According to Gordon Allport, “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individuals of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behaviour and thought ”.
Feist and Feist said, “personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behaviour.”
According to Lundberg and others, “The term personality refers to the habits, attitudes and other social traits that are characteristic of a given individual’s behaviour”.
Personality is the pattern of thoughts, behaviours and feelings that make a person unique.
Personality cannot be easily changed. Personality persists over a period of time. It consists of relatively permanent traits.
An individual personality creates certain impression on others.
Personality is the sum of the ideas, attitudes, and values of a person which determine his role in society and form an integral part of his character.
Personality is a sum of physical, mental and social qualities in an integrated manner.
Personality is something which is unique in each individual.
Personality refers particularly to the persistent qualities of an individual.
Personality represents a dynamic orientation of an organism to the environment.
Personality is greatly influenced by social interactions.
Personality represents a unique organization of persistent dynamic and social predisposition.
In the field of organizational behavior, personality is the aggregate of a person’s feelings, thinking, behaviors and responses to different situations and people.
Our personality differentiates us from other people, and understanding someone’s personality gives us clues about how that person is likely to act and feel in a variety of situations. In order to effectively manage organizational behavior, an understanding of different employees’ personalities is helpful.
Having this knowledge is also useful for placing people in jobs and organizations. Having a strong personality is the key to success. This is also a key determinant of good leadership.
A person with a positive attitude can direct his thoughts, control his emotions and regulate his attitude. Every person has a different personality and there are a lot of factors which contribute to that personality. We call them the ‘determinants of personality’or the‘factors of personality’.
Brain
Physical Factors
Family and Social Factors
Cultural and Religious Factors
Heredity Factors
Environmental Factors.
Situational Factors.
Brain is one of the most important factors affecting personality. Intelligence is mainly hereditary. Persons who are very intelligent can make a better adjustment in home, school, and society than those persons who are less intelligent.
There are many physical factors which will determine personality. These physical factors include the overall physical structure of a person such as his height (short or tall), weight (fat or skinny), colour (white or black), sex (male or female), beauty (handsome or ugly), body language, etc.
Most of the physical structures change from time to time, and so does the personality. Many physical features can be changed with exercises, cosmetics, surgeries etc. and thereby the personality of the individual also can be evolved.
Family and social groups have the most significant impact on personality development. Parents and other family members have a strong influence on the personality development of the child. Parents have more effect on personality development as compared to other members of the family.
Besides a person’s home environment and family members, there are other influences arising from social factors like- friends, neighbours, relatives, organisations, work place etc. These groups have their impact through socialization and identification process.
Culture shapes our personal values and predispositions. It is the unique characteristic of a social group and the product of the collective programming of the mind. Each culture expects and trains its members to behave in a way that is acceptable to the group.
Religious factors involve traditional practices, norms, customs, procedures, rules, rituals, caste and systems which play an important role in determining one's personality.
Heredity refers to those factors that were determined by birth. Physical structure, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level and biological aspects are characteristics that are generally considered to be either completely or substantially influenced by the parents. Hereditary factors influence people's certain mental, physical and emotional states.
The environmental factors such as the culture in which we are raised, our early conditioning, the norms among our family, friends, and social groups, and other influences that we experience play a substantial role in shaping our personalities. It establishes the attitudes, values, norms, and perceptions of an individual.
These environmental factors also include the neighborhood a person lives in, his school, college, university, workplace, friends, parents; everybody plays a role as the determinants of one’s personality.
The situational factors can be commonly observed when a person behaves contrastingly and exhibits different traits and characteristics in different situations. In this way, situational factors impact a personality in a significant way. An individual’s personality, although generally stable and consistent, does change in different situations.
The important Theories of Personality are described below;
Type theorists have explained personality on the basis of physique and temperament. Temperament refers to emotional aspect of the personality like changes in mood, tensions, excitement, etc. A ‘type’ is simply a class of individuals said to share a common collection of characteristics. This is on the idea that every person falls in to any one of the types of personality.
