Exploring the concepts of personality theories all through to modern times
Our personality exist outside our conscious awareness. It is mainly in our subconscious mind and brought to light only when we are asked as we want to present an “ideal self”. The unavailability of the personality of a person on the conscious mind is often why we are not aware often times do not know why we do the things that we do and after thinking through it, then we come up with some hypothesis for our actions. We behave and present ourselves in away that we are not even aware of and they are always inconsistent. This is why judging people by things such as the way they walk, voice tone and facial expressions can be misleading in understanding someone’s personality.
Definition Of Personality
There is no definite definition of personality. This is because the concept of personality theory has evolved over time and there several school of thoughts about personality theory.
History of Personality Theory
Earlier Concepts of Personality Theory
In the 5th – 4th Century BC, Hippocrates introduced the Four Humors, which are bodily fluids; blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm. Known as the father of Medicine, he proposed that human health was governed by these fluids. Each humor was associated with a specific qualities and temperament by Galen in 2nd Century AD.
- Blood: warm and moist, was associated with the Sanguine temperament; cheerfulness and optimism
- Black Bile: cold and dry, was associated with the melancholic temperament; sadness and pessimism
- Yellow Bile: hot and dry, was associated with the choleric temperament; anger and irritability
- Phlegm: cold and moist, was associated with the phlegmatic temperament; calmness and sluggishness
An excess or deficiency of a humor was believed to cause physical illness and thus, affects the personality trait of a person. For example: too much phlegm could result in a person becoming lazy. Treatments aimed to restore balance through diet and lifestyle changes and sometimes bloodletting when necessary. These temperaments by Galen remains influential up to today.
In the 5th – 15th Century, during the medieval era, personality theories seemed to remain stagnant as religious and philosophical perspectives such as the concept of body and the soul, and character were being explored.
Building on Hippocrates and Galen, medieval thinkers like Hildegard of Bingen saw personality as influenced by humoral balance, with each humor associated with both positive and negative traits. Maintaining balance led to good health and morality, while imbalance caused illness and vice.
Thomas Aquinas also integrated the humoral system with the christian theological frameworks, associating specific humors with virtues and vices. Maintaining a virtuous personality became crucial for achieving salvation.
In the context of soul and character, Philosophers like Boethius and Peter Abelard focused on the immortal soul and moral character, emphasizing free will and reason in shaping personality.
Astrology played a significant role, with planets believed to influence personality traits. This can be seen in works like Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," where characters' temperaments are linked to their astrological signs.
Building on the four humors, medieval writers elaborated on temperaments, associating them with specific occupations and social roles. For example, the melancholic temperament, linked to black bile, was seen as fitting for scholarly and artistic profession.
Medieval literature offers rich insights into medieval conceptions of personality. Characters often embody specific temperaments or virtues, showcasing contrasting personalities and their consequences. Works like "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" explore themes of honor, courage, and temptation, revealing medieval ideas about individual traits and moral development.
However there are limitations of the Medieval thoughts on personality
- Ideas were often served to reinforce societal order and religious principles, limiting individual exploration of personality.
- Empirical methods were largely absent, hindering the development of rigorous theories based on observation and experimentation.
The Inception of Modern Personality Theory
In the 18th – 19th Century philosophers such as John Locke and David Hume introduced empirical approaches to personality theory that emphasizes on individual experience and perceptions. Both John Locke and David Hume were British empiricists who grappled with the complex question of personal identity, but their conclusions diverged significantly.
John Locke was an advocate for the concept of consciousness being key to a person’s identity. Locke argued that personal identity resides in consciousness, not the body or soul. He famously claimed: "as far as this consciousness can be extended backwards to any past action or thought, so far reaches that identity." According Locke, "consciousness continuum" and it is what makes us the same person over time, even as our bodies and memories change.
Locke is also known to use thought experiments to explain his theories. His infamous "Prince and Cobbler" thought experiment highlights his idea. Imagine a prince's soul transferred into a cobbler's body. According to Locke, the prince would retain his identity because his memories and consciousness remain, while the cobbler, lacking the prince's consciousness, would no longer exist.
