Personality 

Introduction

📌 According to Fred Luthans, Personality means

      a) how a person affects others and 

      b) how she understands and views herself as well as 

      c) the pattern of inner and outer measurable traits, and the person's

      situation interaction 

      (How a person affects others depends upon his physical appearance

      and behaviour. It represents the whole person concept)

Example: Nelson Mandela 

Mandela’s personality was characterized by several key traits that made him an exceptional leader.

Resilience and Perseverance, Charisma and Leadership, Visionary and Inclusive, Humility and Human Nature, etc.

Determinants of Personality

Personality is determined by both Heredity and Environment. 

Biological Factors

• Heredity : It means the transmission of qualities from ancestor to descendant through biological channels.
• Physical Features : An individual’s external appearance may have a tremendous effect on his personality.
• Brain : There is a general feeling that the brain plays an important role in the development of one’s personality.

Family and Social Factors

• An infant also acquires behaviour patterns of the family and society.
• The status of the family in the society influences individual’s perception about self, others, money, etc.

Situational and Environmental factors

• An individual’s personality may change in different situations. The demands of different situations may call for different aspects of one’s personality.

Temperament

• The degree to which one responds emotionally to the environment.

Schema

• Schema refers to an individual’s belief. frame of reference, perception and attitude towards the management/society.

Motives

• Motives are the inner drives of an individual. The behaviour of an individual to accomplish a goal varies because of his inner drives. Personality is also determined by the behaviour of an individual.

Development of Personality

There are two approaches to development of personality.

1. Freudian Stages
2. Erikson Stages

Freudian Stages

• Sigmund Freud propounded psychoanalytic theory of personality, which is based on the notion that a person is motivated more by unseen forces than by rational thought. 
• He gave three aspects to measure the unconscious framework that defines a person’s personality.

The ID : It is the source of psychic energy and seeks immediate gratification for

biological or institutional needs. “I want this right now”
The Ego : The conscious and logical part of human personality that keeps IDs under check. “Let’s discuss the pros and cons of this decision”
The Superego : It represents societal and personal norms and serves as an ethical
constraint on behaviour. “Good people donate. I should also donate”

According to Freud, there are 5 stages of psycho-sexual development which define a person’s personality. 

1. The oral Stage 
2. The anal Stage
3. The phallic Stage 
4. The Latency Stage
5. The Genital Stage

During each stage, sexual energy (libido) is expressed in different ways and through different body parts.

The Oral Stage

• Oral stage covers the period from birth to 18 months of age. 
• In the first stage of psychosexual development, the libido is centered in a baby’s mouth.
• During the oral stage, the baby gets much satisfaction from putting all sorts of things in its mouth to satisfy the libido. 

The Anal Stage

• This stage is from 18 months to 3 years.
• Here the focus of libiday energy shifts from the mouth to the anal region. 
• Young children derive considerable pleasure from both the retention and expulsion of faeces.

Toilet training given to the child by its parents will have an influence on adulthood

• If the mother is too harsh and repressive, the child withholds faeces and if this becomes excessive, the child develops an anal-retentive personality.
• Alternatively, if the mother pleads with her child to have a regular bowel movement and showers him with praise when he does, the child will develop an anal-aggressive structure.

The Phallic Stage

• This stage extends from 3 to 7 years.
• The period is marked by the child’s libido (or desire) focusing on their genitals as the primary source of pleasure.
• In this stage, children become increasingly aware of their bodies, exhibiting a heightened interest in their own genitals and those of the opposite sex.

The Latency Stage

• This stage extends from 6 to 12 years
• During this period, the child loses interest in sexual matters and seeks the gratification of the libido from the external world, curiosity, knowledge and so on.
• It is a period of social development under which the child acquires knowledge and skills to get along with the world.

The Genital Stage

• This stage is from 12 to 20 years 
• There is a revival of sexual and aggressive impulses coupled with an increased awareness of an interest in the opposite sex
• Discharge of libido through mature sexual relations with an opposite sex partner paves the way for genuine concern for one’s fellow.

