What is Personality??

Is it a persons Character ?
Is it a persons temperament? Personality is a persons unique and relatively stable

pattern of behaviour. It refers to the special blend of talents, attitudes, values, hopes, loves, hates and habits which make each person very different from another.

How do we Study Personality?

Trait Approach Traits refer to specific lasting behavioral characteristics displayed be a person in most situations. Observable behaviour Consistency in behaiour Allports trait theory Cardinal Traits Central Traits Secondary Traits

How do we Study Personality?

Type Approach: Hippocrates classified people into four types
Melancholic (sad) Sanguine (content, optimistic) Phlegmatic (listless, tired) Choleric (easy to anger)

Carl Jung separated individuals into two types:

Introverts Extroverts

Difference between TYPE & TRAIT

Type theory classifies people into distinct CATEGORIES. i.e. this type

or that. Personality types are synonymous with "personality styles". Types refers to categories that are distinct and discontinuous. e.g. you are one or the other. This is important to understand, because it helps to distinguish a personality type approach from a personality trait approach, which takes a continuous approach. To clearly understand the difference between types and traits, consider the example of the personality dimension of "introversion". We can view introversion as: A personality type approach says you are either an introvert or an extravert A personality trait approach says you can be anywhere on a continuum ranging from introversion to extraversion, with most people clustering in the middle, and fewer people towards the extremes

 Hippocrates provided the theory of the Four Humours, the first ever

personality theory, wherein, the individual was made up of four humours, of which, any one humour was perpetually dominant. This dominant humour affected the individual's personality and made him/her one specific 'type' of individual. Each type was believed to be due to an excess of one of four bodily fluids, corresponding to their character. SANGUINE (Blood) - A warm, outgoing personality. Rarely loses temper and is compassionate and loving by nature. PHLEGMATIC (Phlegm) - A lazy, laid-back personality. Is rarely bothered by carrying out jobs or work, and does not express many emotions. Never is emotionally intense. CHOLERIC (Yellow Bile) - An angry, aggressive personality. Is often loyal, but at the same time, has a very short fuse and is impulsive by nature. MELANCHOLIC (Black Bile) - A sad, despondent personality. Tends to display more reactions of negativity towards stimuli, and is often selfish and self-absorbed.

How do we Study Personality?

William Sheldons personalities corresponding to body or

somatotype.
Physique Endomorphic soft, rounded Temperament Relaxed, sociable, love to eat

Ectomorphic long, fragile, sensitive nervous system

Restrained, fearful, introversive, artistic

Mesomorphic muscular, strong Energetic, assertive and courageous

How do we Study Personality?

Hans Eyesenck combined the concept of traits n types
Unstable
Moody Touchy

Active Sociable

Extroverted

Passive Quiet

Introverted

Calm

Contented

Stable Melancholic

Choleric

Phlegmatic

Sanguine

Jungian Types, Myers-Briggs, & the Four Temperaments

Jungian psychological types are probably the most widely used

and amongst the best-known in everyday life. Jung's typology emerges from Jung's deep, holistic philosophy and psychology about the person. Jung's typology is not, unfortunately, always included in mainstream personality courses, because it wasn't empirically-driven. Jung viewed the ultimate psychological task as the process of individuation, based on the strengths and limitations of one's psychological type. The functions of consciousness refer to the different ways in which the conscious mind can apprehend reality. According to Jung, these are (a) Sensation, (b) Intuition, (c) Thinking and (d) Feeling.

 Sensation Sensation refers to our immediate experience of the objective world, a process that takes place without any kind of evaluation of the experience. Sensation perceives objects as they are - realistically and concretely. It fails to consider context, implications, meanings or alternative interpretations, but instead attempts to represent factually and in detail the information that is available to the senses. Intuition Intuition refers to a deeper perception of inherent possibilities and inner meanings. Intuitive perception ignores the details and focuses instead upon the general context or atmosphere. It perceives (without clear evidence or proof) the direction in which things are moving, the subtle inner relationships and underlying processes involved, or the latent potentialities of a situation. Intuition never directly reflects reality but actively, creatively, insightfully and imaginatively adds meaning by reading things into the situation that are not immediately apparent to a purely objective observer. Thinking Thinking is a mode of evaluation that is concerned with the truth or falsity of experience. It is based upon the intellectual comprehension of things and, in particular, of their conceptual interrelationships. It is a rational, systematic process that seeks to understand reality through analysis and logical inference. Feeling Feeling is an affective, sentimental function. It involves judging the value of things or having an opinion about them on the basis of our likes and dislikes. Experiences are therefore evaluated in terms of good and bad, pleasant or unpleasant, acceptable or unacceptable.

