There are many ways to judge and define the self with numerous theories surrounding the topic. Personality is inseparable part of the self. Recent research suggests that even your pet can predict your personality (Gosling and Sandy 2011). This shows how much personality theories evolved and changed with time. Historical research into personality theories reveals two distinct, yet related, approaches to the self in psychology. Biologically oriented approach, that emphasises nature and inheritability of personality (Eysenck 1956), and Psychodynamic oriented approach, which concentrates around the idea that environment influences our personality (Schuett and Dall 2013).
Biological psychology or as referred to by (Stevens 1996) ‘’the embodied self ‘’is the science that attempts to explain human behaviour in terms of biological foundations (Wickens, 2005). It looks at chemical activity in the brain e.g., how neurotransmitters act to enable messages to be transmitted. Biopsychology also examines how characteristics are inherited via genes during the process of evolution. Charles Darwin first proposed the idea that both genes and evolution contribute towards many of our qualities including personality (Darwin 1859). Two main assumptions of biological approach are: mental events cause biological consequences, and biological events cause mental consequences (Wickens, 2005). Bio psychologists believe that the mental and biological processes are linked to each other and cannot be separated. This approach to self uses quantitative methods of collecting data. One of the key researchers in field of biological psychology was Donald Hebb. After he published his book in 1949 The Organisation of Behaviour biopsychology developed into major scient...
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Biological focuses on the body and brain being the dominant influences of behavior and thinking.
In its most basic form, personality is what defines a person through their “…expression of emotions, relationship building, and their individual patterns of behavior…” (CITE). Two of the most prolific theories on the formation of personality were developed by neurologist Sigmund Freud and psychologist Carl Rogers. Both Freud and Rogers worked in psychotherapy, the area of therapy, which “…focuses on fostering a positive mental well-being…” (CITE). These men based their general theories of personality on their experiences with patients, however their conclusions are worlds apart. Rogers is recognized for his approach to therapy where the “…client…” has a more direct role in the process (CITE). Whereas Freud is best known for his work on the unconscious mind.
Personality-This are characteristically patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that makes a person to be unique from other individuals. It mainly consists of who you are, who you have been and what you will become. There are a number of different theories that have emerged to explain different aspects of personality. Some focus on explaining how personality develops while others focus on individual differences in personality. According to Freud, the mind is divided into the conscious mind which is composed of all things we are aware of and the unconscious mind which has things we are not aware of. He also goes on and divides the human personality into: the identity, Ago and the superego. He terms the Identity as the most primitive part and it’s the source of all the basic wants. It is generally unconscious and hence serves as the main source of libidinal energy. Ego component focuses on reality matters and ensures satisfaction of the identity in a realistic manner that is safe and socially accepted. The superego component holds internalized behavior and standards we learn from the surrounding environment like our parents and society. Freud came up with four stages of psychosexuality: Oral, Anal, Phallic and Genital. At each stage different parts of the body are able to produce pleasure hence they serve as the main source of pleasure, frustration and self-expression. If at all a conflict remains unresolved at any particular stage, the individual might remain fixated at that particular point of development. A fixation can involve an overdependence or obsession with something related to that phase of development. When a person is considered to have oral fixation is one who stuck in the oral stage of development him/her posse’s...
The biological approach looks at the relationship between behaviours and the body's physiological systems, especially the nervous system. Biological psychologists also believe that the chemical processes within the brain have an influence on behaviour. The treatments for the biological approach to psychology include, as previously said drug ...
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 understanding how and why the mind operates the way, it does.
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A Comparison of the Main Approaches to Personality Psychology Psychology of personality is a difficult concept to define and quantify, therefore most personality theories, however different they may be in other respects, share the basic assumption, that personality is a particular pattern of behaviour and thinking, that prevails across time and situations and differentiates one person from another. Most theories attempting to explain personality represent part of the classic psychological Nature verse Nurture debate. In other words, is personality “inherited”, or developed through our interactions with the environment. In addition, we shall compare and contrast two of the main approaches to personality psychology by concentrating on Psychoanalytical Theory (Freud) and Social Learning Theory (Bandura). By looking at the Psychodynamic approach, developed by Freud, we can argue that it emphasizes the interplay of unconscious psychological processes in determining human thought, feelings, and behaviours.
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something- your gut, destiny, life, home, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life” (Steve Jobs, 1955). Throughout all of my 25 years blessed on planet earth, my personality have somewhat been compared to that of a roller coaster, filled with many ups and downs, positives and negatives, rewards and punishments. As such, I have frequently embarked on numerous journeys in a dyer attempt to discover and recollect the shattered fragments left of me. With this being said, the term personality however, could be defined as “the patterns of behavior and ways of thinking and feeling that are distinctive for each individual” (Tischler, 2007). At the completion of this paper, I intend to achieve answers to some pertinent questions for instance how has the development of personality affected or impacted on human nature. I also hope to discover the various transitions of my personality starting from infancy to present and the reason or motives behind such changes. Finally, I would like to be able to gain an in-depth understanding of a variety of Personality Theories especially the Psychoanalytical Theory of
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"The premise behind the biological perspective in psychology is that all actions, feelings, and thoughts are associated with bodily events." Biological psychologists examine how all of the electrical impulses, hormones, and chemicals flowing through the body can effect behavior and how changes to these bodily functions can change behavior. They are concerned with how the aspects of biology effect peoples' emotions, learning abilities, and their perception of events.
The Biological approach to personality places emphasis on the genetic influences related to the development of an individual’s personality. Some may believe that children and their parents can have very similar personalities, for example a young boy having his father’s anger (Stelmack, 1990). Though this approach has often been questioned by psychologists, it is not disregarded all together. Some believe that genetics do have a role in an individual’s personality development; however environments, as well as personal experiences all work in forming personality.
Personality is the study of an individual’s unique and relatively stable patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving over time and across situations and it is what distinguishes one individual from another. In the past changes in personality were thought to have only occurred in the developmental stages of childhood and solidifies in adolescence. After the teenage years it was thought to be set like plaster or the change seen to be inconsequential or absent( Srivastava, John, Gosling, and Potter, 2003). However, recent studies have suggested that changes in personality traits continue to occur throughout an individual’s lifespan due to multiple reasons.
Personality takes many shapes and forms and is affected by many factors. My understanding of personality is simply a genetic and environmentally determined set of psychological traits that influence our reactions in the world around us. Genetic because our parents possess a certain set of psychological personality traits that we tend to have in common with them so therefore in my opinion there are heritable personality traits. Personality is environmental because we each have our own separate experiences in the world and these experiences help form our unique personality. Neo-Freudians such as Jung have given us a wide array of ideas of how they believe personality is developed and formatted. Jung in particular has a very interesting
The period of development from adolescence to adulthood offers an abundance of opportunities and confronts (Kroger, 2007). Many theorists argue that an individual’s personality has an increased