WHAT IS PERSONALITY
The study of personality is regarded by many as the most challenging puzzle confronting psychologists since it is said to be embracing the totality of the experience and behaviour of the human species.
Definitions of personality abound and each one places different emphasis on various facets of an individual’s development. A generally accepted definition is difficult to arrive at, but agreement can be reached on certain aspects of personality that such a definition must account for.
These criteria include:
- Comprehensiveness -all aspects of an individual must be accepted.
- Modifiability -despite hereditary influences, personality is an ever adapting phenomenon.
- Pattern and Organisation -the personality is not merely an agglomeration of isolated and easily separable characteristics.
- Uniqueness -no individual can be exactly like another.
Personality, however defined, is highly persuasive. Not only does it refer to how people behave and feel in interpersonal situations, but it is reflected in the individual’s characteristic style in a wide range of behaviours.
One of the earliest definitions regards personality as the outward aspect of the individual – how the person is seen by other individuals and how he or she affects them.
Sarnoff in 1962 made the point “by personality is meant those relatively enduring traits and dispositions of the individual that have over time jelled into a pattern and distinguish them from other individuals.
Although definitions tend to differ in some respects, two points are clear, and they are “Personality is that which distinguishes a human being from a thing, and distinguishes one person from another”.
TEMPERAMENT
Temperament can be defined as “The mental, moral and emotional constitution of the human being”
The human species consists of creatures that are emotional. These creatures are also rational. It is a fact that the more we ascend in the scale of intelligence, the greater is the emotional reaction.
Temperament can be referred to as a physical reaction to nervous stimuli. It has been shown through observation that two main groups of emotion exist and are common to all humanity.
These groups are:
Individuals in this group are very self assertive and do not remain silent about their woes or their happiness. They are determined to show the whole world their pleasures and displeasures.
These are ordinarily subdued and wish to keep their feelings and affairs to themselves. They are usually quiet and taciturn.
Carl Gustav Jung defined these two groups as:
- Extrovert – meaning “giving out”. This time is interested in all sides of life and adjusts quickly to new situations.
- Introvert -meaning “retaining within”. They seldom act before first giving careful consideration to any problem or proposition.
The extremes of these two natures do exist and are completely at odds with each other, neither being able to understand or be compatible with the other. Most people lie between the two extremes, and it is therefore necessary to classify temperament into a more general range of categories. Only four of these categories have been accepted with any popularity, therefore we shall limit our attention to these four groups.
- Sanguine -This type of temperament is possessed by an individual who is generally optimistic and confident. He is cheerful, courteous and quick thinking; and quick in transferring thought to action.
- Melancholic -This type is just the opposite of sanguine (i.e. pessimistic, doubtful, gloomy, dull, stolid determination & unreliable).
- Choleric -This type is hot tempered and easily angered; reacting quickly to emotional stimuli. This type is usually found to be under a great deal of stress.
- Phlegmatic -This type reacts slowly to emotional stimuli, is sluggish, not easily stirred, and tends to be reticent.
Mature and Immature Temperaments
A person who keeps their emotions under control is considered to be temperamentally well balanced. Such a person can experience and express their emotions when there is an appropriate reason. They don’t express emotions readily though just because they are in a particular mood. A well balanced person is not over dependant on others, but at the same time is not self contained. He does not become over anxious and as such, is less liable to the effects of stress. They are not self satisfied and will always try to have a goal to aim for. This type of person does not easily yield to excess authority, but they are not likely to become tyrannical.
Very few people reach a level of emotional maturity which corresponds with their physical and intellectual development, but some people come closer to it than others.
Modern technology has not yet devised a test which will measure the emotional age of an individual; therefore we are largely dependent upon description.
Many people fail to grow up emotionally. The reasons why are only known to a psycho analyst, and go much deeper than this course allows. A few different classes of emotional types are described below:
This type of adult is of good intelligence and knowledge. He usually has plenty of energy and tries to indulge in many activities, and can be overbearing at times. His behaviour follows the pattern of how he is feeling at a particular moment. If he is in a bad temper he will blame everyone else for everything. He is very changeable and what he approved of yesterday, he may condemn today. If he is feeling good, he can be charming. It is difficult for him to give a balanced judgement on anything. This is because emotional immaturity clashes and disturbs his intellectual attainments.
If this person is in a position of authority, he can make the lives of his subordinates miserable, unless the subordinates can somehow manage the boss; which in itself is bad management. If the person is in a less authoritative position and his intellectual capacity is mediocre, then he tends to drift from job to job, and will probably always wonder why he is not more successful.
