Personality Analysis - Role of Personality Affecting Situational Behavior

Personality Analysis

The subject of personality is a highly researched subject, and for this reason personality theorists are interested in what makes a person unique, how personalities are developed and how they should be analyzed. Personalities take place through behaviors, it is the combination of different characteristics, traits and processes, which have substance and they tend to change in situational behaviors. The study of personalities through different theories helps to provide significant information about factors related to the personality of an individual such as characteristics, traits, culture, religion, beliefs, and other environmental factors pertinent to the development of personality. There several psychologists and philosophers that have analyzed examined, tested, and researched the theories associated with behavior and personality development. The two theories to be addressed in this paper are the dispositional and learned theories. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight Dispositional and Learning theories. Even though the role of personality can affect situational behaviors, this paper I will compare and contrast these theories, examine characteristics associated with the theories and explain the interpersonal relational aspects associated with each theory.

Role of Personality Affecting Situational Behavior

Our personalities have a strong influence on what types of situations people allow themselves to get into. Personality also affects how we deal with those situations. Through years of research and observation it has been determined that personality is influenced by different kinds of behaviors, and it plays a strong role in situational behaviors. The personality differences in individuals allows them to display different behaviors in circumstances because their reaction is reflected by their personalities. In certain instances an individual will display certain personality traits dependent on the situation; they are in at the time. People are affected by different situations in different ways and some of these situations open a threshold for the display of personality and other situations may elicit a different range of behavior.

Dispositional and Learning Theories

The Dispositional theory is based on the attitudes, interests, thinking, feeling, and reaction of a person in present and past social situations (2006). This theory focuses on the traits that make an individual unique. Gordon Allport was a dispositional theorist who focused on studying the individual person as opposed to groups of people. Allport believed that personality theories relied on experiences to explain personality. He came up with studying the individual because he believed that personality was developed from common traits and individual dispositions. According to Feist, Allport believed that no two individuals are alike because although they may share common traits, there is a distinction in their personal dispositions because of their individual traits. According to Feist, Allport believed that all individuals share common traits, which can be used to compare individuals within a culture to one another. This is why he rejected traits and factor theories and sought out to identify distinctions of each individual through identifying personal traits, are unusual to the individual (Feist & Feist, 2009). Allport believed that when describing an individual in terms of general traits, this strips him or her their of uniqueness and individuality because of those common traits. The Learning theory is defined as processes in which humans learn and accommodate certain behavioral changes (Feist & Feist, 2000). According to Carver, Learning theories suggests that and individuals personalities are derived from learning experiences as a result of the environment and behaviors are shaped by these experiences. There are several types of learning theories associated with learning; behaviorism, social cognitive theory, cognitive social theory, and the psychology of personal constructs. The social cognitive theory is based on human flexibilities and capabilities of learning various skills and behaviors through certain experiences. According to Feist, Albert Bandura, believed that people can learn directly from experiences and that much of what is learned is acquired through observing other individuals. Bandura suggests that observation is the process in which individuals learn without displaying any behavior. Observational learning is shaped by modeling with consists of modifying the observed behaviors. Modeling is determined by several factors, such as characteristics of the model or the observer and consequences.

Personality Characteristics attributed to Dispositional and Learning Theories

There are numerous dispositional characteristics, so it is sometimes hard to identify a set that focuses on the uniqueness of an individual. Dispositional theory characteristics are attributed by environmental changes and these characteristics are displayed by an individual in the early years and they are constantly being portrayed. According to Feist, Allport along with a college counted close to 18000 descriptive words that can be used to describe personality characteristics. According to Feist, Allport identified three levels