MPCC-003

Personality: theories
and assessment
 Contents

BLOCK 1 Personality: Theories and Assessment

BLOCK 2 Theories of Personality-I

BLOCK 3 Theories of Personality-II

BLOCK 4 Assessment of Personality

 Contents
01 02
Unit 1 Unit 2
Definition and Concept of State/Trait Approaches to
Personality and Personality Personality
Development

03 04
Unit 4
Unit 3 Key issues in personality
Assessment of Personality
01
Definition and Concept of
Personality and
Personality Development
OBJECTIVES OF UNIT

 Define personality and describe the nature of personality.

 Elucidate the concept of personality

 List the characteristic features of the personality

 Explain the factors that contribute to the development of personality

 Identify the environmental factors that influence personality development

Definitions of Personality
Allport(1937,1961) Personality

Defined personality as the dynamic Personality refers to the enduring

organization within the person of the characteristics and behavior that comprise a
psychophysical systems that determine person’s unique adjustment to life, including
the unique adjustments to one’s major traits, interests, drives, values, self-
environment. concept, abilities, and emotional patterns

The field of personality psychology studies the nature and definition of personality as well as its
development, structure and trait constructs, dynamic processes, variations (with emphasis on enduring
and stable individual differences), and maladaptive forms.
 individuality consistency
We often observe that people differ a great deal in It can be stated that the concept of personality
the ways they think, feel and act and that too to also rests on the observation that a person
different or even same situations. This seems to behave somewhat consistently in
distinctive pattern of behaviour helps one to different situations over different time
define one’s identity

Personality refers to all those relatively permanent traits, dispositions or characteristics within the person
that give some measure of consistency to the person’s behaviour. These traits may be unique, common to
some groups or shared by the entire species but their pattern will be different from individual to individual.
Personality development
Biological factors
• Body build Psychological factors
• Physical attractiveness
• Intellectual determinants
• Homeostasis
• Emotional determinants
• Physical defects
• Self disclosure
• Aspiration and achievements
environmental
factors
• Social acceptance
• Social deprivation
• Educational factors
• Family determinants
• Emotional climate of home and ordinal position
• Size of the family
Biological factors

Biological determinants also called as physical determinants emphasize that physique and body
functioning are directly responsible for personality development.
 Body Build
• Body build influences personality directly by determining what an individual can and cannot do, as well as
what the individual’s reaction will be to all those whose body builds are superior or inferior.

• Some of the known body builds are (i) ectomorph (ii) endomorph, and (iii) mesomorph

• Ectomorphs are persons who are tall and thin in their body builds. They have been generally found to be
superior to Endomorphs who have round and soft body builds. The superiority is especially in speed and
endurance. Likewise, mesomorphs who are strong and muscular in their body builds have been found to be
superior to both ectomorphs and endomorphs in activities like speed, endurance and agility.

• It has also been reported that the body build of an individual affects the person’s self-concept, an essential
constituent of personality
 Physical attractiveness
● Physical attractiveness is another physical component that affects the development of
personality. An attractive person of any age is more appealing than a person who is
unattractive

● Generally, it has been found that the people tend to be more tolerant in their attitudes and
judgements of an attractive person.
 Homeostasis
• It refers to the maintenance of a stable internal environment through relatively having normal temperature, normal level
of blood sugar, normal level of blood pressure, proper water balance, etc.

• When any of these conditions is upset, disequilibrium starts and disturbances in homeostasis result. Homeostasis or
disturbances in it have a significant impact on personality both directly or indirectly.

• Directly, the effect of homeostasis is seen in relaxed, controlled and socially acceptable behaviour patterns of the person
who is feeling well both physically and psychologically. When the level of homeostasis is disturbed, behaviors like
irritability, indigestion, insomnia and other uncomfortable states often result.

• Some studies have very clearly shown that the development of personality is affected by homeostasis or lack of it. For
example, when the blood sugar goes above the normal range, depressive mental states tend to follow.

• Severe deficiency in vitamin B complex results in increased levels of emotionality and depression.

