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Personality Development & It’s Components

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Your image is a representation or a mental picture of you as seen by others. The way you are treated in this world depends largely on the way present yourself – the way you look, the way you behave.

What is Personality?

There are several definitions of personality. Among these are the following:

1. Personality is the conglomeration of an individual’s thoughts, feelings, emotions, attitudes, intelligence, interests and abilities.
2. Personality is the combination of traits patterns that play a vital role in the behavior, motivations, emotions and thinking of the individual.
3. The term “personality” came from the Latin word ‘persona’, which means “mask.” It is what people project which includes the inner areas of psychological experience which we collectively call as our ‘self’.
4. Personality comprised a dynamic pattern of behavior, a consistent set of thoughts and feelings that makes one distinct.
5. Personality is generally a summation of overt and covert behavior. Overt behavior includes those traits that are readily available to the eye, it is what the person desires others to see, while covert behavior is those that ‘more than meet the eye’. These are the traits and characteristics that are hidden for some reason.
6. Personality is the combination of the physiological, moral and spiritual, psychological and emotional, intellectual facets of one’s individuality. It provides different angles as to how the person should be viewed.

What is Personality Development?

Development entails progression either quantitatively or qualitatively. The same is true with regards one’s personal. Personality can be developed in either or both ways. Every individual from the time of their birth undergo and dispositions. Their confrontation with the daily demand of life molds them into beings with greater learning's and allows them to form a greater schema of life. Personality development is defined as a process of developing and enhancing one’s personality. Personality development helps an individual to gain confidence and high self-esteem.

What are the Influences on Personality?

Personality is a complex concept that must scrutinized to be understood well. There are several ways to discover the real essence of personality. These theories include the psychoanalytic theory, psychosocial theory, theory of behaviorism, humanistic and trait.

1. Psychodynamic Theory

This theory was developed by Sigmeund Freud. It is said that the personality is made up of three major systems that points onto the role of the id, the ego and superego. The interplay and interaction between these three systems are said to be the main determinants of one’s unique personality.  Id Is the most primitive and is mainly concerned with the instant gratification of physiological needs and urges. It is the pleasure-oriented side of one’s persona. Example: A child demanding for an expensive toy regardless of any logical reason from an elder no to acquire the same due to financial constraints.  Superego Is the moral arm of one’s persona. Sometimes it is termed as “conscience” which serves as gauge to measure how we fare in relation to societal expectations. It reiterates on the good of everyone else over one’s own pleasure. Example: The child therefore demands for a lavish toy thinks first of the more important things as cited by his caregiver.

 Ego

Is rational and realistic area of the system. The ego is the “self” and it resolves the conflict between “id” and “superego”. It maintains the balance and the “homeostasis’ between two opposing system within one’s persona.

2. Behaviorism

 Was coined by John B. Watson who argued that personality can be determined

only through overt responses. Hence manipulation of the environment may produce certain behavior

 Behaviorist like B.F Skinner believed in the use of rewards whether positive or

negative and punishments to produce orderly change in the individual. Both asserted that behavior can be learned and conditioned.

 Behaviorist agreed on the use of rewards and punishments to reinforce and

strengthen positive or negative personality and behavior.

 Behaviorist agreed on the use of rewards and punishments to reinforce and

strengthen positive or negative personality and behavior.

3. Humanity Theory

 Humanist proposed a theory that rests on the ‘person’ and the ‘self’. Carl Rogers

focused on the changes and development of personality. It is asserted in this theory that how a person behaves depends upon his reality and not from his environment.

4. Trait Theory

 Trait theorists posited that personality can be understood as exhibited in one’s common traits or characteristics ways of behaving. A person may be sociable, aggressive, shy, an optimist, clingy etc. A certain group of people may have similar traits but these may vary in degree.  Gordon Allport is known as a "trait" psychologist. One of his early projects was to go through the dictionary and locate every term that he thought could describe a person. From this, he developed a list of 4500 traits like words. He then organized these into three levels  Cardinal traits Cardinal traits are what initially comprise the hierarchy which is collectively known as ‘master control’ and is inclusive of a person’s ruling passion; Example: Bad temper, drama queen, nerd.  Central traits Central traits on the other hand are general characteristics that make up the building blocks shaping one’s behavior. Example: Honesty, intelligence, shyness  Secondary traits Secondary traits include preferences and attitudes and in some instances these traits contradict and become incongruent with the usual behavior of an individual. Example: Getting anxious when speaking to a group or impatient while

 Raymond Cattell believed it necessary to sample a wide range of variables to capture a full

understanding of personality.

