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Theories of Personality

 Biological
 Psychoanalytic
 Social Psychoanalytic (NeoPsychoanalytic)
 Trait
 Cognitive
 Social-Learning
 Humanistic
Biological Perspectives

Theorists use biological processes in an
attempt to fill in the gap between
personality and genetics by inferring,
theorizing and researching biological
links with behavior.
Biological Perspectives

• Ernst Kretchmer (a physician, in 1925) proposed a
correlation of mental disorder with the three body
types: obese, muscular, thin.
Biological Theories

Evolutionary theory
Biological processes
Evolutionary perspective

Personality are inherited from
parent genes passing the
inherited characteristics
Biological Theories: Biological Process

Biological processes is concerned
with how these genes influence
behavior through the various
chemicals within the brain.
Hormones & Personality

Uses endocrine system, rather
than brain processes, to explain
personality.
Neurotransmitters and
Personality

Examples of neurotransmitters
that can influence personality
includes Norepinephrine &
serotonin
Temperament: A biological influence

Temperament: individual differences in
(1) reactivity and
(2) self-regulation
have a long-lasting biological basis.
“conscious becoming aware of
the unconscious…”

Psychoanalytic …
Accepts the importance of early
childhood experiences and the
unconscious mind.
Important theorists……

Sigmund Freud
Carl Jung
Alfred Adler
Classic Theory: Sigmund Freud
Psychosexual

Basic tenets:
Constant struggles between desire to
meet biological urge and realities of
living.
Unconscious process influence behavior
Sigmund Freud
Father of the Psychoanalytic Theory
Born in Moravia, on May 6, 1856
Lived 78 years practicing in Vienna, Austria
and established a private practice for the
treatment of nervous disorders.

What is Psychoanalytic
Theory?
Freud’s View of a Person

Human organisms are selfish beings, existing in a
state of external and internal turmoil. (displaying
aggressive and sexual excesses)
 Dominated by forces outside of conscious control.
Determinism vs Choice
Biological determinism vs. Psychological
determinism - Freud emphasized psychological
rather than biological “consciousness knows
nothing of. . . neurons.”
Personality Structures
 What lies beneath the surface of the unconscious mind??
ID,
EGO, and
SUPEREGO
Definition
 What is TRAIT?

Traits serve three major functions:
To summarize, predict, and explain a person’s
conduct
Theorists

Gordon Allport (1897-1967)
Raymond B. Cattell (1905-1998)
Hans J. Eysenck (1916-1997)
Allport’s Disposition Theory

 Allport suggested that each individual has a
unique set of personality traits/personal
dispositions
◦ Three categories of traits:
 Cardinal,
 Central,
 Secondary
Cattell’s Trait Theory

Three sources of data are required to uncover all
the major dimensions of personality:
L-data
Q-data
T-data
Hans J. Eysenck
 Eysenck

 extroversion-introversion
 neuroticism-stability.
 Focus on higher levels of trait organization called types:-
 Types incorporate lower-level elements (traits)
 Each trait incorporates even lower-order qualities (habits)
Five Factor Model

1. Extraversion-introversion
2. Agreeableness-antagonism
3. Conscientiousness-undirectedness
4. Neuroticism-stability
5. Openness to experience
Belief Regarding Basic Nature

Resulting from a biological basis &
neuro-psychological functioning
within the environment.
Moving away from Freud- Why?

 Rejected the idea that the adult personality is formed from
experiences in the first 5 or 6 years of life
 Recognized social and cultural forces that shape individuals
 Psychoanalytic theories emphasize the role of social forces in
shaping personality.
Neo-Analytic Theorists

Alfred Adler (1870-1937)
Carl Jung (1875-1961)
Erik Homburger Erikson (1902-1994)
Karen Horney (1885-1952)
Alfred Adler

Reasons he broke from Freud in 1911
Adler assumed that humans are
motivated primarily by social urges
Carl Jung

Reasons he broke from Freud in 1913
Basic disagreement over the
importance of sex drive
Tired of Freud’s concern with
pathological side of human nature
The Development of
Personality

