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11.2 The Origins of Personality

Learning objectives.

  • Describe the strengths and limitations of the psychodynamic approach to explaining personality.
  • Summarize the accomplishments of the neo-Freudians.
  • Identify the major contributions of the humanistic approach to understanding personality.

Although measures such as the Big Five and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) are able to effectively assess personality, they do not say much about where personality comes from. In this section we will consider two major theories of the origin of personality: psychodynamic and humanistic approaches.

Psychodynamic Theories of Personality: The Role of the Unconscious

One of the most important psychological approaches to understanding personality is based on the theorizing of the Austrian physician and psychologist Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), who founded what today is known as the psychodynamic approach to understanding personality. Many people know about Freud because his work has had a huge impact on our everyday thinking about psychology, and the psychodynamic approach is one of the most important approaches to psychological therapy (Roudinesco, 2003; Taylor, 2009). Freud is probably the best known of all psychologists, in part because of his impressive observation and analyses of personality (there are 24 volumes of his writings). As is true of all theories, many of Freud’s ingenious ideas have turned out to be at least partially incorrect, and yet other aspects of his theories are still influencing psychology.

Freud was influenced by the work of the French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893), who had been interviewing patients (almost all women) who were experiencing what was at the time known as hysteria . Although it is no longer used to describe a psychological disorder, hysteria at the time referred to a set of personality and physical symptoms that included chronic pain, fainting, seizures, and paralysis.

Charcot could find no biological reason for the symptoms. For instance, some women experienced a loss of feeling in their hands and yet not in their arms, and this seemed impossible given that the nerves in the arms are the same that are in the hands. Charcot was experimenting with the use of hypnosis, and he and Freud found that under hypnosis many of the hysterical patients reported having experienced a traumatic sexual experience, such as sexual abuse, as children (Dolnick, 1998).

Freud and Charcot also found that during hypnosis the remembering of the trauma was often accompanied by an outpouring of emotion, known as catharsis , and that following the catharsis the patient’s symptoms were frequently reduced in severity. These observations led Freud and Charcot to conclude that these disorders were caused by psychological rather than physiological factors.

Freud used the observations that he and Charcot had made to develop his theory regarding the sources of personality and behavior, and his insights are central to the fundamental themes of psychology. In terms of free will, Freud did not believe that we were able to control our own behaviors. Rather, he believed that all behaviors are predetermined by motivations that lie outside our awareness, in the unconscious. These forces show themselves in our dreams, in neurotic symptoms such as obsessions, while we are under hypnosis, and in Freudian “slips of the tongue” in which people reveal their unconscious desires in language. Freud argued that we rarely understand why we do what we do, although we can make up explanations for our behaviors after the fact. For Freud the mind was like an iceberg, with the many motivations of the unconscious being much larger, but also out of sight, in comparison to the consciousness of which we are aware ( Figure 11.8 “Mind as Iceberg” ).

Figure 11.8 Mind as Iceberg

The Mind as an Iceberg (Conscious is the tip, the unconscious is far under water)

In Sigmund Freud’s conceptualization of personality, the most important motivations are unconscious, just as the major part of an iceberg is under water.

Id, Ego, and Superego

Freud proposed that the mind is divided into three components: id , ego , and superego , and that the interactions and conflicts among the components create personality (Freud, 1923/1943). According to Freudian theory, the id is the component of personality that forms the basis of our most primitive impulses . The id is entirely unconscious, and it drives our most important motivations, including the sexual drive ( libido ) and the aggressive or destructive drive ( Thanatos ). According to Freud, the id is driven by the pleasure principle —the desire for immediate gratification of our sexual and aggressive urges. The id is why we smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, view pornography, tell mean jokes about people, and engage in other fun or harmful behaviors, often at the cost of doing more productive activities.

In stark contrast to the id, the superego represents our sense of morality and oughts . The superego tell us all the things that we shouldn’t do, or the duties and obligations of society. The superego strives for perfection, and when we fail to live up to its demands we feel guilty.

In contrast to the id, which is about the pleasure principle, the function of the ego is based on the reality principle —the idea that we must delay gratification of our basic motivations until the appropriate time with the appropriate outlet. The ego is the largely conscious controller or decision-maker of personality . The ego serves as the intermediary between the desires of the id and the constraints of society contained in the superego ( Figure 11.9 “Ego, Id, and Superego in Interaction” ). We may wish to scream, yell, or hit, and yet our ego normally tells us to wait, reflect, and choose a more appropriate response.

Figure 11.9 Ego, Id, and Superego in Interaction

The ego, id, and superego in interaction

Freud believed that psychological disorders, and particularly the experience of anxiety, occur when there is conflict or imbalance among the motivations of the id, ego, and superego. When the ego finds that the id is pressing too hard for immediate pleasure, it attempts to correct for this problem, often through the use of defense mechanisms — unconscious psychological strategies used to cope with anxiety and to maintain a positive self-image . Freud believed that the defense mechanisms were essential for effective coping with everyday life, but that any of them could be overused ( Table 11.4 “The Major Freudian Defense Mechanisms” ).

Table 11.4 The Major Freudian Defense Mechanisms

The most controversial, and least scientifically valid, part of Freudian theory is its explanations of personality development. Freud argued that personality is developed through a series of psychosexual stages , each focusing on pleasure from a different part of the body ( Table 11.5 “Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development” ). Freud believed that sexuality begins in infancy, and that the appropriate resolution of each stage has implications for later personality development.

Table 11.5 Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development

In the first of Freud’s proposed stages of psychosexual development, which begins at birth and lasts until about 18 months of age, the focus is on the mouth. During this oral stage , the infant obtains sexual pleasure by sucking and drinking. Infants who receive either too little or too much gratification become fixated or “locked” in the oral stage, and are likely to regress to these points of fixation under stress, even as adults. According to Freud, a child who receives too little oral gratification (e.g., who was underfed or neglected) will become orally dependent as an adult and be likely to manipulate others to fulfill his or her needs rather than becoming independent. On the other hand, the child who was overfed or overly gratified will resist growing up and try to return to the prior state of dependency by acting helpless, demanding satisfaction from others, and acting in a needy way.

The anal stage , lasting from about 18 months to 3 years of age is when children first experience psychological conflict. During this stage children desire to experience pleasure through bowel movements, but they are also being toilet trained to delay this gratification. Freud believed that if this toilet training was either too harsh or too lenient, children would become fixated in the anal stage and become likely to regress to this stage under stress as adults. If the child received too little anal gratification (i.e., if the parents had been very harsh about toilet training), the adult personality will be anal retentive —stingy, with a compulsive seeking of order and tidiness. On the other hand, if the parents had been too lenient, the anal expulsive personality results, characterized by a lack of self-control and a tendency toward messiness and carelessness.

The phallic stage , which lasts from age 3 to age 6 is when the penis (for boys) and clitoris (for girls) become the primary erogenous zone for sexual pleasure. During this stage, Freud believed that children develop a powerful but unconscious attraction for the opposite-sex parent, as well as a desire to eliminate the same-sex parent as a rival. Freud based his theory of sexual development in boys (the “Oedipus complex”) on the Greek mythological character Oedipus, who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother, and then put his own eyes out when he learned what he had done. Freud argued that boys will normally eventually abandon their love of the mother, and instead identify with the father, also taking on the father’s personality characteristics, but that boys who do not successfully resolve the Oedipus complex will experience psychological problems later in life. Although it was not as important in Freud’s theorizing, in girls the phallic stage is often termed the “Electra complex,” after the Greek character who avenged her father’s murder by killing her mother. Freud believed that girls frequently experienced penis envy , the sense of deprivation supposedly experienced by girls because they do not have a penis.

The latency stage is a period of relative calm that lasts from about 6 years to 12 years. During this time, Freud believed that sexual impulses were repressed, leading boys and girls to have little or no interest in members of the opposite sex.

The fifth and last stage, the genital stage , begins about 12 years of age and lasts into adulthood. According to Freud, sexual impulses return during this time frame, and if development has proceeded normally to this point, the child is able to move into the development of mature romantic relationships. But if earlier problems have not been appropriately resolved, difficulties with establishing intimate love attachments are likely.

Freud’s Followers: The Neo-Freudians

Freudian theory was so popular that it led to a number of followers, including many of Freud’s own students, who developed, modified, and expanded his theories. Taken together, these approaches are known as neo-Freudian theories . The neo-Freudian theories are theories based on Freudian principles that emphasize the role of the unconscious and early experience in shaping personality but place less evidence on sexuality as the primary motivating force in personality and are more optimistic concerning the prospects for personality growth and change in personality in adults .

Alfred Adler (1870–1937) was a follower of Freud who developed his own interpretation of Freudian theory. Adler proposed that the primary motivation in human personality was not sex or aggression, but rather the striving for superiority. According to Adler, we desire to be better than others and we accomplish this goal by creating a unique and valuable life. We may attempt to satisfy our need for superiority through our school or professional accomplishments, or by our enjoyment of music, athletics, or other activities that seem important to us.

Adler believed that psychological disorders begin in early childhood. He argued that children who are either overly nurtured or overly neglected by their parents are later likely to develop an inferiority complex —a psychological state in which people feel that they are not living up to expectations, leading them to have low self-esteem, with a tendency to try to overcompensate for the negative feelings. People with an inferiority complex often attempt to demonstrate their superiority to others at all costs, even if it means humiliating, dominating, or alienating them. According to Adler, most psychological disorders result from misguided attempts to compensate for the inferiority complex in order meet the goal of superiority.

Carl Jung (1875–1961) was another student of Freud who developed his own theories about personality. Jung agreed with Freud about the power of the unconscious but felt that Freud overemphasized the importance of sexuality. Jung argued that in addition to the personal unconscious, there was also a collective unconscious , or a collection of shared ancestral memories . Jung believed that the collective unconscious contains a variety of archetypes , or cross-culturally universal symbols, which explain the similarities among people in their emotional reactions to many stimuli. Important archetypes include the mother, the goddess, the hero, and the mandala or circle, which Jung believed symbolized a desire for wholeness or unity. For Jung, the underlying motivation that guides successful personality is self-realization , or learning about and developing the self to the fullest possible extent.

Karen Horney (the last syllable of her last name rhymes with “eye”; 1855–1952), was a German physician who applied Freudian theories to create a personality theory that she thought was more balanced between men and women. Horney believed that parts of Freudian theory, and particularly the ideas of the Oedipus complex and penis envy, were biased against women. Horney argued that women’s sense of inferiority was not due to their lack of a penis but rather to their dependency on men, an approach that the culture made it difficult for them to break from. For Horney, the underlying motivation that guides personality development is the desire for security , the ability to develop appropriate and supportive relationships with others.

Another important neo-Freudian was Erich Fromm (1900–1980). Fromm’s focus was on the negative impact of technology, arguing that the increases in its use have led people to feel increasingly isolated from others. Fromm believed that the independence that technology brings us also creates the need “escape from freedom,” that is, to become closer to others.

Research Focus: How the Fear of Death Causes Aggressive Behavior

Fromm believed that the primary human motivation was to escape the fear of death, and contemporary research has shown how our concerns about dying can influence our behavior. In this research, people have been made to confront their death by writing about it or otherwise being reminded of it, and effects on their behavior are then observed. In one relevant study, McGregor et al. (1998) demonstrated that people who are provoked may be particularly aggressive after they have been reminded of the possibility of their own death. The participants in the study had been selected, on the basis of prior reporting, to have either politically liberal or politically conservative views. When they arrived at the lab they were asked to write a short paragraph describing their opinion of politics in the United States. In addition, half of the participants (the mortality salient condition ) were asked to “briefly describe the emotions that the thought of your own death arouses in you” and to “jot down as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you as you physically die, and once you are physically dead.” Participants in the exam control condition also thought about a negative event, but not one associated with a fear of death. They were instructed to “please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of your next important exam arouses in you” and to “jot down as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you as you physically take your next exam, and once you are physically taking your next exam.”

