There are several theories of personality in the field of psychology. These theories state that personality can be formed from several items: parts of the unconscious mind combined with childhood experiences, an interaction between the individual and the environment, and free will combined with self- actualization to promote personal growth. The following were three of the major theories of personality, and this paper will mainly be focusing on my favorite of the three. The behavioral theory is by far my favorite of the three theories, but this does not mean the others do not make sense.
Psychology is a very contradicting subject, and I prove this again by favoring the behavioral theory but believing my personality follows the humanist theory. Learning what type of personality a subject has can be determined by a serious of questions honestly answered by yourself or the subject. If people in general would take the small amount of time required to gain the knowledge of which type of personality that they have or believe in, and they would learn about that theory; they could then find answers to why they act the way they do in certain situations.
People who know information related to their specific type of personality could allow themselves to avoid stressful situations and live a more comfortable life. My preferred psychological personality theory is the behavioral theory. This is due to the fact that it makes the most sense when looking at the establishment of personality. The behavioral theory states that your personality is established due to the influence of your environment. The best example of this theory that comes to mind is a child touching a hot stove.
This theory is based on observable and measurable behavior. A child who makes the decision to go astray from all of the warnings that the stove is hot and touches it anyhow will get burnt. The re-enforcement of the child’s negligent act will result in negative reward, and the child will have learned to not touch the stove in fear of getting burnt again. Another example is a child who cries out and is always comforted and pampered to be quite. This child’s personality is going to develop into learning that it can obtain attention by acting out.
These examples of why this theory is my most preferred, and that is because it makes the most sense. Your personality is established based upon what you have learned from interactions with your environment in your life. Even though I established the behavioral theory as my preferred method; I discovered the type of my personality falls under the humanist theory. Although it could be argued my personality is behavioral based, it is my educated opinion that I have decided the humanist theory best suites me.
The first time I read and researched the humanist theory; I could not prevent thinking about hippies, and their peace and love attitude. After some reading, I realized that this theory is not based on the common lawn intruder, but it is based on the person wishing to better themself. This theory states that the person requires personal growth which in turn motivates that specific person’s behavior to obtain that growth. If my personality was based off of a behavioral theory rather than a humanist theory I would be a different person.
I grew up in rough neighborhoods, choose the most violent profession as a young adult, and have been in dangerous situations my whole life. Although my environment has allowed me to obtain the survival skills necessary for my chosen atmosphere, it has not determined my personality. A humanist personality approach explains why even though I have led a fairly rough life; I will always go out of my way to help someone in need. This is because; I am giving everything I can in life in order to be the best person I can be.
When you learn about what type of personality you have, it can help you understand your actions and reactions to certain things in life. I know that I am always going out of my way to help others, and this is not because I am a doormat, or because I a weak minded. This is because with a humanist based personality people will go out of their way in order to better themselves. By understanding my personality type I will not necessarily make my life easier to live, but I will understand my choices and not question my actions as much.
I used to think that I had the need for personal approval from others, and that is why I was going out of my way for people all the time. I now understand that I do these things to make myself feel better and to seek personal growth. After helping someone, you always get that feeling of accomplishment which makes you want to help more people. What is never realized though is that you are helping others because it makes you a better person. By no means am I a peaceful, loving, free willed hippy, but I do like the feeling of being the best person I can be.
This is what the whole theory of humanism is based on; it is all about people wanting to achieve the feeling of being the best they can. You can instantly tell that personality belongs in the field of psychology. Just look at the arguments brought up in this paper based on just one person and his beliefs. I firmly believe in behavioral theories but believe I have a humanist base in my own personality. This is the typical back and forth swinging of any subject that you would address in any psychological topic.
I believe that all types of personality have some sort of influence from the surrounding environment, but they may also have a certain motive that has allowed you to become who you are. I believe that everyone should understand and learn about what type of personality they have in order to understand themselves better. Knowing your personality will not change your life; it will just give you a better understanding of who you are and why you do the things that may sometimes confuse you, whether it be due to your will to be a better person or just the environment changing the way you act.
