Personality

“No two persons are born exactly alike;

but each differs from the other in natural
endowments, one being suited for one
occupation and the other for another.”

EVERY MAN is in certain respects

a. like all other men,
b. like some other men,
c. like no other man.
Lay usage of the term "personality":
“She has a wonderful personality.”
“He has no personality.”
“He’s a real personality.”

Personality comes from

The Greek word "persona", meaning "mask”
Personality is a dynamic organisation of psychophysical
systems that create a person’s characteristic patterns
of
behaviour, thoughts, and feelings.”

Those characteristics that account for consistent

patterns of behaviour.

The unique and relatively stable patterns of

behaviour, thoughts and feelings shown by
individuals.

It is the sum total of the ways in which an individual

reacts to and interacts with the environment.
 Trait and Type
• The type approaches attempt to
comprehend human personality by
examining certain broad patterns in the
observed behavioural characteristics of
individuals.
• The trait approach focuses on the specific
psychological attributes along which
individuals tend to differ in consistent and
stable ways.
Hippocrate’s Typology

In 400 B.C. Hippocrates attempted to explain

personality in terms of body fluid or humors.
He postulated that our body has four types of fluid;
yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm.
Every person is characterised by the prominence
of one type of fluid which determines the
temperament of the person concerned.
.
Sheldon’s Typology

Sheldon on the basis of physical constitution categorised

personality into somatotypes. These three types are:
Endomorphy – Such persons are short and fatty with a
round shape of body. They like to eat and drink and
make merry. They are gregarious by nature and have
leisurely attitude toward life.
Mesomorphy – These people are muscular types. Their
muscles and bones are quite well developed and they
are physically well shaped. These people generally are
considered to be toughminded, risk taking, assertive and
aggressive.
Ectomorphy – Such people are tall but thin. Sheldon called
them “cerebrotonia”. These people like to remain away
from people.
Jung’s Typology
• Jung postulated personality theory based on
psychological characteristics.
• He divided people into two broad types i.e.
extroverts and introverts.
• Extroverts – Such people are socially oriented.
They like to mix up with people, are fun loving,
optimistic. Often such people exhibit leadership
qualities.
• Introverts – They are the opposite of extroverts.
They do not like to mingle with people. They have
very few friends. They are self-centered and
conservative.
• Jung’s classification has been criticised on
the ground that it is not possible to divide
people into two watertight compartments
because a significant number of people do
not fall in either of the categories.

• They exhibit characteristics of both the

extrovert and introvert type.
• To compensate for this psychologists
placed such persons into another category
called ambivert
 Type A and Type B
Type A: show high levels of competitiveness,
irritability, and time urgency.
Type B: show the opposite pattern are more
calm and relaxed.
Type A works harder in presence of
distractions and they seek more difficult and
challenging job than type B. They perform
poorly on those jobs which require patience
or careful judgment. Type A appear to have
“short fuses”- that is they often become
angry and behave aggressively. Most top
executives are Type B personalities.
• MBTI Myers-Briggs Type indicator

• 100 questions asking people how they actually feel or

act in particular situation.

• Extroverted vs Introverted (E I)outgoing, sociable or

assertive or quiet and shy.
• Sensing vs Intuitive (S N) Sensing types are practical
and prefer routine and order. They focus on details.
The intuitive type look at the big picture and rely on
unconscious processes.
• Thinking vs Feeling ( T F).Thinking type use reason
logic to handle problems and feeling type rely on
personal values and emotions.
• Judging vs perceiving (J P) judging type prefer
control and want order and perceiving types are
flexible and spontaneous.
INFJ (introvert, intuitive, feeling, judgmental) Quietly forceful,
conscientious, and concerned for others. Such people succeed
by perseverance, originality, and the desire to do whatever is
needed or wanted. They are often highly respected for their
uncompromising principles.

ESTP (extrovert, sensing, thinking, perceptive)

Blunt and sometimes insensitive. Such people are matter-of-
fact and do not
worry or hurry. They enjoy whatever comes along. They work best
with real things that can be assembled or disassembled.

ISFP (introvert, sensing, feeling, perceptive)

Sensitive, kind, modest, shy, and quietly friendly. Such people
strongly dislike
disagreements and will avoid them. They are loyal followers and
quite often are relaxed about getting things done.

