psychology assignment on personality

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• Prof. John D. E. Gabrieli

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• Brain and Cognitive Sciences

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• Cognitive Science

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Introduction to psychology, lecture 16: personality.

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Assignment: Personality

Assessing personality.

STEP 1 : Take at least two of the personality tests mentioned in this module (or other legitimate tests):

• Big Five personality test:  http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/
• Kiersey Temperament Sorter http://www.keirsey.com/sorter/register.aspx . This test is very similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
• Another Myers-Briggs type test: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp
• Cattell’s 16PF questionnaire:  http://personality-testing.info/tests/16PF.php
• Basic version of the color personality test: http://www.colorcode.com/choose_personality_test/

STEP 2 : Analyze your results. Discuss the results with at least one other person who knows you (preferably someone who knows you well) and decide if you believe the results accurately describe who you are. Write a short essay (150-250 words) describing the tests and analyzing both their validity and reliability.

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3.13: Assignment- Personality

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Assessing Personality

STEP 1 : Take at least two of the personality tests mentioned in this module and listed below (or other legitimate tests).

• Big Five personality test
• Kiersey Temperament Sorter . This test is very similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
• Another Myers-Briggs type test .
• Cattell’s 16PF questionnaire .
• Basic version of the color personality test .

STEP 2 : Analyze your results. Discuss the results with at least one other person who knows you (preferably someone who knows you well) and decide if you believe the results accurately describe who you are. Write a short essay (150-250 words) describing the tests and analyzing both their validity and reliability.

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CC licensed content, Original

• Assessing Personality Assignment. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

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The 4 Major Personality Perspectives

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

Aaron Johnson is a fact checker and expert on qualitative research design and methodology. 

Psychoanalytic Perspective

Humanistic perspective, trait perspective, social cognitive perspective.

The study of personality is one of the significant topics of interest in psychology. Numerous personality theories exist, and most major ones fall into one of four major perspectives. Each of these perspectives on personality attempts to describe different patterns in personality, including how these patterns form and how people differ on an individual level.

This article discusses four of the major perspectives on personality, the theorists associated with each theory, and the core ideas that are central to each perspective. Learning more about these theories can give you greater insight into the many different aspects of human personality.

The psychoanalytic perspective of personality emphasizes the importance of early childhood experiences and the unconscious mind . This perspective on personality was created by psychiatrist Sigmund Freud who believed that things hidden in the unconscious could be revealed in a number of different ways, including through dreams, free association, and slips of the tongue.

Neo-Freudian theorists , including Erik Erikson, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Karen Horney, believed in the importance of the unconscious but disagreed with other aspects of Freud's theories.

Major Theorists

Below are the most prominent psychoanalytic perspective theorists:

• Sigmund Freud : Stressed the importance of early childhood events, the influence of the unconscious, and sexual instincts in the development and formation of personality.
• Erik Erikson : Emphasized the social elements of personality development, the identity crisis , and how personality is shaped over the course of the entire lifespan.
• Carl Jung : Focused on concepts such as the collective unconscious , archetypes , and psychological types.
• Alfred Adler : Believed the core motive behind personality involves striving for superiority, or the desire to overcome challenges and move closer toward self-realization. This desire to achieve superiority stems from underlying feelings of inferiority that Adler believed were universal.
• Karen Horney : Focused on the need to overcome basic anxiety, the sense of being isolated and alone in the world. She emphasized the societal and cultural factors that also play a role in personality, including the importance of the parent-child relationship.

Modern Relevance

Classical Freudian psychoanalysis is viewed with skepticism and there has been an overall decline in the approach in recent years. While many of Freud's theories have fallen out of favor, the psychodynamic tradition is still an essential part of psychology.

Research has shown that psychodynamic approaches can be an effective tool for self-examination. This approach to treatment can also help foster long-term emotional growth.

The humanistic perspective of personality focuses on psychological growth, free will, and personal awareness. It takes a more positive outlook on human nature and is centered on how each person can achieve their individual potential.

The following are the most influential humanistic perspective theorists:

• Carl Rogers : Believed in the inherent goodness of people and emphasized the importance of free will and psychological growth. He suggested that the actualizing tendency is the driving force behind human behavior.
• Abraham Maslow : Suggested that people are motivated by a hierarchy of needs . The most basic needs are centered on things necessary for life such as food and water, but as people move up the hierarchy these needs become centered on things such as esteem and self-actualization.

Humanistic psychology continues to have a tremendous influence today, particularly in psychotherapy. The field of positive psychology, which is focused on helping people live better lives, has also grown out of the humanist tradition.

