Personality Term Paper

a) Personality Analysis 

The term ‘personality’ has often been used when describing other people and also ourselves. Eliasz, Hampson & Raad (2005) even suggested that an individual can get a clearer idea of what it means by examining his or her intentions whenever the word was put into use. For example, when a person uses the first persona ‘I’, they in effect are trying to sum up everything they know about themselves; their likes and dislikes, strength and weaknesses, fears and virtues. The word ‘I’ is basically what defines and individual and separates him or her from others. The word ‘personality’ is derived from a Latin word ‘persona’, a term used to refer to a mask often used by actors in a play. From this, we can see how persona was eventually used to refer to an outward appearance or the public face that we display to the people who are around us. Basing on its derivation, one might come to a conclusion that personality is a description or a summary of the visible or the external characteristics that we display to the people around us. It is the impression we make on others. This essay offers an analysis of my personality by applying the various concepts from different theoretical perspectives on personality. 

I am a sociable person with high morals who always has the desire to do that which is right and does everything in my power to give back to the society. The challenges and experiences throughout my entire life have enabled me to develop a better understanding of the person I am. I have always held the belief that people deserve equal treatment irrespective of their social or economic backgrounds and their races. I also value honesty, hard work and commitment, virtues which are sometimes difficult to find in our current society. Having been brought up in a loving and strict environment, I have learned to appreciate other people’s contributions in my life and respect all people irrespective of their age. My upbringing has also helped me maintain a sense of honesty throughout my life, a virtue which has helped me earn trust from people I have never met in my life. My desire is to keep up the good values that I have since learned so that other people I meet will always hold me in high regard. 

b) Description of trait and Trait Model 

Traits are patterns of feelings, actions or thoughts that are consistent and are used to distinguish people apart. They are tendencies which offer a basis and maintain their stability throughout a person’s life, but the behavior that characterizes them tends to change through an adaptive process. A trait is, therefore, a characteristic that is internal, and it correlates with a position that is extreme when examined from a behavioral dimension. Different theoretical perspective haves been used over the years in the scope of personality psychology. They include human motivation, the whole person, and individual differences. The big five-factor model of personality falls under the perspective of individual differences. This type of trait approach can be traced to Gordon Allport and William Cattel. 

The Big Five are a representation of a classification system or taxonomy of traits that are thought to capture the essence of personality differences in individuals. A final decision on the features was taken through the studies on factor analysis. Allport made a compilation list of about four thousand five hundred traits while Cattel reduced the list to only thirty-five traits. The Big Five factors include extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience and Neuroticism. My life in college has been quite an experience. I was given a leadership platform due to my ability to socialize with the students and also the confidence they bestowed upon me to fight for their rights. Whenever I am engaging with the administration on matters concerning my fellow students, I am often conscious of what I speak and even when measures that are extreme are taken, I keep my cool and try to cooperate with them. When the discussion on effective ways to help address the issues that affect students, I do not limit myself as I am always open to new ideas. 

Extroversion 

It is marked by a pronounced engagement with the external world. Extroverts are more assertive, social and often exude positive emotions. They are often enthusiastic about things and tend to draw attention to themselves. Introverts, on the other hand, lack the energy levels that are exhibited by extroverts. They are often quiet and keep a low-key and are socially disconnected. 

Agreeablenes s 

It reflects individual difference about cooperation and social harmony. People who are agreeable are cooperative, good-natured and are trustworthy.Those who are disagreeable put their self-interest first before considering other people. They are less concerned about other people’s situations. 

Conscientiousness 

It borders on how people control their impulses. Individuals who are guided by conscience are more dependable, orderly and responsible. On the negative side, such individuals can be considered boring and stuffy. 

Neuroticism 

It relates to emotional instability. Persons who exhibit this trait often display negative feelings such as anxiety and are always prone to depression. Those who score low on neuroticism experience a lot of positive feelings and they are less emotionally reactive. 

Openness to experience 

It relates to people who have a broader way of thinking and are open minded. Individuals who exhibit this trait are intellectually curious and are sensitive to beauty. 

c) The Psychoanalytic Approach 

Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical approach understands people from their unconscious and experiences from their early childhood. The contents emanating from the unconscious can give an anxiety state referred to as a neurosis, which affects the quality of life. Sigmund’s argument is that human behavior results from the interaction among three parts of the mind which include the id, ego, and the superego. Individuals are born id, and acquire ego and superego by puberty ( Äärelä, 2009). The id is the most primitive of the three structures. It operates entirely on unconsciousness, and its only concern is the instant gratification of urges and basic physical needs. The superego is mostly concerned with moral and social rules or that which are referred to as the conscience. It develops as a child grows and acquires the ability to discern that which is wrong from right. The ego is the sensible part of a person’s personality. It is less archaic when compared to id and is partly conscious and partly unconscious. The id, ego, and superego according to Freud Sigmund are always in constant conflict, and the personality and behavior of an adult are rooted in the results of the three internal struggles throughout childhood. 

