Psychology

Introduction to Theories of Personality

What is a theory
Psychologists have come up with various theories to explain why people behave the way they do and why people behave differently in an assortment of circumstances. In definition a theory is a representation of realism that helps us to value, elucidate, forecast, and control reality. Another definition has stated that a theory is a steer toward the future. A theory looks at the happenings of the past and uses those predicaments and sequences to forecast the future. To some extent a theory is like a map, it shows direction but may be wrong in one aspect or another and can be changed to make it more accurate.

Definition of Personality
Personality has in many circumstances been defined as what makes an individual different from other people. It is that aspect of a persons behavior that makes them unique in one way or another. This characteristic of personality is known as individual differences. When compared, one person could be an introvert and another could be an extrovert. Some people are fixated and others are not. These features define an individuals personality.

Personality can also be defined by the similarities that are evident in peoples behavior. Individuals could be different is the aspects that have been named above but still posses come similarity. When an introvert and an extrovert are placed on some kind of a comparison balance, they possess some level of similarity they posses some characteristics and behaviors that make then alike. Therefore, personality does not only concentrate on the differences among peoples but also the similarities that make them human.

At a different level, personality theories are also involved in the make up and the structure of different people. What makes people work together, what makes them draw apart are some of the questions that personality theories seek to answer. Some psychologists have sort to analyze an individuals personality to come up with a detailed report of what being a certain individual entails.
Personality and personality theories is an umbrella to psychology. This is because personality covers all aspects from genetic make over to learning and development, ethnicity and customs and societal interactions and even about therapy. These features make up an individual and they direct the different ways in which an individual behaves when exposed to different situations.

Personality Case Study  Britney Spears
The assignment is aimed at analyzing a particular case study in relation to various personality theories. In this particular essay the case study is Britney Spears. The essay will analyze various theories by certain psychologists and match them with the personality traits of Britney Spears.

Humanistic Theories
Humanistic Personality Theorists believe in the power of free will. Free will means that each individual behaves as a result of their own will and they are not forced or coerced neither is their behavior as a result of other peoples doings. Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers are well known as the major supporters of this view.

Abraham Maslow is celebrated for his 1943 paper commonly known as the Maslows Hierarchy of needs, where he did a study on a group of people in those early times that he, in his own perspective where self actualized. He came up with a pyramid of needs with the more essential needs at the base of the pyramid.

According to Maslow, the physiological needs which include the aspects of life that an individual cannot leave without, for example water, food, sleep, breathing among others. After the physiological needs are satisfied the next class of needs is the Safety needs which are the needs of job, body, and family and property security. The next level of need is a love and belonging need. After the sense of belonging is achieved the next hierarchy of needs is the esteem needs and finally the need for self actualization (Engler, 2008).

Placing Britney Spears in the Hierarchy of Needs
When we focus on our case study in accordance to the hierarchy of needs, Spears has fully been fulfilled when it comes to the first hierarchy physiological needs. She is content with the basic needs that are very essential for individual life. She does not lack when it comes to the provision of food, water and breathe. This is clear because no where in her biography is it mentioned that she had a poor background.

The next need in the hierarchy is the need for love and belonging. Britney has had numerous issues when it comes to this particular need. When we focus on her marriages, she was first married to her upbringing friend Jason Alexander in the year 2004, a marriage that lasted only 55 hours. Individuals who are satisfied when it comes to love and sense of belonging do not get married and divorced in such a short period of time. This particular marriage shows the manner in which she and her ex-husband rushed into it without any deep thought of what they were getting themselves into.

Six months after the marriage break with Allan, Spears was already engaged to Kevin Federline. They had only known each other for only three months. This indicates the desperation that she had during this particular year. It seems like the only thing she wanted was to get involved with any one in the shortest time possible. Federline at the time of his engagement with spears had just gotten off a relationship with Shar Jackson who was pregnant with their second baby. This scenario leaves many questions in the mind of her funs and her family and friends. It is rash and thoughtless to get engaged to a man who expecting a baby with another woman. Relationships such as these ones do not last. This was evident since one and a half years and two babies later, spears filed a divorce against Kevin plus full custody of her two children.

These series of divorces indicate that Spears does not know what exactly she wants in her life she is confused and not in control of her emotions. A responsible woman ought to maintain her marriage and ensures that her family stays together, but this is not the case with Britney.

Britney is stuck in second hierarchy of needs. She cannot achieve the satisfaction of self-esteem if she does not feel loved and if she does not posses the sense of belonging. This also make her not self-actualized. According to Maslow, the characteristics of a self actualized person are moral, creative, and impulsive, accept facts and are not discriminatory. These qualities are not evident in Britneys Life.

Characteristics of Self-Actualization
Awareness  Maslow stated that for self actualized people, there is a sense of awareness. Self actualization is epitomized by the peak experience. The peak experience means the point in life where an individual loses self and concentrates on an activity that is meaningful to life. Individuals concentrate on activities such playing golf, running the marathon, singing in the church choir among others.

Reality and Problem Centered  Individuals who are self actualized tend to be involved in problems of the society. Issues such as the declining rate of performance in schools, the increasing water and electricity bills among others are among the issues that a self actualized person involves himself with. Take the example of Oprah Winfreys Shows, she deals with all the aspects that in her opinion affect the community and also involves herself with social responsible activities.

Acceptance  self actualized individuals are people who have reached a point of absolute acceptance. They accept the little components that they cannot change, about their personal lives and about the environment at large. Due to this acceptance self-actualized individuals are predisposed to spontaneity.

Democratic  People who are self actualized are inclined into democracy. Democracy means that they concentrate on the value of people in life. They tend to be very careful with their words to avoid being offensive in any way. They also tend to hold close friendships and religions.

According to Maslow, only a population of only 2 of people will get to the level of self actualization. It is unfortunate that Spears is not among the stated percentage. In my analysis, Britney Spears is not self-actualized. If we compare the characteristics of a self actualized person and her personality there is still a lot to be desired. First, she has not yet reached the awareness level. The current news indicates that Britney has a multiple personality. She has been identified in different scenarios speaking in a British Accent. The interesting bit is that after speaking in the British accent she does not remember a thing after she is back to her senses.

Britney has also not been seen engaging herself with the problems of the society. Instead, she has been seen going into a rehabilitation center due to her drug problem. She has also been in and out of different marriages and at some point in her life she lost the custody of the children to her divorced ex-husband Kelly Federline.

Psychoanalytic Theories
Psycho-analytic theorists tend to bond various aspects of the personality and use these components to explain behavior. The initiator of the theory of psychoanalytic was Sigmund Freud and he based his analysis on the physics of thermodynamics. In thermodynamics heat is usually converted into mechanical energy in the same way the mind energy can be transformed into individual behavior. According to Sigmund an individuals behavior is more or less unconscious (Engler, 2008).

In Sigmund Freuds theory of personality, human personality is divided into three components the Id, the Ego and the Superego. The Freudian theory was based on a research of the mentally ill people in a hospital that he worked as a neurologist. The id, in the Freudians structure consists of the gut feeling, which is an individuals intuitive force, it is unconscious. The id acts on the pleasure principle. This part of the brain demands indulgence of the needs as exposed to the environment.
The ego, deals with the hassles of reality. It uses logic calculations to make choices. The ego reacts in response to the demands of the id. It plausibly analyzes the various needs and actually determines which of the needs it is going to fulfill. It works under the reality principle. The super-ego, accounts for what is right and wrong. It is what is known as the conscience. The super-ego adheres to the community rules and the rules that govern moral judgment. Therefore the demands that have been inculcated by the id are fulfilled in a moral and realistic manner.

Conflicts between the Id, the Ego and the Superego according to Freud are the limiting factors toward self actualization and can only be resolved by repression as a defensive mechanism (Engler, 2008).

Analysis of Britney Spears using the Psychoanalytic Theories
In the life of Britney Spears as indicated in her biography, there is a conflict between her id, ego and her superego. Her traits and her attitudes seem to be taken over by the id. Take the example of one of the decisions that she made when she got married to her first husband in Las Vegas. The marriage only lasted 55hrs. After investigations, Britney said that she and her ex-husband Jason Allen Alexander had been involved together, not taking into consideration their likes and dislikes and their desires. This particular incident shows that the id, the ego and the superego are not working together in collaboration.

Social Cognitive Theories
Cognitive theories emphasize on the fact that behavior is influenced by cognitions. Cognitions are mainly defined as the expectations that an individual has regarding the environment and the people that he interacts with. The cognitive processes are based on judgment and thinking.

Jean Piaget is among the celebrated cognitive psychologists. He was a biologist and psychologist and is legendary for coming up with a model of child development during the early 90s. According to Piagets theory there are four development stages of a childs development from the inherent impulses to complex activities. (Engler, 2008)

The four stages include Sensorimotor Stage (Age 0-2) - In the sensorimotor stage, the rational compositions are mainly involved with the mastery of material objects.

Pre-operational Stage (Age 2-7) - This stage involves the mastery of signs and symbols. Concrete Operational (Age 7-11) - In the concrete stage, children learn mastery of modules, associations and figures and how to rationale. Formal Operational (early teens after 11) - The last stage deals with the mastery of ideas and contemplation (Edelman, 2006). If the above stages of childhood development are not met it results in dissatisfaction of the initial needs that necessitate accomplishment before reaching self actualization. (Engler, 2008)

Analysis of Britney Spears using the Social Cognitive Theories
Britney Spears had an early career in singing. As early as 8 years old, Spears was singing in the church and at 11years old, her face was in a television star search program. Her career continued to flourish in the Mickey Mouse Club. When related to the theory by Piaget, Britneys childhood development cycle was built around a musical career.

Albert Bandura was also a cognitive theorist. According to Bandura, the emotional tendencies of an individual and the forces of the reminiscence are influenced by the environment. Bandura did an experiment that is known as the Bobo Doll experiment, he showed a group of kindergarten students a video of a college student kicking a Bobo doll. During their play time some of the kindergarten students were seen kicking and throwing around their Bobo dolls. This is known as the concept of modeling. Individuals tend to act in such a way as to imitate a certain model that they find appealing in their environment.

In her statements Britney Spears has been heard saying that her role models among others are Madonna, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson and even Christina Aguilera. Spears looks up to these models as her form of inspiration and their traits have been seen evidently in her videos and her musical style and performance.

Behaviorist Theories
Behaviorist theorists have explained behavior as related to the exterior stimuli. This notion was developed by Skinner B. F. who put up a model which highlights the reciprocated interaction between individual people and an organism with the environment at large.

In his conception, Skinner explained the reason behind why children cry to be related to the attention that comes as a result of the crying. He called this the response and the consequences theory. In the illustration of the crying baby, the response is the crying and the consequence is the attention that the child gets as a result of the crying. Skinner named this the operant conditioning (Engler, 2008).
Ivan Pavlov on the other hand is celebrated for the classical conditioning theory. In his experiment, Pavlov used dogs. The dogs used to be fed at a certain time and to alert them a bell was rang. The dogs responded to the bell ring by salivating anticipating for a meal which was the consequence of the bell. After a period of time no food was served for the dogs but in the event that the bell rang the dogs started salivating instantly. With this, Ivan discovered that behavior can be influenced by an external stimulus.

Richard Herrnstein added some aspects to the behaviorist theories by introducing the concept of attitudes and traits. According to Herrnstein traits and attitudes can be influenced by external stimuli. He also added that some traits can also be genetic, and others are just as a result of the environment that we interact with (Engler, 2008).

Analysis of Britney Spears using the Behaviorist Theories
Britneys behavior can be related to the external stimuli that she was exposed to. At a very early stage she was exposed to the famous lifestyle and the lack of privacy in her life. Her relations with Madonna were also a great influence in her life. During the VMAs Britney shocked her audiences when she kissed Madonna in an outstanding and very disreputable moment of her career. Her relations with Paris Hilton also affected her behavior tremendously. She was once spotted by the paparazzi with her private parts bear with no underwear. These are situations that only Hilton is common for.

Type Theories
According to this personality theory people are divided into two types. These are the introverts and the extroverts. Personality types and personality traits are different. According to the personality traits the basic personality types also posses other attitudes. This theory was according to Carl Jung. The personality type theory is one of the oldest theories of personality. To understand introversion and extroversion, Jung came up with two pairs of psychological functions perceiving functions and the judging functions (Engler, 2008).

Analysis of Britney Spears using the Type Theories
Britney Spears is clearly an extrovert in relation to this theory. In the year 2002 after her break up with Justin Timberlake, Spears appeared in the news and other entertainment channels due to her profound partying and defiant lifestyle. Her body is also covered in numerous tattoos which is clearly not a characteristic of an introvert. At the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, Spears made a performance nearly naked in the presence of incarcerated snakes and other animals.

Conclusion
Humans are complex creatures and psychologists have gone out of their way to understand and have come up with different theories to explain this complexity. However different their studies are, they converge at one point that is they all seek to understand and explain what make human beings behave the way that they do in different circumstances. Various theories of personality seek to explain why a certain case study behaves in a specific manner and it helps human beings understand and accept each other and correlate. Just as mentioned earlier, just like a map, a theory may be wrong but in the entirety theories help us to find the meaning of life and to simplifier the concepts that could otherwise seem incomprehensible.