Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Topic of personality theory
Personality theories workbook case study 1
Psychology chapter 12 personality theory research and assessment
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Topic of personality theory
Kurt Lewin, a German born man who left his home country during the Nazis time, came to the United States with the idea that Gestalt’s perspective could be applied to personality theory and social dynamics (Neill, J.). Lewin began with behavior, and then incorporated the idea of how people perceived the behaviors of themselves and others (Neil, J.). His differences were published in 1935 and was known as “Field Theory,” which would be something that set him apart from other theorist; in-fact he has done the complete opposite of the many before him (Book). This theory can relate to those that are from different physical and psychological environments.
Being a military wife, I have found it easy to relate to Kurt Lewin’s field theory. This theory states that a person’s behavior can be affected by their environment and personality (Book). This means that the behavior someone experiences throughout life could have been affected by how they were raised. Growing up I was from a small farm town in Oklahoma called Hugo: with an approximate population of
Although, we see how someone’s life experiences such as their psychology and physical environment can affect their personality, there has to be some kind of intertwining. I found that as I wrote this paper there were many things that came together and made it uneasy to tell which affected another greater. Was I affected by my life on the farm in a different way than those who grew up in the city? Did my parents beliefs in spanking make my life change compared to that of someone who received spankings? My answer is yes to both, but I believe these experiences could come with the same endings if paired with a similar child. Furthermore, I have to say that my life was shaped in a big way growing up on a farm close to family and there are not many people who can say their life was the
The effect of an individual 's personal experience may be one of the controlling factors of their life. In the short story “The Hand”, Yves Theriault presents the idea of the importance of an individual 's personal experience, and the effects of these experiences on their life. Yves shows how these personal experiences are important to one’s life, because it is in control of how an individual will change, and how it will develop their character and personality. This is shown by the character Géron, where one event in his life changed a personality trait that he had for most of his life. Many of my personal experiences could relate to Géron’s incident, where a small event had a large impact in my life, and how the story of our life is influenced
The debate of nature vs. nurture continues today in the world of psychology. The effects of an individual’s genetics and the effects of their environment on their personality and actions is an age old debate that is still inconclusive. However, it is evident that both sides of the argument carry some form of the truth. It can be contended that the major characteristics of an individual are formed by their environment, more specifically, their past experiences. An individual’s past moulds and shapes their identity, if they do not make an effort to move on from it.
Both Erik Erikson’s (1963) theory and Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby (1973) theory support the idea that early life experiences impact the person across their lifespan. Both theories believe that personality begins to develop from a young age and therefore occurrences in early life can have lasting impacts on the developmental of an individual. An individual’s social and psychological development is significantly influenced by early life and childhood experiences. The experiences an individual has as a child impacts on the development of social skills, social behaviours, morals and values of an individual.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2013). Theories of personality (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage/Wadsworth.
Does personality determine behavior? Phelps (2015) dived into this discussion in his article by reviewing the perspectives of personality, how psychology relates to behavior and the idea of self, and further, how behaviorists define personality and all of its components. Phelps (2015) compares and contrasts the common beliefs of personality and the view of self as attributed to personality theorists with those characterized by behavioral theorists. A typical understanding of personality is one that defines it as an internal substance that drives behavior, and therefore, by seeking to understand a person's personality we can almost assume their actions (Phelps, 2015). Behavioral theorists, on the other hand, do not lean on vague internal conditions to explain behavior, but rather they evaluate a person's past and present settings to define behavior, according to Phelps (2015). The conclusion is that behaviorists' perspectives on these topics are far more parsimonious in nature and most popular views of personality speak to a more internal and far-reaching position rather than the behavior itself (Phelps, 2015). Likewise, Phelps (2015) addresses the issue of meeting specific criteria for discerning whether a theoretical viewpoint is valid in helping us understand people. He continued to remark that behaviorists' stances meet a large portion of the criteria as presented by Gordon Allport (Phelps, 2015). For example, they have less assumptions, they are consistent, and not to mention, they are testable and falsifiable, Phelps (2015) supports. In my opinion and critical review, this article is useful because it provides an unbiased assessment of a variety of personality theories and definitions of personality and the self. Likewise, it is simple and easy to understand, thus qualifying it as parsimonious. Overall, I think the article did its ultimate job of evaluating different perspectives and
Toman, Walter. Family Constellation: Its Effects on Personality and Social Behavior. Springer Publishing Co. 1992
The foundation of Adler’s human behavior theory rests in ten primary concepts with the first being holism. Holism, is essentially is the concept that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. An individual cannot view single view single manifestations of one’s psyche as independent of one another (Adlerian Grad School, 2007). A person can gain insight into them only if he or she views and integrates all manifestations as part of an indivisible whole. The second concept is social embedednes. According to Adler, all individuals are socially embedded. We decline to acknowledge an individual who remains isolated (Adlerian Grad School, 2007). We can understand one’s personality once we see him in his context. Third is teology, which is the mysterious creative power of life (Adlerian Grad School, 2007). It is expressed or expresses itself rather after a goal of mind and body cooperating together. Next is
The enduring differences between individuals are an intriguing subject area in modern psychology. An interest in examining how people differ in their thinking, feeling and behaviour has developed over time. Even over 2000 years ago, Plato stated “No two persons are born exactly alike; but each differs from the other in natural endowments, one being suited for one occupation and the other for another”.
People’s “upbringing and even [people’s] culture … shape who [people] are” and their personality (Cherry). In the end, it comes back to the archaic argument of nature vs. nurture. Nowadays, most people agree that “a mixture of the two forces ultimately shape[s] [people’s] personalities” and decision making (Cherry). While genetics sets boundaries and comforts, the events that happen in adolescence add detail and shape to people’s personalities.
Magnavita, J. J. (2002). Theories of personality: Contemporary approaches to the science of personality. New York: Wiley.
Hergehhahn, B. R. and Olson, M. H. (1999). An Introduction to Theories of Personality. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Feist, J., & Feist, G. (2009). Theories of Personality (7th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
Throughout history, our society’s socialization, or lifelong social experiences, has been debated upon quite vigorously. It is quite evident that we all obtain certain characteristics and abilities through heredity factors, but many still argue that this is not the only explanation for how our lives are determined. The argument of nature versus nurture is still being discussed by many, although both have been seen to have an impact on our life experiences.
...n the future. Sometimes I wonder how my behavior would be today if my parent’s spent more time with me instead of their jobs and if their relationship didn’t end the way it did. Maybe if my family shared more activities together such as mealtimes or spent more time together period I wouldn’t be so kept to myself. Maybe if my parents were more loving towards one another I wouldn’t be so anxious about meeting new people or paranoid about relationships. I still just find it intriguing how a simple missing factor in the structure or atmosphere of a family could create this domino effect that leads to a drastic change in a child’s behavior in the future. Something as simple as a child eating breakfast or dinner with their family everyday can prevent their behavior from heading in the wrong direction. If only more parents knew how much they could influence their children.
Sigmund Freud’s theories allowed me to connect my personality with his beliefs. His theory suggests that human behavior is the result of the interactions between three parts of the brain: the id, superego, and ego (“Freudian Psychoanalytic