Classical Theory of Personality 38 2
Classical Theory of Personality 38 2
Classical Theory of Personality 38 2
BIOLOGICAL
FACTORS
EDUCATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL
FACTORS
FACTORS
INDIVIDUAL
PERSONALITY
CULTURAL
FACTORS
Biological Factors
a. Heredity: Heredity refers to those factors that were
determined at conception. Physical stature, facial
attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and
biological rhythms are characteristics that are generally
considered to be either completely or substantially influenced
by who your parents were: that is, by their biological,
physiological, and inherent psychological makeup.
b. Brain: Preliminary results from the electrical stimulation of the
brain (E.S.B.) research gives indication that better
understanding of human personality and behaviour might
come from the study of the brain.
c. Physical Features: An individuals external appearance is
proved to be having tremendous effect on his personality. For
instance, the fact that a person is short or tall, fat or skinny,
handsome or ugly will undoubtedly influence the person’s
effect on others and in turn, will affect the self concept.
Family and Social Factors
a. Socialisation Process: The contribution of family and
social group in combination with the culture is known as
socialisation. It initially starts with the contact with mother
and later on the other members of the family (father,
sisters, relatives) and the social group plays influential
role in shaping an individuals personality.
b. Identification Process: The identification process can be
examined from three different perspectives. First,
identification can be viewed the similarity of behaviour
(including feelings and attitudes) between child and
model. Second, identification can be looked as the Childs
motives or desires to be like the model. Third, it can be
viewed as the process through which the child actually
takes on the attributes of the model. Apart from the
socialisation and identification processes, the personality
of an individual is influenced by the home environment.
Cultural Factors
Culture is traditionally considered as the major determinant an
individual’s personality. The culture largely determines what
person is and what a person will learn. Culture is the
“Complex of these beliefs, values, and techniques for dealing
with the environment which are shared among contemporaries
and transmitted by one generation to the next.
Situational Factors
Human personality is also influenced by situational factors.
The effect of environment is quite string. Knowledge, skill and
language are obviously acquire and represent important
modifications of behaviour. Learned modifications in behaviour
are not passed on to children, they must be acquired by them
through their own personal experience, through interaction
with the environment. According to Milgram “Situation exerts
an important press on the individual.
Psychological Factors
These include in personality motives, interests, attitudes,
willpower, intelligence, reasoning capacities, perception,
imagination, a level of understanding etc. A person with strong will
power can make a quick decision which is needed for better
adjustment . Similarly, an intelligent person will be able to make a
happy adjustment and develop an understanding relationship.
Educational (school) Factors
A significant part of a child's life is spent in school between the
ages of 6 and 20 years. In the school, the teacher substitutes the
parents.The school poses new problems to be solved, new taboos
to be accepted into the superego all of which contribute their
share in molding personality. Factors that affect personality
development include early school experiences, emotional climate
of school or college, teacher attitudes and behaviour, academic
success, extracurricular activities, peer acceptance, school
subjects and kind of school.
Theoretical Approaches to Personality
A. Type theory of Personality
Bodily Characteristics
• The Four Temperament Types of Hippocrates
• Sheldon’s Types
• Kretschmer’s Types
Psychological Characteristics
• CG Jung’s Classification
• Eysenck’s Personality Theory
B. Trait Theory of Personality
Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory
Raymond Cattell’s Sixteen Personality Factor
The Five-Factor Theory of Personality
C. Psychoanalytic Theory Kjkg
D. Neo - Freudian Theories
E. Behavioral Theory of Personality
F. Phenomenological or Humanistic Theory of Personality
G. Cognitive Perspectives on Personality
H. Social Cognitive Theories of Personality
I. Life-span Approach
Type theory of personality
1. Bodily Characteristics
2. Psychological Characteristics
Bodily Characteristics
a. The Four Temperament Types of Hippocrates: Greek
physician Hippocrates (c. 400 B.C.), characterized human
behavior in terms of four temperaments, each associated with
a different bodily fluid, or "humor." The sanguine, or optimistic,
type was associated with blood; the phlegmatic type (slow and
lethargic) with phlegm; the melancholic type (sad, depressed)
with black bile; and the choleric (angry) type with yellow bile.
Individual personality was determined by the amount of each
of the four humors.
b. Sheldon’s Types: William Sheldon divided people into three
types according to body built.
(1) Endomorph - soft, fat and round, sociable and relaxed.
(2) Mesomorph - Heavy and muscular, physically active and
noisy.
(3) Ectomorph - Tall, thin and flat chested, self-conscious, shy
and reserved.
c. Kretschmer’s Types: Kreschmer,s also divided people
into four types according to body built.
