Title: Introduction to Personality | Boundless Psychology
Headings: Introduction to Personality
Introduction to Personality
Defining Personality
Learning Objectives
Key Takeaways
Key Points
Key Terms
Early Philosophical Roots
Approaches to Studying Personality
Genetics, the Brain, and Personality
Learning Objectives
Key Takeaways
Key Points
Key Terms
The Biological Perspective on Personality
Temperament
Genetics and Personality
The Brain and Personality
Phineas Gage: A Case Study
Strengths of the Biological Perspective
Limitations of the Biological Perspective
Influences of Culture and Gender on Personality
Learning Objectives
Key Takeaways
Key Points
Key Terms
Culture and Personality
Gender and Personality
Approaches to Studying Personality in a Cultural Context

Content: Introduction to Personality | Boundless Psychology
Introduction to Personality
Defining Personality
Personality is the unique combination of patterns that influence behavior, thought, motivation, and emotion in a human being. Learning Objectives
Trace the history of the field of personality psychology
Key Takeaways
Key Points
Personality is the combination of behavior, emotion, motivation, and thought patterns that define an individual. Personality psychology attempts to study similarities and differences in these patterns among different people and groups. The study of personality began with Hippocrates’ theory of humorism, which argued that personality traits are based on four separate temperaments associated with four fluids (“ humors ”) of the body. Modern personality psychology is heavily influenced by these early philosophical roots and attempts to identify which components—such as free will, heredity, or universality—are most influential in shaping human personality. There are many approaches to the modern psychological study of personality, including the psychodynamic, neo-Freudian, learning, humanistic, biological, trait, and cultural perspectives. Key Terms
humor: In an old usage, one of four fluids that were believed to control the health and mood of the human body. psychodynamic: An approach to psychology that emphasizes the systematic study of the unconscious psychological forces that underlie human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how these might relate to early experience.