Then the participants read the essay that had supposedly just been written by another person. (The other person did not exist, but the participants didn’t know this until the end of the experiment.) The essay that they read had been prepared by the experimenters to be very negative toward politically liberal views or to be very negative toward politically conservative views. Thus one-half of the participants were provoked by the other person by reading a statement that strongly conflicted with their own political beliefs, whereas the other half read an essay in which the other person’s views supported their own (liberal or conservative) beliefs.

At this point the participants moved on to what they thought was a completely separate study in which they were to be tasting and giving their impression of some foods. Furthermore, they were told that it was necessary for the participants in the research to administer the food samples to each other. At this point, the participants found out that the food they were going to be sampling was spicy hot sauce and that they were going to be administering the sauce to the very person whose essay they had just read. In addition, the participants read some information about the other person that indicated that he very much disliked eating spicy food. Participants were given a taste of the hot sauce (it was really hot!) and then instructed to place a quantity of it into a cup for the other person to sample. Furthermore, they were told that the other person would have to eat all the sauce.

As you can see in Figure 11.10 “Aggression as a Function of Mortality Salience and Provocation” , McGregor et al. found that the participants who had not been reminded of their own death, even if they had been insulted by the partner, did not retaliate by giving him a lot of hot sauce to eat. On the other hand, the participants who were both provoked by the other person and who had also been reminded of their own death administered significantly more hot sauce than did the participants in the other three conditions. McGregor et al. (1998) argued that thinking about one’s own death creates a strong concern with maintaining one’s one cherished worldviews (in this case our political beliefs). When we are concerned about dying we become more motivated to defend these important beliefs from the challenges made by others, in this case by aggressing through the hot sauce.

Figure 11.10 Aggression as a Function of Mortality Salience and Provocation

Participants who had been provoked by a stranger who disagreed with them on important opinions, and who had also been reminded of their own death, administered significantly more unpleasant hot sauce to the partner than did the participants in the other three conditions.

Participants who had been provoked by a stranger who disagreed with them on important opinions, and who had also been reminded of their own death, administered significantly more unpleasant hot sauce to the partner than did the participants in the other three conditions.

Adapted from McGregor, H. A., Lieberman, J. D., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Arndt, J., Simon, L.,…Pyszczynski, T. (1998). Terror management and aggression: Evidence that mortality salience motivates aggression against worldview-threatening others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74 (3), 590–605.

Strengths and Limitations of Freudian and Neo-Freudian Approaches

Freud has probably exerted a greater impact on the public’s understanding of personality than any other thinker, and he has also in large part defined the field of psychology. Although Freudian psychologists no longer talk about oral, anal, or genital “fixations,” they do continue to believe that our childhood experiences and unconscious motivations shape our personalities and our attachments with others, and they still make use of psychodynamic concepts when they conduct psychological therapy.

Nevertheless, Freud’s theories, as well as those of the neo-Freudians, have in many cases failed to pass the test of empiricism, and as a result they are less influential now than they have been in the past (Crews, 1998). The problems are first, that it has proved to be difficult to rigorously test Freudian theory because the predictions that it makes (particularly those regarding defense mechanisms) are often vague and unfalsifiable, and second, that the aspects of the theory that can be tested often have not received much empirical support.

As examples, although Freud claimed that children exposed to overly harsh toilet training would become fixated in the anal stage and thus be prone to excessive neatness, stinginess, and stubbornness in adulthood, research has found few reliable associations between toilet training practices and adult personality (Fisher & Greenberg, 1996). And since the time of Freud, the need to repress sexual desires would seem to have become much less necessary as societies have tolerated a wider variety of sexual practices. And yet the psychological disorders that Freud thought we caused by this repression have not decreased.

There is also little scientific support for most of the Freudian defense mechanisms. For example, studies have failed to yield evidence for the existence of repression. People who are exposed to traumatic experiences in war have been found to remember their traumas only too well (Kihlstrom, 1997). Although we may attempt to push information that is anxiety-arousing into our unconscious, this often has the ironic effect of making us think about the information even more strongly than if we hadn’t tried to repress it (Newman, Duff, & Baumeister, 1997). It is true that children remember little of their childhood experiences, but this seems to be true of both negative as well as positive experiences, is true for animals as well, and probably is better explained in terms of the brain’s inability to form long-term memories than in terms of repression. On the other hand, Freud’s important idea that expressing or talking through one’s difficulties can be psychologically helpful has been supported in current research (Baddeley & Pennebaker, 2009) and has become a mainstay of psychological therapy.

A particular problem for testing Freudian theories is that almost anything that conflicts with a prediction based in Freudian theory can be explained away in terms of the use of a defense mechanism. A man who expresses a lot of anger toward his father may be seen via Freudian theory to be experiencing the Oedipus complex, which includes conflict with the father. But a man who expresses no anger at all toward the father also may be seen as experiencing the Oedipus complex by repressing the anger. Because Freud hypothesized that either was possible, but did not specify when repression would or would not occur, the theory is difficult to falsify.

In terms of the important role of the unconscious, Freud seems to have been at least in part correct. More and more research demonstrates that a large part of everyday behavior is driven by processes that are outside our conscious awareness (Kihlstrom, 1987). And yet, although our unconscious motivations influence every aspect of our learning and behavior Freud probably overestimated the extent to which these unconscious motivations are primarily sexual and aggressive.

Taken together, it is fair to say that Freudian theory, like most psychological theories, was not entirely correct and that it has had to be modified over time as the results of new studies have become available. But the fundamental ideas about personality that Freud proposed, as well as the use of talk therapy as an essential component of therapy, are nevertheless still a major part of psychology and are used by clinical psychologists every day.

Focusing on the Self: Humanism and Self-Actualization

Psychoanalytic models of personality were complemented during the 1950s and 1960s by the theories of humanistic psychologists . In contrast to the proponents of psychoanalysis, humanists embraced the notion of free will. Arguing that people are free to choose their own lives and make their own decisions, humanistic psychologists focused on the underlying motivations that they believed drove personality, focusing on the nature of the self-concept , the set of beliefs about who we are , and self-esteem , our positive feelings about the self .

One of the most important humanists, Abraham Maslow (1908–1970), conceptualized personality in terms of a pyramid-shaped hierarchy of motives ( Figure 11.11 “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” ). At the base of the pyramid are the lowest-level motivations, including hunger and thirst, and safety and belongingness. Maslow argued that only when people are able to meet the lower-level needs are they able to move on to achieve the higher-level needs of self-esteem, and eventually self-actualization , which is the motivation to develop our innate potential to the fullest possible extent .

Maslow studied how successful people, including Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Helen Keller, and Mahatma Gandhi had been able to lead such successful and productive lives. Maslow (1970) believed that self-actualized people are creative, spontaneous, and loving of themselves and others. They tend to have a few deep friendships rather than many superficial ones, and are generally private. He felt that these individuals do not need to conform to the opinions of others because they are very confident and thus free to express unpopular opinions. Self-actualized people are also likely to have peak experiences , or transcendent moments of tranquility accompanied by a strong sense of connection with others.

Figure 11.11 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow conceptualized personality in terms of a hierarchy of needs. The highest of these motivations is self-actualization.

Perhaps the best-known humanistic theorist is Carl Rogers (1902–1987). Rogers was positive about human nature, viewing people as primarily moral and helpful to others, and believed that we can achieve our full potential for emotional fulfillment if the self-concept is characterized by unconditional positive regard — a set of behaviors including being genuine, open to experience, transparent, able to listen to others, and self-disclosing and empathic . When we treat ourselves or others with unconditional positive regard, we express understanding and support, even while we may acknowledge failings. Unconditional positive regard allows us to admit our fears and failures, to drop our pretenses, and yet at the same time to feel completely accepted for what we are. The principle of unconditional positive regard has become a foundation of psychological therapy; therapists who use it in their practice are more effective than those who do not (Prochaska & Norcross, 2007; Yalom, 1995).

Although there are critiques of the humanistic psychologists (e.g., that Maslow focused on historically productive rather than destructive personalities in his research and thus drew overly optimistic conclusions about the capacity of people to do good), the ideas of humanism are so powerful and optimistic that they have continued to influence both everyday experiences as well as psychology. Today the positive psychology movement argues for many of these ideas, and research has documented the extent to which thinking positively and openly has important positive consequences for our relationships, our life satisfaction, and our psychological and physical health (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).

Research Focus: Self-Discrepancies, Anxiety, and Depression

Tory Higgins and his colleagues (Higgins, Bond, Klein, & Strauman, 1986; Strauman & Higgins, 1988) have studied how different aspects of the self-concept relate to personality characteristics. These researchers focused on the types of emotional distress that we might experience as a result of how we are currently evaluating our self-concept. Higgins proposes that the emotions we experience are determined both by our perceptions of how well our own behaviors meet up to the standards and goals we have provided ourselves (our internal standards ) and by our perceptions of how others think about us (our external standards ). Furthermore, Higgins argues that different types of self-discrepancies lead to different types of negative emotions.

In one of Higgins’s experiments (Higgins, Bond, Klein, & Strauman., 1986), participants were first asked to describe themselves using a self-report measure. The participants listed 10 thoughts that they thought described the kind of person they actually are; this is the actual self-concept . Then, participants also listed 10 thoughts that they thought described the type of person they would “ideally like to be” (the ideal self-concept ) as well as 10 thoughts describing the way that someone else—for instance, a parent—thinks they “ought to be” (the ought self-concept ).

Higgins then divided his participants into two groups. Those with low self-concept discrepancies were those who listed similar traits on all three lists. Their ideal, ought, and actual self-concepts were all pretty similar and so they were not considered to be vulnerable to threats to their self-concept. The other half of the participants, those with high self-concept discrepancies , were those for whom the traits listed on the ideal and ought lists were very different from those listed on the actual self list. These participants were expected to be vulnerable to threats to the self-concept.

Then, at a later research session, Higgins first asked people to express their current emotions, including those related to sadness and anxiety. After obtaining this baseline measure Higgins activated either ideal or ought discrepancies for the participants. Participants in the ideal self-discrepancy priming condition were asked to think about and discuss their own and their parents’ hopes and goals for them. Participants in the ought self-priming condition listed their own and their parents’ beliefs concerning their duty and obligations. Then all participants again indicated their current emotions.

As you can see in Figure 11.12 “Results From Higgins, Bond, Klein, and Strauman, 1986” , for low self-concept discrepancy participants, thinking about their ideal or ought selves did not much change their emotions. For high self-concept discrepancy participants, however, priming the ideal self-concept increased their sadness and dejection, whereas priming the ought self-concept increased their anxiety and agitation. These results are consistent with the idea that discrepancies between the ideal and the actual self lead us to experience sadness, dissatisfaction, and other depression-related emotions, whereas discrepancies between the actual and ought self are more likely to lead to fear, worry, tension, and other anxiety-related emotions.

Figure 11.12 Results From Higgins, Bond, Klein, and Strauman, 1986

Higgins and his colleagues documented the impact of self-concept discrepancies on emotion. For participants with low self-concept discrepancies (right bars), seeing words that related to the self had little influence on emotions. For those with high self-concept discrepancies (left bars), priming the ideal self increased dejection whereas priming the ought self increased agitation.

Higgins and his colleagues documented the impact of self-concept discrepancies on emotion. For participants with low self-concept discrepancies (right bars), seeing words that related to the self had little influence on emotions. For those with high self-concept discrepancies (left bars), priming the ideal self increased dejection whereas priming the ought self increased agitation.

Adapted from Higgins, E. T., Bond, R. N., Klein, R., & Strauman, T. (1986). Self-discrepancies and emotional vulnerability: How magnitude, accessibility, and type of discrepancy influence affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51 (1), 5–15.

One of the critical aspects of Higgins’s approach is that, as is our personality, our feelings are also influenced both by our own behavior and by our expectations of how other people view us. This makes it clear that even though you might not care that much about achieving in school, your failure to do well may still produce negative emotions because you realize that your parents do think it is important.

