Self And Personality

Question

How do you define personality? What are the main approaches to the study of personality?

Answer

The word 'personality' is derived from the Latin word 'persona', which means a mask or false face which Greek actors used to wear when acting on stage. According to Gordon Allport 'Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.'

One of the major approaches to understanding personality was to develop theories on what it was. There are many broad personality theories, which can be grouped into four categories:

(i) Dynamic approaches, which emphasize on-going interaction among motives, impulses and psychological processes.

(ii) Type and train approaches, which focus on people's characteristics, stubbornness, shyness and so forth and how these characteristics are organized into systems.

(iii) Humanistic approaches, which emphasize the self and the importance of the individual's subjective view of the world.

(iv) Learning and behavioural approaches, which emphasize the way habits are acquired through basic learning process.

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How do you define personality? What are the main approaches to the study of personality?

Some More Questions From Self And Personality Chapter