Background
Personology- the branch of psychology that focuses on the study of the individual's characteristics and of differences between people |
Allows us to re-examine our thinking about human functioning, and could very well leave us with a better understanding of our own and others’ functioning. |
Personology and Everyday Knowledge of Human Nature
Everyday knowledge of human nature- the ability to judge, understand, explain and predict behaviour of fellow human beings. |
Ability to judge people depends on four sources: |
1. Cultural Tradition |
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2. Direct communication from others |
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3. Observation of others' behaviour |
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4. Self-observation |
Personologists aim at improving such everyday knowledge about people by basing their theories on scientific methods. |
Personality Theory- the outcome of a purposeful, sustained effort to develop a logically consistent conceptual system for describing, explaining and/or predicting human behaviour. |
The Complexity of Human and their Behaviour
Human behaviour is a highly complex phenomenon that is determined by a wide range of interdependent factors such as: |
1. Biological factors |
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2. Environmental circumstances |
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3. Social factors such as people's expectations, social milieu and culture |
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4. Psychological and spiritual factors |
A complete description and explanation of behaviour would only be possible on the basis of a thorough understanding of all the factors which determine behaviour, including the complex ways in which these factors interact with one another. |
Key Concepts
Person- an individual human being who can act independently |
Personality- the constantly changing but nevertheless relatively stable organisation of all physical, psychological and spiritual characteristics of the individual that determine his or her behaviour in interaction with the context. |
Character- those aspects of the personality involving the person’s values. |
Temperament/nature- emotional aspects of the personality. |
The self- is used in so many different ways that it is not possible to provide a single definition. It is sometimes used to refer to: |
a. People’s views of themselves; |
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b. At other times it is a synonym for personality; |
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c. The core of personality; |
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d. Many other aspects of the personality |
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Personality, Situation and Behaviour
Personism- the view that behaviour is influenced chiefly by the individual’s personality. |
Situationalism- the view that the situation is the most important determinant of behaviour. |
Interactionalism- the view that behaviour is the outcome of the interaction between the individual’s characteristics and the situation in which the behaviour occurred. |
Transactionalism- the issues involved are even more complex, the interaction is invariably threefold: between the person, the situation and the behaviour. |
Personality Theories: A Systematic Overview
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Depth Psychological Approaches Depth psychologists contend that behaviour is determined by forces within the person of which he or she is mostly unaware.
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Behavioural and Learning Theoretical Approaches They emphasise the study of observable behaviour and consider learning and environmental influences to be the most important determinants of behaviour.
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Person-oriented Approaches The theorists in this group try to include and explain all aspects of the person in their theories.
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Socially-contextualised Approaches Individuals can only be understood as parts of the complex totality of more encompassing systems in which they are embedded.
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Background
Contains useful background information for the understanding of a particular theory. |
Including: |
a. The historical background to the theories, |
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b. Biographical information about the theorists, |
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c. The social and philosophical influences the theorists were subjected to |
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d. Influences arising from the theories. |
The Structure of the Personality
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The Structure of the Personality
The hypothetical basic units or working parts that make up the personality, and that work together in some way to produce behaviour. |
The Dynamics of the Personality
A personality theory has to explain what enables the personality to function or what motivates behaviour. |
A theory should explain the motivating energy, or what provides the drive in behaviour and how the parts ‘work together’. |
The Development of the Personality
When a personality theory includes a complete developmental theory, it usually explains how the structural and dynamic aspects of the person develop and how children’s behaviour gradually changes until they reach adulthood. |
Optimal Development
The theorist’s basic view of the person and indicates what he or she regards as optimal human development or as the full realisation of one’s life goals. |
Views on Psychopathology
Explain how a psychologically-disturbed person differs from a mentally healthy person and how psychopathology develops. |
The Interpretation and Handling of Aggression
The implications of the theories/perspectives/approaches for understanding and dealing with aggression are also examined in some depth. |
The aim of this is: |
1. To discuss the same theme/topic in terms of all the various theoretical perspectives, and in this way to point out the similarities and differences between the perspectives. |
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2. To investigate the relevance of personology with regard to current social problems in South Africa |
Implications and Applications
Personality theories contain useful information for every individual’s own life, and may help people to develop their abilities and to understand themselves and others. |
Particular attention is given to the implications and applications of the theories in the context of areas such as education, psychotherapy, society in general, measurement and research. |
Evaluation of the Theory
Highlights the most important positive and negative features of these theories. |
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