This type is older than the previous example, but still behaves emotionally. Their most outstanding characteristic is a desire to feel important.
If a person of this type is in a position of authority they will give his best when he has an approving audience. In other words he loves to “play to the crowd”. To this end he tends to promote sycophants who will flatter and encourage the high opinion which he holds of himself.
This type of person finds it difficult to take effective responsibility, and it is left to subordinates to perform the difficult task of accepting responsibility for decisions, without having the recognised authority.
This type has a developing sense of other people and an interest in their fellow man. This is different to the previous two types. They always realise that they are a component of a group. At games, they have learned to operate as a team, and at school they would have showed loyalty to their school team.
As physical adolescents, they have no real power, and only limited responsibility. Because of this they usually find an outlet to talk. Adult adolescents behave similarly. They see only the good of their own group, and tend to dramatise themselves. They speak too much about loyalty which in effect means uncritical support for themselves.
Each of the previous immature temperaments may be linked with intelligence of a high, medium or low order, but whatever the degree of intelligence, none of them can tackle a problem as would a person of well balanced temperament. They are usually unaware of the effect which they have thinking that they are the only ones with a perfectly controlled and rational temperament.
Some people have one or more emotions of a disproportional strength. If the disproportionate emotion is “fear” to which most people can make comfortable adjustments, then conditions of life become a source of acute anxiety & dread to these people. This type of person is said to have a nervous temperament, which means they lack emotional balance. This is manifested in the work situation by difficult behaviour; erratic or abnormal work productivity, and irrational unhappiness.
In the study of psychology, there are two types of fear (i.e. reasonable and unreasonable).
In the presence of a real cause for fear, it is natural for most people to feel afraid. Such fear is accompanied by definite physical as well as mental symptoms.
This is when someone is afraid of something that is unreal or intangible…some would say “shadows”. The individual usually knows that his fear is irrational, but is unable to rid himself of the feeling.
These fears may be: the unknown, of being observed, of all people in authority, of becoming involved in a group, of losing their job, failure, strangers, etc. There are many other intangible fears.
The following example illustrates the two different types of fear.
“If someone fears losing their job and is sent to the boss, they become afraid.
If the person on the other hand feels secure in their job and is sent to the
boss, their expectations are generally more positive”
Nervousness can affect some people in other ways. It may manifest itself in a nervous compulsion to think or do certain things. These people carry on in this manner even though they know that their attitude is unreasonable.
Some people cannot stop working, and are unable to properly rest. They must always have and keep everything neat and tidy. Such symptoms are known as “compulsive obsession”. Unfortunately a sufferer from this psycho-neurotic complaint cannot be cured by being told to use will power. Just because the symptom disorder appears silly and stupid to the observer is not proof that such is the case with the victim. It is important that all symptoms are judged by their meaning to the sufferer.
EBook to compliment this Course
This engaging text explains how psychological profiling is used to assess others – from new staff and school children to criminals and killers.Â
by John Mason and the Staff of ACS
Psychological Profiling eBook course online. Psychological profiling is used to assess anyone from potential new staff and school children to serial killers. It helps you to determine someones personality, neuroses, mental health and career suitability. This book provides an excellent overview of psychological profiling techniques and pitfalls.
A profile of an individual at its most basic is an outline of what a person is really like in terms of their personality traits and characteristics. The most widely known form of profiling is that which is used to assess criminal behaviour. This is largely due to the popularity of TV shows and books which include criminal profiling.
When we hear the term “psychological profiling“, we often assume it is in relation to criminal behaviour, however profilingcan be used for a wide range of reasons, such as:
■ Assessing a person’s suitability for a specific role or profession.
â– Â Determining a specific characteristic in a person, such as intelligence or neuroses.
■ Determining someone’s personality.
■ Determining a person’s mental health state.
â– Â Diagnosing clinical conditions.
We often also see tests online and in magazines that are termed “psychological tests”, purporting to tell you the type of person you are by answering a few questions. Whilst these may be based upon some known pattern of traits, determining an individual’s profile is much more involved than this, and such tests only provide an indication at best.
In light of its media and television popularity, psychological profiling has become well-known and accepted over recent years.
Profiling is essentially building up a picture of an individual’s characteristics such as likely behaviours, attitudes, personal traits, unique skills or capabilities, and so forth in relation to norms of the general population. It is an assessment carried out by a skilled psychologist, using techniques and tools from psychology to learn general and specific facts about a person. In other words, a profile is a comparison of one person’s traits and behaviours to those of everyone else. It is a picture of how similar or different someone is, how well or poorly they perform, on a range of characteristics in relation to the average scores and performances of the general population.
