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Your unique personality makes you who you are; it influences everything from your relationships to how you live. When researchers study the psychology of personality, they’re interested in learning more about all of the things that make us, well, us. This includes our traits and the factors that contribute to how those characteristics form.
Simply put, personality psychology is the study of how personality develops. It is one of the largest and most popular branches of psychology, and researchers in this area strive to better understand how personality influences our thoughts and behaviors.
Why the Psychology of Personality Matters
We’re all a unique mix of traits and tendencies. How we react in different situations if often heavily influenced by the traits that make up who we are.
Personality psychologists are interested in how personality varies from one individual to the next and in understanding how personalities are similar. These professionals may also be tasked with assessing, diagnosing, and treating personality disorders.
Learning more about the psychology of personality allows us to:
- Build greater self-awareness: Because we know more about our own traits, we can better recognize our strengths and weaknesses.
- Build stronger relationships: This awareness of who we are also improves our ability to interact effectively with others. We recognize that our traits, as well as the traits of others, impact our interactions and relationships.
- Make predictions: Understanding different personality tendencies also allows us to make predictions about how we’ll react in different situations and how others might respond.
- Improve well-being: Recognizing the areas where we might struggle allows us to take steps to find solutions and improve overall mental health.
Understanding personality also allows psychologists to predict how people will respond to certain situations and the sorts of things they prefer and value. That can be valuable when developing interventions to change behaviors and improve wellness.
What Is Personality, Exactly?
So, what exactly makes you who you are? Many factors contribute to the person you are today, including genetics, upbringing, and life experiences.
Many would argue that what makes you unique is the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make up your personality. While there is no single agreed-upon definition of personality, it is often thought of as something that arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life.
Personality encompasses all of the thoughts, behavior patterns, and social attitudes that impact how we view ourselves and what we believe about others and the world around us.
While personality traits often seem like they are very stable, they can shift in subtle ways over time. This might happen through intentional efforts (like trying to stop procrastinating or be more mindful) or after a big change in your life, such as starting a new job or becoming a parent.
Theories of Personality
Experts haven’t always agreed on what makes up personality and how it develops. In fact, throughout history psychologists have proposed several different theories to explain various aspects of personality. Some focus on explaining personality development, while others are concerned with individual personality differences.
Trait Theories of Personality
The trait theories of personality suggest that personality is made up of broad traits or dispositions. The question is: which attributes are key components of personality? Well, researchers have suggested a few ideas, along with attempts to determine the total number of personality traits.
Allport, Cattell, and Eysenk’s Theories
Psychologist Gordon Allport was one of the first to describe personality in terms of individual traits. In his dispositional perspective, Allport suggested that there are different kinds of traits: common, central, and cardinal.
Common traits are shared by many people within a particular culture. Central traits are those that make up an individual’s personality. Cardinal traits are those that are so dominant that a person becomes primarily known for those characteristics.
An example of someone who has a cardinal trait is Mother Teresa. She was so well-known for her charitable work that her name became almost synonymous with providing service to those in need.
Allport suggested that there were as many as 4,000 individual traits. Psychologist Raymond Cattell proposed that there were 16. Cattell also believed that these traits exist on a continuum and that all people possess each trait in varying degrees. A psychologist named Hans Eysenck would narrow the list of traits further, suggesting there were only three: extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.
The Five-Factor Model of Personality
Today, the “Big Five” theory is perhaps the most popular and widely accepted trait theory of personality. The theory proposes that personality is made up of five broad personality dimensions:
The Big Five theory states that each trait exists as a broad continuum. An individual’s personality will fall somewhere on the spectrum for each trait. For example, you might be high in extroversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness, but somewhere in the middle for openness and neuroticism.
Research published in 2018 analyzed studies involving the Big Five and, based on their findings, suggests that these traits contribute to four types of personality: average, reserved, self-centered, and role model.
There has also been a surge of interest on social media sites like TikTok and YouTube, which has helped make classic ideas like the Big Five a part of everyday conversations.
