Psychology Topics > Personality

Introduction
Personality is defined as a person's unique behavioral and cognitive patterns; OR, a person's
unique consistent pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. In describing personality, theorists
attempt to answer the following questions.

Freedom versus Determinism:

Are our behaviors determined by forces we cannot control or are we free to control our
own behaviors?
Heredity versus Environment:
Is our personality shaped solely by genetics, the environment we grow up in, or both?

Uniqueness versus Universality:

Are people unique or similar in comparison with one another?

Active versus Reactive:

Do we choose behavior on our own volition or do people simply react to their
environment?

Optimistic versus Pessimistic:

Can people change their personalities or do they have to accept themselves the way they
are and remain the same?

Key Figures & Theories

Gordon Allport
Gordon Allport was an American psychologist who focused on individuals personalities. Allport
is sometimes referred to as the founder of personality psychology. He believed that the study of

personality could be characterized in 2 ways. The first, nomothetic, refers to traits and rules of
personality that can be generalized to large amounts and types of people. The second, idiographic
psychology, states that there are characteristics that are unique to the individual. Thus, Allport
attempted to explain personality be answering the question of uniqueness versus universality.
Allport developed the trait theory of personality. He did this by looking through a dictionary and
writing down any terms that described a person's personality. He then divided these terms into 3
types of traits; cardinal, central and secondary.

Cardinal trait - This refers to a trait that dominates the individual's life, personality and
behaviors. This type of trait is uncommon because people usually have more than 1 trait
that shapes their lives.

Central trait - These are traits that everyone has to one degree or another.

Secondary trait - These characteristics are unique to the individual.

Allport also coined the words genotype and phenotype. Genotype is a trait that a person has
within themselves that determines their behaviors with others. Phenotypes are observable aspects
of how the individual relates to the world. For example, genotypes can be values, likes or
dislikes. A phenotype for someone with a personality disorder is a pattern of disturbed or
inappropriate relationships with others.

Carl Jung
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychologist who was most notable for dream analysis, but he also
illustrated a theory of personality. Like Allport, Jung also answers the question of uniqueness
versus universality in his theory.
Jung believed that everyone had particular unlearned yearnings or archetypes. For example, the
mother archetype has a yearning or need to nurture others. In other words, an archetype is a
model, prototype, or stereotype that is used as a structural component to a developing
personality. Some examples of Jung's archetypes were:

The Mother: feeding, soothing and nurturing.

The Self: spiritual connection to the universe

The Shadow: dark, unknown and mysterious part

The Persona: public mask

The Child: birth and beginnings

The Trickster: deceiving

The Scarecrow: outcast

The Sage: knowledge and guidance

The Hero: rescuer, champion

Sigmund Freud
Freud developed the model of the psyche or personality composed of the Id, Ego, and Superego.
The Id works on the pleasure principle - it seeks to avoid pain and increase pleasure at any cost.
It drives us to search for food when hungry, rest when tired, and other basic impulses that ensure
our survival.
The Superego acts as the moral police, and demands that we act in a moral and socially
appropriate manner, no matter the circumstance. It works in direct contradiction to the Id. The
Ego works as the executive of the psyche, striving to find a balance between the Id's hedonism
and the Superego's moralism.
Freud also believed that personalities were influenced by material held in the unconscious. His
treatment consisted of helping individuals make the unconscious-conscious to understand their
motives behind their emotions and behaviors. His expectation was that once people were truly
aware of themselves, they could make changes to improve their functioning.

Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler was an Austrian psychologist who believed personality was not only developed due
to internal processes but external processes. One of the external processes Adler believed had a
significant impact on a developing personality was birth order. For example, the oldest child may
have leadership capabilities, the youngest child is often overindulged and the middle child may
feel squeezed-out or ignored.

Adler proposed a model of personality that defined particular patterns of behaviors. These
patterns were named getting / leaning, avoiding, ruling / dominant, and socially useful. The
getting / leaning type are selfish personalities who take but never or rarely give back. The
avoiding type of personality does not take risks and does not enjoy much social interaction. The
ruling / dominant personality will do anything to get their way and can be very manipulative.
Finally, the socially useful personality is outgoing and wants to do things for the good of others.

