Can there be a Grand Unified Theory of Personality? Bradley Templeton Scobie No single theory of personality can adequately explain the full function of human behaviour. Psychodynamic approaches often come under a lot of criticism as they fail to be explicit about the underlying bases of the theory. Cognitive theories are not very comfortable with explaining emotions and behavioural theories have difficulty explaining the mechanisms of improvements. It has become quite clear in the field of Psychology, and to some Psychologists like Windy Dryden (Individual Therapy) explicitly clear that there is a missing linkand that somewhere amongst the mass of theories on personality, the answer is staring them in the face. These Psychologists often practice a form of Psychology called Eclectism, which takes a little out of each theory and unites it during therapy with a client. You can’t use this sort of therapy as a theory however because all the Eclectic Psychologist is doing is ignoring the fundamental ideological underpinnings of the particular theories he is using and taking the parts relevant to their client in therapy This essay will explore one of the possible combinations of theories on personality and explain how it can be applied in practical therapy. Eysenkes theory of biological bases in behaviour is the base of this essays approach. It provides the rules within which the other two personality theories (Kellys Personal Construct Theory and Maslows Hierarchy of Human needs) can function. Using Eysenkes theory on extravert and introvert behaviour it is possible to determine from birth, very general traits about which a person is willing to work within (aggression, anxiety tolerance and sociability etc) which is where this essay believes Kelly slightly misunderstands this concept and defines it as his Range Corrollary. Really the person is experiencing a fundamental shift from Extravert behaviour or thinking to Introvert or vice versa which causes slight unease and can account for things like shyness etc. One of the major criticisms of Kellys Personal Construct Theory is that he finds it hard to explain why constructs are laid down in the first place and why one would rigourously defend the threat to a core construct. What kick starts the Construct system into defending itself when motivation is clearly and explicitly lacking in his theory? Eyesenkes theory provides an amicable solution. If we could assume that this information was genetically coded in to the cells at birth then this no longer becomes an issue and we can explain how’s and why the constructs are laid down to a loose genetic template i.
Does personality determine behavior? Phelps (2015) dived into this discussion in his article by reviewing the perspectives of personality, how psychology relates to behavior and the idea of self, and further, how behaviorists define personality and all of its components. Phelps (2015) compares and contrasts the common beliefs of personality and the view of self as attributed to personality theorists with those characterized by behavioral theorists. A typical understanding of personality is one that defines it as an internal substance that drives behavior, and therefore, by seeking to understand a person's personality we can almost assume their actions (Phelps, 2015). Behavioral theorists, on the other hand, do not lean on vague internal conditions to explain behavior, but rather they evaluate a person's past and present settings to define behavior, according to Phelps (2015). The conclusion is that behaviorists' perspectives on these topics are far more parsimonious in nature and most popular views of personality speak to a more internal and far-reaching position rather than the behavior itself (Phelps, 2015). Likewise, Phelps (2015) addresses the issue of meeting specific criteria for discerning whether a theoretical viewpoint is valid in helping us understand people. He continued to remark that behaviorists' stances meet a large portion of the criteria as presented by Gordon Allport (Phelps, 2015). For example, they have less assumptions, they are consistent, and not to mention, they are testable and falsifiable, Phelps (2015) supports. In my opinion and critical review, this article is useful because it provides an unbiased assessment of a variety of personality theories and definitions of personality and the self. Likewise, it is simple and easy to understand, thus qualifying it as parsimonious. Overall, I think the article did its ultimate job of evaluating different perspectives and
McAdams, D. P., & Pals, J. L. (2006). A new Big Five: Fundamental principles for an integrative science of personality. American Psychologist, 61(3), 204–217. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.61.3.204
In the movie The Hurricane, famous American middleweight boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was wrongly convicted of a triple homicide in New Jersey on November 30th, 1966. Carter and his friend John Artis were convicted for murder at a local bar, Lafayette Bar and Grill. The stereotypical and persistent New Jersey police arrested Carter and Artis, with a 31 day trial taking place shortly after the arrest. An all-white jury convicted Carter and Artis of first-degree murder with the jury recommending life sentences. Carter then spent over 20 years of his life in prison as an innocent man due to the lack of equality and discrepancy in our justice system. Even without palpable evidence against Carter, he still was denied his fundamental rights and was treated like
Cervone, D., Pervin, L. A. (2008). Personality: Theory and research (10th Ed.). New York: Wiley.
“Everyday conceptions of personality traits make two key assumptions. First, traits are stable over time… Second, it is generally believed that traits directly influence behavior” (Matthews, Deary, & Whiteman, 2003). Traits can be used as explanations or reasoning for behavior or mood. There have been several notable psychologists to agree with and study the trait theory of personality. Gordon Allport was a psychologist that devoted his work to personality psychology with a focus on the trait perspective (Allport, 1961). Carr and Kingsbury (1938) advocated for further research into personality traits and the idea that the human personality was made specifically of traits even if the traits were not always overt or observable, but rather a person’s behavior could be interpreted to learn about what traits they may
In James S. Hirsch’s book about Rubin "Hurricane" Cater, Hurricane, the author describes how Carter was wrongfully imprisoned and how he managed to become free. Hirsch tells about the nearly impossible battle for Carter and his friend John Artis for freedom and justice. Both, Carter and Artis, were convicted of a triple homicide, and both were innocent.
...lso emphasized on healthy human personality where he cited that psychodynamic theories tend to focus on clinical case studies and therefore lack an account of a healthy personality.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2013). Theories of personality (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage/Wadsworth.
Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of Personality (7th ed.). New York, New York: McGraw-Hill.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2013). Theories of personality (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage/Wadsworth.
The four common goals of psychologists are to describe, explain, predict, and control what happens. Although all psychologists share this purpose, the way different psychologists approach problems vary greatly. There are several different theoretical approaches to psychology. These approaches, referred to as the frameworks of psychology, have evolved psychology into the science it is today. A few examples of psychological approaches include behaviorism, cognitivism, and structuralism. How do different approaches to psychology differ a patient’s treatment? To answer this question, let’s take a look at our example Jake, who has just been diagnosed with anxiety disorder.
Sollod, R., Wilson J., & Monte C. (2009.). Beneath the mask: An introduction to theories of personality (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
“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
Personality can be defined as the difference in patterns of thinking and feeling in an individual. In most cases, the study of personality focuses on understanding differences in certain peoples’ characteristics, such as how social or irritable an individual is. The father of psychoanalysis is deemed to be Sigmund Freud. With time, Freud theory has been modified so that it can meet the present needs. His theory mainly focuses on the aspect of unconsciousness in the human personality. According to Freud, people often repeat their bad behaviors even though they are not willing to do so, or have a desire to stop those bad behaviors (Esterson 42). Freud believed that this was because
In this essay I will describe the four major theories of personality and identify the advantages and disadvantages of each. The first major theory of personality is psychodynamic which was created by Sigmund Freud. The second major theory of personality is trait or five-factor model which is the most scientifically supported model. The third major theory of personality is humanistic, and Carl Rogers was the best known humanistic theorist. Finally, the fourth major theory of personality is social cognitive which was developed by social learning theorists.