Personality

Running head: PERSONALITY Personality Schalonia Smith University of Phoenix Personality An individual’s uniqueness and consistency in behavioral traits collectively form his or her personality CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). The origin and reasoning behind behavior resulting from personality is highly debated and often linked to the nature vs. nurture debate. When studying personality, personality psychologist mainly theorize about the structure of personality and individual differences in personality CITATION Kow05 \l 1033 (Kowalski & Westen, 2005). Measuring personality When psychologists and individuals describe an individual’s personality, they often use adjectives that describe personality traits. “A personality trait is a durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations” CITATION Way01 \p 486 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001, p. 486). Some personality traits are believed to be more basic or normal then others CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). The first to deduce a collective ‘short’ list of basic personality trait was Raymond Cattell CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Cattell reduced a list of 171 personality traits down to 16 basic personality traits CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). He did so by using factor analysis. Cattell assumed correlations between personality traits indicated a common resulting factor. Cattell’s 16 traits were composed of eight pairs of opposing traits. Two of the eight opposing pairs are reserved-outgoing and practical-imaginative. Using his ‘Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire’, Cattell measured individuals’ basic personalities based on individual’s self-report CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). More recently, Robert McCrae and Paul Costa have reduced the list of 16 traits down to five basic factors of personality. McCrae and Costa also used factor analysis to deduce common factored personality traits. Their list is referred to as the ‘Big Five’ CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). The ‘Big Five,’ neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness, have “…become the dominant conception of personality structure in contemporary psychology” CITATION Way01 \p 487 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001, p. 487). However, some theorist have argued that the ‘Big Five’ is to general, is only descriptive, is not insightful, and does not account for the uniqueness of individual personalities CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Some theorists even feel the ‘Big Five’ can be narrowed future to 3 or 4 basic factors of personality CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Robert McCrae and Paul Costa’s ‘Big Five’ personality factor analysis is largely accepted in modern psychology. The ‘Big Five’ factors of personality include neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Each of the five factors in McCrae and Costa’s analysis include less general attributes of personality that are believed to result from the factor the attributes in their corresponding group. The individual’s score determine the attribute for each of the five factors CITATION Fei06 \l 1033 (Feist & Feist, 2006). According to their model, individuals who score high in extraversion are sociable, friendly, assertive, and upbeat CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). On the other hand, individuals who score low in extraversion are believed to be quiet, passive, sober, unfeeling, and reserved CITATION Fei06 \l 1033 (Feist & Feist, 2006). High scores, according to McCrae and Costa, in openness to experience indicate an imaginative, original, creative individual. Low scores in openness indicate a routine preferring, down to earth, uncurious individual CITATION Fei06 \l 1033 (Feist & Feist, 2006). Theories Similar to the definition and traits associated with personalities, many theories are associated with personality. The four dominant perspectives on personality are psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, and biological. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is the foundation for the psychodynamic perspective, which analyses childhood experience to explain personality and behaviors associated with personality. The behavioral perspective of personality applies the behavioral approach of scientifically study only behaviors that can be observed to personality research. Skinner’s operant conditioning and Bandura’s social learning theory are often applied to explaining personality development CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). “…Humanists embrace the phenomenological approach, which assumes that one has to appreciate individual’s personal, subjective experiences to truly understand their behavior” CITATION Way01 \p 504 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001, p. 504). The biological personality perspective looks to biological factors of personality development. Psychodynamic perspective Psychodynamic theories are often based on the psychologist’s observation during clinical practice of psychoanalysis CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). The most common of motivational factors are sex and aggression in psychodynamic theories based Sigmund Freud’s theories. The psychodynamic perspective focuses on childhood psychosexual stages and unconscious mental forces as explanations for adult personality CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). According to Sigmund Freud, personality structure is divided between three components: the id, ego, and superego CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Freud believed personality was a result of the three components interacting. To Freud raw biological needs, the instinctive components of personality, which enhance behavior, are within the id CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Illogical, irrational thoughts were believed by Freud to originate in the id CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). The ego acts as a mediator between the id and the social world CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001); it tames the id’s irrationality to fit an individual’s social