Unit 04 personality in educational psychology

Unit 04 personality in educational psychology Course code 0840 Educational psychology from ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD.
prepared by Ms. SAMAN BIBI & Mariam Rafique

1. COURSE CODE:840 Educational Psychology UNIT-4 PERSONALITY

2. PERSONALITY P ersonality  refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving . Personality embraces moods, attitudes, and opinions and is most clearly expressed in interactions with other people. It includes behavioral characteristics, both inherent and acquired, that distinguish one person from another and that can be observed in people’s relations to the environment and to the social group.

3. Personality is a mirror of what you do and say. Essentially , your personality defines who are you. Your behavior reflects your personality and informs how different you are from others. A common saying in field of personality psychology is; “Some things change ; some things stay the same .” According to Allport (1961), “Personality is a dynamic organization , inside the person, of psychophysical systems that create the person’s characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors.”

4. Social identity is a part of human personality. Social identity is about how you present yourself to others. Social identity is a theory formed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner to understand the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. Social identity is the self that is show to other people. This is the part of ourselves that we use to create an impression, to let other people know who we are and what they can expect from us.

5. An individual’s personality is the complex of mental characteristics that makes them unique from other people. It includes all of the patterns of thought and emotions that cause us to do and say things in particular ways. At a basic level, personality is expressed through our temperament or emotional tone. However personality also colors our values, beliefs, and expectations .

6. Characteristics of Personality 1. Personality is something which is unique in each individual: Personality refers to internal as well as external qualities, some of which are quite general. It is unique to each individual. It is not possible for any other individual to reproduce or imitate the qualities of the personality of the individual. 2. Personality refers particularly to persistent qualities of an individual: Every individual has certain feeling as well as other permanent traits and qualities. Personality is mainly composed of the persistent or permanent qualities that exhibit themselves in form of social behavior and attempt to make adjustment with the environment.

7. 3. Personality represents a dynamic orientation of organism to environment: Personality represents the process of learning. It takes place in reference to the environment. We do not acquire all the traits of personality all at once . 4. Personality is greatly influenced by social interactions: Personality is not an individual quality. It is a result of social- interaction. In other words, it means that when we come in contact with other members of the society, we acquire certain qualities while we exhibit certain others. All these come to form personality .

8. 5. Personality represents a unique organization of persistent dynamic and social predisposition: In personality various qualities are not put together. They are, in fact, integrated into one. This integration is nothing but a result of organization which may be different from man to man. The behavior of a person directed to one particular individual may differ from the behavior of another person. That is why we put the condition of suitable environment. This suitability is concerned with individual specificity.

9. Psychic Structure of the Personality The Psychic structure consists of (a) attitudes (b) traits, (c) sentiments (d) feelings and emotions (e) values and ideals. Attitudes influence the psychic structure and latter on, physiological structures. Traits are inherent as well as the acquired qualities of an individual. Sentiments and E motions play a very vital role in the development of the personality. Human behavior is very much influenced by sentiments and emotions. Emotions are short – lived while sentiments are permanent. Sentiments may be termed as permanent emotions.

10. Feeling is again more short-lived. It is the feeling that turns into an emotion. Feeling and emotion play a vital role in the development of the personality of an individual. Values and Ideals also influence the development of personality to a large extent. Almost all our behaviors are more or less guided by values and ideas.

11. Social and Cultural Structure Every society has a culture of its own and in the atmosphere of that socio cultural background, the personality of individual develops in its own way. The attitudes of an individual are largely influenced by cultural order. We find difference in the behaviour of individuals due to sociocultural environment. That is why culture play an important role in the development of personality .

12. Views of Personality Theories I Trait Theories : Attempt to learn what traits make up personality & how they relate to actual behavior. II Psychodynamic Theories : Focus on the inner workings of personality, especially internal conflicts & struggles. III Humanistic Theories : Focus on private, subjective experience & personal growth. IV Social-Cognitive Theories: Attribute difference in personality to socialization, expectations & mental processes.

13. 1. JUNG’S THEORY OF TWO TYPES Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist who was a Freudian disciple, believed that we are one of two personality types: Introvert : Shy, self-centered person whose attention is focused inward. Extrovert : Bold, outgoing person whose attention is directed outward.

14. 2. EYSENCK’S THREE FACTOR THEORY Hans Eysenck , English psychologist, believed that there are three fundamental factors in personality: Introversion versus Extroversion Emotionally Stable versus Unstable (neurotic) Impulse Control versus Psychotic The first two factors create 4 combinations, related to the four basic temperaments recognized by ancient Greeks: Melancholic (introverted + unstable): sad, gloomy Choleric (extroverted + unstable): hot-tempered, irritable Phlegmatic (introverted + stable): sluggish, calm Sanguine (extroverted + stable): cheerful, hopeful

15. 3. CATTELL : SOURCE & SURFACE TRAITS Raymond Cattell from Devon, believed that there were two basic categories of traits: Surface Traits : Features that make up the visible areas of personality. Source Traits: Underlying characteristics of a personality.

