PERSONALITY

SYNOPSIS OF THE SESSION

We often hear or utter statements like “he/she has A pleasant personality”, “I don’t like
his/her personality”, “I have my father’s personality”, and the like.

How do these images of personality reflect the way psychologists describe personality?

These images suggest that personality is a property of the individual that is related to
how the person functions in the world.

These are some of the questions we will explore in this session: what is personality?
What are the different types of personality?

What is the nature and nurture controversy

 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
At the end of the session, the learner will:

• Explain the concept of personality

• Distinguish among personality, temperament and character
• Give applications of Freud’s notion of personality in real-life contexts.
• Explain why different individuals respond to the same situation in
different ways.
• Explain the implications of the nature-nurture debate in real-life contexts.
 DEFINING PERSONALITY
• The idea of personality is rather slippery.
•It is connected to ideas like temperament
and character.
•It will be useful to expand on the related
terms to gain a better understanding of the
notion of personality.
 TEMPERAMENT
• Temperament is the natural part of your personality
that comes from your genes. 
• It is part of your personality that always shows up
first. It shows up among babies.
• Because temperament is genetic and comes from
your inherited traits, it is hard to modify.
• Temperament has an interesting history.
Hippocrates’ theory of the four senses of
humour was one of the first that tried to explain
the idea of temperament.
• He thought a person’s personality and health
depended on a balance of four different
substances: yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and
blood. He called them the bodily senses of
humour.
Galen took hippocrates’ idea further to categorize
people according to their temperaments and came up
with four types of people. They are
• Choleric (yellow bile): passionate and energetic
people who get angry quickly.
• Melancholic (black bile): sad people who get upset
easily and have a great artistic sensibility.
•Phlegmatic (phlegm): cold and rational
people.
•Sanguine (blood): happy and optimistic
people who express affection towards
other people and are sure of themselves.
 
 Character
• This is the aspect of personality that includes
temperament (inherited traits) and the social and
educational habits that people have learned. That
is, character is both a natural component of personality
and one you learn.  Character is rooted in culture. 
• Character is not as stable as temperament. Because it is
not genetic, it does not show up fully in the early stages
of development.
 Personality

• Personality comes from adding up character

(temperament and learned habits) and behaviour. 
• Personality is something that distinguishes individuals,
which means it is characteristic of each person.
•And according to many studies, it is stable over time
and through different situations. 
• The two most widely used definitions in psychology
are:
• “Personality is the total sum of an organism’s
behavioural patterns (current or potential) determined
by genetics and environment.”- Hans eysenck.
• “Personality is the typical behavioural patterns
(including emotions and thoughts) that characterize a
person’s adaptation to the events of life.” -Walter
mischel.
 The A, B, C, and D Personality Types