Criticism

Lack of empirical evidence 

• Freud's psychosexual stages were primarily based on his clinical observations and case studies, rather than rigorous empirical research

Unfalsifiability

• Critics argue that Freud's theories are difficult to test or falsify, making them less scientifically rigorous

Overemphasis on sexuality 

• Freud's theory places significant emphasis on sexual development and libido as the primary driving force behind human behaviour

Gender Bias and Sexism

• Freud's theory has been criticized for its gender bias and sexist assumptions, particularly in the context of his views on female development

Ethical concerns

• Freud's theories are criticized for blaming trauma victims and neglecting social/environmental influences.

Age centric approach

• Freud's stages are linear and rigidly tied to specific age ranges, which critics argue may not accurately reflect the complexities of human development

Limited focus on later development

• It provides limited insights into adolescent and adult development, which are crucial stages in an individual's life

Ignoring social influences

• Freud's psychosexual stages tend to overlook the role of social influences, such as family dynamics, cultural norms, and societal expectations, in shaping an individual's personality and behaviour

Erikson Stages

• He criticized Freud for his focus on sexual and biological factors in development of a personality.
• Erikson identified 8 stages of life.
• According to Erikson, each stage is confronted by a conflict that needs to be resolved successfully before a person can move to the next stage.
• Erikson focused more on social factors.

Infancy

In this, a child resolves the basic crisis of trust vs. mistrust. An infant who is cared for in an affectionate way learns to trust other people.

Lack of love and affection results in mistrust.

Early Childhood

The crisis resolved in early childhood is independence vs. self-doubt and shame. When a child is given control over aspects that he is capable of controlling, he develops confidence and becomes autonomous. 

Lack of control results in self-doubt.

Play Age

4- to 5-year-old. Here child likes to experiment and discover what she can do. 

The crisis resolved in this stage is initiative or capability vs. guilt and lack of self confidence.

School Age

6- to 12-year-old. The crisis resolved in this age is enterprise vs. inferiority. If a child is allowed to develop his social and physical abilities, she will develop a sense of enterprise. 

Control over her actions results in a feeling of inferiority.

Adolescence

The crisis resolved in this stage is independent identity vs. confusion. 

The autonomy, initiative and enterprise developed in earlier stages are important to successfully resolve the crisis and prepare for adulthood.

Early Childhood

During twenties, the crisis faced is intimacy vs. isolation. Deep relationships are developed after adolescence with creation of an independent identity.

Adulthood 

The crisis faced in this stage is generativity vs. self absorption.

Generative people see the world as much bigger than themselves.

Productivity and societal advancement hold more importance to them.

On the other hand, self absorbed people people do not develop the ability to look beyond themselves. 

They become absorbed in career advancement and maintenance.

Mature Adulthood

In this stage, a person develops as a highly mature personality and guides others. The crisis resolved here is integrity vs. despair.

Chris Argyris Immaturity - Maturity Theory

◾ According to Chris Argyris, Personality of an individual develops along a

continuum from immaturity as an infant to maturity as an adult. 

There are 7 basic characteristics in the continuum

Immaturity Characteristics                                    Maturity Characteristics

Passivity                                                                Activity

Dependence                                                          Independence

Few ways of behaving                                           Diverse Behaviour

Shallow Interests                                                   Deep Interests

Short Term Perspectives                                        Long Term Perspective

Subordinate Position                                              Superordinate Position

Lack of self-awareness                                          Self-awareness and control

Models of Personality

The Big 5 Personality Models

The Big Five Model, also known as the Five-Factor Model, is the most accepted personality theory.

The theory states that personality can be boiled down to five core factors, known by the acronym OCEAN.

🫢 Openness: People who are open to new experiences, like novelty and creativity.

🫢 Conscientiousness: People who are responsible, organized, dependable. Measure of reliability. 

🫢 Extraversion: Extraversion (or extroversion) is characteristic of people who are sociable, talkative, assertive, and have high amounts of emotional expressiveness.

🫢 Agreeableness: People who are trustful, altruistic, kind and affectionate. Agreeable people show lower deviant behavior.

🫢 Neuroticism/ Emotional Stability: Neuroticism is a trait characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability.

Self Concept Theory : By Carl R. Rogers

Understanding of a person about “I” and “Me”

I - How an individual appears to others. My belief in myself is “I”

Me - It is the mirror image of “what I believe others expect from me”.

According to this theory, the relationship between I and ME develops one’s personality. Rogers discussed the self-triangle that defines an individual's personality- The Ideal Self (who I want to be), Real Self (how I am in reality) and Perceived self (how I see myself and thinks that others see me) 

Socialisation Theory: Person Situation Interaction

According to Socialization Theory, people are not static. They behave differently in different situations. Therefore, social situation has an important impact on personality.

