Traits and Eysenck and Personal Construct Human Behavior Theories Evaluation - Essay Example

enter the Number or College 14th March Introduction How a person behaves in different situations, how people should behave the best, what they feel, what makes them feel so, attitudes, situations, society, influences, strengths and weaknesses of personalities all are important to psychological study. Understanding the problem and relating it to the existing knowledge is the best way to improve. There are many theories in the subject the two particular to the problem statement are the ‘Traits Theory’ by ‘Eysenck and Personal Construct Theory’ by Kelly (1995). Psychologists are the most criticized scientists as the study of human behavior is not a significant task; it has so much disparity as a human brain is complicated organ. Human behavior variations may depends on the following factors: Human behavior is motivational Human behavior can be prejudiced by heredity traits Human actions has many causes Human conduct can be adaptive and maladaptive Human lives go through continuous change Every individual is different and similar in other aspects People tend to create their existence noticeable Approaches also effect, cause, maintain and alter behavior. They can be humanistic, behavioral, cognitive, biological and psychological. 2. Theories On the basis of the studies theories are being developed to understand and more importantly capture what thoughts and processes are developing to increase learning. The psychological theories are mostly developed by clinical psychologist. Psychological theories are thus criticized, but to better understand and make use of the former knowledge is very important to open new doors towards better understanding of the subject. 2.1. Trait Theory The theory developed on the bases of descriptors is termed as Trait theory. Don Eysenck is the most prominent name to develop Trait theory. The basic factors involved in the Trait theory that measure the personality are introverted, extraverted, emotional and stable. These four then describe a personality and the extreme are flagged under psychotics. The test that is conducted to analyze a personality by Trait theory factor is Eysenck personality Inventory (E. P. I.). (Cassel, Bernstein, 2007, pp. 78) According to Eysenck traits are inherited and traceable, they are the neurotic behaviors. The experiment with twins support the idea that the traits dimensions is genetic. To support the idea Eysenck conducted EPI test with identical and non identical twins and found whether living together or away identical twins have quite similar personalities whereas, no identical twins living together mostly do not possess the same traits (Cassel, Bernstein, 2007, pp. 80). When a personality does not fall under any category then it is an abnormality and the personality is considered as Psychotic. Studies show that the behaviors of personality above the emotional and extroversions have criminal behavior. Personalities falling under psychoticism are cruel, possess cold behavior and are socially intense. 2.2. Personal Construct Theory Personality Construct Theory was proposed by Kelly (1995). According to the theory people react according to their anticipation. The way they perceive and understand events and happening around, this particularly includes future anticipation (Button, 1985, pp. 3). Kelly uses the term of ‘Fundamental Postulate’ to explain his theory. Kelly state that a personality is happening, thoughtful and concerned about future, thus the personal construction is made according to the events. For example a person is not social but on the day of his wedding he is trying to socialize as to comfort his guest, whether trying to do it personally or on demand by family or his bride. However not every time we need to react thoughtful, prediction requires time and thought, many times an instant response is required that totally depends and portrays true aspects of a personality. The personal construct theory explains how people anticipate and react to the future and deal with what lies ahead. Human behavior is different at different situations; it depends on experiences and consequences t known to arise in to the future. (Button, 1985, pp. 4) Kelly elaborates his assumption into a system termed as ‘The Psychology of Personal Construct’. It is presented in eleven propositions that Kelly termed as ‘Corollaries’. The main factors of the personal construct are good and bad. 2.3. Trait theory vs. Personal construct theory Both theories are significant at their places. Sometimes it’s the personality traits that react and sometimes a thoughtful reaction that may be the result of anticipation. The both theories if contrasted with each other are opposites it terms of what they portray. 3. Individual differences and Social psychology It is a fact that human are not similar to each others, every individual is a different personality. The question that arises from the above fact is that how and why individual differences occur. To study individual differences it is important to know the variables of individuality. People differences, approach and tendencies, this is how an average person can be described. The most important question of individual differences is that either the people are more similar to themselves over the time or by situations and how they react to others, also whether the differences within an individual by the time and situation is less than the differences found between people. Similarity is difficult to be found among individual as they differ in many ways like sex, culture, age or believes. Similarity can only be found to some extant between people of the similar group or society. The differential psychology studies the difference in behavior of individuals. Individual differences are important to be studied in order to understand the significant variations that exist between people. Social psychology is a scientific study that illustrates how people think, feel and behave, what influence them to do so and how the others individuals effect them. The terms related to social psychology are measurable in the human beings. Social psychology is derived by many theories and is mostly related to define human behavior. Attitudes are an important attribute of behavior and both trait and personal construct theories define attitudes in their own understanding. 