Theories of personality

TOPIC:1. MEANING AND DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY

2. THEORIES OF PERSONALITYNAME: SAIMA KHALIL

DEPARTMENT:EDUCATIONSUBJECT: ADVANCE EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

COURSE # 522

The Meaning of Personality

The term personality is derived from the Latin word persona meaning a mask. Personality is a patterned body of habits, traits, attitudes and ideas of an individual as these are organized externally into roles and statuses and as they relate internally to motivation, goals and various aspects of selfhood.

DEFINITIONS

The set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc., that makes a person different from other people.

Attractive qualities (such as energy, friendliness, and humor) that make a person interesting or pleasant to be with.

Attractive qualities that make something unusual or interesting.

PersonalityPersonality refers to individual differences in

characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. The study of personality focuses on two broad areas: One is understanding individual differences in particular personality characteristics, such as sociability or irritability. The other is understanding how the various parts of a person come together as a whole.

Theory

A set of assumptions, propositions, or accepted facts that attempts to provide a plausible or rational explanation of cause-and-effect (causal) relationships among a group of observed phenomenon. The word's origin (from the Greek thorós, a spectator), stresses the fact that all theories are mental models of the perceived reality.

Behaviourist theory of personality by Skinner :Skinner believed that it is simply human nature

that we behave in such a way that we would receive rewards or favorable things. If we want to experience reinforcement, then we should develop personality traits that are positive, such as those attributes included in the "agreeableness" category of the Big Five (e.g. being understanding, compassionate, empathetic, and a positive thinker). In this sense, Skinner argued that we respond to every kind of reinforcement, and that our behavior and personality traits can be shaped and controlled by the society.

BF Skinner: Operant Conditioning

B.F. Skinner (1938) coined the term operant conditioning; it means roughly changing of behavior by the use of reinforcement which is given after the desired response. Skinner identified three types of responses or operant that can follow behavior.

• Neutral operants: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the probability of a behavior being repeated.

• Reinforcers: Responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behavior being repeated. Reinforcers can be either positive or negative.

• Punishers: Responses from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Punishment weakens behavior.

Carl RogersAmerican1902-87believed that all people are born good, with

considerable potential, and that each person has the ability to achieve their full potential as an individual if they are able to overcome a series of hurdles

Rogers emphasised the importance of free will, we are all individuals who freely choose to behave in whatever way we desire, and we act according to that choice

Person-centred theoryDeveloped by Rogers based on clinical work with his ClientsBelieved each person is like The seed of an enormoustree

Allport’s Theory Of PersonalityTrait basic unit of personalityUsed the term personal dispostion to

represent traitsA trait is more generalized then a habitA trait is dynamic, or at least deterministic of

behaviorA trait’s existence may be established

empirically

Humanistic theories of personalityEmerged in 1950s in AmericaHumanistic theories of personality emphasise the

uniqueness of each individual and the positive qualities and potential of all human beings to fulfil their lives

Based on the assumption that all people are born good and that all individuals strive to reach their full potential throughout their lives

Believe that a healthy personality is the result of a person achieving their full potential

Also believe that personality is made up of all experiences up to any point in time

to understand someone’s personality fully, you must try to understand the dilemmas and choices they have made in their lives from their perspective

Raymond Cattell Raymond B. Cattell entered the field of psychology almost against his

own better judgment.  After working in a hospital during World War I, he decided that understanding human behavior and interaction is the only way to get beyond the irrationality of the times.  While a graduate student at London University, he was hired as a research assistant to Charles Spearman, a mathematician studying the quantification of intelligence. Spearman, a well known name in the field of intellectual assessment, developed a mathematical formula known as factor analysis.  This statistical technique allows one to take raw data and determine groupings of data.  In other words, if you and many others took a general test that had both math and English questions, a factor analysis would likely determine that there were two factors or groupings on this test.  Imagine the power of this technique for lesser understood concepts such as intelligence and personality

According to Cattell.  The key to assessment is determining where on the continuum an individual falls.  The 16 traits are shown in the chart below.

Cattell's 16 Personality Factors

Abstractedness imaginative versus practical Apprehension insecure versus complacent Dominance aggressive versus passive Emotional Stability calm and stable versus high-strung and Liveliness enthusiastic versus serious Openness to Change liberal versus traditional Perfectionism compulsive and controlled versus indifferent Privateness pretentious versus unpretentious Reasoning abstract versus concrete Rule Consciousness moralistic versus free-thinking Self-Reliance leader versus follower Sensitivity sensitive versus tough-minded Social Boldness uninhibited versus timid Tension driven and tense versus relaxed and easy going Vigilance suspicious versus accepting Warmth open and warmhearted versus aloof and critical

Eysenck Identified three dimensions of personality

Extraversion (Introversion) Neuroticism (Stability) Psychoticism (Superego function)

1. Psychometric evidence for each2. Strong biological evidence for each3. Make sense theoretically (face validity)

Neo-FreudiansNeo-Freudians: students of Freud who

eventually started their own school of thought due to major disagreements with some of Freud’s ideas.

Carl Jung: 1875-1961. (pronounced – Young). - Analytical psychology- Born in Switzerland, trained as a psychiatrist- Believed Freud placed too much emphasis on

sexuality as a motive for behavior

Alfred Adler1870-1937 (Vienna, Austria): MD

(opthamologist).“Behind everyone who behaves as if he were

superior to others, we can suspect a feeling of inferiority which calls for very special efforts of concealment. It is as if a man feared that he was too small and walked on his toes to make himself seem taller.“ - Alfred Adler

Abraham Maslow’s TheoryAbraham Maslow (1908-1970)Maslow’s Approach• Rejection of mainstream psychology &

scientific method• Science too limited for studying human

nature• ‘Scientific attitude’ pathological (eg.

Skinner’s)• Began psychology career studying

‘dominance’ in monkeys• “Psychopathology of the average”

Maslow’s Theory• Maslow’s methodology: identified self-

actualisers based on his own personal preference/bias

• Hierarchy of needs: some empirical support that lower level needs are stronger than high-level when deprived (eg. Wicker et al, 1993; Hagerty, 1999)

• Exceptions to the hierarchy of needs• eg. ‘starving artist’

BIBLOGRAPHY

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/personalityhttp://www.sociologyguide.com/personality/meaning-of-personality.phphttp://www.apa.org/topics/personality/ http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/theory.html#ixzz3GvzEq3zC

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