Development of personality | concept of personality | Development of personality| traits of personality | trait theory | measurement of personality | B.ed | WBUTTEPA

Development of personality

The idea of a person’s personality refers to the distinct and largely stable pattern of feelings, ideas, and behaviours that define them. It includes a person’s persistent characteristics, defining behavioural patterns, and emotional reactions that remain constant throughout time and in various contexts. Each person has a unique personality, which is an essential component of who they are and has a big impact on how they see the world, relate to others, and react to different situations.

Key aspects of Personality:

 

Traits: The foundation of personality is made up of traits. They are enduring traits that reflect people’s consistent actions, thoughts, and emotions. Introversion and extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to new experiences, and emotional stability are just a few examples of traits.

Behavioural Patterns: Personality affects how people act in different circumstances. For instance, an extroverted and outgoing personality may like social events and seek out connections with people, whereas an introverted personality may favour solitary pursuits and introspection.

Emotional Responses: A person’s personality also affects how they feel about things. Others may be more collected and reserved in their emotional expression, while some people may be more emotionally sensitive and expressive.

Cognitive Patterns: People’s personalities affect how they take in and process information. For instance, some individuals might have an upbeat attitude and favour seeing possibilities in difficulties, whilst others might have a more negative outlook.

Consistency and Stability: Although personality is generally stable over time, it can nonetheless adapt and alter to some extent through varied life experiences, personal growth, and development. But fundamental aspects of a person’s personality typically don’t change much over time.

 

Psychological theories

The development and structure of personality have been the subject of numerous theories. Popular theories include the following:

 

Psychodynamic Theories:  According to Sigmund Freud, the psychodynamic theory, a person’s personality is determined by their instincts, unconscious ideas, and early experiences. It implies that three mental processes—the id, ego, and superego—interact to determine behaviour.

Trait Theories: According to trait theories, personality is made up of a collection of persistent qualities or characteristics. These ideas concentrate on identifying and quantifying particular personality traits that set people apart from one another.

Humanistic Theories: Humanistic theories, like Carl Rogers’ person-centered strategy, place an emphasis on people’s inherent goodness and the significance of self-awareness and personal development in determining personality.

Social-Cognitive Theories: According to social-cognitive theories like Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, a person’s interactions with their environment, as well as their observations of and modelling of behaviour, all have an impact on their personality.

Biological Theories: Biological theories investigate how a person’s genetic makeup and the way their brain is organised affect their personality characteristics and tendencies.

Overall, the idea of personality is complex and multifaceted, reflecting each person’s originality and distinctiveness. A person’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviours are dynamically shaped by the interaction of genetic, environmental, and psychological elements, setting them apart from those around them. Understanding human behaviour, motivations, and the elements that lead to individual variances requires a thorough understanding of personality.

Traits of personality

Personality traits are permanent and reliable patterns of beliefs, emotions, and actions that set one person apart from another. These characteristics fundamentally influence how people view and engage with the outside world. There are a variety of personality qualities, but the following are some prevalent ones:

Openness to Experience: Shows how open, imaginative, and willing to explore new things a person is. While low scores favour routine and comfort, high scorers are inquisitive, inventive, and open-minded.

Conscientiousness: organisation, accountability, and self-control. People who are conscientious are loyal, industrious, and goal-oriented.

Extraversion: Describes the propensity to enjoy social contacts, be outgoing and talkative, and to seek out social connections. On the other side, introverts are more reticent and favour solitary pursuits.

Assertiveness: Being understanding, cooperative, and considerate are all examples of being agreeable. People who are agreeable are sympathetic and value peaceful interpersonal connections.

Empathy: Emotional instability, or neuroticism, is the propensity to feel unfavourable emotions including anxiety, despair, and moodiness. Stress and emotional reactivity may be more common in people with high neuroticism.

Adventurousness: is a term that refers to the propensity to seek out novelty, take chances, and enjoy unusual experiences.

Assertiveness:  This term describes the capacity to articulate demands, ideas, and desires in a self-assured and assertive manner.

 

Empathy: Empathy is the ability to comprehend and share the thoughts and feelings of another.

Resilience: Demonstrates the capacity to rebound and deal with difficulties and failures successfully.

Trustworthiness: Describes the quality of being trustworthy, dependable, and honest.

Optimism: Refers to having a positive attitude on life, anticipating positive results, and looking for the positive aspects of circumstances.

Altruism: Altruism is the unselfish care for the welfare of others and the readiness to assist and support them.

Self-esteem: refers to one’s general assessment of and belief in one’s abilities and value.

Integrity: Refers to upholding moral and ethical standards and acting morally even when no one is looking.

Respect: Showing consideration, courtesy, and consideration for the thoughts and feelings of others.

