Personality theories according to Stolorow & Atwood

This essay hasn't yet been marked by one of our teachers

You can view 3 essays on Social Theory that have been Marked by Teachers

The first 200 words of this essay...

During our life we all develop some ideas about people in general, some terms for describing and differentiating among people, and some rules for understanding and predicting the behaviour of others. For example, someone who sits in a corner and does not talk to many people and does things primarily by himself might be described as having a very reserved type of personality. We describe people in personality terms and based on our assessment of their personality, make assumptions on whether or not we like them. Personality theorists are concerned with the total person and attempt to understand the complex relationships among the different aspects of an individual's functioning.

Personality theories according to Stolorow & Atwood (1979) try to make two kinds of statements. The first statement refers to the core of personality. It is in this core where the theorist makes his major statement about the overall directionality, purpose and function of life. The second statement refers to the periphery of personality. It is at the peripheral level where the theorist makes his major statement concerning the concrete styles of life that differ from person to person.

Within the core tendency of the Rogerian theory of