Personality Assessment and Theories
Alvin Northcross
BEH/225
6-13-2013
Alison Dezsofi
Personality Assessment and Theories
Today the study of personality has four leading theories. Social Learning, Trait, Humanistic, and Psychodynamic, they are represented in most assessment test used today. Looking at personality assessments and theories, we first have to consider the psychodynamic theory. This theory origin, are seen in an individual’s feelings, unconscious thoughts, and motives these may come from bottled-up issues from their childhood. An example is if a young individual is raped this action can affect how they to act, and become a large part of their life. To evaluate the psychodynamic personality personal interviews are conducted with test that requires that individuals projective.
According to Freud theory on personality, when a person is unconscious all of their feelings, ideas, and thoughts shows what that individual is not aware of when awake. He also speaks on how the ego is for the personality and intercedes with the superego and reality, which calls for the need for their id to show. This theory showed that the way people think is linked to why they act and react the way they do. Defense mechanisms, which we all have, assist individuals in lowering guilt and anxiety. In addition, defense mechanisms according to Freud anxiety is an unpleasant inner state that people seek to avoid. Anxiety acts as a signal to the ego that things are not going right (Cherry, 2013).
Social Learning combines cognitive learning theory and behavioral learning theory. Cognitive learning posits that learning is influenced by psychological factors. Whereas, behavioral learning assumes that learning is based on responses to environmental stimuli (Psychology Today, 2013). Social learning furthermore states that when observing things happing to others can determine an individual’s personality.
In Addition, the trait theory describes the difference in an individual...