Key Takeaways

  • One of the most important psychological approaches to understanding personality is based on the psychodynamic approach to personality developed by Sigmund Freud.
  • For Freud the mind was like an iceberg, with the many motivations of the unconscious being much larger, but also out of sight, in comparison to the consciousness of which we are aware.
  • Freud proposed that the mind is divided into three components: id, ego, and superego, and that the interactions and conflicts among the components create personality.
  • Freud proposed that we use defense mechanisms to cope with anxiety and to maintain a positive self-image.
  • Freud argued that personality is developed through a series of psychosexual stages, each focusing on pleasure from a different part of the body.
  • The neo-Freudian theorists, including Adler, Jung, Horney, and Fromm, emphasized the role of the unconscious and early experience in shaping personality, but placed less evidence on sexuality as the primary motivating force in personality.
  • Psychoanalytic and behavioral models of personality were complemented during the 1950s and 1960s by the theories of humanistic psychologists, including Maslow and Rogers.

Exercises and Critical Thinking

  • Based on your understanding of psychodynamic theories, how would you analyze your own personality? Are there aspects of the theory that might help you explain your own strengths and weaknesses?
  • Based on your understanding of humanistic theories, how would you try to change your behavior to better meet the underlying motivations of security, acceptance, and self-realization?
  • Consider your own self-concept discrepancies. Do you have an actual-ideal or actual-ought discrepancy? Which one is more important for you, and why?

Baddeley, J. L., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2009). Expressive writing. In W. T. O’Donohue & J. E. Fisher (Eds.), General principles and empirically supported techniques of cognitive behavior therapy (pp. 295–299). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Crews, F. C. (1998). Unauthorized Freud: Doubters confront a legend . New York, NY: Viking Press.

Dolnick, E. (1998). Madness on the couch: Blaming the victim in the heyday of psychoanalysis. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Fisher, S., & Greenberg, R. P. (1996). Freud scientifically reappraised: Testing the theories and therapy . Oxford, England: John Wiley & Sons.

Freud, S. (1923/1949). The ego and the id . London, England: Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1923)

Higgins, E. T., Bond, R. N., Klein, R., & Strauman, T. (1986). Self-discrepancies and emotional vulnerability: How magnitude, accessibility, and type of discrepancy influence affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51 (1), 5–15.

Kihlstrom, J. F. (1987). The cognitive unconscious. Science, 237 (4821), 1445–1452.

Kihlstrom, J. F. (1997). Memory, abuse, and science. American Psychologist, 52 (9), 994–995.

Maslow, Abraham (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Harper.

McGregor, H. A., Lieberman, J. D., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Arndt, J., Simon, L.,…Pyszczynski, T. (1998). Terror management and aggression: Evidence that mortality salience motivates aggression against worldview-threatening others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74 (3), 590–605.

Newman, L. S., Duff, K. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). A new look at defensive projection: Thought suppression, accessibility, and biased person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72 (5), 980–1001.

Prochaska, J. O., & Norcross, J. C. (2007). Systems of psychotherapy: A transtheoretical analysis (6th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole; Yalom, I. (1995). Introduction. In C. Rogers, A way of being . (1980). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.

Roudinesco, E. (2003). Why psychoanalysis? New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55 (1), 5–14.

Strauman, T. J., & Higgins, E. T. (1988). Self-discrepancies as predictors of vulnerability to distinct syndromes of chronic emotional distress. Journal of Personality, 56 (4), 685–707.

Taylor, E. (2009). The mystery of personality: A history of psychodynamic theories . New York, NY: Springer Science + Business Media.

Introduction to Psychology Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Write an Essay About a Famous Person in History

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This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA . Emily Listmann is a private tutor in San Carlos, California. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 88,159 times.

There are lots of things to think about when writing a paper about a famous person from history. Your teacher may have given you this assignment with exact instructions on who to write about and what information to include, or they may have just asked you to write about someone from history that you admire without telling you exactly what information to include. When writing the essay, take your time and rely on good information that you have collected from books and respected internet resources. Don’t underestimate the time you will need to edit your essay in order to have a final product that you can feel proud of.

Preparing to Write Your Essay

Step 1 Read the assignment carefully.

  • Should you choose your person or has one been assigned?
  • Does your teacher want you to use a citation style? For example, they may want you to use the MLA format or maybe they want you to use Chicago Style. [1] X Research source If your teacher says they don't care, then there's nothing to worry about, but make sure that you include a “References” page at the end of your essay. On this page, you should include all of the different websites, books, and/or magazines that you used to write the essay.
  • Is there a word limit? Does your teacher require a specific font or font size? Should you double-space the essay? If you're not sure, ask you teacher.

Step 2 Choose a person that did a lot in their life.

  • Try to think about the things you know the person has done. Did they live a pretty normal life, but did one really cool thing? A person who was more or less “normal” could be harder to write about if your teacher wants a ten page essay. For example, although Adolf Hitler was not in any way an admirable human being, writing a historical essay about his life would be pretty easy because he did a lot of different things.
  • On the other hand, if there is a historical figure you are really interested in, you will have a good time researching and writing about your person whether they led very busy lives or not. The most important thing is to choose someone you find fascinating. Try making a list of your hobbies and interests and then run a Google search to find famous people who also had one of these hobbies or interests.
  • 3 Brainstorm a list of questions. Write down all of the questions you want to answer about your person. If your teacher told you what questions to answer, then use those. If your teacher did not, then this is up to you. Make sure you talk about when and where they were born, whether they had a good childhood or not, what makes them special and interesting, what they accomplished (whether good or bad), and why you find them interesting. [2] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source

Step 4 Research the questions you want to answer in your essay.

  • Write down anything you find interesting and want to include. At the same time that you do this, write down the source of that information. For example, the name and author of the book or the address of the website.
  • If you are having a hard time finding information about your person in the library, ask the librarian to help you search. They’re there to help you, and may have ways of finding information that you hadn’t thought of. Plus, if you find the information through the library, there is a better chance that you will find high quality information.
  • Make sure that you understand what is considered an acceptable source of information by your teacher. For example, some teachers may consider it OK to use websites such as Wikipedia, while other teachers may not. If you’re not sure, just ask them.
  • Try to include at least one primary source that was written by the person you are researching, such as a letter, journal entry, or speech. This will help you get to know the person better than you would by only using secondary sources, such as articles and textbooks.

Step 5 Outline your essay.

  • Write your outline so that the information is in the same order that it will be in in the paper. For example, don't put questions about how the person died before the questions about where they were born and who their parents were.

Step 6 Review other essays.

  • Don’t plagiarize though! If you copy someone else's work without giving them credit for their work, this is called plagiarism. If you do find something interesting that you want to include, be sure to give credit to that person. Plagiarism is a big deal, so it’s best to learn early that it isn’t worth the risk.

Writing the Essay

Step 1 Start with the body of the essay.

  • In the body, you will write about all of the information that you found when you were researching. It is the part of the paper where you answer any and all questions you have come up with.
  • Your essay will be more clear if you separate different parts of this person’s life into paragraphs. For example, the first paragraph might start out by explaining when, where, and to whom this person was born. In this paragraph you might talk about what kind of childhood this person had, and whether they had any big experiences that made them into the person they were.
  • In later paragraphs, you can talk about what the person did that made them famous. You might also want to include interesting things that you found about this person’s personal life. For example, whether or not they got married or whether or not they suffered from any mental disorders.

Step 2 Write the conclusion.

  • Don't write more than one or two paragraphs for your conclusion. It should simply go over what you have written in the body about who this person was and why they were interesting and important.
  • For example, you might write, “In summary, Martin Luther King Jr. was a driven man who, although his life was tragically cut short, accomplished amazing things in his life. Though his upbringing presented many challenges, he went on to become a great man who wasn’t afraid to stand up for what he believed in.”
  • In the next paragraph, you can summarize what you wrote about why you find him so interesting. For example, “This great man inspires me every time I read about him. I hope that I too can stand up for the right thing if I am ever in a position to do so, even if it is difficult or scary to do so.”

Step 3 Finish your first draft by writing the introduction.

  • For example, you can say, “In this essay, I will be discussing a man that nearly everyone has heard of. He was a minister who became famous during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s for standing up for the rights of not only African Americans, but for all human beings.”
  • After you introduce your person, you will state what you will be telling your reader about this person. For example, “In this essay, Martin Luther King Jr.’s life will be discussed beginning with his birth in Georgia, to his travels to Germany where he officially began to be known as ‘Martin,’ to his untimely death in 1968.”
  • Don’t give everything away in the introduction. Think of the introduction like a movie preview. You want to give enough information to get the reader interested, but not so much information that they will already know everything else written in the essay before they read it.

Step 4 Write a second draft.

  • Don’t expect the second draft to come out perfectly either. The purpose of the second draft is to fix up any major spelling mistakes or grammar errors, and to see how you feel about the information you’ve written now that it’s all out there.
  • A second draft is what you will give to anyone who has offered to proof read your essay, so make sure that it is easy to read. It is best to have this version typed and double-spaced so it will be easy for whoever is helping you to make notes on things you can improve in your final draft.

Editing Your Essay

Step 1 Ask someone to proofread your essay.

  • For example, a good proofreader might point out to you that your paragraph about the death of your person might be better if you put it before your paragraph which talks about the legacy this person left behind.
  • Try asking a classmate to read your essay. It's a win-win for both of you because you can offer to read their essay in return. Meet up a few days after reading to talk about errors and ways to make each of your papers better.
  • If the person has done a good job, they may have a lot of things to say about your paper. Try not to take anything bad they say about your paper personally. They're not trying to make you feel bad, they just want to help you get a good grade.
  • Give them a physical copy of the paper that is double-spaced. This will make it easy for them to make corrections and write notes on your paper.

Step 2 Proofread the essay on your own.

  • Make notes as you read in a bright colored pen on a physical copy of your paper.
  • Read your paper twice. The first time, focus on what you've written, and don't look for spelling mistakes or other grammar errors. While you're reading think about whether it is easy to follow and whether or not it makes sense. This will be the time to consider rearranging any information, adding anything extra, or removing anything that doesn't seem important.
  • Read through the article a second time to check for grammar and spelling issues. Mark any misspelled words or typos, and make a note of any awkward sentences that you want to go back and change.

Step 3 Read the essay backwards.

  • You should also read the essay out loud. Reading the essay out loud will help you find sentences that sound strange.

Step 4 Type your final draft.

  • Make sure to follow any instructions your teacher has given you about how to format the document. For example, with regard to font, font size, and line spacing.
  • By now, you should feel confident that you have a well-written paper. If you still feel unsure, you can ask a different person to read your essay to reassure yourself that you have caught any mistakes.
  • If your teacher said they don’t care about the formatting, then stick to the defaults of your word processing program. Generally, it is a good idea to stick to font size 12 and a standard font such as Times New Roman. To make your paper easier to read, consider changing the line spacing to 1.5 or 2, unless your teacher has said not to do this.
  • Your teacher probably expects you to turn in a typed copy of your essay. Unless your teacher has specifically asked for handwritten papers make sure you turn in a neat, typed copy.

Community Q&A

Community Answer

  • Don’t put off writing your essay. As soon as you receive the assignment you can start thinking about who you want to write about and begin writing your essay outline. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Keep in mind the due date. Write down the due date in your calendar, and make sure that you hand your paper in on time. Your teacher may not accept it if is late, which means you’ve wasted a lot of time and energy for nothing. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • For some people, it can be helpful to hand write the first draft. If you are having a hard time getting started at the computer, then try switching to paper and pen to get past your initial writer’s block. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

essay about a historical personality

  • Never ever plagiarize or copy someone else’s work without giving them credit for what they have written. Plagiarizing someone else’s work can get you into big trouble at school. If you do find something that someone else wrote and want to include it in your essay, then you can do this, but be sure to cite your sources in the format required by your teacher. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
  • Don't pay someone to write your paper for you. There are many websites online where you can supposedly pay someone to write your essay for money. Don’t try it. There is a good chance you will get caught and the website may or may not be a scam. If it is a scam you will have wasted your money and still have to write the essay yourself. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1

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Write an Essay

  • ↑ https://libguides.brown.edu/citations/styles
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/brainstorming/
  • ↑ http://history.rutgers.edu/component/content/article?id=106:writing-historical-essays-a-guide-for-undergraduates
  • ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/essay-outline/
  • ↑ http://www.slideshare.net/alinaemma/writing-an-effective-essay-or-speech-about-an-outstandng-or-a-famous-person-a-guide-for-speaking-and-writing-exercises-on-speaking-and-writing
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/introductions/
  • ↑ https://ualr.edu/writingcenter/tips-for-effective-proofreading/
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
  • ↑ http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Proofreading.html

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William Bradford’s personality Essay

William Bradford was born to an influential and wealthy English family in 1590. In his childhood, Bradford had to endure the loss of several of his close family members. His father died when he was barely a year old and his mother died when he was seven years of age.