Three important ‘Type theories’ of personality are explained here:
Sheldon has proposed a theory of personality which classified people based on their outer appearance. He has divided people into three types:
a. Endomorph:
These people will have soft, fat and round body, having predominance of abdominal region. They are sociable and relaxed .
b. Ectomorph:
These are the people who are tall, thin and flat chested, having the skin, bones and neural structure predominantly. They are shy, reserved and self-conscious.
c. Mesomorph:
These people are well built with heavy and strong muscles. They are physically active, noisy, adventurous by nature (can be compared to athletic type).
The theory describes two contrasting personality types which are based broadly on anxiety and stress levels.
Type A
Type A personality generally lives at high stress levels. The characteristics of Type A personalities are;
They constantly work hard to achieve difficult and risky goals.
They are usually very independent.
They enjoy change and fear routine, repetitive and protocol-bound jobs.
They are highly competitive and adventurous.
They always feel the pressure of time.
They hate failure and work hard to avoid it.
Type B
Type B personality generally lives at lower stress levels. The characteristics of Type B personalities are;
They are very sociable and become a centre of attention.
They love excitement and are often impatient, demanding, and highly energetic.
They are supportive of their subordinates and enjoy being around while the subordinates perform.
They are relaxed, less stressed, flexible, emotional and expressive, and have an easy going attitude.
They are adaptable to changes .
They tend to take a much more casual and carefree approach.
According to Carl Jung, there are two types of personalities based on dimension of attitudes. He has classified personality as Introverts and Extroverts.
Introverts
Introverts are people who prefer to be alone or in the company of very few people. They are described as people who share characteristics such as shyness, social withdrawal, and tendency to talk less. Because of these characteristics these people appear to be self-centered, unable to adjust easily in social situations. They are not easily suggestible. They are future oriented, very sensible and rigid in ideas.
Extroverts
Extroverts are people who are sociable, outgoing, friendly and talkative. They are very active and lively, informal and practical. They are very energetic and are generally good leaders in groups. They are not futuristic and are more concentrated on current activities. They re generous, sportive, and courageous. They take decisions quickly and act upon quickly. They express their feelings openly and are not easily affected by difficulties.
Major assumption of Trait Theories of Personality is that personality is made up of a number of traits. A trait can be thought of as a relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in certain ways. The trait theory suggests that individual personalities are composed of these broad dispositions .
There are different contributors to Trait Theory. They are as follows;
Gordon Allport was one of the first modem trait theorists. Allport and Henry Odbert came about with an impressing discovery in 1936, which showed that more than 4000 words in an English language dictionary described personality traits. Allport organized these traits into a hierarchy of three levels:
Cardinal traits: Cardinal traits are the traits around which a person organizes his whole life. Allport suggested that these traits are rare, and dominate, usually developing later in life. But, these traits play such an important role in a person’s life that they often become synonymous with the names of the person. Meaning, a person might be specifically known for these traits. E.g.: greed, lust, kindness, narcissism.
Central traits: Traits representing major characteristics of a person are referred to as central traits. While central traits are not as dominating as cardinal traits, these can be considered as the characteristics that lead to the foundation of an individual’s personality. Example of central traits: shy, anxious, intelligent, dishonest.
Secondary traits: Secondary traits are sometimes related to attitudes or preferences. They often appear only in certain situations or under specific circumstances. Some examples include public speaking anxiety, or impatience while waiting in line.
British psychologist Hans Eysenck developed a model of personality based upon just three universal traits.
Introversion/extraversion: Introversion involves directing attention to inner experiences, while extroversion relates to focusing attention outward on other people and the environment. A person who is introvert might be quiet and reserved, while an individual who is an extrovert might be sociable and outgoing.
extrovert <—-> introvert
Neuroticism/emotional stability: This dimension of Eysenck’s trait theory is related to moodiness versus even-temperateness. Neuroticism refers to an individual’s tendency to become upset or emotional, while stability refers to the tendency to remain emotionally constant.
neurotic <—-> normal (or stable )
Psychoticism: This dimension was included in Eysenck’s earlier model. He added this dimension after conducting a study on mentally ill individuals. People high on this trait suggests that the individual might not be normal and might have trouble dealing with reality. General characteristics shown by these people are of being hostile, non-empathetic, manipulative and antisocial.
