Personality - Definitions

Generic - Unique set of traits and characteristics, relatively stable over time.
J B Watson (1930) - Personality is the sum of activities that can be discovered by actual
observations over long enough period of time to give reliable information.

M Prince (1929) - Personality is the sum total of all biological innate dispositions,
impulses, tendencies, appetites and instincts of the individual and the dispositions and
tendencies acquired by experience.

Gordon Allport ( 1948) analyzed 49 definitions of personality and came up with the
“Personality is dynamic organization within the individual of those Psychophysical systems
that determine his unique adjustment to his environment.
 Personality
Theories

Type Theories Trait Theories

Type theories explain Trait theories focus
personality on the basis of on measurement of
physique and traits which can be
temperament. defined as habitual
Temperament refers to patterns of behavior,
emotional aspect like thought and emotion
mood, tensions,
excitement etc.
 Personality
Theories

Type Theories Trait Theories

Jung's classification Allport’s Trait Theory
Kretchmer’s classification Cattle’s trait theory
Sheldon’s Classification
Friedman and Roseman’s
classification
 MBTI
Katharine Cook
Briggs and her
daughter, Isabel
Briggs Myers
Extraversion (E) – Introversion (I)
The extraversion-introversion dichotomy was first explored by Jung in his theory of Personality Types as a way to
describe how people respond and interact with the world around them. While these terms are familiar to most people,
the way in which they are used in the MBTI differs somewhat from their popular usage.

Extraverts (also often spelled extroverts) are "outward- Introverts are "inward-turning" and tend to be thought-
turning" and tend to be action-oriented, enjoy more oriented, enjoy deep and meaningful social interactions,
frequent social interaction, and feel energized after and feel recharged after spending time alone.
spending time with other people.

Sensing (S) – Intuition (N)

This scale involves looking at how people gather information from the world around them. Just like with extraversion and
introversion, all people spend some time sensing and intuiting depending on the situation. According to the MBTI, people tend to
be dominant in one area or the other.

People who prefer sensing tend to pay a great deal of attention Those who prefer intuition pay more attention to things
to reality, particularly to what they can learn from their own like patterns and impressions. They enjoy thinking about
senses. They tend to focus on facts and details and enjoy getting possibilities, imagining the future, and abstract theories.
hands-on experience.
Thinking (T) – Feeling (F)
This scale focuses on how people make decisions based on the information that they gathered from their sensing or intuition
functions.

People who prefer thinking place a greater emphasis on facts Those who prefer feeling are more likely to consider people
and objective data. They tend to be consistent, logical, and and emotions when arriving at a conclusion
impersonal when weighing a decision

Judging (J) – Perceiving (P)

The final scale involves how people tend to deal with the outside world. Those who lean toward judging prefer structure and
firm decisions. People who lean toward perceiving are more open, flexible, and adaptable. These two tendencies interact with
the other scales.

All people at least spend some time engaged in extraverted activities. The judging-perceiving scale helps describe whether
you behave like an extravert when you are taking in new information (sensing and intuiting) or when you are making
decisions (thinking and feeling)..
Corporate Perspective of Jungian Architypes
Friedman and Roseman’s classification
 Evolution of Big 5 Personality Theory
1930s - Gordon Allport and Henry Odbert gathered 18,000 personality-describing words from Webster's New
International Dictionary. It was further filtered into non-physical characteristics, creating a 4,500 word bank
words/observable traits.

1946, psychologist Raymond Cattell created 181 clusters of personality traits and asked people which ones they
observed in the real-world. The analysis and research Cattell generated a sixteen factor framework test which
included factors such as intelligence. 

In the early 1960s, two researchers Tupes and Christal from US Air Force took off from where Cattell left. They
created a test, eight large samples, finding five recurring factors.

In 1970, two research teams, one from NIH led by Paul Costa and Robert R. McCrae and other led by Lewis
Goldberg (UoM at Ann Harbor) and Warren Norman ( University of Oregon) took it further. They established 5
dimensions.

Norman named these factors Surgency, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional

Stability, and Culture

In 1981, it was formally termed as Big 5 which has the 5 factors being used today.
Openness High
This trait features characteristics such as imagination and
insight. People who are high in this trait also tend to have a •Very Creative
broad range of interests. They are curious about the •Open to trying new things
world and other people and eager to learn new things •Focused on tackling new challenges
and enjoy new experiences. •Happy to think about abstract concepts
People who are high in this trait tend to be more
adventurous and creative People low in this trait are often
much more traditional and may struggle with abstract
thinking.

Low
•Dislikes change
•Does not enjoy new things
•Resists new ideas
•Not very imaginative
•Dislikes abstract or theoretical concepts
Conscientiousness High
Standard features of this dimension include high levels of •Spends time preparing
thoughtfulness, good impulse control, and goal-directed •Finishes important tasks right away
behaviors. Highly conscientious people tend to be •Pays attention to detail
organized and mindful of details. They plan ahead, think •Enjoys having a set schedule
about how their behavior affects others, and are mindful of
deadlines.

Low
•Dislikes structure and schedules
•Makes messes and doesn't take care of things
•Fails to return things or put them back where they
belong
Extraversion High
Extraversion (or extroversion) is characterized by excitability, •Enjoys being the center of attention
sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of •Likes to start conversations
emotional expressiveness.1 People who are high in extraversion •Enjoys meeting new people
are outgoing and tend to gain energy in social situations. Being •Has a wide social circle of friends and
around other people helps them feel energized and excited. acquaintances
People who are low in extraversion (or introverted) tend to be •Finds it easy to make new friends
more reserved and have less energy to expend in social settings. •Feels energized when around other people
Social events can feel draining and introverts often require a period •Say things before thinking about them
of solitude and quiet in order to "recharge."

Low
•Prefers solitude
•Feels exhausted when having to socialize a lot
•Finds it difficult to start conversations
•Dislikes making small talk
•Carefully thinks things through before speaking
•Dislikes being the center of attention
Agreeableness
This personality dimension includes attributes such as
trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial
behaviors. People who are high in agreeableness tend to
be more cooperative while those low in this trait tend to
be more competitive and sometimes even manipulative.
High
•Has a great deal of interest in other people
•Cares about others
•Feels empathy and concern for other people
•Enjoys helping and contributing to the happiness of
other people
•Assists others who are in need of help
Low
•Takes little interest in others
•Doesn't care about how other people feel
•Has little interest in other people's problems
•Insults and belittles others
•Manipulates others to get what they want
Neuroticism High
Neuroticism is a trait characterized by sadness, moodiness,
and emotional instability. Individuals who are high in this •Experiences a lot of stress
trait tend to experience mood swings, anxiety, irritability, •Worries about many different things
and sadness. Those low in this trait tend to be more stable •Gets upset easily
and emotionally resilient. •Experiences dramatic shifts in mood
•Feels anxious
•Struggles to bounce back after stressful events

Low
•Emotionally stable
•Deals well with stress
•Rarely feels sad or depressed
•Doesn't worry much
•Is very relaxed
 Personality Assessment
Techniques

Observation
Situational Tests
Questionnaire
Personality Inventory
Rating Scale
Interview
Projective Techniques