PERSONALITY

BY:- SAGARIKA
ROLL NO:- 845
MEANING

 The term personality has been derived from

latin word “persona” which mean to put on
some mask. Personality may be understood
as a characteristic pattern of behaviour and
style of thinking that determines a person’s
adjustment to the environment.
 In simple words, personality is sum total of
inner characteristics possessed by an
individual which influences the behaviour and
reaction of the individual to a given event or
situation.
DEFINITION

 Acc. To Gordon Allport, personality is “The

dynamic Organisation with in the individual of
those psychology system that determine his
unique adjustment to his environment”.
PERSONALITY
DETERMINANTS
Personality appears to be a result of:-

 Biological factor
 Family and social factor
 Cultural factor
 Situational factor
BIOLOGICAL FACTOR :-
 Heredity :- Heredity is the transmission of the qualities
from ancestor to descendant through a mechanism lying
primarily in the chromosome of the germ cell.
 Brain :-The second biological factor is brain which is
supposed to play role in shaping personality. Though not
conclusive as yet, physiologists and psychologists have
studied the structure of human brain and have divided it
into two parts-left hemisphere which lies in the right side
of the body and right hemisphere which lies in the left
side if the body.
 Physical features :- the third biological
factor determining personality formation is
physical characteristics and rate of
maturation. An individual external
appearance, which is determined, is an
important ingredient of personality.
FAMILY AND SOCIAL FACTORS
 Family and social groups have most significant
impact on personality development. These groups
have their impact through socialization and
identification processes and these are influenced
by :-
1) Home environment :- total home environment is a
critical factor in personality development.
2) Family members :- parents and other family
members have strong influence on the personality
development of the child. Parents have more effect
on the personality development as compared to
other members of family.
 3) Social groups :- besides a person’s home
environment and family members, there are
other influences arising from the social
placement of the family as the person is
exposed to agency outside the home,
particularly the school, friendship and other
work groups.
 Cultural factors:- Culture is the underlying determinant
of human decision making. It generally determines
attitudes towards independence,aggression,competition
and cooperation. Each culture expects and trains its
members to behave in the ways that are acceptable to
the group.
 Situational factors:- Apart from the biological,
sociological and cultural, situational factors also
determines personality development. The S-O-B-C model
of human behaviour considers the situations under which
the behaviour is occurring. Milgram’s research study
suggest that very powerful role the
 Situation may play in human personality. On
the basis of his research study, he states that
a situation exerts an important pressure on
the individual.
PERSONALITY THEORIES
 Psychoanalytic theory :- this theory is based in
the notion that man is motivated more by
unseen forces than he is controlled by
conscious and rational thought.This framework
contains three aspects , though interrelated but
often conflicting. These are id, ego and super
ego.
 The Id :- The id is the source of psychic energy
and seeks immediate gratification for biological
or
 Instinctual needs. Freud believed that instinct could
be classified under life instincts and death instincts.
As an individual matures , he learns to control id.
But even then , it remains a driving force throughout
life and an important source of thinking and
behaving.
 The Ego :- The ego is the conscious and logical
part of human personality and is associated with the
reality principle. Out of the functioning of the id and
ego , many conflicting situations arise because id
wants immediate pleasure , while ego dictates
denial or postponement to a more appropriate time
and place . In order to resolve the conflict, the ego
gets support from the super ego.
 The Super Ego :- The super ego represents social
and personal norms and serves as an ethical
constraint on behaviour. It can best be described as
the conscience. The super ego provides norms to
ego to determine what is wrong or right.
 Socio-psychological theory :- This theory
recognizes the interdependence of the individual
and society. The individual strives to meet the need
of society, while society help the individual to attain
his goal. Out of this interaction, the personality of an
individual is determined.
 Trait theory :- This theory presents a quantitative
approach to the study of personality. A trait may be
defined as any distinguishable , relatively enduring
way in which one individual differ from another. Its
main assumptions:-
1. Traits are common to many individuals and vary in
absolute amounts between individuals.
2. Traits are relatively stable and exert fairly universal
effect on behaviour regardless of the environmental
situation.
3. Traits can be inferred from the measurement of
Behavioural indicators.
 Self theory :- Self theory, also termed as organismic
or field theory, emphasises the totality and
interrelatedness of all the behaviour. There are four
factors in self concept.
1. Self image :- The self- image is the way one sees
oneself. Every person has certain beliefs about who or
what he is ; taken together these beliefs are a person’s
self image or identity.
2. Ideal self :-The ideal self denotes the way one would
like to be.
 . Looking glass self :- The looking glass self
is the perception of a person about how
others are perceiving his qualities and
characteristics.
 4. Real self :- The real self is what one really
is.
PERESONALITY TRAITS

 Those characteristics, when they are exhibited in a

large number of situations, are called personality
traits. Popular characteristic include shy,
aggressive, lazy, ambitious, loyal and timid. Simply
trait means characteristics/ features.
 Two methods of measuring traits:-
 Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI)
 The big five model
Myers-Briggs type indicator
(MBTI):-
 100 question personality test that asks
people how they usually feel or act in
particular situation. Based on answers,
people are differentiated as extroverted or
introverted, sensing or intuitive, thinking or
feeling and judging or perceiving.
The Big Five Model:-

 It identifies 5 different traits. These are

1. Extroversion
2. Agreeableness
3. Conscientiousness
4. Emotional stability
5. Openness to experience