Personlality theories
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Transcript of Personlality theories
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 1
Personality
&
Theories of Personality
Presenter
M.Shahid Khan
M.Phil Education
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 2
Study of Personality
Study of Personality is an attempt to describe
and explain how people are similar, how they
are different, and why every individual is
unique. It tries to explain the whole person.
The branch of psychology which study
personality is called Personality Psychology
or Personology.
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 3
Introduction
Etymology of the term Personality
The term Personality has been derived from the
Latin word “ Persona” which means Mask, was
associated with Greek theater in ancient times.
The Greek actors commonly used to wear masks
on their faces during their performances on the
stage. The mask worn by the actors was called
“Persona”.
Personality was thought to be the effect and
influence which the individual wearing a mask
left on the audience.
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Introduction
The psychologists have defined the term
personality in various ways but they were not
completely successful in explaining it, in clear
and definite terms, because human behavior
is very complex and personality is not a fixed
state but a dynamic totality, which is
continuously changing due to interaction with
the environment.
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Definition
Personality can be defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her behaviors in various situations.
According to Lundberg Kolb
“each individual’s characteristically recurring patters of behaviour are known as personality”.
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Definition
Burger, suggests that personality can be
defined as consistent behavioral patterns and
intrapersonal processes originating within the
individual.
Note elements of this definition: Personality is
consistent, along time and across situations.
Personality is our intrapersonal processes,
our emotional, motivational, and cognitive
processes that affect how we feel and how we act.
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Definition
The pioneering American psychologist,
Gordon Allport (1937) who devoted most of
his time for research on personality, defines
Personality as:
“It is the dynamic organization within the
individual of those psychological systems that
determine his unique adjustment to the
environment”.
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Theories of Personality
The concept of personality seems like a simple one, hundreds of years have gone into studying it and we still don't agree how it develops.
Personality theories are attempts at understanding both the characteristics of our personality and the way these characteristics develops and impact our life.
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Theories of Personality
Four Theories of Personality are:
1. Trait Theories
2. Learning Theories
3. Psychoanalytical Theories
4. Phenomenological Theories
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1.Trait Theory
The trait theories suggests that individual personalities are composed of traits.
What is Trait?
Any characteristic in which one person differs from another in a relatively permanent and consistent way. E.g. friendly, anxious, excitable, intelligent, we are using trait terms.
Trait theory is focused on identifying and measuring these individual personality characteristics.
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Trait Theory
In 1940 William Sheldon an American Psychologist, classified human personalities based on body build.
Endomorph (A short, plump person)
Socialable, relaxed and even-tempered
Ectomorph (A tall, thin Person)
Restrained, self conscious and found of solitude
Mesomorph (A Heavy, Muscular Person)
Noisy, callous and fond of physical activity.
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 12
Jung’s Theory of Two Types
Carl Jung (Swiss Psychologist) divided
personalities into:
1. Introvert Type.
Shy, self-centered person whose attention
is focused inward.
2. Extrovert Type.
Bold, outgoing person whose attention is
directed outward.
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Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory In 1936, Gordon Allport found that one English-
language dictionary alone contained more than 4,000 words describing different personality traits. He categorized these traits into three levels:
Cardinal traits: govern the direction of one's life. e.g Freudian, Behaviorist.
Central traits: operate in daily interactions, as illustrated by a tendency to always try to control a situation. Terms such as intelligent, honest, shy are central traits.
Secondary traits: These are the traits that are sometimes related to attitudes or preferences and often appear only in certain situations or under specific circumstances. Some examples would be getting anxious when speaking to a group or impatient while waiting in line.
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 14
Eysenck’s Three Dimensions of Personality
British psychologist Hans Eysenck developed
a model of personality based upon three
traits:
Extraversion (as opposed to introversion)
Neuroticism (as opposed to emotional
stability)
Psychoticism (as opposed to impulse control)
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 15
Raymond Cattell Trait Theory
Trait theorist, Raymond Cattell in 1973, reduced the number of main personality traits from Allport’s initial list of over 4,000 down to 171.
Next, Cattell rated a large sample of individuals for these 171 different traits. Then, using a statistical technique known as factor analysis, he identified closely related terms and eventually reduced his list to just 16 key personality traits. According to Cattell, these 16 traits are the source of all human personality. He also developed one of the most widely used personality assessments known as the Sixteen Personality Factors (16PF).
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The Big Five
According to The Big Five theory given by by
McCrae and Costa in 1980, most human
personality traits can be boiled down to five
broad dimensions of personality.
