Personality is a commonly used word in different contexts to mean differently in each context with no consensus in the meanings. Let us examine a few definitions of personality in the context of human behaviour.
According to the Webster’s …show more content…
Psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory was proposed by Sigmund Freud. While treating patients with mental illness, Freud came to learn that childhood experiences and unconscious desires influenced the behaviour of individuals. Based on this observation, he developed a personality theory describing personality development in terms of a series of psychosexual stages. According to this theory conflicts and its outcomes occurring during each of these stages can influence the personality and behaviour of an individual throughout life.
2. Neo Freudian theories
These theories are the basically the works of other psychologists who agreed with the basis of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory but changed and adapted the theory to incorporate their own ideas, beliefs and theories. Some of the major neo-Freudian psychologists include Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, Karen Homey and Erich Fromm.
There are a number of points of disagreement between the Neo-Freudian thinkers and Freud. Some of the points of disagreement are:
• According to Erik Erikson, Freud was incorrect to suggest that personality is entirely shaped by childhood events.
• Freud’s proposal that personality is entirely influenced by early childhood experiences was rejected by the …show more content…
We can differentiate the personality of an individual from the personality of another person through traits. Gordon Allport was among the first proposers of the trait theory. According to the trait theory, every person has a specific and unique set of features. Following are some of the other assumptions of the theory:
• It allows variations in traits of different individuals
• It presumes traits to be relatively stable
• It measures traits by using behaviour indicators
4. Social learning theory
The social learning theory was proposed by Albert Bandura. The basis of this theory is that people can learn new information and behaviour by observing other people. This theory is used to explain a wide variety of behaviours. The three core concepts of the social learning theory are :
• People can learn by observing others
• The mental condition of an individual is an essential part of the learning process
• An individual’s learning does not necessarily result in a change in his/her behaviour
5. Self