4. Problem statement The qualities that are believed to be found in other people symbolize our individual creation of them (Butt, 2012, pp.53). 4.1. Analysis of the problem statement It is a very interesting statement in terms of measuring individual behavior. The psychological study of individual differences traditionally has roots in the clinical, psychometric and experimental traditions (Butt, 2007). That’s means they are there and are measurable. Traits are the biological and inherited characters of a personality according to those who support trait theory. Measuring behavior is not restricted to only psychologist but its application is by every individual of the society. Understanding individual differences and living with other human who are different in some ways and similar in other is part of everyday life. Thus, the behaviors are measured by everyone. The statement made by Butt (2007) states that while understanding others behaviors the traits we see and find in them are actually perceived by our own according to our own understandings and needs. Which means it is not necessary that what traits we witness in others are found in them at compulsion, it may only be our own anticipation. According to Button (1985) ‘person’s processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipates events’ which means similarly the anticipation can be replaced by person to events somehow going in favor of Butt. 4.2. Strength and weakness of the problem statement Weakness 1. The validity of a statement is based upon the experiments, and if the problem statement is experimented at any scale the results would be random, it may be because not many people rather perceive others on the basis of future anticipation or fundamental postulate. 2. Traits are biological and heredity thus they cannot be measured on personal accounts, the observation of individual to individual is limited to do so. 3. At different situations the reactions are obvious to be different, a person is sure to react different when relaxed or panic, people may behave bad at home but good at their work places as it’s a requirement thus their colleagues cannot justify their actual traits and what the perceive would be just the personal construction of the limited details they had observed. 4. From the above fact this should also be considered that people pretend, they can only be judged on temporary grounds. Many times you do not like a person in public but just a small meeting alone changes your views or vice versa. Strengths 1. Many times it is helpful if the understanding about an individual is self constructed because it provides some sense of satisfaction and a person can overcome chance of making individual differences. 2. Instead of being blank and forming no views of people that you may be interacted to it is good to have some at your own. Either it would be replaced or improved. In both cases it is likely to be better than being stuck. 4.3. Personal analysis of the problem statement Studies says that the Trait theory is fixed which means that the traits of a person cannot be changed where as the personal construction of behavior is flexible. No individual is born bad, it’s an aspect that is constructed and involve many factors. Surroundings, events, brought up etc. thus the personal construct is changeable as it is not similar to the traits that exist within the function. (UK Essays - Essays > Psychology > Trait Theory and Personal Construct Psychology Essay, 2003) This is just a one sided believe that traits are fixed; traits can only be stable across time and situation. (Leary, Hoyle, 2009, p.p. 12) It means that by the time and in changing situations traits can be variable. Now the interrogative theme that develops from the above study and the problem is how the traits are measure i.e. specific or general. Behaviorism is a vast term and it is not possible to understand it on the knowledge of two theories. A gradual change by time is occurring in understanding the term. The criteria of stimulus-response has been replaced by stimulus-organism-response with the trait theory also supports. It is a common observation that people understand others at their own scales, valid or invalid thus the traits the think other possess may just be the personal conduction, here it is also important to consider the fact that most anticipation are based on observation making them valid to some account. Formulation are somehow right to be based upon observations an there is no better way to conduct them. (Button, 1985, p.p. 6) 5. Conclusion Individual differences or Traits or human characteristics are measurable and controllable both at the same time making it difficult to draw a packed criteria and judge them. The two theories discussed evaluated in the above data are quite contrasting. They both have different ways of measuring behaviorism. Yet no study is baseless in any field of life. Traits are more obvious of human behavior socially then anticipation and believes as they are personal where as traits are measured more specifically on social grounds then believes. But this is possible that traits represents believes and thoughts as well. ‘The traits that we think we find in others represent our personal construction of them’ (Butt, 2012, pp.53). Means that the judgments of a personality is made through traits, but as the result is concerned it may not be truth but just our own personal conduction of what we thing. Like it is not bad to drink in the west but around the world there are many communities that consider it a sin. What I mean to say is not every judgment based on the statement are right rather it can be wrong at many places. 6. References Langdridge, D., Taylor, S., Mahendran, K., (2007). “Critical Readings in Social Psychology Book 2”, The Open University. Cassel, E., Bernstein, A. D., (2007). “Criminal Behavior”, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Button, E., (1985). “Personal Construct Theory & Mental Health: Theory, Research, and Practice”, Croom Helm Australia. Leary, R. M., Hoyle, H. R., (2009) “Handbook of Individual Differences in Social Behavior”, The Guilford Press. UK Essays - Essays - Psychology - Trait Theory And Personal Construct Psychology Essay. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/psychology/trait-theory-and-personal-construct-psychology-essay.php. [Accessed 14 March 2013] Read More