3 Types Of Approaches To The Study Of Personality

The phrase Burham,  “Everyone knows what is personality, but no one can express it with words” , describes one of the biggest problems we encounter when studying this psychological concept. Hence, there are different approaches to the study of personality.

If we look for a scientific definition, we will find that we have one for each author. Even so, we can understand personality as a concept that includes characteristics that mediate people’s behavior.

In an attempt to study it, different methodological problems arose. One of the main ones was the creation of instruments that could measure it from a clear and objective focus. In this article, we will talk about the different approaches or models that have been adopted for research in this field. They are: internalist, situationist and interactionist approach.

Three Approaches to the Study of Personality

1. The internalist approach

This theoretical approach understands the person as an active being and responsible for the behaviors he/she manifests. The main characteristic that must be studied is the personal variables of each one. Therefore, in this model, the important thing is to know the personality traits of each individual.

As it is a personal model, we can deduce that it is also stable and consistent. This means that, according to scholars of the approach, the personality will be maintained over time and in different situations. That way, if we can isolate a person’s characteristics, we can predict their future behavior. From this approach, many tests were created that try to measure personality or even its characteristics, such as the Big Five Inventory (BFI).

Taking into account current scientific evidence, this model can be seen as outdated and unrealistic. At first glance, we see that people change their behavior according to context. We don’t behave the same way when we’re with family, work or friends. Also, trying to group a person’s personality into some stable factors that predict their behavior is very complicated. The data obtained from the personality tests show us more the individual’s self-concept than a real measure of his personality.

Personality is something very complex and cannot be reduced to mere personal variables. We need to carry out a thorough study of the personality to understand its depth.

2. The situationist approach

Unlike the previous approach, it understands the person as a passive and reactive subject to the context. What will influence the prediction of their behavior will be the situational variables. In this model, the characteristics and qualities of a person do not matter, the greatest weight lies in the strength of the situation.

This model is based on the assumption that all behavior is learned. Therefore, the learning processes by which we acquire new ways of acting must be studied. Here is born a stimulus-response approach very typical of behavioral paradigms. Thus, to develop it, an experimental and highly positivist methodology is used.

Although this approach is more realistic in checking personality instability and specificity, it falls into the error of excessive reductionism: it leaves out all personal variables, since, obviously, a person’s attitude affects his behavior. Otherwise, all people would behave in the same way in the same situation.

3. The interactionist approach

In an attempt to combine the two previous perspectives and resolve their mistakes, the interactionist model of personality is born. Based on this paradigm, we understand that behavior is determined by the interaction between personal variables and situational variables. An important aspect we need to understand is that personality is a product of a person’s interaction with their context.

From the interactionist approach, the person is an active subject who observes and builds their world through their own perception and ways of acting. The interaction of the ​​personal variables with the situation in which the individual is immersed is what triggers one behavior or another. Therefore, both aspects must be taken into account:

• When we talk about ​​personal variables, we are referring to the person’s cognitive factors.
• When we talk about the situation, we are referring to the individual’s perception of its context, not the objective characteristics of the person.

We are faced with an approach that overcomes the limitations of the two previous models. Now, the problem with the interactionist approach in the study of personality is that it shows us a reality that is difficult to explore and investigate. This is because it tells us that behavior is the product of inaccessible cognitive factors and an impassable construction of context. Yet it is, without a doubt, a very interesting approach to the study of personality.