Personality is the expression of a person’s traits according to ones feelings, mentality and behavior. It involves understanding individuals’ traits such as withdrawal and willpower and how various parts of an individual link together to form personality. According to oxford’s dictionary, it is the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character. Personality expresses itself from within an individual and is comparatively regular throughout an individual’s life. Different people have different personalities dependent on factors such as environment and genetic composition. Erik Erikson proposed that our personality is dependent on the success or failure of our development in the eight stages of life. Throughout this research paper, I will refer to myself in the third person as I reflect on my own personality traits. In addition, my personality will also be explained and supported using two main theories: Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory and Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow’s Humanistic Theory.
If the subject were asked to describe herself she would say she’s a mix of extroversion and introversion (i.e – an ambivert). This is because often times she is sociable with others and enjoy out door events, meeting new people and interacting in class but after a while, she becomes bored and may prefer her own personal space. Some days she enjoy being social and others she prefers to stay at home and socialize via social media instead, where there is no face to face or direct communication with others. In addition, the subject believes while she is often indecisive, she is also extremely determined and self motivated to reach any goal she sets her mind on, free-spirited and definitely an over thinker. Amongst her peers she is the relationship advisor, the motivator and the one who is always laughing at jokes that aren’t even funny. She has often heard she is lovable, kind and approachable to some extent. This may be because she grew up in a loving family setting, with a mother who always encouraged her to be nice to others. As an only child to her mother and a second born to her father, she has experienced the best of both worlds. She is extremely overprotective of her siblings and has an urge to reach her full potential in any given task. Hence, the subject chose the C. Rogers and A. Maslow’s Humanistic Theory of personality, because she thinks they best describe her personality and the reasoning behind why she is the way she is.
Other theorists that may be mentioned within this paper are Alfred Alder, Albert Bandura and Walter Mischel. C. Rogers and A Maslow’s Humanistic Theory, posits that individuals can actively develop themselves to reach their highest potential and reach self actualization. In an online article entitled “The Theory of Self Actualization, written by Ann Olson (2013), she stated that “self-actualization, according to Maslow, represents growth of an individual toward fulfillment of the highest needs—those for meaning in life, in particular.” Self actualization is also the highest level in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He believes that these people are self-aware, wise and their interest are problem centered. This means they focus on a task that is the mission of their lives. For example, the subject is currently pursuing a bachelors degree in Psychology with Management and her main goal is to graduate and obtain her degree by the end of 2021. Therefore each decision she makes daily is as a result of that one specific goal. Because the subject refers to herself as a self-motivated individual to some extent, she agrees with the humanistic theory which suggested that people are self motivated to improve because they always want have an end goal to reach self actualization.
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She believes that our life experiences play a major role in shaping an individual’s personality which is not stagnant, but rather, constantly changes throughout one’s life and developmental stages. She agrees with the Humanistic Theory of C. Rogers and M. Maslow, which proposed a subjective reality. This is a person’s unique perception/ interpretation of their environment around them. Although the subject considers herself self-determined, she thrives off of the reassurance from loved ones to motivate her to reach her highest potential. For example, she may already be aware of her cooking abilities, however, when cooking for her boyfriend, hearing that what she cooked was delicious or compliments on the presentation and smell of the food by him, would reassure her that she is a good cook. This may be because the subject is always striving to be the best version of herself in all contexts. Rogers argued that self actualization is a constant growth process that is nurtured in a growth promoting climate. He believed that in order for this to be met however, two conditions must occur. First, the person must be open and secondly, growth is nurtured through the acceptance of others. This means that a person must receive acceptance and a positive regard from others. This may explain why although the subject is a self motivated individual, she still wants to receive compliments from her boyfriend on her cooking skills.
In addition to this, Alfred Alder’s Individual theory may also be used to explain the subject’s motivated to complete every goal to her full potential. According to Day (2008), Alder’s Individual theory suggested that all humans motivation is driven by a strive for superiority or success. This striving is always directed towards achieving some goal. Each person creates a personalized goal that is determined by his or her creative power as opposed to heredity or the environment