 The first type of data was life data, which involves collecting information from an

individual’s natural everyday life behaviors.

 Second is the experimental data that involves in measuring reactions to standardized

experimental situation.

 Third is the questionnaire data which involves in gathering responses based on

introspection by an individual about his or her own behavior and feelings.

 Using this data an in an effort to simplify the understanding of personality through traits,

Cattell reduced the total number of human traits from 171 to 16 which includes  From this. Cattell developed the personality assessment known as the “16PF”.

“16PF”

 Abstractedness

- Imaginative, absent minded, impractical, absorbed in ideas

 Warmth

- Outgoing, attentive to others, kindly, easy-going, participating, likes people.

 Apprehension

- Self-doubting, worried, guilt prone, insecure, worrying, self-blaming

 Emotional stability

- Emotionally stable, adaptive, mature, faces reality calmly

 Liveliness

- Spontaneous, enthusiastic, happy go lucky, cheerful, expressive, and impulsive.

 Openness to change

- Experimental, liberal, analytical, critical, free thinking, flexibility.

 Perfectionism

- Perfectionistic, organized, compulsive, self-disciplined, socially precise, exacting

will power, control, self-sentimental.

 Private-ness

- Private, discreet, no disclosing, shrewd, polished, worldly, astute, diplomatic

 Social boldness

- Socially bold, venturesome, thick skinned, uninhibited

 Self-reliance

- Self-reliant, solitary, resourceful, individualistic, self-sufficient

 Vigilance

- Vigilant, suspicious, skeptical, distrustful, oppositional.

 Dominance

- Dominant, forceful, assertive, aggressive, competitive, stubborn, bossy.

 Intelligence

 Rule consciousness

-Rule-conscious, dutiful, conscientious, conforming, moralistic, staid, rule bound

 Tension

- Tense, high energy, impatient, driven, frustrated, over wrought, time driven.

 Sensitivity

- Sensitive, aesthetic, sentimental, tender minded, intuitive, refined.

Hans Eysenck was a personality theorist who focused on temperament innate , genetically based on personality differences. He believed personality is largely governed by biology, and he viewed people as having two specific personality dimensions.

Extroversion vs. Introversion

 According to their theory, people high on the trait of extroversion are sociable and outgoing and readily connect with others, whereas people high on the trait of introversion have a higher need to be alone, engage in solitary behaviors, and limit their interactions with others.

Neuroticism vs. Stability

 In the neuroticism/stability dimension, people high on neuroticism tend to be anxious; they tend to have an overactive sympathetic nervous system and even with low stress.  In contrast, people high on stability tend to need more stimulation to activate their flight- or-fight reaction and are therefore considered more emotionally stable.

Psychoticism vs. Socialization

 People who are high on psychoticism tend to be independent thinkers, cold, nonconformist, impulsive, antisocial, and hostile.  People who are high on socialization (often referred to as superego control) tend to have high impulse control—they are more altruistic, empathetic, cooperative, and conventional.

Determinants of Personality

Following are the factors which help in shaping one’s personality:

1. Heredity Heredity refers to factors that are determined once an individual is born. An individual’s physique, attractiveness, body type, complexion, body weight depend on his/her parents biological makeup. 2. Environment The environment to which an individual is subjected to during his growing years plays an important role in determining his/ her personality. The varied cultures in which we are brought up and our family backgrounds have a crucial role in shaping our personalities 3. Situation An individual’s personality also changes with current circumstances and situations. An individual would behave in a different way when he has enough savings with him and his behavior would automatically change when he is bankrupt.

Basic Personality Traits

Big Five Personality Traits is also known as the 5-factor model of personality

1. Openness to experience - this trait means that a person is open to possible experiences

and learning which connotes wide interests, curiosity, flexibility, vivid fantasy, artistic sensitivity, high motivation, creativity innovativeness and unconventional attitudes. This trait also shows conformity to the standards of the society and community and resilience in times of adversity.

2. Conscientiousness - this trait refers to those whose personal shows meticulous and

principled behavior but guided by one’s own rules and beliefs. The person is highly organized, diligent, disciplined punctual and dependable that is why he weighs well the pros and cons of his decisions before formulating his well-though conclusion.

3. Extraversion - this type of individual is highly sociable with a life that is directed to the

significant others. The individual is very friendly, assertive and gregarious. They are warm and concerned about their friends, family and the like.