Humanistic therapy can effectively treat various mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, substance use, interpersonal issues, and personality disorders.

The trait perspective of personality is centered on identifying, describing, and measuring the specific traits that make up human personality . By understanding these traits, researchers believe they can better comprehend the differences between individuals.

Below are the most important trait perspective theorists:

• Hans Eysenck : Suggested that there are three dimensions of personality: 1) extraversion-introversion, 2) emotional stability-neuroticism, and 3) psychoticism.
• Raymond Cattell : Identified 16 personality traits that he believed could be utilized to understand and measure individual differences in personality.
• Robert McCrae and Paul Costa: Introduced the big five theory , which identifies five key dimensions of personality: 1) extraversion, 2) neuroticism, 3) openness to experience, 4) conscientiousness, and 5) agreeableness.

Trait theory is still a standard approach for understanding human personality. Today, many experts agree that personality is composed of a number of broad dimensions, although they don't completely agree on the labels for each dimension.

However, modern researchers are now also interested in understanding more about how these traits develop and how understanding them can help improve mental well-being.

For example, research has found that while people may have certain traits, these qualities don't necessarily serve as accurate predictors of behavior. Contemporary research may focus more on understanding how these traits shape people's behavior rather than just labeling the existing traits.

The social cognitive perspective of personality emphasizes the importance of observational learning , self-efficacy, situational influences, and cognitive processes.

According to this approach, personality is shaped by observation, imitation, and modeling. Cognitive factors such as attention, attitudes, motivation, and emotion also play a pivotal role. The interaction between the individual, their environment, and their thoughts contributes to their personality and behavior.

The main proponent of the social cognitive perspective is:

• Albert Bandura : Emphasized the importance of social learning, or learning through observation. His theory emphasized the role of conscious thoughts including self-efficacy , or our own beliefs in our abilities.

The social cognitive perspective remains relevant today in understanding how learning occurs in social contexts. It also allows researchers and educators to consider the dynamic between the individual, their environment, and their behavior. 

Social cognitive theory is also utilized in the field of public health to develop programs aimed at health promotion. Understanding how observational learning and self-efficacy influence health behaviors allows researchers to create programs that foster healthier behaviors and choices.

A Word From Verywell

Many theories have been proposed to describe and explain human personality. Four of the most prominent are the psychoanalytic, humanistic, trait, and social-cognitive perspectives.

One important thing to remember is that no single theory alone explains every aspect of personality. Instead, each of these theories has played a part in adding to our understanding of different aspects of personality, their causes, and how they shape behavior and individual experiences.

Mcwilliams N. Psychoanalytic Diagnosis: Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process . Guilford; 2011.

Barenbaum N, Winter D. Personality . In: Freedheim D, ed. Handbook of Psychology: History of Psychology . John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 2013:198-223.

Paris J.  Is psychoanalysis still relevant to psychiatry?   Can J Psychiatry . 2017;62(5):308-312. doi:10.1177/0706743717692306

Shedler J.  The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy .  Am Psychol . 2010;65(2):98-109. doi:10.1037/a0018378

Osafo hounkpatin H, Wood AM, Boyce CJ, Dunn G. An existential-humanistic view of personality change: co-occurring changes with psychological well-being in a 10 Year cohort study . Soc Indic Res. 2015;121(2):455-470. doi:10.1007/s11205-014-0648-0

Rogers CR. The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change . TACD Journal . 1989;17(1):53-65. doi:10.1080/1046171x.1989.12034347

Kaufman SB. Self-actualizing people in the 21st century: Integration with contemporary theory and research on personality and well-being .  Journal of Humanistic Psychology . November 2018. doi:10.1177/0022167818809187

Elliott R.  Research on person-centred/experiential psychotherapy and counselling : summary of the main findings . In: Lago C, Charura D, eds. McGraw-Hill/Open University Press; 2016:223-232.

Fleeson W, Jayawickreme E. Whole trait theory . Journal of Research in Personality . 2015;56(0092-6566):82-92. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2014.10.009

Revelle W. Hans Eysenck: Personality theorist . Personality and Individual Differences . 2016;103:32-39. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.04.007

Boyle GJ, Stankov L, Martin NG, Petrides KV, Eysenck MW, Ortet G. Hans J. Eysenck and Raymond B. Cattell on intelligence and personality . Personality and Individual Differences . 2016;103:40-47. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.04.029

McCrae RR, Costa Jr. P. Introduction to the empirical and theoretical status of the five-factor model of personality traits . In: Personality Disorders and the Five-Factor Model of Personality . American Psychological Association; 2013:15-27. doi:10.1037/13939-002

