Seminar Presentation on the above-mentioned topic held at JNMCH, AMU, ALIGARH, UP, INDIA on 23 December 2017.

1. THEORIES OF
PERSONALITY
MODERATOR - PROF. R.K. GAUR
PRESENTER - DR FAISAL SHAAN
23 DECEMBER 2017

2. SEMINAROVERVIEW
Personality
Trait and type approaches
• Trait Theories
• Type Theories
Dynamic approaches
• Psychoanalytical Theories
Learning and behavioral approaches
• Behaviorist theories
• Social-Cognitive theories
Humanistic Approaches
Conclusion

3. Who are you?
It’s a simple question, but it can be difficult to answer.
You could answer with your name, your job title, your place in relation to your family,
your hobby or passion, where you’re from, or a description of your beliefs and values.
There are billions of humans with billions of answers to this question, and each one can
tell a different story about who they are.
While we may have a lot in common with our fellow humans, like race, religion, skills,
and eye color.
There is one thing that makes us each unique: “PERSONALITY”.
INTRODUCTION

4. The term personality is
derived from the Latin
word persona meaning a
mask.

5. "Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of
those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic
behavior and thoughts" (Allport 1961).
Personality is the sum total of an individual’s characteristics
which make him unique. (Hollander 1971).
Those relatively stable and enduring aspects of individuals which
distinguish them from other people, making them unique, but
which at the same time allow people to be compared with each
other. (Gross, 1996).
American Psychological Association (APA), defines personality as:
“Individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking,
feeling, and behaving” (APA, 2017).
TERMINOLOGIES
Character: Personal
characteristics that have
been judged or evaluated
Personality Traits:
Stable qualities that a
person shows in most
situations
Temperament:
Hereditary aspects of
personality, including
sensitivity, moods,
irritability, and
distractibility

6. First Purpose
To provide a way of organizing the many characteristics you know about yourself and
other people. Example(s): Outgoing or shy, quick tempered or calm, witty or dull.
Second Purpose
To explain the difference among individuals.
Third Purpose
Explore how people conduct their lives.
Fourth Purpose
Determine how life can be improved.
PURPOSES OF PERSONALITY THEORIES

7. 1. Hippocrates: (c. 400 B.C.)
 The father of the Hippocratic Oath hypothesized two poles on which temperament
could vary: “hot vs. cold” and “moist vs. dry”.
 This idea results in four possible combinations (hot/moist, hot/dry, cold/moist,
cold/dry) called “humors” that were thought to be the key factors in both health
issues and personality peculiarities.
2. Plato: suggested a classification of four personality types or factors namely; artistic,
sensible, intuitive, and reasoning.
3. His renowned student, Aristotle, proposed a similar set of factors that could explain
personality: Iconic (or artistic), Pistic (or common sense), Noetic (intuition) and
Dianoetic (or logic).
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

8. PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORIES
Attempt to explain human behaviour in terms of the interaction of various components of
personality.
TRAIT THEORIES
Attempt to learn what traits make up personality and how they relate to actual behavior
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE THEORIES
Attribute difference in personality to socialization, expectations, and mental processes
HUMANISTIC THEORIES
Focus on private, subjective experience and personal growth.
BEHAVIORIST PERSONALITY THEORY
Focus on the inner workings of personality, especially internal conflicts and struggles.
THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

9. PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
 Psychoanalytic theories explain human behaviour in terms of the interaction of various
components of personality.
 Sigmund Freud was the founder of this school.
 Based on the idea of converting heat into mechanical energy, he proposed psychic
energy could be converted into behaviour.
 Freud's theory places central importance on dynamic, unconscious psychological
conflicts.

10. Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory of
personality is somewhat controversial and is
based on three main assumptions:
1. Personality is governed by unconscious
forces that we cannot control.
2. Childhood experiences play a significant
role in determining adult personality.
3. Personality is shaped by the manner in
which children cope with sexual urges.
FREUD’S PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OFPERSONALITY

11. 1. Unconscious:
The unconscious is understood to be
the large part of the mind, which is
hidden from view.
2. Pre-conscious:
The pre-conscious is represented by
the waterline - but it is the zone in
which there are fleeting glimpses of
the unconscious, "flickering" across the
screen of consciousness.
3. Conscious:
The relatively small part which sticks
out of the water is seen as equivalent
to the small amount of conscious
awareness that the human experiences.
FREUD’S PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OFPERSONALITY

12. Elements Of Personality (Freud’s
View):
1. The Id: Primary component of
personality.(Pleasure principle)
2. The Ego: Responsible for dealing
with reality.(Reality Principle)
3. The Superego: (Moral standards)
FREUD’S PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OFPERSONALITY

13. Stages of PsychosexualDevelopment
According to Sigmund Freud, personality is mostly established by the age of five. Early
experiences play a large role in personality development and continue to influence
behavior later in life. Freud believed that personality develops through a series of
childhood stages during which the pleasure-seeking energies of the id become focused on
certain erogenous areas. This psychosexual energy, or libido, was described as the driving
force behind behavior.

14. A defense mechanism is a
tactic developed by the ego
to protect against anxiety.
Defense mechanisms are
thought to safeguard the
mind against feelings and
thoughts that are too
difficult for the conscious
mind to cope with.
DEFENSEMECHANISMS

16. PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

17. Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist
who was a Freudian disciple,
believed that all of us belong to
one of two personality types:
1. Introvert: Shy, self-centered
person whose attention is
focused inward.
2. Extrovert: Bold, outgoing
person whose attention is
directed outward.
JUNG’S THEORY OF TWO TYPES
“The meeting of
two
personalities is
like the contact of
two chemical
substances:
if there is any
reaction, both
are transformed.”
CARL JUNG

18. ALFRED ADLER
1. Adler stressed a positive view
of human nature.
2. He believed that individuals can
control their fate. They can do
this in part by trying to help
others (social interest).
3. How they do this can be
understood through analyzing
their lifestyle.
4. Early interactions with family
members, peers, and teachers
help to determine the role of
inferiority and superiority in
their lives.

19. ERIK ERIKSON
1. Intended to extend Freud’s assumptions.
2. Discussed about:
 Interrelated aspects of Ego
 Society’s influence
 Epigenetic influence
3. Methods-
 Anthropological studies
 Psycho-History

20. TRAIT THEORIES
Personality traits are "enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to,
and thinking about the environment and oneself that are exhibited
in a wide range of social and personal contexts."
A trait is what we call a characteristic way in which an individual
perceives, feels, believes, or acts.
Assumptions:
1. Traits are relatively stable over time,
2. Traits differ among individuals
3. Traits influence behavior.

21. (A) GORDON ALLPORT
1.Cardinal Traits: Traits that dominate an individual’s
whole life, often to the point that the person becomes
known specifically for these traits.
2.Central Traits: These are the general characteristics that
form the basic foundations of personality. Terms such as
intelligent, honest, shy and anxious are considered
central traits.
3.Secondary Traits: These are the traits that are
sometimes related to attitudes or preferences and often
appear only in certain situations or under specific
circumstances.
In 1936, psychologist Gordon
Allport gave the “THREE TRAIT
THEORY”

22. (B) CATTELL :SOURCE ANDSURFACE TRAITS
Raymond Cattell: from Devon,
England, believed
that there were two basic
categories of traits:
1. Surface Traits: Features that
make up the visible areas of
personality.
2. Source Traits: Underlying
characteristics of a Personality.
“Psychology is
describing things
which everyone
knows in language
which no one
understands.”
RAYMOND
CATTELL
Cattell identified 16 basic traits by means of a statistical technique called Factor analysis.
He developed the 16PF to measure these traits.

