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Thinkers Behind Theories of Personality

Some of the most famous figures in the history of psychology left a lasting mark on the
field of personality. In order to better understand the different theories of personality, it
can be helpful to learn more about the lives, theories, and contributions to the psychology
of these eminent psychologists.
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was the founder of psychoanalytic theory. His theories
emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind, childhood experiences, dreams, and
symbolism. His theory of psychosexual development suggested that children progress
through a series of stages during which libidinal energy is focused on different regions of
the body.
His ideas are what as known as grand theories because they seek to explain virtually
every aspect of human behavior. Some of Freud's ideas are considered outdated by
modern psychologists, but he had a major influence on the course of psychology, and
some concepts, such as the usefulness of talk therapy and the importance of the
unconscious, are enduring.
Erik Erikson
Erik Erikson (1902-1994) was an ego psychologist trained by Anna Freud. His theory of
psychosocial stages describes how personality develops throughout the lifespan. Like
Freud, some aspects of Erikson's theory are considered outdated by contemporary
researchers, but his eight-stage theory of development remains popular and influential.
B. F. Skinner
B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) was a behaviorist best known for his research on operant
conditioning and the discovery of schedules of reinforcement. Schedules of reinforcement
influence how quickly a behavior is acquired and the strength of response.
The schedules described by Skinner are fixed-ratio schedules, fixed-variable schedules,
variable-ratio schedules, and variable-interval schedules.
Sandra Bem
Sandra Bem (1944-2014) had an important influence in psychology and on our
understanding of sex roles, gender, and sexuality. She developed her gender schema
theory to explain how society and culture transmit ideas about sex and gender. Gender
schemas, Bem suggested, were formed by things such as parenting, school, mass media,
and other cultural influences.
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Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was a humanist psychologist who developed the well-
known hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy includes physiological needs, safety and security
needs, love and affection needs, self-esteem needs, and self-actualizing needs.
Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers (1902-1987) was a humanist psychologist who believed that all people have
an actualizing tendency - a drive to fulfill the individual potential that motivates behavior.
Rogers called healthy individuals fully-functioning, describing these individuals as those
who are open to experience, live in the moment, trust their own judgment, feel free, and
are creative.

Major Theories of Personality

Personality psychology is the focus of some of the best-known psychology theories by a
number of famous thinkers including Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson. Some of these
theories attempt to tackle a specific area of personality while others attempt to explain
personality much more broadly.
Five of the main theories of personality are biological theories, behavioral theories,
psychodynamic theories, humanist theories, and trait theories.
Biological Theories of Personality
Biological approaches suggest that genetics are responsible for personality. In the
classic nature versus nurture debate, the biological theories of personality side with
nature.
Research on heritability suggests that there is a link between genetics and personality
traits.1 Twin studies are often used to investigate which traits might be linked to genetics
versus those that might be linked to environmental variables. For example, researchers
might look at differences and similarities in the personalities of twins reared together
versus those who are raised apart.
One of the best known biological theorists was Hans Eysenck, who linked aspects of
personality to biological processes.
Eysenck argued that personality is influenced by the stress hormone cortisol. According
to his theory, introverts have high cortical arousal and avoid stimulation,
while extroverts had low cortical arousal and crave stimulation.
Behavioral Theories of Personality
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Behavioral theorists include B. F. Skinner and John B. Watson. Behavioral theories

