We explain what personality theories are in psychology and what are those proposed by Freud, Jung, Rogers, Kelly and other authors.
What are personality theories?
In psychology, the different theoretical approaches proposed by personality scholars in their respective times are known as personality theories, that is, formal psychological attempts to define and classify human personalities based on some kind of shared minimal traits.
Personality is a stable and recurring set of human reactions and behaviors which are part of our way of being and to a certain extent define us.
Personality makes us more similar to certain people and less similar to others, given that there are shared and unshared elements between the various personalities of the people we meet throughout life. These are, as will be seen, statistical generalizations, which serve to try to classify people's way of being.
There are numerous theories of personality, assigned to certain psychological or psychoanalytic approaches depending on the school to which their authors belonged. The objective of each one is to build an analysis model that focuses on the minimum traits of people, in order to classify them and establish comparisons, or understand the way in which personality is constructed.
Freud's personality theory
Proposed by the famous father of psychoanalysis, the Austrian Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), this theory proposes that the personality of individuals is formed throughout their life history by adding all the loved and lost objects.
These “objects” would be, in the first instance, the parents, through whom a bond of love is initially produced, which the so-called “Oedipus Complex” will make us overcome through renunciation. But later there will be others who occupy that place of loved and then lost object, such as friends, partners, colleagues, etc.
This dynamic of love and renunciation forms the “I”, one of the three basic instances of the psyche for Freud (along with the “superego” or the law, and the “id” or the unconscious), as it assimilates some of the features of each lost object as its own. Thus, from a very beloved teacher we can “inherit” our vocation, or certain tastes of a friend, etc.
In any case, according to Freud personality would become a kind of “collection” of lost objects which give us a unique emotional journey, but with many meeting points with others.
Jung's personality theory
Developed by one of Freud's disciples, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), this 1921 theory of personality proposes that certain archetypes determine the makeup of our mind which allow the existence of eight possible personality profiles, which are:
- Introverted thinking Personalities focused on their inner world, much more than on the outside, and interested in abstract, reflective and theoretical thinking.
- Sentimental-introverted Empathic personalities, who value their connection with others, although they are not very given to expressing it in an open and frank manner.
- Feeling-introverted Personalities focused on subjective phenomena, introspective, but more linked to what their senses capture, that is, with their own sensitivity.
- Intuitive-introverted Dreamy personalities, who detach themselves from the immediate reality and are given to fantasy.
- Extroverted thinking Personalities who enjoy explanation, that is, recording what happens around them and thereby constituting an abstract, mental system.
- Sentimental-extroverted Very sociable personalities, who enjoy the company of others and have a low propensity for abstract thinking and reflection, as they are more immediate in their interests.
- Feeling-extroverted Personalities that long for new sensations coming from outside and from others, which is why they tend to be given to the search for pleasure and are very open to the new.
- Intuition-extrovert Adventurous, charismatic and leadership personalities, who tend to occupy leading roles in their community and lead social, political or community causes, given that they perform before others.
Carl Rogers's personality theory
The work of the American psychologist Carl Rogers (1902-1987), this theory proposes a phenomenological approach to personality, that is, the way of capturing reality and assuming it as one's own. To do this, Rogers defined what a “highly functional person” is whose characteristics would serve to define the different personality types that exist.
In this way, Rogers proposed that personalities consisted of combinations of seven fundamental traits:
- Openness to experience How willing we are to explore new possibilities and new life experiences, or how defensive we are in the face of it.
- Existential lifestyle How much we give meaning to the experiences we live, thus creating a personal meaning for our life, or how much we tend to expect life to fit into prejudged parameters.
- Self-confidence How much we believe or do not believe in ourselves in the situations that arise before us.
- Creativity. How given we are to imagination, speculation or inventiveness.
- Freedom of choice How much we can assume new forms of behavior compared to traditional ones in situations where they do not work well for us, thus creating our own decisions as we go.
- Constructive character How much we can maintain vital balance when responding to our needs.