23. Hans Eysenck, English psychologist,
believed that there are three
fundamental factors in personality:
1. Introversion versus
Extroversion
2. Emotionally Stable versus
Unstable (neurotic)
3. Impulse Control versus
Psychotic
“The more
psychotherapy,
the smaller the
recovery rate”
HANS EYSENCK
(C) EYSENCK’S THREE FACTORY THEORY

24. The first two factors create 4 combinations,
related to the four basic temperaments
recognized by ancient Greeks:
1. Melancholic (introverted + unstable):
sad, gloomy.
2. Choleric (extroverted + unstable):
hot-tempered, irritable.
3. Phlegmatic (introverted + stable):
sluggish, calm.
4. Sanguine (extroverted + stable):
cheerful, hopeful.
EYSENCK’S THREE FACTORY THEORY

25. Big five model
The "Big Five" theory of personality represents five core traits that interact to form human
personality.
Lewis Goldberg proposed a five-dimension personality model, nicknamed the Big five.

26. STRENGTH ANDLIMITATIONS:
1. Provide useful descriptions of personality and its structure.
2. Provided the foundation of valid and reliable personality
devices.
3. Can lead people to accept and use oversimplified
classifications and descriptions.
4. Underestimate socio-cultural influences on behaviour.
TRAIT THEORIES

27. T Y P E S V S T R A I T S
Personality type refers to the
psychological classification of different
types of people
Personality trait refers to psychological
classification of different levels or
degrees
For example, according to type theories, there are two types of people, introverts and
extroverts. According to trait theories, introversion and extroversion are part of a
continuous dimension, with many people in the middle.
TYPE THEORIES

28. Classical Typology

29. C O N S T I T U T I O N A L T Y P O L O G Y
 Kretschmer (1925) began by stating, that schizophrenia
could be associated with tall thin people, while short fat
people were more prone to manic depressive psychoses.
 W. H. Sheldon in the 1940 classified body build into three
somatotypes each reffering to physique which is
expressed in relation to extreme types.
 His somatotypes were based on ‘endomorphy’,
‘mesomorphy’ and ‘ectomorphy’ components after he had
studied thousands of photographs of male bodies..

30. C O N S T I T U T I O N A L T Y P O L O G Y

31. Theoretical origins in behaviorism.
1. Emphasizes the role of learning in personality.
1. Instead of studying what’s going on inside the
person (traits), studies what is going on outside
the person (environment).
2. How does the environment shape personality?
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE PERSONALITY THEORIES

32. 1. Self-system: The set of cognitive processes by which a person observes, evaluates,
and regulates his/her behavior.
2. Bandura proposed that what we think of personality is a product of this self-
system.
3. Children observe behavior of models (such as parents) in their social environment.
Particularly if they are reinforced, children will imitate these behaviors, incorporating
them into personality.
4. Bandura also proposed that people observe their own behavior and judge its
effectiveness.
5. Self-efficacy: A judgment of one’s effectiveness in dealing with particular situations.
(A)ALBERT BANDURA

33.  Bandura also emphasized the
importance of cognition in
personality development.
 People develop a sense of self-
efficacy: Our beliefs about our
ability to achieve goals.
 Individuals with higher self-efficacy:
accept greater challenges and try
harder to meet challenges.
 Bandura also discusses the notion of
Reciprocal Determinism: The
individual and the environment
continually influence one another.
ALBERT BANDURA

34. Julian Rotter: American psychologist, began as a Freudian!
His personality theory combines learning principles,
modeling, cognition, and the effects of social relationships.
External locus of control: perception that chance or
external forces beyond personal control determine one’s fate.
Internal locus of control: perception that you control your
own fate.
Learned Helplessness: a sense of hopelessness in which a
person thinks that he/she is unable to prevent aversive events
(B)ROTTER’S THEORY OF LOCUS OFCONTROL

35. ROTTER’S THEORY OF LOCUS OFCONTROL

36. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS:
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE PERSONALITY THEORIES

