The Basics Of Personality Theory - 2545 Words

Abstract A theory can be defined as a set of ideas that helps us to understand, explain, predict, and control situations. A person’s personality is often known as what makes them who they are. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a persons’ personality as, â€Å"the set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc., that makes a person different from other people.† Now, putting those two concepts together, this paper will discuss personality theory. There are six major ideas that make up the basics of personality theory. The six major ideas that make up the basics of personality theory are, nature versus nurture, the unconscious, view of self, development, motivation, and maturation. These six ideas can also be categorized into two†¦show more content†¦A biblical foundation can solve the ongoing issue. But how can that be uniform across the field of psychology when psychology is mostly science based and not based on biblical principles? This paper will answe r these questions and give a clear incite on personality theory. Foundations of Personality Nature vs Nurture Nature versus nurture is a complex issue that has been studied for many years (Gibson, 2013). Some suggest that nature is the basis of personality, while others hold that nurture, which is the environment around a person, is the basis of personality (Gibson Smith, 2014). Nature is that of which is inherited. A person has no control over nature. Nature is everything that is genetically inherited by an individual. Nurture refers to all other influences in a person’s life from the time they are born. Nurture can also refer to experiences that a person receives during the course of their life. This complex issue can be best explained as arguments whether certain aspects of a persons’ personality is inherited or learned. Some would say that this argument should be settled by saying both sides are correct. Some aspects of a persons’ personality is inherited and others can be learned. While that it true, the majority of a persons’ personality i s shaped by the environments and other people that a person surrounds themselves in. The arguments surrounding this idea of nature verses nurture are strong. It is a proven fact that certain physical characteristics of