Personality

There are various personalities as there are persons. Personality means different things to differen people.
To some it means one’s charm, dress, attractiveness, for others the mode of response to life situations.

The word Personality has been derived from the Latin word – ‘Personare’, which means to speak through.
Originally, the term denoted masks worn by actors in ancient Greek dramas. Thus personality meant
physical attractiveness, but Personality in terms of external appearance is a narrow concept. It includes
something more that that, it includes both internal (attitude, values, laerning) and external (height, weight,
colour, facial features, physical aspects) aspects. The internal aspects are the most important part of
Personality.

Personality is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others and
environment.

Personality is a pattern of stable states and characteristics of a person that influences his or her behavior
toward goal achievement

Definition of Personality

According to Lahey (1998), “Personality can be defined as the sum total of all the ways of acting,
thinking, and feeling that are typical for that person and makes that person different from all other
individuals”.

According To Atkinson and Hilgard (2003), Personality can be defined as the distinctive and
characteristic pattern of thought, emotion and behaviour that make-up an individual’s personal style of
interacting with physical and social environment.

Nature of Personality

 Personality refers to the set of traits & behaviors that characterize an individual

 It refers to the relatively stable pattern of behavior & consistent internal state & explains
an individual’s behavioral tendencies.

 Personality has both internal (thoughts, values & genetic characteristics that is inferred
from observable behaviors) & external (observable behaviors) elements

 Personality of an individual is relatively stable in nature.

 Personality is both inherited as well as it can be shaped by the environment.

Characteristics of Personality

 Personality is unique . Every individual has his own set of personality characteristics.

 Personality refers to persistent (constant) qualities of an individual. There are certain

characteristics that remain relatively persistent and permanent.
  Personality is greatly influenced by social interaction. After birth a child comes in contact with
people for the fulfilment of their basic necessities of life. In course of time he develops
intercation which influences his personality development.

Personality Determinants

 Heredity : refers to those factors that were determined at conception. Physical structure, facial
attractiveness, gender, temperament, energy level etc.

 Environment : Among the factors that exert pressures on our personality formation are the
culture in which we are raised, our early conditioning, the norms among our family, friends and
social groups etc.

 Situation : influences the effects of heredity and environment on personality. An individual’s

personality which is generally stable and consistent, does change in different situations. This is
because different situation calls for different aspects of one’s personality. For example – a person
while facing an interview and while enjoying a party with his friends behaves quite differently
depending upon the different situation.

Theories of Personality

There are several theories of personality. There is no concensus amongthe theorists regarding the theories
of personality. Among several theories the most prominent are : Type, Trait, Psychoanalytic, Social
Learning and Self Theory.

A. Type Theory

Personality classification is made on two bases: Body Build and Psychological Factors. In Body Build
personalities were classified by establishing relationship between one’s body build /features and
personality. Accordingly short or plumb body build were characterised as sociable and relaxed, tall and
thin persons as restrained, self-conscious and fond of solitude and those with heavy set muscular body
build as noisy, callos and fond of physical activity. An individual’s body build / phsique exerts some
influence on his/her personality.

Personality types on the basis of psychological factors are based on the assumption that personality is the
totality of a person’s interacting sub-systems. Accordingly, personalitis are classified into two types –
introverts and extroverts. Introverts are those who primarily look inward at themselves, avoid social
contacts and interaction with others, are quite and enjoy solitude. Whereas, extroverts are sociable,
friendly, aggressive, etc.

This grouping seems interesting but does not serve the purpose of understanding personalities.

B. Trait Theory

Some psychologists tried to understand personality on the basis of individual’s traits. Traits are enduring
characteristic of a person in which he/she differs from another. Some popular characteristics are shy,
aggressive, submissive, lazy, ambitious, loyal and timid. So, we can say that traits are individual
dimensions or variables. Trait theory of personality attempts to understand how a set of personality
variables influences an individual’s behaviour.

Cattell was among the early psychologists who isoltaed individual traits which helps in predicting human
behaviour. Enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior are:

Sixteen Primary Traits of Personality

1. Resserved Vs Outgoing
2. Less Intelligent Vs More Intelligent
3. Affected by Feeling Vs Emotionally Stable
4. Submissive Vs Dominant
5. Serious Vs Happy-go-Lucky
6. Expedient Vs Conscientious
7. Timid Vs Venturesome
8. Tough-Minded Vs Sensitive
9. Trusting Vs Suspicious
10. Practical Vs Imaginative
11. Forthright Vs Shrewd
12. Self-assured Vs Apprehensive
13. Conservative Vs Experimenting
14. Group-dependent Vs Self-Sufficient
15. Uncontrolled Vs Controlled
16. Relaxed Vs Tense

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

It is one f the most widely used personality framework. It is a 100 questions personality test that asks
people how they usually feel or act in a particular situation. On the basis of the answers individuals give,
they are classified as

 Extroverted or Introverted (E or I). Extroverted individuals are outgoing, sociable, and

assertive. Introverts are quiet and shy.
 Sensing or Intuitive (S or N). Sensing types are practical and prefer routine and order. They
focus on details. Intuitive rely on unconscious processes and look at the “big picture”.
 Thinking or Feeling (T or F). Thinking types uses reason and logic to handle problems. Feelings
types rely on their personal values and emotions.
 Perceiving or Judging (P or J). Judging types want control, and prefer their world to be ordered
and structured. Perceiving types are flexible and spontaneous.

