What Are the Four Basic Theories of Personality?

A personality is an established, unique way of behaving, processing and interpreting information, and feeling and responding to stimuli. Personalities play a large role in defining who individuals are in their own perspectives and in the perspectives of others. Scientists are unsure whether personality is a learned trait or whether it can be genetically passed on from family member to family member; there may be a possibility that both are true. Today, psychologists have identified four basic theories of personality.

Trait

• Personality trait theorists argue that personality is determined by a number of set, relatively unchanging traits. Some theorists believe that there are thousands of different traits. Others counter that there are only three traits: psychotocism, neuroticism, and intro/extroversion. Other theories, like the "Big 5" model, suggest that five traits encompass all human personalities, and that persons live within the spectrum of each trait. The "Big 5" traits are openness, neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness.

Psychoanalytic

• The psychoanalytic theory was developed by Sigmund Freud. Freud asserted that personalities consist of both conscious and unconscious mental forces. The conscious mental force is called Id. Id is a force that individuals are aware of and is controlled by what Freud called the "pleasure principle." the subconscious mental force is called Ego. Ego uses memories to determine parts of personality and operates using the "reality principle." Finally, the unconscious force is the Super Ego. The Super Ego is made of wishes, intuition, and impulses that the mind is not aware of. This results in what individuals perceive to be virtues and morals.

Humanistic

• Humanistic theorists suggest that human beings are inherently good. Personalities are determined by efforts to reach self-fulfillment and consistency with the world around the individuals. Humanists desire to promote the positive views of self concepts. Negative personalities arise only because there is a rift between the concept of self and the experiences of life. This creates anxiety, stress and a low self-esteem. Humanists also believe that there are basic human needs that determine personalities. The needs are ascending in order of importance, but one level cannot be achieved before the preceding level. The needs include psychological, safety, belonging, esteem and finally self-actualization.

Socio-cognitive

• Socio-cognitive theorists argue that personalities are direct results of personal histories and interpretations. Because these can only be experienced individually, persons have entirely unique personalities and no two are the same. Concepts like self-efficacy are common within the socio-cognitive theory, and Julian Rotter's theory of the "locus of control" holds that a person's focus on external or internal occurrences largely determines that person's personality.