Personality Paper

Kewanna Wesley
BEH/225
University of Phoenix
Sandra Savage
Personality Theories

1 Our personality is what makes us who we are and different from one another. It is the differences that separates each of our behavior patterns, cognition, and emotion. Everyone is different. There have been a number of theorists that has contributed to study of personality. The first theorist that is known well today for his study of personality is Sigmund Fred. He came up with the theories that shows his views on many different looks on life. Some of those include personality, childhood, memory, and even sexuality. Sigmund Freud came up with a theory on the development of personality. He did questioned what made us progress as individuals. He found an obvious point. The point he found point was that life is the drive that pushes us to progress as an individual. The need we have to have balance in our nervous system generates the motive to do things that we see is right in society. However, the appearance of the development of personality, in the case of Freud, was driven by the wanting of resolution for all of the problems that we face in life as a human being. This theory is incomplete though. What about the people who continue to have bad behavior? Or the people who continue to be suicidal? Or the person who wants to keep working because they want to keep pushing the limit and never finding a satisfaction point? Motivation is a big point in personality, but motivation is not an easy thing to understand. The second theorist that studied personality is Carl Gustav Jung. Now, Carl Jung believed that everyone had the same exact behavioral patterns. His reason was that because our bodies and minds have all gone through the same adaptations throughout the centuries that we all must have the personalities. He believes that because of this, humans have the same personalities that are handed down throughout genes from the beginning. His contributions in personality were based on three categories, which are, how our energy flows (extrovert vs. introvert), how we acquire information (sensing vs. intuitive), and how we make decisions (thinking vs feeling).He then came up with eight different personality types. Those types are extroverted thinking, extroverted feeling, introverted thinking, introverted feeling, extroverted sensing, extroverted intuitive, introverted sensing, and introverted
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intuitive. Introverts into themselves and extroverts are into everything around them. He was thought that everyone has characteristics of both but one of the two will always be more dominate than the other. The third theorist that studied personality is Carl Rogers. Now, Rogers believed that everyone’s personalities are based upon the different things that we had experienced in our life time. He believed that everyone is born to set their own behaviors from birth. He said that after a person has reached his / her fullest potential, they are a full functioning person. He explained more on this by saying that if a child is raised in an unconditional positive environment instead of just a conditional environment. What he means by this is that being raised with parents that loves, praises, and accepted their children for who they were, would end up living a longer and healthier life. It also means that if children were raised this way, they are more likely to have a higher self-esteem and are more likely to be accepted later in society. Children who are not raised this way are bound to have many problems are they reach start growing up. The last theorist to studied personality is Abraham Maslow. Now, Abraham Maslow created the most common models that are used in psychology today. The he created is the model of the Hierarchy of Needs. He created this model based on the research he did on the motivations of humans and animals. This model he created is a five tier pyramid. On the bottom is the physiological needs. Those needs include everything from food to air to water. Next on the pyramid are safety and security needs, which is the needs that includes protection and shelter. Next up on the pyramid is the needs of love and belonging, which deals with the needs that include friendships, affection, and acceptance. Fourth on the pyramid are the self-esteem needs, which are the needs that include power and appreciation. Finally, the fifth part on the pyramid is self-actualization, which in terms means that you are trying to be your finest. These five needs are what give humans the motivation to strive to our higher needs. He also believed that self-actualization is humans ultimate goal in life. Some of the
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characteristics of this would be independent and autonomous, having the most accurate thoughts on reality, being able to accept themselves, others, and also society, capable of feeling as one with nature, and democratic and appreciative. We try to achieve these goal because it is In our human nature, but at the same time it can make us do things that we don’t normal do. It can also put stress on us, so that we try and achieve these goals to the best of our ability. All of these men are theorists that contributed in many different way to the study that we continue to study today. I feel that if these men,and other psychologists, did not do their research, we would be lost in trying to figure out where our personality came from or what they really are. Each of these men have their own insights on it and throughout the years, more theorists have came and contributed. Although, these men had different theories on personality, they all were based on the same topic. Freud thought that our own drives shape our personalities. Jung thought that everyone had the exact same personality. Rogers thought that if a child is raised right, they will have a greater personality that those who aren’t raised right. And finally, Maslow thought that if human follow the pyramid, they would have more motivation.

References
Coon, D., & Mitterer, J.O. (2013). Introduction to psychology: Gateways to mind and behavior (13th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. (13th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

References: Coon, D., & Mitterer, J.O. (2013). Introduction to psychology: Gateways to mind and behavior (13th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. (13th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.