| Personality psychology is a branch of psychology | | | | believed that just three traits - extraversion, |
| which studies personality and individual differences. | | | | neuroticism and psychoticism - were sufficient to |
| One emphasis in this area is to construct a coherent | | | | describe human personality. Differences between |
| picture of a person and his or her major psychological | | | | Cattell and Eysenck emerged due to preferences for |
| processes. Another emphasis views personality as the | | | | different forms of factor analysis, with Cattell using |
| study of individual differences, in other words, how | | | | oblique, Eysenck orthogonal, rotation to analyse the |
| people differ from each other. A third area of | | | | factors that emerged when personality questionnaires |
| emphasis examines human nature and how all people | | | | were subjected to statistical analysis. Today, the Big |
| are similar to one other. These three viewpoints merge | | | | Five factors have the weight of a considerable |
| together in the study of personality. | | | | amount of empirical research behind them. Building on |
| Personality can be defined as a dynamic and | | | | the work of Cattell and others, Lewis Goldberg |
| organized set of characteristics possessed by a | | | | proposed a five-dimension personality model, |
| person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, | | | | nicknamed the "Big Five": |
| motivations, and behaviors in various situations | | | | Extraversion - outgoing and stimulation-oriented vs. |
| (Ryckman, 2004). The word "personality" originates | | | | quiet and stimulation-avoiding |
| from the Latin persona, which means mask. | | | | Neuroticism - emotionally reactive, prone to negative |
| Significantly, in the theatre of the ancient Latin-speaking | | | | emotions vs. calm, imperturbable, optimistic |
| world, the mask was not used as a plot device to | | | | Agreeableness - affable, friendly, conciliatory vs. |
| disguise the identity of a character, but rather was a | | | | aggressive, dominant, disagreeable |
| convention employed to represent or typify that | | | | Conscientiousness - dutiful, planful, and orderly vs. |
| character. | | | | laidback, spontaneous, and unreliable |
| The pioneering American psychologist, Gordon Allport | | | | Openness to experience - open to new ideas and |
| (1937) described two major ways to study personality, | | | | change vs. traditional and oriented toward routine |
| the idiographic and the nomothetic. Nomothetic | | | | John L. Holland's RIASEC vocational model, commonly |
| psychology seeks general laws that can be applied to | | | | referred to as the Holland Codes, stipulates that there |
| many different people, such as the principle of | | | | are six personality traits that lead people to choose |
| self-actualization, or the trait of extraversion. Idiographic | | | | their career paths. This model is widely used in |
| psychology is an attempt to understand the unique | | | | vocational counseling and is a circumplex model where |
| aspects of a particular individual. | | | | the six types are represented as a hexagon where |
| The study of personality has a rich and varied history | | | | adjacent types are more closely related than those |
| in psychology, with an abundance of theoretical | | | | more distant. |
| traditions. Some psychologists have taken a highly | | | | Trait models have been criticized as being purely |
| scientific approach, whereas others have focused their | | | | descriptive and offering little explanation of the |
| attention on theory development. There is also a | | | | underlying causes of personality. Eysenck's theory, |
| substantial emphasis on the applied field of personality | | | | however, does propose biological mechanisms as |
| testing. | | | | driving traits, and modern behavior genetics |
| Philosophical assumptions | | | | researchers have demonstrated a clear genetic |
| Many of the ideas developed by historical and modern | | | | substrate to them. Another potential weakness with |
| Personality Theorists stem from basic philosophical | | | | trait theories is that they lead people to accept |
| assumptions they hold. Psychology is not a purely | | | | oversimplified classifications, or worse offer advice, |
| empirical discipline, as it brings in elements of art, | | | | based on a superficial analysis of one's personality. |
| science, and philosophy to draw general conclusions. | | | | Finally, trait models often underestimate the effect of |
| The following five categories are some of the most | | | | specific situations on people's behavior. It is important |
| fundamental philosophical assumptions where theorists | | | | to remember that traits are statistical generalizations |
| disagree: | | | | that do not always correspond to an individual's |
| Freedom versus Determinism | | | | behavior. |
| The debate over whether we have control over our | | | | Type theories |
| own behavior and understand the motives behind it | | | | Personality type refers to the psychological |
| (Freedom), or if our behavior is basically determined by | | | | classification of different types of people. Personality |
| some other force over which we might not have | | | | types are distinguished from personality traits, which |
| control (Determinism). We may merely respond to | | | | come in different levels or degrees. According to type |
| external forces like government, parents, professors, | | | | theories, for example, there are two types of people, |
| the economic system, etc; or we may even be | | | | introverts and extraverts. According to trait theories, |
| constrained to behave in certain ways by our genetics, | | | | introversion and extraversion are part of a continuous |
| upbringing, etc. | | | | dimension, with many people in the middle. The idea of |
| Heredity versus Environment | | | | psychological types originated in the theoretical work |
| The nature vs. nurture debate. Is personality | | | | of Carl Jung. |
| determined largely by genetics and heredity, or by | | | | Building on the writings and observations of Carl Jung, |
| environment and experiences? There is evidence for | | | | during WWII Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother |
