Theories of
personality
Ms. Zahyreen Kousar
What’s the coolest thing about
personality?
Everybody has one!!
Activity
● Close your eyes for a while, and look at yourself
from the inside. Visualise your inner self and
come up with a description of how you would
define yourself. When you have a few words in
mind that might describe who you are, jot them
down on a paper.
A Glance: inside your personality
1. Now take a look at your view of your personality.
2. Find a partner for yourself and exchange your views about
your personality.
3. Have a discussion regarding whether you both agree with
how you described your personality.
4. Take a look at how the same person can be described as
having different personality traits by different people.
Defining
Personality
The word personality originates from the latin word “persona”
A pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique
characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to
a person’s behavior.
Personality is a dynamic and organized set of characteristics
possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her
cognitions, motivations and behaviors in various situations.
Psychological traits such as kind, shy, mean, outgoing,
dominant and so forth.
Determinates of personality
Ms. Zahyreen Kousar
● Biological/Physical Determinants: Hereditary and
physical features
● Social Determinants: Sociological aspects related
to the community and his/her role in the community
● Psychological Determinants: Behaviour, emotions,
sentiments, thought patterns and complexes of an
individual
● Intellectual Determinants: Values, Humor, Morality
Personality determinants
Personality
psychologists must
focus their efforts:
Trait approach = how
Psychoanalytic Biological = address
people differ
approach = focus on physiology, inheritance,
psychologically from
unconscious mind and and evolution and relate
one another. Focus on
internal conflict these to personality
personality traits.
More perspectives…
Humanistic/phenomenological approach - focus on conscious
experience, focus on growth, spirituality, and self-fulfilment
Behaviorist/learning – focus on science of learning, impact of
rewards, punishment
Cognitive approach – emphasizes human thought, draws from
modern cognitive psychology
Interactionist perspective – emphasizes that we are different in
different situations; situation and person interact
Meaning of theory
Ms. Zahyreen Kousar
What is a theory?
The scientific theory is a set of related
assumptions that allows scientists to
use logical deductive reasoning to
formulate testable hypothesis
Logical deductive
reasoning- used to
Assumptions –set Testable – unless a
formulate hypothesis,
of assumptions, hypothesis can be
begin with general
related, as-if, not tested in some way,
theory and then
proven facts. it is useless.
arrive at a particular
hypothesis.
Theory and its relatives (yes, the nosy ones as well)
Philosophy – pursue wisdom through thinking and reasoning.
● Deals with ‘oughts' and ‘should’
● Theory deals with broad sets of if-then statements. Eg. If
children are brought up in isolation, then they will not develop
human language etc. but this statement does not say anything
about morality of such a method of child rearing.
Speculation –theory is closely tied to empirical data and science.
Theories gives meanings to observations , provide fertile ground
for producing testable hypotheses.
Hypothesis – theory is narrower than philosophy but broader than
hypothesis. Hypothesis is any educated guess, or prediction, can
be tested by use of scientific method.
Deductive reasoning-going general to specific
Inductive reasoning- specific to general.
Generates research
What makes a theory Is falsifiable(verifiable)
Organize data and explain
knowledge
useful
Guides action or suggest
practical solutions
Internally consistent
simple or economical?
Each personality theorist implicit or determinism versus free choice
explicit (clear) concept of humanity.
pessimism versus optimism
causality versus teleology
conscious versus unconscious
determinants,
biological versus social factors,
uniqueness versus similarities in people
Methods of
studying
personality
CASE HISTORY METHOD:
● Involves collecting background data about and making intensive
observations of a single individual in order to discover how to treat
that person or to obtain information that may apply to others.
● Intensive study of an individuals life over a long period of time.
● Used in clinical and medical settings to provide descriptions and
explanations of a person’s actions and experiences and treatment
of individual problems.
● Does not typically qualify as being scientific
● Little Hans, the case of Anna etc.
CORRELATIONAL METHOD:
● Involves variables. Eg. Kindness, intelligence, anxiety
● Used to determine whether variations in certain variables tend to
occur together
● Any two variables are said to be correlated if variations in one
correspond to some degree with variations in the other.
● Eg. Alchoholic drinks and number of psychological complaints.
