Walter Mischel's Theory Of Personality

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Personality is an aspect of psychology that is especially difficult to measure. There are four major theories of personality: psychodynamic, five-factor model, humanistic, and social-cognitive. The psychodynamic theory, which was developed by Sigmund Freud and carried on by his followers, rests on the ideals that all psychological events have both a cause and a symbolic meaning and our behavior and feelings are powerfully affected by unconscious motives. The five-factor model relies on factor analysis that has produced five traits that have surfaced repeatedly in personality measures: extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Humanistic psychologists believe that the core motive in personality …show more content…

Individuals can be either high or low on the spectrum for each trait and the combination on the five makes up the individual’s personality. The advantage of this theory is its immense scientific backing. The five-factor model has been consistently proven by research and the five traits have repeatedly surfaced in factor analysis of personality measures. The primary critic of this theory is Walter Mischel, who called the very notion of personality traits into …show more content…

Carl Rogers was the pioneer of humanistic psychology. Rogers believed our personalities consist of three major components: organism, self, and conditions of worth. Conditions of worth to Rogers were expectations we place on ourselves for appropriate and inappropriate behavior. He held an optimistic view of human nature, however some critics have accused him of being naïve in minimizing the dark side of human nature. The humanistic models of personality boldly proclaim the importance of free will and personal choice, which appeal to a generation of young people disenchanted with the determinism of psychoanalysis and behaviorism. However, humanistic models are difficult to

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