Personality Theories Paper

Personality theories are important in understanding human behavior. Personality is defined as, “the unique way in which each individual thinks, acts, and feels throughout life” (Ciccarelli & White, 2015, p.502). I will describe the following three theories: Big Trait theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Erickson’s Psychosocial Development Theory. Each theory describes a different perspective (traits, behaviorist, and psychoanalytical). I will define each theory, explain the assumptions on which the theory is based, strength and weaknesses, and state how each personality theory applies to me.

Big Five Trait Theory

The first theory I chose to describe was the trait theory pertaining to the Big Five traits. The Big Five trait factors are openness,

I tend to fall more in the agreeableness and conscientious category. I tend to be helpful, ambitious, organized, and try to see the best in people. I am also sociable, affectionate, and try to see the best in all situations. I wouldn’t describe myself as an extravert, however many people see me that way. I would also describe myself as the opposite of the openness factor. I am extremely down to earth and don’t have a creative bone in my body. Overall, I feel I exhibit components of all the traits (some are just larger than others obviously) and each trait is important in molding a person’s personality.

Social Cognitive Theory: Albert Bandura

Social cognitive theory is important in the behaviorist perspective. Social cognitive theorists “emphasize the importance of both the influence of other people’s behavior and of a person’s own expectancies of learning, hold that observational learning, modeling, and other cognitive learning techniques can lead to the formation of patterns of personality” (Ciccarelli & White, 2015, p. 512). Albert Bandura influenced the social cognitive theory by stressing that environment, personal or cognitive factors, and the behavior itself all make up personality.

Critics of the social cognitive theories argue human personality is too complex to explain as a result of cognitions and external stimuli interacting. A strength is that it explains a large number of behaviors and allows or accounts

Erickson stressed the following stages: infant, toddler, preschool, elementary school age, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. Each stage describes the outcome of personality if successful or unsuccessful. Erickson was “trained as Freudian psychoanalyst but became convinced that social interactions were more important in development than Freud’s emphasis on sexual development” (Ciccarelli & White, 2015, p.333). The development of personality and social relationships in adolescence influences a persons’ sense of self of personal