Personality Theories
Identical twins, Jack and Oskar, dressed alike, read alike, talked alike, responded to stress or anger in similar ways and even interacted socially in an almost identical manner. This would not shock many, as the boys were after all twins, but what is remarkable about Oskar and his brother Jack is that Oskar was raised in Germany as a catholic and a Nazi and Jack was raised Jewish on an Israeli Kibbutz. After having been separated at birth, the two men did not meet until well into their adulthood (Holden, 1980).
Jack and Oskar’s story raises a point which has been separating scientists and psychologists alike for dozens of years; what shapes one’s personality? In the case above, one might argue without the shadow of a doubt that personality is genetic, others might argue that the way those children were raised, impacted on their personalities and so on. There are six theories of personality, all differing from one to the other, yet attempting to understand and describe the structure of personality and to study the individual differences within personality. In other words personality psychologists seek to understand how are people similar but also, how they differ. Psychodynamic theories and Humanistic theories will be reviewed, compared and contrasted in order to gain a better understanding of personality and perhaps gain a better insight on Jack and Oskar’s case.
First it is important to understand what personality is; Personality refers to the enduring patterns of behavior, feeling, motivation and thought that one expresses in different circumstances (Burton, Western & Kowalski, 2009). One can say that personality is consistent and although there are many outside influences acting upon an individual at any given moment, personality can to an extent, predict how a person is likely to respond and behave to certain situations (Atkinson, Atkinson & Hilgard, 1983). As mentioned above, personality psychologists use various theories in order to understand how
Jack and Oskar’s story raises a point which has been separating scientists and psychologists alike for dozens of years; what shapes one’s personality? In the case above, one might argue without the shadow of a doubt that personality is genetic, others might argue that the way those children were raised, impacted on their personalities and so on. There are six theories of personality, all differing from one to the other, yet attempting to understand and describe the structure of personality and to study the individual differences within personality. In other words personality psychologists seek to understand how are people similar but also, how they differ. Psychodynamic theories and Humanistic theories will be reviewed, compared and contrasted in order to gain a better understanding of personality and perhaps gain a better insight on Jack and Oskar’s case.
First it is important to understand what personality is; Personality refers to the enduring patterns of behavior, feeling, motivation and thought that one expresses in different circumstances (Burton, Western & Kowalski, 2009). One can say that personality is consistent and although there are many outside influences acting upon an individual at any given moment, personality can to an extent, predict how a person is likely to respond and behave to certain situations (Atkinson, Atkinson & Hilgard, 1983). As mentioned above, personality psychologists use various theories in order to understand how