A PERSONALITY JOURNEY – HISTORY, DEFINITIONS AND THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
A PERSONALITY JOURNEY – HISTORY, DEFINITIONS AND THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

Summary/Abstract: The article brings into discussion the history, several definitions and distinct theories of personality, all presented and described in a nutshell. Personality psychology belongs to the category of one of the most comprehensive and integrative branches of the psychological sciences. Defining personality is not an easy assignment, and the different answers given by people, theorists or psychologists have found expression throughout history in distinct fields such as philosophy, religion, law, art, politics or science. Each person understands the term ‘personality’ in different manners and, perhaps, this is the main reason why there can be found so many personality theories. One of the most important aspects of each personality theory has to deal with the image of human nature. Therefore, theorists express their personal conception of human nature, which concentrates on the fundamental issues of what it truly means to be human. Sigmund Freud, Carl Gustav Jung, Alfred Adler and Erik Erikson are only several names that belong to the psychodynamic theories which emphasize the unconscious. People’s consciousness can hardly embrace various significant characteristics of personality held beyond awareness. Sigmund Freud is the theorist who elaborated the first theory of personality, entitled psychoanalysis. He explains that the most part of our personality is unconscious and that the individuals’ instincts are merely sexual and aggressive. Carl Jung is well-known for the theory named analytical psychology. He considered the unconscious as being notably important, but in many other aspects he disagreed with Freud. For instance, in Jung’s opinion, there are many other valuable instincts besides sexuality and aggressiveness. Alfred Adler is another famous name who invented another theory of personality, the individual psychology. Unlike Freud or Jung, Alfred believed that the unconscious is meaningless and that personality is not shaped by instincts at all.

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