Personality Theorists

5. Bandura

Albert Bandura developed the social learning theory. He believed that people learn from other people. Friends, family, and culture influence how we act.

3. Adler

Alfred Adler was a psychoanalyst. He agreed that sexual impulses were important, but did not think they were the most important. Adler believed that the most important impulse was to overcome feelings of inferiority.

7. Maslow

Another humanist, Abraham Maslow thought that the most important part of personality was self-actualization, our inner drive to grow, similar to Roger's ideal self. The self-actualizing person was the best developed according to Maslow.

2. Jung

Carl Jung was also a psychoanalyst. He partially agreed with Freud but thought he was pessimistic towards human nature. Jung instead thought that the mind also had positive forces and that we all have the potential to either be good or bad. He came up with the concept of extraversion and introversion.

8. Allport

He held to the trait theory and believed that values determined how people behaved. If someone values family over money or achievement, they will not take a raise at work if it means that they will spend less time with their family. He thought that traits could be ranked as cardinal, central, or secondary.

4. Horney

Karen Horney was also a psychoanalyst. She also thought that Freud put too much emphasis on sexual impulses and was a critic of his view of women. Horney believed that hardships developed as a result of bad parenting.

1. Freud

Sigmund Freud was very key in personality theories. He developed the psychoanalytic theory to explain behaviors. Freud believed that the mind was three levels of consciousness: the id, superego, and ego. The id strove to satisfy pleasure and needs. Ego satisfies the id in realistic ways. It operates according to the reality principle. Superego was the part of the mind that is in opposition to the id and is moral and has a conscience. Freud believed that there were 5 stages that were based on the erogenous zones.

6. Rogers

The self-concept is part of the humanistic theory of Carl Rogers. The self-concept is our perception of who we are. Rogers believed this is the most important thing to our personalities. There was the self, who we are, and the ideal self, who we want to be. We are driven by our ideal self.