The Evolution of Personality Theory Through the Ages

People have very different types of personality. They could be funny, shy, outgoing, somber, exuberant, quiet, loud, curious, and any other type of personality. The concept of Personality Theory states that people are born with particular traits that determine their personality. Therefore, your unique personality is determined at birth. Not everyone agrees with his concept. Some people feel that events, upbringing, and experience work together to make a personality. Many famous scientists and doctors have studied the Personality Theory over the years. Sigmund Feud first used the term and coined and mapped out the definitions for Personality Theory.

Erick Erickson and Freud were students of the Personality Theory. Freud felt that there was a balance between personality focused on such variables as fun, self, and social responsibility. What this means is that while you may have an outgoing personality, you would not necessarily stand up and begin to sing a silly song at a serious event such as a funeral. Freud and Erickson conducted many case studies and experiments on Personality theory.

Skinner studied Personality Theory through Operant Conditioning. So, could a personality be changed that was formed before birth? He spent many years working on studies to see if a person’s unique personality could be changed by conditions. It seems that he concluded that the Personality Theory and the impact of life events meshed together in his final conclusion from his many, many results of study.

Rogers, Maslow, and Bandura also studied the Personality Theory during their lengthy careers. Bandura’s ideas were rather intriguing in the field. He felt that social learning would be incorporated into our behavior and then into our personality. So, he held that while the idea of Personality Theory was interesting, vents such as trauma or death of a parent could and would change or modify a person’s personality.

Freud’s idea that our personality was formed when we were born is interesting and a unique approach. Not all scientists and doctors agree with Sigmund Freud and his Personality theory, but all of them have certainly studied his concept and ideas about personalities and when they are formed in a person. You cannot study the theory without looking at the studies of Freud, Erickson, Skinner, Rogers, Maslow, and Bandura. Each and every one of them brings his ideas to the table concerning the Personality Theory and Sigmund Freud.

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