INTRODUCTION
PERSONALITY
Personality refers to the enduring characteristics and behavior that comprise a
person’s unique adjustment to life, including major traits, interests, drives, values, self
concept, abilities, and emotional patterns.It includes behavioral characteristics, both
inherent and acquired, that distinguish one person from another and that can be
observed in people’s relations to the environment and to the social group.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. The
American Psychological Association defines personality as “the individual differences
in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.” It encompasses a wide
range of human behavior and mental processes, making it an essential area of study in
psychology.
Personality influences how individuals perceive and interact with their environment
and others. It plays a vital role in predicting behavioral responses across various
situations and times.
Personality States:
States are temporary patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior that are influenced by
immediate situations, moods, or environments. Unlike personality traits, which are
stable and consistent over time, states are changeable and momentary. For example, a
person who is typically calm (trait) may exhibit anger (state) when provoked.
Psychologists often measure states in studies on mood or behavior using state-trait
distinctions (e.g., Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory).
Personality Types and Traits:
Personality types refer to categorical classifications where people are grouped into
distinct categories based on certain traits or tendencies.
Personality traits are enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior
across time and situations. Unlike types, traits are dimensional, meaning people vary
in degree rather than kind.
Personality Types:
Carl Jung’s Personality Types:
Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961), a Swiss psychiatrist, developed a theory of
personality that became the basis for many modern personality tests, including the
MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator).
In his book 'Psychological Types' (1921), Jung proposed that individuals experience
the world through four principal psychological functions: sensation, intuition,
thinking, and feeling. These functions are expressed in one of two attitudes:
introversion or extraversion. The dominant function is paired with an auxiliary
function, creating eight personality types.
Jung proposed two major attitudes:
● Introversion (focus on inner world)
● Extraversion (focus on external world)
These form the basis for the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), which identifies
16 personality types, such as:
● INFJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging)
● ESTP (Extraverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving)
The Type A and Type B personality theory:
The Type A and Type B personality theory was introduced by cardiologists Meyer
Friedman and Ray Rosenman in the 1950s.
Type A individuals are described as competitive, highly organized, ambitious,
impatient, highly aware of time management, and/or aggressive.
Type B individuals are generally more relaxed, less 'neurotic,' more flexible, and tend
to have lower stress levels.
The theory was originally developed to explore the relationship between behavior
patterns and the risk of coronary heart disease. Although influential, the binary nature
of the theory has been criticized for oversimplifying human behavior.
Hippocrates Humorous Theory of Personality:
Hippocrates (circa 460–370 BCE), the father of modern medicine, proposed that
human moods and behaviors were caused by imbalances in bodily fluids or 'humors'.
There were four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. These
corresponded to the sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, and melancholic temperaments.
● Sanguine: sociable, talkative, pleasure-seeking (associated with blood)
● Choleric: ambitious, leader-like, irritable (associated with yellow bile)
● Phlegmatic: calm, reliable, thoughtful (associated with phlegm)
● Melancholic: analytical, detail-oriented, introverted (associated with black
bile)
Though scientifically outdated, this theory laid the foundation for temperament
research in psychology.
Personality Traits:
The Big Five Factor Theory:
The Big Five Factor Theory explains personality as composed of five broad
dimensions or traits that are relatively stable over time and across different situations.
These five dimensions are:
Openness to Experience: Reflects imagination, creativity, curiosity, and a preference
for novelty and variety.
Conscientiousness: Describes a person’s level of organization, dependability, and
goal-directed behavior.
Extraversion: Refers to the degree of sociability, assertiveness, and enthusiasm.
Agreeableness: Measures interpersonal tendencies such as compassion,
cooperativeness, and trust in others.
Neuroticism: Reflects emotional stability and tendency toward negative emotions.
Personality Theories:
Personality theories aim to explain the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
that make a person unique. Here are some of the major types of personality theories:
1. The Big 5 – Personality Trait Theory: (OCEAN)
Originally developed in 1949, the big 5 personality traits is a theory established by D.
