Five key personality theories focus on biological, behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, and trait approaches.
While these theories offer different explanations for personality, each offers important insights that help us better understand ourselves.
Understanding some of the basics about personality is essential to understanding personality theories in psychology.
Verywell / Bailey Mariner
What exactly is personality?
Where does it come from?Does it changeas we grow older?
These sorts of questions have long fascinated psychologists and inspired many different theories of personality.
At a Glance
Some of the best-known personality theories focus on how personality forms and influences behavior.
Some focus on early childhood experiences, while others focus on the traits that make up personality.
In other cases, personality theories are centered on how experiences and individual needs shape and influence personality.
Biological Personality Theories
Biological approaches suggest that genetics are primarily responsible for personality.
In the classicnature versus nurture debate, the biological theories of personality side with nature.
One of the best-known biological theorists wasHans Eysenck, who linked aspects of personality to biological processes.
Eysenck argued that personality is influenced by the stress hormonecortisol.
Behavioral Personality Theories
Behavioral theorists includeB.
F. SkinnerandJohn B. Watson.
Freud believed the three components of personality were theid, ego, and superego.
The id is responsible for needs and urges, while the superego regulates ideals and morals.
The ego, in turn, moderates the demands of the id, superego, and reality.
Erikson also believed that personality progressed through a series of stages, with certain conflicts arising at each stage.
Success in any stage depends on successfully overcoming these conflicts.
Trait Personality Theories
Thetrait theoryapproach is one of the most prominent areas in personality psychology.
According to these theories, personality is made up of a number of broad traits.
A trait is a relatively stable characteristic that causes an individual to behave in certain ways.
It is essentially the psychological “blueprint” that informs behavioral patterns.
Some of the best-known trait theories include Eysenck’s three-dimension theory and thefive-factor theoryof personality.
Eysenck concluded that there were three major dimensions of personality: extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.
Eysenck believed that these dimensions then combine in different ways to form an individual’s unique personality.
or “Her personality is perfect for this job!
In plain English, it is what makes youyou.
Personality psychologists are interested in the unique characteristics of individuals and similarities among groups of people.
There are different techniques that are used in the study of personality.
Each technique has its own strengths and weaknesses.
These ideas are internal, abstract, and can be difficult to measure.
The experimental method allows researchers to look at cause-and-effect relationships between different variables of interest.
Clinical Research
Clinical research relies upon information gathered from clinical patients over the course of treatment.
Then, a previously neutral stimulus is paired with the naturally occurring stimulus.
Eventually, the previously neutral stimulus comes to evoke the response without the presence of the naturally occurring stimulus.
The two elements are then known as theconditioned stimulusand theconditioned response.
An association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.
The id operates based onthe pleasure principle, which demands immediate gratification of needs.
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was the founder of psychoanalytic theory.
His theories emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind, childhood experiences,dreams, and symbolism.
His ideas are known as grand theories because they seek to explain virtually every aspect of human behavior.
Erik Erikson
Erik Erikson(1902-1994) was an ego psychologist trained byAnna Freud.
His theory of psychosocial stages describes how personality develops throughout the lifespan.
Schedules of reinforcement influence how quickly a behavior is acquired and the strength of response.
The schedules described by Skinner are fixed-ratio schedules, fixed-variable schedules, variable-ratio schedules, andvariable-interval schedules.
She developed hergender schema theoryto explain how society and culture transmit ideas about sex and gender.
Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow(1908-1970) was a humanist psychologist who developed the well-knownhierarchy of needs.
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