Abstract: In the recent 20 years, a new perspective on personality has emerged under the label social cognitive theories and it has become an important reflection of integration in the field of psychology. These approaches perceive person as a cognitive and social human being, regarding cognitive processes as a key to understanding complicated and purposed social behaviors. In the field of personality psychology, Walter Mischel is one of the significant contributors using cognitive variables to explain the individual differences. This paper focuses on Mischel’s three important research aspects: cognitive prototypes, cognitive-affective personality system and self-imposed delay of gratification, and tries to make brief comments on his personality theory.

Key words: cognitive-affective personality system, cognitive prototypes, cognitive-affective units, self-imposed delay of gratification