"Personality" is one of the classic chapter headings in the field of psychology, and yet is surprisingly difficult to define. It is used so widely, and in such differing ways, that any singular definition must either be confusingly inclusive or misleadingly specific. Perhaps a definitional approach to personality should be avoided altogether, rather personality should be understood in relation to the schools of thought which characterize it (trait theories, psychoanalytic theories and so on). In its broadest sense personality can be said to be the sum total of all the behavioral and mental characteristics by means of which an individual is recognized as being unique.