Personality psychology deals with the study of personality and individual differences. There are numerous places to study about psychology online; including personality psychology. A favorite place of mine is Wikipedia, where I compiled the data for this post.
One of the major areas of concern of personality psychology is the construction of a coherent picture of an individual and their psychological processes. Likewise, it is the study of individual differences or how one individual is distinct from the other. Finally, it is the examination of human nature as well as the similarities of individuals to one another.
Personality is seen as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics of an individual which determines their cognitions, behaviors, and motivations in various instances. The word “personality” traces its roots from the word persona, which is the Latin word for mask. In the world of Latin theater, the mask was not used as a plot to hide the identity of a character, but was a convention used to represent or typify that character.
Gordon Allport provided a description of two principal ways to study personality namely the nomothetic and idiographic. The former are general laws that are applicable to various people, such as the principle of self-actualization or the trait of extraversion. On the other hand, the latter tries to understand the unique aspects of a particular individual.
Personality involves characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behavior which contributes to the uniqueness of the individual. It stems from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout their life span.
There have been several theories that have emerged providing an explanation of the different aspects of personality. Some theories focus on the development of personality while others focus on individual differences. Here we will look at the different theories of personality introduced by different psychologists.
- Trait Theories
Trait theories of personality psychology include the dispositional perspective of Gordon Allport, the three-trait model of Hans Eysenck, Myers-Briggs Types, and Big Five Personality Dimensions.
- Psychoanalytic Theories
Theory of Psychosexual Development. Developed by Sigmund Freud, this is one of the most popular as well as most controversial personality theory.
- Theory of Psychosocial Development.
Developed by Erik Erikson, the Theory of Psychosocial Development states that every developmental stage plays a crucial factor in personality development and psychological skills.
- Theory of Neurotic Needs.
Karen Horney came up with a list of neurotic needs that results from the abuse of coping strategies to deal with basic anxiety.
- Behavioral Theories
Behavioral theories states that personality is a product of the interaction between the individuals and their environment. Two of the most notable behavioral theorists are Bernard Skinner and Albert Bandura.
Psychology Fitness is your helpful resource about personality psychology as well as information about psychology online.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_psychology