Personality Overview
Personality Overview (Week 4)
Steven Byrd
Psy/405
March 25, 2013
Psychodynamic and Humanistic theory There are many different theories involved in the development of personality and some have certain things in common and others have drastic differences. Theories include existential, dispositional, learning or the two that will be discussed which are psychodynamic and humanistic. According to (Feist & Feist, 2009), personality is something that is viewed in several ways but does not have one simple definition. There are many theorists who have their own definition of what personality actually is, but most can agree that personality is something that makes up who a person is, who they are inside and where they come from. Personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior. (Feist & Feist, 2009). Personality consists of traits, which are contributors to individual differences in behavior over a period of time. Characteristics are defined as unique qualities of an individual which include intelligence, physique and temperament. Theory is defined as a set of related assumptions that allow scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to form a hypotheses. (Feist & Feist, 2009) Psychodynamic theory Psychodynamic theory derived from one of the most famous psychologists in history, Sigmund Freud. Freud’s name has been linked to psychoanalysis, which is the most famous of all personality theories. Freud developed his understanding of human personality from his experiences with patients he had and also by analyzing the dreams that he had himself. Psychodynamic theory talks about ego’s. The ego is the region of the mind that is connected with reality and becomes a person’s sole source of communication with the outside world. (Feist & Feist, 2009). Egos are a big factor when it comes to interpersonal relationships. An example would be a person’s
Steven Byrd
Psy/405
March 25, 2013
Psychodynamic and Humanistic theory There are many different theories involved in the development of personality and some have certain things in common and others have drastic differences. Theories include existential, dispositional, learning or the two that will be discussed which are psychodynamic and humanistic. According to (Feist & Feist, 2009), personality is something that is viewed in several ways but does not have one simple definition. There are many theorists who have their own definition of what personality actually is, but most can agree that personality is something that makes up who a person is, who they are inside and where they come from. Personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior. (Feist & Feist, 2009). Personality consists of traits, which are contributors to individual differences in behavior over a period of time. Characteristics are defined as unique qualities of an individual which include intelligence, physique and temperament. Theory is defined as a set of related assumptions that allow scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to form a hypotheses. (Feist & Feist, 2009) Psychodynamic theory Psychodynamic theory derived from one of the most famous psychologists in history, Sigmund Freud. Freud’s name has been linked to psychoanalysis, which is the most famous of all personality theories. Freud developed his understanding of human personality from his experiences with patients he had and also by analyzing the dreams that he had himself. Psychodynamic theory talks about ego’s. The ego is the region of the mind that is connected with reality and becomes a person’s sole source of communication with the outside world. (Feist & Feist, 2009). Egos are a big factor when it comes to interpersonal relationships. An example would be a person’s
References: Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of personality (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.