Basic Psychology: Personality

 Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Hippocrates' ideas
  3. Different perspectives of personality research
  4. Personality types
  5. Personality systems
  6. Personality disorders
  7. Specific modern studies 

Introduction

Personality refers to the characteristics that a person exhibits on a consistent basis. These characteristics emerge at various times and in various contexts. Understanding a person's personality can help you predict their behaviour in a variety of situations. Predictability allows us to explain and comprehend behaviour. Internal thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are frequently suggested by a person's personality. Intrapersonal functioning refers to the consistent processes that underpin these thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Personality, according to Gordon Allport, is a "dynamic organization inside a person, of psychophysical systems that create the person's characteristic patterns of behavior, thoughts and feelings."

Hippocrates' ideas

Many theorists, such as Hippocrates, had their own ideas about what influenced personality. According to Hippocrates, the body contains four "humours" (body fluids): yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm. The personality was affected when one of the fluids was too much or too little. Hippocrates associated the humours with various elements and temperaments:
  • When blood was combined with air, it produced sanguine, or hopefulness.
  • Black bile, which was associated with earth, resulted in a melancholic temperament and a sad personality.
  • Yellow bile was associated with fire and resulted in what he referred to as a choleric temperament, characterised by irritability and aggression.
  • Phlegm, being associated with water, resulted in a phlegmatic temperament, which is associated with apathy.
Hippocrates believed that if any of the four humours were out of balance, the person would exhibit the temperaments or show signs of illness.

Different perspectives of personality research

To understand how personality is created, one must consider all of the different perspectives in the approach when studying personality. Trait theory, the influence of motives, evolutionary theories, and the social learning approach are some of these perspectives. Each of these theories attempts to explain how the personality is formed and what factors influence its development.

Trait theory

According to trait theory, people have both traits and types that contribute to their personality. Types are distinct categories with quantifiable differences. Traits are observable differences in people's stable qualities. Fairness, intelligence, confidence, and helpfulness are examples of traits. Individual differences can be seen in the frequency with which a trait is observed. There are numerous approaches within trait theory to how and to what extent traits operate. A Nomothetic (shared) view of traits implies that traits apply to everyone and that traits can be compared across individuals. It also states that each individual possesses a distinct set of characteristics. This means that, while everyone has the same basic characteristics, not everyone has the same levels of each trait. An Ideographic (individual) view of traits suggests that each person has their own set of characteristics. This point of view explains why comparisons between individuals are impossible because not all traits are shared. It states that different traits may be more important to different groups of people.

Motives 

When studying the personality, it is also important to consider motives. Motives are forces influenced by something that someone requires. When a need is not met, an individual is motivated to meet that need. For example, every human being requires water. Thirst would be the motivation. The desire to no longer be thirsty was influenced by the need for water. A press event is an external event that serves as a catalyst for motivations. Using the same example as before, a thirsty person may be enticed to drink water by the sight of a cold cup of water, which acts as a press.

When studying motive theories, another important concept to consider is the value of an incentive (something that motivates someone to do something). The degree to which a given behaviour can satisfy a need is defined as an incentive value. This accounts for individual differences. What is more satisfying to one person may not be the same for another. Each person has a unique incentive value.

Evolutionary theories 

Inheritance and evolutionary theories are two other types of personality theories. These theories contend that personality is genetically determined. According to evolutionists, the personality has evolved over time to ensure survival and reproduction.

Social learning theory

According to social learning theory, our experiences with relationships, our environment, and the social world in general shape our personalities.

Personality types 

Psychologists have identified five major personality traits through experimentation and research. These are referred to as the 'Big Five.'

Neuroticism 

The amount of negative emotion that a person experiences is referred to as neuroticism. Someone with a high level of neuroticism has poor emotional control and frequent mood swings. As a result, they may exhibit nervousness, anxiety, and excitability. A neurotic person may also exhibit hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, and stress vulnerability.

Extroversion

Extroversion is also referred to as sociability. This includes their social adaptability, assertiveness, and level of energy. A person with a high level of extroversion would be extremely warm, positive, and prone to seeking excitement. A person with low extroversion is quiet and reserved. They are referred to as introverts.

