What Is Personality?

What is it that makes you who you are? Many factors contribute to the person you are today, including genetics,
your upbringing, and your life experiences.

Many would argue that what makes you unique is the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
that make up your personality. While there is no single agreed-upon definition of personality, it is often thought
of as something that arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life.

Personality encompasses all of the thoughts, behavior patterns, and social attitudes that impact how we view
ourselves and what we believe about others and the world around us.

Understanding personality allows psychologists to predict how people will respond to certain situations and the
sorts of things they prefer and value. To get a sense of how researchers study personality psychology, it will be
helpful to learn more about some of the most influential personality theories.

Theories
A number of theories have emerged to explain the aspects of personality. Some are focused on explaining how
personality develops, while others are concerned with individual differences in personality.

Trait Theories of Personality

The trait theories of personality center on the idea that personality is comprised of broad traits or dispositions.
Various theories have been proposed to identify which attributes are key components in personality, as well as
attempts to determine the total number of personality traits.

Psychologist Gordon Allport was one of the first to describe personality in terms of individual traits. In his
dispositional perspective, Allport suggested that there are different kinds of traits: common, central, and
cardinal.

Common traits are shared by many people within a particular culture. Central traits are those that make up an
individual's personality. Cardinal traits are those that are so dominant that a person becomes primarily known
for those characteristics.

An example of a cardinal trait is Mother Teresa. She was so well-known for her charitable work that her name
became almost synonymous with providing service to those in need.

Allport suggested that there were as many as 4,000 individual traits. Psychologist Raymond Cattell proposed
that there were 16. Cattell also believed that these traits exist on a continuum and that all people possess each
trait in varying degrees.

A psychologist named Hans Eysenck would narrow the list of traits further, suggesting there were only three:
extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.

Today, the "Big Five" theory is perhaps the most popular and widely accepted trait theory of personality. The
theory proposes that personality is made up of five broad personality dimensions:

 Agreeableness
 Conscientiousness
 Extroversion
 Neuroticism
 Openness

The Big Five theory states that each trait exists as a broad continuum. An individual's personality will fall
somewhere on the spectrum for each trait.

For example, you might be high in extroversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness, but somewhere in the
middle for openness and neuroticism.

How Personality Develops and Changes Through Life

Freud's theory of psychosexual development is one of the best-known personality theories—but also one of the
most controversial. According to Freud, children progress through a series of stages of personality development.
At each stage, libidinal energy (the force that drives all human behaviors) becomes focused on specific
erogenous zones.

Successful completion of a stage allows a person to move on to the next phase of development. Failure at any
stage can lead to fixations that can impact someone's adult personality.

Erik Erikson, another psychologist, described eight psychosocial stages of life. With Erikson's theory, each
stage plays a significant role in the development of a person's personality and psychological skills.

During each psychosocial stage, an individual will face a developmental crisis that serves as a turning point in
their development. Successfully completing each stage leads to the development of a healthy personality.

Erikson was more interested in how social interactions influenced the development of personality. He was
primarily concerned with the development of what he called ego identity.

While Freud's theory suggested that personality is primarily formed and set in stone at an early age, Erikson
believed that personality continued to develop throughout life.

How Personality Is Tested

To study and measure personality, psychologists have developed personality tests, assessments, and inventories.
The tests are widely used in a variety of settings. For example, the famous Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator (MBTI) is frequently used as a pre-employment screening assessment.

Other assessments can be used to help people learn more about different aspects of their personalities. Some
tests are used as screening and evaluation tools to help diagnose personality disorders.

Gaining a better understanding of your personality can be helpful in many aspects of your life. For example,
relationships with friends, family, and coworkers might improve when you become aware that you work well
with others or that you need to make time to be alone.

You have probably encountered a selection of personality tests online (for example, an online quiz that tells you
whether you are extroverted or introverted). Some of these tests purport to reveal the "real you," while others
are clearly meant only for entertainment.

Personality assessments that you take online should be taken with a grain of salt. Informal tools can be fun and
might offer some insight into your preferences and characteristics, but only personality tests administered by
trained and qualified professionals should be used as formal assessments or to make a diagnosis.

Personality Disorders
Personality psychologists are also interested in studying problems with personality that may arise. Personality
disorders are characterized as chronic and pervasive mental disorders that can seriously impact a person's
thoughts, behaviors, and interpersonal functioning.

The current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5 ) lists 10 personality
disorders, including antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality
disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) reports that approximately 9.1% of the adult population in the
United States experiences symptoms of at least one personality disorder each year.

Being diagnosed with a personality disorder can be distressing, but you should know that there are treatments.
Working with a mental health professional, you can learn to recognize the difficulties that these disorders can
cause and explore new coping strategies.

It is OK to feel frightened and concerned about what the future might hold but remember that you do not have
to face it alone. There are people who are trained, skilled, and ready to help you take the next steps in your
treatment.

Depending on your specific diagnosis, your doctor might recommend psychotherapy, skills training,
medication, or a combination of all three.
Work closely with your healthcare team to develop a treatment plan that focuses on your needs and goals.

Guide Questions for final Exam.

Part I.

1. What is Personality?
2. Explain one theory of personality by giving its description.
3. How To measure Personality?
4. What is Personality Disorder? Give 3 examples of personality disorder.

Part II. Answer the personality test in this link. https://www.truity.com/test-results/typefinder/17870/25802126

Note: Be sure not to miss any item until the last part. Copy the result of your test and its description and type.
Never to share your result. And nobody got the same result. You fail if you have exactly the same result with
others. So answer the on-line test carefully.

Example from the result.

YOU ARE AN ENFP- The Champion

ENFPs are people-centered creators with a focus on possibilities and a contagious enthusiasm for new ideas,
people and activities. Energetic, warm, and passionate, ENFPs love to help other people explore their creative
potential.

45%INTROVERTED 55%EXTRAVERTED

Your energy style is a blend of Introversion and Extraversion, and as such, you are neither a true Introvert nor a
true Extravert.  For the purposes of personality typing, you may call yourself an Extravert, as you do tend
slightly to prefer this mode. However, it’s more accurate to say that you are a bit of both Extravert and
Introvert: you tend to use both styles somewhat equally, or you may prefer one style over the other depending
on the situation.