Definition and concept of personality | Psychology for UPSC Optional (Notes) PDF Download

Introduction

• Personality can be defined as the dynamic organization of psychosocial systems within an individual that shapes their unique adaptation to the environment. It encompasses the overall quality of an individual's behavior, including habits, thinking patterns, attitudes, interests, actions, and personal philosophy of life.
• Personality extends beyond the mere collection of traits and characteristics possessed by an individual. It is expressed through their behavior and is characterized by distinct combinations of behavior that differentiate one person from another, contributing to their unique personality and identity.
• The term "personality" originates from the Latin word "persona," which refers to the mask worn by actors on stage. Thus, it signifies the social mask that individuals wear as they assume the roles prescribed by societal conventions and traditions.

Various definitions of personality have been put forth by psychologists:

• Gordan Allport: Defines personality as the dynamic organization of psychophysical systems that determine an individual's distinctive adaptation to the environment.
• RS Woodworth: Describes personality as the overall quality of an individual's behavior.
• Cattel: Defines personality as the characteristic that enables the prediction of a person's actions in a given situation.
• NL Munn: Views personality as the most representative integration of an individual's structure, behavior, interests, attitudes, capacities, abilities, and aptitudes.
• Eysenck: Considers personality as a relatively stable and enduring organization of a person's character, temperament, intellect, and physique, which influences their unique adaptation to the environment.

While there is no universally accepted definition of personality, psychologists generally agree that it encompasses an individual's behavioral patterns across different situations and their psychological characteristics that give rise to those patterns.

Development of Personality

• Influence of Biological Factors, Culture, and Family: Personality is influenced by a combination of biological factors, cultural influences, and family dynamics. Research, particularly studies involving twins, has provided evidence for both genetic contributions and the impact of environmental situations on personality development. Inherited predispositions and abilities play a role, as well as the conditioning processes of classical and operant conditioning. The family, especially in early years, plays a significant role in shaping responses, while other social influences become more prominent over time.
• Inherited Predisposition: Observable differences in infants' personalities from early on indicate strong genetic influences. While some differences may be attributed to temporary physical conditions or diet, others point to genetic predispositions. The role of inheritance becomes evident in the incidence of certain behavior disorders, such as schizophrenia, which can be influenced by genetic factors.
• Abilities: A person's abilities are an important aspect of their personality. Intelligence, for example, is a trait that can be measured and is influential when other traits are uncertain. Abilities not only shape personality but also aid individuals in better handling conflicts and gaining recognition. Intelligence and special talents contribute to developing competence, confidence, and self-esteem.
• Social Learning: Social behavior theory applies principles of learning, including classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning or modeling, to the acquisition of habits that make up personality. Observing others and imitating their responses to situations is a key aspect of social learning.
• Classical Conditioning: Classical conditioning is often associated with the conditioning of emotional responses. Certain behaviors become characteristic ways of behaving in specific situations. Language can also indirectly condition emotional attitudes when negative meanings are attached to certain words, contributing to the teaching of prejudice.
• Operant Conditioning: Operant conditioning plays a significant role in acquiring many personality characteristics. For example, a child who throws temper tantrums to gain attention or rewards will likely continue this behavior if it proves effective. However, if the temper tantrums are not rewarded, the child may abandon this operant response. Operant responses can be acquired indirectly through observational learning or modeling as well.
• Modeling: In addition to classical and operant conditioning, human beings learn their characteristic ways of behaving through modeling and observational learning. Modeling involves imitating the behaviors and responses of others, particularly significant individuals in one's environment.
• Family Influences: The family is the most influential environmental factor in shaping personality. Through administering rewards and punishments, the family helps acquire characteristic responses. In the early years, parents serve as the child's first teachers, reinforcing certain behaviors and discouraging others, influencing their habits, goals, values, and gender-appropriate responses.
• Parental Attitudes and the Self-Concept: Parents who are well-adjusted and show love and respect to their child contribute to their sense of self-worth and self-confidence. Positive reinforcement and affection help the child view themselves as desirable individuals.
• Modeling in the Family: Parents are not only a child's first teachers but also their primary models. Children learn general attitudes and specific responses by observing and imitating their parents. This process of modeling involves adopting their parents' personality characteristics, moral standards, and cultural norms.
• Social Influences: Culture and subculture significantly impact personality development. Different environments, such as living in a city or a village, belonging to different economic classes, or being part of distinct cultures, have their own values, morals, and behavioral norms. Socialization, the process of acquiring these cultural influences, shapes personality traits. Parents are the initial agents of socialization, and later, peers, teachers, playmates, and media also become influential forces in personality development.

Personality Assessment

• Personality assessment encompasses various methods, including case studies, interviews, rating scales, inventories, and projective tests. The objective of these assessments is to understand and evaluate an individual's typical or habitual behavior, as well as gain insights into their personality traits.
• Personality tests provide valuable information about the nature of an individual's personality. Many of these tests are designed to uncover observable behaviors and social responses exhibited by the person. Other tests aim to reveal hidden or underlying aspects of personality, such as unconscious motives and conflicts.

