Personality

[Ready for Fall 2026]

Modified: 2026-08-03 8:41 PM CDST

• Personality is yet another construct. It is a complex one, however.
  • Whenever we ask questions about what someone is like, we are dealing with personality.
    • For example, is someone honest, reliable, or friendly?
  • Personality is also of interest in terms of theory, and two types of theories predominate.
    • The first type is descriptive theory.
      • Descriptive theories attempt to describe a person's personality at a given time.
        • Imagine them as a snapshot of a personality.
    • The second type is developmental theory.
      • Developmental theories attempt to trace how a person's personality evolved over time, and which events and variables contributed the most to that evolution.
        • Imagine them as the lifelong process leading to the creation of a personality.