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Behavioral Perspectives on Personality and Self

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Abstract

In many accounts of personality, the positions of behavioral writers are rarely presented in depth and it assumed that behavioral writers have neglected the topic of personality. In reality, since the very beginnings of behaviorism, behavioral theorists have devoted considerable attention to the topic of personality, and a term Skinner equated with personality, the self. This paper summarizes some of the major assumptions of traditional personality theory and theory of self, and then summarizes the positions of various behavioral theorists such as John Watson, B. F. Skinner, Arthur Staats, and others on personality and self. Behavioral theorists have not neglected these topics, and behavioral accounts of these topics present a more parsimonious view. Personality and the self are behavior in need of explanation, in contrast to the belief that personality and the self function to explain as well as cause behavior.

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Acknowledgments

The author wants to acknowledge the invaluable comments provided by Steven Lawyer, Charles Lyons and Stuart Vyse, as well as the constructive comments from the reviewers on an earlier version of this article.

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  1. Department of Psychology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007, USA

    Brady J. Phelps

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Phelps, B.J. Behavioral Perspectives on Personality and Self. Psychol Rec 65, 557–565 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-014-0115-y

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