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Personality theories in psychology
Personality theories in psychology
Psychology roots in philosophy
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Consciousness, the Self, and Personality Theory: A Critical Survey of Theories of
Philosophical Arguments and Modern Psychological Personality Theories.
This paper will concern itself with some main philosophical arguments and dilemmas and how they correlate with modern psychological personality theories. This survey will include dilemmas about the mind and body, the concept of the self, and inner and outer reality. Also, it will discuss six personality theorists and their scientific and philosophical developments.
Psychology, science, and philosophy are interconnected and rooted within each other. In the book Metapsychology, the author, Sam Rakover, states that
"Scientific knowledge grows and changes with time, and all three of the subsystems of science-the philosophical, the theoretical, and the experimental- are constantly developing" (Rakover 7). These developments are systematic processes. Psychology must engage in pursuit of explanation and causality. As well as how the mind interacts with the body. Gathering information, drawing conclusions and finding valid theories; as well as understanding biological and social problems, constitute psychology's philosophical background.
The concept of the self is a large factor in the study of personality as well as philosophy. The self, generally speaking, includes subjective experience and conscious awareness. In the book Philosophy of Mind the author speaks about self-consciousness, "...the possession of the concept of the self and the ability to use this concept in thinking about oneself" (Guttenplan, 213).
This unique quality of human beings allows for the question of thoughts, beliefs, desires, emotions, intentions, memories; along with the responsibility of these qualities, makes us truly unique. The problem with this way of thinking is that it leads to us thinking we are more than our bodies. That a person is something more that just the physical body. Another problem with our supposed uniqueness is that we 'seem' to have a will, drive, and intention. Samuel
Guttenplan continues by saying "persons are self-motivated beings with a considerable degree of autonomy over and above a material body" (Guttenplan 214).
This led Renee Descartes to postulate that the only thing he couldn't doubt was his thinking existence, that there is a soul a non-material part of human beings that couldn't be denied. Since our bodies don't make decisions the self must have more than a human body. The pure ego.
David Hume had a different idea about the self in relation to experience. In a book of readings called Self and World, Hume is quoted as saying "The idea of the self as an entity that owns experiences should be replaced with the idea of the sum of those experiences themselves" (Olgilvy.
107). One can not know about oneself without experience to show it.
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
This essay will explore one of the possible combinations of theories on personality and explain how it can be applied in practical therapy.
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).
In the day to day life, experiences and connections are made. Many things that occur in one’s life can all stem from their individual personality, but interpreting how one’s personality guides their life presents a difficult challenge. Many actions, quirks, and patterns that a person has are easily noted due to the ability to see it, but the puppeteer behind these habits is an individual’s personality. A certain personality type can affect the perception of certain events and the reactions/feelings to certain outcomes. While one person might see a situation as dreadful, another may see it entirely different. We tend to find ourselves side by side with people we see similarities between due to a parallel in certain traits, but no two individuals are exactly the same based on differences in personality. Success is hinged on many things and one of those things is the development of self-awareness. To know oneself is key to tackling on intimidating tasks and situations, but to also grow in terms of knowledge and synergy. In my attempt to
Personality is patterns of thinking, behavior and emotional responses that make up individuality over time. Psychologist attempt to understand how personality develops and its impact on how we behave. Several theories attempt to explain personality, using different approaches. The social-cognitive and humanistic approaches are two of many theories that attempt to explain personality. This essay will identify the main concepts of social-cognitive and humanistic approach, identify perspective differences and discuss approach limitations.
Sollod, R., Wilson J., & Monte C. (2009.). Beneath the mask: An introduction to theories of personality (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Magnavita, J. J. (2002). Theories of personality: Contemporary approaches to the science of personality. New York: Wiley.
“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 an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting. Many personality theorists have put forward claims as to where personality is derived from and how it develops throughout an individual’s life. The two main personality theories this essay will be focusing on is the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1986) and the Trait Theory – Five Factor Theory (FFT) (McCrae and Costa, 1995). The SCT allocates a central role to cognitive, observational learning and self-regulatory processes (Bandura, 1986). An individual’s personality develops through experiences with their sociocultural environment. Whereas the Trait Theory proposes that all individuals are predisposed with five traits (Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness and Neuroticism) which determines our personality. This theory also puts forward that personality is stable and cannot change as it’s biologically determined.
McAdams, D. P. (2009). The person: An introduction to the science of personality psychology (5th ed.). Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Hume believes that there is no concept of self. That each moment we are a new being since nothing is constant from one moment to the next. There is no continuous “I” that is unchanging from one moment to the next. That self is a bundle of perceptions and emotions there is nothing that forms a self-impression which is essential to have an idea of one self. The mind is made up of a processions of perceptions.
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).
In the following, I am going to talk about the self-concept. Self-concept suggested that there are different kinds of self, such as actual self, ideal self, physical self, public self and spiritual self (Buss, 2001).
Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of Personality, Seventh Edition. Retrieved from http://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBook
A self is some sort of inner being or principle, essential to, but not identical with, the person as whole. It is that in a person that thinks and feels. The self is usually conceived in philosophy as that which one refer to with the word “I”. It is that part or aspects of a person that accounts for personal identity through time. In spite of all the ways one can change with time, the self is invariably same through time. A self is what is supposed to account for the fact that an individual is same person today as he/she was at the age of five, given that all his characteristics have changed over time. For instance, compared to his childhood, this individual is stronger, taller, and smarter; he has different aspirations and dreams, different thoughts and fears, his interests and activities are remarkably different. Yet, he is still the same ...