Chapter 4: Personality and Conflict
This chapter will discuss people’s personalities and consider the essence and focus of personality psychology. We will have a critical look at the tools that personality psychologists use to study and assess personalities and investigate various approaches that personality psychologists use to explain individual differences in personality, including grand theories as well as some more contemporary approaches. Each approach provides a different lens for looking at individual differences in personality and each of these lenses can help understand why people may experience conflict and how they may be supported to resolve/manage conflict. In topics 4 and 5 of this chapter, we will use selected approaches to consider in detail their value for conflict management. We will also apply some approaches to explain phenomena relating to conflict, such as stereotyping and discrimination.
Learning Outcomes
- describe the essence of personality psychology
- critically analyse the process and tools of personality assessment
- describe various approaches to personality
- consider selected approaches to personality for conflict management
- apply selected approaches to personality to analyse phenomena relevant to the experience of conflict.
Most of these readings are fairly short.
Nichols, A. (2020). Personality and conflict in: Making conflict suck less: The basics. Boise State University eCampus
To learn about the various approaches, please read:
Freud and the psychodynamic perspective in Mullin, G. (n.d.). Introduction to psychology. Bunker Hill College. https://library.achievingthedream.org/bhccintropsych/chapter/freud-and-the-psychodynamic-perspective/
Neo-Freudians: Adler, Erikson, Jung, and Horney in Mullin, G. (n.d.). Introduction to psychology. Bunker Hill College. https://library.achievingthedream.org/bhccintropsych/chapter/neo-freudians-adler-erikson-jung-and-horney/
Biological approaches in Mullin, G. (n.d.). Introduction to psychology. Bunker Hill College. https://library.achievingthedream.org/bhccintropsych/chapter/biological-approaches/
Learning approaches in Mullin, G. (n.d.). Introduction to psychology. Bunker Hill College. https://library.achievingthedream.org/bhccintropsych/chapter/learning-approaches/
Trait theorists in Mullin, G. (n.d.). Introduction to psychology. Bunker Hill College. https://library.achievingthedream.org/bhccintropsych/chapter/trait-theorists/
Cognitive approach: see Chapter 15 in Burger, G. (2019). Personality. Cengage
Humanistic approaches in Mullin, G. (n.d.). Introduction to psychology. Bunker Hill College. https://library.achievingthedream.org/bhccintropsych/chapter/humanistic-approaches/
Narrative Approach pp. 103-105 in Burger, G. (2019). Personality. Cengage
To learn about the application of the approaches to conflict management, please read:
Sandy, S., Boardman, S. K., & Deutsch, M. (2014). Personality and conflict. In P. T. Coleman, M. Deutsch, & E. C. Marcus (Eds.), The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
