Overview of personality psychology

Omar Dajani. 01/29/2021

A person’s personality has a tremendous impact on their life. It affects their interests, aspirations, likes, dislikes and various other aspects of their being. Because of its large influence, it has an entire branch of psychology dedicated to learning more about it. This branch, known as personality psychology, aims to understand a person’s psychological tendencies and how they are displayed in everyday life. This field has been growing ever since it was established back in Ancient Greece, and many discoveries relating to personality have been made due to its expansion.

For a brief history, the word ‘personality’ comes from the Latin word ‘persona.’ A persona was defined as a mask worn by actors when they were up on stage; those masks needed to be changed multiple times throughout a performance, as shown in the illustration above. This might be taken as someone changing how they present themselves to the world, which can also extend to the way people shift their personalities around certain people. Eventually, the word ‘persona’ gave way into ‘personality.’

The fascination with this subject gave way to several different theories of how personality came to be. One of these theories is the Big Five theory, which states that everyone has five universal personality traits. These traits are conscientiousness (wanting to excel in everything), agreeableness (appearing to be kind and friendly), openness (being aware of inner feelings and desires), extraversion (getting enjoyment outside of things related to the individual directly) and neuroticism (ability to be emotional, which correlates to feelings of anxiety, fears and anger among much more). These traits are on a spectrum for everyone, with certain traits being stronger than others.

Other theories include Freud’s theory of sexual development and Erik Erikson’s eight psychosocial stages of life. Freud’s theory focuses on how different erogenous zones impact development until adulthood, and Erikson’s theory centers on the idea that each stage of life is plagued by a huge psychosocial event, with this event having either a positive or negative outcome on the individual. While the former can be seen as more ‘risqué’ compared to the latter, both are very similar as they both entail that people go through different stages of development throughout their lives. These two theories state that by the end of this long developmental period, people become fully developed and are ready to be an adult.

It is important to mention the personality types that have been observed since the field’s inception. There are about 16 personality types in total, all of which are based on a variety of certain traits. Some of these include sensing, perceiving, feeling and extroversion. The traits dictate someone’s personality, and each type has its own set of strong traits. Each personality has an acronym, an example being INTJ, which means the person has Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking and Judging personality traits.

Another discovery pertains to the fact that these 16 personalities have two types. These types, Assertive and Turbulent, dictate how the person’s personality will be exhibited. For example, an Assertive INTJ will be more outspoken and commanding, while a Turbulent INTJ will be more laid back and quiet. They are still both INTJ, but they showcase their personalities and traits in different ways. Think of it as Assertive types being more on the frontline, while Turbulent types are more to the side.

With these discoveries, it is easy to understand why some people get along with others so well. There are obviously a variety of other reasons, but their similar personalities definitely play a part in making it easy to bond and thrive with one another. When people with similar personalities are around each other, it is likely they will benefit each other as well.

Even with the positive ways that personalities can influence each other, they can also have a negative impact. Some of the problems are mild like simply not getting along with someone, while some others are more serious and involve a degree of pettiness and general annoyance. It all depends on whether or not the different types are compatible. Luckily, there are various ways to figure out if a person with a certain personality might get along with someone else.

Other negative aspects of personality psychology include personality disorders. Characterized as mental disorders that can seriously impact a person’s functioning and wellbeing, personality disorders are a broad field. Categorized into three clusters, the different personality disorders are grouped together depending on their similarities. The first cluster, Cluster A, has disorders that are known to be strange or eccentric. Examples of these can be paranoid personality disorder and schizoid personality disorder.

The personality disorders in the second cluster, Cluster B, are grouped together due to their similar dramatic nature. Disorders in this cluster include antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. The last cluster, Cluster C, has disorders that are linked together by their emphasis on extreme anxiety. Some of these are avoidant personality disorder and dependent personality disorder.

Potentially not bonding with someone of a differing personality type is already bad on its own depending on how a person looks at it, but personality disorders cause a slew of additional issues. They can prevent people from bonding well with others at all, strain pre-existing relationships, make people extremely nervous all the time or in need of constant reassurance from those who care, among many more side effects.

A personality psychology professional can examine these symptoms and their longevity, eventually deciding whether or not to diagnose a person with a certain disorder. Before they can do that though, they need to decide on a differential diagnosis. This entails the professional determining if these symptoms are not the cause of other mental disorders or medical conditions. From there, sufficient treatment for the patient is decided on.

Personality psychology is an interesting and expanding field. It has come a long way since researchers first started examining it more closely, and it is now one of the most popular fields of psychology. It also happens to be one of the most complex as well. Numerous discoveries have been made, and the world understands how humans work a lot more due to these breakthroughs. As humans continue to evolve, so will personality psychology.

Cover Photo: (Salesforce)