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. The basis of this approach is that psychological factors play a major role in determining behaviour and shaping personality. Freud argued that personality is composed of three major systems the id, the ego, and the superego. The id (biological part of personality) is present at birth and consists of inherited instincts and all psychological energies. The id operates according to the pleasure principle, seeking to reduce tension, avoid pain and obtain pleasure. The ego (executive part of personality) is conscious part of the mind, the “real” us. The function of the ego is to express and satisfy the desires of the id in accordance wit... ... middle of paper ... ...ogist, 33, 344-358t Bandura, A. (1982). Self- efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 33, 334-358 Mischel, W. (1984). Convergence and challenges in the search for consistency. American Psychologist, 39, 351-364 Rotter, J. B. (1966) Social learning and Clinical Psychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ; Practice Hall Rotter, J.B. (1966) Generalized expectancies for internal verse external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80 (1, Whole No. 609) Alfred, A. (1927) The practice and theory of individual Psychology. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Carlson, R. Neil and Martin, Neil, and Buskit, W. (2004) Psychology (2nd European edition). Essex: Pearson Education Limited Gross, R (1996).Psychology, The Science of mind and behaviour (3rd Ed). London: Hodder & Stoughton
This essay will explore one of the possible combinations of theories on personality and explain how it can be applied in practical therapy.
The relationship between personality and resilience has become a topic of interest due to the prevalent concept that some people are less vulnerable to the impacts of stress and recover faster from stress. Personality is regarded as a crucial factor that affects the behavioral aspects of humans in their social and personal life. The personality of an individual represents different patterns of behaviors that are relatively predictable and stable. In this perspective, personality can be seen as an expression of distinction from one person to the other and allows for the enables in the prediction of relative behaviors in various situations. Personality type is regarded as a psychological method of classifying various types of people. Personality
Passer, M., Smith, R., Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., & Vliek, M. (2009). Psychology; Science of Mind and Behaviour. (European Edition). New York.
McKinley, J. and Fryer, D. (2004), Higher Psychology: Approaches and Method. KEEGAN, G. (2002) Hodder and Stoughton, London, 298 pp
Gall, S. B., Beins, B., & Feldman, A. (2001). The gale encyclopedia of psychology. (2nd ed., pp. 271-273). Detroit, MI: Gale Group.
The purpose of this research report is to investigate the personality of Beyoncé Knowles in terms of humanistic and trait conceptions of personality.
Over the years, people have wondered what goes on in a person's mind that guides them to meet their needs. Sigmund Freud developed a system of personality that boldly attempts to explain the course of personality and what was it origins. Freud theory assumes that one's personality is shaped and some powerful inner forces motivate one's behavior. According to Freud, personality differences commence from the different ways in which people deal with their underlying drives. By picturing a continuing battle between antagonistic parts of personality, Freud was able to develop three systems that make up the total personality. The three systems of personality are the id, ego, and the superego. If the three systems work together in harmony and unite together to form one complete organization, it enables one to create a positive transaction with the environment. If the systems are fighting with each other, one is said to be dissatisfied with himself or the world. By examining the ego, the id, and the superego, one should see how these three systems of personality play an important role in the development of one's personality. In doing so one should understand what conscious and unconscious, and the functions of the id, ego, and superego.
Gross, R (2010). Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour. 6th ed. London: Hodder Education. p188.
Magnavita, J. J. (2002). Theories of personality: Contemporary approaches to the science of personality. New York: Wiley.
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory was based on the opinion that human personality is made up of three components: the id, ego and superego. These three components are arranged along a hierarchy order with the id at the basal end, the ego in the middle and the super ego at the pinnacle. The id at the base, seeks instantaneous pleasure and fulfillment, driven by the pleasure principle. The id wants what it wants, when it wants it; regardless of whether or not it is possible to satisfy that particular want or need. The presence or logics of reality or societal behavior has no effect on the id. For example, if an infant is thirsty and sees a bottle of water he will take the bottle and drink even if it belonged to someone else and he did not
“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 Theories The Big Five Approach plays a major role in the process of understanding and analyzing a child’s outcome, as well as any adjustment issues that may occur during a child’s development. Along with these accomplishments, the Big Five approach has proven to be able to cover children, adolescents, and adults under one spectrum (Van den Akker et al., 2013). The article, “The development of personality extremity from childhood to adolescence: relations to internalizing and externalizing problems” provides an intense amount of information on personality theories and goes into depth about how personalities develop and how to distinguish between them as well. This study not only incorporated the study of personality extremity throughout childhood and adolescence, but the issues between personality extremities and personality adjustments as well (Van den Akker et al., 2013).
Edited by Raymond J. Corsini. Encyclopedia of Psychology, Second Edition, Volume 3. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
When we are born, over time we grow up and develop a personality. For each person, our personalities differentiate between one another which presents a wide variety of individuals. According to psychology, there are different factors that make up who we are. Today, I will be talking about the four major theories of personality (Psychodynamic, five-factor model, humanistic, and social-cognitive).
We tend to describe and assess the personalities of the people around us on an everyday basis. While our informal assessments of personality tend to focus more on individuals, personality psychologists instead use ideas of personality that can apply to everyone. Personality research has led to the development of a number of theories such as: Erikson with ‘Ego Psychology’, developing the eight stages of ‘Ego strength’, Freud with ‘Psychoanalytical ideology’, developing ‘defense mechanisms’, and Horney with ‘Neurosis’ developing ‘The Etiology of Neuroses in the family.’ These theories like many other help explain how and why certain personality traits develop.