It is claimed that his lack of close family bonds may have led to the development of his determined personality later in life. For example, his joining the nonconformist religious group, which would later be referred to as the Pilgrims, may have resulted from this. Throughout his life, Bradford exhibited a resolute personality in what he believed in.

Since both his parents had passed away, Bradford went to stay with his uncles who had the intention of him helping them on their farm. However, because of his sickness he was unable to work and turned to reading spiritual books. This also played a critical role in the development of his intellectual inquisitiveness and his ultimate liking of the Separatist congregation.

When Bradford was twelve years old, a friend introduced him to a separatist congregation who believed that the Church of England needed strict reforms so as to do away with every vestige practice of the Catholic church. Consequently, in search of religious freedom, the group, together with Bradford, relocated to Holland in August 1608 (Doherty, 26).

After living there for about eleven years, the Separatists, with the assistance of Bradford, planned for the Mayflower’s voyage to America in 1620. In order to restructure the movement into a political body, he assisted in the formulation of the Mayflower Compact en route to the New World. Upon arrival, he assisted in choosing the best site for the establishment of the colony.

One year after arrival, he was unanimously given the responsibility of serving as the colony’s governor (Bradford and Davis, 10). He held that position for thirty years between 1621 and 1656. “His remarkable tact, honesty, and political ability proved indispensable in assuring the colony’s survival, and he helped avert numerous potential disasters.

He was instrumental in establishing and fostering the principles of self-government and religious freedom that characterized later American colonial government” (“Mayflower Compact,” para. 2). The success he had in the leadership position was largely due to his resolute personality.

Even though Bradford did not have adequate training in formal education, he had a native literary capability that made him write a number of books. His most renowned literary work is Of Plymouth Plantation , which was an elaborate description in manuscript form of the events that took place in the early years of the establishment of the Colony.

The book was published in 1865, two hundred years after his death. Received well by his contemporaries, the book demonstrates his determined confidence in the Pilgrim Mission (Bradford and Morison, 3).

Besides this, he also wrote poems, which mostly criticized the self-interest of the new generation. Bradford’s Dialogues , written in the form of conversations between the old and the young people, are a dramatization of his thoughts concerning the differences between the old and the new generation.

In conclusion, Bradford demonstrated a resolute personality throughout his life. He was part of the persecuted separatist congregation who fought for religious freedom. His position as one of the longest serving Plymouth governors was successful because of his unwavering character traits. In addition, his literary works also testify of this.

Works Cited

Bradford, William, and Davis, William T. Bradford’s history of Plymouth Plantation, 1606-1646. Chestnut Hill, Mass. :Elibron Classics, 2005. Print.

Bradford, William, and Morison, Samuel E. Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647 . New York : Knopf, 2006. Print.

Doherty, Kieran, William Bradford: rock of Plymouth. Brookfield, Conn. : Twenty-First Century Books, 1999. Print.

“Mayflower Compact.” C-Span . American Writers. 2010. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2018, May 16). William Bradford's personality. https://ivypanda.com/essays/william-bradfords-personality/

"William Bradford's personality." IvyPanda , 16 May 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/william-bradfords-personality/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'William Bradford's personality'. 16 May.

IvyPanda . 2018. "William Bradford's personality." May 16, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/william-bradfords-personality/.

1. IvyPanda . "William Bradford's personality." May 16, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/william-bradfords-personality/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "William Bradford's personality." May 16, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/william-bradfords-personality/.

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  • William Bradford as a Founder of American Ideals
  • William Bradford’s Hardships in “Of Plymouth Plantation”
  • William Bradford as a Colonial American Writer
  • Cultural Consequences of the US Slavery: 1620-1870
  • The "After the Mayflower: We Shall Remain" Documentary
  • After the Mayflower and Tecumseh’s Vision
  • Mark Bradford on Reimagine Modernist Art
  • American Dream of Early Settlers
  • Bradford City's Development: Linkage Fees
  • “Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times” by Morris Rossabi
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Theories of Personality: Hans Eysenck, Gordon Allport & Raymond Cattell

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, Ph.D., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years experience of working in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

On This Page:

Key Takeaways

  • Personality tests date back to the 18th century, when phrenology, measuring bumps on the skull, and physiognomy, analyzing a person’s outer appearance, were used to assess personality (Goldstein & Hershen, 2000).
  • Beginning in the late 19th century, Sir Francis Galton, a British polymath (an expert in many fields) estimated the number of adjectives in the English dictionary that described personality. Louis Leon Thurstone eventually refined the list to 60 words, and through analyzing roughly 1,300 participants, the list was reduced again to seven common factors (Goldberg, 1993).
  • Similarly, British-American psychologist Raymond Cattell developed a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, a 185 multiple-choice self-report questionnaire used to measure personality in both clinical and non-clinical settings.
  • In the 1980s, after an almost four-decade-long hiatus, Lewis Goldberg and colleagues (1980) revived Ernest Tupes and Raymond Christal’s (1961) exploration of five major personality traits : openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (commonly abbreviated as the acronym OCEAN).
  • This new model significantly contributed to the wide acceptance and increased popularity the five-factor model received.

What is this thing we call personality? Consider the following definitions, what do they have in common?

“Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristics behavior and thought” (Allport, 1961, p. 28). “The characteristics or blend of characteristics that make a person unique” (Weinberg & Gould, 1999).

Both definitions emphasize the uniqueness of the individual and consequently adopt an idiographic view.

The idiographic view assumes that each person has a unique psychological structure and that some traits are possessed by only one person; and that there are times when it is impossible to compare one person with others. It tends to use case studies for information gathering.

The nomothetic view, on the other hand, emphasizes comparability among individuals. This viewpoint sees traits as having the same psychological meaning in everyone.

This approach tends to use self-report personality questions, factor analysis, etc. People differ in their positions along a continuum in the same set of traits.

We must also consider the influence and interaction of nature (biology, genetics, etc.) and nurture (the environment, upbringing) with respect to personality development.

Trait theories of personality imply that personality is biologically based, whereas state theories, such as Bandura’s (1977) Social Learning Theory , emphasize the role of nurture and environmental influence.

Sigmund Freud’s psychodynamic theory of personality assumes there is an interaction between nature (innate instincts) and nurture (parental influences).

Trait Approach to Personality

This approach assumes behavior is determined by relatively stable traits, the fundamental units of one’s personality.

Traits predispose one to act in a certain way, regardless of the situation. This means that traits should remain consistent across situations and over time, but may vary between individuals.

It is presumed that individuals differ in their traits due to genetic differences.

These theories are sometimes referred to as psychometric theories, because of their emphasis on measuring personality by using psychometric tests. Trait scores are continuous (quantitative) variables. A person is given a numeric score to indicate how much of a trait they possess.

Eysenck’s Personality Theory

Eysenck (1952, 1967, 1982) proposed a theory of personality based on biological factors, arguing that individuals inherit a type of nervous system that affects their ability to learn and adapt to the environment.

During the 1940s, Eysenck was working at the Maudsley psychiatric hospital in London. His job was to make an initial assessment of each patient before their mental disorder was diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

Through this position, he compiled a battery of questions about behavior, which he later applied to 700 soldiers who were being treated for neurotic disorders at the hospital (Eysenck (1947).

He found that the soldiers” answers seemed to link naturally with one another, suggesting that there were a number of different personality traits which were being revealed by the soldier’s answers. He called these first-order personality traits.

He used a technique called factor analysis. This technique reduces behavior to a number of factors which can be grouped together under separate headings, called dimensions.

Eysenck (1947) found that their behavior could be represented by two dimensions: Introversion / Extroversion (E); Neuroticism / Stability (N). Eysenck called these second-order personality traits.

Each aspect of personality (extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism) can be traced back to a different biological cause. Personality is dependent on the balance between the excitation and inhibition process of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) .

Extraversion/Introversion

  • Extraverts are sociable and crave excitement and change, and thus can become bored easily. They tend to be carefree, optimistic, and impulsive.
  • They are more likely to take risks and be thrill seekers. Eysenck argues that this is because they inherit an under aroused nervous system and so seek stimulation to restore the level of optimum stimulation.
  • Introverts lie at the other end of this scale, being quiet and reserved. They are already over-aroused and shun sensation and stimulation.
  • Introverts are reserved, plan their actions and control their emotions. They tend to be serious, reliable, and pessimistic.

Neuroticism/Stability

A person’s level of neuroticism is determined by the reactivity of their sympathetic nervous system . A stable person’s nervous system will generally be less reactive to stressful situations, remaining calm and level headed.

Someone high in neuroticism on the other hand will be much more unstable, and prone to overreacting to stimuli and may be quick to worry, anger or fear.

They are overly emotional and find it difficult to calm down once upset. Neurotic individuals have an ANS that responds quickly to stress.

Psychoticism/normality

Eysenck (1966) later added a third trait (dimension) called psychoticism, characterized by lacking of empathy, being cruel, being a loner, aggressive and troublesome.

This has been related to high levels of testosterone. The higher the testosterone, the higher the level of psychoticism, with low levels related to more normal balanced behavior.

He was especially interested in the characteristics of people whom he considered to have achieved their potential as individuals.

According to Eysenck, the two dimensions of neuroticism (stable vs. unstable) and introversion-extroversion combine to form a variety of personality characteristics.

Eysenck traits theory of personality

Critical Evaluation

Twin studies can be used to see if personality is genetic. However, the findings are conflicting and non-conclusive.

Shields (1976) found that monozygotic (identical) twins were significantly more alike on the Introvert – Extrovert (E) and Psychoticism (P) dimensions than dizygotic (non-identical) twins.

Loehlin, Willerman, and Horn (1988) found that only 50% of the variations of scores on personality dimensions are due to inherited traits. This suggests that social factors are also important.

One good element of Eysenck’s theory is that it takes into account both nature and nurture. Eysenck’s theory argues strongly that biological predispositions towards certain personality traits combined with conditioning and socialization during childhood in order to create our personality.

This interactionist approach may, therefore, be much more valid than either a biological or environmental theory alone.

It also links nicely with the diathesis-stress model of behavior which argues for a biological predisposition combined with an environmental trigger for a particular behavior.

Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI)

Cattell’s 16PF Trait Theory

Raymond Cattell (1965) disagreed with Eysenck’s view that personality can be understood by looking at only two or three dimensions of behavior.

Instead, he argued that it was necessary to look at a much larger number of traits in order to get a complete picture of someone’s personality.

Whereas Eysenck based his theory based on the responses of hospitalized servicemen, Cattell collected data from a range of people through three different sources of data.

  • L-data – this is life record data such as school grades, absence from work, etc.
  • Q-data – this was a questionnaire designed to rate an individual’s personality (known as the 16PF).
  • T-data – this is data from objective tests designed to “tap” into a personality construct.

Cattell analyzed the T-data and Q-data using a mathematical technique called factor analysis to look at which types of behavior tended to be grouped together in the same people. He identified 16 personality traits (factors) common to all people.

Cattell made a distinction between source and surface traits. Surface traits are very obvious and can be easily identified by other people, whereas source traits are less visible to other people and appear to underlie several different aspects of behavior.

Cattell regarded source traits are more important in describing personality than surface traits.