It’s vital to remember that each of these features has a range, and that people often have a combination of them. No personality is completely one-dimensional, and depending on the circumstance and environment, individuals may exhibit varying degrees of each feature. Additionally, personality traits can evolve and alter through time as a result of experiences in life and personal development. Understanding personality traits is beneficial for improving communication and relationships, self-awareness, and decision-making in a variety of spheres of life.

Trait theories

Identifying and classifying particular traits or features that characterise an individual’s personality is the main goal of trait theories of personality. These theories presuppose that over time and in various contexts, people have enduring, consistent qualities that affect their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. To better explain human behaviour and individual differences, trait theories seek to describe, quantify, and interpret these features. Following are a few popular personality attribute theories:

Eysenck Theory

A well-known psychologist noted for his contributions to personality psychology is Hans Eysenck (1916–1997). He created a thorough theory of personality that concentrated on the biological foundations of personal differences. The “PEN” model or “Eysenck’s Three Factor Model” refers to the three main personality dimensions that make up Eysenck’s theory. These measurements are:

Psychoticism Psychoticism (P): is a personality trait that describes a person’s propensity to be aggressive, impulsive, and tough-minded. High psychoticism individuals may display characteristics including aggression, impulsivity, and a lack of empathy. According to Eysenck, this dimension was influenced by genetics and was linked to a propensity for specific mental illnesses.

Extraversion and introversion (E): This dimension relates to a person’s level of sociability, outgoingness, and propensity to look for stimulation outside of themselves. While introverts are more reserved, reflective, and prefer solitary pursuits, extraverts are gregarious, social, and active. Eysenck hypothesised that the degree of cortical arousal in the brain affects how extraverted or introverted a person is.

Neuroticism and Emotional Stability (N): The tendency for people to feel unfavourable emotions like anxiety, despair, and moodiness is referred to as neuroticism. People who score highly on the neuroticism scale may be more susceptible to psychological distress and more emotionally reactive. On the other side, those who are emotionally stable tend to be composed, emotionally strong, and capable of handling stress. This dimension, according to Eysenck, was controlled by variations in the limbic system’s activity.

 

According to Eysenck’s thesis, these three major personality traits interact to determine a person’s overall personality profile. He proposed that the biological foundations of personality development, in particular genetic predispositions and physiological systems, play a role. Eysenck also acknowledged how social and environmental influences affect how these qualities manifest.

Numerous studies have been conducted on Eysenck’s Three Factor Model of Personality, which has helped us understand how people differ from one another and how personality is biologically based. It has, however, drawn criticism, much like any other idea. According to some studies, there may be additional crucial personality aspects that are inadequately represented in this model, and the three components may not effectively express the complexity of human personality.

Despite its drawbacks, Eysenck’s theory has had a significant impact on personality psychology and helped pave the way for additional study and investigation of the biological bases of personality. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), which calculates a person’s extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism scores, is one example of a personality evaluation tool that has been impacted by this phenomenon.

Cattell’s 16 factor

Raymond Cattell, a psychologist, created Cattell’s 16 Personality Factors (16PF), a thorough and popular personality evaluation tool. It is predicated on the notion that a set of 16 fundamental personality traits or components may be used to define and comprehend the individual variances in personality. These variables offer a thorough and complex understanding of a person’s personality by representing a wide spectrum of personality traits. The 16PF factors are briefly described as follows:

 

1.Warmth (A): Indicates the level of warmth, friendliness, and affection a person shows towards others.

2.Reasoning (B): Involves the use of logic, analytical skills, and intellectual zeal.

3.Emotional Stability (C): Indicates the degree of emotional fortitude, serenity, and stress-resistance.

4.Dominance (E): Denotes a tendency to assert oneself, assume control, and display leadership traits.

5.Liveliness (F): This adjective describes how enthusiastic, energising, and upbeat a person is.

 

6. Rule-Consciousness (G): Measures how much order, respect for authority, and commitment to rules are present.
7. Social Boldness (H): Involves being forceful in social circumstances and prepared to take social risks.
8. Sensitivity (I): Displays empathy, emotional sensitivity, and receptivity to others’ feelings.

9.Vigilance (L): Refers to the propensity to be on the lookout for risks or dangers.

10. Abstraction (M): Preference for abstract thought, daydreaming, and creative tendencies.
11. Privateness (N): Refers to the propensity to keep one’s innermost feelings and ideas to oneself and to not readily divulge them to others.
12. Apprehension (O): Indicates the degree of uneasiness, worry, and apprehension that a person is feeling.
13. Openness to Change (Q1): Describes the capacity for adapting to new situations and ideas as well as the desire to accept change.
14. Self-Reliance (Q2): refers to independence, self-sufficiency, and a tendency for taking charge of one’s own destiny.
15. Perfectionism (Q3): Exhibits a desire for accuracy and order, as well as high standards and attention to detail.
16. Tension (Q4): Indicates the degree of internal conflict, annoyance, and tension a person is experiencing.

