PSY 615
Discipline Based Literature Review
PSY 615 Personality Theories
Introduction
Each individual’s personalities are unique so therefore no one is the exact same.
“Personality embraces a person's moods, attitudes, opinions, motivations, and style of
thinking, perceiving, speaking, and acting” (Jordan, 2010). The personal trait theory has
broken down human personality into several different traits. Even though there are so
many different traits, it has been narrowed to five basic traits. Personality traits can be
influenced by learned behavior or the environment that someone is in. The personality
traits of someone are looked at when it comes to many things in life including careers.
The five different approaches that will be discussed are psychodynamic, behavioral, trait,
learning/social, and humanistic. All of these are the guide to modern research.
The psychodynamic perspective was originated by Sigmund Freud. “This theory
attempts to explain human behavior in terms of intrapsychic processes and the repetition
of interpersonal patterns that are often outside of an individual’s conscious awareness and
have their origins in childhood experiences” (Deal, 2007). This perspective is largely
understood by understanding the unconscious process. The behavioral perspective occurs
because of interactions through the environment. “Behavior is simply a response to
environmental stimuli” (Mcleod, 2017). It is more focused on the leader aspect rather
than a follower’s traits. Theorists here are interested in things such as behaviors,
thoughts, and feelings of an individual. The learning/social perspective was introduced by
Albert Bandura. “In this theory it highlights the importance of observing, modeling, and
imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others” (McLeod, 2016).
The humanistic approach studies human behavior as a whole. It focuses on the ability for
people to overcome things such as hardship and pain, or how a person feels due to their
, self-image. It is crucial it understand a person’s personality. If this is done then we can
understand why people do what they do, how their thought process works, and even why
someone thinks the way that they do. It is simpler to help people when we are able
to understand these things about one another. Knowing the different personality traits can
allow for a better response to build stronger partnerships. Personality traits play a role in
many different things in life, for instance when it comes to family, careers, and so on. In a
career it is important to know how someone leads, communicates, handle stress, and
even collaborate. Often people characterize others based on their personality traits.
Psychodynamic
Sigmund Freud is the theorist who originated the psychodynamic theory. Other
theorists known as Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, Harry Stack Sullivan, and
Karen Horney also contributed with their research as well. “Most of personality is
unconscious: we hide many unpleasant truths about ourselves from ourselves by using
defense mechanisms, and we are driven by wishes, beliefs, fears, conflicts, and memories
of which we are totally unaware” (Ewin, 2003). Freud believed that personality was
unconscious, that people hide truths about themselves in their dreams. To Freud no
behavior is accidental or random. There is a reason why a behavior occurs. His
personality theory was divided into three parts the id, ego, and superego. Each of these
stages develops at different stages in people’s lives. The id has the inherited elements of
personality and contains sexual and aggressive drives. It works to satisfy basic urges and
desires. When it comes to ego, the ego works by using reason. “The ego engages in
secondary process thinking, which is rational, realistic, and orientated towards problem-
solving” (McLeod, 2019). Lastly, there’s the superego which consists of two systems, the
Discipline Based Literature Review
PSY 615 Personality Theories
Introduction
Each individual’s personalities are unique so therefore no one is the exact same.
“Personality embraces a person's moods, attitudes, opinions, motivations, and style of
thinking, perceiving, speaking, and acting” (Jordan, 2010). The personal trait theory has
broken down human personality into several different traits. Even though there are so
many different traits, it has been narrowed to five basic traits. Personality traits can be
influenced by learned behavior or the environment that someone is in. The personality
traits of someone are looked at when it comes to many things in life including careers.
The five different approaches that will be discussed are psychodynamic, behavioral, trait,
learning/social, and humanistic. All of these are the guide to modern research.
The psychodynamic perspective was originated by Sigmund Freud. “This theory
attempts to explain human behavior in terms of intrapsychic processes and the repetition
of interpersonal patterns that are often outside of an individual’s conscious awareness and
have their origins in childhood experiences” (Deal, 2007). This perspective is largely
understood by understanding the unconscious process. The behavioral perspective occurs
because of interactions through the environment. “Behavior is simply a response to
environmental stimuli” (Mcleod, 2017). It is more focused on the leader aspect rather
than a follower’s traits. Theorists here are interested in things such as behaviors,
thoughts, and feelings of an individual. The learning/social perspective was introduced by
Albert Bandura. “In this theory it highlights the importance of observing, modeling, and
imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others” (McLeod, 2016).
The humanistic approach studies human behavior as a whole. It focuses on the ability for
people to overcome things such as hardship and pain, or how a person feels due to their
, self-image. It is crucial it understand a person’s personality. If this is done then we can
understand why people do what they do, how their thought process works, and even why
someone thinks the way that they do. It is simpler to help people when we are able
to understand these things about one another. Knowing the different personality traits can
allow for a better response to build stronger partnerships. Personality traits play a role in
many different things in life, for instance when it comes to family, careers, and so on. In a
career it is important to know how someone leads, communicates, handle stress, and
even collaborate. Often people characterize others based on their personality traits.
Psychodynamic
Sigmund Freud is the theorist who originated the psychodynamic theory. Other
theorists known as Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, Harry Stack Sullivan, and
Karen Horney also contributed with their research as well. “Most of personality is
unconscious: we hide many unpleasant truths about ourselves from ourselves by using
defense mechanisms, and we are driven by wishes, beliefs, fears, conflicts, and memories
of which we are totally unaware” (Ewin, 2003). Freud believed that personality was
unconscious, that people hide truths about themselves in their dreams. To Freud no
behavior is accidental or random. There is a reason why a behavior occurs. His
personality theory was divided into three parts the id, ego, and superego. Each of these
stages develops at different stages in people’s lives. The id has the inherited elements of
personality and contains sexual and aggressive drives. It works to satisfy basic urges and
desires. When it comes to ego, the ego works by using reason. “The ego engages in
secondary process thinking, which is rational, realistic, and orientated towards problem-
solving” (McLeod, 2019). Lastly, there’s the superego which consists of two systems, the
