Page 17 - Biblical Counseling II

Personality
11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way, no one knows the
thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11

Connect…

There are quite a few young children on campus. Think about children you know who are around the age of
two years old. What are their personalities like? Can you see traits like timid or outgoing? Fearless, trusting,
imaginative, confident, or helpful? We will refer to two two-year-old boys, Steven and Joshua, during this
section. Steven is curious about the world around him. He is outgoing and smiles at everyone, even
strangers. Joshua is shy and hesitant in new situations. He is timid and stays close to his parents and smiles
only at those he knows. What makes one child’s personality different from another even at the age of two?
Is it that way he was born (nature) or the way he has been raised (nurture)? Think about your personality
compared to a close friend or sibling. How did you develop into who you are today? What about your friend
or sibling?

The Lesson ...

Personality
According to authors and professors Dr. Harry Shields and Dr. Gary Bredfeldt (2001), “Personality is a term
used by researchers in human development to describe the constellation (group) of characteristics that
define an individual. Personality involves the sum total of physical, cognitive, psychosocial, and spiritual
qualities. It is the product of our physical strengths and limitations, our innate temperament, our upbringing,
our personal choices, our life experiences, and the larger cultural and historical context in which we live.
Personality is the complete individual, the whole person, material and immaterial. Scientifically speaking, we
are a personality; we do not possess a personality” (p. 144).

“Personality is a term psychologists use to describe individual differences in people. Over the years,
researchers have debated how to study personality, how best to understand personality, how personality
develops, and how personalities can change” (p. 144). As you can imagine, this has led to many discussions,
debates, and research! We will not spend time on all of these theories, but I’d like to cover a few so that you
can identify your personality traits and think of how these traits impact you and those around you.
Personality can be defined as an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Today, psychologists study the basic dimensions of personality, the biological roots of these basic
dimensions, and the interaction of persons and environments. They also study self-esteem, self-serving bias,
and cultural influences on one’s sense of self. And they study the unconscious mind (Myers, 2009). There are
many different approaches to understanding human personality development. We are going to take a look at
summaries of two: the biological approach and the behavioral approach. You will see as we read that one
believes our personality is based in nature, and the other believes our personality develops out of nurture. As
you read, think of how God created us and how both biological and behavioral approaches blend in us.

The Biological Paradigm of Human Personality
Professors and authors Harry Shields and Gary Bredfeldt wrote a book called “Caring for Souls” (2001). In
their book, they explain, “The biological approach to understanding human personality development places

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