Overview

Personality refers to the consistent patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior that make each person unique. Psychologists study personality to understand how traits develop, how they affect behavior, and how they can be measured. Major theories offer diverse perspectives, from unconscious drives to conscious goals and social interactions.

Key Themes and Concepts

• Trait Theories:
  • The Big Five: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism (OCEAN).
  • Allport and Cattell: Described traits as central to personality structure using factor analysis and trait dimensions.
• Psychodynamic Theories:
  • Freud: Id, ego, and superego; defense mechanisms; psychosexual stages.
  • Jung and Adler: Focused on collective unconscious, archetypes, and inferiority complex.
• Humanistic Theories:
  • Rogers: Self-concept, unconditional positive regard, and actualizing tendency.
  • Maslow: Hierarchy of needs and self-actualization as a personality goal.
• Social-Cognitive Theories:
  • Bandura: Reciprocal determinism — interaction between behavior, cognition, and environment.
  • Rotter: Locus of control — internal vs. external perceptions of control over outcomes.
• Personality Assessment:
  • Objective tests: MMPI, Big Five inventories — standardized, scored measures.
  • Projective tests: Rorschach inkblot, TAT — interpretive, used to uncover unconscious material.
• Growth and Adjustment: Personality influences coping, relationships, career choices, and mental health. Change is possible through self-reflection and therapy.

Quick Tip

The Big Five traits are the most widely accepted model for describing personality across cultures and ages. Unlike older models, they are stable, measurable, and predictive of real-world outcomes. Each major theory highlights different forces — from unconscious conflict to personal growth or social learning — that shape who we are and how we relate to the world.