Who am I? What makes me who I am? What makes me act the way I act? What is my personality really like?

These are just a few of the questions that I will attempt to answer in this essay. These questions are very complex and cannot be answered in exact terms. However I will use the personality theories of Sigmund Freud and Abraham Maslow to answer these questions and many more as accurately as possible. Sigmund Freud would say the unconscious level of my mind contains the desires, wishes, needs, and impulses that we are not aware of under normal circumstances. He would say that my mind is composed of three systems- the id, ego, and superego. The id operates on the pleasure principle. The ego operates on the reality principle. The superego refers to the moral aspects of personality. These three systems fight for control. In my opinion I feel that my ego is winning this fight, with my id in a close second. My id demands pleasure at all costs. However my ego knows that I must obtain this pleasure appropriately or I will land myself in big trouble. I think my superego is really losing this battle. I make choices that for the most part obtain pleasure but do not get me in big trouble. However I rarely if ever make de Measuring Aspects of Personality - Psychology Essay Personality is defined as an individuals unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits. A person is made up of many different qualities and behavioral characteristics that make him distinctively him. Theoncept of personality stems from the assumption that a person is fairly consistent in the ways he perceives and deals with life across situations. Personality is measured in various different ways, usually categorized according to the particular traits that a person possesses. Research on personality ranges from sexual, social, or personal behavior tendencies to the examination of the different body types and other biological aspects. Over the years, psychologists from diversely different approaches have come up with innumerable theories for measuring personality. Some of the most well-known include the Big 5 theory by McCrae and Costa, Rogers Person-Centered theory, and Sheldons biological theory. The first theory is known as the Big 5 by Robert McCrae and Paul Costa. They simplified the concept of personality and came up with the idea of a five-factor model. They asserted that the majority of personality traits can be categorized into five higherorder traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. Extraversion is characterized by talkative, sociable, fun-loving, affectionate behavior. Agreeableness is distinguished by sympathetic, warm, trusting, and cooperative character. Conscientiousness usually entails ethical, dependable, productive, and purposeful demeanor. Neuroticism is used to describe anxious, insecure, guilt-prone, and self-conscious conduct. Lastly, openness to experience characterizes daring, nonconforming, imaginative people who show unusually broad interests. By measuring these five basic traits, McCrae and Costa believed that a persons personality could be sufficiently described. According to this Big 5 theory, I feel that I am moderately extroverted, highly agreeable, emotionally stable, fairly conscientious, and largely open to experience. I feel that I am neither disengaged nor overly gregarious. I enjoy being around

people, but also take pleasure in spending time alone. I consider myself to be an extremely agreeable person; I have a strong interest in others needs and well-being. I believe that I tend to put others interests above my own. I think myself to be a sympathetic, cooperative, and pleasant person. I also believe myself to be an emotionally stable person. I am sensitive, but strong. I think that I deal with stressful and frustrating situations fairly well. Although certain things upset me, I am fairly optimistic. I also consider myself to be sensibly conscientious. I am not an impulsive person; I tend to think things through carefully before making most decisions. Although I appreciate spontaneity and living in the moment, I am also quite dependable and responsible with my duties. Despite my frequently cluttered room, I would categorize myself as a perfectionist. I tend to become extremely irritated when things are not organized and planned. I am open to experience, which indicates that I like novelty, variety, and change. I am fond of art, and prefer to use my creativity and imagination whenever possible. Unlike the Big 5 personality theory, the Person-Centered theory by Carl Rogers is developed from a humanistic perspective. Humanistic psychologists stress the potential for good in all people. Rogers believed that personality centered on the self-concept, which is known as a collection of beliefs about ones own nature, unique qualities, and typical behavior. In other words, his theory was based on the idea of a persons self-perception of their own personality. He believed that individuals strived to make their personality as consistent as possible with their self-concept. He called the difference between ones selfconcept and ones reality incongruence. He claimed that people would attempt to show their favorable self-concept by ignoring or distorting certain experiences that are contradictory, or even doing certain things to prove that their self-concept is accurately describing their actual personality. According to Rogers theory, I would be adequately congruent with my self-concept, most likely due to the parental acceptance bestowed to me since birth. I know that I am worthy of affection. I see myself as an even-tempered, kind, generous, sensitive, warm-hearted, agreeable individual; therefore I unconsciously strive to be thus. A third personality theory arises from the biological approach to psychology. It is vastly different in concept from the Big 5 and Person-Centered theories formerly addressed. It was first proposed by William Sheldon, and is founded on the assumption that body type greatly influences personality. He categorized different peoples body types into three types: endomorphic, mesomorphic, and ectomorphic. Endomorphy refers to fat, round, soft body types. Mesomorphic bodies were hard, strong, and muscular. Ectomorphy was characterized by thin, flat, frail bodies. Sheldon believed that behavior was determined by these physiques. He claimed that Endomorphic bodies were usually relaxed, affectionate, even-tempered, and sociable people. Mesomorphy was associated with energy, competitiveness, aggression, bondness, and a usually domineering personality. Ectomorphic people were supposedly inhibited, apprehensive, intellectual, introverted, and self-conscious. According to Sheldon, I would have probably belonged to the endomorphic category. Although his theories are accurate in my case, his findings are severely flawed. The concept of personality is used to explain how and why people differ. It explains the consistency in the personal traits of certain individuals, as well as the behavioral differences among people thrust into similar situations. It explains how and why people

tend to behave, feel, and think in certain situations. How personality should be measured is still, to an extent, a widely ambiguous question according to our current knowledge of it. Different theories like those mentioned above all contradict the rest, and the nature of personality, alongside all its aspects, is irresolute.