Psychology
Personality in Psychology
Personality in psychology refers to the unique pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make up an individual's character. It encompasses traits, attitudes, and behaviors that are relatively stable over time and across different situations. Psychologists study personality to understand how it develops, influences behavior, and impacts various aspects of an individual's life.
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9 Key excerpts on "Personality in Psychology"
- Gregory J. Feist(Author)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- Yale University Press(Publisher)
110 Chapter 5 Personality Psychology of Science Humans are not alone in the uniqueness and variability of individual members of the species. Individuals within every living species exhibit di ff erences or variability. In fact, variation and selection are the two cornerstones of evolutionary theory. But the degree to which individ-ual humans vary from one another, both physically and psychologi-cally, is quite astonishing and somewhat unique among species. Some of us are quiet and introverted, others crave social contact and stimu-lation; some of us are calm and even-keeled, whereas others are high-strung and persistently anxious. What is the connection between our personalities and our scientific interest, ability, and talent? Moreover, what makes some people more likely to become scientists than other people? THE NATURE OF PERSONALITY There is something quite specific in what psychologists mean by the word “personality.” Uniqueness and individuality are one core com-ponent; if everyone acted alike and thought alike, there would be no such thing as personality. This is what is meant by “individual di ff erences.” The second major component of personality is “behavioral consistency,” which is of two kinds: situational and temporal. Situational consistency is the notion that people behave consistently in di ff erent situations, and they carry who they are into most every situation. Temporal consistency, in contrast, is the extent to which people behave consistently over time. To illustrate both forms of consis-tency as well as individual di ff erences in the context of personality, let us take the trait of friendliness: We would label a person as “friendly” only if we observe her behaving in a friendly manner over time, in many di ff erent situations, and in situations where other people were not friendly. In short, personality is what makes us unique and it is what is most stable about who we are.
eBook - PDF- Ronald Comer, Elizabeth Gould, Adrian Furnham(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
W hat makes us who we are? What we have in common is that we are all different. We may share birthdays with famous people, we may share the same parents with siblings, we may share strong beliefs with other people and we may even look (something) like someone really famous. But we are all unique, just like our fingerprints. Yet, we can all be described along various specific dimensions or categorized into clear groups, such as introverts or extroverts. Also, we are able to describe and sometimes predict the behaviour of others. We talk end- lessly about others’ personality. But what is personality? ■ • The Psychodynamic Perspective • The Humanistic Perspective • The Trait Perspective • The Situationist and Interactionist Perspectives • Biological Foundations of Personality • Personality and Group Differences • Personality Disorders • Personality Assessment CHAPTER OUTLINE CHAPTER 15 Personality Adapted by Adrian Furnham, University College London, UK Access your interactive e-book to view a video clip for this chapter at www.wileyopenpage.com CHAPTER 15 PERSONALITY 434 Consider the following definitions. Personality is that which permits a prediction of what a person will do in any given situation. Cattell (1965, p. 3) Personality is a stable set of tendencies and characteristics that determine those commonalities and differences in people’s psychological behaviour (thoughts, feelings, actions) that have continued in time and that may not be easily understood as the sole result of the social and biological pressures of the moment. Maddi (1989, p. 2) You probably do a lot of thinking about personality . Are you, personality speaking, more like your mother or your father? Do you know what your dark or shadow side is? Maybe you have also spent time thinking and talking about the varying personalities of your friends.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- The English Press(Publisher)
The major theories include dispositional (trait) perspective, psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, behaviorist and social learning perspective. There is no consensus on the definition of Personality in Psychology. Most researchers and psychologists do not explicitly identify themselves with a certain perspective and often take an eclectic approach. Some research is empirically driven such as the Big 5 personality model whereas other research emphasizes theory development such as psychodynamics. There is also a substantial emphasis on the applied field of personality testing. In psychological education and training, the study of the nature of personality and its psychological development is usually reviewed as a prerequisite to courses in abnormal or clinical psychology. Philosophical assumptions Many of the ideas developed by historical and modern personality theorists stem from the basic philosophical assumptions they hold. The study of personality is not a purely empirical discipline, as it brings in elements of art, science, and philosophy to draw general conclusions. The following five categories are some of the most fundamental philosophical assumptions on which theorists disagree: 1. Freedom versus Determinism This is the debate over whether we have control over our own behavior and understand the motives behind it (Freedom), or if our behavior is causally determined by forces ________________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ________________________ beyond our control (Determinism). Determinism has been considered unconscious, environmental, or biological by various theories. 2. Heredity versus Environment Personality is thought to be determined largely by genetics and biology, by environment and experiences, or by some combination resulting thereof. There is evidence for all possibilities. Contemporary research suggests that most personality traits are based on the joint influence of genetics and environment.