4. Agreeableness - this trait refers to being a person with much altruism and benevolence

meant for others. They empathize, sympathize and cooperate a lot by volunteering themselves in any moment of need. They are trusting, cooperative and highly dependable in nature.

5. Neuroticism - this trait connotes negativity as experiences are thought to be full of

sadness, hostility, self-conscious, insecure, vulnerable and frustrated. The individual is highly anxious and nervous about what will happen next.

What is your Personality Type?

In 1950 Cardiologist Meyer Friedman and R.H. Rosenman conducted a study on personality types. The two opposite personality types namely Type A and Type B displayed behavioral and emotional tendencies that become the subject of the study.

Type A

Type A personality is more likely to be preoccupied with social status, accomplishment in life, and self-esteem. This person is often domineering, impatient, and prone or quick to anger. Type A people mainly have the following behavior and outlook in life.

1. They are great at multitasking unrelated duties and jobs.

2. They are in a race to achieve higher goals.

3. They find it difficult to accept failure.

4. They feel like time is an opponent that they have to beat every day.

5. This severe sense of urgency makes them edgy.

6. Relaxation is difficult for them

7. They need to compete.

Type B

Type B people have lower incidence of heart problems. They are indulgent and tolerant. They also reported higher levels of satisfaction in life. Typically, these people have the following characteristics:

1. They know their abilities and work steadily for their goals.
2. They enjoy their achievements.
3. They are not so stressed out to excel.
4. They enjoy games and competitions
5. They are reflective and innovative
6. They are easy go lucky
7. They are even-tempered
8. They typically live less stressful in lives.

Intellectual Development

Personality is never measured by external factors alone. Mental ability forms part and parcel of one’s persona. Intelligence is one element that separates one from all others of same demographics.

What is Intelligence?

Several philosophers have asserted that intelligence can’t be absolutely measured considering that standards differ according to time and space. Albert Einstein himself said that, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge by imagination.” While Socrates said, "I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.” The true measure of intelligence and its definition cannot be absolutely established. Hence we refer to how psychologists have endeavored to conceptualize intelligence.

What is Intelligence?

 Raymond Cattell (1963) descried intelligence as crystallized and fluid and includes knowledge and skills measured by tests and vocabulary. Fluid intelligence is hereditary, based on neurophysiological structure manifested in a person’s ability to think and reason abstractly.

 Robert Sternberg (1991) stated that intelligence consists of the componential aspect focuses on the mental components involved in analyzing which is entailed in academic intelligence. Intelligence involves:  Reasoning  Problem solving  Ability  Knowledge  Memory  And the successful adaptation to one’s surrounding Howard Gardner , Ph.D., Professor of Education at Harvard University categorized intelligence into varied kinds. These intelligence shows an individual’s unique aptitude or set of competencies that displays intellectual abilities:

1. Verbal-linguistic intelligence - involves highly developed verbal skills particularly on sounds, meanings and rhythms or words.
2. Logical-mathematical intelligence - involves an individual’s ability to think conceptually, abstractly with capacity to discern logical and numerical patterns.
3. Spatial-visual intelligence - is an individual's capacity to think in images and pictures as well as visualize accurately and abstractly.
4. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence - is the ability to control one's body movement.
5. Musical intelligence - is one’s ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timber, it involves skills on music.
6. Interpersonal intelligence - is the ability to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations and desires of the significant others.
7. Intrapersonal intelligence - is the individual awareness of the internal aspect and in tune with inner feelings, values, beliefs and thinking processes.
8. Naturalist intelligence - is one’s knowledge of the environment and those that comprise its survival and habitat.
9. Existential intelligence - is sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence which may include the meaning of life, its beginnings and end.

How Do We Develop Intellectually?

There are varied ways to enhance one’s intellectual ability. Everything begins with the motive to go forth and advance. As this is basically in the mental act hence it becomes a necessity that the individual should not only possess the ability but the drive to learn, re-learn and unlearn. Learn about new things that may aid in the promotion of life skills, re-learn relevant elements that

may continue to affect one’s behavior and persona and to unlearn those antiquated and obsolete ideas and ways of life that are no longer true and appropriate.

Memory

 Memory is the faculty by which the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information. It is a record of experience for guiding future action.

Study Habits

 Education provides an individual a license that will equip him to achieve his future goals.

As it is a fact that individuals have the ability to maximize their abilities in any venue.

 Thus, developing study habits can aid well in an individual as a learner whether in his

current studies or future endeavors Following are ways to deal with the everyday physical, emotional and intellectual requirements in the school.

