Personality and Individual Differences: Theoretical Perspectives

Theoretical Perspectives in Personality

Larsen & Buss (2018). Personality psychology: Domaines of Knowledge about Human nature (6th edition). Mcgraw-Hill
education. Chapter 1, p.2-21).
Caver & Scheier (2012). Perspectives on personality. Pearson Education Limited Chapter 1 (p. 1-11)
2024-2025
Maja Wrzesien, PhD (she, her) based on
prof. Schoeps presentation

Group Learning Outcomes

• Know how to recognize, differentiate and relate
  the main theoretical perspectives and research
  approaches of Psychology of Personality.

Theoretical Perspectives on Personality

Diversity Among Theoretical Approaches

Ceci n'est pas une pipe.

René Magritte and Interpretation

The representation of an object is not an object itself
It prompts viewers to think critically about what they see and
how they interpret visual information
Ceci n'est pas une pipe.

Conscious Reality and Hallucinations

we're all hallucinating all the time; when we
agree about our hallucinations, we call it
"reality."
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Defining a Theory

WHAT ISA THEORY?
1. Sort of summary statement, a general principle or
set of principles that pertain to a class or event.
2. Can apply to a highly specific class of events or it
can be more general.
THEORY
0

Explaining Personality

. Helps to understand the phenomena that are known to
be true but not yet well understood.
· Postulates or assumes some processes by which various
aspects of personality are interrelated.
HOW personality is formed?
HOW personality leads to behavior?
1.

Predicting Actions and Relationships

. People's actions in situations you haven't thought to
look at yet.
. Predicting new relationships that have not been
investigated before.
· RESEARCH explanation.
. The broader the scope -more likely is to be ambiguous.

Theory and Research Interaction

Research tests
theory:
· confirms /
disconfirms
· suggests
limitations /
modifications
Research in personality aims for
gaining systematic information
about how accurate or useful the
assumptions of a theory are.
Theory guides
research:
· suggests new
predictions
RESEARCH

Exercise: Blind Men and the Elephant

It's a
Fan!
It's
a Wall!
It's a
Spear!
It's
a
Rope!
It's
a Snake!
It's a
Tree!
Himmelfarb J et al. Kidney International 2002; 62: 1524

Defining Theoretical Approaches

PSYCHODYNAMIC
?
?
SOCIO-CULTURAL
?
HUMANISM
?
TRAIT THEORY
?
BEHAVIORISM
?
BIOLOGICAL
COGNITIVISM
How would you define those theoretical
approaches?

Personality Perspectives Overview

PSYCHODYNAMIC perspective
HUMANISTIC perspective
TRAIT THEORY (dispositional) perspective
BEHAVIORISM (learning) perspective
COGNITIVISM (information processing) perspective
BIOLOGICAL perspective
SOCIO-CULTURAL perspective
Empathy
Listening
Confident.
E
Balanced
Grateful
sel
-alm.
Motivation
Communication
Change
Humility
Self- Awarener

Psychodynamic Perspective

Unconscious motivations.
Internal forces which compete and sometimes conflict each other: Id,
Ego and Superego.
Behavior emerges from internal dynamics between unconsioussness and
consiousness
Internal pressures that work with each other or sometimes are at war with
each other.
Psychodynamics: Definition and theory
https://study.com/academy/lesson/psychodynamics-definition-theory.html
CONSCIOUS
PRECONSCIOUS
SUPEREGO
EGO
*
UNCONSCIOUS
ID

Humanistic Perspective

Subjective experience is important, valuable, meaningful.
Inner capacity (intrinsic desires and motivation)
important for growth by exercising free will.
Self-determination: need for competence, autonomy and
psychological relatedness.
Humanistic Approach in Psychology: Definition & History:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/humanistic-approach-in-psychology-
definition-lesson-quiz.html

Behaviorism Perspective

· Change in behavior, rather than consistency.
· Shaping of behavior by external factors.
· Personality is the integrated sum of whatever the
person has learned.
· Behaviorism: Overview & Practical:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/behaviorism-
overview-practical-teaching-examples.html
little
Albert
NS
Î
UCS
UCS + NS
UCRBefore Conditioning
Unconditioned
stimulus
Neutral stimulus
Unconditioned response
No response
During Conditioning
+
Unconditioned response
verywell
After Conditioning
Conditioned
stimulus
Conditioned response

Trait Theory - Dispositional Perspective

· Conscious motivations.
· Dispositions/traits, stable and inner
characteristics.
· Relatively permanent qualities that differ from
person to person.
. Big Five Personality Traits: OCEAN.
· Trait perspective:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/trait-perspective-
theory-definition.html