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The Big Five
Extraversion/Introversion: described in terms such as talkative, sociable, vs. turned inward
Agreeableness/Antagonism: described in terms such as good natured, cooperative, likable vs. hostile
Conscientiousness/ Undirectedness: described in terms such as responsible, neat, task motivated vs. disorganized
Stability/Instability: described in terms such as calm, composed vs. uncertain, insecure
Openness to experience/Conforming: described in terms such as flexible, original, creative, daring vs. rigid, conventional, conforming, noncreative.
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2.Learning Theory
Learning theorists in contrast to Trait theorists
emphasize the importance of environmental or
situational determinants of behaviour.
For social learning theorists, behaviour is the result
of a continuous interaction between person and
environment.
The interaction of individual differences and specific
situations is crucial for predicting behaviour.
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 20
Learning Theory
Peoples behaviors are learned responses.
Learning Theory has two Branches:
A. Behaviorism – John Watson & BF Skinner
believed outside influences mold us (parents,
society etc.) rewards, punishments
B. Social Learning Theory – (more
contemporary view) focuses on the importance of
learning by observation.
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 21
Learning Theory
Learning Theory —3 Tenets
Consequences influence behavior
Humans can learn by observing others
Individuals are more likely to model behavior
observed in people they identify with.
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3.Psychoanalytical Theory
Psychoanalytical theory approaches personality from a view point that is quite different either of the two theories we have discussed so far. Instead of studying traits or individual reactions the psychoanalyst Like Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) looks for the unconscious motives of the behaviour.
The psychoanalytic approach focuses on the role of the unconscious mind in studying personality.
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 23
Personality Structure1. Id = unconscious = pleasure principle
- Primary process thinking: wish fulfillment
- I want it now! Instant gratification
- Part of the iceberg that is submerged underwater
2. Ego = conscious = reality principle
- What are the real-world consequences of my actions?
- secondary process thinking: reality testing
- part of the iceberg that is above water and aware of reality
3. Superego = preconscious = morality principle
- What is the proper way to behave? Parents/Society
- Conscience: should nots
- Part of the iceberg that is just under the water but can sometimes surface
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Psychosexuality and Unconscious
According to Freud, life includes both
pleasurable and painful experiences. Freud
believed that many of our experiences,
particularly the painful episodes of childhood,
are buried in our unconscious. Although we
may not consciously recall these
experiences, they continue to influence our
behaviour and thus our personalities.
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 25
4.Phenomenological Theory
Some psychologists did not believe trait,
behaviorist and psychoanalytic explanations
of personality.
They felt that these theories ignored the
qualities that make humans unique among
animals, such as striving for self-
determination and self-realization. In the
1950s, some of these psychologists began a
school of psychology called humanism.
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Phenomenological Theories
The Phenomenological approach to the
study of personality, emphasis on
subjective experiences- the individual
private view of the world.
They are concerns with how the individual
perceives and interprets events- the
individual’s phenomenology.
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Phenomenological Theories
Humanistic psychologists try to see people’s
lives as those people would see them. They tend
to have an optimistic perspective on human
nature. In the humanistic view, people are
responsible for their lives and actions and have
the freedom and will to change their attitudes
and behavior.
Two psychologists, Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers, became well known for their humanistic
theories.
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 28
Carl Rogers’s Theory of Self
Rogers assumes that every individual has the motivation and ability to change and that we are the best experts on ourselves.
The most important concept in Rogers’s theory of personality is the self. The self consists of all the ideas, perceptions and values that characterize “I” or “Me”; it includes the awareness of “what I am” and “what can I do”.
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 29
Carl Rogers’s Theory of Self
Roger uses two terms; Congruence and
Incongruence.
Rogers said that people’s self-concepts often do not exactly match reality. For example, a person may consider himself to be very honest but often lies to his boss about why he is late to work. This is Incongruence.
If the parent shows unconditional love, the child can develop congruence. Children whose parents provided conditional love would continue in adulthood to distort their experiences in order to feel accepted.
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Carl Rogers’s Theory of Self
Results of Incongruence
Rogers thought that people experience anxiety when their self-concepts are threatened. To protect themselves from anxiety, people distort their experiences so that they can hold on to their self-concept. People who have a high degree of incongruence are likely to feel very anxious because reality continually threatens their self-concepts and thus their personality .
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 31
Maslow’s Theory of
Self-Actualization
The highest rung on Abraham Maslow’s
ladder of human motives is the need for
self-actualization.
Maslow said that human beings strive for
self-actualization, or realization of their full
potential, once they have satisfied their
more basic needs.
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Maslow’s Theory of
Self-Actualization
Maslow described several characteristics that self-actualizing people share:
Awareness and acceptance of themselves
Openness and spontaneity
The ability to enjoy work and see work as a mission to fulfill
The ability to develop close friendships without being overly dependent on other people
A good sense of humor
The tendency to have peak experiences that are spiritually or emotionally satisfying
11/26/2014 Personality and its Theories 33
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