Theories of Personality: Key Concepts and Theorists

Personality

Pattern of traits defining individual behavior.

Traits

Stable characteristics influencing behavior consistency.

Characteristics

Unique qualities like temperament and intelligence.

Scientific Theory

Assumptions enabling testable hypotheses formulation.

Divergent Theories

Different theories reflecting authors' backgrounds and experiences.

Usefulness of Theory

Depends on research generation and explanatory power.

Falsifiability

Ability to be tested and potentially disproven.

Research Generation

Theory's capacity to inspire empirical investigation.

Organizing Data

Arranging information into a coherent framework.

Guiding Action

Theory's role in directing practical applications.

Internally Consistent

Components logically compatible within the theory.

Parsimony

Preference for simpler theories when equally effective.

Determinism

Behavior influenced by uncontrollable external forces.

Free Choice

Ability to choose one's behavior and identity.

Pessimism

View that life is troubled and conflicted.

Optimism

Belief in potential for personal growth and happiness.

Causality

Behavior explained by past experiences and events.

Teleology

Behavior driven by future expectations and goals.

Conscious Determinants

Awareness of actions and their motivations.

Unconscious Determinants

Unawareness of underlying forces driving behavior.

Limitations of Scope

Defined boundaries within which a theory operates.

Language Consistency

Using terms consistently within a theoretical framework.

Behavior Stability

Consistency of behavior across different situations.

Biological factors

Influences on personality from genetics and biology.

Social factors

Influences on personality from social relationships.

Psychodynamic theories

Focus on unconscious influences on behavior.

Freud's psychoanalysis

Theory emphasizing unconscious mind and childhood experiences.

Adler's individual psychology

Focus on overcoming feelings of inferiority.

Jung's analytic psychology

Emphasizes collective unconscious and archetypes.

Klein's object relations theory

Focus on relationships and their impact on personality.

Horney's psychoanalytic social theory

Emphasizes social and cultural influences on personality.

Fromm's humanistic psychoanalysis

Combines psychoanalysis with humanistic principles.

Sullivan's interpersonal theory

Focus on interpersonal relationships in personality development.

Erikson's post-Freudian theory

Emphasizes psychosocial development across lifespan.

Maslow's holistic dynamic theory

Focus on self-actualization and human potential.

Rogers' person-centered theory

Emphasizes unconditional positive regard and self-concept.

May's existential psychology

Focus on human existence and meaning.

Dispositional theories

Focus on stable traits that influence behavior.

Allport's psychology of the individual

Emphasizes uniqueness and individual traits.

Eysenck's trait theory

Focus on personality dimensions: extraversion and neuroticism.

Skinner's behavior analysis

Focus on observable behavior and reinforcement.

Bandura's social cognitive theory

Emphasizes learning through observation and imitation.

Rotter's cognitive social learning theory

Focus on expectations and reinforcement in behavior.

Kelly's psychology of personal constructs

Focus on individual perceptions and interpretations.

Freud's three levels of mental life

Includes unconscious, preconscious, and conscious awareness.

Id

Unconscious part of mind driven by pleasure principle.

Ego

Executive part of personality balancing id and reality.

Superego

Moral part of personality developed from societal standards.

Oedipus complex

Child's desire for opposite-sex parent and rivalry with same-sex parent.

Masculine Protest

Belief in male superiority causing neuroses.

Adlerian Therapy

Uses birth order and dreams for personal growth.

Personal Unconscious

Reservoir of repressed individual experiences.

Collective Unconscious

Inherited unconscious shaping attitudes and behaviors.

Archetypes

Universal symbols in the collective unconscious.

Persona

Public face of personality shown to others.

Anima

Feminine aspect of male psychology influencing emotions.

Animus

Masculine aspect of female psychology influencing thoughts.

Great Mother Archetype

Symbol of fertility and destruction in psychology.

Wise Old Man Archetype

Voice of experience, often deceptive.

Hero Archetype

Image of a conqueror with a tragic flaw.

Self Archetype

Represents completeness and wholeness in personality.

Introversion

Focus on internal thoughts and feelings.

Extraversion

Focus on external world and social interactions.

Jungian Therapy

Uses dream analysis to explore the unconscious.

Object Relations Theory

Focus on mother-child relationship's impact on personality.

Introjection

Internalizing representations of significant early objects.

Projection

Attributing internal representations onto external objects.

Ego Development

Ego senses both nurturing and frustrating experiences.

Superego Formation

Develops earlier than Freud suggested, linked to Oedipus.

Female Oedipus Complex

Girl's feelings towards parents during early development.

Male Oedipus Complex

Boy's resolution of feelings towards parents.

Horney's Theory

Emphasizes social influences over biological factors.

Need for Affection

Essential for children's safety and satisfaction.

Basic Anxiety

Feelings of isolation in a hostile world.

Basic Conflict

Incompatible tendencies in interpersonal relationships.

Neurotic Trends

Three ways people interact: toward, against, away.

Healthy Resolution

Using all three neurotic trends effectively.

Neurotic Needs

Ten needs identified by Horney driving behavior.

Intrapsychic Conflicts

Internal struggles affecting belief systems.

Idealized Self-Image

Neurotics' godlike self-perception attempts.

Self-Hatred

Neurotics' disdain for their true selves.

Cultural Expectations

Differences between genders shaped by society.

Horneyian Psychotherapy Goal

Achieve growth toward real self actualization.

Fromm's Human Nature

Separation from nature leads to loneliness.

Relatedness

Desire to connect through submission, power, love.

Transcendence

Need to rise above passive existence.

Rootedness

Desire for consistent life structure.

Sense of Identity

Feeling of personal self-awareness and existence.

Frame of Orientation

Consistent worldview guiding perceptions.

Syndrome of Growth

Includes positive freedom, biophilia, love for others.

Syndrome of Decay

Includes necrophilia, malignant narcissism, incestuous symbiosis.

Fromm's Psychotherapy Goal

Reunite patients with the world.

Sullivan's Personality Development

Formed through interpersonal relationships.

Experience Levels

Prototaxic, parataxic, and syntaxic communication stages.

Tensions

Needs facilitate growth; anxiety obstructs it.

Energy Transformations

Behaviors organized into consistent traits called dynamisms.

Dynamisms

Patterns of behavior like malevolence, intimacy, lust.

Infancy

First stage; relationship with mother; no syntaxic language.

Childhood

Second stage; imaginary playmates; mother remains central.

Juvenile Era

Third stage; learn competition, compromise, cooperation.