Personality

In psychology, personality refers to the emotion, thought, and behavior patterns unique to an individual.

Through the course of western thought, different theories have been put forth to explain the human personality.

Sigmund Freud broke the human personality down to three significant components: the id, the ego, and the superego. Personality is shaped by the interworkings and conflicts of the three.

B. F. Skinner, a proponent of behaviorism, suggested that the human personality is developed through external stimuli.

Albert Bandura, a social-learning theorist suggested that the forces of memory and feelings worked in conjunction with environmental influences

Gordon Allport delineates three kinds of traits with varying degrees of intensity: cardinal traits, central traits, and secondary traits.

Paul Costa breaks the personality down into five basic dimensions:

1. personality—introverson-extroversion
2. friendly compliance–hostile noncompliance
3. will
4. neuroticism
5. openness to experience

Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers emphasize the basic goodness of people.

Types of personality tests include the Rorschach test, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Myers-Briggs-Type-Indicator, and the Thematic Apperception Test.

See also: Alter ego, Will (philosophy), Dissociative identity disorder.

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The word 'personality' is used to describe a celebrity.