- Personal development How willing are we to accept constant change as a growth process that has no end.
Kelly's personality theory
Derived from cognitivism and constructivism, this theory proposed by the American psychologist George Kelly (1905-1967) is known as the Theory of Personal Constructs.
This author proposes that Each individual organizes his experience of reality based on an ordered set of constructs through binary opposition systems (pretty-ugly, true-false, etc.) that serve to evaluate situations and predict future events.
As we have experiences, these constructs would be constantly remodeled, implying that our personality is constantly changing and restructuring as long as we live.
Allport's personality theory
For the American psychologist Gordon Allport (1897-1967), personality is the integration of a set of unique traits which distinguish us from others, organized in a system of responses that, unconsciously, we try to use to respond to all situations in the same way.
But since that doesn't work, logically, we adapt to the environment, incorporating or eliminating fundamental elements of the personality which Allport called “traits.”
Traits can be cardinal, central or secondary, depending on their structural importance in the system of our mind and, therefore, some will be easier to change than others. Personality would be the set of traits that last in us.
Cattell's personality theory
This is perhaps one of the best-known personality theories, proposed by the British psychologist Raymond Cattell (1905-1998), which has many points in common with Allport's.
For example, Cattell proposes that personality consists of the function of a set of traits, understood as tendencies to react in a certain way. These traits can be temperamental (how to act), dynamic (why to act) or aptitude (what it takes to act).
Thus, Cattell developed the primary personality factors, which are 16 in total and are measured with the famous 16PF personality test and they would be: affectivity, intelligence, stability of the ego, dominance, impulsivity, daring, sensitivity, suspicion, conventionalism, imagination, cunning, rebellion, self-sufficiency, apprehension, self-control and tension.
Eysenck's personality theory
Hans Eysenck (1916-1997) is the English psychologist who is the author of this theory focused on the biological, for which he devised the PEN model, an explanation of personality motivations based on internal elements of the organism. Thus, Eysenck determines three central factors to define personality :
- Psychoticism. Or tendency to act harshly, which would depend on the activation of the Ascending Reticular Activation System (SARA).
- Neuroticism Or stability of emotions, which would depend on the limbic system.
- Introversion/extraversion. Or the tendency to focus on the internal or external world, which is linked to the levels of androgens and neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin.
Based on the levels of these factors, personalities may be one way or another, according to Eysenck.
Costa and McCrae's personality theory
Known as the Big Five Model (Big Five in English), this theory proposes the existence of five alternative personality factors which would be “basic” features on which it is based. Each one is made up of a pair whose extremes denote a certain basic personality trait, and which are:
- Extraversion-Introversion High or low sociability and tendency to enjoy the company of others.
- Openness to experience Active imagination, aesthetic sensitivity, vital daring, on the one hand, and more conventional and familiar behaviors on the other.
- Responsibility. The degree of commitment and self-control of the individual, not only in the face of their impulses but in the planning, execution and organization of their tasks.
- Kindness-Egocentrism Also considered cordiality or affability, it represents empathy and the degree of emotional connection with others, although in its opposite degree is competitiveness and skepticism.
- Neuroticism or emotional instability It is about individuals' desire for control or order, or their ability to “let things be.” High levels of neuroticism translate into anxiety, hostility, depression or vulnerability.
Gray's personality theory
This theory is also known as the BIS Model (Behavior Inhibition System o Action inhibition system) and BAY (Behavior Approximation System o Action approach system).
Jeffrey Gray explains that there are two mechanisms of activation or inhibition of human behavior anchored on the one hand in introversion and anxiety, and on the other in impulsivity and extroversion. Both systems would act together to form our personality.
References
- “Personality psychology” on Wikipedia.
- “Freud's theory of personality” (video) in UnProfesor.
- “Brief explanation of personality theories” in UtelBlog of the Latin American Technological University (Mexico).
- “What are personality theories?” in Self-Help Resources.