Theories of Personality Development
There are also a number of other theories focused on how personality develops.
Freud’s Personality Theory
Freud’s theory of psychosexual development is one of the best-known personality theories—but also one of the most controversial. According to Freud, children progress through a series of stages of personality development.
At each stage, libidinal energy (the force that drives all human behaviors) focuses on specific erogenous zones. Successful completion of a stage allows a person to move on to the next development phase. Failure at any stage can lead to fixations that can impact someone’s adult personality.
Erikson’s Personality Theory
Erik Erikson, another psychologist, described eight psychosocial stages of life. With Erikson’s theory, each stage plays a significant role in the development of a person’s personality and psychological skills.
During each psychosocial stage, an individual will face a developmental crisis that serves as a turning point in their development. Completing each stage successfully leads to the development of a healthy personality.
While Freud’s theory suggested that personality is primarily formed and set in stone at an early age, Erikson believed personality continued to develop throughout life. Erikson was also more interested in how social interactions influenced personality development and was primarily concerned with the development of what he called ego identity.
Other major personality theories include biological theories, behavioral theories, psychodynamic theories, and humanistic theories.
Personality Tests and Assessments
To study and measure personality, psychologists have developed personality tests, assessments, and inventories. The tests are widely used in a variety of settings. For example, the famous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is frequently used as a pre-employment screening assessment.
Other assessments, such as the Enneagram, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and the HEXACO Personality Inventory, can help people learn more about different aspects of their personalities. Some tests are used as screening and evaluation tools to help diagnose personality disorders.
Gaining a better understanding of your personality can be helpful in many aspects of your life.
For example, relationships with friends, family, and coworkers might improve when you become aware that you work well with others or that you need to make time to be alone.
You have probably encountered a selection of personality tests online (for example, an online quiz that tells you whether you are extroverted or introverted). Some of these tests purport to reveal the “real you,” while others are clearly meant only for entertainment.
What Your Test Results Might Mean
Personality assessments that you take online should be taken with a grain of salt. Informal tools can be fun and might offer some insight into your preferences and characteristics, but only personality tests administered by trained and qualified professionals should be used as formal assessments or to make a diagnosis.
It’s also important to remember that modern psychologists don’t just use pen-and-paper (or online) personality assessments. Increasingly, researchers utilize brain imaging and artificial intelligence to examine the biological bases of personality and to identify patterns.
While figuring out your personality type can be helpful, it’s important not to use these as labels to box yourself in.
Understanding Personality Disorders
Psychologists and researchers don’t just study personality for academic purposes—they are also interested in understanding personality-related problems that can affect a person’s well-being and ability to function normally.
Personality disorders are characterized as chronic and pervasive mental disorders that can seriously impact a person’s thoughts, behaviors, and interpersonal functioning.
The current edition of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (DSM-5-TR ) lists 10 personality disorders:
How Common Are Personality Disorders?
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) reports that approximately 9.1% of the adult population in the United States experiences symptoms of at least one personality disorder each year.
Being diagnosed with a personality disorder can be distressing, but you should know that there are treatments. Working with a mental health professional, you can learn to recognize the difficulties that these disorders can cause and explore new coping strategies.
It is OK to feel worried and concerned about what the future might hold, but remember that you do not have to face it alone. There are people who are trained, skilled, and ready to help you take the next steps in your treatment.
Depending on your specific diagnosis, your doctor might recommend psychotherapy, skills training, medication, or a combination of all three.
Work closely with your healthcare team to develop a treatment plan that focuses on your needs and goals.
Key Takeaways
- The psychology of personality is a broad subject that touches on nearly every aspect of what makes people who they are.
- Personality theories focus on individual traits and the different developmental stages that take place as personality emerges (and sometimes changes) over time.
- By identifying problems people have at home, school, work, or in their relationships, psychologists can better help people develop skills to cope with and manage the symptoms of personality disorders.
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