| both sides, and the field of behavior genetics has | | | | Katharine C. Briggs delineated personality types by |
| demonstrated interesting new results in this area, such | | | | constructing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. This |
| as the importance of unshared environmental effects | | | | model was later elaborated further by David Keirsey. It |
| (such as individual experiences) over shared | | | | is an older, more theoretical approach to personality, |
| environmental effects (such as family and | | | | accepting Extraversion vs. Introversion as basic and |
| demographics). Furthermore, twin studies indicate that | | | | further adding three more dimensions: |
| there is a substantial genetic contribution to most | | | | Extraversion vs. Introversion (see above) |
| personality traits. | | | | Intuition vs. Sensing (trust in conceptual/abstract models |
| Uniqueness versus Universality | | | | of reality versus concrete sensory-oriented facts) |
| The argument over whether we are all unique | | | | Thinking vs. Feeling (thinking as the prime-mover in |
| individuals (Uniqueness) or if humans are basically | | | | decision-making vs. feelings as the prime-mover in |
| similar in their nature (Universality). | | | | decision-making) |
| Proactive versus Reactive | | | | Perceiving vs. Judging (desire to perceive events vs. |
| Do we primarily act through our own initiative | | | | desire to have things done so judgements can be |
| (Proactive), or do we react to outside stimuli | | | | made) |
| (Reactive)? | | | | This personality typology has some aspects of a trait |
| Optimistic versus Pessimistic | | | | theory: it explains people's behaviour in terms of |
| Finally, whether or not we can alter our personalities | | | | opposite fixed characteristics. In these more traditional |
| (Optimistic) or if they remain the same throughout our | | | | models, the intuition factor is considered the most |
| whole lives (Pessimistic). | | | | basic, dividing people into "N" or "S" personality types. |
| Personality theories | | | | An "N" is further assumed to be guided by the thinking |
| There are several theoretical perspectives on | | | | or objectication habit, or feelings, and be divided into |
| personality in psychology, which involve different ideas | | | | "NT" (scientist, engineer) or "NF" (author, |
| about the relationship between personality and other | | | | human-oriented leader) personality. An "S", by contrast, |
| psychological constructs, as well as different theories | | | | is assumed to be more guided by the perception axis, |
| about the way personality develops. | | | | and thus divided into "SP" (performer, craftsman, |
| Critics of personality theory claim that personality is | | | | artisan) and "SJ" (guardian, accountant, bureaucrat) |
| "plastic" across time, places, moods, and situations. | | | | personality. These four are considered basic, with the |
| Changes in personality may indeed result from diet (or | | | | other two factors in each case (including always |
| lack thereof), medical effects, significant events, or | | | | extraversion) less important. Critics of this traditional |
| learning. However, most personality theories | | | | view have observed that the types are quite strongly |
| emphasize stability over fluctuation. | | | | stereotyped by professions, and thus may arise more |
| Trait theories | | | | from the need to categorize people for purposes of |
| According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of | | | | guiding their career choice. This among other |
| the American Psychiatric Association, personality traits | | | | objections led to the emergence of the five factor |
| are "enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and | | | | view, which is less concerned with behavior under |
| thinking about the environment and oneself that are | | | | work stress and more concerned with behavior in |
| exhibited in a wide range of social and personal | | | | personal and emotional circumstances. Some critics |
| contexts." Theorists generally assume that a) traits are | | | | have argued for more or fewer dimensions while |
| relatively stable over time, b) traits differ among | | | | others have proposed entirely different theories (often |
| individuals (e.g. some people are outgoing while others | | | | assuming different definitions of "personality"). |
| are shy), and c) traits influence behavior. | | | | Type A personality: During the 1950s, Meyer Friedman |
| The most common models of traits incorporate three | | | | and his co-workers defined what they called Type A |
| to five broad dimensions or factors. The least | | | | and Type B behavior patterns. They theorized that |
| controversial dimension, observed as far back as the | | | | intense, hard-driving Type A personalities had a higher |
| ancient Greeks, is simply extraversion vs. introversion | | | | risk of coronary disease because they are "stress |
| (outgoing and physical-stimulation-oriented vs. quiet and | | | | junkies." Type B people, on the other hand, tended to |
| physical-stimulation-averse). | | | | be relaxed, less competitive, and lower in risk. There |
| Gordon Allport delineated different kinds of traits, which | | | | was also a Type AB mixed profile. Dr. Redford |
| he also called dispositions. Central traits are basic to an | | | | Williams, cardiologist at Duke University, refuted |
| individual's personality, while secondary traits are more | | | | Friedman’s theory that Type |
| peripheral. Common traits are those recognized within | | | | A personalities have a higher risk of coronary heart |
| a culture and thus may vary from culture to culture. | | | | disease; however, current research indicates that the |
| Cardinal traits are those by which an individual may be | | | | hostility component of Type A may have health |
| strongly recognized. | | | | implications. Type A/B theory has been extensively |
| Raymond Cattell's research propagated a two-tiered | | | | criticized by psychologists because it tends to |
| personality structure with sixteen "primary factors" (16 | | | | oversimplify the many dimensions of an individual's |
| Personality Factors) and five "secondary factors." A | | | | personality. |
| different model was proposed by Hans Eysenck, who | | | | |