This document summarizes several alternative theories in personality psychology, including positive psychology, alternative five factor models, social-cognitive theories, humanism, self-theory, psychodynamic theory, behavioral theory, behavioral epigenetics, and evolutionary psychology. Positive psychology focuses on character strengths and flourishing. Social-cognitive theory examines how social learning and personal variables influence behavior. Humanism emphasizes self-actualization and esteem needs. Evolutionary psychology analyzes adaptive pressures and temperaments.

1. Alternative Personality
Psychology Theories
Lily Yuan | personality-psychology.com

2. Introduction
Type theories and trait theories are all in the rage: from the Kiersey four-type
profiler to the HEXACO system.
Many other viewpoints in personality psychology are overlooked or brushed to
the side altogether, as they are extraordinarily difficult to quantify and measure
empirically.
Let’s take a look at some of the alternative views in personality psychology.

3. Positive Psychology
Coined by Seligman in 1998 after his dissertation on his published research
paper, positive psychology is the study of human behavior under the influence
of positive experiences, states, and traits.
It capitalizes on strengths, and the conscious use of personal talents to navigate
through the journey of a fulfilling life.

4. Positive Psychology (Cont.)
In 2004, Seligman (and is colleague Peterson) wrote the Character Strengths
and Virtues (CSV) handbook, which attempts to outline the larger structure of
individual personality strengths.
They proposed 24 total strengths, under six larger virtues:

5. Positive Psychology (Cont.)
1. Courage: bravery, persistence, integrity, vitality, zest
2. Humanity: love, kindness, social intelligence
3. Justice: citizenship, fairness, leadership
4. Temperance: forgiveness/mercy, humility, prudence, self-control
5. Transcendence: appreciation of beauty/excellence, gratitude, hope,
humor, spirituality
6. Wisdom / Knowledge: creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love
of learning, perspective, innovation

6. Positive Psychology (Cont.)
Seligman suggested five facets to a “meaningful life” in his book, Flourish,
published in 2011, under the acronym PERMA:
1. Positive Emotions
2. Engagement
3. Relationships
4. Meaning
5. Accomplishments

7. Positive Psychology (Cont.)
These elements were all based on three (3) distinct criteria:
1. Contribution to well-being
2. Pursuit for own sake
3. Independent definition and measure of other elements
Csikszentmihalyi (chik-SENT-mi-high) popularized the concept of flow; the
feeling when time is perceived to accelerate under meaningful work and
activities.

8. Alternative Five
Zuckerman proposed an alternative five-factor model in 1991, composed of the
five scales:
1. Sociability
2. Neuroticism–Anxiety
3. Impulsive Sensation Seeking
4. Aggression–Hostility
5. Activity

9. Social-Cognitive
Anyone who’s taken an introductory psychology course has the famous Bobo
doll and young children etched into their minds by Bandura.
And the hauntings of Zimbardo’s grueling Stanford Prison experiment, where
guards and prisoners assumed their roles accordingly.
Social-cognitive theories argue that the pillar and gate to all personality
development lies in the conscious processing of socialization.

10. Social-Cognitive (Cont.)
Mischel takes a unique stance known as reciprocal determinism, whereby
situational and personal/cognitive variables combine to facilitate behavior.
To distill this down further into steps:
1. An individual selectively perceives a situation.
2. Said perception influences the individual to take certain actions.
3. The resulting behavior changes the situation, as well as the individual’s
processing of social learning person variables.

11. Social-Cognitive (Cont.)
There are five social learning person variables, which are interrelated:
● Competency / Self-efficacy
● Encoding strategies and personal constructs
● Expectancies
● Subjective values
● Self-regulatory systems and plans

12. Humanist
B-motives, colorful psychological pyramids, and the greater promise of free will.
Maslow’s famous humanist theory visually encapsulates the different levels of
basic needs.
The end goal is to strive for the highest peak of the pyramid — the self-
actualization point — when an individual functions at their maximum potential.

