These big ideas can be categorized under social thinking, social influence, or social relations. The idea that we construct our social reality falls under social thinking, it describes the natural human urge to explain behavior, by attempting to attribute it to a cause, in order to make it seem orderly, predictable, and controllable (Myers, 2010). According to social psychology our social intuitions are powerful and sometimes perilous, suggesting that the human ability to understand something immediately, molds or influences behavior because it also shapes fears, attitudes, impressions, and relationships (Myers, 2010). It is also believed that social influences shape behavior as does behavior shape social influences. Myers (2010) provides an example as to how behavior is shaped by social influences making humans social creatures, “We speak and think in words we learned from others (Social psychology, p. 7).
Carl Rogers states ‘ The organism has one basic tendency and striving- to actualize, maintain and enhance the experiencing organism’ (Rogers, 1951, p487). But for a person to be able to grow and self- actualise they need to be in an environment that provides them with congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy. The Psychodynamic Theory works with feelings that are in the unconscious mind, the subconscious and it is about going back into the clients past and understanding the causes of their beliefs, ways they then behave, thoughts and feelings. People throughout their lives may build up shields to mask these painful feelings, but they still will affect the way the person is as they are often hard to face. These shields are demonstrated in behaviour.
In our matrix we will discuss Allport’s psychology of the individual theory, and the trait and factor theory. Both theories express how personality can change personalities and, the different associations that we have over time. Allport’s theory, psychology of the individual, sees human personality different from psychoanalytical and behavioral views. Allport believed that individual’s personality and behavior were not only determined by experiences stored in the unconscious but also by conscious decisions made in the present (Feist & Feist, 2009). Allport also believed that humans are not only organisms that react to rewards and punishment instead humans can interact with the environment and vice versa (Feist & Feist, 2009).
To which the id demands pleasure and satisfaction, the ego deals with the demands from the id and superego, and the superego is the ethical element which is the conscience and may produce feelings of guilt. The Behaviorism perspective is where any physical action is a behavior which everything that is living does such as acting, thinking, and feeling. Arthur W. Staats’ merges psychological concepts like personality within a behavioral model like Basic Behavioral Repertoires. Humanistic Perspective is the positive image of what it means to be a human being. The ones who theorize the humanistic perspective focus mostly on methods that allow fulfillment of potential.
The subjective view of an individual’s world is more important to the humanist than the individual’s objective view of reality. Two prominent humanistic theorists were Carl Rogers and Abram Maslow. Humanist Carl Rogers person-centered approach is widely used in therapy. Carl Rogers’s view of giving patients a warm, empathetic, nonjudgmental atmosphere produces a conducing environment for the patient’s natural responses of growth. The basic premise of humanistic psychology is individuals possess a natural capacity for growth.
You can learn about the answers to these questions and more in this overview of personality. Theories of Personality: A number of different theories have emerged to explain different aspects of personality. Some theories focus on explaining how personality develops while others are concerned with individual differences in personality. The following are just a few of the major theories of personality proposed by different psychologists: Trait Theories * Gordon Allport's dispositional perspective * Hans Eysenck's three-trait model * Myers-Briggs Types * "Big Five" Personality Dimensions Psychoanalytic Theories: * Freud's Theory of Psychosexual Development Freud's theory of psychosexual development is on of the best known personality theories, but also one of the most controversial. Learn more about the psychosexual stages of development.
Abraham Maslow Summary Abraham Maslow is considered to be the pioneer of the humanism paradigm in psychology. He is best known for creating his notion of hierarchy of needs and self- actualisation and focused on the subjective reality to be the primary guide for human behaviour (Henley, Hergenhahn, 2009). He believed studying individuals is more informative than a group of individual who shares personal traits or social situation in common; therefore he focused studying individuals rather than a collective of individuals (Henley et al, 2009). Furthermore, he emphasised self-discovery that helps to enrich human’s life. Overall, the goal of humanism is to understand the description of human being.
They also believe that a person's subjective view of the world is more important than objective reality. The humanistic perspective on personality deals exclusively with human behavior. Humanistic psychologists believe that human nature includes a natural drive towards personal growth, that we as humans have the ability to choose what they do regardless of environment, and that humans are pretty much conscious beings that are not controlled by unconscious needs and conflicts. Two major theorists associated with this theory of personal development that impacted humanism are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Humanism places an emphasis on the assumption that all humans are inherently good in nature and possess free will.
On the other hand, cognitivists believe that by reflecting on our own experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world. Though theses two schools of psychology are very much different, they do have their similarities. Behaviorism and cognitivism are similar in that they both attempt to explain and describe how learning occurs in individuals. Both are also valuable learning theories. They observe the response individuals make to different situations or different conditions.
Although positivists prefer taking objective social facts into account, it is evident that they are subjective in the source of data they will use, or are bound to use. Interactionalists, on the other hand consider that the reality of social behaviour is to be found when individuals interact and create their own social experiences. They seek meaning, and probe into the beliefs of individuals acting together in groups. Interactionalists use qualitative data. This data deals with the quality of human experience.