eBook - PDF- Douglas Bernstein, , , (Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
Together, these state-ments describe personality traits —the tendencies that help direct how a person usually thinks and behaves (Cervone & Pervin, 2013). The trait approach to personality makes three main assumptions: 1. Personality traits are relatively stable, and therefore predictable, over time. So a gentle person tends to stay that way day after day, year after year (Cervone & Pervin, 2013). 2. Personality traits are relatively stable across situations, and they can explain why people act in predictable ways in many different situations. A person who is com-petitive at work will probably also be competitive on the tennis court or at a party (Roberts, Woods, & Caspi, 2008). 3. People differ in how much of a particular personality trait they possess; no two people are exactly alike on all traits. The result is an endless variety of unique personalities. In short, psychologists who take the trait approach see personality as a combina-tion of stable internal characteristics that people display consistently over time and across personality traits A set of stable characteristics that people display over time and across situations. trait approach A perspective on personality that views it as the combination of stable characteris-tics that people display over time and across situations. Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 464 Personality situations (Pervin, Cervone, & John, 2005). Trait theorists try to measure the relative strength of the many personality characteristics that they think may be present in everyone (see Figure 13.2).
eBook - PDF- Edward Sapir, Judith T. Irvine(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- De Gruyter Mouton(Publisher)
We don't really know ourselves as individuals in the biological sense, but only as symbols of what we see around us. (3) The sociological viewpoint today judges personality by the [social] role an individual plays. [In other words,] personality is defined in terms of a sociological abstraction and emphasis upon formal roles. [Other aspects of] personality, [such as the more psychological notion of] nuclear personality, are [treated as] an illusion which disappears when you ab-stract one's income, status, and so on, [and examine the general charac- 144 The Individual's Place in Culture teristics of people filling these categories. By this means, for example, you can trace] the professional character of a businessman, and that of a bishop. Napoleon in the role of Emperor is his personality; individual X in the role of archbishop is his personality. But Napoleon as a reader of The Sorrows of Werther, weeping over what he read, was a personality in the psychiatric sense. The sociological viewpoint defines personality as a series of roles, or [modes of] participation in society, which a person carves out for himself, or takes part in. A personality [in this sense], therefore, is the sum total of the individual's social participations. The individual [is seen] as the collectivity of behavior patterns. That is, all things called individuals are merely collocations of certain habits — a series of roles in a complex arrangement. [Now, as we have already indicated,] personality was first judged from the sociological point of view. Every man functioned in the part laid out for him by society. Thus Achilles and Ulysses were always heroes, and a slave was always a slave. Even if their acts were objectively similar they were treated differently — as arrogance or as impudence, as [an act of war] or a private [act of] murder. (Notice that this is true of the Bible and so through Tom Jones and the novel up to James Joyce).
eBook - PDFPersonality
Theory and Research
- Daniel Cervone, Lawrence A. Pervin(Authors)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
These experiences may affect personal- ity in an enduring manner. For example, children who experience low-quality friendships that involve a lot of arguing and conflict tend to develop disagreeable, antagonistic styles of behavior (Berndt, 2002). David Hanover / Getty Images Experiences in a family can create both similarities and differences among family members. 17 Important Issues in Personality Theory Psychopathology and Behavior Change Constructing a personality theory may strike you as an ivory tower activity, that is, an abstract intellectual exercise that fails to relate to the important concerns of everyday life. Yet personality theories are potentially of great practical importance. People often face complicated psychologi- cal problems: They are depressed and lonely, a close friend is addicted to drugs, they are anxious about sexual relations, or frequent arguments threaten the stability of a romantic relationship. To solve such problems, one requires some sort of conceptual framework that specifies causes of the problem and factors that might bring about change. In other words, one needs a personal- ity theory. Historically, the practical problems that have been most important to the development of personality theories have involved psychopathology. Many of the theorists discussed in this book were also therapists. They began their careers by trying to solve practical problems they faced when trying to help their clients. Their theories were, in part, an attempt to sys- tematize the lessons about human nature that they learned by working on practical problems in therapy. Although not all personality theories had clinical origins, for any theory, a crucial bottom line for evaluating the theoretical approach is to ask whether its ideas are of practical benefit to individuals and to society at large.