1. Have the right mindset

2. Practice ‘Zero Navigation’ when preparing for the coursework

3. Choose the proper venue for studying

4. Make a reviewer

5. Bring only the things that you need

6. Be Smart, use devises such as Mnemonics

7. Choose the best time to study.

8. Never be dependent on the Worldwide Web and your Personal Computer

9. Reward yourself

10. Have a sense of an accomplishment

Mnemonics

1. Peg word - This is useful for memorizing list of unrelated words in order by creating a visual

image with a peg.

2. Method of Loci - useful for memorizing lists of unrelated items in order. This is done by creating

a ‘Mental walk’ to memory and creating a visual image associating each item on the list with a location on the mental walk.

3. Acronym - by using the first letter of each item that you desire to remember.

Example: G for ‘Groceries' and W for ‘Withdraw Money’

4. Acrostic - this is done by creating an easy-to-remember statement to which you can associate

the first letter of each word. Example: PEMDAS (Parenthesis, Exponent, Multiplication, Division, Addiction and Subtraction)

5. Music or Rhymes - The to-be-remembered items is set to a familiar tune, set to a rhythm or

made into a rhyme.

Example: Alphabet song

6. Keywords - most of the time used for foreign words by associating it to be a close English word

then creating a visual image to connect it. Example: Latin word “Persona" which means “mask”

Understanding Learning Styles

People learn differently. There are certain ways to learn depending on what appeals to them as learners. Learning styles refers to a range of approaches to learning which is highly dependent on how an individual will be receptive of the learning experience.

1. Visual Learners : learn through seeing
2. Auditory Learners : learn through listening
3. Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners : learn through, moving, doing and touching

Developing Learning Skills

Step 1: One has to identify his learning preference and understand its intricacies so as to understanding the best approach to learn Step 2 : Determine if the chosen learning preferences will suffice your understanding of your learning need Step 3: Develop those areas which you think you are deficient. There is always a chance for an individual to not only compensate on those gray areas but desire to improve on the same. Sensory Sensory learners prefer concrete, practical and procedural information. They look for the facts. Intuitive Intuitive learners prefer conceptual, innovative and theoretical information. They look for the meaning. Visual Visual learners prefer graphs, picture and diagrams. They look for visual representations of information. Verbal Verbal learners prefer to hear read information. They look for explanation with words. Sequential Sequential leaners prefer to have information linearly and in orderly manner. Global Global learners prefer a holistic and systematic approach. They see the big picture then fill in

the details.

Managing Time

Time is a scarce resource today. Thomson (2014) stated that everyone has many demands on her or his time. Demands conflict and compete. Time management is important because there are just so many hours in a day in which you can accomplish for the use.

Developing Time Management Skills

1. Write a “To do list”

2. Create a weekly and monthly planner

3. Be prepared for all your activities way ahead.

4. Reduce time spent in several activities

5. Do not procrastinate.

Developing Decisiveness

Every person is confronted by everyday dilemma. There are moments to which we are caught in between things that we both desire but we cannot both acquire. Decisions therefore are complex choice's thus the need to develop one’s ability to decide as one matures becomes a necessity. Here are some tips to come up with the best decisions:

 Refrain from relying on ‘fate’ and the supernatural.

 Choose people of authority when asking for advice.

 Consider always the Pros and Cons.

 Stand your Ground.

Easy and Hard Choices

Here is a warning about making choices. People often make choices based on what’s easy and not based on what’s right. They chose to give in, give up or give out instead of doing what will be best for them in the long run. Consider the following:

 It’s easier to eat than to lose weight

 It’s easier to sit than to exercises I

 t’s easier to ignore bad behavior than to confront the issue

 It’s easier to keep things the way they are than to learn new skills and make necessary

changes

 It’s easier to blame other people than to take a close look at yourself

But “easy” does not get the job done right. Here are the choices that involve hard work:

 Investing in training and education

 Embarking on inspirational leadership

 Serving the demanding clients

 Keeping a marriage strong vibrant

 Keeping on being productive and keeping a job exciting

 Living a life that carries purpose and has meaning

 Keeping a body that it is fit, trim and healthy

 Keeping a mind that is sharp and creative

Remember..

It is hard work that gives us the results that will add meaning and value to our lives and businesses. LET’S FACE IT.

 It is hard to do almost anything that will add meaning and value to our lives. do not make

choices based in what is easy and comfortable, but make choices based on the impact that choice will have upon your future.  As famous writer and speaker Zig Zigla said. "You don't pay the price for success; you enjoy the benefits of success. But you actually pay the price for failure."