Psychodynamic Approach and Humanistic Approach
The psychodynamic approach was created by Sigmund Freud. According to Freud, a lot of what we do is unconscious including personality. Childhood memories or experiences affect us in ways we can’t control (Engler pg.29). For instance, if a child is abandoned by a parent when they are young they may be untrusting as an adult.
The humanistic approach came from the ideas of two psychologist Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. According to this theory, our personality comes from a strong feeling of self-concept. What we think of ourselves is extremely important in this approach. Our inner selves are constantly evaluating the difference between our real selves and our ideal selves which is what we would like to be. According to Rogers, our behavior is merely how we perceive the world around us and how we react from it (Engler pg.322).
Trait perspective takes into account repeated behavior and begins to label those actions as traits. For example, if someone repeatedly gets nervous and keeps to themselves when around new people. They might have an introvert or shy trait. Another example of the trait theory is if someone repeatedly comes off as cold and emotionless they are going to get labeled differently than someone who always seems happy and inviting.
Social Cognitive Approach
Lastly, a social cognitive approach is when actions are picked up from watching others or a person is influenced to act a certain way. If you have ever heard of the expression “if a friend jumps off a bridge does that mean you’ll jump too?” you have been exposed to social cognitive theory. It is the idea that friends and society can be extremely influential to our behavior (Engler pg.213). From personal experience, my personality type was more of an introvert until I met my best friend. We met when we were about fourteen and she was the complete opposite. She is outgoing, fearless, and loud. I at the time was a very quiet nervous person, that never had much to say. I couldn’t tell you why we connected but I could tell little by little I started to behave differently. Today if I find myself in a very unfamiliar situation I may pull back and seem introverted again. However, for the most part, I feel like a totally changed person. Like she shaped me into the person that I am today.
What Shapes Personality
That being said, after learning about what the personality theories are it is also important to know what also can shape personality. If you’re male or female, what race you are, and where you grew up can all affect your personality. In the world, men are supposed to be stronger than women, certain religions have strict beliefs, other areas of the world may do things differently from where we live. We all have different environments and experiences that change us and shape us. As we get older personality can also change. Some aspects stay the same however as we grow our lives to tend to adjust. Perhaps we go through loss or an environmental transition, or our physical appearances changes. If the things that shape us are affected I believe that the way we are shaped can be affected by this as well.