suggest that personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the
environment. Behavioral theorists study observable and measurable behaviors, rejecting
theories that take internal thoughts, moods, and feelings play a part as these cannot be
measured.
According to behavioral theorists, conditioning (predictable behavioral responses) occurs
through interactions with our environment which ultimately shapes our personalities.
Psychodynamic Theories of Personality
Psychodynamic theories of personality are heavily influenced by the work of Sigmund
Freud and emphasize the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences
on personality. Psychodynamic theories include Sigmund Freud's psychosexual stage
theory and Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development.
Freud believed the three components of personality were the id, ego, and superego. The
id is responsible for needs and urges, while the superego regulates ideals and morals. The
ego, in turn, moderates the demands of the id, superego, and reality.
Freud suggested that children progress through a series of stages in which the id's
energy is focused on different erogenous zones.
Erikson also believed that personality progressed through a series of stages, with certain
conflicts arising at each stage. Success in any stage depends on successfully overcoming
these conflicts.
Humanist Theories of Personality
Humanist theories emphasize the importance of free will and individual experience in the
development of personality. Humanist theorists include Carl Rogers and Abraham
Maslow.
Humanist theorists promote the concept of self-actualization, which is the innate need for
personal growth and the ways that personal growth motivates behavior.
Trait Theories of Personality
The trait theory approach is one of the most prominent areas in personality psychology.
According to these theories, personality is made up of a number of broad traits. A trait is a
relatively stable characteristic that causes an individual to behave in certain ways. It is
essentially the psychological "blueprint" that informs behavioral patterns.
Some of the best-known trait theories include Eysenck's three-dimension theory and
the five-factor theory of personality.
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Eysenck utilized personality questionnaires to collect data from participants and then
employed a statistical technique known as factor analysis to analyze the results. Eysenck
concluded that there were three major dimensions of personality: extroversion,
neuroticism, and psychoticism.
Eysenck believed that these dimensions then combine in different ways to form an
individual's unique personality. Later, Eysenck added the third dimension known as
psychoticism, which related to things such as aggression, empathy, and sociability.

THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
Personality theories have been classified into four groups. They are:
1) Trait theories
2) Psychodynamic theories
3) Behavioral theories
4) Humanistic theories

Trait Theories
Trait theories attempt to describe personality as the sum of certain traits. According to
Kimble and Garmezy “trait is a stable and enduring attribute of a person which is
revealed consistently in different situations.” Allport believed that the pattern of these
traits is unique in each individual and determines his behaviours. Therefore, traits are
consistent personality characteristics and behaviours manifestated in different situations.
Trait theorists assumed that all people possess certain traits, but the degree to which a
particular trait applies to a specific person varies and can be quantified. It is necessary for
trait theorists is to identify specific primary traits in order to describe personality. For
example, If we compare the personalities of two persons, one being extrovert and
another being introvert. The extrovert person would be social, happy go lucky and would
make friends easily while the introvert‟s behaviour would be shyness, lack of initiatives in
social interactions etc.
Gordon Allport suggested that there are three major traits, viz. cardinal, central and
secondary traits in personality. The special trait which provides uniqueness to the person
is known as cardinal trait. The cardinal trait is observed in almost all the behaviours
throughout one’s life. A child who becomes the monitor of the class since beginning tries
to be a leader in the state. Central trait refers to the major characteristics of an individual.
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These traits make up the core of personality. Central traits, such as honesty and
sociability, they usually number from five to ten in any one person. Secondary traits are
characteristics that affect behaviours of a person in fewer situations. These traits are less
enduring. For example, a person is invited to attend a marriage party, He may wear
sherwani for this purpose but in general he may like to wear casuals.
Personality psychologist Raymond Cattell (1965) viewed that personality is made of two
types of traits – the surface traits and the source traits. He suggested that sixteen pairs
of source traits represent the basic dimensions of personality. He called source traits as
the core factors of personality and they are underlying internal traits responsible for
behaviours. On the other hand, surface traits are some general traits and are possessed by
all which are observable patterns of behaviour. He conducted research on these surface
traits and applied factor analysis.
Another trait theorist Hans Eysenck (1992, 1994, 1995) also used factor analysis method
to identify patterns of traits to discuss about the nature of personality. He viewed that
personality could be described in terms of just three major dimensions: extroversion,
neuroticism and psychoticism. The extraversion dimension relates to the degree of
sociability, the neurotic dimension emphasizes emotional stability and psychoticism
encompasses to the degree to which reality is distorted. Eysenck suggested that behaviour
of a person can be predicted accurately in a variety of situations by evaluating along these
three dimensions.
The most influential trait approach contends that five traits or factors – called the “Big-
Five” – lie at the core of personality. Now-a-days the “Big-Five” represent the best
description of personality traits. The “Big-Five” factors are : (a) Extroversion, (b)
Agreeableness, (c) Conscientiousness, (d) Emotional stability and (e) openness to
experience.
Extroversion refers to a personality dimension describing someone who is sociable,
gregarious and assertive. Agreeableness describes someone who is good natured
cooperative and trusting. Conscientiousness is a measure of reliability that describes
someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent and organised. Emotional stability
characterises someone as calm, self-confident, secure. The person with high negative
scores can be nervous, anxious, depressed and insecure. Openness to experience
dimension of personality characterizes someone in terms of imagination, sensitivity and
curiosity.
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Trait theories have also been criticized by some theorists. They have cautioned that
personality traits will not be expressed in the same way across different situations. Walter
Mischel has discussed about trait-situation interaction, in which the situation is assumed
to influence the way in which a trait is expressed.
Trait theories do not reveal the origin of different traits and how do they develop and can
be modified or changed. These theories are empirical or data oriented. Factor analysis
theory has been criticised on the ground that individuality is lost.
The advantage of trait theories is that traits can be measured and persons can be
compared on the basis of different traits. Traits can be used to explain consistency in
behaviours as well as why people behave differently in a particular situation.
Psychodynamic Theories of Personality:- Psychodynamic theories of Personality are
otherwise called as Psychoanalytic theories of Personality. These theories are based on
the fact that personality is motivated by inner forces about which individuals have little
awareness and over which they have no control. Sigmund Freud, an Austrian physician
propounded the psychoanalytic theory in the early 1900s. His theory is based on two
forms of observations. He studied maladaptive behaviors of his patients and also
expression of humor and slips of tongue etc; He tried to explain the concept of instinct or
drive which is known as urges. He argued that much of our behavior is motivated by the
unconscious, a part of the personality. Freud viewed that personalities of people develop
through conflict between their primary drives (sex and aggression) and social pressures
;and early childhood experiences are extremely important in the development of
personality.
STRUCTURING PERSONALITY
Sigmund Freud, a clinical psychologist developed a comprehensive theory of Personality.
He has categorized the structure of personality into two:
a) Topographical aspects of mind
b) Dynamic aspects of mind