McCrae RR, Sutin AR.  A five-factor theory perspective on causal analysis .  Eur J Pers . 2018;32(3):151–166. doi:10.1002/per.2134

Fleeson W, Jayawickreme E.  Whole trait theory .  J Res Pers . 2015;56:82-92. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2014.10.009

Robinson MD, Klein RJ, Persich MR. Personality traits in action: A cognitive behavioral version of the social cognitive paradigm . Personality and Individual Differences . 2019;147:214-222. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2019.04.041

Bandura A. Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspectiv e. Asian Journal of Social Psychology . 1999;2(1):21-41. doi:10.1111/1467-839x.00024

Smith Y, Garcia-Torres R, Coughlin SS, et al. Effectiveness of social cognitive theory-based interventions for glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis .  JMIR Res Protoc . 2020;9(9):e17148. doi:10.2196/17148

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Personality Change

The surprising truth is that people change all the time, we likely underestimate how much people can change..

Updated May 28, 2024 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

• A tendency to underestimate how much people change can lead to pessimism about addressing conflicts.
• Research shows that personality changes are not only possible but more common than believed.
• To change conflict patterns, we can think about changing situations, perspectives, or even labels we're using.

I’ve had the chance to talk to thousands of people about conflicts, and not one has ever said to me, “I'm the primary driver of the problem. Why am I so difficult?” Instead, they invariably ask how to change other people’s beliefs or bad behavior. And a lot of the time, they feel like they already know the answer: That other person will never change. They’re unreachable. They’re awful. They’re the problem .

What’s fascinating is that all sides can find ways to think this.

Picture this common scene: You meet up with a friend for coffee and soon they’re explaining to you in detail why their co-worker is so impossible to work with. In that moment have you ever wondered what that co-worker is telling their friends?

When you see the other side as “the problem,” that can preserve destructive conflict patterns. The conflict feels fated to continue, you imagine, because people don’t change.

Except they do. All the time.

Daniel Aires began dreaming of a career as a soldier when he was 10. He joined the Canadian Armed Forces at 16. One day, he was given a book about peace issues.

I remember reading the book and being absolutely enraged. How could anyone be so peaceful? How could they live their life where everyone is their brother and everyone is their sister?... I’m thinking, “This is complete lunacy!” And I took the book and I threw it in the bottom of the vehicle and drove around and it got all full of gunpowder and gasoline and I read it again, and again, and again and it wore a hole in my side pocket. I had it on me all the time. And within six months I was out of the military.

Somehow, what seemed impossible happened, and a single book changed Daniel’s life. But he had to go through a months-long invisible process first.

Most of us underestimate the likelihood of such changes. A major study found that the average person surveyed thinks their personality is far more constant than it actually is. “People, it seems, regard the present as a watershed moment at which they have finally become the person they will be for the rest of their lives.” But the study found that this just isn’t true. Most of us are closer to Daniel Aires—changing in many ways as we age.

Research into people trying to change their own personalities has found that, while difficult, it is possible. For instance two studies done with students found that many succeeded, at least over the course of four months. These students tested differently both on personality tests and on reports about their daily behaviors.

Systematic examination of the evidence on personality change highlights that there are many factors required. It’s not easy. But, then again, there are many factors required to not change.

Where we don’t change, it might be more because of repeated habits and being in the same situations over and over. Therefore, one important way to address a difficult conflict pattern is to change the situation. For instance, go for a walk together instead of staying seated .

Another way to change the situation is to think about it differently. Find common values , feelings, and needs. And try not to fix the person in your mind with all sorts of simple labels .

Researchers suggest that words that portray a situation as more fixed or straightforward than it really is come with serious costs. They reduce accuracy and understanding. They can lead to more entrenched and less rewarding conflicts.

An example is the label “toxic masculinity.” Such broad terms can make for frustrating conversations in part because people actually mean very different things by them. What’s worse, evidence shows that masculinity is actually changing—even amongst groups of men who traditionally felt strong pressures to be rugged and stoic individualists. So a term like “toxic masculinity” might harmfully oversimplify what’s happening, making it feel more stuck than it is.

There are no guarantees that a given conflict can be positively transformed. But it can be empowering to stop expecting that nothing will change. Lots of changes are happening. You have more power to impact them than you might think.

Richard Gater. Why ‘toxic masculinity’ isn’t a useful term for understanding all of the ways to be a man . The Conversation. October 11, 2023.

Matthew Legge is the author of Are We Done Fighting? Building Understanding in a World of Hate and Division. He is a Peace Program Coordinator at Canadian Friends Service Committee.

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