● However, it cannot indicate whether one variable determines
variation in other. E.g. high intelligence and doing well in school.
THE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD:
● The investigator actively manipulates or systematically alters
certain variables and checks their effects on other variables.
● The variables actively manipulated are called independent
variables others are called dependent variables.
History of
personality
theories
Note!
This might seem a bit
repetitive at first, but it does
get better. Promise.
Hippocrates - Humorism
Hippocrates theorized that personality
traits and human behaviours are based on
four separate temperaments associated
with four fluids (“humors”) of the body:
● choleric temperament (yellow bile from
the liver),
● melancholic temperament (black bile
from the kidneys),
● sanguine temperament (red blood from
the heart),
● phlegmatic temperament (white phlegm
from the lungs)
Based on Hippocratic medicine, it was
believed that the four humors were to be in
balanced proportions with regard to amount
and strength of each humor for a body to be
healthy, and for the personality to be
balanced.
● Sanguine (Blood): Blood content is high in
such people. Cheerful happy and optimistic life.
Extroverted and enjoy being part of a crowd,
social, outgoing, and charismatic is easy to
accomplish. Engage in more risk seeking
behaviors.
● Choleric ( Yellow Bile):Predominant of
yellow bile irritable restless, hot blooded,
passionate, bold and eager extroverted.
Described as being independent, decisive, and
goal oriented. leadership qualities as well as
ambition. logical and fact-based outlook on the
world
● Melancholic (Black Bile)
Analytical, detail oriented, and are deep thinkers
and feelers. Introverted and avoid stand out in a
crowed. A self-reliant individuals, who are
thoughtful, reserved, and often anxious. Strive for
perfection within themselves which leads to tidy
and detail-oriented behavior.
● Phlegmatic (Phlegm)
Relaxed, peaceful, quiet, and easy-going.
Sympathetic and care about others yet try to hide
their emotions. Good at generalizing ideas or
problems to the world and making compromises.
1. Sanguine (Blood): All over the body---air---hot &wet----fever and sweaty –
spring---- blood ,letting purging---theory of balance by Galen by adding
vegetables like chili and cucumber.
2. Choleric ( Yellow Bile): liver ---- fire-----hot and dry ----summer quick
tempered
3. Melancholic (Black Bile) : kidneys----- earth-----autumn----------
melancholic
4. Phlegmatic (Phlegm): lungs----water-------winter-------- calm unemotional
not too reactive.
Concept of modern medical science: Not found
relationship between internal secretions.
Psychological personality type systems: some still
use categories like the Greek temperaments.
Ernst Kretschmer
Ernst’ Kretschmer is a German psychologist who initiated scientific
investigations and attempted to correlate physique and characteristics. He
classified individuals into four types, namely pyknic, asthenic, athletic and
dysplastic. From his study of mental patients, he found that certain body types
are associated with some types of mental disorders.
a. Pyknic body type:
Such individuals are short, rounded and associated with manic depression, have
the personality traits of extroverts.
b. Asthenic body type:
Such individuals are tall and thin and have the personality traits of introverts.
They are associated with schizophrenia.
c. Athletic body type:
Such individuals have strong body built, they are energetic and aggressive,
strong, determined, adventurous and balanced. They are normally associated
with manic depressive psychosis.
d. Dysplastic body type:
Unproportionate body type due to hormonal imbalance. the disproportioned
dysplastic type presents a combination of traits but tends toward the asthenic.
His work was criticized because
Though this classification of
his thinner, schizophrenic
personality based on the body
patients were younger than his
type has attracted the attention
pyknic, manic-depressive
of many psychologists, the
subjects, so the differences in
theory has been rejected since it
body type could be explained by
was based on mental patients.
differences in age.
William Herbert Sheldon
In the 1940's, William Herbert Sheldon associated body types with
human temperament types. He claimed that a body type could be
linked with the personality of that person. He split up these
body/personality types into three categories called somatotypes.
He says that Endomorphs with a large bone structure
tend to have an outgoing and more relaxed personality.
Mesomorph: while a more muscular body-typed person
is more active and aggressive
Ectomorph: A slim or scrawny person with thin muscles
is usually characterized as quiet or fragile.
That’s
Do you have any questions?
it!
You can always find me at
hudaahermaen.ipp@bahria.edu.pk
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