(1) Pyknic Type - Fat body, large head, chest and abdomen,
sociable, jolly, easygoing and good-natured.
(2) Athletic Type- Strong body, firm muscles, wide chest and
shoulders, energetic, optimistic, challenging, sportive.
(3) Asthenic Type - Lean and tall body, reserved, shy
sensitive, pessimistic.
(4) Dysplastic Type - Undeveloped and disproportionate body
personality also undeveloped and imbalanced.
Psychological Characteristics
a. CG Jung’s Classification: CG Jung has classified personality
on sociability character as Introverts and Extraverts.
(1) Introverts- Introverts are shy, social withdrawal, less
tendency to talk, self-centered, unable to adjust easily in social
situations. They are not easily suggestible. They are future
oriented, very sensible and rigid in ideas.
(2) Extraverts- Extraverts people are outgoing, friendly and
social in nature. They prefer social contacts, generous,
courageous and show interest in present reality than future.
They express their feelings openly. Take decisions quickly, act
upon quickly and not affected easily by difficulties.
b. Eysenck’s Personality Theory : Hans Eysenck developed a
model of personality based upon just three universal trails:
(1) Introverts / Extroverts: Introversion involves directing
attention on inner experiences, while extraversion relates to
focusing attention outward on people and the environment. So, a
person high in introversion might be quiet and reserved, while an
individual high in extraversion might be sociable and outgoing.
(2) Neuroticism / Emotional Stability: This dimension is related
to moodiness versus even-temperedness. Neuroticism refers to an
individual’s tendency to become upset or emotional, while stability
refers to the tendency to remain emotionally constant.
(3) Psychoticism: Later, after studying
individuals suffering from mental illness,
Eysenck added a personality dimension he
called psychoticism to his trait theory.
Individuals who are high on this trait tend to
have difficulty dealing with reality and may be
antisocial, hostile, non - empathetic and
manipulative.
Trait Theory of Personality
The trait theory suggests that individual personalities are
composed broad dispositions. A trait can be thought of as a
relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in
certain ways.
a. Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory : In 1936, psychologist Gordon
Allport found that one English-language dictionary alone contained
more than 4,000 words describing different personality traits. He
categorized these traits into three levels:
(1) Cardinal Traits: Traits that dominate an individual’s whole life,
often to the point that the person becomes known specifically for
these traits. Allport suggested that cardinal traits are rare and tend
to develop later in life.
(2) Central Traits: These are the general characteristics that form
the basic foundations of personality and major characteristics you
might use to describe another person. Terms such
as intelligent, honest, shy and anxious are considered central traits.
(3) Secondary Traits: These are the traits that are sometimes
related to attitudes or preferences and often appear only in certain
b. Raymond Cattell’s Sixteen Personality Factor: Raymond
Cattell reduced the number of main personality traits from Allport’s
initial list of over 4,000 down to 171, mostly by eliminating
uncommon traits and combining common characteristics. According
to Cattell, these 16 traits are the source of all human personality. He
also developed one of the most widely used personality
assessments known as the Sixteen Personality Factor
Questionnaire (16PF).
c. The Five-Factor Theory of Personality : McCrae and Costa
have proposed a five factor model. This traits are used to describe
behaviour and make prediction. However, human behaviour is an
outcome of interaction between traits and situations.
(1) Extraversion: This trait includes characteristics such as
excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high
amounts of motional expressiveness.
(2) Agreeableness: This trait includes attributes such as trust,
altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors.
(3) Conscientiousness: Common features of this dimension
include high levels of thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and
goal-directed behaviors.
(4) Neuroticism: Individuals high in this
trait tend to experience emotional instability,
anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness.
(5)Openness: This trait characteristics is
imagination and insight, and those high in
this trait also tend to have a broad range of
interests.
Psychoanalytic Theory (1856-1939)
Psychodynamic theory, originating with Sigmund Freud, posits that
human behavior is the result of the interaction among various
components of the mind (the id, ego, and superego) and that
personality develops according to a series of psychosexual
developmental stages.
Freud divides human personality into three significant
components: the Id, Ego and superego. The id acts according to
the pleasure principle, the ego then must emerge in order to
realistically meet the wishes and Finally, the superego(conscience)
inculcates moral judgment.
` Freud further present that Mind is a function of body. It is the
sum total of the various mental processes or activities as
conscious, unconsciousness and subconscious.
Freud proposed five psychosexual stages of personality
development. He believed adult personality is dependent upon
early childhood experiences and largely determined by age five.
Neo - Freudian Theories