Summary and Evaluation of the Theories of Personality - Coursework Example

Theories of personality By Phenomenological or Humanistic theory Key concepts and theorists According to the theory, specific ways every person perceives and interprets the world makes guide behavior and personality. The theorists emphasizes that every individual actively construct his own world. The theory also states that the original motivation of human is the innate drive towards growth n that makes the people to fulfill their exclusive and normal potential. The main participants in development of the theory include Carl Rodgers who came up with the concept of self and Abraham Maslow through Humanistic Psychology (Hall and Lindzey, 2007). In the concept of self, Rodgers distinguished between ideal and actual self. This brought out the fact that problems develop when concepts in a person do not match or the expectations that one has do not match reality. Positive regards on concept of self is that all have the need for approval of others and this do not depend on how young or old an individual. Condition of worth according to Rogers is created through parents and teachers where a child is made to believe that worth that he or she has depends on displaying the right behaviors, attitudes, and values. Maslow thought that self-actualization is not only a human capacity but is a human need. Maslow claimed that there was an order of needs that all humans need, and beginning at the bottom of the hierarchy, each need in the hierarchy must be satisfied before one can move to the next step in the order (Hall and Lindzey, 2007). He believed that many people are controlled by orientation deficiency, which is a preoccupation with satisfaction of psychological needs with natural objects. This produces the insight that life is a meaningless exercise, which results in dissatisfaction and boredom. In contrast, people with a Growth Orientation focus on obtaining fulfillment from what they have, what they are, and what they can do in the present period. Diagram and graphics Supported evaluation The approach given by the theorists coincide with the number of people who view themselves. The approach is very optimistic and places faith in ability of a person to fulfill his or her capacities (Ewen, 2003). Application of the theory is in many aspects. It is applied in client therapy, which assumes that clients can solve their problems. It is also applied in Parent Effective Training for child upbringing. Biological theory of personality Key aspects and theorists In the theory, there is belief that genetics are the primary determinants of personality. The theory also believes that conditioning also plays a role. According to theorist Hans Eysenck, personality traits are hierarchical with few basic traits rising to large array of more superficial traits. Difference in genetic determination in physiological functioning leads to some of the people being more exposed to behavioral training (Ewen, 2003). Eysenck suggests that quiet people have advanced heights of physiological stimulation, which enable them to be conditioned by environmental conditions more easily. Due to this, such people develop more reserves, which make them more shy and uneasy in social conditions. The main theorists in this aspect are Hans Eysenck and Gray. Diagrams and illustrations Evaluations Evidence obtained for genetic contributions to personality are obtained from the studies of children temperament and heritable studies. Temperament is innate personality features or characters. Babies show particular temperaments soon after they are born. Temperaments that researchers have considered include behavior towards an activity, which refers to a baby’s moodiness or receptiveness, and ability to be soothed, which refers to the ease or difficulty of calming a troubled baby (Hall and Lindzey, 2007). Study from infancy until a child reaches adolescence shows that temperament remains stable over a given period. Temperaments can be modified over a period due to changes in environment. Heritability studies also provide evidence for genetic contributions to personality. Heritability is an estimate that indicates how much of a trait’s variation in a population can be recognized to genes. In the approval, research has found out that identical twins that are raised together are more similar than fraternal twins are. Freudian psychoanalytic theory of personality Key aspects and theorists Freudian psychoanalytic theory of personality studies implication of the structure of the mind and ways that conflicts among the constituent parts are resolved in shaping personality of a person. The structure of the mind in the theory constitutes id, ego, and superego. Id in the mind is responsible on the pressure principle. This is regulated by both ego and superego. Ego operates reality and superego on mortality principle. The theory focuses mainly on the conflicts that occur on the mind. The conflicts are brought out in Freud’s five basic stages of relating psychological aspect of sexual development (Ryckman, 2008). The stages include oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Successful navigation of these natural, internal conflicts will lead to mastery of each developmental stage, and ultimately, to fully mature, adult personality. In his argument, each stage requires a mystery for a human to develop properly and move successfully to the next stage. Freuds ideas have since been encountered with criticism, mostly because of his focus on sexuality as the key driver of human personality development. Freud in his experimentation mainly focused on troubled adults and more focused into their childhood memories. Based on their accounts he defined the five basic stages of development. That he believed to be crucial in the formation of adult personality. He called his idea the psychosexual theory of development, with each stage directly related to a different physical center of pleasure. At each stage, the child is presented with a conflict. Diagrams and pictures Evaluation Freud believed that in everything one does, inner unconscious forces motivate him or her. He also believed that we are driven by sexual energy or libido and libido and aggression are tied together. Other energy principles that he developed are the pleasure and reality principle. After his research, he also believed that personality is formed in the first six years after a child is born. Fixation according to him is a resolved conflict, which is mainly attributed to by frustration. In stages of development, oral stage is from the time a child is born to the age of 18 months. Pleasure of the child comes from stimulation of the mouth. Anal stage is from 18 months to 3 years. In this stage, a child is able to show expression by holding or letting go of the movement of their bowels. The phallic stage begins from 3 years and 6 years. In the stage, children are physically attracted to the parent of the opposite sex. Genital stage is the final stage in the theory where it is time of puberty. Social cognitive theory Key concept and theorists Social cognitive theory explains sociocultural functions in terms of triadic reciprocal causation. In this theory, cognitive, behavior, environmental factors, and other personal factors operate together as determinants that influence each other directionally. Dynamic interaction can be altered to improve the level of organizational function. There are three aspects of social cognitive theory, which are especially relevant (Ryckman, 2008). The aspects include strengthening belief of the people in their capabilities so that they use their talents, development of competencies through mystery holding and enhancing self-motivation through goal system. Developing completeness through modeling is done through guided mystery modeling, modeling, self-directed success, and guided skill perfection. Bandura developed this theory. Diagram and illustration Evaluation Guided mastery modeling has been applied in work organizations where supervisors have important impact on the morale and productivity that the organization adopts. The theory argues that supervisors are chosen for their technical competence and the roles that they play depend on their interpersonal skills to guide and motivate those whom they supervise. When human development is viewed from a lifespan perspective, the influential determinants include a varied succession of life events that vary in their power to affect the direction lives take. Many of these determinants include age-graded social influences that are provided by custom within familial, educational, and other institutional systems. Some involve biological conditions that exercise influence over persons futures. Others are unpredictable occurrences in the physical environment. Still others involve irregular life events such as career changes, divorce, migration, accidents, and illness. Social and technological changes change, often significantly, the kinds of life actions that become normal in the social order. Many of the major changes in social and economic life are ushered in by innovations of technology. Life experiences under the same sociocultural conditions at a given period will differ for people who encounter them at different points in their lifespan Thus, for example, economic depression will have different effects on those entering adulthood than on those who pass through such adverse conditions at a young age. Major sociocultural changes that make life markedly different such as economic difficulties that alter incomes and opportunity constructions, military battles, cultural disturbances, advanced technologies and political variations that alter the character of the society can have strong impact on life courses. In social cognitive theory, people are neither driven by inner forces nor automatically shaped and controlled by the environment. They function as contributors to their own inspiration, conduct, and development within a system of mutually interacting effects. Individuals are considered within this theoretical view in terms of a number of basic abilities, to which we go next. References Ewen, R. (2003). An introduction to theories of personality. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Hall, C., and Lindzey, G. (2007). Theories of personality. New York: Wiley. Ryckman, R. (2008). Theories of personality. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co. Schultz, D. (2006). Theories of personality. Monterey, Calif.: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co. Read More