Introduction to Theories of Personality

1


THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

Perspectives (Feist, Roberts, & Feist, 2021)
o Psychodynamic
o Humanistic-existential
o Dispositional
o Biological-evolutionary
o Learning-cognitive

- Take into consideration the history and personal context of the theorists at the time of
theorizing.
- When using a theory, personal biases are to be examined.

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORISTS
- Sigmund Freud
- Alfred Adler
- Carl Jung
- Heinz Kohut
- Harry Sullivan
- Erich Fromm
- Karen Horney
- Erik Erikson
- Anna Freud
- Dan McAdams

Psychoanalysis
- Id
- Intrapsychic
- Defenses
- Biological

Psychodynamic
- Ego
- Interpersonal
- Mastery, adaptation
- Social

HUMANISTIC-EXISTENTIAL THEORIES
o Experiences is the key aspect of personality development
o With the therapists under this perspective, they draw attention to emotional
experience in therapy

HUMANISTIC-EXISTENTIAL THEORISTS
- Abraham Maslow