Introduction to Personality(personality ).pptx

Introduction to Personality(personality ).pptx

1. Introduction to Personality

2. Introduction to Personality Personality is the unique combination of patterns that influence behavior, thought, motivation, and emotion in a human being. An individual’s personality is the combination of traits and patterns that influence their behavior, thought, motivation, and emotion. It drives individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways; in essence, it is what makes each individual unique. Over time, these patterns strongly influence personal expectations, perceptions, values, and attitudes.

3. The word ‘personality’ is derived from a latin word ‘persona’, which means ‘mask’. We can say that, Personality is not a fixed state but a dynamic totality which continuously changes due to relation with environment.

4. Definition of Personality According to Gordon Allport (1937), “ Personality is the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psycho-physical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment ” . Revised Definition of Gordon Allport (1961), “ Personality is the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psycho-physical systems that determine his characteristics behaviour and thought ” . According to Munn (1965), “ Personality is the most characteristics integration of an individual’s structure and activities ” .

5. Characteristics of Personality There are various characteristics which throw light on the nature of Personality- Personality is a dynamic whole: Allport reveals that the personality is the dynamic whole. The constituents of Personality are organised into units which are not static but active. Personality measures behavior: Personality of an individual is more or less stable. It can be predicted by one's behavior. Outcome interaction of heredity and environment: Most of the psychologists review that Personality is the net result of the interaction of heredity characters and environment factors. The growth and the development of physical, social, emotional and moral are affected by environmental factors. Motive Force: There are many theories of motivation which help to the understand the dynamics of personality. Behavior is affected by motives, ego involvement, incentives, etc.

6. Determinants of Personality Personality is a result of the combination of some factors, i.e., physical environment, heredity, culture, psychological and educational-

7. Biological Factors Heredity: Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception. Physical stature, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and biological rhythms are characteristics that are generally considered to be either completely or substantially influenced by who your parents were: that is, by their biological, physiological, and inherent psychological makeup. Brain: Preliminary results from the electrical stimulation of the brain (E.S.B.) research gives indication that better understanding of human personality and behaviour might come from the study of the brain. Physical Features: An individual's external appearance is proved to be having tremendous effect on his personality. For instance, the fact that a person is short or tall, fat or skinny, handsome or ugly will undoubtedly influence the person’s effect on others and in turn, will affect the self concept.

8. Family and Social Factors Socialisation Process: The contribution of family and social group in combination with the culture is known as socialisation. It initially starts with the contact with mother and later on the other members of the family (father, sisters, relatives) and the social group plays influential role in shaping an individual's personality. Identification Process: The identification process can be examined from three different perspectives. First, identification can be viewed the similarity of behaviour (including feelings and attitudes) between child and model. Second, identification can be looked as the Child’s motives or desires to be like the model. Third, it can be viewed as the process through which the child actually takes on the attributes of the model. Apart from the socialisation and identification processes, the personality of an individual is influenced by the home environment.

9. Cultural Factors Culture is traditionally considered as the major determinant an individual’s personality. The culture largely determines what person is and what a person will learn. Culture is the “Complex of these beliefs, values, and techniques for dealing with the environment which are shared among contemporaries and transmitted by one generation to the next.

10. Situational Factors Human personality is also influenced by situational factors. The effect of environment is quite string. Knowledge, skill and language are obviously acquire and represent important modifications of behaviour. Learned modifications in behaviour are not passed on to children, they must be acquired by them through their own personal experience, through interaction with the environment. According to Milgram “Situation exerts an important press on the individual.

11. Psychological Factors These include in personality motives, interests, attitudes, willpower, intelligence, reasoning capacities, perception, imagination, a level of understanding etc. A person with strong will power can make a quick decision which is needed for better adjustment . Similarly, an intelligent person will be able to make a happy adjustment and develop an understanding relationship. Educational (school) Factors A significant part of a child's life is spent in school between the ages of 6 and 20 years. In the school, the teacher substitutes the parents.The school poses new problems to be solved, new taboos to be accepted into the superego all of which contribute their share in molding personality. Factors that affect personality development include early school experiences, emotional climate of school or college, teacher attitudes and behaviour, academic success, extracurricular activities, peer acceptance, school subjects and kind of school.

12. Theoretical Approaches to Personality Type theory of Personality Bodily Characteristics The Four Temperament Types of Hippocrates Sheldon’s Types Kretschmer’s Types Psychological Characteristics CG Jung’s Classification Eysenck’s Personality Theory B. Trait Theory of Personality Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory Raymond Cattell’s Sixteen Personality Factor The Five-Factor Theory of Personality

13. Type theory of personality 1. Bodily Characteristics 2. Psychological Characteristics Bodily Characteristics a. The Four Temperament Types of Hippocrates: Greek physician Hippocrates (c. 400 B.C.), characterized human behavior in terms of four temperaments, each associated with a different bodily fluid, or "humor." The sanguine, or optimistic, type was associated with blood; the phlegmatic type (slow and lethargic) with phlegm; the melancholic type (sad, depressed) with black bile; and the choleric (angry) type with yellow bile. Individual personality was determined by the amount of each of the four humors.

14. b. Sheldon’s Types: William Sheldon divided people into three types according to body built. (1) Endomorph - soft, fat and round, sociable and relaxed. (2) Mesomorph - Heavy and muscular, physically active and noisy. (3) Ectomorph - Tall, thin and flat chested, self-conscious, shy and reserved .

15. c. Kretschmer’s Types: Kretschmer also divided people into four types according to body built. (1) Pyknic Type - Fat body, large head, chest and abdomen, sociable, jolly, easygoing and good-natured. (2) Athletic Type- Strong body, firm muscles, wide chest and shoulders, energetic, optimistic, challenging, sportive. (3) Asthenic Type - Lean and tall body, reserved, shy sensitive, pessimistic. (4) Dysplastic Type - Undeveloped and disproportionate body personality also undeveloped and imbalanced.

