- Published: January 1, 2022
- Updated: January 1, 2022
- University / College: University of Oregon
- Level: Secondary School
- Language: English
- Downloads: 24
Essay, Psychology: Personality For many years scholars and have not come up with a single definition of personality. This is because, authors who studies the discipline, comes up with different definitions of personality. This is as a result of different aspects of personality, which must be featured in the term. Different theorists have come up with their own definitions, which suits the discipline on focus. For instance, Funder defined personality to refer to an individual’s characteristics, emotions and behavior together with psychological mechanism (Funder, 1997). On the other hand, Feist, and Feist defines personality as “ A pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to the behavior of a person” (Feist, 2010). This essay discusses personality in details.
Unconscious, Preconscious, and Conscious
They are considered the three parts of the mind, which influences the understanding of personality. Feud identified the three parts as the measures of the level of awareness of a person. The conscious mind, describes a situation when a person is aware of the present and the things happening in the surrounding because there are various reactions taking place in the brain at that moment showing what is happening (Bargh & Morsella. 2009). The preconscious mind is also referred to as the subconscious mind, which represent the moment you can get information by paying attention. The actions of the subconscious are out of reach by the conscious mind unless one is interrupted. Freud, found out that most behaviors are directed by the subconscious mind. Finally, the unconscious mind describes the moment when a person cannot relate to a past experience due to time difference. For instance, it is difficult for a person to recall the events in the past even though they influence their present.
The three minds relates in the fact that they all show how a person`s personality is shaped by the situation and moments they are in. People might behave in a way not expected, which might be as a result of either unconscious or subconscious mind. It is important to understand the relationship so that we can be in a position to judge people`s actions fairly. We could condemn an individual`s action not knowing she/he is acting subconscious. In conclusion, it is evident that personality is a wide subject that theorists will keep investing for new aspects, thus inhibiting advocacy for a single definition of personality.
References
Bargh, J. A., & Morsella, E. (2008). The unconscious mind. Perspectives on psychological science, 3(1), 73-79.
Feist, G. J. (2010). The function of personality in creativity. The Cambridge handbook of creativity, 113-130.
Funder, D. C. (2009). Persons, behaviors and situations: An agenda for personality psychology in the postwar era. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(2), 120-126.