Essay on African American Personality - 640 Words

What is personality? How does it relate to Blacks? These are just a few of the questions that might surface when researching human personality. According to Websters Dictionary, personality is the totality of qualities and traits, as of character or behavior that are peculiar to a specific person. Personality is characterized by the collective character, behavioral, temperamental, emotional, and mental traits of a person. While personality relates to all persons, when studying Black personality, one must take into consideration the experiences of the African community as a whole. When discussing personality one must understand the differences between personality and black personality. While it may be difficult to find an†¦show more content†¦While it may seem as if these individual theories epitomize personality, it is a fact that personality is made up of each of these theories. Due to the fact that the majority of Blacks and Whites generally live in two separate cultures, it is important to understand that the current theories on personality may not explain black personality (Houston, 1990). While there have been many attempts to define Black personality from a Eurocentric point of view, many psychologist discovered that the research conducted from a western point of view have depicted negative portrayals of Blacks. According to a study conducted by Crain and Weisman the personality and behavioral traits that are exhibited more commonly in Blacks than in whites are characterized by high rates of violence and crimes, high rates of escapism, excessive apathy and timidity, low level learning in both academic and job related settings, and high levels of intrapersonal difficulties (Houston,1990). Although their may be some truth to the theory asserted by Crain and Weisman, many Black psychologist have found that the theories are not always true. Instead of pe rsonality being attributed to negative denotations, Black psychologist have developed an Afrocentric theory of personality which is characterized by rich spirituality, a black world-view, a commitment to black causes and a over drive to improve the black community (Azibo,1984, cited in Houston, 1990). While majority of the AfrocentricShow MoreRelatedEssay about Personality Differences: African Americans vs. Caucasians2228 Words   |  9 PagesPsychological Differences between African-American and Caucasian Individuals: An Endless Controversy Alana Carran Psychology 308K 7980 Semester 1209 Alana Carran Dawn K. 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