16. Psychological Characteristics a. CG Jung’s Classification: CG Jung has classified personality on sociability character as Introverts and Extraverts. (1) Introverts- Introverts are shy, social withdrawal, less tendency to talk, self-centered, unable to adjust easily in social situations. They are not easily suggestible. They are future oriented, very sensible and rigid in ideas. (2) Extraverts- Extraverts people are outgoing, friendly and social in nature. They prefer social contacts, generous, courageous and show interest in present reality than future. They express their feelings openly. Take decisions quickly, act upon quickly and not affected easily by difficulties.

17. Jung first introduced his personality theory in his book ‘Psychological Types’. He used four psychological functions: thinking and feeling (rational functions) and sensation and intuition (irrational functions). In addition, he distinguishes between two fundamental life attitudes : introversion and extraversion. According to Carl Jung, every person has a dominant life attitude and a primary function. This classifies him or her as a certain personality type. By combining the different life attitudes and functions, you end up with the 8 Jung Personality Types: The extraverted thinking type The introverted thinking type The extraverted feeling type The introverted feeling type The extraverted sensation type The introverted sensation type The extraverted intuitive type The introverted intuitive type

18. Trait Theory of Personality The trait theory suggests that individual personalities are composed broad dispositions. A trait can be thought of as a relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in certain ways. a. Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory : In 1936, psychologist Gordon Allport found that one English-language dictionary alone contained more than 4,000 words describing different personality traits. He categorized these traits into three levels: (1) Cardinal Traits: Traits that dominate an individual’s whole life, often to the point that the person becomes known specifically for these traits. Allport suggested that cardinal traits are rare and tend to develop later in life. (2) Central Traits: These are the general characteristics that form the basic foundations of personality and major characteristics you might use to describe another person. Terms such as intelligent , honest , shy and anxious are considered central traits. (3) Secondary Traits: These are the traits that are sometimes related to attitudes or preferences and often appear only in certain situations or under specific circumstances.

19. b. Raymond Cattell’s Sixteen Personality Factor: Raymond Cattell reduced the number of main personality traits from Allport’s initial list of over 4,000 down to 171, mostly by eliminating uncommon traits and combining common characteristics. According to Cattell, these 16 traits are the source of all human personality. He also developed one of the most widely used personality assessments known as the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF).

20. Surface Traits and Source Traits: Surface Traits or Central Traits are the visible qualities of personality like kindness, honesty, helpfulness, generosity, etc. On further study, he found certain traits that appeared from time to time which indicated some deeper, more general underlying factors of personality, called as source traits. The basic structure of the personality of a person is made up of the source traits. They are the unifying factors of a person’s personality that inter-correlate the surface traits.

21. Constitutional and environmental traits: Cattell differentiates between constitutional traits and environmental traits. The characteristics in a person that are inborn or biological are constitutional and those that a person forms as a result of his experiences and environmental factors are the environmental mold traits.

22. Ability, Temperament and Dynamic Traits: The ability traits refer to a person’s capacity, the temperament traits show how a person behaves while he is doing his various tasks while working to achieve his goals, whereas the dynamic traits are those qualities that are first and foremost present for the person to set his goals.

23. Eysenck's PEN Model of Personality Eysenck's theory of personality focused on temperaments, which he believed were largely controlled by genetic influences. He utilized a statistical technique known as factor analysis to identify what he believed were the two primary dimensions of personality: extraversion and neuroticism. He later added a third dimension known as psychoticism.

24. Extraversion-Introversion Individuals with high levels of extraversion engage more in social activities. They tend to be more talkative, outgoing and feel more at ease in groups. Extraverts enjoy being the focus of attention and often accumulate a larger social network of friends and associates. Extraversion is measured on a continuum, ranging from high (extraverted) to low (introverted). Introverts tend to be quieter, shying away from large social gatherings, and they may feel uncomfortable engaging with strangers. Instead, they maintain smaller groups of close friends and are more likely to enjoy contemplative exercises.

25. Neuroticism-Emotional Stability Individuals scoring highly on neuroticism measures tend to experience higher levels of stress and anxiety. They worry about relatively insignificant matters, exaggerating their significance and feeling unable to cope with life stressors. A focus on negative aspects of a situation, rather than the positives, can lead to a person to adopt a disproportionately negative outlook. They may feel envious or jealous of others who they feel are in a more advantaged position. Neuroticism is also characterised by perfectionism, and a tendency to feel dissatisfied, angry or frustrated with others when their desires are not fulfilled, or when their expectations are not met. A person with a low neuroticism score will generally experience more emotional stability. They feel more able to cope with stressful events and set less stringent demands of themselves.

26. Psychoticism-Normality Psychoticism was a late addition to Eysenck’s theory of personality, and was included in 1976 .This third dimension of personality ranges from normality (low psychoticism) to high psychoticism. Individuals with higher psychoticism scores are more likely to engage in irresponsible or miscalculated behavior. They may also contravene accepted social norms and be motivated by a need for immediate gratification, regardless of its consequences.

27. The Five-Factor Theory of Personality McCrae and Costa have proposed a five factor model. This traits are used to describe behaviour and make prediction. However, human behaviour is an outcome of interaction between traits and situations. (1) Extraversion: This trait includes characteristics such as excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness. (2) Agreeableness: This trait includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors. (3) Conscientiousness: Common features of this dimension include high levels of thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and goal-directed behaviors. (4) Neuroticism: Individuals high in this trait tend to experience emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness. (5)Openness: This trait characteristics is imagination and insight, and those high in this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests.