According to Nardi and Berens (p. 1), personality concerns represent the most important aspects of an individual’s psychological life. Additionally, Personality (p. 3) defines personality as the process inside a person that develops the person’s sets of characteristics of behaviour, thoughts and feelings. The study of personality is important since it helps one to be more responsive to others and organizations. The studies also assist individuals to be more socially active (Nardi and Berens p. 10). Further, the study of personality helps one to become more independent by understanding others.
Several theories describe the personality of an individual. The first theory is Freud’s model of the mind. In this theory, Freud developed several models to show how the mind of individual works. He also named the mind Psyche in his models. The first model of the mind was called the topographic model. Freud noted that the mind is divided into three sections. The first section called the conscious is the part that stores all the information an individual is aware of. The second section called the preconscious holds everything one is aware of but not thinking about at the moment. The last section is called the unconscious; this is the section of the mind that an individual can never be aware of. The unconscious is the part that holds the urges, thoughts and feelings which leads to conflict and pain.
The second model of Freud’s theory is the structural model. The structural model contained what Freud called the id, the ego and the superego (Personality, p. 4). Freud noted that the id works in the unconscious section and is more responsible for instincts and most biological processes. The ego, on the other hand, works to ensure that the id functions well. Lastly, the superego provides moral guidance to the crucial human activities in life (Personality, p. 5). Freud’s last model described five stages that a child passes through during development into adulthood. According to Freud, these stages help shape the child’s personality.
The next theory that describes personality is the humanistic theory. According to Personality (p. 6), it is a branch of personality that concentrates more on human growth. This theory is the complete opposite of the traditional theories. Rather than describing humans as a victim of his or her unconscious, the theory emphasizes personality as experiences, relationships and the human ways of understanding the world. The importance of this theory is that it acknowledges that the beliefs of each individual are exceptional and the way one views the world is very important in understanding the behaviour of the person (Personality, p. 6).
The humanistic theory has developed many procedures used in modern counselling techniques. Approval and self-actualization is the first humanistic theory. It was developed by Carl Rogers. Roger noted that humans were good and had a natural desire for growth. The way an individual views the world results from the approval of the parent. In addition, Rogers noted that what an individual thinks depends on how others approve his or her decisions. Rogers developed modern therapeutic procedures. Blackwell (p. 7) noted that the most important contribution of Rogers to psychology was the evaluation of the methods of therapy.
In addition to these theories, there are also different types of personalities. Psychological (“personality”) Types (par. 1) noted that each individual possesses different abilities to process different information. The first type of personality is the extroverts and the introverts. Whereas the extroverts are interested in the happenings around their world, the introverts are more concerned about their feelings. Another difference between these two personalities is the way they get related socially. The extroverts are very talkative and socially active whereas the introverts like to keep a distance from social life.
The second example of personality is sensing and intuition. Sensing is the human ability to deal with feelings and the affection of others. Intuition is the ability to deal with information without showing feelings. People who are quick to change are referred to as having a sensing personality (Psychological (“personality”) Types par. 4). Intuition personalities are interested in new unique things and are mostly interested in a theoretical phenomenon other than what can practically occur. The sensing personality is practically active and genuine.
The third personality type is thinking versus feeling. The thinking type analyzes everything logically while the feeling type exposes their mood to others. The thinking types are in most cases described as being unemotional while the feeling types are emotional and affectionate.
Lastly, there is the perceiving and judging type of personality. The judging types are motivated to change a certain situation by their decisions. The perceiving types, on the other hand, are encouraged to change because of change in a certain situation. Another difference between these two types is that while the perceiving type is always open to change the judging type never change their decisions (Psychological (“personality”) Types. 5).
Works Cited
- Nardi, D. and Berens, L. V. “The sixteen personality types“ Descriptions for self-discovery. USA: Telos Publications. 1999. Print. Personality. 2003. Web.
- Psychological (“personality”) Types. 2012.