Robert Cloninger
Robert Cloninger characterized personality by three dimensions of temperament and three types
of traits. He also developed the tridimensional personality questionnaire (TPQ) to measure these
dimensions in individuals.
The dimensions of temperament are:

Harm Avoidance: anxious, pessimistic vs. outgoing, optimistic

Novelty Seeking: impulsive, quick-tempered vs. rigid, slow-tempered

Reward Dependence: warm, approval-seeking vs. cold, aloof

Persistence, which is persevering, ambitious vs. easily discouraged (NOTE: this 4th
dimension was added later)

The three types of traits are:

Self-Directedness: reliable, purposeful vs. blaming, aimless

Cooperativeness: tolerant, helpful vs. prejudiced, revengeful

Self-Transcendence: self-forgetful, spiritual vs. self-conscious, materialistic

Hans Eysenck
Hans Eysenck was a British psychologist who studied intelligence and personality. His model of

personality included two dimensions, extraversion (E) and neuroticism (N). He used these two
dimensions on a graph to classify personality. With these two factors, the possibilities of
personality can be classified into 4 types.

High N and High E = Choleric type

High N and Low E = Melancholic type

Low N and High E = Sanguine type

Low N and Low E = Phlegmatic type

http://intraspec.ca/images/eysenck.gif
Later, a third dimension of psychoticism was added.
Eysenck proposed that introverts were move internally stimulated than extroverts. Therefore
extroverts seek out more external stimulation than introverts to balance their system whereas
introverts try to stay away from additional stimulation so they will not become overloaded.

Raymond Cattell
Raymond Cattell was a British and American psychologist who proposed a 16 factor theory of
personality. These 16 factors are outlined in the following table.
Descriptors of Low Range

Primary
Factor

Descriptors of High Range

Impersonal, distant, cool, reserved,

detached, formal, aloof (Schizothymia)

Warmth
(A)

Warm, outgoing, attentive to others,

kindly, easy-going, participating, likes
people (Affectothymia)

Concrete thinking, lower general

mental capacity, less intelligent, unable
to handle abstract problems (Lower
Scholastic Mental Capacity)

Reasoning
(B)

Abstract-thinking, more intelligent,

bright, higher general mental capacity,
fast learner (Higher Scholastic Mental
Capacity)

Reactive emotionally, changeable,

affected by feelings, emotionally less
stable, easily upset (Lower Ego
Strength)

Emotional
Stability
(C)

Emotionally stable, adaptive, mature,

faces reality calmly (Higher Ego
Strength)

Deferential, cooperative, avoids

conflict, submissive, humble, obedient,
easily led, docile, accommodating
(Submissiveness)

Dominance
(E)

Dominant, forceful, assertive,

aggressive, competitive, stubborn,
bossy (Dominance)

Serious, restrained, prudent, taciturn,

introspective, silent (Desurgency)

Liveliness
(F)

Lively, animated, spontaneous,

enthusiastic, happy go lucky, cheerful,
expressive, impulsive (Surgency)

Expedient, nonconforming, disregards

rules, self indulgent (Low Super Ego
Strength)

RuleRule-conscious, dutiful, conscientious,

Consciousness conforming, moralistic, staid, rule
(G)
bound (High Super Ego Strength)

Shy, threat-sensitive, timid, hesitant,

intimidated (Threctia)

Social
Boldness
(H)

Utilitarian, objective, unsentimental,

tough minded, self-reliant, nononsense, rough (Harria)

Sensitivity
(I)

Sensitive, aesthetic, sentimental, tender

minded, intuitive, refined (Premsia)

Trusting, unsuspecting, accepting,

unconditional, easy (Alaxia)

Vigilance
(L)

Vigilant, suspicious, skeptical,

distrustful, oppositional (Protension)

Grounded, practical, prosaic, solution

Socially bold, venturesome, thick

skinned, uninhibited (Parmia)

