4.

How does the humanistic view of personality development differ from the
trait theory view?
Before comparing and contrasting the two theories of personality, let's define the word
personality.

Personality: - is the unique pattern of enduring thought, thoughts, feeling and actions
that characterize a person. It is derived from the Greek/Latin rooted "Persona" which
refers to theoretical masks worn by Greek actors. It is different from character and
temperament, but both are vital component of personality.

❖ Any specific questions psychologists ask and methods they use to investigate
personality often depend on the types of personality theories they take.

There are three main three main personality theories. These are
• Psychoanalytic theory

• Trait theory

• Humanistic theory

Among the above three theories of personalities, let's see trait and humanistic
theories.

1. Trait theory of personality (Dispositional Theory): - suggest the definition of personality as

"a combination of stable internal characteristics that people display consistently over time and
across situations."
Traits- a character pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as asserted by self-report
inventories and peer report. Habitual pattern of behavior, thought and emotion.
This theory of personality makes three main assumptions:
 Personality traits are relatively stable, and therefore predictable, over time. So, a gentle
person tends to stay the same way across time.
 Personality traits are relatively stable across situations, and they can explain why people
act in predictable ways in many different situations. A person who is competitive at work
will probably also be competitive on the tennis court or at a party.
 People differ in how much of a particular personality trait they possess; no two people are
exactly alike on all traits. The result is an endless variety of unique personalities. Trait
theorists are primarily interested in the measurement of traits and they conclude that
personality is described in terms of fundamental traits.
 Big five personality traits: - it's also called "the five-factor model". Many psychologists
believe that the five factors are sufficient. The five trait dimensions can be remembered
using acronym OCEAN for Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness,
and Neuroticism.

2. Humanistic theory of personality

 Suggest the definition of personality as "conscious, self-motivated ability to change

and improve, along with people's unique creative impulses". It emphasizes the
personal worth of individual, the centrality of human values and creative, active
nature of human being.
 It’s optimistic and focuses on noble human capacity to overcome hardship pain and
despair. It stresses that an accurate understanding of human behavior can't be
achieved by studying animals.
 Fundamental belief of humanistic psychology is that "people are innately good and
that mental and social problems result from deviations from this natural tendency".
 The four characteristics of humanism are: Curiosity, Free mind, Belief in good
taste, Belief in human race.
 Some fundamental assumptions of humanistic psychology include: Thinking, Feeling,
Sensing, Remembering, Perceiving and Experiencing.
 There are also a wide variety of theories for humanistic psychology from different
humanism theorists like Otto Rank, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and Rollo May.

As we have seen from above theories the main different between them is trait theory of
personality believes Personality traits are relatively stable, and therefore predictable, over
time. So, a person tends to stay the same way across time. a trait is a permanent characteristic
of a person’s constant interactions or basically what makes us who we are. But Humanistic
theory allows that one 's personality can be simply manipulated or changed by others or by
our environment, for example someone believing that are a generous person but often leaves
a small tip in a restaurant by justifying how bad the service was that they received.

The other thing is trait perspective of personality is centered on identifying, describing, and
measuring the specific traits that make up human personality. By understanding these traits,
researchers believe they can better comprehend the differences between individuals. While
the humanistic perspective of personality focuses on psychological growth, free will, and
personal awareness. It takes a more positive outlook on human nature and is centered on how
each person can achieve their individual potential.