ENTJ (extrovert, intuitive, thinking, judgmental) Warm, friendly,

candid, and decisive; also usually skilled in anything that
requires reasoning and intelligent talk, but may sometimes overestimate
what they are capable of doing.
• These are combined into 16 personality
types-

• It has been found that those who created

super successful firms like Apple computer,
Honda motors, Microsoft, Sony were
intuitive thinkers ( NT).

• Intuitive thinkers represent about 5% of the

population.
 Trait
• “A trait refers to any characteristic that differs
from person to person in a relatively
permanent and consistent way.”
• Personality is made up of different traits.
• Traits are the building blocks and human
behaviour can be described in terms of these
traits.
• A trait generally is a description of behaviour,
for example, friendliness, social, assertive are
words that describe human behaviour
• Research has shown that these big five
factors are very important.

• Conscientiousness shows the strongest

relation with performance.
• High emotional stability high task
performance.
• Agreeableness is positively related to
interpersonal aspects of work.
• The BIG five model

• Most fundamental traits.

• Conscientiousness- the extent to ind. are hard working, organized,

dependable and persevering (high c) vs. lazy, disorganized and
unreliable (low c).
• Extraversion- the degree to which individuals are gregarious,
assertive and sociable vs being reserved, timid and
quite(introversion).
• Agreeableness- extent to which ind. are cooperative, warm vs. cold
and disagreeable.
• Emotional stability- the degree to which individuals are emotional,
insecure, anxious and depressed (emotionally unstable) vs. calm,
self confident and secure (emotionally stable).
• Openness to experience- the extent to which ind. are creative,
curious and cultured vs. practical and with narrow interests (closed
to experience.
• Locus of Control
– Internal locus: persons who believe that they control
their own destiny.
– External locus: persons who believe that what
happens to them is due to luck or chance (the
uncontrollable effects of outside forces) .
• Machiavellianism (Mach)
– The degree to which an individual is pragmatic,
maintains emotional distance, and seeks to gain and
manipulate power—ends can justify means.
• Self-Esteem (SE)
– The degree to which people like or dislike themselves
– High SEs
• Believe in themselves and expect success.
• Take more risks and use unconventional approaches.
• Are more satisfied with their jobs than Low SEs.
– Low SEs
• Are more susceptible to external influences.
• Depend on positive evaluations from others.
• Are more prone to conform than high SEs.
 Theories of Personality
Freud’s Psychodynamic theory-medical
doctor
Personality and Psychological disorders
His ideas were complex and touched on
many issues.
Important notions in Freud’s theory
Urge to survive-Eros/libido relate to love and
procreation-sexual urges
Death wish-thanatos aggressive behaviour
 Levels of consciousness-
beneath the iceberg’s tip
• He believed that the human mind has 3 levels.
• The conscious- our current thoughts, whatever we are
experiencing at the moment.
• The preconscious- memories that are not part of the
current thought but can be brought to mind if the need
arises
• The unconscious- the bulk of the human mind is the
unconscious- thoughts, desires, impulses of which we
remain unaware, much of this may be conscious at some
time but has been repressed. They too affect us.
• We can probe the unconscious by interpretation of
dreams. In dreams Freud believed we can give
expression to desires we find otherwise unacceptable.
THE STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY

• Freud proposed that the human psyche could be

divided into three parts: Id, ego, and super-ego.
They correspond to desire, reason, conscience.
The id is the impulsive, child-like portion of the
psyche that operates on the "pleasure principle"
and only takes into account what it wants and
disregards all consequences.
Pleasure- principle-Immediate pleasure is the sole
motivation, immediate gratification- not capable
of considering the potential costs of seeking this
goal.
The rational ego attempts to exact a balance
between the id and the super-ego;
it is the part of the psyche that is usually
reflected most directly in a person's
actions
Our ego is our self which is in touch with
reality-
It takes into account external conditions and
consequences of various actions.
• The super-ego is the moral component of
the psyche, which takes into account no
special circumstances in which the morally
right thing may not be right for a given
situation
• It is the conscience within us. Sensitive to moral
and social values.
• The superego comes in conflict with id-which are
resolved by ego.
• Freudian slips- errors in speech that reflect
unconscious impulses
 Psychosexual Stages of
Development
• Freud argued that the adult personality is formed by
experiences from the first 5 or 6 years of life.
• Centers on sexual themes.
• Small amounts of libido used up resolving each crisis.
• Significance of the developmental stages lies in the concept
of fixation.
• Adult expresses characteristics reminiscent of the stage at which
the energy (libido) was fixated.
• People can get through stages without becoming fixated.

