All theories of Personality

1. PERSONALI
TY
PresentedBy-
Dr. Sudhir Sahu

2. Meaning & Definitions of Personality
 Word Derivation :
 The term ‘Personality” is derived from the Latin word Persona which
means Mask.
 This concept of personality is drawn from the Greek –Play where
identity of an actor recognized from the mask they have.
 It refers to outer look or external appearance of a person.
 But this concept of personality was highly criticized by expert as it
under estimate the internal aspect of a person.

3. Meaning & Definitions of Personality
 “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those
psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to the
environment.” (Allport, 1937)
 Main Points of these definitions
 Dynamic organization:
 we need to integrate all parts of our personality into a whole.
 Organized and patterned personality
 Subject to change, not static, but growing and changing
 Criticism-
 Philosophical
 Not about assessment process
 Personality is not so dynamic which change in minutes

4. Meaning & Definitions of Personality

Personality is that which permits a prediction of what a person will do
in a given situation.
 – R. B. Cattel 1970
 “Personality is more or less stable and enduring organization of a
persons character, temperament, intellect and physique which
determine his unique adjustment to environment.”
 - Eysenck, 1971

5. Meaning & Definitions of Personality
 Evaluation of Eysenck Concept/Definition of Personality:

6. Meaning & Definitions of Personality
 Criticism of Eysenck Concept/Definition of Personality:

7. Characteristics of Personality
•Personality is something unique and
specific.
•It is more or less stable and enduring
•It is totality of individual traits.
•It is both internal as well as external
•Individual differences exist in personality
•It is byproduct of both heredity and
environ ment.

8. 8
Personality Determinants
Nature/Heredity
 Genetically determined
 Inherited traits
 Fixed at birth
 Evidence from study
of twins separated
at birth
Nurture
 Determined by environment
 Culture and conditioning
 Family & social groups
Situation

9. Theories of Personality
Type Theory:
Describe Personality in Kinds with some properties
(Hippocrates, Kritchmer, Sheldon and Jung)
Trait Theory:
Describe Personality with traits or psychological construct
(Allport and Cattel)
Type cum Trait Theory:
Assigned kind of personality with some traits
(Eysenck)
Psychoanalytic Theory:
Describe personality with human instinct and structure of mind
(Frued)

10. Hippocrates
Yellow Bile – Choleric or
quick-tempered
Blood – Sanguine or
warm, cheerful
temperament
Phlegm – Phlegmatic –
Sluggish, cool disposition
Black Bile – Melancholic –
thoughtful, depressive
personality
Believed traits were a result of a combination of bodily
fluids (Humors).

11. Sheldon Classification:
Ectomorphic, Endomorphic, and Mesomorphic :

12. Kretchmer Classification
Types Characteristics
Pyknic (Fat Body)
Sociable, Jolly, Easy-going and good natured.
have tendency to extroversion, kindhearted, they
are expressive, these individuals more liable to
get manic depressive psychoses
Athletic (Balanced Body)
Energetic, optimistic and adjustable
muscular man with broad chest.
Asthenic (Lean & Thin)
Unsociable, reserved, shy, sensitive and
pessimistic.
person is tall, flat with long fingers and flat
idealistic thinking, more sensitive and not
expressive. If they get mental breakdown they
will be liable to schizophrenia
Dysplastic (Large bone & fat) Mixed Personality

13. Carl Jung
Extrovert : According to Jung, a person
who usually focuses on social life and the
external world instead of on his or her
internal experience.
Introvert : A person who usually focuses
on his or her own thoughts and feelings.

14. Gordon Allport (1897-1967)
 Followed his brother Floyd to
Harvard, where both studied
psychology
 Was verbally adept, but lacked the
statistical and laboratory skills of a
dedicated scientist
 Carved out his own career in the
undeveloped area of personality
 Met with Freud during a trip he took
to Europe, but came away thinking
that Freud had become blinded to the
fact that the conscious influences on
our behavior may be of greater
importance than the unconscious ones
 Sometimes called “the father of
personality psychology”

15. Kind of Traits to Allport
Cardinal Traits:
These are primary traits or dominant traits of a person.
One or Two in a person.
(Example – Humor)
Central Traits:
Few characteristics which we generally used describe a
person
(Example: Honesty, Kindness, submissive etc)
Secondary Traits:
Not so dominant, appear in small range of situation

16. Raymond B. Cattell (1905-1998)
 Born in England and raised in Torquay
 Was profoundly affected by what he witnessed
as an adolescent during World War I
 Changed his plans of becoming a chemist and
enrolled in graduate study in psychology at the
University of London
 Worked with Charles Spearman, who taught
him to use factor analysis
 Came to the US to work with Thorndike at
Columbia
 Worked at Clark University until Allport
invited him to join the faculty at Harvard
 Was extremely hard working, and enormously
productive as a writer and researcher

17. R.B. Cattel’s Trait Theory
Common Traits-
widely found in most of the persons
(Honesty, aggression, cooperation)
Unique Traits-
Traits unique to a person
(Temperament, values)
Surface traits-
Observable traits recognized from manifestation
(like Marks in the Examination)
Source Traits-
Lies in structure or source; reason for surface traits
(Intelligence, dedication, etc)

18. Raymond Cattell (1950’s)
Studied groups rather than individuals
Personality consists of 46 surface traits which
can be derived from 16 source traits
Take Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor
Questionnaire for yourself

19. The Big Five
Extroversion < > Introversion
Agreeableness < > Disagreeableness
Conscientiousness < > Carelessness
Stability < > Instability
Openness < >Closed Mindedness

