...The term personality has roots in the Latin word persona which refers to a mask which was worn in theater productions during ancient Greek dramas (Feist & Feist, 2009). The root of this word is not a sufficient definition as it is clear there is more to ones personality than the persona they project for others to see. Psychologists and psychiatrists who study personality have not, to date, encountered a definition that they can agree upon. The reason for this is due to the number of variables which make up a personality and influence behavior. Because of this, no two theorists have taken the same view on the definition, as their own personalities and bias’ cause them to view it differently. Theorists do share the way they obtain data; therefore, they are able to apply an objective way of analyzing data to such a subjective topic. This paper will examine theoretical approaches in studying personality, as well as factors that may influence an individual’s personality development. Theoretical Approaches in Studying Personality A theoretical approach on personality means that researchers use the scientific method to collect and analyze data. They use this process to answer questions that are formed by certain behaviors or that other theories have generated (Feist & Feist, 2009). The question is referred to as a hypothesis. The hypothesis must be tested in a way that can be accurately documented, as well as repeated by others. Once data is collected it must be analyzed and...
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...Personality Theory Course : Organizational Behaviour Course Code: MBA507 Section: 1 Submitted To: Dr. Nasreen Wadud Adjunct Faculty, Business Administration Department East West University Submitted By: Md. Faysal Ahmed ID: 2013-1-95-110 Mahmudul Hasan ID: 2013-1-95-031 Niaj Mahmud ID: 2013-1-95-055 Md. Samiul Islam Chowdhury ID: 2013-1-95-076 Submission Date: 24.08.2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Front Matter 2-5 Preface 2 Learning Objectives 3 Scope of the Project 3 Methodology 4 Limitations 5 I. Introduction 6-12 Introduction to Personality Theory 6 What is a Theory 7 Why Different theories 11 II. Theories of Personality 12-116 Psychoanalytic Theory 12-25 Humanistic Theory 25-43 Trait and Factor Theories- Big Five Factors 43-57 Biological and Genetic Theories 58-62 Social Cognitive Theory 62-87 Holistic-Dynamic Theory 88-116 III. Conclusion 116-117 Final Thoughts 116 Summary ...
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...Personality Theories Personality theory is a fundamental component to the study of psychology. The various theories attempt to explain personality by exploring human mental and behavioral processes. The different schools of thought influence the building blocks of such theories. Each theory has its own unique explanation for the differences in individual personality. Such theories assess personal characteristics and overall individual differences from birth to adulthood. Psychologists also utilize personality theories to find the causes and treatment for personality disorders. Many different factors have been found to influence personality development. (jrank.org, nd) Definition of Personality Personality can be defined as the unique pattern of thoughts, feelings, or behavioral characteristics by which each person can be distinguished from other people (Cherry, K. 2012, p3). Personality stems from within an individual and normally remains consistent throughout the person’s lifetime. Some fundamental characteristics of personality can be identified. The first characteristic is consistency. Consistency is the recognizable order and regularity of behaviors of an individual. In other words, that the individual exhibits the same behaviors in any situation. Another characteristic of personality is psychological and physiological; which means that personality stems from psychological processes, but is...
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...The personality of a person is very important. There are several factors that contribute to a person’s unique personality. Each individual has different factors that have positively and negatively affected their lives and personality. As for myself, my personality was sculpted by the importance of my family, how independence is vital, my upbringing and parenting options, and finally, how education has affected my personality. Theories of personality are significant because it makes you view things differently and even similar to your parents. People often asks themselves, “Why do I work so hard?” or “What keeps me motivated day after day?” Most are unsure, but the answer is family. Whether they know it or not, family is the first real relationship you have with another human being. However, some are still uncertain as to what the meaning of family is? Everyone is faced with tough situations at some point in their lives, family helps them sustain and solve their situation based on their values that they learned from their parents. People’s values are all different based on their family and this is another thing that separates you from the rest of the world (Kanade, 2011).. Family has always been an essential part of my life. Being raised by solely my mother, it made me very close to her and my siblings. Most people don’t realize that when they were brought into this world they were unfit to survive, but with the aid of family and society, they prepare you for a future of independence...