Topographical aspects of mind:

Freud has divided the structure of mind into three levels:
1) the conscious,
2) the preconscious or the subconscious and
3) the unconscious.
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The conscious mind consists of all the things of which a person is aware at any given
moment. In other words, it refers to the experience or awareness of an object at the
present moment. Freud compared the human mind to an iceberg and viewed that only
one-tenth part of the mind deals with conscious experience.
The segment of the mind where the readily recallable is to be located is called by Freud
the preconscious or subconscious. The subconscious is the storehouse of surface
memories and are readily retrieved though are not conscious at the moment. The
subconscious process is weak and when it gets some force from the outside, it comes to
the conscious level.
Freud emphasized the unconscious mental process which is about 9/10 part of the mind.
He believed that the unconscious part of the mind is the important determining factor in
human behavior and personality. It is the level of mind where thoughts, feelings,
memories and other information are kept that are not easily or voluntarily brought into
consciousness.
Dynamic aspect of mind:
Freud in his theory of personality has described that personality consists of three separate
but interacting components: the id, the ego and the superego. According to Freud, the
dynamic aspects of self refer to the agents through which conflicts arising in the instincts
are resolved.
1) The id:- The primitive part of the personality is id. It is derived from the Latin word
which means “it”. It is the raw, unorganized and innate part of personality. It is
representative of the unconscious and the storehouse of instinctual desires. The Id is
completely amoral part of the personality that exists at birth which contains all of the
basic biological drives related to hunger, sex, aggression and irrational impulses. Those
drives are fuelled by “Psychic energy” which Freud termed as “the libido”. The id is
guided by the pleasure principle, in which the goal is the immediate reduction of tension
and the maximization of satisfaction. The pleasure principle can be stated as “if it feels
good, do it”.
2) The ego:- It begins to develop soon after birth. The ego comes from the Latin word for
“I” which is mostly conscious and is far more rational, logical and cunning than the id. The
ego is the executive‟ of personality. The ego maintains balance between the desire of the
id and the realities of the objective, outside world. It is guided by the reality principle.
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Therefore, the ego satisfied the demands of the id and reduce libido only in ways that will
not lead to negative consequences. Sometimes ego decides to deny the id to satisfy its
desires because the consequences would be painful.
3) The superego:- The final part of personality is called the superego. The superego is
derived from the Latin word which means “over the self”. It develops in childhood as the
child learns rights and wrongs of society and modeled by parents, teachers and other
significant individuals. The superego is guided by the moral principle. There are two parts
to the superego: the ego ideal and the conscience. The ego ideal is the sum total of all the
behaviors which the child has learned about from parents and others of the society. The
conscience is another part of the superego that makes people feel pride when they do the
right thing and guilt, when they do the wrong thing. The superego works at both conscious
and unconscious level.