• High blood pressure frequently produces neuroticism. Anoxia or reduction in the amount of oxygen in the inspired air, as
it happens in asthma, causes emotional outbursts, mental confusion and self-criticism
 Physical defects
● Obesity

● Many personality changes and disturbances in adolescents and adults have their roots in
illnesses during the early years of childhood (Martin & Vincent, 1960).
PSYCHOLOGICAL
FACTORS
 Intellectual
•
determinants
Intellectual capacities influence personality through various kinds of adjustments in life and indirectly
through the judgments other persons make of the individual on the basis of the person’s intellectual
achievements. This judgement inturn affects the evaluation and consequently the development of personality

• Intellectually bright men and women make better personal and social adjustments than those of average or
below average intelligence.
 Emotional determinants
• Emotions are considered important personality determinants because they affect personal and social adjustment.

• Research has shown that several aspects of emotions like dominant emotions, emotional balance, emotional deprivation, excessive love and
affection, emotional expressions, emotional catharsis and emotional stress directly and indirectly affect the development of personality.

• Some people experience a predominance of pleasant emotions while others experience a predominance of unpleasant emotions. This
predominance affects the development of personality.

• Cheerful persons are usually happy and even when they are in a depressive mood they can see the brighter side of things. Likewise, since
apprehensive persons are full of fear, they even when there is a happy or enjoyable situation, feel depressed and remain afraid.

• Emotional balance which is a condition in which pleasant emotions outweigh the unpleasant emotion, is considered essential to good social and
personal adjustment.

• unpleasant experiences

• Emotional deprivation
 Excessive love and affection
• Sigmund Freud had earlier cautioned that too much parental love and affection awakens a disposition for neurotic
disorders, spoils the child and makes the individual a problematic adolescent.

• Strecker (1956) has pointed out that excessive mothering, that is, overprotective mothers turn their sons and daughters
into immature and dependent adults.

• Emotional expression, that is, how the person expresses emotion also affects the development of personality. If the
person is able to express emotions in a socially approved manner, that person would be judged favourably and this
provides a good mirror image of the self. Such emotional expression produces a better feeling both physically and
mentally because homeostasis can be restored.

• Control over the overt expression of emotions is often necessary to avoid social disapproval. However, repression of
emotions like anger, fear, jealousy, and envy makes the individual gloomy and morbid which ultimately produces
behaviour like extreme laziness, lack of interest in people, vacillation of mood etc.

• Emotional Catharsis (release of unexpressed emotions) also contributes to the development of good adjustment. Release
of pent up emotions allows for physical and mental homeostasis to be restored.
 Emotional stress
• Emotional stress expressed in the form of anxiety, frustration, jealousy and envy also affect the development of
personality.

• Intense emotional stress may motivate the person to go to extremes in the hope of being relieved from it. For
example, the person may resort to overeating and using drugs to dull the intense feeling of insecurity caused by
emotional stress.

• It has been reported that women who experience a greater degree of emotional stress during the menstrual period,
are found to develop depressive tendencies.

• Psychologists have shown that people with low self-esteem are more adversely affected by emotional stress than
those with high self-esteem.
Aspirations and Achievements
• Aspiration means longing for and striving for something higher than one’s present status. Thus aspirations are the ego-involved goals
that persons set for themselves.

• The more ego-involved the aspirations are, the more will the impact upon behavior and therefore, greater will be the impact on
personality.

• There may be various forms of aspirations such as

o positive aspiration (to achieve success)
o negative aspiration (to avoid failure)
o realistic aspiration (within the range of the person’s capacity)
o unrealistic aspirations (beyond the capacity of the person)
o remote aspirations (to achieve a goal in the remote future)
o immediate aspirations (to achieve a goal in the near future).

• Level of aspiration, that is, the discrepancy between the goal an individual has achieved and the goal the person hopes to reach, affects
the personality in terms of the size of the discrepancy.

• When the size of the discrepancy is large, the person’s self-concept is severely damaged especially if the person fails to achieve the
goal. Not only the individual will judge themselves as a failure but others will also judge the person as a failure in particular if others
know about the person’s goal and that goal had not been achieved.
 Achievements
• Success and failure are the two different attitudes of the person towards achievement. If the
person is pleased with their own achievement, the achievement will be considered a success and
this has a favorable impact on the self-concept. However, if the person’s attitude towards
achievement is negative, then the achievement will not be considered a success but a failure. Such
persons will feel dissatisfied and miserable and in turn their self-concept will be adversely
affected.

• The achievement also raises the person’s self-esteem and increases the level of self-confidence
Goal setting
● Realistic goal setting – success and failure
Environmental factors
 Social
• acceptance
Every person lives in a social group, which judges the person’s behavior in terms of the person’s conformity
to group expectations regarding proper performance behavior and appropriate role-playing.

