Personality Psychology

Personality psychology studies enduring patterns of thought, feeling, and behaviour that distinguish individuals, and the structures and processes underlying them.

Scope

It covers trait theory and assessment, the person-situation question, and psychodynamic, humanistic, and social-cognitive approaches to personality.

Sub-topics

• Personality Traits & Processes
• Personality Theory
• Psychoanalytic Theory

Core questions

• What are the basic dimensions of personality?
• How stable and consistent is personality?
• How is personality measured?
• What processes generate individual differences?

Key concepts

• Traits
• The Big Five
• Person-situation consistency
• Temperament
• Self and identity
• Personality assessment

Key theories

Trait theory

Allport founded the psychological study of traits as the units of personality.

The person-situation debate

Mischel challenged the cross-situational consistency of traits, sparking decades of debate.

The Five-Factor Model

McCrae and Costa validated the five broad trait dimensions (the 'Big Five').

History

From Allport's trait theory through Mischel's person-situation critique to the consensus Five-Factor Model (McCrae & Costa), personality psychology has converged on a structure of traits while integrating situational and process accounts.

Debates

The person-situation debate

Whether behaviour is best predicted by stable traits or by situations — largely resolved as an interaction.

Key figures

• Gordon Allport
• Walter Mischel
• Robert McCrae
• Paul Costa

Seminal works

• allport-1937
• mischel-1968
• mccrae-costa-1987

Frequently asked questions

What is the Big Five?

The five broad personality dimensions — openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism — that summarize trait structure.