Personality Theory on Oprah Winfrey

Any person experiences growth of different aspects of personality during various points of time. In fact, it is the day to day good and bad experiences that shape the personality of an individual. There are different theories of growth of personality of an individual. In this assignment, I will take up the case of well-known figure Oprah Winfrey. Based on different theories of personality, I will study the factors which contributed to the growth of personality of Oprah Winfrey.

Experts have worked on the science of personality development. They have presented the various theories of growth of a personality. The term personality is the product of learned behavior. (Bergland)This means that many traits are inborn and many others are learned. Certain traits are learned through interaction with individuals in the society. A very important factor in shaping personality of an individual is social interaction. After all, man is a social animal. Important theories of personality are trait theory (Allport), psychoanalytic theory (Freud), humanistic theory (Maslow) and social learning theory (Bandura). Trait theory refers to characteristics of a personality. Other theories explain the underlying principle of behavioral pattern found in an individual. Psychoanalytic theory analyses contradiction between selfish instinct of an individual and his imbibed human values and ideals. Humanistic theory gives importance to healthy concept of self in a personality (Lehey). Social learning theory believes that development of personality of an individual is the result of social interaction.

As it is known to many of us, Oprah Winfrey is an individual who is a very successful black American. She has produced numerous talk shows organized for American audience. Even though she had a tough time with her mother until the age of 14, when she was sent to live with her father, Oprah Winfreys life changed. Her father was a very strict man and wanted his daughter to be educated. Oprah, herself, said ?my father saved my life. Even though she was a sophomore in college, Oprah Winfrey began her Television career at the age of 19 and she was the first black American to be a news anchor at WTVF-TV. Later, her ?Oprah Winfrey show? became very popular among the viewers. She struggled against the problem of being overweight and she assisted people to fight against this problem. She also helped children by speaking against exploitation of children.

She gave scholarships to a large number of children throughout the country. Oprah has been a great source of inspiration to large number of people in America. She established a foundation to assist women, children and families in the United States and other countries of the world. She encouraged people to contribute to fight against evils in the society by giving importance to charity. (Thomson Gayle) In this section, I will take up two theories of personality development and try to apply them in the case of Oprah Winfrey. In this case, I will take up trait theory and social learning theory. Important traits of personality of Oprah Winfrey are positive qualities like being courageous, careful, reliable and friendly. She has exhibited highest morality and leadership qualities. It is showed above how Winfrey initiated a movement to provide security to children. Winfrey is a person who fought against problems like being overweight.

However, this did not restrict her imagination and activities. Fortunately, she could interact with other individuals in society. It is the social interaction, which has given perfection to positive qualities of Oprah Winfrey. She is the essence of courage and determination. These qualities naturally inspired many individuals who encountered Oprah Winfrey. Thus, directly and indirectly Winfrey has inspired thousands of people to initiate charity in their homes and in their countries. It is the reason why it is the social learning theory that is more appropriate in the case of Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah Winfrey is amongst those exceptional personalities who have shown greatest respect for her community as well as her own society. The environment she created around herself gives her self-satisfaction and at the same time, her positive qualities attract the society towards her. Her social nature is what people love the best in her as it shows her humble kind human within. Therefore, undoubtedly, I can say that Albert Bandura?s social learning theory suits the best for Oprah Winfrey.

References

Bergland, Richard, The Fabric of Mind, Viking Press, 1989 Hoyle, Richard H., Mark Baldwin, Michael Kernis and Mark Leary, The Self: A Social- Cognitive Perspective (Social Psychology Series), Westview Press, 1998
Lehey, Psychology An Introduction, The McGraw Hill Companies, 2003.

?Oprah Winfrey?, Thomson Gale, Retrieved on the 4th of October, 2004 from: http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/winfrey_o.htm