environment. “The ego is guided by the reality principle, which seeks to delay gratification of the id’s urges until appropriate outlets and situations can be found” CITATION Way01 \p 488-489 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001, pp. 488-489). According to Freud, the superego is moral compass of the personality structure components. The superego incorporates perceived standards of social interactions into the component communication. An individual’s awareness of the id, ego, and superego varied across different levels of awareness according to Freud CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Sigmund Freud’s level of awareness theory is often depicted as an iceberg. “To Freud mental life is divided into two levels, the unconscious and the conscious” CITATION Fei06 \p 23 \l 1033 (Feist & Feist, 2006, p. 23). He further divided the unconscious between preconscious and unconscious CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Consciousness is an individual’s awareness at any given moment, the part of the iceberg that is above the water. Preconscious contains readily available information that is just below the surface of consciousness. When compared to an iceberg the preconscious is the first couple of feet of iceberg that are below the surface at the moment, but reappear above the water as the waves of the ocean carry the iceberg. The unconscious is believed to contain individual perceptions and experiences that are uneasily recalled CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Though perceptions and experiences in the unconscious are not readily recalled, the perceptions and experiences notably affect personality nonetheless. Behavioral perspectives Behavioral interest in personality picked up when John Dollard and Neal Miller attempted to transfer Sigmund Freud’s theories to behavioral terminology CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). “Donald and Miller showed that behavioral concepts could provide enlightening insights about the complicated subject of personality” CITATION Way01 \p 499 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001, p. 499). Although it was not intended to be applied to personality development, behaviorist B.F. Skinner’s conditioning theory is often applied in understanding environmental influences on personality CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). While Freud looked towards inner thoughts influencing personality, Skinner studied environmental influences on behavior. Most behavioral perspectives are derived from laboratory experiments on animals CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). According to Skinner, personality is developed through environmental reinforcers, extinctions, and punishments CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). For example, if an individual receives a standing ovation after singing in front of a large crowd, he or she is likely to try the experience again. If the reinforcement continues, then the individual’s confidence will increase. However, if the individual’s performance is not well received the individual is unlikely to repeat the experience. Humanistic Opposite of behavioral animal research, the humanistic perspective approaches solely human personality traits. Humanistic theorists optimistically make the assumptions that: “(1) people can rise above their primitive animal heritage and control their biological urges, and (2) people are largely conscious and rational beings who are not dominated by unconscious, irrational needs and conflicts” CITATION Way01 \p 503 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001, p. 503). One of the founders of the humanistic approach, Carl Rogers, developed a person-centered theory that focuses on individual self-concept and its influence over congruency with reality CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Rogers believed individuals’ relationships with their parents during childhood development directly affects their congruency of actual experiences. He believed individuals with high incongruence suffer from anxiety that is directly linked to experiences that threaten their self-concept. Another humanistic theorist, Abraham Maslow developed a progressive systematic hierarchy of needs, which he believed individuals strive to meet throughout life CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). According to Maslow, an individual cannot move to the next higher need until the current level of need is fulfilled. Maslow also theorized once an individual reaches the highest need, self-actualization, he or she would not be satisfied with life if he or she were not employing all their potential and talents CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Biological perspective The biological perspective looks to biological causes of personality. The most common form of research used in studying biological factors in personality is twin studies. Similarities in identical twins that have been raised separately have directed biological theorist to believe personality is biological CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Hans Eysenck, like Maslow developed a hierarchy but Eysenck’s hierarchy was of traits. Eysenck also believed that genes have a major influence in personality traits CITATION Way01 \l 1033 (Weiten, 2001). Research in behavioral genetics shows large support for Eysenck’s gene dominates personality theories. Conclusion Collective uniqness and consistent behaviors form who an individual is. What truely makes a person whom he or she is personality wise is still up for theoretical debate. The debate continues among personality psychologists over the structure of personality as well as the cause for individual differences in personality. A dominate reoccurring them appears to be that childhood is the creation of a dominate personality that endures throughout life. References BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Feist, J., & Feist, J. (2006). Theories of Personality (6 th ed.). Boston: Mc Graw Hill. Kowalski, R., & Westen, D. (2005). Psychology (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Weiten, W. (2001). Psychology themes and variations (5th ed). Australia: Wadsworth.

Personality

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