A Theory of Personality

The late Prescott Lecky (1), one of the pioneers in self-image psychology. Lecky conceived of the personality as a system of ideas, all of which must be consistent with each other. Ideas that are inconsistent with the system are rejected, "not believed," and not acted on. Ideas that seem to be consistent with the system are accepted. At the very center of this system of ideas-the keystone, or the base on which all else is built-is the individual's self-image, or his conception of himself.