Abstractedness Abstract, imaginative, absent minded,

oriented, steady, conventional

(Praxernia)
Forthright, genuine, artless, open,
guileless, naive, unpretentious,
involved (Artlessness)
Self-Assured, unworried, complacent,
secure, free of guilt, confident, self
satisfied (Untroubled)

(M)
Privateness
(N)

impractical, absorbed in ideas (Autia)

Private, discreet, nondisclosing,
shrewd, polished, worldly, astute,
diplomatic (Shrewdness)

Apprehensive, self doubting, worried,

Apprehension
guilt prone, insecure, worrying, self
(O)
blaming (Guilt Proneness)

Traditional, attached to familiar,

conservative, respecting traditional
ideas (Conservatism)

Openness to
Change
(Q1)

Open to change, experimental, liberal,

analytical, critical, free thinking,
flexibility (Radicalism)

Group-oriented, affiliative, a joiner and

follower dependent (Group Adherence)

Self-Reliance
(Q2)

Self-reliant, solitary, resourceful,

individualistic, self sufficient (SelfSufficiency)

Perfectionistic, organized, compulsive,

Tolerates disorder, unexacting, flexible,
self-disciplined, socially precise,
undisciplined, lax, self-conflict,
Perfectionism
exacting will power, control, selfimpulsive, careless of social rules,
(Q3)
sentimental (High Self-Concept
uncontrolled (Low Integration)
Control)
Relaxed, placid, tranquil, torpid,
patient, composed low drive (Low
Ergic Tension)

Tension
(Q4)

Tense, high energy, impatient, driven,

frustrated, over wrought, time driven.
(High Ergic Tension)

Primary Factors and Descriptors in Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Model (Adapted From Conn &
Rieke, 1994).
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16_Personality_Factors

Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov was a Russian psychologist who developed the theory of classical conditioning to
describe behavior. His theory endorses a behavioral approach to personality and states that
people simply respond to their given environments and do not consciously choose any given
behavior. His theory is concerned with the question of activity versus reactivity.
Pavlov was actually a physician who was studying gastric functioning in dogs by examining their
saliva in various feeding conditions. During some of his experiments, Pavlov observed that the
dogs began to salivate before they were even given any food. Upon further investigation, Pavlov
discovered that the dogs salivated in response to hearing a sound from the mechanism that

delivered the food. Pavlov realized something 'unusual' was occurring because he knew that dogs
don't instinctively salivate in response to a sound.
After further investigation, Pavlov realized that the dogs "learned" that every time they heard that
sound, they were about to be fed. This "pairing" of a stimulus that naturally caused a biological
response with another stimulus that did not reflexively cause a response is the essence of
classical conditioning. The vital part is the pairing of the two stimuli that precedes the
conditioning of a reflexive response to the neutral stimulus.
Conditioned responses are not permanent however. Upon further investigation, Pavlov
discovered that after several times of ringing the bell without giving dogs food that the dogs
would re-learn that the bell was no longer associated with being fed. This process is called
extinction. If the conditioned response is never paired again with the neutral stimulus then the
conditioned response will fade and then disappear.

B.F. Skinner
B.F. Skinner was also a behaviorist, however, unlike Pavlov, who believed behaviors were
involuntary reactions to the environment, Skinner believed behaviors were voluntary. Skinner
illustrated this concept through his operant conditioning theory. This theory states that people
perform behaviors because they are reinforced or punished to do so.
Reinforcement is something that increases the likelihood that a behavior will continue.
Punishment is something that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will continue. Both
Reinforcement and punishment have two types, positive and negative. Normally when we hear
the word "negative," we think it is something bad. In this case however, negative simply means
that something has been taken away. Positive means that something has been added. The
following table illustrates this relationship.

Reinforcement

Positive

Punishment

Something is
Something is
added to
added to increase decrease the
the likelihood a
likelihood a
behavior will occur behavior will
occur

Something is
Something is taken taken away to
away to increase
decrease the
Negative
the likelihood a
likelihood a
behavior will occur behavior will
occur

An example of a powerful negative reinforcer is a screaming child. The sound is so annoying that
many adults will give the child anything he or she wants in order to get the screaming to stop.
The child will stop screaming (take away the piercing sound) when the adult gives him or her
candy (increase likelihood that behavior occurs). Children use this technique with adults every
day. It doesn't take a psychologist to understand how to change behavior!