• An innate sequence of stages through which all human beings pass.

• At each stage pleasure is focused on different regions of the body.
• Libido- the psychic energy that powers all
mental activity- focus on pleasure, the
expression may change as we develop.

• Fixation- excessive energy in a particular

stage of psychosexual stage of
development.

• As we grow and develop different parts of

the body serve as the focus of our qust of
pleasure.
 Oral Stage
• First 18 months of life.
• Infants get gratification through oral pleasures like sucking,
feeding and babbling.
• Traumatic experiences can include feeding or weaning
problems.
• If one develops an oral personality:
– Can be dependent as adults.
– If fixation occurs after the child has teeth may result in excessive
aggression as an adult.
 Anal Stage
• When child reaches the age of about 18 months.
• Anal region becomes the most important erogenous
zone.
• Most children are being toilet trained at this time.
• The child learns to respond to some of the demands of
the society- like bowel and bladder control
• Traumatic toilet training may result in fixation and an
anal personality- excessively orderly, compulsive.
• Fixation stemming from relaxed toilet training –
undisciplined, impulsive, excessively generous.
 Phallic Stage

• Occurs when the child is approximately 4- 6 years old.

• The child learns the differences between males and females
and becomes aware of sexuality
• Sexual organs become the most important erogenous zone.

• Oedipus Complex – occurs in the later part of the phallic

stage. Odepius a character in ancient Greek literature who
unknowingly killed his father and then married his mother.
• Fear of punishment for such desires.
 Latency stage
• Sexual desires are relatively weak as the
Oedipus complex is resolved.
 Genital Stage
• The final stage of sexual development.
• Once the child reaches puberty, the
erogenous urges return and are focused in
the adult sex regions.
• If the child has progressed to this stage
without leaving large amounts of libido
fixated in earlier stages, normal sexual
functioning is possible.
 Defense Mechanisms
• The ego’s way of dealing with unwanted thoughts
and desires; wants to resolve tension.
• Repression – active effort of the ego to push threatening
material out of consciousness or to keep such material from
ever reaching consciousness. This is a constant, active
process.
• Sublimation – the ego channels threatening unconscious
impulses into socially acceptable actions.
– Ex: Aggressive id impulses are channeled into competitive
sports.
 Defense Mechanisms
Continued…
• Displacement – involves channeling our impulses to non-
threatening objects; do not lead to social rewards.
– Ex: If someone is angry at the boss, he or she may take that
anger out on the children at home.

• Denial – refusing to accept that certain facts exist; insisting

that something is not true.

• Reaction Formation – hiding from a threatening

unconscious idea or urge by acting in a manner opposite to
our unconscious desires.
– Ex: People obsessed with religious values.
 Defense Mechanisms
Continued…
• Intellectualization – ego handles threatening
material by removing the emotional content from
the thought before allowing it into awareness; by
considering something strictly intellectual,
previously difficult thoughts are allowed into
awareness without anxiety.