Cattell

Cattell produced a personality test similar to the EPI that measured each of the sixteen traits. The 16PF (16 Personality Factors Test) has 160 questions in total, ten questions relating to each personality factor.

Allport’s Trait Theory

Gordon Allport’s theory of personality emphasizes the uniqueness of the individual and the internal cognitive and motivational processes that influence behavior. For example, intelligence, temperament, habits, skills, attitudes, and traits.

Allport (1937) believes that personality is biologically determined at birth, and shaped by a person’s environmental experience.

He categorized traits into three levels: cardinal traits (dominant traits shaping a person’s entire life), central traits (characteristics influencing behavior in various situations), and secondary traits (specific traits that have minimal impact).

Allport emphasized the importance of studying individuals holistically and understanding the complexity of human personality beyond mere trait labels.

Adorno, T. W., Frenkel-Brunswik, E., Levinson, D. J., & Sanford, R. N. (1950). The authoritarian personality . New York: Harper and Row (pp. 228).

Allport, G. W. (1937). Personality: A psychological interpretation . New York: H. Holt and. Company.

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Cattell, R. B. (1965). The scientific analysis of personality . Baltimore: Penguin Books.

Eysenck, H. J. (1952). The scientific study of personality .

Eysenck, H. J. (1966). Personality and experimental psychology. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society .

Eysenck, H. J. (1967). The biological basis of personality (Vol. 689) . Transaction publishers.

Eysenck, H. J. (1982). Personality, genetics, and behavior : Selected papers.

Freud, S. (1905). Three essays on the theory of sexuality . Se, 7.

Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle . SE, 18: 1-64.

Freud, S. (1923). The ego and the id . SE, 19: 1-66.

Goldberg, L. R. (1980). Some ruminations about the structure of individual differences: Developing a common lexicon for the major characteristics of human personality. In Invited paper, convention of the western psychological association, honolulu, hawaii .

Goldberg, L. R. (1993). The structure of phenotypic personality traits. American Psychologist, 48 (1), 26.

Goldstein, G., & Hersen, M. (Eds.). (2000). Handbook of psychological assessment. Elsevier.

Hyman, H. H., & Sheatsley, P. (1956). Attitudes Toward Desegregation. Scientific American , 195:35-39.

Loehlin, J. C., Willerman, L., & Horn, J. M. (1988). Human behavior genetics. Annual Review of Psychology , 39(1), 101-133.

Pervin, L. A. (1993). Personality: Theory and research . John Wiley & Sons.

Shields, J. (1976). Heredity and environment. In A textbook of human psychology (pp. 145-160) . Springer Netherlands.

Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (1999). Personality and sport. Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 25-46.

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How Personality Impacts Our Daily Lives

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

essay about a historical personality

Verywell / Emily Roberts

Personality Characteristics

How personality develops, impact of personality, personality disorders.

Personality describes the unique patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish a person from others. A product of both biology and environment, it remains fairly consistent throughout life.

Examples of personality can be found in how we describe other people's traits. For instance, "She is generous, caring, and a bit of a perfectionist," or "They are loyal and protective of their friends."

The word "personality" stems from the Latin word persona , which refers to a theatrical mask worn by performers to play roles or disguise their identities.

Although there are many definitions of personality, most focus on the pattern of behaviors and characteristics that can help predict and explain a person's behavior.

Explanations for personality can focus on a variety of influences, ranging from genetic effects to the role of the environment and experience in shaping an individual's personality.

What exactly makes up a personality? Traits and patterns of thought and emotion play important roles, and so do these fundamental characteristics of personality:

  • Consistency : There is generally a recognizable order and regularity to behaviors. Essentially, people act in the same way or in similar ways in a variety of situations.
  • Both psychological and physiological : Personality is a psychological construct, but research suggests that it is also influenced by biological processes and needs.
  • Affects behaviors and actions : Personality not only influences how we move and respond in our environment, but it also causes us to act in certain ways.
  • Multiple expressions : Personality is displayed in more than just behavior. It can also be seen in our thoughts, feelings, close relationships, and other social interactions.

There are a number of theories about personality , and different schools of thought in psychology influence many of these theories. Some theories describe how personalities are expressed, and others focus more on how personality develops.

Type theories suggest that there are a limited number of personality types that are related to biological influences.

One theory suggests there are four types of personality. They are:

  • Type A : Perfectionist, impatient, competitive, work-obsessed, achievement-oriented, aggressive, stressed
  • Type B : Low stress, even- tempered , flexible, creative, adaptable to change, patient, tendency to procrastinate
  • Type C : Highly conscientious, perfectionist, struggles to reveal emotions (positive and negative)
  • Type D : Worrying, sad, irritable, pessimistic, negative self-talk, avoidance of social situations, lack of self-confidence, fear of rejection, appears gloomy, hopeless

There are other popular theories of personality types such as the Myers-Briggs theory. The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator identifies a personality based on where someone is on four continuums: introversion-extraversion, sensing-intuition, thinking-feeling, and judging-perceiving.

After taking a Myers-Briggs personality test, you are assigned one of 16 personality types. Examples of these personality types are:

  • ISTJ : Introverted, sensing, thinking, and judging. People with this personality type are logical and organized; they also tend to be judgmental.
  • INFP : Introverted, intuitive, feeling, and perceiving. They tend to be idealists and sensitive to their feelings.
  • ESTJ : Extroverted, sensing, thinking, and judging. They tend to be assertive and concerned with following the rules.
  • ENFJ : Extroverted, intuitive, feeling, and judging. They are known as "givers" for being warm and loyal; they may also be overprotective.

Personality Tests

In addition to the MBTI, some of the most well-known personality inventories are:

  • Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
  • HEXACO Personality Inventory
  • Caddell's 16PF Personality Questionnaire
  • Enneagram Typology

Personality Traits

Trait theories tend to view personality as the result of internal characteristics that are genetically based and include:

  • Agreeable : Cares about others, feels empathy, enjoys helping others
  • Conscientiousness : High levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse control, goal-directed behaviors
  • Eager-to-please : Accommodating, passive, and  conforming
  • Extraversion : Excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness
  • Introversion : Quiet, reserved
  • Neuroticism : Experiences stress and dramatic shifts in mood, feels anxious, worries about different things, gets upset easily, struggles to bounce back after stressful events
  • Openness : Very creative , open to trying new things, focuses on tackling new challenges

Psychodynamic Theories

Psychodynamic theories of personality are heavily influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud and emphasize the influence of the unconscious  mind on personality. Psychodynamic theories include Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual stage theory and Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development .

Behavioral Theories

Behavioral theories suggest that personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the environment. Behavioral theorists study observable and measurable behaviors, often ignoring the role of internal thoughts and feelings. Behavioral theorists include B.F. Skinner and John B. Watson .

Humanist theories emphasize the importance of free will and individual experience in developing ​a personality. Humanist theorists include Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow .

Research on personality can yield fascinating insights into how personality develops and changes over the course of a lifetime. This research can also have important practical applications in the real world.

For example, people can use a personality assessment (also called a personality test or personality quiz) to learn more about themselves and their unique strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. Some assessments might look at how people rank on specific traits, such as whether they are high in extroversion , conscientiousness, or openness.

Other assessments might measure how specific aspects of personality change over time. Some assessments give people insight into how their personality affects many areas of their lives, including career, relationships, personal growth, and more.

Understanding your personality type can help you determine what career you might enjoy, how well you might perform in certain job roles, or how effective a form of psychotherapy could be for you.

Personality type can also have an impact on your health, including how often you visit the doctor and how you cope with stress. Researchers have found that certain personality characteristics may be linked to illness and health behaviors.

While personality determines what you think and how you behave, personality disorders are marked by thoughts and behavior that are disruptive and distressing in everyday life. Someone with a personality disorder may have trouble recognizing their condition because their symptoms are ingrained in their personality.

Personality disorders include paranoid personality disorder , schizoid personality disorder , antisocial personality disorder , borderline personality disorder (BPD), and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).

While the symptoms of personality disorders vary based on the condition, some common signs include:

  • Aggressive behavior
  • Delusional thinking
  • Distrust of others
  • Flat emotions (no emotional range)
  • Lack of interest in relationships
  • Violating others' boundaries

Some people with BPD experience suicidal thoughts or behavior as well.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  at  988  for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911. 

For more mental health resources, see our  National Helpline Database .

If you are concerned that elements of your personality are contributing to stress, anxiety, confusion, or depression, it's important to talk to a doctor or mental health professional. They can help you understand any underlying conditions you may have.

It is often challenging to live with a personality disorder, but there are treatment options such as therapy and medication that can help.

Understanding the psychology of personality is much more than simply an academic exercise. The findings from personality research can have important applications in the world of medicine, health, business, economics, technology, among others. By building a better understanding of how personality works, we can look for new ways to improve both personal and public health.

The Myers & Briggs Foundation.  MBTI basics .

Bornstein RF. Personality assessment in the diagnostic manuals: On mindfulness, multiple methods, and test score discontinuities .  J Pers Assess . 2015;97(5):446-455. doi:10.1080/00223891.2015.1027346

Srivastava K, Das RC. Personality and health: Road to well-being .  Ind Psychiatry J . 2015;24(1):1–4. doi:10.4103/0972-6748.160905

Mayo Clinic. Personality disorders .

Carducci BJ. The Psychology of Personality: Viewpoints, Research, and Applications . Wiley Blackwell. 

John OP, Robins RW, Pervin LA. Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research . Guilford Press.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Personality — Origins And Development Of Our Personality

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Origins and Development of Our Personality

  • Categories: Human Behavior Individual Personality

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Published: Mar 18, 2021

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Works Cited:

  • Ariel, Y. (1996). On the Identity of Modern Israel: the Jewish State and the Zionist dream. Routledge.
  • Biale, D. (1998). Eros and the Jews: From Biblical Israel to Contemporary America. University of California Press.
  • Cohen, S. J. D. (2012). The Jewish Family: Metaphor and Memory. University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • Feldman, L. H. (2005). Judaism and Hellenism Reconsidered. Brill.
  • Jewish Virtual Library. (n.d.). Judaism 101. Retrieved from https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/judaism-101
  • Kaplan, A. (1991). Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American-Jewish Life. Jewish Publication Society.
  • Neusner, J. (2003). The Bible and the Talmud. University Press of America.
  • Ruderman, D. B. (1997). Jewish Enlightenment in an English Key: Anglo-Jewry's Construction of Modern Jewish Thought. Princeton University Press.
  • Sarna, N. M. (1991). Understanding Genesis: The Heritage of Biblical Israel. Schocken Books.
  • Wiesel, E. (1981). The Jews of Silence: A Personal Report on Soviet Jewry. Schocken Books.

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essay about a historical personality

History of Personality Theories

The study of personality dates back to ancient Greek, when Plato, Aristotle, and Hippocrates suggested their theories on personality. Through the centuries, their theories have evolved, changed, and have continued to be the base and foundation of modern psychology. Without these ancient philosophers and sacrifices towards the study of personality, our modern discipline of psychology wouldn’t be where it is today. As centuries progressed, many philosophers, psychologist, mathematicians, and physicians have expanded on the study of personality.

Personality theories such as the humanistic, behaviorist, psychoanalytic, cognitive, and psychobiologist theories, have emerged from ancient times and continue to be present in modern times. The purpose of this paper is to present the historical origins of personality theories and how they have evolved and continue to flourish in modern times. What is personality? Personality is the complex and fluid mental processes that each person uniquely posses that influences cognition, emotion, and behaviors. These unique mental processes help individuals when dealing with their environment.

The study of personality dates back to Greek times. Philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Hippocrates had their theories on personality. Plato’s division of the soul or tripartite was based on human possessing reason, spirit, and appetite. Sigmund Freud later based his theory on the ego, superego, and id on Plato’s tripartite. Aristotle also had his theories of human psyche. Aristotle theorized that humans possessed reasoning and the ability to think. Empedocles theorized that all matter was made up of four elements, which consisted of water, earth, air, and fire.

