Person-Situation Controversy

The person-situation controversy (also known as the person-situation debate) is a theoretical disagreement in psychology about the influence of personality and situational factors on behavior.

There are some main questions that are asked in this debate.

Is behavior controlled by our personality or by the situational factors around us?

Is personality formed from situational factors that influence us or innate traits that we are born with?

Is a person's behavior a result of their personality or the situational factors they are presented with?

This debate is particularly strong between personality psychologists (who use a personality trait approach to understanding individual behavior) and situationists who believe that behavior is decided and governed by the situational factors that are present.