- Lorelle J. Burton, Drew Westen, Robin M. Kowalski(Authors)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
According to Gordon Allport (1937; Allport & Odbert, 1936), who developed the trait approach to personality, the concept of trait has two separate but complementary meanings. On the one hand, a trait is an observed tendency to behave in a particular way. On the other, a trait is an inferred, or hypothesised, underlying personality disposition that generates this behavioural tendency. Presumably, a tendency to be cheerful (an observed trait) stems from an enduring pattern of internal processes, such as a tendency to experience positive affect, think positive thoughts or wish to be perceived as happy (inferred dispositions). How can we measure traits? The most straightforward way is the same way people intuitively assess other people’s personalities. Observe their behaviour over time and in different situations. Because extensive observation of this sort can be very cumbersome and time consuming; however, psychologists often use two other methods. One is to ask people who know the participant well to fill out questionnaires about the person’s personality. The second, more commonly used method is to ask participants themselves to answer self-report questionnaires. For example, self-report personality inventories are often used in non- clinical settings, such as schools and organisations, and test for traits such as sociability, responsibility and sense of wellbeing. They may also be used in clinical settings. For example, the scales used to examine personality on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were based on data from psychiatric patients suffering from depression, schizophrenia and paranoia (Dahlstrom, 1993; Hathaway & McKinley, 1940, 1943). Pdf_Folio:688 688 Psychology To describe personality from a trait perspective, we must know not only how to measure traits but also which ones to measure.
eBook - PDF- Karen R. Huffman, Alastair Younger, Claire Vanston(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
He argued that poor mental health results when young children do not receive unconditional positive regard from caregivers. • Maslow saw personality as the quest to fulfill basic physiological needs and to move toward the highest level of self-actualization. • Instead of adhering to any one theory of personality, many psychologists believe in the biopsychosocial approach—the idea that several factors overlap in their contributions to personality. What a Psychologist Sees: Congruence, Mental Health, and Self-Esteem 4 Social-Cognitive Theories 340 • Cognition is central to Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy. According to Bandura, our feelings of self-efficacy affect the challenges we choose to accept and the effort we expend in reaching goals. His concept of reciprocal de- terminism holds that self-efficacy beliefs can also affect how others respond to us. • Rotter’s theory suggests that learning experiences create cognitive expectancies that guide behaviour and influ- ence the environment. Rotter proposed that having an internal versus external locus of control affects person- ality and achievement. 6 Personality Assessment 344 • In an unstructured interview format, interviewers get impressions, pursue hunches, and let the interviewee expand on information that promises to disclose per- sonality characteristics. In structured interviews, the interviewer asks specific questions so that the inter- viewee’s responses can be evaluated more objectively. Psychologists also assess personality by directly observ- ing behaviour. • Objective personality tests are widely used because they can be administered broadly and relatively quickly, and because they can be evaluated in a standardized fashion. To assess a range of personality traits, psycholo- gists use multitrait inventories, such as the MMPI. • Projective tests use ambiguous stimuli that can be perceived in many ways.
eBook - PDF- Spencer Rathus, , , (Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
It was believed that they would restore the balance of bodily “humors.” Early in the 20th century, Gordon Allport and a colleague (Allport & Oddbert, 1936) catalogued some 18,000 human traits from a search through word lists like dictionaries. Some were physical traits such as short, weak, and brunette. Others were behavioral traits such as shy and emotional. Still others were moral traits such as honest. This exhaustive list has served as the basis for personality research by many other psychologists. 10-2b HANS EYSENCK’S TRAIT THEORY British psychologist Hans J. Eysenck (1916–1997) focused much of his research on the relationships between two personality traits: introversion – extraversion and emotional stability–instability (Eysenck & Eysenck, introversion a trait characterized by intense imagination and the tendency to inhibit impulses extraversion a trait characterized by tendencies to be socially outgoing and to express feelings and impulses freely 10-2c THE “BIG FIVE”: THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL More recent research suggests that there may be five basic personality factors, not two. These include the two found by Eysenck— extraversion and neuroticism —along with conscientiousness , agreeableness , and openness to experience (see Table 10.1). Many personality theorists, especially Robert McCrae and Paul T. Costa Jr. (2013), played a role in the devel-opment of the five-factor model. Cross-cultural research has found that these five factors appear to define the personality structure of American, German, Portuguese, Israeli, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Philippine people (Katigbak et al., 2002; McCrae & Costa, 1997). A study of more than 5,000 German, British, Spanish, Czech, and Turkish people sug-gests that the factors are related to people’s basic temperaments, which are considered to be largely inborn (de Moor et al., 2012).
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