Later Hippocrates and Galen expanded on this belief of the four elements and that humans were composed of four humors. The four Personality Theories 3 four humors consisted of the same elements, water, earth, air and fire. Hippocrates believed that these elements related to a persons particular temperament, which is known as Galen’s temperaments. According to Galen’s temperaments, if a person had had to much earth, than that person would be melancholic. If a person was composed of too much air, than the persons temperament would be sanguine, which would make a person cheerful.

Too much fire in a person, would be related to an energetic temperament. Also, if a person possessed too much water in their body, then that person would have a calm temperament. Skinner, Eysenck, and Pavlov adopted these views of the four humors (Thorne, & Henley, 2005). As centuries progressed into the Roman Empire and the middle ages, the study of personality declined; however, the rise of the renaissance era gave way to the reemergence of the study of personality and psychology. The renaissance gave way to the humanistic movement. The humanistic theory believed that humans have the capacity of ree will and humans have an active role in controlling the way they behave. Abraham Maslow supported and believed in the humanistic theory Funder (2001). Maslow developed the hierarchy of human needs . These needs consisted of physiological, safety, belongingness, self esteem, and self actualization needs (Thorne , & Henley, 2005, p. 467). Carl Rogers also took on a humanistic approach. The humanistic approach emphasized human growth with the environment experiences through self will, maturation, and self actualization. Both Maslow and Rogers contributed a lot towards the umanistic theory. Personality Theories 4 The behaviorist theory is a school of thought that is considered to be founded by John Watson. Frederick Skinner, and Ivan Pavlov, and many others also supported the behaviorist theory. The behaviorist theory emphasized that humans behavior is affected by external events. This belief suggests that there exists a mutual interaction between humans and their environment. Skinner developed the processes of operant conditioning which is basked on stimulus, response, and consequence model (Thorne, & Henley, 2005, p. 380).

Ivan Pavlov also supported the behaviorist theory. Pavlov classical conditioning and was also considered as one of the founders of the behaviorist theory along side with John Watson. Another school of thought was the psychoanalytic theory. The psychoanalytic theory explained the human personality as being composed of various components that interacted with each other which formed a persons personality. Sigmund Freud is known as the founder of the psychoanalytic theory. According to Freud, there are three different components that interact and develop a person’s personality.

The ego, superego, and the id are three components to the human psyche. These three components originate from Plato’s tripartite of the humans division of soul which consist of reason, spirit, and appetite. Freud also theorized the five psychosexual stages of personality development, which consist of the infantile stage, latency period, genital stage. Within the infantile stage, there are three sub stages, the oral stage, anal stage, and phallic stage. Freud believed that early childhood experiences effect an adults personality later in life.

Cognitive theory is another school of thought that has emerged and is a new study Personality Theories 5 of personality Funder (2001). Albert Ellis, Aaron Beck, and Albert Bandura studied human cognition. Cognitive theories focus on how humans cognitive processes shape a persons personality and behavior. Cognitive thoughts, beliefs, judgments and ways of thinking affect a persons personality and these mental processes are studied, evaluated, and altered through cognitive behavioral therapy if needed. Albert Ellis believed that the emotions people have, become their thoughts.

Funder (2001). Ellis developed the Rational emotive behavioral therapy which is geared to helping people understand their mental cognitions. Beck also developed his own therapy, which is called cognitive behavioral therapy. The rise of modern technology in the twenty-first century has offered innovative psychological advancements in the study of personality. Psychobiology has revolutionized psychology. Neuro-psychological studies have demonstrated how certain structures in the brain relate to personality. The study of neuroanatomy, physiology, and sychology have merged into one and have revealed ground breaking advancements in the study of psychology. These new studies have shown researchers the anatomical sites within the brain that are responsible for personality. Researchers have discovered how hormones are responsible for regulating mood and also how neurotransmitters in the brain affect mental processes. Throughout history, there have been many civilizations that have flourished and fallen, the same can be said about psychological theories; however, mans quest for intellectual enlightenment has always survived the test of time.

References Funder, C. D. (2007) Personality. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 197-212. Retrieved February 11, 2008 from ProQuest database. Hoffman, L. (2002). Psychotherapy for Personality Disorder. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 504-507. Retrieved February 10, 2008 from ProQuest database. Thorne, B. M. , & Henley, B. T. (2005). Connections in the History and Systems of Psychology. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Levy-Leboyer, C. (2003). Personality: Theories and Applications. Durham, 56, 507-508. Retrieved February 18, 2008 from ProQuest database.

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Jun 23, 2023

Biographical Essay Examples: Learn How to Tell a Compelling Life Story in Writing

Explore the art of storytelling through captivating biographical essays. Join us on a journey of discovery as we unveil inspiring examples that teach you how to craft compelling life stories. Step into the world of biography writing and learn how to engage readers with fascinating narratives. Get ready to bring extraordinary lives to life on the page!

The art of storytelling has been an integral part of human culture since the dawn of civilization. It is through stories that we learn about the lives of others, understand different perspectives, and gain insight into the human experience. Biographical essays, in particular, provide a unique opportunity to delve into the life story of an individual and share their journey with readers. In this article, we will explore biographical essay examples and learn how to tell a compelling life story in writing.

What Is a Biographical Essay?

A biographical essay is a piece of writing in which you narrate the life story of an individual. It provides an opportunity for you to conduct research and discover fascinating details and perspectives concerning someone. A biographical essay is also a written account of an individual's life, highlighting their achievements, experiences, and personal characteristics. It can be about historical figures, famous personalities, or even ordinary people who have made a significant impact on the world or those around them. Biographical essays are often used in academic settings to provide insight into a person's life and contributions, but they can also be written for personal, professional, or entertainment purposes.

One of the key elements of a compelling biographical essay is a well-crafted narrative. The narrative structure helps to engage readers and keeps them interested in the story being told. A 

A good biographical essay should have a clear beginning, middle, and end, just like any other story. It should have a strong opening that hooks the reader, a well-paced middle that provides details about the person's life, and a satisfying conclusion that ties everything together.

Biographical Essay Writing Tips

Writing a biographical essay requires careful planning, research, and storytelling skills to create a compelling narrative that captures the essence of a person's life. Here are some tips to help you craft an engaging biographical essay:

Choose a Fascinating Subject:

The first step in writing a biographical essay is to choose a subject whose life story is intriguing and resonates with your audience. Whether it's a historical figure, a famous personality, or an ordinary person who has made a difference, ensure that your subject has a compelling life story that is worth exploring and sharing.

Conduct Thorough Research:

Research is the foundation of any biographical essay. Conduct in-depth research on your subject, including their background, achievements, challenges, and contributions. Utilize primary and secondary sources, such as biographies, memoirs, interviews, and historical records, to gather accurate and reliable information. This research will provide the basis for your essay and ensure that your writing is well-informed and credible.

Develop a Clear Outline:

Before you start writing, develop a clear outline that organizes your ideas and provides a structure for your essay. Outline the main sections of your essay , such as the introduction, background information, key events or milestones, challenges faced, achievements, and conclusion. This will help you maintain a coherent and organized flow throughout your essay.

Tell a Story:

A biographical essay is not just a collection of facts, but a compelling story that engages the reader. Use storytelling techniques, such as vivid descriptions, dialogues, and anecdotes, to bring your subject's life to life on the page. Focus on key events or moments that shaped your subject's life and highlight their emotions, motivations, and experiences. This will create a personal connection between the reader and your subject, making your essay more engaging and memorable.

Be Objective and Balanced:

While it's important to be inspired by your subject, strive to maintain objectivity and balance in your writing. Present a well-rounded and nuanced view of your subject, including their strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures. Avoid bias or exaggeration, and ensure that your essay is based on factual information and credible sources.

Provide Context:

Provide context for your subject's life story by incorporating relevant historical, social, or cultural information. This will help readers understand the background and circumstances in which your subject lived and provide a deeper understanding of their life and achievements. However, be mindful of not overwhelming your essay with excessive background information, and focus on what is relevant to your subject's story.

Edit and Revise:

Like any other form of writing, editing, and revising are crucial in crafting a compelling biographical essay. After completing your first draft, take the time to review and revise your essay for clarity, coherence, and flow. Check for any factual inaccuracies, grammar, or spelling errors, and ensure that your essay follows a logical structure. Consider seeking feedback from peers or mentors to gain different perspectives and improve your essay.

Show Respect and Empathy:

When writing about someone's life, it's important to show respect and empathy towards your subject. Avoid sensationalism or exploitation of their life story and strive to depict them in a dignified and compassionate manner. Acknowledge their achievements, challenges, and contributions with sincerity and respect, and be mindful of their privacy and personal boundaries.

Be Authentic:

Finally, be authentic in your writing. Share your voice and perspective while staying true to the facts and nuances of your subject's life. Bring your unique perspective and insights to the essay, and strive to make it a genuine reflection of your writing style and personal connection with your subject.

In conclusion, writing a biographical essay requires careful research, storytelling skills, and a respectful

Personal Essay

My Journey: Embracing Life's Adventures

Life is an unpredictable adventure, full of twists and turns that shape who we become. Throughout my journey, I have encountered challenges, triumphs, and everything in between. I have learned that

Resilience and perseverance are crucial in overcoming obstacles, and every experience, whether positive or negative, has valuable lessons to offer. I have also realized the importance of cherishing the present moment and embracing new opportunities with an open heart and mind. Life may be uncertain, but I am determined to make the most of it, explore new horizons, and continually grow and evolve along the way.

Essay Examples

"The Untold Story of Nelson Mandela: From Prisoner to President"

This biographical essay tells the life story of Nelson Mandela, a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. The essay starts with an attention-grabbing opening that introduces the reader to Mandela's imprisonment on Robben Island and the hardships he faced during his time in captivity. It then delves into his early life, education, and activism against apartheid, painting a vivid picture of his journey from prisoner to president. The essay includes anecdotes, quotes, and historical context that provide a well-rounded portrayal of Mandela's life and legacy.

"The Power of Perseverance: The Life of Helen Keller"

This biographical essay tells the remarkable story of Helen Keller, an American author, political activist, and lecturer who was both blind and deaf. The essay begins with an engaging introduction that highlights Keller's disabilities and the challenges she faced from a young age. It then delves into her childhood, her relationship with her teacher Anne Sullivan, and her accomplishments as a writer and social activist. The essay uses vivid descriptions and sensory details to transport the reader into Keller's world and conveys the incredible strength of her character.

"Rising Above Adversity: The Journey of Malala Yousafzai"

This biographical essay tells the inspiring story of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education and women's rights who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban. The essay begins with a gripping prologue that describes the attack on Malala and sets the stage for her remarkable journey. It then traces her early life, her advocacy for girls' education, and the challenges she faced under the Taliban's rule. The essay includes anecdotes, quotes, and personal reflections that provide a compelling portrayal of Malala's courage and resilience in the face of adversity.

Writing Inspiration

Writing a biographical essay can be an inspiring and fulfilling endeavor. As a writer, you have the unique opportunity to delve into the life story of an individual and share their experiences, achievements, and personal characteristics with readers. Here are some sources of inspiration that can help you find compelling stories for your biographical essay.

Historical Figures:

Throughout history, there have been countless individuals who have made significant contributions to society, shaped the course of events, or left a lasting legacy. From political leaders and innovators to artists and activists, the lives of historical figures are often rich with intriguing stories that can make for compelling biographical essays. You can choose to write about well-known figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Marie Curie, or Leonardo da Vinci, or explore lesser-known figures whose stories deserve to be told.

Famous Personalities:

Celebrities, athletes, musicians, and other famous personalities often have fascinating life stories that can make for compelling biographical essays. These individuals often face unique challenges, overcome obstacles, and achieve remarkable success in their respective fields. Writing about their journey, struggles, and achievements can provide insights into their lives beyond the public persona, and offer readers a glimpse into the realities of fame and fortune.

Ordinary People:

While historical figures and famous personalities may be popular choices for biographical essays, the lives of ordinary people can also be a rich source of inspiration. Everyday individual who have faced adversity, achieved personal milestones, or made a difference in their communities can have compelling life stories that resonate with readers. It could be a family member, a neighbor, a teacher, or someone you have come across in your community whose story has profoundly touched you. Writing about their life can shed light on the power of resilience, determination, and the human spirit.

