Personality
As a branch of psychology, personality theory dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century and the psychoanalytic approach of Sigmund Freud. During the last century a number of different approaches have developed: trait approaches (G.W. Allport, 1937; Cattell, 1943; Eysenck, 1947); biological and genetic approaches (Eysenck, 1967, 1990; Plomin, 1986; Plomin et al., 1997); phenomenological approaches (Kelly, 1955; Rogers 1951); behavioural and social learning approaches (Bandura, 1971; Skinner, 1953); and social–cognitive approaches (Bandura, 1986; Mischel & Shoda, 1995; Mischel, 1973).
WHAT IS PERSONALITY?
In 400 BC, Hippocrates, a physician and a very acute observer, claimed that different personality types are caused by the balance of bodily fluids. The terms he developed are still sometimes used today in describing personality. Phlegmatic (or calm) people were thought to have a higher concentration of phlegm; sanguine (or optimistic) people had more blood; melancholic (or depressed) people had high levels of black bile; and irritable people had high levels of yellow bile. Hippocrates’ views about the biological basis of personality are echoed in contemporary theories that link the presence of brain chemicals such as noradrenaline and serotonin to mood and behaviour. But how do we define ‘personality’? Within psychology two classic definitions are often used: Personality is a dynamic organisation, inside the person, of psychophysical systems that create the person’s characteristic patterns of behaviour, thoughts and feelings. G.W. Allport, 1961 More or less stable, internal factors . . . make one person’s behaviour consistent from one time to another, and different from the behaviour other people would manifest in comparable situations. Child, 1968 Both these definitions emphasize that personality is an internal process that guides behaviour. Gordon Allport (1961) makes the point that personality is psychophysical, which means both physical and psychological. Recent research has shown that biological and genetic phenomena do have an impact on personality. Child (1968) makes the point that personality is stable – or at least relatively stable. We do not change dramatically from week to week, we can predict how our friends will behave, and we expect them to behave in a recognizably similar way from one day to the next. Child (1968) includes consistency (within an individual) and difference (between individuals) in his definition, and Allport (1961) refers to characteristic patterns of behaviour within an individual. These are also important considerations. So personality is what makes our actions, thoughts and feel ngs consistent (or relatively consistent), and it is also what makes us different from one another.
As a branch of psychology, personality theory dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century and the psychoanalytic approach of Sigmund Freud. During the last century a number of different approaches have developed: trait approaches (G.W. Allport, 1937; Cattell, 1943; Eysenck, 1947); biological and genetic approaches (Eysenck, 1967, 1990; Plomin, 1986; Plomin et al., 1997); phenomenological approaches (Kelly, 1955; Rogers 1951); behavioural and social learning approaches (Bandura, 1971; Skinner, 1953); and social–cognitive approaches (Bandura, 1986; Mischel & Shoda, 1995; Mischel, 1973).
WHAT IS PERSONALITY?
In 400 BC, Hippocrates, a physician and a very acute observer, claimed that different personality types are caused by the balance of bodily fluids. The terms he developed are still sometimes used today in describing personality. Phlegmatic (or calm) people were thought to have a higher concentration of phlegm; sanguine (or optimistic) people had more blood; melancholic (or depressed) people had high levels of black bile; and irritable people had high levels of yellow bile. Hippocrates’ views about the biological basis of personality are echoed in contemporary theories that link the presence of brain chemicals such as noradrenaline and serotonin to mood and behaviour. But how do we define ‘personality’? Within psychology two classic definitions are often used: Personality is a dynamic organisation, inside the person, of psychophysical systems that create the person’s characteristic patterns of behaviour, thoughts and feelings. G.W. Allport, 1961 More or less stable, internal factors . . . make one person’s behaviour consistent from one time to another, and different from the behaviour other people would manifest in comparable situations. Child, 1968 Both these definitions emphasize that personality is an internal process that guides behaviour. Gordon Allport (1961) makes the point that personality is psychophysical, which means both physical and psychological. Recent research has shown that biological and genetic phenomena do have an impact on personality. Child (1968) makes the point that personality is stable – or at least relatively stable. We do not change dramatically from week to week, we can predict how our friends will behave, and we expect them to behave in a recognizably similar way from one day to the next. Child (1968) includes consistency (within an individual) and difference (between individuals) in his definition, and Allport (1961) refers to characteristic patterns of behaviour within an individual. These are also important considerations. So personality is what makes our actions, thoughts and feel ngs consistent (or relatively consistent), and it is also what makes us different from one another.
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