Key Terms in Theories of Personality

Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning is a behavioral training technique that begins with a naturally
occurring stimulus eliciting an automatic response. Then, a previously neutral stimulus is
paired with the naturally occurring stimulus.
Eventually, the previously neutral stimulus comes to evoke the response without the
presence of the naturally occurring stimulus. The two elements are then known as
the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response.
To the behaviorist, observable behavior is considered a response to stimuli
(environmental events). In classical conditioning, as opposed to operant conditioning,
“the stimulus is seen as triggering a response in a predictable, automatic way”. It is
often referred to as stimulus and response psychology.
Conditioning forms an association between the stimulus and the response.
One of the best-known examples of classical conditioning is Pavlov's classic experiments
with dogs. In these experiments, the neutral signal was the sound of a tone and the
naturally occurring reflex was salivating in response to food. By associating the neutral
stimulus (sound) with the unconditioned stimulus (food), the sound of the tone alone
could produce a salivation response.
3 Stages of classical conditioning
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Based on his observations, Pavlov learned that new, neutral stimuli could be paired with
existing stimuli to produce a response, as follows :
Before conditioning (or learning) – The sound of a bell does not make a dog salivate, but
food does.
The food is an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that results in an automatic, biologically built-
in unconditioned response (UCR) – in this case, salivating.
Unconditioned refers to the fact that it is not conditional on being paired with anything.
During conditioning – The bell and the food are paired.
The bell is a conditioned stimulus (CS).
Until it is paired, the bell has no effect on the UCR (salivating). It is neutral.
“It only produces a response on the condition that it is paired with the [food]”.
After conditioning – When the bell (CS) has been paired with the food (UCS) enough
times, it makes the dog salivate (now a CR).
The conditioned stimulus leads to a conditioned response.

The Operant Conditioning Theory

Operant conditioning was first described by behaviorist B.F. Skinner. His theory was
based on two assumptions. First, the cause of human behavior is something in a
person’s environment. Second, the consequences of a behavior determine the
possibility of it being repeated. Behavior that is followed by a pleasant consequence is
likely to be repeated and behavior followed by an unpleasant consequence is less likely to
be repeated.
Although Skinner was the pioneer of the operant conditioning theory, his ideas were
based on Thorndike’s law of effect. Skinner also believed that we do have a mind.
Therefore it was more productive to study observable behavior rather than internal
mental events.
Skinner was also an exemplary inventor. Among his gadgets was the Skinner Box, which
uses subjects like rats and pigeons to record animal behavior in a compressed time frame.
Operant conditioning, sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning, is a method
of learning that employs rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant
conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence (whether
negative or positive) for that behavior.
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For example, when lab rats press a lever when a green light is on, they receive a food
pellet as a reward. When they press the lever when a red light is on, they receive a mild
electric shock. As a result, they learn to press the lever when the green light is on and
avoid the red light.

Through his experiments, Skinner identified three types of responses that followed
behavior:
Neutral responses: They are responses from the environment that produce no stimulus
other than focusing attention. They neither increase nor decrease the probability of a
behavior being repeated.
Reinforcers: They are responses from the environment that increase the likelihood of a
behavior being repeated. They can either be positive or negative. Positive reinforcers are
favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior. In positive
reinforcement situations, a response or behavior is strengthened by the addition of praise
or a direct reward. If you do a good job at work and your manager gives you a bonus, that
bonus is a positive reinforcer.
Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes after the
display of a behavior. In these situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of
something considered unpleasant. For example, if your child starts to scream in the
middle of a restaurant, but stops once you hand them a treat, your action led to the
removal of the unpleasant condition, negatively reinforcing your behavior (not your
child's).