Each situation is different, and employees act or behave differently according to

the dominating situations.

Miscellaneous Theories of Personality

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through four different stages of mental development

• Sensorimotor Stage : During this earliest stage of cognitive development, infants and toddlers acquire knowledge through sensory experiences and manipulating objects.
• Preoperational Stage : At this stage, kids learn through pretend play but still struggle with logic and taking the view of other people.
• Concrete Operational Age : During this stage, children also become less egocentric and begin to think about other people might think and feel
• Formal Operational Stage : The final stage of Piaget’s theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to use deductive reasoning and an understanding of abstract ideas.

Holland’s Theory of Personality

John Holland proposed a theory that personality factors of an individual influence their career choice.

• They intend to work with people who have same preferences as them at work, chose to prefer job where their present skills and abilities can be optimally used to improve their career graphs while also be satisfied with their job performance.
• John Holland described six personality types which are usually represented by a hexagonal model.

• Realistic : Realistic individuals are active and stable and enjoy hands on manual activities.
• Investigative : These are analytical, intellectual and observant and enjoy research and maths activities.
• Artistic : These are original, like initiative, are imaginative and enjoy creative activities.
• Social : These are humanistic, idealistic, responsible and concerned with the welfare of others.
• Enterprising : These are energetic, ambitious, sociable and self-confident.
• Conventional : These are efficient, careful, conforming, organized and conscientious.

Carl Jung’s Theory of Personality

Carl Jung, a psychiatrist who developed a theory based around eight personality types.

Jung began his explanation of personality by stating four functions:

1. Feeling – It is the person’s ability to understand value of conscious activity.
2. Thinking – It allows a human to understand objects.
3. Sensation – It is when a human knowns something exists.
4. Intuition – It is knowing something exists but not knowing where they learned that.

🫢 When these mixed with one of two attitudes (i.e., introversion and extroversion), these functions formed eight personality types.

1. Extroverted Thinking : Humans can see the world through complex and solid ideas, but these complex ones often handed down or moved on by others.
2. Introverted Thinking : Humans see how the world works in a subjective and creative way. This analysis is based off if internal knowledge.
3. Extroverted Feeling : Humans base their judgements on factual, known information. They form their assessments on social values and beliefs.
4. Introverted Feeling : Humans base their feelings on emotional beliefs. These people often work in the art field.
5. Extroverted Sensing : Humans look at the world and interpret reality. They are not influenced by others’ opinions.
6. Introverted Sensing : Humans look for hidden messages. They do not just look at something and see it being there without a reason.
7. Extroverted Intuitive : Humans base their meanings of things on facts rather than feelings. They avoid their senses.
8. Introverted Intuitive : Humans are usually based on their inner desires. These people usually work as artists or religious figures.

Archetypes

According to Jung, the human mind has innate characteristics “imprinted” on it as a result of evolution. These universal predispositions stem from our ancestral past.

Archetypes are images and thoughts which have universal meanings across cultures and may show up in dreams, literature art or religion

Jung labelled these archetypes the self, the persona, the shadow and the Anima/Animus

• The Persona : The persona (or mask) is the outward face we present to the world. It conceals our real self and Jung describes it as the ‘conformity’ archetype. This is the public face or role a person presents to others as someone different to who we really are (like an actor)
• The Anima/Animus : Another archetype is the anima/animus. The “anima/animus” is the mirror image of our biological sex, that is, the unconscious feminine sides in males and the masculine tendencies in women. Each sex manifests the attitudes and behaviour of the other by virtue of centuries of living together. The psyche of a woman contains masculine aspects (the animus archetype), and the psyche of a man contains feminine aspects (the anima archetype)
• The Self : Finally, there is the self which provides a sense of unity in experience. For Jung, the ultimate aim of every individual is to achieve a state of selfhood (similar to self-actualisation) and in this respect, Jung (like Erickson) is moving in the direction of a more humanist orientation
• The Shadow : Next is the shadow. This is the animal side of our personality (like the ID in Freud). It is the source of both our creative and destructive energies. In line with evolutionary theory, it may be that Jung’s archetypes reflect predispositions that once had survival value.