20. Chapter 3 - Personality

21. Hans Eysenck (1950’s)
Type Cum Traits Theory
Hans Eysenck (1906-1997). Disagreed
with Allport and Cattell. He believed that
there are only two major dimensions to
personality:
1. Introversion-Extraversion
2. Neuroticism-Stability
3. Psychotic- Stability

22. Eysenck’s Type cum Trait
Personality(1950’s)
Focused on the relationship between two
personality dimensions
Introversion/Extroversion
Stable/Unstable
Cataloged various personality traits according
to where those traits appear within the
Introversion/Extroversion and Stable/Unstable
dimensions.
Similar to Hippocrates’ scheme

23. Eysenck’s Type Cum Trait Personality
Introversion (Type Level)
Trait Level
Persistence Rigidity Subjectivity Shyness Irritability
Habitual Level
Specific Level

25. Psycho-analytic theory
Personality theories contending that behavior
results from psychological forces that interact
within the individual, often outside conscious
awareness.

26. Freud’s Psychoanalysis:
The structure of personality
 Id
- Unconscious
 Ego
- unconscious, preconscious,
conscious
 Superego
- unconscious, preconscious,
conscious
chapter 2

27. Freud’s Psychoanalysis:
The ID
Operates according to the
pleasure principle
Present from birth
Primitive
basic needs and wants
2 competing instincts:
Life (sexual) - libido
Death (aggressive)
Unconscious
chapter 2

28. Freud’s Psychoanalysis:
The Ego
Operates according to the reality
principle
 Arises in first 3 years of life
Mediates between ID and Superego
Rational part of mind
 you can’t always get what you
want
 Floats between all 3 levels of
consciousness
chapter 2

29. Freud’s Psychoanalysis:
The Superego
Moral Conscience
 Develops around age 5
 At end of Phallic Stage
Stores and enforces rules
 Inner voice that tells you not to
do something or that what you
did was wrong
2 subsystems:
 Ego Ideal = parents
approve/value
 Conscience = parents disapproval
chapter 2

30. Frued’s Personality structure
Id: In Freud’s theory of personality, the collection
of unconscious urges and desires that continually
seek expression.
Pleasure principle : According to Freud, the way in
which the id seeks immediate gratification of an
instinct.

31. Personality structure
Ego : Freud’s term for the part of the personality
that mediates between environmental demands,
conscious, and instinctual need; now often used as
a synonym for self.
Reality principle : According to Freud, the way in
which the ego seeks to satisfy instinctual demands
safely and effectively in the real world.

32. Personality structure
Super ego : According to Freud, the
social and parental standards the
individual has internalized; the conscious
and the ego ideal.
Ego ideal: The part of the superego that
consists of standards of what one would
like to be.

33. Personality structure

34. How personality develops
Libido : According to Freud, the energy
generated by sexual instinct.
Fixation : According to Freud, a partial or
complete halt at some point in the
individual’s psychosexual development.

35. How personality develops
Oral stage : (birth to 2 years)First stage in Freud’s
theory of personality development, in which the
infant’s erotic feelings center on the mouth, lips,
and tongue.
Anal stage : (2-3 years) Second stage in Freud’s
theory of personality development, in which a
child’s erotic feelings center on the anus and on
elimination.

36. How personality develops
Phallic stage : (4 -5) Third stage in Freud’s theory
of personality development, in which erotic
feelings center on the genitals.
Oedipus complex and Electra complex: According to
Freud, a child’s sexual attachment to the parent of the
opposite sex and jealousy toward the parent of the same
sex; generally occurs in the phallic stage.

37. How personality develops
Latency period : (6incase of girls and 7/8 incase of
boys to till puberty)In Freud’s theory of personality,
a period in which the child appears to have no
interest in the other sex.
Genital stage :(From the puberty to till the Life)
In Freud’s theory of personality development, the
final stage of normal adult sexual development,
which is usually marked by mature sexuality.

39. Ego Defense Mechanisms
(1st Line)
Repression- Pushing desires from our conscious
into the subconscious mind. This may cause
repressed feeling that surface later in life. If this
doesn’t work we move to 2nd line of defense.

40. 2nd Line of Ego Defense Mechanisms
Displacement- Take out anger on something or someone
who isn’t the cause of your problem. (Yell at wife instead of
instead of annoying friend)
Fantasy- Make up things to take the place of unfulfilled
needs (Dad is a war hero)
Identification- Identify with someone or something who
has the positive attributes you desire (Brett Favre and I
would be good friends. We both are laid back and pretty
athletic)
Isolation/Intellectualization- Separate conflicting thoughts
or feelings into separate compartments (Your girlfriend
looks like your ex but you refuse to think about it)
Overcompensation- Covering up for a weakness by
overemphasizing another area (You don’t feel confident in
Chemistry class so you act out)

41. Projection- Blaming difficulties on others
(I don’t take risk because my parents didn’t)
Rationalization- Sighting reasons why your behavior is okay
even though it isn’t
(It is okay for me to eat 3 bowls of Trix before bed since I exercised)
Reaction Formation- Preventing dangerous or Unacceptable
desires by endorsing opposing viewpoints and using them as
barriers
(I want to sneak on the golf course but it is unlawful and I could get
arrested)
Regression- Retreating to earlier developmental periods by
displaying childish behavior
(The Christmas lights didn’t work so I acted like a child and kicked
the box of lights)
Undoing- Trying to make up for undesirable behaviors
(I didn’t correct the test so I gave out extra credit to make myself
feel better)
Denial of Reality- Refusing to believe something that is true
(I know my hair will grow back soon)

42. THANK YOU
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