W. Fiske was later expanded upon by other researchers including Norman (1967),
Smith (1967), Goldberg (1981), and McCrae & Costa (1987). The five broad
personality traits described by the theory are openness, conscientiousness,
extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism also known as OCEAN.
● Openness: Openness (also referred to as openness to experience) emphasizes
imagination and insight the most out of all five personality traits. People who
are high in openness tend to have a broad range of interests. They are curious
about the world and other people and are eager to learn new things and enjoy
new experiences.
● Conscientiousness: Among each of the personality traits, conscientiousness is
one defined by high levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse control, and
goal-directed behaviors.
● Extraversion: Extraversion (or extroversion) is a personality trait
characterized by excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high
amounts of emotional expressiveness.
● Agreeableness: This personality trait includes attributes such as trust,
altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors. People who are
high in agreeableness tend to be more cooperative while those low in this
personality trait tend to be more competitive and sometimes even
manipulative.
● Neuroticism: Neuroticism is a personality trait characterized by sadness,
moodiness, and emotional instability. Individuals who are high in neuroticism
tend to experience mood swings, anxiety, irritability, and sadness. Those low
in this personality trait tend to be more stable and emotionally resilient.
2. Psychoanalytic Theories:
These theories focus on the influence of the unconscious mind and early childhood
experiences on personality.
● Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory: Emphasizes the role of unconscious
desires and conflicts in shaping personality. Key components include the id,
ego, and superego.
● Carl Jung's Analytical Psychology: Introduces concepts like the collective
unconscious, archetypes, and individuation.
● Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology: Focuses on the drive for superiority and
the importance of social interest and community feeling.
3. Trait Theories:
Trait theories focus on identifying and measuring individual personality
characteristics.
● Gordon Allport's Trait Theory: Differentiates between central traits (core to
personality)and secondary traits (situational).
● Raymond Cattell's 16 Personality Factors: Identifies 16 basic personality traits
using factor analysis.
● Hans Eysenck's Three Dimensions of Personality: Proposes three dimensions:
extraversion-introversion, neuroticism-stability, and psychoticism.
4. Humanistic Theories:
Humanistic theories emphasize individual growth, self-actualization, and the inherent
goodness of people.
● Carl Rogers' Person-Centered Theory: Highlights the importance of
self-concept and conditions of worth, and promotes unconditional positive
regard.
● Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Describes a hierarchy of needs
culminating in self-actualization, where individuals realize their full potential.
5. Behavioral Theories:
Behavioral theories focus on the influence of the environment and learned behaviors.
● B.F. Skinner's Operant Conditioning: Suggests that personality is shaped by
rewards and punishments.
● John Watson's Classical Conditioning: Emphasizes the role of conditioned
responses in shaping behavior.
Personality Assessments:
Personality assessment refers to a range of procedures used by psychologists to
measure and evaluate the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
that make a person unique. According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology (2023):
“Personality assessment is the measurement and evaluation of psychological traits,
motives, values, emotional patterns, and behavior styles that define an individual’s
personality.”
These assessments help identify traits (e.g., introversion, neuroticism), types (e.g.,
Type A or B), and states (e.g., temporary emotional reactions), depending on the
theoretical framework.
Aim of Personality Assessments:
1. Understanding the Individual: To gain a deeper insight into an individual's
personality structure, including strengths, weaknesses, and patterns of
behavior.
2. Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment: Helps clinicians diagnose mental health
conditions (e.g., personality disorders) and plan effective treatment or therapy.
3. Career and Occupational Guidance: Assists in identifying suitable career paths
based on personality traits (e.g., MBTI or Big Five used in workplace
settings).
4. Research Purposes: Used in psychological research to study the relationship
between personality and other psychological or social variables.
5. Self-Understanding and Personal Growth: Encourages self-awareness and
helps individuals reflect on their behaviors and motivations.
6. Educational and Developmental Use: Used in school counseling to assess
student behavior, learning styles, and social adjustment.
Various Techniques of Personality Assessments:
Personality assessments involve a range of tools and techniques used by psychologists
to understand individual personality traits, behaviors, and patterns. These assessments
are vital in clinical, occupational, and research settings.
