Personality and Individual Differences: Literature in Psychology- Psychology in Literature

Literature, which intertwines within such fields as history, philosophy, sociology, psychology and so on, is a discipline wherein language is used as a medium of expression so as to interpret man, existence and culture. The objective of this paper is to discuss literature in terms of its interdisciplinary structure, psychology, in particular, considering man and existence, personality and individual differences which have always been studied by writers, philosophers, artists, psychologists and psychiatrists. Several complex notions, unfathomable personalities and ambiguous motives have been associated with characters in literary genres: For example the term Bovarism is explained by means of Flaubert's Madame Bovary. Similar examples in literary works could be multiplied. Man and existence have been fundamental themes in literature, which has existed even before psychology. Works of literature and art enable individuals to be aware of their personalities and individual differences and to question life and existence, the main data in the field of psychology as well. It is overtly seen that there is a very strong correlation between literature and psychology since both of them deal with human beings and their reactions, miseries, desires, and their individual and social concerns by means of different concepts, methods, and approaches.