Applying Theories of Personality

Analyzing personality can be a complex process, in which there can be many answers. There are many different theories that have been stated as to why people act the way the way do. These theories can be derived from such factors as genetics, environment, and biological factors (Pervin, Cervone & Oliver, 2005). The film "Groundhog Day" (1993) is the story about the main character, Phil Connors, and his experience with what he considers to be the worst day of his life. Phil is a weatherman who goes Puxatony, Pennsylvania each year to cover the events of "Groundhog Day". He has been covering the story for several years and is reluctant to do it again. This particular year he and his news crew end up stranded due to the weather.

When Phil wakes up the next day he starts to realize that something strange is happening. He is starting to see that the events from the day before are repeating themselves over and over. Once he realizes what is happening he decides that he has to do something to stop this vicious cycle from continuing. Throughout the film there are many changes that take place in Phil's personality as well as the outcome of events. The word personality can be used to refer to a person's characteristics that account for the consistent patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving (Pervin, et al., 2005). This is a broad definition and only one of many, but regardless of what definition is used is it important to look at consistency of the behaviors. When analyzing personality structure it is possible to look at a person's personality traits. A trait construct refers to the consistency of a person's response to various situations (Pervin, et al., 2005).