MBTI is used in many organisations but there is no evidence that MBTI is a valid measure of Personality.
The Big Five Model

It is a Five Factor Model of Personality called ‘Big Five’. It states five basic personality dimensions:

Extraversion A personality dimension describing someone

Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional Stability
Openness to Experience
who is sociable, talkative and assertive
A personality dimension that describes
someone who is good-natured, cooperative
and trusting.
A personality dimension that describes
someone who is responsible, dependable,
persistent and achievement oriented.
A personality dimension that characterises
someone as calm, enthusiastic, secure
(positive) versus tense, nervous, depressed and
insecure (negative).
A personality dimension that characterises
someone in terms of imaginativeness, artistic,
sensitivity and intellectualism.

Trait theories provide useful descriptions of personality and its structure it also provided the foundation of
valid and reliable personality devices which lead people to accept and use oversimplified classifications
and descriptions. The trait theory underestimates the socio-cultural influences on behaviour.

C. Psychoanalytical Theory

Psychoanalytical Theory is another way of understanding personality. The baisc notion of this theory is
that human behaviour is influenced more by unseen forces than conscious and rational thoughts. Sigmund
Freud developed this theory based on clinical experiments on his patients this led him to conclude that
behaviour is mainly influenced by unconscious framework. This unconscious framework is composed of
three elements – Id, Ego and Superego.

Id is the unconscious apart while ego is the conscious part of human personality. The ego is associated
with reality. The Superego can be described as conscience. It provides norms and values to ego to
determine what is wrong or right at a given time in given society/situation. Thus it can be said that Id
seeks pleasure, the Ego verifies reality and the superego strives for perfection.

This theory is also not very relevant and appropriate in preducting human behaviour, it provides the idea
of unconscious motivation which adds to the understanding of human behaviour in a better manner.

D. Social Learning Theory

We have already seen that behaviour is either learned or modified by learning. Learning occurs through
reinforcement and by observing others which is also known as vicarious learning. The social theory of
learning emphasises on how an individual behaves or acts in a given situation. This theory also states that
the specific characteristics of a situation determines how an individual will behave in that situation . An
individuals understanding of the situation and behaviour in past similar situations may also influence how
an individual will behave in a situation. It has been observed that situation evokes an individuals
behavioural pattern and at the same time it is true that an individuals behaviour also influences the
situation. Therefore, it can be said that the relationship between the situation and the individual is
reciprocal.

E. Self Theory

The Self Theory of Personality was developed by Carl Rogers. This theory studies individual’s subjective
experience, feelings and his concepts of world and self. Rogers Self Theory is composed of perceptions of
the ‘I’ or ‘Me’. Following are the four factors of the Self Theory:

Self-Image – by nature every person has certain beliefs about what or who he/she os. In other words, self-
image is one’s image of oneself. This is how one sees oneself.

Ideal-Self – the Ideal-Self refers to what one would like to look like. The basic difference between self-
image and ideal-image is that self-image indicates the reality of a person whereas ideal-image implies the
ideality of a person. Ideal-self stands more important to motivate an individual to behave in a particular
manner.

Looking Glass-Self – this refers to how others are perceiving the individual. This means, the way an
individual thinks people perceive about him and not the way people actually see him.

Real-Self – the Real-Self is what one actually is. The firest three concepts relate to an individual’s
perception about himself /herself. They may be the same or differ from the real-self.

Type A and Type B Personality

Type A Personality – is a person who is aggressively involved in a chronic, continuous struggle to

achieve more and more in less and less time and if necessary against the opposing efforts of other things
or other persons

Type A’s

 Are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly;

 Feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place;
 Strive to think or do two or more things at once;
 Cannot cope with leisure time;
 Are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of how many or how much of
everything they acquire.
Type B Personality – is a person who is less prone to stress, easy going, work steadily, enjoy
achievement, modest ambition, and live in the moment. They are social, creative, thoughtful,
procrastinating.

Type B’s

 Never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its accompanying impatience;
 Feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements or accomplishments;
 Play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their superiority at any cost;
 Can relax without guilt.
Comparison Chart

Basis for Comparison Type A Personality Type B Personality

Meaning Type A personality is one which is Type B personality is one which is
stress prone, in a hurry, impatient and less stress prone patient, relaxed
fast in whatever they do. and easy going.
Nature Sensitive and proactive Reflective and innovative
Patience Level Low High
Temperament Short-termpered Even-tempered
Competition Highly-competitive Less-competitive
Multitasking Does several things at a time. Does one thing at a time.
Stress level High Low
Encounters pressure because of time
Time constraints Is not affected by time constraints.
constraints

Measurement of Personality

Psychologists have devised a number of tests to measure various aspects of personality. The most
commonly used tests include personality inventories, projective techniques and situational tests.

A. Personality Inventories

Inventories are printed forms containing questions, adjectives or statements about human behaviour. The
individual is required to indicate his reactions to different items. The inventories are then scored and
assessed in terms of percentiles or statistical norms. Personality inventories are used to evaluate normal
and psychiatric characteristics. Two tyoes of inventories are widely used, they are MMPI (Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory) and CPI (California Psychological Inventory).

B. Projective Techniques

These techniques are based on the assumption that responses to unstructured stimuli are likely to indicate
an individual’s underlying motives, fears and aspirations. They involve ink-blots, ambiguous pictures,
imcomplete sentences. The two widely used projective techniques are the Rorschach Test and TAT
(Thematic Apperception Test).

Rorschach Test involves 10 cards containing ink-blots. These ink-bloyts are shown to the individual at a
time with a request to state whatever he sees in them or whatever comes to his mind in response to them.

TAT assumes that the meaning which an individual sees in a picture indicates something of his past
experience, feelings, attitudes and motives

C. Situational Tests

Situational Tests involve the study of the individual in daily situation, when he is interacting with others,
solving a problem or exploring a new enviornment. The purpose of the study is to observe the individual in
a context similar to the one for which he is under review. This facilitates the prediction of how he will
react in a specific situation.