Albert Bandura
Albert Bandura was a psychologist most noted for this theory of social learning. The main idea
of the social learning theory is that people learn by watching what other people do and then copy
that behavior. This is called modeling. Bandura can also be thought of as a "nurture" oriented
theorist. In response to the question of whether our personalities are the result or genetics or our
environment, he would say we act the ways we do because we are nurtured to act in those ways.

John Holland
John Holland developed a model of 6 personality types that is mostly used in career counseling.
These 6 personality types are Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and
Conventional.

Realistic: likes to work with animals, tools, machines, and is practical and realistic.

Investigative: likes math, science, is precise and intellectual.

Artistic: likes creative activities, is very artistic, expressive, and avoids repetition.

Social: likes to help and be around people. Is trustworthy, friendly, and likes to solve
social problems.

Enterprising: likes to sell things, engage in politics and other leadership positions but
does not enjoy analytic activities.

Conventional: enjoys working with numbers and structured activities.

source: https://edtechvision.wikispaces.com/file/view/Holland03Jobs.gif

Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow was a Humanistic Psychologist who believed personality was based on
meeting survival and other needs. His theory answers the question of uniqueness versus
universality because the needs he identified are universal to all people. The needs he identified
were physiological, security, needs of belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

Physical needs: food, water, sleep

Security/safety: shelter, safe environment

Belongingness and love: friends, family, and intimacy

Esteem: Respect, self-esteem, recognition

Self-actualization: achieving an individual's full potential

He organized these needs into a triangle he called the Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow believed all
people had an innate desire or drive to become self-actualized; however, people met their needs
according to a particular order or hierarchy. The most important needs for life are those that are
physically sustaining such as food, water, and shelter.
Maslow stated that people had to fulfill these basic needs before other needs such as esteem and
belonging could be met. Therefore, personality could be characterized partly by understanding
where on the chart of needs an individual was located. For example, if a person is spending the
majority of his or her time meeting physical needs, their personality will not reflect needs or
values of intimate relationships because that need is located higher on the triangle.

Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers also focused on the question of uniqueness versus universality. Unlike Maslow who
endorsed universality, Rogers endorsed the individual's uniqueness. His technique is called
"client-centered" because of this focus on the individual. Rogers believed that clients were the
experts of their own lives and had the answers they needed to solve their own problems but just
needed support in realizing this fact.
Rogers believed that all a therapist needed to do was provide unconditional positive regard, i.e.
accepted the client's feelings without reservation or judgment, and the client would be able to
rely on his or her own inner strengths and personality to solve problems.

Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman

Friedman and Rosenman coined the terms Type A and Type B personality. A Type A personality
is a set of behavioral features favoring achievement, competition, time urgency, impatience and
hostility. Researchers have found that Type A characteristics are correlated with a higher risk of
heart disease in these individuals. In contrast, individuals with Type B personality are relaxed,
patient and easy-going.

Assessments
There are several different assessments that psychologists use to assess personality. Here are a
few of the more popular personality inventories.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): This test consists of a series of cards with different pictures.
The object is for the person to tell a story about what he or she thinks is occurring in the picture.

The assumption is that the person will "project" which is that he or she will use the picture to talk
about what has happened or is significant to them.
Rorschach: This assessment consists of a series of ambiguous ink blots and the psychologist asks
the patient what he or she sees in the ink blots. This is similar to looking at clouds in the sky and
talking about what the clouds look like. Similar to the TAT, the assumption is that the individual
will "project" their issues, struggles or delusions onto the picture.
MMPI II: The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is a long test consisting of over 500
statements such as "I hear things that other people cannot hear." Each question can be answered
either true or false. Results are shown according to 10 scales. These scales are outlined in the
following table:
Number Abbreviation