Cognitivism Perspective

Manifestation of certain kinds of information processing events (based on the
computer system)
Human being is a self-regulation system, setting goals and monitoring progress towards
that goals
Interaction between our traits and their social context.
We are both the creatures and the products of the situations we surround ourselves
with.
Modeling and self-beliefs
https://study.com/academy/lesson/social-learning-albert-banduras-bobo-doll-study.html
https://study.com/academy/lesson/cognitive-approaches-to-personality-development.html
A
BOBO
1

Biological Perspective

Humans are first a collection of biological systems,
that are the building blocks for behavior, thoughts,
and emotions.
Research focuses on (1) genetics, and how it affects
personality; (2) on nervous system functioning including
neurotransmitters,
and reactivity and how its affects
personaltiy;
and
(3) the evolution that shaped psychological functioning
https://study.com/academy/lesson/biological-approach-in-
psychology-definition-lesson-quiz.html

Socio-Cultural Perspective

Personality is not something that mearly
resides in our heads, nervous systems or
genes, rather that personality affects and
is affected by social and cultural context
Personality and Culture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC7L
xSSJYE

Quiz Time

PSYCHODYNAMIC perspective
>HUMANISTIC perspective
>TRAIT THEORY (dispositional) perspective
BEHAVIORISM (learning) perspective
COGNITIVISM (information processing) perspective
BIOLOGICAL perspective
SOCIO-CULTURAL perspective
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Empathy
Listening
Confident.
E
Balanced
Grateful
sel
-alm.
Motivation
Communication
Change
Humility
Self- Awarener

Summary of Major Perspectives

Summary (Cloninger, S., Conceptual issues in personality p.4 basic book chapter 1)
4
FOUNDATION ISSUES
Table 1.1 Major perspectives in personality.
Perspective
Major concepts
Contributors
Biological
temperament, evolution, adaptation,
altruism, sexual jealousy, heredity,
neurotransmitter pathways, cerebral
hemisphere function
D. Buss, Eysenck, J. A. Gray,
C. R. Cloninger, Kagan
Cognitive
expectancy, self-efficacy, outcome
expectation, schema, cognitive
person variable, personal construct,
reciprocal determinism, modelling,
constructive alternativism, life
narrative
Mischel, Bandura, Kelly, Beck
Humanistic
self-actualization, creativity, flow,
spirituality, personal responsibility,
freedom, choice, openness to
experience, unconditional positive
regard, acceptance, empathy, real self,
hierarchy of needs, peak experience,
positive psychology
Maslow, Rogers, Seligman,
Csikszentmihalyi
Learning
reinforcement, punishment, stimulus,
response, conditioning, extinction,
shaping, discrimination learning,
generalization, situation, act
frequency, basic behavioural
repertoire, labelling, gradients of
approach and avoidance
Skinner, Staats, Dollard and Miller
Psychodynamic libido, conflict, id, ego, superego,
defence mechanisms, Oedipal
conflict, fixation, repression,
attachment, object-relations
Freud, Jung, Adler, Erikson, Horney,
Klein, Sullivan, Chodorow,
Westen, Kohut, Kernberg
Trait
trait, type, facet, factors, Neuroticism/
Emotional Stability, Extraversion
Allport, Cattell, McCrae and Costa

Psychology of Two Disciplines

> Dichotomy of those who emphasize scientific rigor and others that are
more open to subjective experience and holistic study of the person
>William James call them "tough-minded" (e.g., topics that can be
tested in the experimental lab) and "Tender-minded" (religion,
consciousness)
Scientific vs humanistic
> Now the bridges are being fordged and with rigorous
empirical methods we can also adress topics such
as spirituality and consciousness (e.g., Dr. Anil Seth)
APRIL 2017
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First vs Third Person Perspective

First-Person Perspective

The first-person perspective involves viewing
oneself from within, characterized by:
. Direct access to one's own thoughts,
feelings, and experiences
· Subjective and introspective observations
·Non-reflective consciousness of one's
immediate experiences (phenomenology)
In personality studies, first-person data often
comes from self-reports, personal narratives,
and introspective accounts,
phenomenological interviews.

Third-Person Perspective

Involves viewing oneself or others from an
external standpoint
This perspective is characterized by:
· Observing behaviors and actions from an
outside point of view
· Objective and detached observations
. Reflective consciousness that allows
comparison between different viewpoints
In personality research, third-person data
typically comes from behavioral observations,
psychological assessments and reports from
others.
Confident.
Balanced
Grateful
Self.
Motivation
Change
Humility
Self-Awar
Empathy
Listening
Communication