• Four different personality types—A, B, C,

and D—have been identified by
psychologists.
• Anyone can be categorized into one of the
four personality types. They are not, however,
solely classified into a single category or type.
The A, B, C, and D Personality Types
 Type A personality
• The Type A Personality is the “go-getter” type. The type A
personality can also be known as director.
• Type A personality likes to be in control of their environment
and their lives.
• They are normally not very detail-oriented, choosing to
delegate details to others. They are usually very goal-oriented
and practical in their solutions. They arrive at solutions and
goals with a no-nonsense, bottom-line approach.
• Characteristics: fast-paced and impatient, entrepreneurial, workaholic,
ambitious
• At work,: good under stress, works well independently, good delegation
skills, workaholic
• Motivated by: money, opportunity, freedom, leadership
• The best careers: President/CEO, general contractor, salesperson or sales
manager, business owner
• Weaknesses: Do not like a lot of restraints, not good at teamwork, quite
impatient at times, not very good at recognizing coworkers’ feelings and
needs.
 Type B personality
• The type B personality is the laid-back one. The
type B personality can also be known as,
socialiser. 
• The type B personality is a very outgoing, energetic
and fast-paced individual who likes to be around
people and enjoys being the centre of attention.
• Characteristics: enthusiastic and fun-loving, persuasive, friendly,
charismatic and confident
• At work: relationship-oriented, outgoing, may try to do too much at
once, doesn't finish what was started
• Motivated by public recognition, awards, plaques, certificates, having
pictures taken with celebrities
• Best careers: public relations, party planner, salesperson
• Weaknesses: hate being humiliated in public, they do not want to
appear unsuccessful, they hide any weakness.
 Type C personality
• The type C personality is the detailed one. The type C
personality can also be known as the thinker.
• The type C personality is a very detail-oriented individual who
likes to be involved in things that are controlled and stable.
They are interested in accuracy, rationality, and logic.
• They also dislike being around people who are full of hype,
since they desire facts, accuracy and logic.
• Characteristics: accuracy and detail-oriented, creative,
lawful, worried about progress
• At work: detail-oriented, logical, worry about progress,
quality control
• Motivated by: challenges, control, problem-solving
• Best careers: forecaster, troubleshooter, investigator (police,
crime scene, private, etc.)
• Weaknesses: quite controlling, appear stoic, sticklers for
following protocols.
 Type D personality
• The type D personality is the existentialist one. The type
D personality can also be known as the supporter. 
• A type D personality takes a slower, easier pace toward
their work and life in general. They seek security and
longevity on the job and are very happy doing repetitive
task day in and day out. The repetition allows them to
become very skilled.
• Characteristics: shy, low-key and observant, caring, sincere,
fair and equitable, avoiding confrontation
• At work: task-oriented, stabilizing, cautious, going along
when they don't agree
• Motivated by: stability, benefits, security, low risk, routine
• Best careers: secure team position, teacher, counselor, social
worker, HR manager
• Weakness: they seek the respect, sincere admiration, and
acceptance of others. They feel insecure
 The Five-factor models of personality
• Openness is characterized by open-mindedness and willingness to try
new things.
• Conscientiousness is characterized by being organized and hard-
working.
• Extraversion is characterized by being outgoing and affectionate.
• Agreeableness is characterized by kindness, and a desire to please
others.
• Neuroticism is characterized by being nervous, worried, and
emotionally unstable.
 Theories of personality
• There have been several perspectives on why
different individuals respond to the same situation
in different ways. These are the theories of
personality. They explain why persons exhibit one
personality type or the other. Some are:
• Trait personality theory: that personalities are made
up of innate characteristics that endure across time.
• Humanistic personality theory: that people are
inherently decent and have the desire to improve
themselves. People are driven by a desire for self-
actualization.
• Biological theory of personality: that your genes
play a role in determining your personality.
• Behaviorist personality theory: that people
are born with "blank slates," and their
environments have a profound impact on how
they develop their personalities.
• Social cognitive theory of personality: that
interactions between social, cognitive, and
behavioural elements shape personality.
 SIGMUND FREUD’S PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
OF PERSONALITY

Psychoanalysts view personality as primarily

unconscious and as occurring in stages. Most
psychoanalytic perspectives emphasize the importance
of early experiences with parents in sculpting
personality.
 FREUD'S THEORY OF THE HUMAN MIND

One impactful idea put forth by Freud was his model of the human
mind. His model divides the mind into three regions:
1. Conscious: this is where our current thoughts, feelings, and focus live;
2. Preconscious/subconscious: this is the home of everything we can
recall or retrieve from our memory;
3. Unconscious: at the deepest level of our minds resides a repository of
the processes that drive our behaviour, including primitive and
instinctual desires (Mcleod, 2013).
 Freud's structure of Personality.
He believed that personality has three
structures.

•The ID is the reservoir of psychic energy

that tries to satisfy our basic needs. It is
unconscious and operates according to the
pleasure principle.

•The pleasure principle is the freudian

concept that the ID always seeks pleasure
and avoids pain.
 Freud's structure of Personality
• As children experience the demands and
constraints of reality, a new structure of
personality, EGO, is formed.

• The EGO tries to provide us with pleasure by

operating within the boundaries of reality.

• It abides by the reality principle.