Description

What is Measured

No. of
Items

Hs

Hypochondriasis

Concern with bodily

32
symptoms

Depression

Depressive
Symptoms

57
60

Hy

Hysteria

Awareness of
problems and
vulnerabilities

Pd

Psychopathic Deviate

Conflict, struggle,
anger, respect for
society's rules

50

MF

Stereotypical
masculine or
Masculinity/Femininity
feminine
interests/behaviors

56

Pa

Paranoia

Level of trust,
suspiciousness,
sensitivity

Pt

Psychasthenia

Worry, Anxiety,
tension, doubts,
obsessiveness

48

Sc

Schizophrenia

Odd thinking and

social alienation

78

Ma

Hypomania

Level of excitability 46

Si

Social Introversion

People orientation

40

69

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Multiphasic_Personality_Inventory

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: this assessment is also used in career counseling and is another
personality inventory that measures personality according to 4 dichotomies. These are
introversion (I) vs extroversion (E), sensing (S) vs intuition (N), thinking (T) vs feeling (F), and
judgment (J) vs perception (P). There are 16 possible combinations using these dichotomies.
David Kiersey named these possible personality types in the following table:

IS T J
Inspector
IS T P
Crafter
ES T P
Promoter
ES T J
Supervisor
I

IS F J
IN F J
IN T J
Protector Counselor Mastermind
IS F P
IN F P
IN T P
Composer Healer
Architect
ES F P
EN F P
EN T P
Performer Champion Inventor
ES F J
EN F J
EN T J
Provider Teacher Fieldmarshal
I

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator
Personality Disorders
The following disorders are unhealthy patterns of behaviors that require treatment. Usually these
disorders are not "cured" per se, however, individuals suffering from personality disorders can be
taught coping skills to help them cope with their symptoms. Personality disorders are classified
into 3 clusters of symptoms; A, B, and C.
Cluster A: these disorders consists of odd, eccentric thinking or behaviors

Paranoid personality disorder

Schizoid personality disorder

Schizotypal personality disorder

Cluster B: these disorders consist of dramatic, overly emotional thinking or behavior.

Antisocial personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder

Histrionic personality disorder

Narcissistic personality disorder

Cluster C: these disorders consist of anxious, fearful thinking or behavior.

Avoidant personality disorder

Dependent personality disorder

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Additional Videos
If You Know Nothing
About Personality (01)

If You Know Nothing

About Personality (02):
Trait Theory

If You Know Nothing

About Personality (03):
Freud

If You Know Nothing

About Personality (04):
Adler

Schools Offering Personality Degrees & Programs

More Psych
Recommended Links
1. That's My Theory
2. Personality: What Makes Us Who We Are?
3. Personality Theories, by Dr. C George Boeree (highly recommended)
4. The Keirsey Character Sorter
5. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Suggested Reading
Studies in Personality, Social and Clinical Psychology
Russell Eisenman
From Amazon.com: This volume will fit well with courses in psychology, sociology, and
criminology: it contains articles on crime, prisons, creativity, birth order, AIDS education,

and related chapters. Many of the findings are nonobvious, in that most people (including
scholars) would not be aware of them. This is partly due to the author's inside knowledge
from having worked in a prison treatment program as well as being a researcher/professor
in universities. ... more
Personality: A Cognitive Approach (Psychology Focus)
Jo Brunas-Wagstaff
From Amazon.com: Are individual differences best explained in terms of nature
(biology/genetics) or nurture (upbringing)? Do we have "free will?" Is personality a result
of differences in cognition or differences in termperament? Personality: A Cognitive
Approach touches on a number of controversies in academic psychology, and provides a
broad and integrated view of individual differences psychology in this concise yet
academically rigorous overview of relevant theories and research ... more
A History of Personality Psychology: Theory, Science, and Research from Hellenism to
the Twenty-First Century
Frank Dumont
From Amazon.com: Frank Dumont presents current personality psychology with a fresh
description of its current status as well as its prospects. Play, sex, cuisine, creativity,
altruism, pets, grieving rituals, and other oft-neglected topics broaden the scope of this
fascinating study. This tract is imbued with historical perspectives that reveal the
continuity in the evolving science and research of this discipline over the past century. ...
more

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