• The degree of influence the social group has on personality development depends not alone on how well-
accepted the individual is but also on how much importance social acceptance has for the individual.

• Persons whose social acceptance is very high, they are generally more outgoing, more flexible Psychologists
have shown that people with low self-esteem are more adversely affected by emotional stress than those with
high self-esteem.

• One extreme opposite of social acceptance is social isolation. If a person develops the feelings of rejection
due to social isolation when in fact they want to be accepted, would develop the feeling of resentment
against those who have rejected them. Such people are often depressed, sad and unhappy
Social
deprivation
• Social deprivation means being deprived of opportunities for various types of social contacts including
love and affection.

• Social deprivation causes social isolation which has an adverse effect on personality. Social deprivation
has proved most damaging for two age groups— the very young and the elderly.

• The young children who are deprived of contact with parents/guardians fail to develop a healthy and
normal personality. Their behavior is socially disapproved and they are also unfavorably judged by
others.

• Social deprivation in elderly people makes them self-bound and selfish, which gradually lead to
unfavorable social and self-judgements.

• If social deprivation is extensive and prolonged, it gradually leads to unhealthy social attitudes and
mental illness.
 Educational factors
• The impact of the educational institution on personality development is largely determined by the student’s
attitude towards school and colleges, towards peers, towards teachers and also toward the value of education.

• When these attitudes are favorable, the students usually enjoy their academic activities and have a warm and
friendly relationship with teachers and their peers. This has a very favorable impact on the development of
personality by producing a stronger sense of self-confidence and self-esteem.

• Attitude towards educational institution is greatly influenced by the emotional climate of the institution, which
affect the level of motivation, students’ classroom behavior and their general emotional reactions.

• Teacher-student relationships affect the students’ personalities through its impact on students’ motivation for
academic achievement. When the students see that their relationship with the teacher is warm and friendly, their
achievements are far better than when they perceive the relationship as hostile, punitive and rejective.
 Family determinants
• The influence of family on personality development is maximal at all ages. The family affects the
development of personality both directly and indirectly. The direct influence of family on personality
comes chiefly through different child-training methods which are used to mold the personality pattern
and the communication of interest, attitudes and values between members of the family.

• Indirectly, through identification with parents, children develop a personality pattern similar to that
of their parents.
 Emotional climate of home and
ordinal position
• Ordinal position refers to the eldest or youngest or middle or 2nd or 3rd child in the family.

• If the home climate is favorable, the person will react to personal problems and frustrations in a calm way and to people in a tolerant
and cooperative way. On the other hand, if the emotional climate of home is full of friction and conflicts, the person is more likely to
develop a sense of hostility and may often tend to react to people in an aggressive way.

• Studies have revealed that firstborns tend to be more conforming and dependent than later-borns. They are more affiliative, more
susceptible to group pressures and more introverted. Firstborns who achieve greater success than the later-born siblings tend to be
selfish and self-centred. They show their feeling of superiority about their achievements by making criticism of others. Despite the
feelings of superiority, they continue to suffer from a feeling of insecurity which developed earlier when they were replaced by
younger siblings towards which parents started giving more attention, love and affection.

• This feeling of insecurity is responsible for poor personal and social adjustment of the firstborns.

• The major personality characteristics of lastborn, as shown by the various researches, are dependency, affiliative need, lack of self-
confidence, lack of frustration tolerance, defiance of authority, etc.

• middle born or second borns are concerned, they are found to be generally less family oriented and more peer oriented. From their
peer relationship, they develop such personality traits which produce better personal and social adjustment. As a result, they are more
popular among the peers in comparison to the first or lastborn
Size of family
• In larger families parents have little time to protect any child. As such, children learn to be independent
and show maturity in their behavior at an earlier age as compared to children of smaller families.

• larger families encourage certain personality characteristics that may hamper good personal and social
adjustments. For keeping the home environment reasonably calm, parents of larger families generally
adopt the authoritarian method of control, which produces a strong sense of resentment and rebellion
among children.

• In small families since parents devote enough time to care and provide proper guidance to each child,
this produces self-confidence, self-assurance
 INSHORT
Personality Development=
Physical determinants × Psychological
determinants × Environmental determinants
Welcome!