Personality

Unit B (Topic 3)
 Introduction
• Man is not born a person.
• At birth he is an infant possessing the
potentiality of becoming a person.
• After birth he associates with other human
beings and comes under the influence of
their culture.
• As a result of a variety of experiences and
social influences he becomes a person
and comes to possess a personality.
 Introduction
• Personality—it’s who we are.
• Our personalities determine how we act
and react, as well as how we interact with
and respond to the world.
What is Personality???
• The word 'personality' has been derived from the Latin
word - persona, a projection that other people see and
from behind which we speak, while at the same time
keeping our thoughts and feelings hidden.
• An individual's unique pattern of thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors that persists over time and across situations.
• Personality is the total sum of an individual's psycho-
physical aspects.
• Personality is the sum total of the ways in which an
individual reacts and interacts with others.
 What is Personality???
• The sum total of ways in which an individual
reacts and interacts with others; measurable
traits a person exhibits.
• It is a set of unique characteristics that make an
individual different from others.
• “Personality is the dynamic organization
within the individual of those psychophysical
systems that determine his unique
adjustments to his environment”.
 Components of Personality
 Personality includes –
 External appearances and behaviour
 The inner awareness of self as a permanent
organizing force and
 The particular organization of measurable traits,
both inner and outer.
 Nature of Personality

Personality refers to unique differences

Personality has both internal and external
elements
Personality is both inherited and shaped by
environment
Personality is presumed to be stable and
enduring
Personality Determinants

Biological Factors
a)Heredity
Family &
b)Brain Social Factors
c)Physical Features

Situational Cultural Factors

Factors
 Trait Theory
• Trait Personality Theory is a model that seeks to identify the
basic traits necessary to describe personality. According to
these theories, personality is made up of a number of broad
traits.
• A trait is basically a relatively stable characteristic that causes
an individual to behave in certain ways.
• The combination and interaction of various traits combine to
form a personality that is unique to each individual.
• Trait theory is focused on identifying and measuring these
individual personality characteristics.
• Some of the best known trait theories include Eysenck's
three-dimension theory and the five factor theory of
personality.
 Personality Traits
• Personality traits are enduring characteristics
that describe an individual’s behavior.
• A trait is a characteristic way in which an
individual perceives, feels, believes or acts.
• The more consistent the characteristic and
more frequently it occurs in diverse
situations, the more important that trait is in
describing the individual.
• Traits are common to individuals but vary in
absolute amounts.
• Traits are relatively stable.
• Traits influence behaviour.
 Three 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. Freudian, Machiavellian, narcissism, Don Juan, Christ-like,
etc.
2. Central Traits: These are the general characteristics that form the
basic foundations of personality. Terms such as intelligent, honest,
shy and anxious are considered central traits. 3.
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. Some examples would be getting
anxious when speaking to a group or impatient while waiting in line.
 16 Personality Factors Theory
• Trait theorist Raymond Cattell reduced the number
of main personality traits from All port’s initial list of
over 4,000 down to 16 by means of a statistical
technique called factor analysis.
• He found that personality is made up of sixteen
basic dimensions.
• According to Cattell, there is a continuum
of personality traits. In other words, each person
contains all of these 16 traits to a certain degree,
but they might be high in some traits and low in
others.
• While all people have some degree of
abstractedness, for example, some people might
be very imaginative while others are very practical.
 16 personality dimensions described by Cattell.

• The following personality trait list describes some of the descriptive terms used for
each of the 16 personality dimensions described by Cattell.
• Abstractedness: Imaginative versus practical
• Apprehension: Worried versus confident
• Dominance: Forceful versus submissive
• Emotional Stability: Calm versus high strung
• Liveliness: Spontaneous versus restrained
• Openness to Change: Flexible versus attached to the familiar
• Perfectionism: Controlled versus undisciplined
• Privateness: Discreet versus open
• Reasoning: Abstract versus concrete
• Rule Consciousness: Conforming versus non-conforming
• Self-Reliance: Self-sufficient versus dependent
• Sensitivity: Tender-hearted versus tough-minded.
• Social Boldness: Uninhibited versus shy
• Tension: Impatient versus relaxed
• Vigilance: Suspicious versus trusting
• Warmth: Outgoing versus reserved
 Surface and Source Traits:
• Cattell differentiated "source traits" from "surface traits."
Surface traits are those representing the personality
characteristics easily seen by other people.
• Source traits are those more basic traits that underlie the
surface traits. Shyness, being quiet, and disliking crowds
might all be surface traits related to the more basic source
trait of introversion, a tendency to withdraw from
excessive stimulation.
 Big Five Model (proposed by Lewis Goldberg,
after research by many theorists)

• Today, many psychologists believe that all personality

traits derive from five basic personality traits, which are
commonly referred to as the Big Five:
 Openness
 Conscientiousness
 Extraversion
 Agreeableness
 Neuroticism
(They spell “OCEAN”)
• These five basic dimension describe the full spectrum of
personality.
 1. Openness

• Refers to how cultured, intelligent, & receptive

a person is to new ideas, places, & interests.
• An individual’s ability to be open to any kind
of new experience.
• Those who score high in openness are more
likely to be artistic, curious, imaginative,
insightful, and intuitive.
 2. Conscientiousness

• The extent to which people show consistent,

self-disciplined and reliable behavior.
• People scoring high on this dimension are
responsible, dependable, reliable &
ambitious
• They tend to be organized, punctual, do
well academically, are well liked by their
superiors, & dedicated to their significant
others.
 3. Extraversion

• Comfort level of an individual in interaction with

others.
• People high in extraversion are often talkative,
passionate, active, dominant, & sociable.
• Those scoring high have more interactions with others
than those scoring low.
• Extraverts tend to develop more social relationships
during college & are more responsive to pleasure.
 4. Agreeableness

• Agreeableness refers to a tendency to be

compassionate toward others.
• The behavior may range from being warm,
cooperative, and close; to cold, hostile, and distant.
• People scoring high on agreeableness tend to be good-
natured, soft-hearted, and trusting. Those low on the
factor are irritable, cruel, and suspicious.
• People who score high on this factor report little
conflict in their relationships. They are less likely to
assert power when they do experience conflict as well.
 5. Neuroticism/ emotional stability

• A tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily.

