Personality Theries
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- Date Submitted: 07/18/2010 02:30 PM
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Theories of Personality:
A Comparison
PSY/405
The concept of individual personality seems like a simple idea when taken at surface value, but when viewed through the lens of science, this concept becomes much more complex. Over the last century hundreds of different theories regarding the nature and development of the human personality have come into being, and those theories have coalesced around two major central themes. The humanistic and existential theories of personality offer many insights into the creation of human individuality, but modern psychology has yet to agree on which one of these theories is most prevalent.
The existential mind is a mind that believes the way of life is made through decisions consciously or unconsciously. When this frame of mind is applied, it shows what type of personality the person has. Most decisions in life are made according to experiences and the emotions a person possesses.
An existentialist is someone who does not follow the paths that have been walked before, but seeks out unknown journeys, looking toward the future (Concise Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science, 2004). An example of existentialistic thinking is when a battered person decides to leave the abusive spouse and take the rest of the family to a safe place without knowing what the outcome. If this same person decides to stay with the batterer because of the fear of not surviving on his/her own is an example of living through history, creating a crutch.
The Humanistic view states that if this same abused person looks at another person’s violent relationship and the other person’s relationship becomes better over time, this could bias his/her decision based on that information. This battered person is making decisions according to someone else’s experiences, and this is the core of the humanistic personality theory.
Humanistic psychology “suggests that we should try to gain insight into the inner life of another...
A Comparison
PSY/405
The concept of individual personality seems like a simple idea when taken at surface value, but when viewed through the lens of science, this concept becomes much more complex. Over the last century hundreds of different theories regarding the nature and development of the human personality have come into being, and those theories have coalesced around two major central themes. The humanistic and existential theories of personality offer many insights into the creation of human individuality, but modern psychology has yet to agree on which one of these theories is most prevalent.
The existential mind is a mind that believes the way of life is made through decisions consciously or unconsciously. When this frame of mind is applied, it shows what type of personality the person has. Most decisions in life are made according to experiences and the emotions a person possesses.
An existentialist is someone who does not follow the paths that have been walked before, but seeks out unknown journeys, looking toward the future (Concise Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science, 2004). An example of existentialistic thinking is when a battered person decides to leave the abusive spouse and take the rest of the family to a safe place without knowing what the outcome. If this same person decides to stay with the batterer because of the fear of not surviving on his/her own is an example of living through history, creating a crutch.
The Humanistic view states that if this same abused person looks at another person’s violent relationship and the other person’s relationship becomes better over time, this could bias his/her decision based on that information. This battered person is making decisions according to someone else’s experiences, and this is the core of the humanistic personality theory.
Humanistic psychology “suggests that we should try to gain insight into the inner life of another...