Theories of Personality
📘 11.2 Theories of Personality
Personality theories attempt to explain how and why individuals develop consistent behavior patterns. Each theory offers a unique perspective on the origin and structure of personality.
🧠 1. Psychoanalytic Theory – Sigmund Freud
🔹 Core Ideas:
- Personality consists of id (instinctual desires), ego (reality-oriented), and superego (moral conscience).
- Personality is shaped through unconscious conflicts and early childhood experiences.
- Psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) determine adult personality.
🔸 Practical Example:
- A strict superego → overly rule-abiding bureaucrat.
- An unresolved oral stage → excessive dependence on authority or addictive behaviors.
🌐 2. Socio-Cultural Theory – Karen Horney, Alfred Adler
🔹 Core Ideas:
- Culture, society, and upbringing play a vital role in shaping personality.
- Horney emphasized basic anxiety from childhood and the need for love/security.
- Adler introduced inferiority complex and the drive for superiority.
🔸 Practical Example:
- A student from a disadvantaged background working hard to crack UPSC may be driven by Adler’s compensation for early inferiority.
🤝 3. Interpersonal Theory – Harry Stack Sullivan
🔹 Core Ideas:
- Personality is shaped by interpersonal relationships, not just inner drives.
- Self develops through interaction with others (e.g., peer pressure, parental approval).
🔸 Practical Example:
- A leader’s people skills and how others view them (good communicator, empathetic) reflect interpersonal personality.
📈 4. Developmental Theory – Erik Erikson
🔹 Core Ideas:
- Lifespan divided into 8 psychosocial stages (e.g., identity vs. role confusion, integrity vs. despair).
- Personality evolves throughout life based on how each stage’s conflict is resolved.
🔸 Practical Example:
- Adolescents choosing a career path undergo “identity vs role confusion.”
- A retired IAS officer reflecting positively on life shows “integrity.”
🌼 5. Humanistic Theory – Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow
🔹 Core Ideas:
- Focus on free will, self-actualization, and the inherent goodness of humans.
- Rogers: self-concept must match actual experiences.
- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Self-actualization is the peak.
🔸 Practical Example:
- A civil servant helping underprivileged children, despite personal cost, may be expressing self-actualization.
⚙️ 6. Behaviouristic Theory – B.F. Skinner, John Watson
🔹 Core Ideas:
- Personality is a result of learned behaviors from environment (rewards, punishments).
- Skinner: Operant conditioning shapes personality (via reinforcement).
- No role of unconscious or internal thoughts.
🔸 Practical Example:
- A student becomes disciplined due to strict reward-punishment system in coaching.
- A bureaucrat develops punctuality due to consistent rewards.
🧬 7. Trait Theory – Gordon Allport, Raymond Cattell, Big Five
🔹 Core Ideas:
- Personality is composed of traits: stable, measurable units of behavior.
- Allport: Cardinal, central, and secondary traits.
- Cattell: 16 PF.
- Big Five: OCEAN → Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.
🔸 Practical Example:
- An officer high in conscientiousness is organized and reliable.
- A leader low in neuroticism remains calm under pressure.
🔢 8. Type Theories – Hippocrates, Sheldon, Jung
🔹 Core Ideas:
- People can be categorized into types:
- Hippocrates: Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic, Phlegmatic
- Jung: Introvert vs Extrovert
- Sheldon: Endomorph, Mesomorph, Ectomorph
🔸 Practical Example:
- An introverted officer may prefer policy-making roles over public-facing ones.
- A mesomorphic physique may correlate with leadership confidence in some roles (as per Sheldon).
🧩 Comparison Table
| Theory | Focus Area | Major Contributors | Core Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychoanalytic | Unconscious conflicts | Freud | Id, ego, superego |
| Socio-cultural | Environment, culture | Horney, Adler | Social pressures, inferiority |
| Interpersonal | Human relationships | Sullivan | Self through interaction |
| Developmental | Lifespan stages | Erikson | Psychosocial stages |
| Humanistic | Self-growth | Rogers, Maslow | Free will, self-actualization |
| Behaviouristic | Learned behavior | Skinner, Watson | Conditioning, reinforcement |
| Trait | Measurable traits | Allport, Cattell | Traits like conscientiousness |
| Type | Biological/body types | Jung, Sheldon | Introvert/Extrovert, physique |
🧠 Application in UPSC Ethics
In GS Paper IV:
- Use trait theory to explain civil servant behavior (integrity = high conscientiousness).
- Use Erikson’s stage theory to explain challenges in public life.
- Freud’s theory can be cited for hidden motives in unethical acts.
✍️ Mains Answer Writing Tip
Structure a 10-marker like this:
- Define personality and briefly introduce major theories
- Pick 2–3 theories to explain in detail with examples
- Highlight comparisons and administrative relevance
- Conclude with a reflective note on the dynamic nature of personality