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...describe the personalities of the people around us. Personality is all of the characteristic, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique. Personality surfaces from inside the individual and remains constant throughout life. Personality has a lot to do with where we came from and the people that we surround ourselves with. Our personalities sometimes make or break us. Whether we get a new job due to our bubbly personality or are not considered for a job to our plain personality. Personalities truly shape our lives on a daily basis and are extremely important in ever aspect of our life. “Personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency of behavior over time, and stability of behavior across situations”. (Feist, 2009) Personality is shaped through our family environment, the community we are raised in, the schools we attend, and the friends we surround ourselves with. Each person has a special personality, whether it is an outgoing personality or a shy personality. Each person has a different set of characteristics and traits that make up their individual personality. For example, even though my sister and I grew up in the exact same environment, family, and community our personalities are completely different. She has always been easy going in most situations and I tend to be more on edge. I am a much quieter and reserved person and she is much louder and outgoing. Reading the definition of personality, or even...
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...of different theories about how personality develops. Different schools of thought in psychology influence many of these theories. Psychologists seek to describe personality characteristics and to explain how personality develops. As psychologists seek to define personality, a theory of personality is developed. This research paper examines six major tenants that are fundamental to the development of a personality theory. First, research is provided to explore the tenants of nature versus nurture, the unconscious, and view of self. These tenants build the basis under a broad area of foundations of personality. Second, research is provided to examine the tenants of development, motivation, and maturation. As these tenants are studied, a view on the progression of personality is developed. A third aspect of this research is an investigation into Biblical principles of developing a personality theory. To explore the six major tenants of a personality theory, this research paper analyzes scholarly journal articles and scholarly books published from 2007 to 2014. The findings of this research are valuable in developing a theory of personality that includes important Biblical integration. A Theory of Personality How is a theory of personality developed? Psychologists have long studied the development of human personality. The debate of “What influences the things people do and do not do?" has been ongoing since the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud...
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...There are many theories within the field of psychology that seek to explain and undestand why humans behave in certain ways, display certain actions, and have certain motives. Personality theories are theories that have been developed to understand human personality and behavior. Psychodynamic personality theories are a specific group of theories. They are different from other psychological principles because they basicaly ignore the “science” or biological and physiological aspects that are generally focused upon in other disciplines. They depend rather on environmental, social, and interpersonal relationships asd the basis to this field of study. Two of the most influential theories were developed by psychologists many years ago. The two theories that I chose are Sullivan’s Interpsonal Social Theory and Jung’s Analytical Theory. This paper will anazlyze the strengths and limitations of the two theories, as well as compare and constrast them in relatinoship to their basic underlying assumptions, deterministic versus free will, and awareness of self, or concious vs unconcsious motives for behavior. Henry Stack Sullivan (1892-1949) proposed his Interpersonal Theory as it relates to personality. He has also been considered the father of interpersonal psychiatry. His theory explains the role of interpsonal relationships and experiences in society as the defining catalyst in forming personality. He felt that life events, situations, and relationships are the major things that affect...
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...personality theories, types and tests personality types, behavioural styles theories, personality and testing systems - for self-awareness, self-development, motivation, management, and recruitment Motivation, management, communications, relationships - focused on yourself or others - are a lot more effective when you understand yourself, and the people you seek to motivate or manage or develop or help. Understanding personality is also the key to unlocking elusive human qualities, for example leadership, motivation, and empathy, whether your purpose is self-development, helping others, or any other field relating to people and how we behave. The personality theories that underpin personality tests and personality quizzes are surprisingly easy to understand at a basic level. This section seeks to explain many of these personality theories and ideas. This knowledge helps to develop self-awareness and also to help others to achieve greater self-awareness and development too. Developing understanding of personality typology, personality traits, thinking styles and learning styles theories is also a very useful way to improve your knowledge of motivation and behaviour of self and others, in the workplace and beyond. Understanding personality types is helpful for appreciating that while people are different, everyone has a value, and special strengths and qualities, and that everyone should be treated with care and respect. The relevance of love and spirituality - especially...
