Transcript document
FAMILY LIVING 120
Personality Theories
Objectives:
1. To define personality
2. To understand how personality is related to both
the past and the future.
3. To discuss different theories of personality
development.
4. To identify the most important factors that influence
personality development.
To be aware of the possibilities for improving your
own personality.
Personality is related to the past, present and
future through heredity and experiences.
1. Personality represents
the totality of one’s
being.
2. The three most
important factors that
shape and influence a
child’s personality are:
1. The home atmosphere
2. Discipline
3. Adult role models
Born in 1890, Poland.
Field theory –
human behavior = person +
environment
Often recognized as the
"founder of social psychology"
and was one of the first
researchers to study group
dynamics and organizational
development.
Gertault Psychology: Study of the
whole person.
3 Elements of Self:
1. Personal Self – who we are
(beliefs, attitudes, values,
habits).
2. Social self – how we want
others to see us.
3. Ideal self – the image you
have of who you want to
become.
Id: I want, I need
(unconscious)
Ego: Helps control the ID
(partly conscious)
Superego: Causes you to
feel guilt if you do the
wrong thing (conscience)
Id: I want, I need
(unconscious)
Ego: Helps control the ID
(partly conscious)
Superego: Causes you to
feel guilt if you do the
wrong thing (conscience)
He coined the phrase
“inferiority complex”.
He felt everyone tried to go
from feelings of inferiority to
those of superiority.
Birth order: Your personality is
dependent on when you were
born into a family. Oldest to
youngest.
He believed that all humans
tried to satisfy biological
survival needs (opportunistic
functioning).
He also believed that most of
what we do in life is because
of who we are (propriate
functioning).
He believed that a persons
body type determined their
personality.
Endomorphic: fat, chunky
(Santa)
Ectomorphic: Fragile, lean
(absent minded professor)
Mesomorphic: Musuclar
(tarzan)
He thoughts that personality
development was a process
through life, in which the
person had to successfully
pass through each of the 8
stages.
Each stage presented a basic
conflict that needed to be
overcome.
1. Realize the need for
improvement
2. Develop a strong desire to
improve
3. Analyze strong and weak
points.
4. Develop a systematic plan.
5. Execute the plan.
Your personality can be
changed, but only if you want!