Dispositional and Learning Personality Theories

Dispositional and learning personality theories have similarities and differences.  This paper will examine each theory, comparing and contrasting them, in reference to personality, behavior, characteristics, and interpersonal relationships.  An individual’s personality affects behavior in every situation he or she is involved in.  Each theory has personality characteristics attributed to them, which will be examined.  This paper will also examine the interpersonal relational aspects that are associated with dispositional and learning theories   Dispositional and learning theirs are both alike and different in many aspects. 

The Role of Personality in Affecting Situational Behavior

Personality is one of the most commonly researched areas of psychology.  Behavior is affected by an individual’s personality.  Dispositional personality theories argue that each individual has a set of dispositions that make up his or her personality and therefore affect his or her behavior.  “A trait can be thought of as a relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in certain ways” (Cherry, 2013, para. 1).  Traits and characteristics are manifested in an individual’s behavior, sometimes defining him or her by the traits and characteristics that he or she possesses. 

Dispositional personality theories are composed of Allport’s psychology of the individual and Eysench, McCrae,  and Costa’s trait and factor theories.   According to Feist and Feist (2009) “In the personality theory of McCrae and Costa, behavior is predicted by an understanding of three central or core components and three peripheral ones” (p. 424).  The three central components in Eysenck’s trait and factor theory are known basic tendencies, characteristic adaptations, and self-concept.  Basic tendencies are the raw components of personality that biological, environmental, or changed by psychological interventions.  Basic tendencies often define a person and his or her direction in life.  Situational behavior results from the underlying basic tendencies of an individual. Basic tendencies are composed of the five personal traits, sexual orientation, cognitive abilities, acquisition of language, and cognitive abilities.  “The essence of basic tendencies is their basis in biology and their stability over time and situation” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 424).   

Characteristic adaptations are personality components modified by environmental factors.  An individual’s personality adapts to the environment, making behavior reliant on the environmental factors present from situation to situation.  “Characteristic adaptations can be influenced by external influences, such as acquired skills, habits, attitudes, and relationships that result from the interaction of individuals with their environment” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 425).  Considering that situations change an individual’s skills, attitudes, relationships, and habits, it is evident that behavior is influenced from situation to situation.  Self-concepts is a characteristic adaptation and is defined as an individual’s view of him or herself.  Self-concept also influences situational behavior, because how a person feels about him or herself shows in his or behavior.  People see themselves differently, depending on the situation he or she is in.  No matter how self-confident a person is, he or she can always find him or herself in a situation that makes him or her uncomfortable or fearful, which influences his or her behavior from situation to situation. 

Peripheral components of the five-factor personality theory also influence situational behavior.  These components are object biography, biological bases, and external influences.  Biological bases suggest that behavior is a result of biological factors such as brain structure, genes, and hormones.  As cited by Feist and Feist (2009) “the second peripheral component is objective biography, defined as everything the person does, thinks, or feels across the whole lifespan” (p. 426).  McCrae and Costa argue that behavior is a result of the interaction between the third peripheral component, external influences, and characteristic adaptations.  This concept assumes that situational behavior influences personality. 

Dispositional personality theories focus on an individual’s traits and characteristics, while learning theories focus on observable behavior.  Observable behavior does not only consist of actions viewed by others but also thoughts and feelings that can be observed by the individual feeling them.  Learning theories are composed of Skinner’s behavior analysis, Rotter and Mischel’s cognitive social learning theory, Bandura’s social cognitive theory, and Kelly’s psychology of personal constructs (Feist & Feist, 2009).  “As an environmentalist, Skinner held that psychology must not explain behavior on the basis of the physiological or constitutional components of the organism but rather on the basis of environmental stimuli” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 442).  Skinner believed in genetic factors, but he considered them to be less important behavior these factors are present at birth and unchangeable, meaning they cannot control behavior.  Skinner believed that past experiences have the greatest influence on behavior.  This theory suggests that an individual’s behavior from situation to situation is a result of the person’s history.  Bandura suggests that “people regulate their conduct through both external and internal factors” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 479).  This implies internal and external factors influence behavior from one situation to the next, depending on the present factors.  However, not all learning comes from experience.  Bandura suggested that most learning occurs by watching the behavior of other individuals and acting on them accordingly. 

Personality Characteristics Attributed to Dispositional and Learning Personality Theories

“In general, personality theories are of two types—those who see personality as a dynamic entity motivated by drives, perceptions, needs, goals, and expectancies and those who view personality as a function of relatively stable traits or personal dispositions” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 529).  Dispositional personality theories and learning personality theories have personality characteristics attributed to them.  Allport focused on the characteristics of a healthy personality.  Allport believed that “psychologically mature people are characterized by proactive behavior; that is, they not only react to external stimuli, but they are capable of consciously acting on their environment in new and innovative ways and causing their environment to react to them” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 378).  Psychologically healthy people must be unselfish, relate warmly with others, a realist, have security and acceptance within him or herself, human insight, and a clear view of his or her purpose in life.  Eysenck’s factor theory suggests “that psychometric sophistication alone is not sufficient to measure the structure of human personality and that personality dimensions arrived at through factor analytic methods are sterile and meaningless unless they have been shown to possess a biological existence” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 408).  Eysenck took a biological standpoint, believing that learned characteristics are eliminated.  McCrae and Costa’s five factor model “became a theory, one that can both predict and explain behavior” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 418).  Eysenck, McCrae, and Costa had similar idea’s with their factor models, but Eysenck believed there were only three factors while McCrae and Costa believed that there were five main factors to be identified. 

Learning personality theories suggest that individual personalities are shaped through learning of different sorts.  Skinner’s behavioral analysis suggested that personality characteristics were passed on to offspring.  “Individuals who were most strongly disposed toward fear or anger were those who escaped from or triumphed over danger and thus were able to pass on those characteristics to their offspring” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 461). Like Skinner, Bandura believed that people can learn through personal experience, but Bandura focus more on vicarious learning.  Other dispositional and learning personality theories suggest that people have little control over his or her situation.  Feist and Feist (2009) suggests that “through a triadic reciprocal causation model that includes behavioral, environment, and personal factors, people have the capacity to regulate their lives” (p. 478).  Rotter’s social learning theory agrees with Skinner, Bandura, Mischel, and Kelly that personality is developed through learning.  Richel does not suggest that people have core or central traits, but believes that can always be changed and formed as long as the individual is able to learn.  Like Allport, Eysenck, McCrae, and Costa Mischel believed that “cognitive-affective personality theory holds that behavior stems from relatively stable personal dispositions and cognitive-affective processes interacting with a particular situation” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 529).  Unlike other dispositional and learning theories, Kelly’s personal constructs theory suggests that personality is constructed by the individual’s interpretations and meaning placed on the situation. 

Interpersonal Relational Associated with Dispositional and Learning Theories

Dispositional personality theories assign people to different categories, depending on the individual’s personality traits.  Interpersonal relationships are influenced by an individual’s emotions and feelings.  Everyone has different feelings and views of the world around them and other cultures.  Interpersonal relationships are influenced by the disposition of an individual.  For example, a person who has a disposition to be calm and relaxed is more likely to have interpersonal relationships with individuals of the same disposition.  Interpersonal relationships are also influenced by past experiences.  People are likely to avoid situations that present the same qualities of negative past experiences.  Meaning, past experiences can hinder interpersonal relations, depending on the disposition of the other person, or the situation accompanying the other person. 

Learning personality theories suggest that personality is influenced by conditioning and vicarious learning.  No matter how people have acquired the behaviors he or she has learned, interpersonal relationships will be influenced.  For instance, a man could be roommates with a close friend and watch his friend be disrespected and cheated on by his significant other, the man may choose to have a certain interpretation of male-female relationships.  It could be years later when this man gets into a relationship of his own, but vicariously learned personality traits will stick with him, and influence his own interpersonal relationships.  Most likely, he would have a bend toward being untrusting or the need for dominance.  Rotter developed a test known as interpersonal trust scale in order to test the general expectancy of trust within an individual.  According to Feist and Feist (2009), “high trusters are not gullible or naive, and rather than being harmed by their trustful attitude, they seem to possess many of the characteristics that other people regard as positive and desirable” (p. 525).  The level of trust an individual has affects the interpersonal relations he or she is involved with.  Kelly believed that “people belong to the same cultural group, not merely because they behave alike, nor because they expect the same things of others, but especially because they construe their experience in the same way” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 560). 

Conclusion

Dispositional and learning theories have diverse perceptions of personality and how it is formed.  Dispositional theories suggest that personality is present at birth and is modified by experiences while learning personality theories suggest that personality is formed through learning, whether it is conditioned or vicarious learning.  Interpersonal relationships are influenced by both dispositional and learning personality theories.  Dispositional personality theories suggest that as the environment influences an individual’s personality, personality also influences the individual’s environment.  The disposition of a person affects the interpersonal relationships that he or she has.  Learning personality theories suggest that learned behavior, both positive and negative, affect interpersonal relationships. 

References

Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of personality (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Cherry, K. (2013). Trait theory of personality. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/trait-theory.htm