Theories of Personality

Psychology: Chapter 14, Section 1

What is Personality?• Read “A Day in Life” on page 321• Would Hannah do something like that?• The answer to that question relies on our

perception of Hannah’s personality• When people think of personality, they often think

of the most striking element of that personality, like having an “assertive personality” or an “artistic personality”

• But psychologists define personality as the pattern of feelings, motives, and behaviors that sets people apart from one another

Psychologists Try to Understand Personality• Psychologists have come up with many ideas and

theories about how personality develops• They try to predict how different people will

respond to life’s demands• In this chapter, we will explore five approaches to

the study of personality, which are:– Trait theory– Psychoanalytic theory – Learning theory– Humanistic theory– Sociocultural theory

The Trait Approach• A trait is an aspect of a personality that is

considered to be reasonably stable• Traits account for consistent behavior in different

situations• Someone who has the trait of being “shy” will be

shy at a party as well as shy in a classroom• But if that person was only shy in the classroom, but

loud and outgoing at a party, he or she would not be considered to have the trait of being shy, since it’s not consistent across situations

Where Do Traits Come From?

• Trait theorists have thought for a long time about where traits come from

• Some of the major thinkers on this have been Hippocrates, Gordon Allport, and Hans Eysenck

Hippocrates•Hippocrates (c. 460 BC – c. 370 BC) was an ancient Greek physician •He is referred to as the father of Western medicine•When people complete their education and are finally about to be come doctors, they take the Hippocratic Oath, where they swear they will do no harm to anyone

Hippocrates• The ancient Greeks believed that the body contains

fluids called humors• Hippocrates believed that personality traits are a

result of different combinations of these bodily fluids

• Yellow bile: Choleric: Quick tempered disposition• Blood: Sanguine: Warm, cheerful temperament• Phlegm: Phlegmatic: Sluggish, cool disposition• Black bile: Melancholic: Thoughtful disposition

Imbalance in the Humors• Certain diseases and disorders were believed to be

caused by a lack of balance in these humors• Bloodletting and vomiting were recommended to

restore the proper balance• Although medicine has advanced from this period,

these words are still in use– a cheerful person could be described as sanguine

Gordon AllportGordon Allport (1897-1967) was an American psychologist who was one of the very first to work on personality.

Gordon Allport• In the 1930’s, Gordon Allport searched through a

dictionary, looking for every word that could describe a person. He found 18,000 words.

• Some were physical descriptions (short, brunette), some were behavioral traits (shy, emotional), and some regarded morality (honest)

• Allport assumed these traits could be inherited and were fixed in the nervous system

• He believed that a person’s personality is a product of his or her combination of traits

Hans Jürgen Eysenck (1916 –1997) was a psychologist

born in Germany, who spent his professional career in Great Britain. He is best

remembered for his work on intelligence and personality

Hans Eysenck• Hans Eysenck saw personality along two dimensions: an

extraverted/ introverted scale and emotional stability/ instability

• Introverts tend to be imaginative and look inward rather than to other people for their ideas and energy

• Extraverts tend to be active and self expressive and gain energy from interaction with other people

• Stable people are reliable, composed and rational, while unstable people can be agitated and unpredictable

• (note: Carl Jung, the originator of the idea, spelled it extraversion, which is more closely tied to its Latin roots, but many have adopted the spelling extroversion, to be more symmetrical with introversion. Either spelling seems accepted, as the book spells it with an o.)

Hans Eysenck• Eysenck categorized people on where they fell on

the two-dimensional scale• For example, if a person is introverted and unstable,

they might be considered Moody, while and introverted and stable person would be considered Calm. An unstable extraverted person could be Restless, while a stable extraverted person would be sociable.

• This leads to a four point scale that reflects Hippocrates’s four humors theory

The Five-Factor Model• Research has expanded on Eysinck’s ideas and

suggested that there might be five basic personality factors

• In addition to extraversion/ introversion and stability/ instability, there may also be openness to new experiences, agreeableness, and conscientiousness

• These personality traits lead to behavioral patterns• For example, people who are more agreeable tend to

be safer drivers, as they allow others to merge. Dictators score low on openness, as they don’t want new ideas

The Five Factor Model looks at five aspects of personality and rates them on a sliding scale

The Myers-Briggs Test• One of the most popular tests for personality traits

is called the Myers-Briggs test• This test was developed in the 1960’s by Isabel

Myers (1897-1980) and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs (1875-1968).

• They studied individual differences in healthy personalities

• Businesses spend millions of dollars each year giving workers and potential job candidates the Myers Briggs personality test to obtain an effective workforce

The Myers Briggs Test• The official test is based on Carl Jung’s work in psychological

typology. • In 1921, Carl Jung categorized people into primary personality types. • Jung’s suggested that individuals are either born with, or develop,

certain preferred ways of perceiving and deciding• The Myers Briggs Personality test sorts some of these psychological

differences into four opposite pairs with a resulting 16 possible psychological types.

• The four pairs are: Extraversion (E) vs (I) Introversion, Sensing (S) vs (N) Intuition, Thinking (T) vs (F) Feeling and Judging (J) vs (P) Perception.

• People who prefer judgment over perception are not necessarily more judgmental or less perceptive. None of these types are considered better or worse, but certain personalities could be a better fit to certain jobs

Albert Einstein• Albert Einstein would be classified as an INTP (Introvert, Intuition, Thinking,

Perception, 1-3% of population). • INTPs are quiet, thoughtful, analytical individuals who tend to spend long

periods of time on their own, working through problems and forming solutions.

• They are frequently found in careers such as science, philosophy, and law• They also tend to be impatient with the bureaucracy, rigid hierarchies, and

the politics that are in many professions. INTPs have little regard for titles and badges, which they often consider to be unjustified.

• INTPs accept ideas based on merit, rather than tradition or authority. They have little patience for social customs that seem illogical or that obstruct the pursuit of ideas and knowledge.

• INTPs organize their understanding of any topic by articulating principles and theoretical constructs. They can demonstrate remarkable skill in explaining complex ideas to others in simple terms, especially in writing.

• However, their ability to grasp complexity may also lead them to provide overly detailed explanations of simple ideas, and listeners may judge that the INTP makes things more difficult than they need to be.

Winston Churchill• On pretty much the opposite side of the scale we

have the Winston Churchill, or the ESTP (Extravert, Sensing, Thinking, Perception, 4-5% of population).

• According to the Myers Briggs personality test, ESTPs are hands-on learners who live in the moment, seeking the best in life, wanting to share it with their friends.

• The ESTP is open to situations, able to improvise to bring about desired results. They are bold and tactical people who want to solve their problems rather than simply discuss them.

There are 16

personality types

described by the Myers

Briggs test. None are “better” than the others

Evaluation of the Trait Approach• One problem with the trait approach is that it may

describe personality but doesn’t really do a good job at explaining where the traits come from

• Although Allport and others tried to find some biological bases for personality, they were not successful in their search

• However, trait theory has been very helpful at matching people’s personalities with jobs that they would enjoy

Section Assessment

• Complete #1-3 on page 324 in your notebook