This course has taught me a lot about the different personality theories as well as the best known psychology theorists that have developed these theories. Personality consists of the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make an individual unique. Numerous theories have been emerged to implicit the different features of personality. The main purpose of some theories is to focus on explaining how personality developed. Our book was divided into different chapters on various theorists and explained the major theories of personality that were proposed by the different psychologists. One of the theories that we learned about was the trait theories. Gordan Allport introduced the trait theory and his theory suggested that individual personalities are primarily composed of broad dispositions’. Eysenck’s three dimensions of Personality was also a part of the trait theory. Eysenck developed that model of personality upon three universal trails. And at last, the trait theory had the Big five dimensions which proposed that there are give basic dimensions of personality. One of the four conclusions in our textbook suggested that “until more unambiguous empirical research is available, the best one can do is to evaluate the various theories personally, and to accept concepts that make sense and reject those that do not”(531). I agree with this statement because while most agree that people can be described upon their personality traits; there still remains a debate on the number of traits that make up the human personality. For example, it could be concluded that the trait theory has some criticisms to it. Trait theory centers mainly on the fact that traits are usually poor predictors of behavior. This theory also doesn’t exactly explain wh... ... middle of paper ... ...heory. I believe the humanistic theory does a great job simplifying the positive nature of humankind as well as the association of free will with change. Humanistic theory also fits well with other approaches. This theory also is well incorporated into the different views on human change. If I were to evaluate a theory and choose the one that I had to accept then I would take away something from all of the theories that we learned about. Theories are created through existing data. However, a theory may not necessarily be correct but it does give us a better understanding of concepts in that it gives people to either prove them correct or wrong. All in all, understanding is being created. Plus, our book stated that “the best available explanation of personality comes from using the best of all the theories rather than attempting to use one or a few of them” (531).
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
After Allport, came along two psychologists, Raymond Cattell and Hans Eysenck, who each formulated their own theories regarding traits. Their theories have been the subjects of considerable research in the world of psychology. Cattell seemed to focus on far too many traits, while Eysenck seemed to focus on too few. As a result, psychologists have combined the two theories to make one satisfactory theory (Cherry), called “The Big Five Factors” (Myers). They are: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion. These five factors merge to create the human personality (Cherry). Where people fall into these factors s...
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” Personality is characterized by many dimensions of a person’s overall being. The belief that personality stems from one origin is small minded and on many levels, unsupported. If the scope of personality is expanded, it suggests that there is not a single explanation determining a person’s personality and how it is formed. Personality Theories have been generated for centuries by individuals who desire to identify what distinguishes a person’s personality and how it affects their behaviors. What is it that comprises all the unique characteristics about a person?
I believe our personalities make up who we are and how others perceive us at times. Personalities are our own unique qualities, that we possess as individuals. In writing this short paper, I have found that psychologists use assessments to define an individual’s personality to determine their qualities and what makes them different from other individuals. Through the Big Five Personality test, I found it difficult to define and understand an individual personality
Everybody's personality is different. Some may be extraversion's or narcissists, low self-monitoring or high self-monitoring and the list goes on. During this semester, taking Personality Theories has thought me more about myself than I have learned in my whole life. I believe that my personality stems from my family environment, my friends and society and then I get to choose what I think to be morally correct and what fits with my personality the best.
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.
From a social-cognitive perspective your environment can change your personality, however, humanistic approach implies and event happens in your life and you apply your free will which defines your personality. The social-cognitive approach emphasizes the importance of cognitive processes, situational influences, observational learning, and self-efficacy while, the humanistic approach emphasizes free will, personal awareness, and psychological growth. The social-cognitive theory explains behavior is guided by cognitions of the world, in contrast, the humanistic approach stresses the importance of free will in explaining behavior. The social-cognitive theory incorporates mostly objective and some subjective information, while, the humanistic approach is more concerned with the subjective experiences of the individual. The social-cognitive perspective does not regard humans a unique. The humanistic approach places a high value on humans and does not believe they are comparable to rats in an experiment. Social-Cognitive approach takes into account biological factors related to cognition. The humanistic approach rejects biological determinism. The social-cognitive theory is grounded in empirical, laboratory research, in contrast, the humanistic viewpoint has no empirical research but assumptions or clinical observations. The main perspective differences between social-cognitive and humanistic perspectives are social cognitive theory believes the interaction between the environment, cognition, and behavior influence personality; and the humanistic theory believes people have free will, individual work and potential to reach
A person’s personality has been the subject of psychological scrutiny for many years. Psychologists have drawn up several theories in an attempt to accurately predict and determine one’s personality. Foremost amongst these, is the “Big Five Trait Theory” which stemmed from Raymond B. Cattell’s theory.
There are many people in this world; no two people are the same. When considering personality theories it is important to note that not all theories apply to all situations or all people. Different theories have different approaches. It is important to know the person before making assumptions about the proper theory to apply to the person or in any given situation. The purpose of this paper is to analysis how different personality theorists could interoperate different individual circumstances and behaviors based on case examples provided by the instructor.
Schultz, D.P. & Schultz, S.E. (2009). Theories of Personality, Ninth Edition. US: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Magnavita, J. J. (2002). Theories of personality: Contemporary approaches to the science of personality. New York: Wiley.
Hergehhahn, B. R. and Olson, M. H. (1999). An Introduction to Theories of Personality. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Feist, J., Feist, G. J., & Roberts, T. A. (2009). Theories of personality. New York:
I have been reading a lot about the Big Five Model of personality traits. It is a popular outlook on the 5 main traits human beings possess. These Traits are: Extroversion, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and openness. This is a long standing debate of whether who we are and how we act is a result of inner personalities are because of “genes” and “nature” or a result of situations and events in life or “nurture”.
The first major theory of personality I will be talking about is the psychodynamic theory. Psychodynamics is an approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the psychological forces that underlie human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate to early experience. It is especially interested in the dynamic relations