Back when I was still a child, it was hard to know what was right and wrong. I would refuse my food and only wanted to eat that which belonged to other people thinking that it was better than mine. As I continued to grow, with time I realized that this was not good behavior. At my age, I have learned to appreciate that which has been served or given to me without arguing. 

Freud held the belief that the nature of conflicts among the three internal struggles between the id, ego and superego changed with time as a person developed from childhood to adulthood. He, however, maintained that these conflicts progressed through a series of five stages, each with a different focus. They include the oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. This idea he named the psychosexual theory of development, with each of the psychosexual stages directly relating to a different physical center of pleasure. Throughout the five stages, the child is faced with various conflicts between their biological drives (id) and their moral and social conscience (superego) (Schultz, 1976) . This is because their biological-pleasure seeking draws focus on different areas of the body. The child’s ability to cope and function as an adult in future, he says is dependent on his or her ability to resolve these internal conflicts. One becomes fixated in a stage if they fail to address that stage and this may result in unhealthy personality traits. A satisfactory resolution of these steps, however, leads to a healthy adult life. I can relate to the genital stage more so during the times when I would find myself attracted to people of opposite sex. This is the stage where I began my first relationship. 

d) The Neo-Freudians 

The Neo-Freudian psychologists were those thinkers who had previously agreed with many of the propositions on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, but they later changed and favored the approach to incorporate their opinions, ideas, and beliefs. Carl Jung, for example, introduced the concept of collective unconsciousness. He also focused less on sex than Feud did. The neo-Freudian thinker Alfred Adler believed that the theories put more emphasis on sex as a central motivator for human behavior. He instead put a lesser emphasis on the role of consciousness and focused more on interpersonal and social influences. Karen Horney criticized the depiction by Freud of women being inferior to men. A summary of their main disagreements revolved around the negative nature of Freud’s theories, his failure to incorporate social and cultural sciences and also the belief that most if not all of the personality of an adult is shaped by experiences that occurred during childhood. 

e) The Humanistic Approach 

The Humanistic Approach developed as an objection against what some psychologists perceived as the shortcomings of psychodynamic and behavioral psychology. Maslow and Kelly (2008) referred to it as the ‘third force’ in psychology after behaviorism and psychoanalysis. Some of the factors that distinguish the humanistic concept from other approaches that border on psychology includes the emphasis on subjective meaning, the rejection of determinism and the overall concern of positive growth rather than pathology. Most of the psychologists hold the notion that behavior can only be understood objectively, but humanists argue that it would result in a conclusion that individuals are incapable of understanding their behavior. Scholars such as Rogers (1985), claim that the meaning of behavior is personal and subjective and that it is unscientific to accept such behavior because all people are subjective (Cherry & Cherry, 2013). They further argue that the objectiveness of science is what makes it reliable, but that different observers can agree on the nature of the results that have been observed. All these concepts have offered me the freedom to craft my identity, something that has helped me to appreciate the diversity of the communities in our society. 

f) The Socio-cultural Approach 

The socio-cultural approach is founded on the idea that the society and its culture have a role in shaping cognition. The social beliefs, values, and customs all comprise that which shapes the identity and reality of an individual (Wertsch, 1990) . This approach holds that a person’s thoughts are based on their socio-cultural background and that the account takes into account more than what the individual does in an attempt to understand the cognitive process. The socio-cultural approach has shaped how I view the world. It has helped me embrace other people’s customs and cultural beliefs without showing any bias or prejudice. 

References  

Äärelä, E. (2009). PSYCHOANALYSIS COMPARABLE AND INCOMPARABLE. THE EVOLUTION OF A METHOD TO DESCRIBE AND COMPARE PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACHES. The Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Review , 32 (1), 66-68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01062301.2009.10592644 

Big Five Personality Traits - Psychological Testing. (2016). Gulfbend.org. Retrieved 19 April 2016, from http://www.gulfbend.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=8948&cn=18 

Cherry, K., & Cherry, K. (2013). Humanistic Psychology: The Third Force in Psychology. About.com Health. Retrieved 19 April 2016, from http://psychology.about.com/od/historyofpsychology/a/hist_humanistic.htm 

Eliasz, A., Hampson, S., & Raad, B. (2005). Advances in personality psychology . Hove: Psychology, . 

Humanistic Perspective and Personality - Rogers, Maslow and Kelly. (1968). Explorable.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016, from https://explorable.com/humanistic-perspective-and-personality 

Journal of Counseling Psychology. ( 1956) Vol 3(3), 164-168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0040515 

Rogers, C. (1985). Toward a More Human Science of the Person. Journal Of Humanistic Psychology , 25 (4), 7-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022167885254002 

Rogers, C., & Maslow, A. (2008). Carl Rogers. Information Theory , 214. 

Schultz, D. (1976). Theories of personality . Monterey, Calif.: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co. 

Wertsch, J. V. (1990). Dialogue and dialogism in a socio-cultural approach to mind.