16. 4. Psychoanalytic Perspective Of Personality SIGMUND FREUD Elements Of Personality (Freud’s View): The Id The Ego The Superego

17. BEHAVIOURISTIC THEORIES   B ehaviorism , which is the study of how people develop patterns of behaviors through either association of two things or through rewards and punishments. Behaviorists believe that all human behavior is driven by instinct . Behaviorists believe that conditioning and learning explain the actions of humans . Because of this, behaviorists believe that personality is actually a set of learned responses called habits . They also believe that all behavior is controlled by certain stimuli that encourage the behavior . Behaviorists explain personality development as constant conditioning based on positive and negative reinforcement.

18. HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE OF PERSONALITY Humanistic perspective focuses on what makes us uniquely human, such as emotions and freedom to choose our destiny . A major element of the humanistic perspective is the self-actualizing tendency, which is the tendency to want to live up to one’s potential . Within this tendency are two competing concepts. The “real self” is the individual’s perception of his or her actual characteristics . The “ideal self” is the perception of who that individual wishes to be.

19. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Individual differences are the more-or-less enduring psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another and thus help to define each person's individuality.   Individual differences are the ways in which people differ from each other. Every member of an organization has its own way of behavior. It is important for managers to understand individual differences because they influence the feelings, thoughts, and behavior of employees. Individual differences can be divided into two categories: personality differences capacity differences

20. Types of Individual Differences 1 . Physical differences: Shortness or tallness of stature, darkness or fairness of complexion, fatness, thinness, or weakness are various physical individual differences . 2 . Differences in intelligence: There are differences in intelligence level among different individuals. We can classify the individuals from super-normal (above 120 I.Q.) to idiots (from 0 to 50 I.Q.) on the basis of their intelligence level.

21. 3. Differences in attitudes: Individuals differ in their attitudes towards different people, objects, institutions and authority . 4. Differences in achievement: It has been found through achievement tests that individuals differ in their achievement abilities. These differences are very much visible in reading, writing & in learning mathematics. 5. Differences in motor ability: There differences are visible at different ages. Some people can perform mechanical tasks easily, others even though they are at the same level, feel much difficulty in performing these tasks .

22. 6 . Racial differences: There are different kinds of racial differences. Differences of environment is a normal factor in causing these differences.  7. Differences due to economic status: Differences in children’s interests, tendencies and character are caused by economic differences . 8. Emotional differences: Individuals differ in their emotional reactions to a particular situation. Some are irritable and aggressive and they get angry very soon. There are others who are of peaceful nature and do not get angry easily.

23. CAUSES OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 1 . Heredity: One of the most significant and chief causes of individual differences is heredity. Individuals inherit various physical traits like; face with its features, color of eyes and hair, type of skin, shape of skull and size of hands, color blindness, baldness, and mental traits like intelligence, abstract thinking, aptitudes etc. Now it is an admitted fact that heredity differences result in the quantity and rate of physical as well as mental development being different in different individuals.

24. 2. Environment: Environment significantly influences individual differences . Changes in child’s environment are reflected in the changes in his personality. Psychologically speaking, a person’s environment consists of sum total of stimulation which he receives from conception until his death . Environment consists of physical, intellectual, social, moral, political, economic and cultural forces. All these forces cause individual differences. Modern psychologists believe that individual differences are caused by both heredity and environment. Personality is the outcome of mutual interaction between heredity and environment.

25. 3. Temperament and emotional stability: Some people are by temperament active and quick, while others are passive and slow, some humorous and others short tempered. Emotional stability of the individual is differently affected by physical, mental and environmental factors. Differences in emotional stability cause individual differences .

26. Role of Individual Differences in Education Proper knowledge of the individual’s potentialities The first step in making provision for the individual differences is to know about the abilities, capacities, interests, aptitudes and other personality traits of individual pupils. For this purpose, help from intelligence test, cumulative record card, interest inventories, attitude scales, aptitude tests and measures for assessing personality traits should be taken.

27. Role of Individual Differences in Education Adjusting the curriculum The curriculum should be as flexible and differentiated as possible. It should have the provision for a number of diversified courses and co-curricular experiences. It should provide adjustment suiting the local requirements and potentialities of the students in different groups.

28. Role of Individual Differences in Education Ability grouping In the light of the results derived from various tests for knowing individual differences in terms of individual potentialities in various dimensions, the students in a class or area of activity can be divided into homogenous groups. Such division can prove beneficial in adjusting instruction to varying individual differences.

29. Role of Individual Differences in Education Adjusting the method of teaching Every teacher should be somewhat free to formulate his own plan and strategy and adopt instructional procedure which he finds most suited to the particular types of pupils under him. He should try to follow a different procedure or method of instruction suiting the requirements of varying ability groups of his pupils.

30. Role of Individual Differences in Education   Educational Guidance: Teacher should impart educational guidance to the students while keeping in view their individual differences. He can assist them in the selection of educational career, selection of subjects, selection of books, selection of hobbies and co-curricular activities and in many other areas connected with education .

31. Other measures of individualizing instructions The size of the class or section should be as small as possible. The teacher should try to pay individual attention the group under instruction. The teacher should keep in view the individual differences of his students while engaging them in drill or practice work in classroom or assigning home task In case ability grouping is not possible and more specifically under the prevalent system of class teaching, special coaching and guidance program for both the dull and gifted children is most helpful.