 Myers-Briggs developed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator,

MBTI, is the most widely used measure of Jungian psychological type which provides information and exercises for better understanding one's own personality type and others with who the individual interacts and works It is a self-report questionnaire that assesses type preferences on Extraversion-Introversion (E-I), SensationIntuition (S-N), Thinking-Feeling (T-F), and also on Judgment-Perception (J-P).

 Extroversion (E) --- Introversion (I)

Do you recharge your energy via external contact & activity (Extroversion) or spending time in your inner space (Introversion)? Intuition (N) --- Sensing (S) Do you rely on your inner voice (Intuition) or observation (Sensing)? Thinking (T) --- Feeling (F) When making decisions, what do you rely most on? Your thoughts or your feelings? Judgement (J) --- Perception (P) Do you tend to set schedules and organize your life (Judgement), or do you tend to leave the options open and see what happens (Perception)? Using the letters above, it is possible to have a unique 4 letter code to indicate each of the 16 Jungian personality types, e.g., I am an INTJ.

Type A / B Personalities
Meyer Friedman, an American cardiologist, noticed in the

1940's that the chairs in his waiting room got worn out from the edges. They hypothesized that his patients were driven, impatient people, who sat on the edge of their seats when waiting. They labelled these people "Type A" personalities. Type A personalities are work-aholics, always busy, driven, somewhat impatient, and so on. Type B personalities, on the other hand are laid back and easy going.

Do we inherit personality?
Intelligence, temperament and some mental disorders are

determined by heredity. Identical twins who have been reared apart show similar behaviors, talents, preferences, etc Heredity plays a role of 25% to 40% Rest is shaped by environmental factors

The Psychoanalytic Approach

Sigmund Freud viewed personality as a dynamic system

directed by 3 mental structures:

ID

Is made up of Innate biological instincts and urges. Has no objective knowledge of reality It is self- serving, pleasure seeking, irrational, impulsive and totally unconscious Storehouse of all psychic energy libido Most ID energies are aimed at discharging tension related to sex and aggression

The Psychoanalytic Approach

The Ego It directs the energies supplied by the ID to meet the demands of realty and maintain social approval. Guided by the reality principle Delays action until it is practical or appropriate. Conscious part of the personality Concerned with thinking, planning, problem solving and deciding.

The Psychoanalytic Approach

The Super Ego: Acts as a judge or censor for the thoughts and actions of the ego It incorporates parental and social standards of morality. One part is also called conscience and reflects the internal norm of right conduct. The second part is the Ego Ideal and is the source of goals and aspirations. Is the internalized parent to bring behavior under control.

The Psychoanalytic Approach

Relationship between ID, Ego and SuperEgo
External World Visible Personality

Conscious
Preconscious

Ego

Unconscious

ID

The Psychoanalytic Approach

4 Psycho-sexual stages of Personality Development
Oral Stage (birth to approx 1 yr) When the infant obtains

greatest satisfaction from mouth, lips, tongue. Anal Stage (approx 1-3 yrs) child gains pleasure in the preoccupations of bowel expulsion and retention. Phallic Stage (approx 3-6 yrs) Child is preoccupied with the genitals as the main source of pleasure. Genital Stage (puberty to adulthood) During this stage heterosexual desired are awakened.

Contemporaries of Freud
Carl Jung Concepts of Introversion and Extroversion
Adler Believed that people are motivated by either

hopes for the future rather than their experiences in the past. Karen Horney The core of psychological difficulties for people arises from basic anxiety. This occurs when people feel isolated and helpless in a hostile word. They either Move Towards people (depending on them for love, support), Move Away (independent, strong, lonely) or Move Against (attacking, competing, controlling) others

Behavior Theory
Behaviorists believe that learning is the basis of

personality development. Personality is a collection of learned patterns of behavior. Behaviors are acquired through classic and operant conditioning and through observation and learning.

