Personality is the particular mixture of emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral response patterns of a person.

It is referred as the sum total of characteristics that distinguish people on the stability in a persons behavior across different situations. It is also said to be the unique patterning of behavioral & mental processes that characterizes an individual and his or her interactions with the outside environment. It is a concept used to clarify consistency and coherency in an individuals pattern of cognitions, desires and behaviors. What one feels, thinks, wants and does changes from moment to moment and from situation to situation but shows a patterning across situations and over time that may be used to recognize, portray and even to understand a person. The task of the personality researcher is to identify the consistencies and differences within and between individuals (what one feels, thinks, wants and does) and eventually to try to explain them in terms of set of testable hypotheses (why one feels, thinks, wants and does). There are a number of approaches to the study of personality. The first one that should be considered due to historical reasons is the psychodynamic theories of personality, which emphasize the importance of the unconscious. It is based on the idea that personality is motivated by internal forces and conflicts about which people have little consciousness & over which they havent got any control. The most important pioneer of this approach was Sigmund Freud. Also a number of Freuds followers (known as the Neo Freudians) including Carl Jung, Caren Horney & Alfred Adler, refined Freuds theory & developed their own psychodynamic approaches. Sigmund Freud developed the psychoanalytic theory in the early 1900s. The basic tenets of psychoanalysis include the following:
1. Human behavior, experience, and cognition are largely determined by irrational drives

which are largely unconscious. Attempts to bring those drives into awareness meet psychological resistance in the form of defense mechanisms; 2. Beside the inherited constitution of personality, one's development is determined by events in early childhood;
3. Conflicts between conscious view of reality and unconscious (repressed) material can

result in mental disturbances such as neurosis, neurotic traits, anxiety, depression etc.;
4. The liberation from the effects of the unconscious material is achieved through bringing

this material into the consciousness.

Sigmund Freud argued that first 5 years of life when he/she develops characteristic way of dealing with internal drives & conflict. So, to describe the structure of personality, he came up with a comprehensive theory that held that personality consists of 3 separate but interacting components: the Id, the ego & the superego. He suggested that these 3 structures can be diagrammed to show how they relate to the conscious, pre-conscious & the unconscious. Id: The raw, unorganized, inborn part of personality. From the time of birth, it attempts to reduce the tension created by primitive drives. It is also the storage centre of Eros (sex; instinctual selfpreservation) & Thanatos (death; instinctual self-annihilation). It acts according to the "pleasure principle", seeking to avoid pain or displeasure aroused by increases in instinctual tension. Ego: Part of the personality that provides a buffer between the Id & superego. The ego acts according to the reality principle as it seeks to please the ids drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief. The ego comprises the organized part of the personality structure that includes defensive, perceptual, intellectual-cognitive, and executive functions. Conscious awareness resides in the ego, although not all of the operations of the ego are conscious. Originally, Freud used the word ego to mean a sense of self, but later revised it to mean a set of psychic functions such as judgment, tolerance, reality testing, control, planning, and defense, synthesis of information, intellectual functioning, and memory. Superego: The final personality structure to develop. It represents the rights & wrongs of society as handed down by a persons parents, teachers and other important figures. It is equivalent to social self or conscience and is developed through observational learning. The super-ego aims for perfection. It comprises that organized part of the personality structure, mainly but not entirely unconscious, that includes the individual's ego ideals, spiritual goals, and the psychic agency that criticizes and prohibits his or her drives, fantasies, feelings, and actions. The Superego can be thought of as a type of conscience that punishes misbehavior with feelings of guilt. The super-ego works in contradiction to the id. The super-ego strives to act in a socially appropriate manner, whereas the id just wants instant self-gratification. The super-ego controls our sense of right and wrong and guilt. It helps us fit into society by getting us to act in socially acceptable ways.

Then, Sigmund Freud developed his theory of Development of Personality, which is a stage approach involving libido, psychic energy located in different parts of body:
Table 1.1: Freuds theory of development of personality

Oral Stage: Libido located in mouth Anal Stage: Libido located in anal region Phallic Stage: Pleasure from manipulating genitals. Arising complexes such as Oedipus complex (attachment of son to mother) & Electra complex (attachment of daughter to father), which are resolved through identification of same sex parent.

Latency Period: Sexual urges repressed. Period of education. Genital stage. Adult sexual desires develop. Ego is very active to balance the demands of Id & superego.

Due to demands of Id & superego, many anxieties may be produced. The minimize them, many ego defense mechanisms are adopted:

As mentioned earlier, some Neo Freudians have founded their own theories by rejecting some major points of Freuds theories. For instance, Carl Jung expanded Freuds concept of unconscious as he talked about collective or racial unconscious (common set of ideas, feelings, images and symbols that we inherit from our relatives, the whole human race and even nonhuman animal ancestors from the distant past). He developed Analytic Psychology. Alfred Adler, who developed individual psychology, emphasized striving for superiority to overcome inferiority complex rather than concentrating on sex. Another important Neo Freudian, Karen Horney, who is sometimes called the first feminist psychologist, suggested that personality develops in the context of social relationships. She was one of the first to stress the importance of cultural factors in the study of psychology.

