Scholars have been proposing several theories regarding our personality. But what is a personality?
Personality is described as the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique, different than others and these thoughts, feelings and behaviors are relatively permanent.
Hans Eysenck suggested that genetics are primarily responsible for personality and that personality is influenced by the stress hormone cortisol. According to his theory, introverts have high cortical arousal and avoid stimulation, while extroverts have low cortical arousal and crave stimulation. He was a supporter of the theories which argue that there is a link between genetics and personality traits.
B. F. Skinner and John B. Watson influenced psychology the most. B. F. Skinner is recognized as the most influential psychologist, because that school of thought was most dominant in the first half of the 20th century, but today is no longer acceptable. Behavioral theorists study observable and measurable behaviors, rejecting theories that take internal thoughts, moods, and feelings play a part as these cannot be measured. Skinner conducted experiments to prove that our personality is shaped by punishments and rewards, because personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the environment (all behaviors are acquired through conditioning), according to his belief.
Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual stage theory and Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development were the proponents of Psychodynamic Personality Theories. They heavily influenced these theories. Sigmund Freud emphasize the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences on personality. Today, first four years of life are formative years in development of a personality. Freud believed the three components of personality were the id, ego, and superego. The id is responsible for needs and urges, while the superego regulates ideals and morals. The ego, in turn, moderates the demands of the id, superego, and reality. Erikson proposed that personality progressed through a series of stages, with certain conflicts arising at each stage. Success in any stage depends on successfully overcoming these conflicts.
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow were Humanist theorists. These theories emphasize the importance of free will and individual experience in personality development. According to this approach, people are inherently good and have a natural tendency to want to make themselves and the world better. Maslow hierarchy of needs includes: physiological, safety, love and belonging needs, esteem, and self-actualization. Basic needs must be met to even consider higher needs. People who are hungry don’t have a need for self-actualization.
Eysenck’s three-dimension theory and the five-factor theory of personality are the most influential trait theories. According to trait theories, personality is made up of a number of broad traits. A trait is a relatively stable characteristic that causes an individual to behave in certain ways. It is essentially the psychological “blueprint” that informs behavioral patterns. Eysenck concluded that there were three major dimensions of personality: extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism. The Big 5 theory (the five-factor theory) has five major personality dimensions: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, collectively referred to by the acronym OCEAN
Nowadays, we hear more about Epigenetics. According to Epigenetics, genetics isn’t a disposition, but a predisposition. Epigenetics suggests that a personality is like a piano: genetics is piano keys and environment is playing the melody. Our personality depends on the melody which is played. Some piano keys or genes are activated, some are deactivated, and deactivated genes can be activated by playing different melody. Activated genes can be deactivated as well. There are studies which showed that depression was successfully treated by using therapy based on epigenetics.