• It helps us to test reality, to see how far we

can go without getting into trouble and
hurting ourselves.
 Freud's structure of Personality
• The SUPEREGO is the freudian
structure of personality that is the
moral branch of personality.
• It considers whether something is
right or wrong. It is often called our
conscience.
• Like the ID the SUPEREGO does
not consider reality; it does not deal
with what is realistic, only whether
the ID'S sexual and aggressive
impulses can be satisfied in moral
terms.
 Defense Mechanisms
Freud believed these three parts of the mind are in
constant conflict because each part has a different
primary goal.

Sometimes, when the conflict is too much for a person to

handle, his or her ego may engage in one or many
defense mechanisms to protect the individual.
 Defense Mechanisms
THESE DEFENSE MECHANISMS INCLUDE:

 REPRESSION: the ego pushes disturbing or threatening thoughts out of

one’s consciousness;

 DENIAL: the ego blocks upsetting or overwhelming experiences from

awareness, causing the individual to refuse to acknowledge or believe
what is happening;

 PROJECTION: the ego attempts to solve discomfort by attributing the

individual’s unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and motives to another
DISPLACEMENT: the individual satisfies an impulse by acting on
a substitute object or person in a socially unacceptable way (e.g.
Releasing frustration directed toward your boss on your spouse
instead);
REGRESSION: as a defence mechanism, the individual moves
backwards in development to cope with stress (e.g. An
overwhelmed adult acting like a child);
SUBLIMATION: similar to displacement, this defence mechanism
involves satisfying an impulse by acting on a substitute but in a
socially acceptable way (e.g. Channeling energy into work or a
constructive hobby) (Mcleod, 2013)
 The Psychosexual Development of Personality
• Freud proposed that children develop in five distinct stages, each focused on a
different source of pleasure.
FIRST STAGE: oral—the child seeks pleasure from the mouth (e.g. Sucking);
SECOND STAGE: anal—the child seeks pleasure from the anus (e.g.
Withholding and expelling faeces);
THIRD STAGE: phallic—the child seeks pleasure from the penis or clitoris
(e.g. Masturbation);
FOURTH STAGE: latent—the child has little or no sexual motivation;
FIFTH STAGE: genital—the child seeks pleasure from the penis or vagina
(e.g. Sexual intercourse)
• Freud hypothesized that an individual must complete each stage to
become a psychologically healthy adult with a fully formed ego and
superego. Otherwise, individuals may become stuck or “fixated” in a
particular stage, causing emotional and behavioural problems in
adulthood.

• The weaknesses of Freud’s concept include the difficulty of testing

the main concepts, the lack of an empirical database and overreliance
on reports from the past. There was also too much emphasis on
sexuality and the unconscious mind, a negative view of human
nature, too much power given to early experience and a male bias.
 THE NATURE AND NURTURE CONTROVERSY

•The different perspectives of personality lead to the long-standing nature

and nurture debate.
•The nature-nurture debate is the argument over what determines our
personality and behaviour: innate biology or life experience.
•According to the nature-only view, “what we are” comes from inborn
tendencies and genetically based traits. Conversely, the nurture-only
view is that we are essentially the same at birth and we are the product of
our experiences.
 THE NATURE AND NURTURE CONTROVERSY

•John locke explained this by positing that the human mind of a person
at birth is a blank slate (tabula rasa) on which experiences of life are
written.
•The accumulation of experiences makes the person who he/she is.
•The new way of thinking about this argument is the idea of soft wiring.
• It means that biological systems involved in thought and behaviour-
genes, brain structures, brains cell etc- are inherited and are still open to
modification from the environment. (Ottersen, 2010)
 THE NATURE AND NURTURE CONTROVERSY

•The conclusion is that human behaviour is

essentially nature through nurture- the
environment interacts continuously with
biology to shape who we are and what we
do.
•The story of victor, the wild boy of Aveyron aptly
demonstrates the conclusion of the debate.

•The conclusion from the story is that we are not

fully human just by ourselves. Without society,
human beings would never become fully human.
QUESTION TIME