Both Cattell’s and Eysenck’s theories have been the subject of considerable research. This has led some theorists to believe that Cattell focused on too many traits, while Eysenck focused on too few. As a result, a new trait theory often referred to as the "Big Five" theory emerged.
This five-factor model of personality represents five core traits that interact to form human personality. They are collectively known as OCEAN (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism).
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Neuroticism
Openness
Agreeableness
This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors. People who are high in agreeableness tend to be more cooperative while those low in this trait tend to be more competitive and sometimes even manipulative.
High
Has a great deal of interest in other people
Cares about others
Feels empathy and concern for other people
Enjoys helping and contributing to the happiness of other people
Assists others who are in need of help
Low
Takes little interest in others
Doesn't care about how other people feel
Has little interest in other people's problems
Insults and belittles others
Manipulates others to get what they want
2. Conscientiousness
Standard features of this dimension include high levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse control, and goal-directed behaviors. Highly conscientious people tend to be organized and mindful of details. They plan ahead, think about how their behavior affects others, and are mindful of deadlines.
High
Spends time preparing
Finishes important tasks right away
Pays attention to detail
Enjoys having a set schedule
Low
Dislikes structure and schedules
Makes messes and doesn't take care of things
Fails to return things or put them back where they belong
Procrastinates important tasks
Fails to complete necessary or assigned tasks
3. Extraversion
Extraversion (or extroversion) is characterized by excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness.
People who are high in extraversion are outgoing and tend to gain energy in social situations. Being around other people helps them feel energized and excited. People who are low in extraversion (or introverted) tend to be more reserved and have less energy to expend in social settings. Social events can feel draining and introverts often require a period of solitude and quiet in order to "recharge."
High
Enjoys being the center of attention
Likes to start conversations
Enjoys meeting new people
Has a wide social circle of friends and acquaintances
Finds it easy to make new friends
Feels energized when around other people
Say things before thinking about them
Low
Prefers solitude
Feels exhausted when having to socialize a lot
Finds it difficult to start conversations
Dislikes making small talk
Carefully thinks things through before speaking
Dislikes being the center of attention
4. Neuroticism
Neuroticism is a trait characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability. Individuals who are high in this trait tend to experience mood swings, anxiety, irritability, and sadness. Those low in this trait tend to be more stable and emotionally resilient.
High
Experiences a lot of stress
Worries about many different things
Gets upset easily
Experiences dramatic shifts in mood
Feels anxious
Struggles to bounce back after stressful events
Low
Emotionally stable
Deals well with stress
Rarely feels sad or depressed
Doesn't worry much
Is very relaxed
5. Openness
This trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight. People who are high in this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests. They are curious about the world and other people and eager to learn new things and enjoy new experiences.
People who are high in this trait tend to be more adventurous and creative. People low in this trait are often much more traditional and may struggle with abstract thinking.
High
Very creative
Open to trying new things
Focused on tackling new challenges
Happy to think about abstract concepts
Low
Dislikes change
Does not enjoy new things
Resists new ideas
Not very imaginative
Dislikes abstract or theoretical concepts.
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that human behavior is the result of the interactions among three component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and superego. This theory is based on the belief that man is encouraged more by unforeseen forces than the conscious and logical thought. Freud believed that most of the things in life are not present at the conscious level but they are present at an unconscious level.
The features of Freud’s theory include three attributes ;
It defines the innate component of personality. It is the impulsive and unconscious part of mind that seeks immediate satisfaction. He believed that Id is ruled by the pleasure principle. Example − A hungry baby cries till he/she is fed.
It is derived from Id and assists in dealing with the external world. It also helps in translating the inner needs into expressions. It deals with practical and rational thinking process. It is based on the reality principle. Example − We have a fight with our friend and expect the friend to talk first, even though both of us want to talk.
It is different from ego and is partially unconscious. It includes the traditional values of society as interpreted by our parents. The superego operates on the morality principle and motivates a person to behave in a socially responsible and acceptable manner. It also helps in the integral vision of punishment. Example − Ram came late today so he is grounded for a week.