When discussing personality, one wonders where personality comes from? What factors in our life help shape it, and how does it grow? The word personality from a psychological point of view can be defined as a person's unique and relatively stable behavior patterns (Berger, 1994). The characteristics one continually and consistently displays over time defines who they are, thus defining or giving them their personality.

Before getting into one of the many different theories of personality I think it is important to make mention of a few key terms and ideas. First, the concept of personality traits, which are the behavioral characteristics that are displayed in most situations. Traits are long lasting, enduring qualities that can be observed over time. An example of a personality trait would be describing someone as sensitive, creative, intelligent, or ignorant. A personality type, is a style of personality defined by a group of related traits (Ber

I will begin this discussion with the psychoanalytic approach to personality. Psychoanalytic theorists believe that an individuals personality is formed and permanently fixed in the early years of childhood. Sigmund Freud, who established the framework of this view, felt that the experiences that take place in the first years of life play a major role in determining what kind of person we become.

Freud viewed personality as a dynamic system controlled by three main structures, the id, the ego, and the superego. According to Freud, most behaviors involve these three systems working together.

The Ego - The ego can be described as the mediator between the id and the superego. It helps direct the energy and desires supplied by the id to the external world. It operates on the reality principle, in that it delays action until it is practical and appropriate (www.oldsci.eiu.edu/psychlogy). The ego is a system of thinking, planning, problem solving, and deciding. It is the conscious control of personality (Berger, 1994).

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The Phallic Stage - (3-6 years) During this stage it is believed that a child is preoccupied with his genitals as a source of pleasure. At this time, increased sexual interest causes a child to become sexually attracted to the parent of the opposite sex. In males this attraction is called the Oedipus conflict. In it, Freud believed boys develop a rivalry with their father for the affection of their mother. The male child thus feels threatened by his father. Freud believed this threat was a fear of castration. To ease his anxieties, the boy must learn to identify with his father. The rivalry will end when the boy seeks to become more like his father. As he does, he begins to accept his father's values and forms a conscious, realizing that his feelings for his mother are inappropriate (Holmes, 1997). In parallel to the Oedipus conflict, there is also the Electra conflict. It is said during this time a girl loves her father and competes with her mother for his attention!

According to Freud, personality development takes place in stages. He describes these stages as psychosexual stages of development, in that they are all motivated by some kind of urge for erotic pleasure. It is proposed that in each stage we must deal with various conflicts. How one goes about resolving them or if they even get resolved helps in shaping ones personality. In each stage, a different part of the body becomes the primary focal point. Each area then serves as the primary source of pleasure, frustration, and self-expression. Freud believed that many adult personality traits could be traced to fixations in one or more of the stages. A fixation is

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