Personality Psychology

Branch of psychology that studies personality and its variations. These show how individuals differ from each other.

Trait Theory
Psycho-dynamic Theory
Humanistic Theory
- They reject personality tests, and relay on interviews
- Their process is to ask how you would ideally like to be
- And how you are currently
- The close these two responses are, the better off state you are in
Evolutionary Psychology
Behavioral Psychology
- Personality comes from the interactions with the environment
Social Cognitive Theory
- Behavior is explained as guided by expectation about the world and other people. Thinking and feeling is given the most importance.

The scales that should be kept in mind when thinking about personality...

Free will vs Determinism: How much of the behavior was chosen vs unconscious/environmental.
Nature vs Nurture
Uniqueness vs Universality: Gordon Allport, Maslow(of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs), Carl Rogers focus on the uniqueness of individuals. Behaviorists and Cognitive theorists, however, emphasize the universal principles.
Active vs Reactive: Do individuals act on initiative or outside stimuli. Or are they passively shaped by their environment.
Optimistic vs Pessimistic