Numerous clinical evaluations, career counselling, and personality study have made substantial use of Cattell’s 16PF. It offers a thorough and thorough picture of a person’s personality, assisting in identifying strengths, shortcomings, and areas for personal growth. The 16PF questionnaire is used to evaluate a person’s

Measurement of personality

In order to systematically analyse and quantify a person’s personality traits, attributes, and inclinations, the measuring of personality entails the use of numerous assessment methods and methodologies. These evaluations seek to provide light on a person’s actions, feelings, mental processes, and interpersonal relationships. Numerous techniques are frequently used to assess personality

Self-Report techniques

Self-report procedures, which are frequently employed in personality assessment, ask participants to answer questions or complete surveys about themselves. These methods rely on the person’s self-perception and self-awareness to characterise their feelings, ideas, and actions. Self-report measures are useful, effective, and frequently applied in both clinical and research settings. Here are some typical self-reporting methods:

 

1. Questionnaires: Personality questions ask respondents to score how much they agree or disagree with a list of statements or things. Typically, respondents rate statements on a Likert scale by selecting one of the following options: “strongly agree,” “agree,” “neutral,” “disagree,” or “strongly disagree.” These tests can be narrowly focused on certain personality qualities (such as extraversion or neuroticism) or more broadly focused on personality inventories (such as the Big Five personality traits).
2. Inventories: Personality inventories are extensive collections of questions created to assess a variety of facets of personality. These assessments offer a more thorough evaluation of a person’s personality and frequently cover a wide range of features. Examples include the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).

3.Diaries and Self-Observation: Some people keep diaries or journals to keep track of their everyday activities, emotions, and ideas. Techniques for self-observation can offer insightful information on a person’s evolving behaviours and emotional states.

4. Personality scales: Personality scales are specialised self-report tools that concentrate on particular personality categories or dimensions, such as locus of control, anxiety, or self-esteem. These scales offer a more thorough evaluation of particular personality traits.
5. Adjective Checklists: These questionnaires ask participants to select the adjectives from a list that best describe them. These checklists are frequently employed to evaluate personality characteristics connected to self-concept and self-esteem.
6. Likert-type Surveys: These surveys ask participants to rate how much they agree or disagree with a series of statements or questions using a scale that typically ranges from 1 to 5 or 1 to 7.

Self-report procedures have a number of benefits, including simplicity in administration, affordability, and speedy data collection from a large number of people. They do, however, have significant drawbacks. People might, for instance, respond in a way that is socially acceptable or have little understanding of their own actions and intentions. To ensure the validity and reliability of self-report data, researchers and clinicians must take into account these characteristics and employ the proper measurements and controls. Additionally, integrating self-report strategies with additional techniques, such behavioural evaluations or observer ratings, can offer a more thorough and precise knowledge of a person’s personality.

Projective Technique:

By providing people with ambiguous stimuli and asking them to respond, projective techniques are a group of psychological evaluation tools used to glean insights into a person’s personality, emotions, and unconscious thoughts. These strategies are justified by the idea that people project their thoughts, feelings, and emotions onto vague or ambiguous stimuli, which might disclose aspects of their personalities that are otherwise hidden from conscious awareness.

 

The exploration of a person’s inner world and a fuller knowledge of their personality, motives, and psychological functioning are frequent goals of projective techniques in clinical and research settings. These common projective techniques are listed below:

1. The Rorschach Inkblot Test: asks participants to explain what they perceive in each of a series of symmetrical inkblots. The content, context, and form of their comments are then examined in order to draw conclusions about their personalities, feelings, and thought processes.
2. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): Participants in the TAT are asked to invent a narrative for each of a sequence of ambiguous images showing distinct settings. The narratives people create are examined to uncover underlying wants, conflicts, and goals.
3. Sentence Completion Tests: Participants are instructed to complete incomplete sentences with the first idea that enters their minds. The responses can reveal information about a person’s opinions, emotions, and worries.
4. Draw-A-Person Test (DAP): Participants are asked to draw a person for this test, and the drawings are then examined to find themes, feelings, and self-perceptions.
5. Word Association Test: Participants are instructed to react with the first word that comes to mind after being shown a list of terms. The associations could give insight into underlying feelings, opinions, or ways of thinking.
6. Family Drawing Test: This method is mostly used with kids to examine their opinions and sentiments around family dynamics. Children are invited to draw their relatives and provide descriptions of the pictures.

Projective techniques provide a way to reach a person’s unconscious personality traits and offer useful information for psychological evaluation. However, because of their subjectivity and lack of standardized assessment, they are equally open to criticism. Since different doctors may interpret test results differently, it is essential that qualified experts perform and interpret these tests correctly.

While projective techniques can provide insightful information, they are frequently combined with other personality assessment procedures, including interviews and self-report questionnaires, to give a thorough knowledge of a person’s personality and psychological health.