3 Approaches To The Study Of Personality

Burham’s phrase “everyone knows what personality is, but no one can express it in words ” describes one of the biggest problems we encounter in the study of this psychological construct. If we look for a scientific definition of what it is, we will find that we almost have one for each author. Even so, we can understand personality as a construct that includes traits that mediate people’s behavior.

In relation to the study of personality, different methodological problems have arisen. The main ones have been the creation of instruments that can measure it and a clear focus from which to start. In this article we are going to talk about the different approaches or models that have been adopted when researching in this field. These are the internalist, the situationist, and the interactionist approach.

The internalist approach

This theoretical approach understands the person as an active being and a fundamental determinant of their manifest behavior. The main characteristic to study are the personal variables of the subject. Therefore, in this model, the important thing is to know the personality traits of each of the individuals.

Being a personalistic model, we can deduce that it is also stable and consistent. This means that, according to the theorists of the approach,  the personality will be maintained over time and in different situations. In this way, if we can isolate the traits of a person, we can predict their future behavior. From this approach, a multitude of tests have been born that try to measure personality or even its traits, such as the Big Five Inventory (BFI).

Considering current scientific evidence,  this model is often viewed as outdated and unrealistic. At first glance you can see that people change their behavior depending on the context. We do not behave the same when we are with family, at work or with friends. Furthermore, trying to group a subject’s personality into a few stable factors that predict overt behavior is really difficult. The data obtained from the personality tests show us the subject’s self-concept more than a real measure of personality.

Personality is overly complex and cannot be simplified into  mere personal variables. We must do a thorough personality study to really understand the depth of it.

The situationalist approach

Contrary to the previous approach,  this one understands the person as a passive subject and reactive to the context. What is going to influence when it comes to predicting behavior will be the situational variables. In this model, the traits and qualities of a person do not matter, the greatest weight falls on the strength of the situation.

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

Although this approach is more realistic when it comes to seeing the instability and specificity of the personality, it falls into the error of an excessive reductionism: leaving aside all personal variables, since obviously the attitude of a subject affects his conduct. If this were not the case, all people would behave the same in the same situation.

The interactionist approach

In an attempt to unite the two previous perspectives and solve their errors, the interactionist model of personality was born. From this paradigm we understand that behavior is determined by the interaction between the subject’s personal variables and situational variables. An important aspect to understand is that personality is the product of the subject’s interaction with its context.

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

• When we speak of personal variables we refer to the cognitive factors of the person.
• When speaking of situation, we refer to the individual perception of the subject of his context, not to the objective characteristics of it.

We thus find a comprehensive model that overcomes the limitations of the previous two. Now, the problem with the interactionist approach to 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 the context. Even so, it is undoubtedly a very interesting model for the study of personality.