- Psychodynamic theories focus on the inner workings of personality, especially internal conflicts and struggles. Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis, was a key figure in this field. For him, personality was a dynamic system directed by the conflicting desires of the instinct-based id, the rational ego and the idealistic and judgmental super-ego. In a business context, psychodynamic theories are of very limited application because they place too much emphasis on sexual and aggressive instincts and are highly subjective. Although they are seldom used, however, they remain influential.
- Traits-based theories of personality focus on those stable qualities that a person shows in most situations. There are hundreds of possible traits, such as sociability, orderliness, intelligence, shyness, sensitivity rebelliousness, creativity and obstinacy. However, most traits can be traced back to 35 basic, 16 source or even to what are regarded as the five core OCEAN traits: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Because theories based on traits models can use objective measures to examine their constructs, they have multiple practical applications and are often used as the basis for psychometric tests in business settings.
- Social learning theories focus on the influence of the external environment and the effects of conditioning and learning. In contrast to traits-based theories, which stress heredity and nature, social learning theories focus on learning and nurturing, seeing human experience, not human nature, as the primary cause of personality growth and development. As we learn, we alter the way we perceive our environment, the way we interpret incoming stimuli and therefore the way we interact or behave. Social learning takes the concept a step further, introducing the idea that we learn through our interactions with society. Society plays a much larger role in the way we think about ourselves and the world and therefore how we interact or behave in the larger context of society. Social learning theories are of interest in business because they deal with the learning process and the effect of incentives and disincentives on behavior modification.
- Theories inspired by self-growth and humanism stress the private, subjective experience and see personality as an expression of the need for personal growth. Different personalities are the manifestations of differing stages and paths in the quest to fulfill one's innate capabilities. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a particularly influential model in this area and one of the multiple humanist tools that can be used in the development of paths for personal, as well as professional, development.
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