No formal stages of development
During childhood…
And a second puberty…
Individuation
Meyers-Briggs type indicator
Erik Homburger Erikson

Retained Freud’s model of id, ego and
superego with modifications
Described identity as…
Confusion about identity or Identity
crisis
Personality Development:

 Trust vs. Mistrust
 Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
 Initiative vs. guilt
 Industry vs. Inferiority
 identity vs. Role Confusion
 Intimacy vs. Isolation
 Generativity vs. Stagnation
 Ego Integrity vs. Despair
Karen Horney

• Reasons she broke from
Freud/Psychoanalytic Theory 1941
– Could not accept some of Freud’s views
concerning women
– Did not agree with Freud’s penis envy
– More focused on social world and social
motivations than Freudians
Assets of Neo-Analytic
Theory

Emphasizes the self
cope with emotions and drives on the
inside and the demands of others on the
outside
Emphasizes the importance of the positive
and goal-oriented nature of humanity
What is Behaviorism?

 Understand behavior by focusing on the
external contingencies of reinforcement (any
consequence of an action that increases the
probability of that action being executed
again) and punishment (any consequence
of an action that decreases the probability of
its repetition)
The Basics of Behaviorism (con’t)
• Pavlov-

• “ Clasical conditioning
• Thorndike
• "Law Of Effect."
• Skinner
•
"Operant Conditioning“

How can these rules of
behavior, derived from the
experiments with animals be
applied to understanding
human personality?
Applying Behaviorism to Personality


Skinner - most of human behavior is driven by
secondary reinforcers, such as money & social praise,
which derive their value from primary reinforcers.
Does Behaviorism explain
personality?

 HOW?
 Albert Bandura 
 self- representations
 self-efficacy
Social Cognitive Theory

• Focus on
• role of modeling on behavior as well
as the role of social influences,
expectations, and interpretations on
behavior.
Bandura’s Self-Efficacy – in
personality development

 Can a person’s self-efficacy be changed?
 HOW?
COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

• Cognitive theory focused on the individual's thoughts
as the determinate of his or her emotions and
behaviors  personality.
George Kelly:
Pioneer in 1930s

• Kelly criticized Psychoanalytic and
behaviorism perspectives.
individual differences as a result of
how we interpret and predict the
events that affect us.
Thus, Kelly’s 3 big ideas:

 What we think determines what we
do.
 Some properties of our thoughts.
 Techniques can help people
change.
Albert Ellis

 Ellis interpretation of cognitive model is
often described as the A-B-C process.
 According to Ellis, we experience:
Cognitive Social Learning
Theory

• Julian Rotter and Walter Mischel
• cognitive factors  determine how
people will react to environmental
forces.
Cognitive Theory: Mischel’s CognitiveAffective Personality System

• Mischel
• Cognitive factors  important in shaping
personality.
• How??????
• Also recognize inconsistency of some
behaviors
Cognitive Theory: Mischel’s CognitiveAffective Personality System

• Inconsistency of some behaviors are due to:
 Consistency Paradox
 Person-Situation Interaction
Humanistic Approach

 Humanistic personality theorists
- Abraham Maslow
- Carl Rogers
- Rollo May
Humanistic Approach

 It encompasses phenomenological and
existential approaches to human nature.
- Phenomenological- Existentialism -
Abraham Maslow

 Maslow
 "hierarchy of needs,“
- a series of needs that people need to
satisfy before they could reach their full
potential.
- emphasized on particular needs that
people need to satisfy before they
could become self-actualized.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Self-Actualization
Esteem
Belongingness
Safety
Physiological
Carl Rogers

• Influence of psychotherapy:
• the purpose of psychotherapy was to
help patients find their "true selves."
• emphasizing on:
Unconditional Positive Regard
Conditional Positive Regard
Rollo May

• COURAGE TO BE!
• each person need to take responsibility
for his or her own choices even though
constantly threatened by failure and,
more importantly the possibility of nonbeing (death or dissolution).
• personal growth and self-actualization
 the result of courageously facing
one's anxiety