The commonly used techniques for personality assessment can be categorized as follows:

A. Observational Method:

• The observational method is commonly employed to assess personality based on observable manifestations. It involves three primary techniques: rating scales, interviews, and behavioral techniques.

Behavioral Tests or Situational Tests:

• A direct approach to predict an individual's behavior in real-life situations is to place them in a test environment that closely resembles a natural setting. In behavioral tests, the examiner observes the person's behavior in atypical situations, where the subject is unaware of being observed, allowing their natural behavior to be observed and evaluated. For example, to test an individual's honesty, specific situations can be created to assess their reactions in terms of honesty or dishonesty.
• Other tests of this nature include the Brook test, which assesses group problem-solving and reveals leadership qualities.

Interviews

Interviews involve direct interactions between the subject and the psychologist to elicit information about the subject's personality. Face-to-face contact provides an opportunity for the exchange of ideas and information. There are two types of face-to-face interviews:

• Structured interview: This technique follows a systematic and predetermined approach. The interviewer focuses on specific personality traits or behaviors they aim to assess and prepares a list of questions accordingly. After establishing rapport with the subject, the psychologist seeks answers to the predetermined questions. They pay attention not only to the content of the responses but also to non-verbal behavior and other relevant factors. The limitations of this technique include the need for a skilled interviewer and the potential for the subject to conceal feelings or provide subjective responses.
• Unstructured interview: This type of interview is open-ended, allowing the interviewer to ask any question relevant to the situation. The interviewer is not restricted to a predetermined set of questions and has the freedom to ask any number of questions on the subject matter.
• Stress interview: This type of interview is used to assess an individual's capacity to handle emotional and intellectual stress. The interviewer intentionally induces anxiety in the subject to observe their behavior under stressful conditions.

B. Questionnaire:

A questionnaire involves the use of a form to gather answers to specific questions from respondents. In assessing an individual's personality characteristics, a form consisting of a series of printed or written questions is used, and the subject responds by choosing options such as Yes, No, or Cannot say. For example:

• Do you enjoy being alone? Yes, No, Cannot say.
• Do you enjoy seeing others succeed? Yes, No, Cannot say.

C. Projective Techniques:

Sentence Completion Test

• This test, originally developed by Ebbinghaus, assesses intellectual ability. It consists of a list of incomplete sentences that require the subject to complete them with one or more words. This test allows for greater flexibility and a variety of responses compared to word association tests, providing insights into a wider range of personality and experiences.

I am worried over________________________________________________________
My hope in______________________________________________________________
I feel proud when________________________________________________________

Interviews and Rating Scales:

• The interview is an older method used to evaluate personality and is commonly used in two settings: employment interviews and counseling interviews. In a counseling interview, clinicians aim to explore a wide range of the person's feelings and attitudes by encouraging them to talk about personal experiences. The clinician pays attention not only to the content but also to the way the person expresses themselves, including discomfort or avoidance of certain topics. To provide a more quantitative assessment, some clinicians use rating scales in addition to observations from the interview.

Rating Scale:

• Rating scales come in various forms, including a 7-point scale that rates individuals on characteristics such as honesty, sociability, and emotionality. Another type of scale provides the rater with alternative descriptions, and they choose the one that best fits the person being assessed. However, rating scale techniques require rigorous analysis, similar to the validity, standard administration, and norms used with more objective tests, to avoid unreliable and invalid measurements.

D. Inventories or Questionnaires:

• Inventories or questionnaires are self-report measures used to gather data about individuals by asking them questions about their behavior. The responses provided are used to infer specific personality characteristics. One prominent example is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), initially developed to differentiate individuals with psychological difficulties from those without. It has been found to predict various behaviors. The MMPI includes different scales that measure traits such as hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviation, masculinity/femininity, paranoia, psychoasthenia, schizophrenia, hypomania, and social introversion.
• The Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) is another inventory designed to assess dominant needs or motives based on Murray's list of needs, such as achievement, affiliation, and autonomy. The EPPS aims to avoid socially desirable responses by presenting items with equal desirability, forcing the person to choose between them.

Projective Methods or Projective Tests:

• Projective tests involve presenting individuals with ambiguous stimuli and asking them to describe or create a story about what they see. The responses are considered projections of the person's own feelings and needs. The Rorschach test, consisting of 10 inkblots, and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), which includes a series of 20 pictures, are widely used projective tests.
• The Rorschach test requires individuals to interpret the inkblots, and their responses are clinically analyzed to classify them into different personality types. The TAT involves asking individuals to write a story about the pictures, which often reflects their own experiences, feelings, and desires. The recurring themes in the stories are used to infer personality characteristics, particularly dominant needs.
• Projective tests are used as one way to explore underlying issues affecting a person, and the results are combined with other data from interviews and objective tests to create a comprehensive personality profile.