Personal Experiences:

Another source of inspiration for a biographical essay can be your own experiences. Reflecting on your own life story or the lives of those close to you can provide unique insights and perspectives that can make for a compelling narrative. It could be a story of overcoming challenges, pursuing a passion, or learning from failures and successes. Sharing your personal experiences in a biographical essay can be deeply introspective and provide a genuine connection with your readers.

Researching various topics , events, or historical periods can also lead you to interesting life stories that can inspire your biographical essay. Exploring different eras, cultures, or social movements can uncover fascinating individuals whose stories are worth telling.

Essay Structure

The structure of a biographical essay typically follows a basic essay structure consisting of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, there may be slight variations depending on the purpose of the essay and the specific requirements of the assignment.

Here is a breakdown of the typical structure of a biographical essay:

Introduction

The introduction sets the tone for the essay and should grab the reader's attention. It should provide some background information about the subject of the essay and include a thesis statement that summarizes the main point of the essay.

Body paragraphs

The body of the essay contains the main content and should be organized into several paragraphs. Each paragraph should focus on a different aspect of the subject's life or accomplishments, such as childhood, education , career, or personal relationships. It should provide specific details, anecdotes, and examples to support the thesis statement and provide a clear understanding of the subject's life.

The conclusion ties everything together and should restate the thesis statement differently. It should summarize the key points made in the body paragraphs and leave the reader with a lasting impression. The conclusion may also provide some final thoughts or reflections on the subject's life and legacy.

Famous Personality

Allama Iqbal: A Visionary Poet and Philosopher

Allama Iqbal, also known as Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, was a prominent poet, philosopher, and politician who is regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the history of modern South Asia. Born on November 9, 1877, in Sialkot, a city in present-day Pakistan, Iqbal grew up in a devout Muslim family and was deeply influenced by the teachings of Islam from a young age.

Iqbal's early education took place in Sialkot, and he later went to Lahore, where he completed his Bachelor's degree from Government College. He then traveled to England to pursue higher education, where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Cambridge University and later completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Munich University in Germany. During his time in Europe, Iqbal was exposed to various intellectual and philosophical ideas, which would later shape his worldview and contribute to his renowned poetry and philosophical writings.

One of Iqbal's most significant contributions was his poetry, which is known for its rich imagery, deep philosophical insights, and powerful messages of spiritual awakening and social reform. Iqbal's poetry was deeply rooted in his love for Islam and his longing for the revival of Islamic values and principles in the face of colonialism, social injustices, and moral decay.

In his poetry, Iqbal emphasized the importance of self-realization, self-respect, and self-reliance, and called for Muslims to rise above their individual and societal challenges and strive for excellence. He actively participated in the struggle for the rights of Muslims in British India and advocated for the establishment of an independent Muslim state. Iqbal's famous Allahabad Address in 1930, where he proposed the idea of a separate Muslim state in the Indian subcontinent, laid the foundation for the creation of Pakistan as an independent nation for Muslims in 1947.

Despite his remarkable contributions, Iqbal's life was not without challenges. He faced criticism, opposition, and personal setbacks during his lifetime, but his unwavering commitment to his beliefs and his passion for serving humanity remained unshakable

Life Stories

Throughout history, countless individuals have left indelible marks on the world through their remarkable lives. From visionaries and leaders to artists and activists, their stories inspire and captivate us, showcasing the boundless potential of the human spirit. Here are three compelling biographical stories of individuals whose lives have had a lasting impact on society.

Nelson Mandela: The Courageous Anti-Apartheid Activist

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, born on July 18, 1918, in a small village in South Africa, grew up witnessing the oppressive system of apartheid, which enforced racial segregation and discrimination. As a young man, Mandela became a vocal advocate for the rights of Black South Africans and joined the African National Congress (ANC) to fight against apartheid.

Mandela's activism and resistance against the apartheid regime led to his imprisonment for 27 years, during which he became an international symbol of the anti-apartheid movement. Despite the harsh conditions of imprisonment, Mandela remained steadfast in his beliefs and never wavered in his pursuit of justice and equality.

After his release from prison in 1990, Mandela continued his fight against apartheid and worked toward reconciliation and unity among all racial groups in South Africa. In 1994, he became the country's first Black president through the first fully democratic elections, and he served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Mandela's leadership and unwavering commitment to justice and equality continue to inspire people around the world, making him an iconic figure in the fight against oppression.

Frida Kahlo: The Resilient Mexican Artist

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon, known as Frida Kahlo, was born on July 6, 1907, in Mexico City, Mexico. She is widely regarded as one of the most prominent and influential artists of the 20th century, known for her surrealist and vibrant self-portraits that conveyed her physical and emotional pain.

Kahlo's life was marked by immense physical and emotional challenges. At the age of 18, she was involved in a devastating bus accident that left her with severe injuries, including a broken spine and pelvis. She endured numerous surgeries and spent months in bed recovering, during which she turned to painting as a means of expressing her emotions and experiences.

Kahlo's art was deeply personal and often depicted her physical and emotional pain, her Mexican heritage, and her feminist ideologies. Her paintings often featured vivid colors, surreal elements, and symbolic imagery, which earned her international recognition and acclaim.

Despite her physical challenges, Kahlo's resilience and determination to pursue her passion for art never wavered. She continued to paint and create despite her chronic pain and multiple health issues, and her art continues to captivate and inspire audiences around the world to this day.

Malala Yousafzai: The Fearless Education Activist

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Swat District, Pakistan. From a young age, Malala was a passionate advocate for education and girls' rights in her native Swat Valley, where the Taliban had enforced a ban on girls' education.

At the age of 11, Malala began writing a blog for BBC Urdu under a pseudonym, where she documented her life under Taliban rule and her determination to fight for education. Her activism gained international attention, and she became a prominent voice for girls' education worldwide.

Embarking on the journey of life, we encounter a tapestry of experiences that shape who we are and add depth to our existence. From overcoming obstacles and celebrating growth to embracing new opportunities, we come to appreciate the captivating unpredictability of life's adventures. Each of us holds a unique journey, filled with invaluable lessons and cherished memories that fuel personal development. 

When it comes to writing biographical essays, tools like Jenni.ai can be a game-changer. With its AI-powered features, Jenni.ai offers invaluable assistance in developing strong thesis statements, and helping you produce high-quality articles. By leveraging this, you can save time and energy while producing exceptional work. 

Embrace the art of writing biographical essays, and unlock new avenues of academic and professional success by following the steps outlined in this article and harnessing the power of Jenni.ai. Seize the opportunity to become a skilled essay writer by signing up for Jenni.ai today , and embark on a transformative journey towards achieving your writing goals!

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The History of Personality Psychology Essay

The History of Personality Psychology Essay

Introduction, historical overview.

The concept of personality psychology was developed as a new form of psychiatry and began at a period when the world experienced an outburst of human creativity. The new levels of creativity brought along a significant revolution in the fields of economics, architecture, literature, and psychology (Hogan, & Sherman, 2019). Also, there was an imminent increase in cases of mental illnesses. The personality theory identified instances for mental diseases as a function of intra-psychic dynamics that latter developed to physical symptoms, forcing affected individuals to seek treatments. Personality psychology was critical in the understanding of human nature and affairs. The personality theory was built around three major arguments, which include psychodynamic theories of clinical psychology, trait theories, and interpersonal theories. The trait theory identifies major issues concerning individual differences. The interpersonal methods provide a close assessment of social interactions and application to everyday life.

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The personality theory introduced dramatic changes to the face of psychology through the introduction of the concept of the unconscious mind. The personality theory provided comprehensive details on the creation of unconscious thoughts and expressions of unconscious thoughts. Also, the approach was widely used to assess the association between childhood experiences and unconscious beliefs and their contributions to the development of personalities and behaviors. The idea has been widely used to make tremendous achievements in the mental health field. Other areas that have significantly benefited from the psychoanalytic theory include art and popular culture.

However, most of the ideas of the personality theories are currently viewed with scepticism. The personality theories, such as Freud's observations and opinions, were strictly based on clinical case studies and observations. Such comments are difficult to generalize to a large population. The arguments have attracted criticism, particularly for its overemphasis on unconscious minds as well as other topics such as aggression, sex, and experiences during childhood. Also, it is difficult to measure and quantify concepts central to personality theories. The main ideas from the personality theories are based on personal observations and lack empirical or scientific research. Issues of individual differences are common in personality theories. For instance, one could argue that an individual could be fixated at different stages in their lives, thus resulting in differences in personal behaviors in adulthood. In Maslow's theory, individual differences could arise depending on the capacity for the fulfilment of their needs at each level of the critical hierarchy.

The Modern Personality Theory

The current theories of personality appear to shift from human nature and place focus on individual differences (Buss, & Penke, 2015). Personality psychology, therefore, seems to take a new definition, which is concerned with an exclusive focus on how individuals differ from one another. The theories, therefore, become providers of a systematic account of ways in which individuals differ from each other. Also, the theories of human nature are primarily identified as relics or references of historical interests. The authentic personality theories appear to have fallen out of favor with modern theories of psychology. However, past work presents a significant level of merits for contemporary approaches. Freud's approach to therapy is a perfect example of a concept that left a lasting plan on the treatment of mental illness. The historical approach is highly regarded by modern psychology as a revolutionary concept to current therapies. The definition of personality includes various attributes, collection of individual characteristics that fall beyond the superficial physical qualities.

In the 20th century, personality psychology grew mainly as a scientific field. However, changes in modern society present considerable effects on behaviour. Also, the contemporary world has become dynamic, thus raising new questions on the changeability of the character. The contemporary personality psychology has necessitated the need for empirical research. New ways to describe personality requires a theoretical understanding to explain modern psychology. The dynamic approaches to the understanding of personality psychology have become a reasonable alternative to the traditional structural-functions systems (Kostromina, & Grishina, 2019). In an attempt to avoid irrelevance, modern personality research is taking into consideration the current challenges to the individual's life context.

A language-based personality is also a new approach to nature. The advancement of modern science presents new capabilities for careful analysis and measurement of characters. The trait theory has provided a viable and detailed factor model approach to the definition of contemporary personality theories. The design of the trait approach allows for evaluation participant's self-reports on self-concepts. As such, trait approaches enhance understanding of general personality characteristics. The judicious use of self-reports provides complete and extensive personality scales for a large group of people (Boyd & Pennebaker, 2017). Also, the availability of large-scale data and information provides a favorable condition for the development of psychometric techniques. There is rapid adoption of automated language analysis as a tool to enhance psychological assessments. The availability of data in great abundance and psychometric tools allows for a greater understanding of lower levels of mental functioning and the development of personalities.

According to Boyd and Pennebaker (2017), modern personality psychology is engulfed in the process of constant change. The continuous interactions of individuals throughout the world require further sensitivity to challenges in the context of an individual's life. The changing realities of life and personalities require a new study on environmental and contextual influences. The analysis of personality changes is of paramount importance to contemporary psychology and presents the potential for self-development and personal transformation. Significant concepts that lead to the development of human character and traits such as personal integrity have become of paramount importance. As such, both dynamic and integral psychological concepts that identify explicitly and describe interactions between individuals and the world will remain relevant for personality psychology.

The Future of Personality Psychology

According to Kostromina and Grishina (2018), the scientific community has raised significant observations on the potential limitations of a structural approach to the understanding of personalities. Accordingly, individual personality traits have been identified as poor predictors of behaviors. Such an observation continues to pose a challenge to the traditional structured processes to understanding personality psychology. There is an obvious need to develop new solutions to description and understanding of personality. The search for new approaches presents a clear indication of inadequacies of personality descriptions, and the fundamental changes in the global environment will require flexible human responses. Such conditions, as well as limitations of structural approaches, will result in a shift to process-oriented approaches. The dynamic personality approach is the predictable future of the personality psychological approach and is also practically similar to the process-oriented approaches.