13. Humanist (Cont.)
1. Self-Actualization (meaning, purpose, calling, “true” fulfillment)
2. Esteem (achievement, reputation, competence, confidence)
3. Social Belongingness & Love (family, friendship, platonic and
romantic relationships, pets)
4. Safety (security, order, control, predictability)
5. Physiological (food, water, sleep, erotic pleasures)

14. Self-Theory
Rogers takes a bold approach to personality in stating that our locus of control
is fully internal; behavior is simply a manifestation of our thoughts.
Change, then, must be solely attributed to personal willpower and motivation —
intrinsic motivation.
There is also a dark side to the self-theory, which will bring forth sociologist
Durkheim’s theory of anomie, or radical social disintegration.

15. Self-Theory (Cont.)
The state of anomie is characterized by an absence of connectedness and
community — an unshakable loneliness and loss of self.
Self-theory is strikingly existential and places all responsibility upon the
individual to pen their personal life story.

16. Psychodynamic
Id, Ego, Superego. Freud, one of the key targets for arguments among therapists
and students alike, proposed the iceberg model of the psyche back in 1923.
As a psychiatrist with a bustling practice, Freud held his position as one of the
most highly-respected minds in psychology — up until the 1960s.

17. Psychodynamic (Cont.)
The psychodynamic approach largely centers around (limited) levels of libido,
or sexual energy, and how it is displaced onto various channels: people, work,
hobbies, or thoughts.
Human attention is essentially a zero-sum game under the Freudian lens;
behavior is a matter of conscious and unconscious elements grappling for
control.

18. Behavioral
Often confused with social-cognitive theories, the behavioral lens in personality
psychology zooms in on instrumental and operant conditioning.
The cause-and-effect nature of behavioral theories is more rigid than that of
Bandura’s social-cognitive approaches.
Key influencers in behavioral personality psychology include B. F. Skinner and
Julian B. Rotter, as both assert that personality is a dynamic and shifting
response to the environment.

19. Behavioral Epigenetics
Note: Behavioral epigenetics is a bourgeoning field with undeniable skepticism
from scientists and the general public alike.
It’s not a personality psychology theory — rather an interesting biological
perspective on how nature and nurture join forces to produce certain behaviors
or conditions.

20. Behavioral Epigenetics (Cont.)
Behavioral epigenetics is the scientific study of behavior and personality traits
as activated by specific genomes, whose effect depends on the environment and
physiological factors, such as distress.
(Also, biology textbooks use almost every chance possible to discredit and poke
fun at Lamarck's giraffes.)

21. Behavioral Epigenetics (Cont.)
The Dutch Hunger Winter (1944–1945), an revealing event in history,
accidentally opened gateways for scientists to study the consequences of harsh
conditions on pregnancy and newborn infant weight (as well as later-day
personality traits).
What did the scientists find?

22. Behavioral Epigenetics (Cont.)
Interestingly, mothers who experienced the famine during different trimesters
of their pregnancy seemed to determine whether they had newborns of healthy
weight or not.
If the mother was in her first trimester of pregnancy, her newborn would be
underweight. Central Nervous System (CNS) structures develop during this
stage, which is critical to an fetus’ development.
Conversely, mothers past their third trimester gave birth to healthy infants.

23. Evolutionary
Darwinism meets behavior with Buss. He suggests three potential productions
of adaptive pressures:
● Adaptations
● By-products of said adaptations
● Genetic “noise”

24. Evolutionary (Cont.)
Darwin proposed a theory of birth order in relation to personality traits —
where eldest children are more responsible and conventional, to earn their
parents’ trust and admiration.
Their younger siblings, on the flip side, enjoy more leeway in their aspirations
and life choices.

25. Evolutionary (Cont.)
Although popular and widely acknowledged, genetic reductionism has been
Darwin’s greatest argument against natural selection.
More controversial takes such as the “selfish” or “religious” gene have garnered
popularity over the years.
Buss and Plomin take a slightly different approach to evolutionary personality
psychology.

26. Evolutionary (Cont.)
Instead of the traditional “survival of the fittest” Darwinian approach, they
argue in favor for EAS temperaments, which are inherited in each individual’s
early childhood:
● Emotionality
● Activity
● Sociability

27. Summary of Alternative Personality
Psychology Theories:
● Positive
● Alternative Five
● Social-Cognitive
● Humanist
● Self-Theory
● Psychodynamic
● Behavioral
● Behavioral Epigenetics
● Evolutionary

28. Are there any more theories to add to the list?
personality-psychology.com | Lily Yuan