Openness

The intellect factor is another name for openness. Culture and being open to new ideas and experiences are associated with openness. A person with a high level of openness would be described as creative, knowledgeable, and imaginative. A person with a low level of openness is likely to be conservative and closed-minded.

Agreeableness 

Conformity, friendliness, and likeability are all associated with agreeableness. A person with a high level of agreeableness is considered friendly, kind, considerate, and good-natured. A person with a low level of agreeableness is argumentative and cynical.

Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is also known as accountability and having a strong desire to succeed. A conscientious person is one who is cautious, organised, serious, and hardworking. A person with a low conscientiousness level is likely to be lazy, disorganised, and irresponsible.

Personality systems

Different types of personalities are sometimes used to categorise them. These types are determined by characteristics, behaviours, motivations, or modes of thought. Personality systems such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and The Enneagram of Personality are examples of such systems. Because of their low reliability, they are frequently regarded as pseudoscience.

Personality disorders

While researching the healthy aspects of the personality, psychologists began to broaden their knowledge of the odd aspects of the personality. Ten personality disorders were classified into three clusters in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM5): Cluster A, Cluster B, and Cluster C. Cluster A is made up of odd and eccentric disorders. There are three types: paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal. Dramatic, emotional, and erratic personality disorders are classified as Cluster B. These include antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic behaviours. Cluster C is distinguished by anxiety or fear-related personality disorders. This group includes avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive behaviours.

There are numerous approaches to understanding why and how personality disorders develop. One school of thought holds that personality disorders are simply extreme traits caused by being different. Personality disorders are viewed as changing and ruining a person's life as well as the lives of others. According to the biological concept, personality is genetically determined, and our behaviour is the result of a complex biological organism. It asserts that genetics and biology have an impact on all aspects of a person's personality.

Specific modern studies

An article from 2011 describes a personality psychology explanation that is combined with the Big 5 model. The article begins by discussing how personality psychology is comprised of numerous factors. It discusses cognition within the brain as well as personality traits and the connections between the two topics. Personality psychology is explained further in terms of conceptual and logical aspects. The article then goes on to explain the logical requirements for personality coherency.

Self-regulatory behaviour was studied and compared with personality science and health behaviour in 2006. This implies that an individual's personality is linked to an individual's self-regulated behaviour, as well as an individual's health behaviour. All of these are interconnected and contribute to one's personality. A person's health and behaviour are influenced by their personality science.

In 2007, a survey was conducted to better understand the reasons why students choose their major, with a focus on the major of psychology. The students were curious as to what was influencing students to choose psychology as a major. The Big Five Personality Inventory was used to create the survey. According to the survey results, people who choose psychology as a major do not do so for a high salary or anything else related to money. The findings continued to show that psychology majors were committed to the field due to their personal past experiences. This leads to a discussion of how the Big Five influence major decisions made by individuals.

Meyer and Salovey compared adaptive personality to the model of emotional intelligence. A few of the predicted relationships did emerge among the resulting correlations. The importance of emotional knowledge within emotional intelligence was emphasised in the article. This provides more information about counselling and how much emotional knowledge can have a greater impact than previously thought within personality psychology.

Most traditional models of personality traits emphasise the person's biology as being very important to their personality traits, and even emphasise that this aspect of the person is unchangeable. However, in this 2008 article, the concept of sociogenomic biology is raised for consideration. This is introduced in the article and contradicts everything about biology, as well as the fact that biology is changeable under certain conditions. The article emphasises that one's DNA can be altered by the environment in which they live. This new biological thinking is said to be the new modern way of looking at personality traits.

A study on sleep positions and personality traits was conducted in 1977. The study's main points strongly urged that sleep positions reflected a person's personality. In contrast, a 2012 personality study found that the position in which a person sleeps is related to specific personality traits. A total of 332 psychology majors took part in their study. The findings contradicted what had previously been concluded. There were no strong points pointing to such a relationship, and the results were found to be quite weak between the association.

 

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