1. Self-Report Inventories:
Self-report inventories are questionnaires where individuals rate themselves on
various items related to feelings, behaviors, and thoughts. They are the most
commonly used techniques in personality assessment.
● Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): Based on Carl Jung's theory of
psychological types, it categorizes individuals into 16 personality types based
on preferences in four dichotomies: Introversion/Extraversion,
Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving.The
Myers-Briggs personality test breaks down the 16 personality types into two
groups: introverts and extroverts. The introverts can be categorized as ISTJ,
ISTP, ISFJ, ISFP, INTJ, INTP, INFJ, and INFP. The extroverts can be
categorized as: ESTJ, ESTP, ESFJ, ESFP, ENTJ, ENTP, ENFJ, and ENFP. I
introversion to E extroversion - S sensing to N intuition - T thinking to F
feeling - J judging to P perceiving.
● Big Five Personality Test (OCEAN): Measures five major dimensions of
personality: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion,
Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.Extraversion is sociability, agreeableness is
kindness, openness is creativity and intrigue, conscientiousness is
thoughtfulness, and neuroticism often involves sadness or emotional
instability.
● Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): Used primarily in
clinical settings, it assesses a wide range of psychological conditions and
personality attributes.
● Locus of Control Test: Locus of control is the degree to which people believe
that they, as opposed to external forces (beyond their influence), have control
over the outcome of events in their lives. The concept was developed by Julian
B. Rotter in 1954, and has since become an aspect of personality psychology.
● Type-A and Type-B Personality Test: Type A and type B are two main
personality categories. People with type A personalities may be ambitious,
aggressive, and competitive. People with type B personalities may be laid
back, flexible, and patient. Personality refers to the pattern of emotions,
thoughts, and behaviors that make each individual who they are.
2. Projective Techniques:
Projective tests involve presenting ambiguous stimuli to individuals and analyzing
their responses to uncover underlying emotions, desires, and internal conflicts.
● Rorschach Inkblot Test: The Rorschach Inkblot Test is a projective
psychological assessment developed by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann
Rorschach in 1921. It consists of ten inkblot cards, each presenting a
symmetrical, ambiguous image. The test aims to uncover unconscious
thoughts, feelings, and conflicts by analyzing the individual’s perception and
interpretation of the inkblots.
● Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): The Thematic Apperception Test
(TAT), developed by Henry A. Murray and Christiana D. Morgan in the 1930s,
is another widely used projective technique in psychology. It consists of 30
black-and-white pictures depicting ambiguous social scenes, although
typically a subset is used depending on the individual’s age, gender, or
situation. Participants are asked to create a story for each picture, including
what is happening, what led up to it, what the characters are thinking and
feeling, and what will happen next. TAT is especially useful in understanding
interpersonal relationships and unconscious drives.
● Draw-A-Person Test: The Draw-A-Person Test (DAP), originally developed
by Florence Goodenough and later revised by Machover, is a nonverbal
projective measure of personality and cognitive development. The individual
is instructed to draw a person (sometimes followed by a drawing of a person
of the opposite sex or of themselves). The test is based on the premise that the
drawing reflects aspects of the individual's self-concept, emotional state, and
interpersonal perceptions.
3. Behavioral Assessment:
This technique involves direct observation of an individual's behavior in natural or
controlled settings. It is often used to assess personality traits based on actions.
● Observation in classrooms, workplaces
● Behavioral coding systems
4. Structured and Unstructured Interviews:
Interviews are a central method of assessing personality, behavior, and fit for a role,
and they can be classified into structured and unstructured formats. In a structured
interview, all candidates are asked the same set of predetermined questions in a
standardized order, often with a scoring system or rating scale for each response. In
contrast, an unstructured interview allows the interviewer to ask open-ended or
spontaneous questions based on the flow of the conversation. While this format offers
flexibility and depth, it is more prone to subjectivity and bias, and lacks consistency
across candidates.
References
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Gregory, R. J. (2021). Psychological Testing: History, Principles, and Applications
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