Walter Mischel challenges the traditional trait approach to personality, arguing that it is based on flawed assumptions about the stability and consistency of personality traits. He highlights the limitations of this approach in explaining individual differences and situational influences. Mischel proposes a cognitive social learning framework to reconceptualize personality, emphasizing the importance of cognitive and behavioral construction competencies, encoding strategies, personal constructs, expectancies, subjective stimulus values, and self-regulatory systems. He discusses the issues of behavioral specificity, the acquired meaning of stimuli, and the misuse of traits. Mischel argues that personality is more complex and idiosyncratic, with behavior being multiply determined by individual differences and situational factors. He critiques the psychodynamic approach's emphasis on genotypic personality dispositions and the limitations of trait-based assessments in predicting behavior. Mischel suggests that personality should be studied through the lens of cognitive and social learning, focusing on how individuals construct and interpret stimuli in specific contexts. He concludes by discussing the practical implications of these reconceptualizations for assessment and therapeutic interventions.Walter Mischel challenges the traditional trait approach to personality, arguing that it is based on flawed assumptions about the stability and consistency of personality traits. He highlights the limitations of this approach in explaining individual differences and situational influences. Mischel proposes a cognitive social learning framework to reconceptualize personality, emphasizing the importance of cognitive and behavioral construction competencies, encoding strategies, personal constructs, expectancies, subjective stimulus values, and self-regulatory systems. He discusses the issues of behavioral specificity, the acquired meaning of stimuli, and the misuse of traits. Mischel argues that personality is more complex and idiosyncratic, with behavior being multiply determined by individual differences and situational factors. He critiques the psychodynamic approach's emphasis on genotypic personality dispositions and the limitations of trait-based assessments in predicting behavior. Mischel suggests that personality should be studied through the lens of cognitive and social learning, focusing on how individuals construct and interpret stimuli in specific contexts. He concludes by discussing the practical implications of these reconceptualizations for assessment and therapeutic interventions.