The personality psychology is multifaceted, and therefore not limited to structural and process characteristics. The future of personality will, therefore, include the development of substantial unity between historical knowledge and current information on character as obtained from future research. The agreement will be based on the notable interlinks of phenomena between various levels of personalities.

The future of personality psychology will focus on various experiments intended to uncover psychological processes. Such processes are available in digital human data. Language is also a critical tool and component of behaviors, and could, therefore, provide information essential for the assessment of social and psychological functioning important for the understanding of personality. Further development of evolutional character continues to provide the conceptual framework necessary to address critical issues in personality psychology. The essential points will include motives, traits, and conceptualization of the situation. The evolution will enhance the theoretical integration of personal psychology into other fields of psychology.

Buss, D. M., & Penke, L. (2015). Evolutionary personality psychology.

Kostromina, S. N., & Grishina, N. V. (2018). The future of personality theory: A processual approach. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 52(2), 296-306.

Kostromina, S. N., & Grishina, N. V. (2019). The Dynamic Personality:'Continuity Amid Change'. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 12(2), 34-45.

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Title: self-discover: large language models self-compose reasoning structures.

Abstract: We introduce SELF-DISCOVER, a general framework for LLMs to self-discover the task-intrinsic reasoning structures to tackle complex reasoning problems that are challenging for typical prompting methods. Core to the framework is a self-discovery process where LLMs select multiple atomic reasoning modules such as critical thinking and step-by-step thinking, and compose them into an explicit reasoning structure for LLMs to follow during decoding. SELF-DISCOVER substantially improves GPT-4 and PaLM 2's performance on challenging reasoning benchmarks such as BigBench-Hard, grounded agent reasoning, and MATH, by as much as 32% compared to Chain of Thought (CoT). Furthermore, SELF-DISCOVER outperforms inference-intensive methods such as CoT-Self-Consistency by more than 20%, while requiring 10-40x fewer inference compute. Finally, we show that the self-discovered reasoning structures are universally applicable across model families: from PaLM 2-L to GPT-4, and from GPT-4 to Llama2, and share commonalities with human reasoning patterns.

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A lost 22-page transcript discovered at the National Archives reveals the secret history of how Abraham Lincoln pardoned Joe Biden's ancestor

  • Abraham Lincoln pardoned President Joe Biden's great-great-grandfather, Moses J. Robinette, in 1864.
  • Robinette was convicted after a fight with an army colleague during the Civil War, documents show.
  • He was pardoned after receiving support from several army officers and a West Virginia senator.

Insider Today

President Joe Biden's former boss, ex-President Barack Obama, used to say that his favorite American president was Abraham Lincoln , who kept the nation from splintering during the Civil War. But, on this Presidents Day , Biden may have a reason to show Lincoln some gratitude.

Indeed, Lincoln, the country's 16th commander in chief, pardoned Biden's great-great-grandfather, US Army employee Moses J. Robinette, after he was caught up in an altercation on a Union Army base in 1864, according to a Washington Post report . Robinette was sentenced to two years hard labor in a Florida military prison for his role in the fight with a colleague, the Post reported, citing a transcript of Robinette's military trial — until Lincoln stepped in and set him free.

Robinette was serving as a civilian veterinary surgeon in the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War when, on the evening of March 21, 1864, he got into a verbal altercation with another civilian employee, John J. Alexander. The shouting match turned physical, and eventually, Robinette injured Alexander with his pocketknife, according to the Post.

The camp's watchmen arrested Robinette. He was charged with intoxication, causing a "dangerous quarrel," disturbing military discipline and order, and — as a result of the knife wounds — making an "attempt to kill." A military court convicted Robinette of all charges except the "attempt to kill" charge and sentenced him to the two-year prison sentence in Florida as punishment.

Three Army officers petitioned Lincoln to overturn Robinette's conviction. After a senator from the recently formed state of West Virginia took up the case, Lincoln pardoned Biden's ancestor on September 1, 1864. The War Department issued Special Order No. 296, and Robinette was released, returning to his family's farm in Maryland.

Newly discovered docs

The Post's account of these events is based on a 22-page transcript unearthed by David Gerleman, a history instructor at George Mason University in Virginia, who discovered the document at the National Archives in Washington, DC. The surprise pardon by Lincoln represented a reversal of Robinette's fortunes up until that point after he'd endured a pretty dismal time during the war. In 1861, when the war kicked off, Robinette operated a hotel in Grafton, Virginia. The area, now in West Virginia, was full of Union supporters and became a key early battleground of the war. Union soldiers destroyed Robinette's hotel, and his wife Jane died early in the war. The Post said Robinette fled with his children to other relatives in Allegany County, Maryland.

By 1863, he was hired to help care for the ammunition pack horses and mules of the Army of the Potomac's reserve artillery. That assignment led Robinette to his scuffle with Alexander, who was serving as a brigade wagon master in the Army's winter camp on the bank of Virginia's Rappahannock River.

Alexander is said to have confronted Robinette after overhearing Robinette badmouthing him to a female cook. The argument devolved into a physical fight, according to the transcript. First, both participants brandished their fists. Then, Robinette took out his pocket knife.

Afterward, Robinette claimed he was only acting in self-defense and "had no malice towards Mr. Alexander before or since." In a letter the three Army officers sent encouraging Lincoln to overturn Robinette's conviction, they claimed he was merely "defending himself" against an adversary far larger and stronger than he was.

Ultimately, Robinette waited three months between being charged and convicted. He went on to spend one month in the military prison at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, near Key West, Florida, before Lincoln pardoned him.

Now, Robinette's direct descendant is sitting in Lincoln's old seat.

essay about a historical personality

Watch: Biden joked he was "sandbagged" after tripping at US Air Force Academy graduation

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What is Presidents Day and how is it celebrated? What to know about the federal holiday

Many will have a day off on monday in honor of presidents day. consumers may take advantage of retail sales that proliferate on the federal holiday, but here's what to know about the history of it..

essay about a historical personality

Presidents Day is fast approaching, which may signal to many a relaxing three-day weekend and plenty of holiday sales and bargains .

But next to Independence Day, there may not exist another American holiday that is quite so patriotic.

While Presidents Day has come to be a commemoration of all the nation's 46 chief executives, both past and present, it wasn't always so broad . When it first came into existence – long before it was even federally recognized – the holiday was meant to celebrate just one man: George Washington.

How has the day grown from a simple celebration of the birthday of the first president of the United States? And why are we seeing all these ads for car and furniture sales on TV?

Here's what to know about Presidents Day and how it came to be:

When is Presidents Day 2024?

This year, Presidents Day is on Monday, Feb. 19.

The holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of every February because of a bill signed into law in 1968 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Taking effect three years later, the Uniform Holiday Bill mandated that three holidays – Memorial Day, Presidents Day and Veterans Day – occur on Mondays to prevent midweek shutdowns and add long weekends to the federal calendar, according to Britannica .

Other holidays, including Labor Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day , were also established to be celebrated on Mondays when they were first observed.

However, Veterans Day was returned to Nov. 11 in 1978 and continues to be commemorated on that day.

What does Presidents Day commemorate?

Presidents Day was initially established in 1879 to celebrate the birthday of the nation's first president, George Washington. In fact, the holiday was simply called Washington's Birthday, which is still how the federal government refers to it, the Department of State explains .

Following the death of the venerated American Revolution leader in 1799, Feb. 22, widely believed to be Washington's date of birth , became a perennial day of remembrance, according to History.com .

The day remained an unofficial observance for much of the 1800s until Sen. Stephen Wallace Dorsey of Arkansas proposed that it become a federal holiday. In 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signed it into law, according to History.com.

While initially being recognized only in Washington D.C., Washington's Birthday became a nationwide holiday in 1885. The first to celebrate the life of an individual American, Washington's Birthday was at the time one of only five federally-recognized holidays – the others being Christmas, New Year's, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July.

However, most Americans today likely don't view the federal holiday as a commemoration of just one specific president. Presidents Day has since come to represent a day to recognize and celebrate all of the United States' commanders-in-chief, according to the U.S. Department of State .

When the Uniform Holiday Bill took effect in 1971, a provision was included to combine the celebration of Washington’s birthday with Abraham Lincoln's on Feb. 12, according to History.com. Because the new annual date always fell between Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays, Americans believed the day was intended to honor both presidents.

Interestingly, advertisers may have played a part in the shift to "Presidents Day."

Many businesses jumped at the opportunity to use the three-day weekend as a means to draw customers with Presidents Day sales and bargain at stores across the country, according to History.com.

How is the holiday celebrated?

Because Presidents Day is a federal holiday , most federal workers will have the day off .

Part of the reason Johnson made the day a uniform holiday was so Americans had a long weekend "to travel farther and see more of this beautiful land of ours," he wrote. As such, places like the Washington Monument in D.C. and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota – which bears the likenesses of Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt – are bound to attract plenty of tourists.

Similar to Independence Day, the holiday is also viewed as a patriotic celebration . As opposed to July, February might not be the best time for backyard barbecues and fireworks, but reenactments, parades and other ceremonies are sure to take place in cities across the U.S.

Presidential places abound across the U.S.

Opinions on current and recent presidents may leave Americans divided, but we apparently love our leaders of old enough to name a lot of places after them.

In 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau pulled information from its databases showcasing presidential geographic facts about the nation's cities and states.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the census data shows that as of 2020 , the U.S. is home to plenty of cities, counties and towns bearing presidential names. Specifically:

  • 94 places are named "Washington."
  • 72 places are named "Lincoln."
  • 67 places are named for Andrew Jackson, a controversial figure who owned slaves and forced thousands of Native Americans to march along the infamous Trail of Tears.

Contributing: Clare Mulroy

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

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    Historical Personality - Julius Caesar Throughout history the world has seen many men and women rise to power and one of them is Julius Caesar. Even though Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times in the back, he became dictator of the roman republic because he was a great military and strong political leader.

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    Cheap Business Essay Writing Services. Before being accepted into our company, we underwent extensive background checks. Check their credentials to confirm that they have been writing professionally for some time. If they are members of professional associations, check, for instance. Some students may have difficulty completing their research ...

  23. 70 Examples of Personal History

    John Spacey, December 04, 2022 A personal history is an account of a person's life. This includes autobiographical essays, writings and books that capture the interesting elements of your life. Factual elements of personal history are also commonly captured as data for processes such as recruiting.

  24. Historical Background on Good Behavior Clause

    Footnotes Jump to essay-1 For more on the historical background of the impeachment clauses, see ArtI.S2.C5.2 The Power of Impeachment: Historical Background Historical Background on Impeachment; ArtI.S3.C6.2 The Power to Try Impeachments: Historical Background Historical Background on Impeachment Trials; ArtII.S4.4.2 Impeachable Offenses: Historical Background Historical Background on ...

  25. Personality Tests As a Great Way To Understand Others

    Online personality tests are one of the biggest aspects on the internet. online personality tests are so versatile and it allows an individual to learn more about themselves allowing it to influences ones believes and values. ... Historical Essays. Review Essays. Response Essays. Five Paragraph Essays. Formal Essays. Informal Essays ...

  26. [2402.03620] Self-Discover: Large Language Models Self-Compose

    We introduce SELF-DISCOVER, a general framework for LLMs to self-discover the task-intrinsic reasoning structures to tackle complex reasoning problems that are challenging for typical prompting methods. Core to the framework is a self-discovery process where LLMs select multiple atomic reasoning modules such as critical thinking and step-by-step thinking, and compose them into an explicit ...

  27. Abraham Lincoln Pardoned Biden's Direct Ancestor After Civil War Brawl

    America's 16th president pardoned the great-great grandfather of its 46th president after a Civil War brawl, long-lost historical records show. Menu icon A vertical stack of three evenly spaced ...

  28. What is Presidents Day? Is it a federal holiday? Everything to know

    Here's what to know about the federal holiday's history. Efrain Hidalgo's journey Mines may deplete water Skywatcher's guide Start the day smarter ☀️ U.S. Elections Sports Entertainment Life ...