• People high on neuroticism can be described as those

who worry, those who are emotionally unstable, they
are often anxious, & have low self-esteem.

• People who score low on this factor report being much

happier than people scoring higher on this dimension.
 MBTI
(Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)
• The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality
framework is a theory of personality types that helps
managers with job placement, conflict management,
team building and career development.

• The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment

is a psychometric questionnaire designed to
measure psychological preferences in how people
perceive the world and make decisions.
 MBTI
• Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, felt that the population was based on two
personality types: extraverted and introverted types. Extraversion is a
preference indicating an individual is energized by interaction with other
people. Introversion is a preference indicating an individual is energized by
time alone.
• Jung also discovered two types of perceiving (sensing and intuition) and
two types of judgment (thinking and feeling).
• Perceiving is how we accumulate information, and judgment is how we
make decisions.
• His theory is the main idea of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Instrument (MBTI), which is used in the business world for career
counseling, developing management styles, team building and conflict
management. The MBTI helps explain individual differences and can aid
businesses in developing and shaping their employees.
 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Extrovert (E)
Type of Social
Interaction Introvert (I)

Preference for Sensing (S)

Gathering Data Intuitive (N)

Feeling (F)
Preference for
Decision Making Thinking (T)

Perceptive (P)
Style of
Decision Making Judgmental (J)
Extraversion Introversion
Interest Orientation

E Talkative, Shy, I
Sociable, Reserved,
Friendly, Quite,
Outspoken
Sensing Intuition
Perception

S Organised, Less Regular, N

Practical, Unconscious,
Focus Detail. Focus Big
Picture
Thinking Feeling
Judgment

T Reliability of
logical order
Priorities
based on
F
– cause and personal
effect, importance
and values,
Apathy
Sympathy
Judgment Perception
Environment Orientation

J Judging
attitude –
Spontaneity –
Curious,
P
Control of awaiting
events and events and
systematic adapting to
planning them,
Flexible
A Meyers-Briggs score
– Can be a valuable too for self-awareness and
career guidance
BUT
– Should not be used as a selection tool
because it has not been related to job
performance!!!
 Advantages and Disadvantages of
MBTI
Advantages Disadvantages
•Self awareness for better self- •Trying to predict others behaviour
management •Trying to estimate another individual
•Identification of behaviour trends that type(eg. You must be an extravert
have positive outcomes because you are so gregarious)
•Identification of behaviour trends that •Assuming that how a preference
have less desirable outcomes plays for you is exactly how it would
•Link trends with other data points to play out for someone else
clarify personal or professional •Justifying behavior (eg. Declaring that
developmental opportunities the individual must be P because he is
always late)
 Freudian Theory of Personality
• Sigmund Freud is one of
the most famous names
in psychology. Even
though most of his ideas
have been abandoned by
modern psychology,
his psychoanalytic
theory formed the basis
for many current
psychodynamic theories.
Three Levels of Consciousness
• Freud believed that there were three levels of
consciousness.
• First is the unconscious mind, which exists
outside of your awareness at all times.
• Next is the preconscious mind, which
includes all information that you are not
currently aware of but that can be recalled.
• Finally, the conscious mind is your current
state of awareness.
 “the
“themind
mindisislike
likean
aniceburg
iceburg--mostly
mostlyhidden”
hidden”

Conscious Awareness Unconscious

small part above surface below the surface
(Preconscious) (thoughts, feelings,
wishes, memories)
 Freudian Theory of Personality
• According to Sigmund Freud, human personality is complex and has
more than a single component. In his famous psychoanalytic theory
of personality, personality is composed of three elements. These
three elements of personality—known as the id, the ego, and the
superego—work together to create complex human behaviors.
• Each component not only adds its own unique contribution to
personality, but all three elements interact in ways that have a
powerful influence on each individual.
• Each of these three elements of personality emerges at different
points in life.
Freud & Personality Structure
“Personality arises from conflict with
aggressive,
pleasure-seeking impulses and social
restraints”

Satisfaction
without the guilt?
Super
Ego Ego

Id
 Freud & Personality Structure
Id - energy constantly striving to satisfy basic drives
Pleasure Principle

Ego - seeks to gratify the Id in realistic ways

Reality Principle

Super
Ego Ego
Super Ego
- voice of conscience
that focuses on how
we ought to behave
Id
Structure Level of consciousness Characteristics

Id Unconscious aggressive and destructive

impulses.
Source of the libido.(psychic
energy)
Operates according to the
pleasure principle, seeking
immediate gratification.
Impulsive, amoral, and selfish.

Foundation on which other parts

of personality are erected.

Governed by principles of greed

and pleasure. Childish, irrational,
never satisfied, demanding.
Ego Largely Logical, rational component,
conscious which functions to satisfy the id’s
Partly urges and carry our transactions
unconscious in the real world.
Acts according to the reality
principle
Super Both conscious The morale component,
ego and consisting of the conscience and
unconscious the ego ideal. Sets moral
guidelines, which limit the
flexibility of the ego.
Represents noblest thoughts,
ideals, feelings acquired through
parents, teachers, friends.

A balance is required between these three.

 Important……
• For further readings, please go to the
following link:
• https://www.verywellmind.com/the-id-ego-
and-superego-2795951