Introduction
There are several theories developed by philosophers to understand personality. According to Cervone (2001), dispositional theories can be described as a combination of numerous thoughts regarding the personality of human beings. These theories try to relate the character traits of an individual to personality.
The most popular dispositional theories are; the individual psychology theory and the trait and factor theory. Individual psychology theory, developed by Gordon Allport, is rooted on the fact that human beings exist in uniqueness, diversity and permanence of personal growth. On the other hand, trait and factor theory give emphasis to the application of factor analysis, a mathematical procedure used in reducing many variables to a small number.
This is useful since many traits of an individual can be cut down to particular traits that are used in describing an individual’s personality. One of the major drawbacks of Allport’s theory is that it is not grounded on scientific research. As such it can never be proved and does not explain the unconscious behaviors. Conversely, trait and factor theory embraces lots of research and believed to be accurate. However, it is more suitable to researchers than parents, educators, and counselors.
Description of how dispositional theories affect individual personalities
Dispositional theories help in understanding the diverse personality elements amongst individuals. The way an individual respond to different situations is based on his or her attitudes, feelings, perceptions, interests and other sensations. Dispositional theories explain how these behaviors are portrayed in different individuals.
Primarily, the individual personality theory undertakes that different individuals have varied kinds of behaviors. Despite the fact that a group of persons may seem to have the same characters, each person portrays certain distinctive attributes. For example, different individuals have different views regarding life. While some people may have optimistic perceptions about life others may be cynical.
Gordon Allport assumes that dispositional features of an individual appear as traits and causes of personality. According to the theory, some character traits of an individual are cardinal, which means that they can be observed by everybody and are not concealed. Nonetheless, some behaviors are more elusive and may be observed in some situations only, like when an individual is stressed (Feist & Feist, 2009).
The trait and factor theory assumes that there are predetermined numbers of character attributes in an individual that can be detected, measured, and assessed. These personalities enable an individual to perform his responsibilities to a society, especially in allowing a personality to be conveyed through his or her characters, like in a profession.
For instance, if an individual has the qualities of an extroverted instinctive type, he or she may discover that such characters enable him to work successfully as a comedian, educator or public figure. These individualities, being a crucial element of disposition theory, tend to be persistent during whole their lives.
The trait and character theory clarifies that gratification will always be high provided that the profession or activity of an individual matches the characteristic traits or personality of the individual involved. Dispositional aspects are those that are distinctive to a person and which every person portrays in different situations and in different organizations. These features are habitually viewed as part of a person’s behavior or personality.Different persons have distinctive mannerisms that influence their characters and therefore personality.
References
Cervone, D. (2001). Social Cognitive of personality assessment. Retrieved from http://ivizlab.sfu.ca/arya/Papers/Others/Social-Cognitive%20Theory%20of%20Personality%20Assessment.pdf
Feist, J., &Feist, G. (2009). Theories of personality (7th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.