Theories of Personality - Essay Example

THEORIES OF PERSONALITY Presented By goes here] To [your goes here] [Your goes here] s name] [Due date of the paper] Theories of Personality What is Personality? Personality is the combination of characteristics and behaviors of a person, which he/she exhibits while interacting with other people. Personality of every individual is a set of different behaviors and patterns of thoughts, which make him/her different from others. Almost everyday, we analyze personalities of different people around us. The analysis of personalities is usually based on the behaviors, attitudes, and mindset of a person, which he/she shows in dealing with other people. There are different types of personality theories, which help us know how personality of a person develops. In this paper, we will discuss psychodynamic and trait approaches to understanding and measuring personality. Psychodynamic Approach to Measure Personality The psychodynamic approach to measure personality includes all those theories, which state that human functionality is based totally on the internal forces, state of unconsciousness, and experiences. “Psychodynamic theories of personality are heavily influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud, and emphasize the influence of the unconscious on personality” (Cherry, n.d.). The psychodynamic approach emphasizes on the significance of human unconsciousness. This theory states that early life experiences of an individual’s life shapes his/her personality and puts a deep impact on later functioning of that individual. The negative point regarding psychodynamic approach is that it does not help the researchers predict human behavior properly. Some other weaknesses include lack of empirical support and lack of generalized results. Psychodynamic approach towards measurement of personality reveals that our behaviors and actions are affected by unconscious motives. This theory also reveals that all of our behaviors are determined. We know what we are saying and doing in any specific time. We have a purpose behind every action and behavior. Sometimes we want to express ourselves and sometimes we want to influence others through our behavior. Psychodynamic approach defines personality as the combination of three major components, which include id, ego, and super ego. Our biological needs, such as, eating, drinking, and desires represent our id. The desires, which stem from our id are allowed or prevented from fulfillment by our super ego. Super ego makes us analyze the good and bad aspects of our desires and based on the analysis, we make our efforts to fulfill those needs, which fall within the premises of morality. The second component, ego, lies somewhere between id and super ego and its role is to convert unconscious impulses into acceptable forms so that the super ego does not prevent those impulses. Summing it up, these three components are interlinked with each other and they work in collaboration with each other to form our actions and behaviors. One of the basic assumptions of psychodynamic approach is that our behaviors usually originate in the state of unconsciousness and have some specific reasons. According to this approach, a person does nothing without any reason or motive. All good and bad behaviors have their origins in some specific matters. We show different behaviors to resolve those matters. This assumption regarding psychodynamic approach is known as psychic determination. Another most important assumption associated with this approach is that our behaviors and actions have very close relationship with our childhood experiences. What we experience in our childhood becomes a part of our memory and we cannot forget those memories. If we experience something good, we will good behaviors whereas bad experiences lead towards bad behaviors and actions. For example, if we get love and care of our parents in our childhood, we will definitely take good care of our own children too. On the other hand, if our parents ignore us when we need their love and care, it will put a negative impact on our minds which will consequently make us rude, bad mannered, and offensive. Therefore, we can say that our childhood experiences play a great role in shaping our future behaviors ad actions. They not only shape behaviors but also help us determine childhood conditions of a person based on his/her behaviors. Summing it up, we can say that psychodynamic approach towards measuring personality plays a very important role determining the causes of some of behaviors and actions. It not only highlights the importance of unconsciousness but also projects the importance of the childhood experiences. Psychodynamic approach makes helps us assess the personalities of other individuals based on different factors, such as, unconsciousness, mindset, and causes of behaviors. Trait Approach to Measure Personality Trait approach is another good approach towards measurement of personality. Let us discuss this approach in some detail in order to know how it is different from psychodynamic approach. Trait approach is one of the most common approaches towards personality assessment. The five-factor theory of personality and Eysencks three-dimension theory are two of the major trait theories. In the five-factor theory, five main supported dimensions of personality include openness, extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism (Anissimov, n.d.). On the other hand, Eysenck’s three dimensions of personality include introversion/extraversion, neuroticism/emotional stability, and psychoticism. All of these dimensions, whether they five-factor theory dimensions or Eysenck’s dimensions, help us know the individual differences in the characteristics of people. As compared to psychodynamic theory, trait theories focus individual differences. Ewen (2003) states, “Trait theory depends too heavily on circular reasoning” (p. 273). This theory is more close to the measurement of personality development and suggests that an individual’s personality is a combination of different traits, which makes him/her different from other people. Trait theories help us identify and assess individual personality traits to develop and idea about the personality of a person. Although trait theories help us distinguish people based on their individual traits differences but they do not help us identify the causes of such traits in individuals. Conclusion Personality is the combination of different characteristics and behaviors, which a person exhibits while interacting with other people. There exist different theories, such as, psychodynamic theory and trait theory, which can be used to understand the dynamics of human personality. However, all approaches have their own strengths and weaknesses. Researchers need to examine all approaches and integrate the strengths of different approaches in order to understand the human psychology in an appropriate manner. References Anissimov, M. (n.d.). What are the Big Five Personality Traits?. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-big-five-personality-traits.htm Cherry, K. (n.d.). What Is Personality?. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/overviewofpersonality/a/persondef.htm Ewen, R. (2003). An Introduction to Theories of personality (6th ed.). New Jersey, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Read More