37. MASLOW AND ROGERS:
Rejected Freud’s pessimistic view of personality.
More optimistic/positive about human nature.
Humans are inner-directed.
Health growth involves Self actualization.
“Be all you can be.”
Given the right environmental conditions,
we can reach our full potential.
HUMANISTIC PERSONALITY THEORIES

38. ABRAHAMMASLOW:
Self-actualization is the culmination of a
lifetime of inner directed growth and improvement.
• Challenging ourselves to the fullest.
• Can you identify a self-actualized individual?
• Characteristics of the self-actualized person:
 Creative and open to new experiences.
 Committed to a cause or a higher goal.
 Trusting and caring of others, yet not dependent.
 Have the courage to act on their convictions.
HUMANISTICPERSONALITY THEORIES

40. HUMANISTICPERSONALITY THEORIES
CARL ROGERS:
Self-concept: Our image or
perception of ourselves
(Real Self versus Ideal Self).
We change our behavior to obtain
approval.
What we need is: Unconditional
positive regard.
Anxiety signifies that we are not
being true to our ideal self.

41. BEHAVIOURIST PERSONALITY THEORIES
Advocated by famous psychologists such as John B. Watson and
B.F. Skinner, behavioural theories dominated psychology during
the early half of the twentieth century.
Today, behavioural techniques are still widely used in
therapeutic settings to help clients learn new skills and
behaviours.
The school of behaviourism emerged in the 1910s, led by John
B. Watson.

42. Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov was a noted Russian physiologist who went on to win the 1904
Nobel Prize for his work studying digestive processes. It was while studying
digestion in dogs that Pavlov noted an interesting occurrence – his canine
subjects would begin to salivate whenever an assistant entered the room.

44. Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning was coined by behaviourist B.F. Skinner. As a behaviorist,
Skinner believed that internal thoughts and motivations could not be used to explain
behavior. Instead, he suggested, we should look only at the external, observable
causes of human behavior.

45. B. F. Skinner's Theory of
Behavior
Skinner's theory is based on
operant conditioning,
which means when the
organism is operating on the
environments, the organism
will encounter a special kind
of reinforcing stimulus or
simply a reinforcement.
Reinforcement increases a
behavior and punishment
decreases or ends it.
B.F. SKINNER’S THEORY

46. 1. Behaviorism is a one-dimensional approach. It does not account for free will and
internal influences such as moods, thoughts and feelings.
2. Behaviorism does not account learning that occurs without the use of reinforcement
and punishment.
3. People and animals are able to adapt their behavior when new information is
introduced, even if a previous behavior pattern has been established through
reinforcement.
4. Generalizing of results can be misleading, since humans have complex thought
processes that affect behaviour.
5. By emphasizing the situational influences on personality, some social-cognitive
theorists underestimate the importance of personality traits..
Criticisms of behaviorism

47.  Personality is a complex topic of research in psychology, with a long history of shifting philosophies
and theories.
 While it’s easy to conceptualize personality on a day-to-day level, conducting valid scientific
research on personality can be much more complex.
 The Big Five can help you to learn more about your unique personality and help you decide where
to focus your energy and attention.
 The first step to effectively leveraging your strengths is to learn what your strengths are.
 The most prevalent personality framework is the “Big Five,” or the five-factor model of personality.
 Not only does this theory of personality apply in multiple countries and cultures around the world
(Schmitt et al., 2007), there is a valid and reliable assessment scale for measuring the five factors.
CONCLUSION

48. Theories and Measurement of Personality
Characteristics,08_Coaley_Aipas_A2A0079_Ch-08.indd 263.
Theories of Personality 10th edition by Duane P. Schultz and Sydney Ellen Schultz.
PSYCHOLOGY: Exploring Behavior, Personality: Theories.
Allport, G. W. (1965). Letters from Jenny. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,. A collection
of letters arranged and analyzed to explain the development and operation of a
personality.
Introduction to Personality Psychology.
REFERENCES