• Projection – attributing an unconscious impulse to

other people instead of ourselves; we free
ourselves from the perception that we are the only
ones that have that thought.
 Evaluation of
Psychoanalytic Theory
• Freud overemphasized sexuality and placed little emphasis
on other aspects of the child’s experience.
• Freud’s theory is largely untestable. Particularly, the
concept of the unconscious is unprovable.
• According to Freud, the only way that people in
psychological distress can get relief is to undergo therapy, to
identify unresolved conflicts from infancy and childhood.
• Freud’s view of people is overly negative and pessimistic.
•Not really a scientific theory- based on a small number of
case studies, on people from wealthy backgrounds and living
in a sophisticated city within a single cluster. Not
representative.
•So many concepts that they can explain any pattern of
behaviour-cant be disconfirmed
• Freud’s place in history is assured.
• His ideas and writings have exerted a
profound impact on society.
• Though his ideas do not measure to the
rigurous ides of science, profound impact
on thought.
• Some of his insights, especially his ideas of
levels of consciousness and the importance
of anxiety in psychological disorders have
contributed to our understanding of human
behaviour and personality.
 Social Cognitive Theory
• A theory of behaviour suggesting that
human behaviour is influenced by many
cognitive factors as well as reinforcement
contingencies and that human being have
an impressive capacity to regulate their
own activities.
 Social Cognitive Theory-
Bandura’s Theory
Self-system: the set of cognitive processes by which a person
observes, evaluates, and regulates his/her behavior. Bandura
proposed that what we think of as personality is a product of this
self-system.

Bandura argued that people do not just respond to

reinforcements, they think about the consequences of their
actions, anticipate future events and establish goals and plans.

People indulge in self reinforcement- rewarding themselves

when they reach their goals.

We may often have self set goals- know I cannot win but want t
be on this platform- meeting these self set goals allows for self
reinforcemnt.
• Observational learning-Children observe
behavior of models (such as parents) in their
social environment. Particularly if they are
reinforced, children will imitate these
behaviors, incorporating them into
personality.
• Bandura also proposed that people observe their own
behavior and judge its effectiveness.

• Self-efficacy: a judgment of one’s

effectiveness in dealing with particular
situations.
 Rotter’s Theory of
Locus of Control
Julian Rotter: His personality theory combines learning
principles, modeling, cognition, and the effects of social
relationships

External locus of control: perception that chance or

external forces beyond personal control determine one’s fate

Internal locus of control: perception that you control your

own fate.

Internals are probably hapier and better adjusted than

externals. Why?

Learned Helplessness: a sense of hopelessness in which a

person thinks that he/she is unable to prevent aversive events
 Evaluation of
Social-Cognitive Theories
•Social-cognitive theories tend to be overly-mechanical.
• Overemphasizes environmental influences; gives little or no
consideration to the possibility of innate personality
differences or the effects of genetics.
• Does not recognize internal human qualities such as hope,
aspiration, love, self-sacrifice

•In your own everyday life do you think that your behaviour is
more strongly influenced by external events such as
reinforcements and punishments or by your own plansand
goals and expectations?
 Humanistic Theories
• Emphasis on personal responsibility and
innate tendencies towards personal
growth.

• These theories focus on the present, but

do not deny the importance of the past.
 Common Themes of the
Humanists
• Humanistic theories are also called
organistic theories with a focus on the
entire person
• A central theme in humanistic theories is
the drive toward self-actualization, to
realize one’s full potential.
• Other themes include personal growth,
openness to experience, living in the
present, personal responsibility, and the
inherent goodness44of people
 Characteristics of
Self-Actualized People
• Efficient perceptions of reality
• Comfortable acceptance of self, others, and nature
• Spontaneity
• Task Centering
• Autonomy
• Continued freshness of appreciation
• Fellowship with humanity
• Profound interpersonal relationships
• Comfort with solitude
• Non-hostile sense of humor
• Peak experiences
 Carl Rogers
• Human beings show many positive
characteristics, and move over the
course of their lives towards becoing
fully functioning person.

• Such people are psychologically

healthy people who live life to the
fullest. They live in the present and
tust their own feelings
47
Fully Functioning Person: Lives in harmony
with his/her deepest feelings and impulses
Conditions of Worth: behaviors and attitudes
for which other people, starting with our
parents, will give us positive regard.
Unconditional Positive Regard: Unshakable
love and approval
Positive Self-Regard: Thinking of oneself as a
good, lovable, worthwhile person
 Evaluation of Humanistic
Theories
•Many of the Humanists’ claims are
untestable.
• Humanists may have an overly-
positive, rosy view of humankind. They
do not look at the “dark side.”
• Maslow’s characterization of self-
actualized individuals is very biased
toward a certain philosophical position.
• Too much importance on free will and
personal responsibility.
• They believe that people are responsible
for their own actions and can change
these if they do so.
• This contradicts with determinism-
behaviour is determined by many factors
and can be predicted by them.