Though Locke theories were inspiring, his views were challenged and critiqued. Critics argue that Locke's theory struggles to explain cases of amnesia or split personality, where consciousness seems fragmented.
David Hume on the other hand was believer of perceptions. Hume took a more radical approach, denying the existence of a permanent soul or self. He claimed that we are merely bundles of fleeting perceptions (impressions and ideas) which are constantly evolving with time and experiences and that, there is no underlying "self" experiencing these perceptions; they simply follow principles of association and resemblance. Just like Locke, Hume also uses thought experiments. His famous "Ship of Theseus" thought experiment illustrates his viewpoint. Imagine replacing all the parts of a ship over time. Is it still the same ship? Just like the ship, our constant change implies there is no fixed, essential self.
Hume was also critiqued; his critics point out that even bundles of perceptions seem to exhibit a continuity and coherence that implies some underlying unity. Moreover, if there is no self, who experiences these perceptions?
There are some notable similarities and differences Locke’s theory and Hume’s theory.
Both philosophers emphasized the role of experience in shaping personality, rejecting innate ideas and focusing on sensory input.
The Beginning of Psychological Systems
Phrenology, originating in the late 18th century, was a theory proposing that the shape of an individual's skull reflected their mental faculties and personality traits. Developed by Franz Joseph Gall and Johann Spurzheim, the theory claims that the brain was composed of numerous organs associated with specific traits like music, love, and courage. These organs, according to their theory, would manifest as bumps or depressions on the skull, allowing trained practitioners ("phrenologists") to "read" someone's personality just by feeling their head.
I can’t stop laughing but let’s serious
While widely discredited today, phrenology holds historical significance to personality theory and neuroscience for several reasons:
- Despite its lack of scientific basis, phrenology enjoyed immense popularity in the 19th century, impacting various fields like education, criminology, and even literature.
- It challenged the prevailing notion of the mind as a unitary entity, introducing the idea of localized brain functions – a concept later proven true by neuroscience.
- By linking bumps to traits, phrenology sparked interest in individual differences in personality, paving the way for future theories.
However, phrenology came under heavy criticism for:
- Claims of personality readings lacked scientific rigor and were prone to subjectivity in interpretations.
- Phrenologists used the theory to support racist and sexist beliefs, justifying discrimination based on skull shapes.
- It grossly oversimplified the complex structure and function of the brain, attributing single traits to isolated brain areas.
Ultimately, advancements in neuroscience revealed the flaws in phrenology, leading to its decline in the early 20th century.
Despite its flaws, phrenology serves as a historical reminder of the ongoing quest to understand personality. It highlights the historical attempts to link personality to biological factors, paving the way for more rigorous scientific approaches like brain imaging and genetic studies.
Wilhelm Wundt, often hailed as the "father of psychology," made significant contributions to the field, including laying the groundwork for personality research. Here's a deeper dive into his work:
In 1879, Wundt established the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany. This marked a paradigm shift, emphasizing controlled experiments and objective data over philosophical speculations.
He developed the concept of introspection; a self-observation technique where trained subjects reported their immediate reactions to controlled stimuli. While subjective and criticized later, it paved the way for more rigorous methods in studying mental processes.
On the subjects of structuralism and apperception which he introduced, Wundt's structuralism aimed to decompose consciousness into its basic elements (sensations, feelings, images, thoughts). Understanding these "building blocks" would reveal how the mind works.
The concept of apperception, the active process of integrating and interpreting sensory information. This went beyond passive perception, highlighting the mind's role in shaping our experiences in life.
While Wundt didn't directly develop a comprehensive personality theory, his work laid the foundation for future research such as introspection which was later used to study individual differences in how people perceive and react to stimuli, contributing to trait theory development. His work also paved the way for understanding personality through cognitive and attentional mechanisms. Apperception laid the groundwork for exploring how individuals actively construct their personal narratives and identities.
Wundt's methods, especially introspection, faced criticism for subjectivity and limitations in generalizability.
However, his focus on experimental methods and controlled observation significantly influenced personality research, inspiring future theorists like Edward Titchener and James Cattell.
This post is getting longer let’s continue in part 2 where we explore the works Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Adler theories and the theory of behaviorism.
