Personality

By Ashutosh Tiwari

BA (H) Applied Psychology University of Delhi (2012)

MA (H) Psychology Guru Nanak Dev University (2014)
PhD Clinical Psychology GNDU (2014 – 2019*)
*pursuing....
 Personality
Personality refers to the
relatively enduring characteristics that
differentiate one person from another &
that lead people to act in a consistent &
predictable manner (who, when will do what?)…, both in
different situations and over extended
periods of time.
 Acc. to G. Allport (1937)

“Personality is Dynamic organization

within the individual
of those psycho-physical system which
determines his Unique adjustment
into his environment.”
 Type ‘A’ Personality Trait
Type ‘B’ is apposite of type ‘A’

FIGURE 1.1 Personality types are defined by the presence of several specific traits. For
example, several possible personality traits are shown in the left column. A person who has a
Type A personality typically possesses all or most of the highlighted traits. Type A persons are
especially prone to heart disease
 Factor Affecting Personality
Biological / Inborn Social/ Acquired
Education/ School Environment
Family Environment
Genetics (Appearance & temperament)
Culture/ Cultural Environment
Intrinsic Motives
Language
Gender Difference Social Role
Intelligence & Nervous system Childhood Memory
Stress and emotional control Communication - Feedback
Group (religion, peers)

Interpersonal Relation Acceptance,

respect
Importance of family experience
Importance of family experience
Sigmund Freud’s suggestion that
variation in the sexual & aggressive aims
of the id (biological/inborn), combined with
family experience, leads to the development of
the ego and superego.

• Freud suggested that differences in parental

socialization produced variation in anxiety
which, in turn, leads to different
personalities.
Role of the social experiences

John Bowlby contributed to this new emphasis on the

infant’s Relationships with parents in his books on
attachment. Bowlby argued that

nature of the infant’s relationship to the caretakers

and especially the mother

created a profile of emotional reactions

toward adults that might last indefinitely.

Four important influences on Personality

Of the four important influences on personality—

Identification,
Ordinal position,
Social class, and
Parental socialization—identification
is the most important.

A six-year-old girl identified with her mother will

experience pride should mother win a prize or be
praised by a friend. However, she will experience shame
or anxiety if her mother is criticized or is rejected by
friends. The process of identification has great
relevance to personalty development.
Understanding of Personality Development

Contemporary theorists emphasize

personality traits having to do with individualism,

internalized conscience, sociability with strangers, the
ability to control strong emotion and impulse, and
personal achievement.
 Basic Perspectives on Personality
Trait approach: how people differ psychologically from one
another. Focus on personality traits.
Psychoanalytic approach: focus on unconscious mind and
internal conflict
Biological: address physiology, inheritance, and evolution
and relate these to personality
Behaviorist/learning: focus on science of learning, impact
of rewards, punishment
Humanistic/phenomenological approach: focus on conscious
experience, focus on growth, spirituality, and self-
fulfillment
Cognitive approach: emphasizes human thought, draws
from modern cognitive psychology
Interactional: situation and person interact
 True or False?
1. I believe my parents have been one of the most
influential forces in my development.

2. Events that occurred in childhood still affect me

today.

3. I sometimes experience a struggle from within

myself.

4. Sometimes I am not aware of my own motivations

and desires.

5. Sometimes when I am in an argument, I feel they

assume that I am upset, when I am actually fine.
 Describe Your Behavior
Choose 2 for
1. On a date
each:
2. At home with parents Selfish,

3. In class Energetic,

4. At a sporting event Demanding,

5. Reading a book Polite,

6. In dining hall at mealtime Reserved,

7. Talking with a good friend Helpful

 Humanism
• Approach that focuses on human experience,
problems, potentials, and ideals
• Human Nature: Traits, qualities, potentials, and
behavior patterns most characteristic of humans
• Free Choice: Ability to choose that is NOT controlled
by genetics, learning, or unconscious forces
• Subjective Experience: Private perceptions of reality
• Self-Actualization (Maslow): Process of fully
developing personal potentials
• Peak Experiences: Temporary moments of self-
actualization
 The humanistic perspective focuses on the motivation of
people to grow psychologically, the influence of interpersonal
relationships on a person’s self-concept, and the importance
of choice and self-direction in striving to reach one’s
potential.
 Carl Rogers’ Self Theory
• Fully Functioning Person: Lives in harmony with
his/her deepest feelings and impulses
• Self: Flexible and changing perception of one’s
identity
• Self-Image: Total subjective perception of your body
and personality
• Incongruence: Exists when there is a discrepancy
between one’s experiences and self-image
• Ideal Self: Idealized image of oneself (the person
one would like to be)
• Positive Self-Regard: Thinking of oneself as a good,
lovable, worthwhile person
• Unconditional Positive Regard: Unshakable love and
approval
Figure 10.8

FIGURE 10.8 Incongruence occurs when there is a mismatch between any of these three
entities: the ideal self (the person you would like to be), your self-image (the person you think
you are), and the true self (the person you actually are). Selfesteem suffers when there is a
large difference between one’s ideal self and self-image. Anxiety and defensiveness are
common when the self-image does not match the true self.
 More Rogerian Concepts

• Conditions of Worth: Internal standards of evaluation

used by children
• Positive Self-Regard: Thinking of oneself as a good,
lovable, worthwhile person
• Organismic Valuing: Natural, undistorted, full-body
reaction to an experience
• Unconditional Positive Regard: Unshakable love and
approval
 Personality Assessment
• Interview: Face-to-face meeting designed to
gain information about someone’s personality,
current psychological state, or personal history
– Unstructured Interview: Conversation is informal,
and topics are discussed as they arise
– Structured Interview: Follows a prearranged plan,
using a series of planned questions
• Direct Observation: Looking at behavior
• Projective Test: an ambiguous/ vague stimuli is
presented to the person and the person
responds from his/her choice freely. WAT &
TAT are most widely used personality
assessment in this category.
Other Types of Personality Assessments
• Behavioral Assessment: Recording the frequency of
specific behaviors
• Objective Test: MCQ Regarding Personality and
behaviour being asked in different way.
• Situational Test: Real life situations are simulated so
that someone’s spontaneous reactions can be
recorded
• In-Basket Test: Simulates decision-making challenges
that executives face
– Basket full of memos is given to applicant, and
applicant must act appropriately as quickly as
possible
• Leaderless Group Discussion: Test of leadership that
simulates group decision making and problem solving
THANK YOU