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...Personality Theories By: Allysha Farnham BEH/225- Introduction to Behavioral Science July 3, 2014 Joshua Paul - Faculty University of Phoenix Personality is what makes us who we are. It is the differences that each individual has that deals with the behavior patterns, cognition, and emotion. Now, each person is different, and there were a number of theorists that contributed to study of personality. The first theorist that is widely known today for his study of personality is Sigmund Freud. He was one of the most influential thinkers of all time. He came up with theories that shows his views on many different aspects of life. Some of those include personality, childhood, memory, and even sexuality. Sigmund Freud came up with a theory on the development of personality. He questioned what made us progress as individuals. Freud then found an obvious point. That point was that life is the drive that pushes us to progress as an individual. The need to have balance in our nervous system generates the motive to do things that we see is right in society. However, the appearance of the development of personality, in the case of Freud, was driven by the wanting of resolution for all of the problems that we face in life as a human being. This theory is incomplete though. What about the people who continue to have bad behavior? Or the people who continue to be suicidal? Or the person who wants to keep working because they want to keep pushing the limit and never...
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...PERSONALITY THEORIES CAROL TRIPP BEH/225 August 30, 2014 Christina Ashley In this paper I will talk about personality traits from different theories, how each one them have different studies about what they think about personality, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Carol Rogers, and Abraham Maslow. Personality is totality of qualities and traits, as of character or behavior, which are peculiar to a specific person. The set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc. that makes a person different from other people. ***SIGMUND FREUD: Freud believes that behavior and personality derives from the constant and unique interaction of conflicting psychological forces that operate at three different levels of awareness: the preconscious, conscious, and the unconscious. *Preconscious mind – is the part of the mind that represents ordinary memory. *Conscious mind – includes everything we are aware of. *Unconscious mind – is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness. According to Freud the mind can be divided into three different levels. Freud likened these three levels of mind to an iceberg. The part of the iceberg that you can see above the water represents the conscious mind. The part of the iceberg that is submerged below the water but is still visible is the preconscious; the bulk of the iceberg lies unseen beneath the waterline and represents the unconscious. According to Sigmund Freud psychoanalytic theory of...
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...Personality Overview PSY/405 Theories of Personality What is Personality? Personality is what makes people behave in a certain way, think a certain way, and feel a certain way. It basically sums up who we are as an individual. "Although no single definition is acceptable to all personality theorists, we can say that personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person's behavior." (Feist and Feist, 2009, p. 4) There is so much more to personality than just emotions and thoughts; we also have theories of personality. First there is Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development, and then there is Carl Jung’s Jungian Theory of Personality. There are so many personality theories that can describe a person’s personality, and they are all taken into effect to determine what one’s personality truly is. Assumptions The Jungian Theory describes the explanation and structure of the actual human psyche. Jung divided the human psyche into three parts and they are as follows; ego, personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious (Boeree, 1997, 2006). The Jungian Theory is one of the most complicated theories because it offers a lot of information, and some of the information that is provided is very hard to understand. Carl Jung described the human consciousness by its preference of general attitude, and that would be extraverted (E) and...
