrawing from personal relationships.

Many psychologists throughout many years present theoretical approaches in an attempt to understand personality. Hans Eysenck’s approach of personality differed from that of Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytical theory of personality. Eysenck’s theory of personality relies on the scientific basis of biology in explaining human personality. Although Freud’s theories are intriguing to an open mind, Eysenck’s approach made measurable scientific sense. He relied on the use of trait and factor analysis, which is a statistical method. Freud relied on faith and his personal opinions based on observational research to reach the assumptions that set forth his theories (Feist & Feist, 2009). Eysenck and Freud did not agree on anything about

personality types, behavioural styles theories, personality and testing systems - for self-awareness, self-development, motivation, management, and recruitment

Several assessments of personality tend to focus more on the individual. Many of the personality psychologists use the ideas of personality that will apply to everyone. Personality research has lead to the development of many theories. A few of these theories include Eric Erickson with ‘Ego Psychology’, developing the eight stages of ‘Ego strength’, Sigmund Freud

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

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