PERSONALITY THEORIES PAPER

Personality Theories paper



Personality Theory on Oprah Winfrey

Any person experiences growth of different facets of personality during different points of time. In fact, it is the day to day good and bad experiences that form the personality of an individual. There are different theories of growth of personality of an individual. In this project, I will take up the case of well-known celebrity Oprah Winfrey. Based on different theories of personality, I will study the factors which contributed to the growth of personality of Oprah Winfrey.

Professionals have worked on the science of personality development. They have offered the a variety of theories of growth of a personality. The term personality is the product of learned behavior. (Bergland)This means that lots of traits are inborn and many others are learned. Particular traits are learned through interaction with individuals in the society. A very vital factor in shaping personality of an individual is social interaction. After all, man is a social animal. significant theories of personality are trait theory (Allport), psychoanalytic theory (Freud), humanistic theory (Maslow) and social learning theory (Bandura). Trait theory refers to attributes of a personality. Other theories clarify the underlying principle of behavioral pattern discovered in an individual. Psychoanalytic theory analyses disagreement between selfish nature of an individual plus his imbibed human values and ideals. Humanistic theory gives significance to healthy concept of self in a personality (Lehey). Social learning theory considers that development of personality of a person is the result of social interaction.

As it is known to lots of of us, Oprah Winfrey is an individual who is a very successful black American. She has produced many talk shows organized for American audience. Even though she had a tough time with her mother until the age of 14, when she was sent to ...