TRAIT APPROACHES It is another major approach that assumes that personality is best described in terms of traits (consistent personality characteristics and behaviors displayed in different situations). This approach seeks to explain, in a straightforward way, the consistencies in individuals behavior. Some trait approaches/theories are mentioned below:

1) Gordon Allports trait Theory: Unique traits: Particular style unique to individual. Common traits: Common to many on which people can be compared. Gordon Allport suggested three fundamental categories of traits: a) Cardinal Traits: A single characteristic that directs most of a persons activities e.g. an intensely power-hungry guy may be driven by an all-consuming need for control. b) Central Traits: major characteristics of an individual which may usually number from five to ten in an individual e.g. honesty and sociability. c) Secondary Traits: Characteristics that affect behavior in fewer situations and are less influential than central or cardinal traits e.g. a reluctance to eat vegetable. 2) Raymond Cattels trait theory: Cattel used factor analysis, a statistical technique with source traits. Using these traits, he developed 16 personality factors. 3) Hans Eysencks theory:

4) Big five personality traits:

LEARNING APPROACHES It focuses on the learned responses from external environment and through both positive and negative reinforcement. According to the most influential learning theorist B.F. Skinner, personality is a collection of learned behavior patterns. Similarities in responses across different situations are caused by similar patterns of reinforcement that have been received in such situations in the past e.g. If I am sociable at both parties and at meetings, it is because Ive been reinforced for displaying such behaviors, not because Im fulfilling an unconscious wish based on experiences during my childhood or because Ive an internal trait of sociability. This approach is interested in behavior modification techniques which are treatment strategies based on learned theory and are very helpful in achieving goals such as losing weight or quit smoking.

SOCIAL COGNITIVE APPROACHES It highlights the influence of a persons cognitions- thoughts, feelings, expectations and values as well as observation of others behavior in order to determine personality. This approach says that personality develops through observational learning, modeling and imitation (theory of Albert Bandura). For instance, a child who views a model behaving in an aggressive manner tends to copy the behavior if the consequences of the models behavior are seen to be positive. If, in contrast, the models aggressive behavior results in negative consequences, children are considerably less likely to act aggressively. Thus, according to this approach, personality develops through repeated observation of the behavior of others. It also focuses on self-efficacy, which means believing in ones personal capabilities. It underlies peoples faith in their ability to carry out a particular behavior or produce a desired outcome. People with high self-efficacy have higher aspirations and greater persistence in working to attain goals and ultimately achieve greater success than do those with lower self-efficacy. This approach also focuses on self-esteem, which is the component of personality that encompasses our positive and negative self-evaluations. Unlike self-efficacy, which focuses on our views of whether we are able to carry out a task, self-esteem relates to how we feel about ourselves. A person with unjustified higher self-esteem may behave aggressively where was a person with justified higher self-esteem is likely to have a healthy personality.

HUMANISTIC APPROACHES It emphasizes peoples innate goodness and desire to achieve higher levels of functioning. It is this conscious, self motivated ability to change and improve along with peoples unique creative impulses, that humanistic theorists argue make up the core of personality. The major proponent of the humanistic point-of-view is Carl Rogers. Along with Abraham Maslow, he maintains that all people have a fundamental need for self-actualization, a state of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potential. He further suggested that people develop a need for

positive regard that reflects the desire to be loved and respected. According to Rogers, one outgrowth of placing importance on the opinions of others is that a conflict may grow between peoples experiences and their self-concepts, the set of beliefs they hold about what theyre like as individuals. He suggested that one way of overcoming this is through the receipt of unconditional positive regard from another person, which refers to an attitude of acceptance and respect on the part of an observer, no matter what a person says or does. This acceptance gives people the opportunity to evolve and grow both cognitively and emotionally and to develop more realistic self-concepts. There are many critics of this approach. Criticisms have centered on the difficulty of verifying the basic assumptions of the approach as well as on the question of whether unconditional positive regard does lead to greater personality adjustment. Also it has been criticized for making the assumption that people are basically good, a notion that is unverifiable. This approach also stresses the interaction between both nature and nurture; the freedom of individuals to make their own choices and that personality remains flexible and resilient throughout ones life.

BIOLOGICAL & EVOLUTIONARY APPROACHES It is an approach that suggests that important components of personality are inherited. The researchers of this approach argue that personality is determined at least in part by our genes, in much the same way that our height is largely a result of genetic contributions from our ancestors. The evolutionary perspective assumes that personality traits that lead to survival and reproductive success of our ancestors are more likely to be preserved and passed on to subsequent generations. The importance of genetic factors in personality is mainly illustrated by study of twins. Researchers examined the personality traits of pairs of twins who were genetically identical but were raised apart from each other. The results indicated that in major aspects the twins were

quite similar in personality despite having separated at an early age. Moreover, certain traits were more heavily influenced by heredity than were others. This approach also indicates that infants are born with a specific temperament, the innate disposition that emerges early in life. For instance, some individuals are quite active while others are relatively calm. Similarly, some are relatively easygoing where as others are irritable, easily upset and difficult to soothe. Temperament is quite consistent, with significant stability from infancy well into adolescence. It also stresses determinism, the view that behavior is directed and caused by factors outside ones control. It also emphasizes the stability of characteristics throughout a persons life.