The 4 Major Personality Perspectives

The 4 Major Personality Perspectives
The study of personality is one of the major topics of interest within psychology. Numerous
personality theories exist and most of the major ones fall into one of four major perspectives.
Each of these perspectives on personality attempts to describe different patterns in personality,
including how these patterns form and how people differ on an individual level.
Learn more about the four major perspectives of personality, the theorist associated with each
theory and the core ideas that are central to each perspective.
The Psychoanalytic Perspective

The psychoanalytic perspective of personality emphasizes the importance of early childhood
experiences and the unconscious mind. This perspective on personality was created by
psychiatrist Sigmund Freud who believed that things hidden in the unconscious could be
revealed in a number of different ways, including through dreams, free association, and slips of
the tongue. Neo-Freudian theorists, including Erik Erikson, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler and Karen
Horney, believed in the importance of the unconscious but disagreed with other aspects of
Freud's theories.
Major Theorists and Their Theories
 Sigmund Freud: Stressed the importance of early childhood events, the influence of the
unconscious and sexual instincts in the development and formation of personality.
 Erik Erikson: Emphasized the social elements of personality development, the identity
crisis and how personality is shaped over the course of the entire lifespan.
 Carl Jung: Focused on concepts such as the collective unconscious, archetypes, and
psychological types.
 Alfred Adler: Believed the core motive behind personality involves striving for
superiority, or the desire to overcome challenges and move closer toward self-
realization. This desire to achieve superiority stems from underlying feelings of inferiority
that Adler believed were universal.
 Karen Horney: Focused on the need to overcome basic anxiety, the sense of being
isolated and alone in the world. She emphasized the societal and cultural factors that
also play a role in personality, including the importance of the parent-child relationship.
The Humanistic Perspective
The humanistic perspective of personality focuses on psychological growth, free will, and
personal awareness. It takes a more positive outlook on human nature and is centered on how
each person can achieve their individual potential.
Major Theorists
 Carl Rogers: Believed in the inherent goodness of people and emphasized the
importance of free will and psychological growth. He suggested that the actualizing
tendency is the driving force behind human behavior.
 Abraham Maslow: Suggested that people are motivated by a hierarchy of needs. The
most basic needs are centered on things necessary for life such as food and water, but
as people move up the hierarchy these needs become centered on things such as
esteem and self-actualization.
The Trait Perspective

The trait perspective of personality is centered on identifying, describing and measuring the
specific traits that make up human personality. By understanding these traits, researchers
believe they can better comprehend the differences between individuals.
Major Theorists
 Hans Eysenck: Suggested that there are three dimensions of personality: 1)

extraversion-introversion, 2) emotional stability-neuroticism and 3) psychoticism.
 Raymond Cattell: Identified 16 personality traits that he believed could be utilized to

understand and measure individual differences in personality.
 Robert McCrae and Paul Costa: Introduced the big five theory, which identifies five key
dimensions of personality: 1) extraversion, 2) neuroticism, 3) openness to experience, 4)
conscientiousness and 5) agreeableness.
The Social Cognitive Perspective

The social cognitive perspective of personality emphasizes the importance of observational
learning, self-efficacy, situational influences and cognitive processes.
Major Theorists
 Albert Bandura: Emphasized the importance of social learning, or learning through

observation. His theory emphasized the role of conscious thoughts including self-
efficacy, or our own beliefs in our abilities.

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The 4 Major Personality Perspectives

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The 4 Major Personality Perspectives

The Psychoanalytic Perspective

Major Theorists and Their Theories

The Trait Perspective

 Hans Eysenck: Suggested that there are three dimensions of personality: 1)

 Raymond Cattell: Identified 16 personality traits that he believed could be utilized to

The Social Cognitive Perspective

 Albert Bandura: Emphasized the importance of social learning, or learning through

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