Punishers: These are negative operants that make the likelihood of a behavior decrease.
Punishment weakens behavior.
Types of Behaviors
Skinner distinguished between two different types of behaviors
Respondent behaviors are those that occur automatically and reflexively, such as pulling
your hand back from a hot stove or jerking your leg when the doctor taps on your knee.
You don't have to learn these behaviors. They simply occur automatically and
involuntarily.
Operant behaviors, on the other hand, are those under our conscious control. Some may
occur spontaneously and others purposely, but it is the consequences of these actions
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that then influence whether or not they occur again in the future. Our actions on the
environment and the consequences of that action make up an important part of
the learning process.

The Premack Principle

The Premack Principle was first proposed by David Premack in the 1960's. It was based on
his research on animal behavior and the idea that an individual’s preferences can be
manipulated through reinforcement. Since then, the Premack Principle has been
incorporated in psychological and educational settings as a method to regulate problem
behaviors.
The Premack Principle can be applied to a wide range of behaviors, from the mundane
(such as completing chores) to more complex behavior (like drug addiction). It can also be
used in therapeutic settings to help individuals with anxiety or phobias.
For example, if someone has difficulty leaving their house due to an irrational fear, the
Premack Principle could be used to motivate them to complete small, low-probability
tasks (such as taking the trash out) in order to encourage them to take on larger low-
probability tasks (such as going to the grocery store).
The Premack Principle is sometimes referred to as "Grandma’s Rule" due to its practical
application in everyday life. Grandparents often use a similar principle when disciplining
their grandchildren by requiring them to complete chores before being allowed to engage
in leisure activities.
In addition, the principle can be used to help motivate individuals to complete tasks they
find undesirable (such as cleaning their room or doing homework) by rewarding them
with something they enjoy (such as watching TV).

Gender schema theory

Gender schema theory was introduced by psychologist Sandra Bem in 1981 and asserted
that children learn about male and female roles from the culture in which they live.
According to the theory, children adjust their behavior to align with the gender norms of
their culture from the earliest stages of social development.
Freudian theories, she suggested, were too focused on the influence of anatomy on
gender development. Instead, Bem proposed that a child’s cognitive development
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combined with societal influences largely influence the patterns of thought (schema) that
dictate "male" and "female" traits.
Gender schemas have an impact not only on how people process information but on
the attitudes and beliefs that direct "gender-appropriate" behavior.
For example, a child who lives in a very traditional culture might believe that a woman’s
role is in the caring and raising of children, while a man’s role is in work and industry.
Through these observations, children form schema related to what men and women can
and cannot do.
Bem’s Sex-Role Inventory
In addition to the gender schema theory, Bem created a questionnaire known as the Bem
Sex-Role Inventory (BRSI). The inventory consists of 60 different words that are either
masculine, feminine, or gender-neutral.
When taking the test, respondents are asked to rate how strongly they identify with each
characteristic. Rather than simply categorize people as masculine or feminine, the
inventory presents both traits as part of a continuum. Individuals can rank high on one
gender or low on another (sex-typed) or, alternately, rank high on both masculine and
feminine traits (androgynous).
The BSRI was first developed in 1974 and has since become one of the most widely used
psychological assessment tools in the world.

History of Clinical Psychology

Early influences on the field of clinical psychology include the work of the Austrian
psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. He was one of the first to focus on the idea that mental
illness was something that could be treated by talking with the patient, and it was the
development of his talk therapy approach that is often cited as the earliest scientific use
of clinical psychology.
American psychologist Lightner Witmer opened the first psychological clinic in 1896 with
a specific focus on helping children who had learning disabilities. It was also Witmer who
first introduced the term "clinical psychology" in a 1907 paper.
Witmer, a former student of Wilhelm Wundt, defined clinical psychology as "the study of
individuals, by observation or experimentation, with the intention of promoting change."
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By 1914, 26 other clinics devoted to clinical psychology had been established in the United
States. Today, clinical psychology is one of the most popular subfields and the single
largest employment area within psychology.