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...Personality Theories Robert Dan BEH/225 June 01, 2014 Philip Mulvey Personality Theories Psychology is the study of our minds and our behavior and there are scientific methods that are used to study these connections. While there are a multitude of fields, most come after the main four theories on psychology. We can look at four main theories of personality as it is studied today. These would be psychodynamic, humanistic, trait, and social learning. These can represent most all of the assessment tests that we use today. Some of the most famous personality psychology theorists were Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson. Behavioral theorists include B. F. Skinner and John B. Watson. Humanist theorists include Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Now it does appear that what we have learned so far came from these men of psychological science. We have learned that behavioral theories will demonstrated just how conditioning can be used to learn new information and behaviors. While we may not all agree with each theory, or maybe we only fully agree with just one, all have contributed greatly to our understanding of humans think, act, react, and behave as a person. We have learned that behaviorism (behavior psychology), is a theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviors are learned through conditioning. We go around and about our lives every day using these elements of psychology and we may not even be fully aware that we are doing this. We evaluate other people constantly....
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...Personality Theories Kimisa Sanders Essentials of Psychology February 24, 2014 Joyce Reese The psychoanalytic perspective of personality highlights the importance of the unconscious mind and early childhood. Sigmund Freud, a psychiatrist created this perspective on personality. Freud believed that things hidden in the unconscious mind could be revealed in a number of various ways, including free association, through dreams, and slips of the tongue. Neo-Freudian theorist including Carl Jung, Erik Erikson, Alfred Adler and Karen Horney believed in the importance of the unconscious mind, but disagreed with of concepts of Freud’s theories. Several of Freud’s theories and observations were based on case studies and clinical studies, making his finding difficult to generalize to a greater population. Freud saw behavior and personality as a result of a constant exchange between conflicting psychological forces. These psychological forces work at three different levels of awareness: The preconscious, the conscious, and the unconscious. The preconscious contains information that you are not aware of at the moment such as, recent events and memories but can easily bring to remembrance. The conscience level represents all the feelings, thoughts, and sensation you are aware of at this present moment. Furthermore, the conscious and the preconscious are only a small part of the mind. The bulk of these psychological processes made up of the unconscious. You are not directly aware of those...
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...* Personality is “an individual’s unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits”. * A personality trait is “a durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations”. * Common personality traits include: * honest * moody * Impulsive * Friendly * Sum total of the qualities and characteristics of a person as shown in her manner of walking, talking, dressing, and her attitudes, interests, and ways of reacting to other people * The unique, relatively enduring internal and external aspects of a person’s character that influence behavior in different situations Theory * General principle formulated to explain a group of related phenomena * A model of reality that helps us to understand, explain, predict, and control that reality * Is an integrated set of general principles designed to explain, predict, and even suggest ways of controlling certain phenomena Personology * the study of personality * The point of view that all behavior should be studied in relation to the central core of personality Personologist * One who is skilled in the science of personology * One who is trained to analyze a person’s personality on the basis of the structure and form of his / her body. Aspects of Personality PHYSICAL ASPECTS * Refers to the body built, height, weight, texture of the skin, shape of the lips MENTAL ASPECTS * Refers to the range of ideas a person expresses...
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...The Who's Who of Personality Theories Tammy Blackstone BEH/225 June 14. 2015 Jennifer Shamoun The Who's Who of Personality Theories There are many theories that have been utilized to describe personality. Four of the major theories about how personalities are formed are the psychodynamic theory, the humanistic theory, the trait theory, and the behaviorist/social learning theory. These different perspectives vary widely in their approach to understanding personality (Coon & Mitterer, 2015). Is one’s personality formed as the result of internal struggles, or because one is striving to be the best they can be? Maybe it is formed because the individual has a dominant trait that is present in all aspects of his life, or maybe because the environment has conditioned him to adapt. Since one’s personality cannot be seen, psychologists have devised these theories to help explain why individuals behave the way they do. Is it from a repressed childhood experience, the goal to become self-actualized, a dominant trait, or the surrounding environment? According to Coon and Mitterer (2015), one’s personality reflects who they are, have been, and will continue to be. It makes their behavior predictable in a given situation. Noted theorists such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung believed in the psychoanalytic perspective, and Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow believed in the humanistic approach. Although some theorists used vastly different approaches than others, all have contributed...
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