Social Learning Theory

A persons behavior depends on what outcomes he/she

expects from a particular action and the worth of those outcomes. Then changing the environment would change the expectancies and this in turn would cause changes in the personality.

Learning by Observation & Imitation

We can learn without direct reward by observing and

remembering the actions of others. The actions we choose to imitate depend on their outcome. The development of sex roles follows such a pattern

Humanistic Theories
Personality focusses on the notion of Self.
Human problems, potential and growth possibilities are

all thought to underlie personality development. Human beings can make free choices that are not controlled by genetics, unconscious forces or learning experiences. Carl Rogers A persons unique subjective experience of reality and self was central to the understanding of personality. Maladjustment occurs when a persons perception of self is at variance with personal goals and expectations.

Maslows Theory of Self Actualization

Comparison of 4 views of Personality

Trait Theories View of human nature Behavior free or determined ? Principal Motives Personality Structure Role of Unconscious Conception of Conscience Developmental emphasis Neutral Determined Depends on ones traits Traits Minimized Traits of honesty etc Combined effects of heredity and environment Unhealthy traits Psychoanalytical Theory Negative Determined Sex and aggression Id, ego, superego Maximized Superego Psychosexual stages Behaviorist Theory Neutral Determined Drives of all kinds Habits Practically nonexistent Self reinforcement punishment history Critical learning situations, identifications and imitation Maladaptive habits, unhealthy environment Humanist Theory Positive Free Choice Self-actualization Self Minimized Ideal self valuing progress Development of self image

Barriers to personal growth

Unconscious conflicts, fixations

Conditions of worth, incongruence

Self Concept & Personality

Self Concept refers to the personal identity of an

individual and is made up of experiences termed as I or Me. There are 3 possible selves that most people have:
An Ideal Self An idealized image of oneself Self Image The person you think, you are True Self - The person you actually are

Self esteem suffers when there is a large difference between ones ideal self and self image.

Self Esteem
Good Self Esteem is the basis of feeling positive. It is a

motivator. Distortions in the way you think caould bedamaging to your self esteem. Common Distortions are:
Over-generalization I always to badly. Using derogatory Labels I am dumb.

Filtering You only see the bad experiences as happening

to you. You fail to notice the positive ones.

Self Esteem
Common Distortions Avoid extreme positions on any issue Remember there is a large gray area between black and white. Most experiences fall in this area. Self Blame This is a form of thinking that involves blaming oneself for all the wrong that happens. Personalization This is a form of thinking which implies that all that is told or remarked has a reference to you. Projection This involves thinking and attributing to others ones own feelings, hopes, aspirations, concerns, etc.

Self Esteem
Common Distortions Distortions about the extent of control this is a belief that you have control over every situation. This could create resentment, anger, etc. The opposite end of the above form of thinking is feeling helpless and hopeless on most matters. Use of emotions only The dangers of thinking with emotions only involves the denial of reality. This means you are what you feel.

Overcoming Negative Self Esteem

Recognize and acknowledge the presence of distortions. Make a commitment to alter the ways of thinking. Correct and balance the thoughts Use reason to counter your feelings See positives in yourself Make enacting statements Exercise regularly Eat and sleep well Develop new interests and hobbies Buy yourself a gift Go on a holiday Visit warm and supportive friends/relatives Resolve existing conflicts Seek professional help

Personal Growth Plan

Be inquisitive and wish to know Learn and grow all the time Have positive role models Read and get stimulated with aspiring thoughts Develop new interests

Be involved with your family

Look beyond immediate self and family Acquire new skills Cultivate positive life styles

Be solution oriented.
Start seeing possibilities everywhere Convert problems into opportunities Have and open/flexible mind

Strike and build up

Personality Development
Personality Development refers to the way an individual takes in experiences and grows. The ultimate goal of personality development is being in harmony with oneself and ones environment.