PERSONALITY THEORIES essay

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Psychology

Document 1

The models of personality development that have been established include the psychodynamic model, cognitive model, the neurobiological model, the trait model, behavioural model, the interpersonal or relational model, and the self-psychology model. Each of these models provides some insight regarding the development of personality. In this paper, I look at specific concepts in these model and explain why I choose to include some concepts in my personality development theory and exclude others. Major concepts Psychodynamic model concept Sigmund Freud’s psychodynamic theory is founded on the postulation that human behaviour is propelled by feelings and thoughts that lie in the subconscious mind (Carley, 2015). According to Freud, human personality consists of the id which is responsible for pleasure-seeking, the superego which attempts to obey the rules of society, and the ego which makes decisions depending on the demands of reality (Carley, 2015, pp.

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Freud argues that the clash between the unconscious motives of the animalistic id and the moralistic superego accounts for the conscious behavior demonstrated by the ego (Carley, 2015, pp. Neurobiological model concept The basis for personality theories under the neurobiological model is that human personality is to a large extent influenced by the collection of brain systems and mechanisms. One of the theorists who based their theories on this argument was Eysenck who contended that individuals inherit a type of nervous system that affects their ability to learn and adapt to the environment (Engler, 2009, p. To prove his theory, Eysenck came up with a set of questions which he asked seven hundred soldiers from whom he deduced three aspects of personality; extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism (Carducci, 2015).

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Eysenck further argued that human personality is determined by the level of balance between excitation and inhibition process of the autonomic nervous system. Bandura’s theory, thus, states that personality is modelled by our interactions with other people since human beings learn things by observing other people’s performances. Behavioural model concept Behaviorist Burrhus Frederick Skinner developed a theory that concentrates on the variables in the environment that influence a person rather than on the person (Engler, 2009, p. He opposed theories suggested by other psychologists such as Freud, terming the internal structures of personality as mere fiction since they cannot be directly observed. The argument is based on the ideas of what we can observe and study on how they directly affect human behaviour.

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Although I do not discount the arguments of other psychologists who attribute genetic composition and other internal structures, I do lean more towards Skinner’s suggestion that we concentrate on the environmental consequences that determine and maintain an individual’s behavior. Such differences are majorly caused by environmental factors. The interpersonal theory concept Harry stack Sullivan bases his interpersonal theory on the fact that if human beings had no interactions at all, they would not have a personality. His theory focuses on the interpersonal relationships and the effects of the individual’s social and cultural environment on inner life (H. Morgan, 2014). The reason I agree with this concept of Sullivan’s theory is because indeed, the relationships with whom we surround ourselves influence who we are as people and accordingly reflect in our personalities.

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Excluded concepts One of the concepts I excluded from my theory of personality development is Adler’s concept that the personalities that we get are as a result of striving to overcome our feelings of inadequacy. The reason for my exclusion of this concept is the fact that I do not believe that we are all born with a sense of inferiority. Even in our interactions with children, it is quite evident that there are those born with a very high sense of belief in themselves. Therefore, for stating that we are all born with an inferiority complex around which our personalities are built, I disagree with that concept. From Skinner’s theory, I discounted the concept that anything that cannot be directly observed does not contribute to personality.

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Regarding the cognitive model, a healthy personality results from having positive interactions with other human beings and avoiding specific environments. However, the definition of positive interactions varies from person to person, and therefore the definition of healthy personalities under the cognitive model can seem a bit vague. Assessment and measurement of the theory. In light of all that I have discussed above, the assessment and measurement of personality involves the human consciousness, our emotions, our genetic composition, the people we socialize with, and the variables in the environment. This is to say that it is not possible to define one’s personality based on just their faces.  G.  Psychodynamic theories: Freud, Klein, & Adler. Place of publication not identified: The author. Engler B.

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