What about personality
Personality
Some people are silent and submissive while others are sociable and aggressive; some are punctual and hardworking whereas some lack punctuality and are lazy,some are assertive and optimistic while some are shy and pessimistic. The personalities and attitudes of people are.complex and difficult to interpret. To complicate matters further, there is no agreement among theorists regarding the definition of personality. They define personality from a number of different perspectives.
Meaning of Personality
The term ‘personality has been derived from the Latin term ‘persona’ which means io ‘speak through The Latin word denotes the masks worn by actors in ancient Greece and Rome. Therefore a very common meaning of the term personality is the role which the person (actor) displays to the public.
According to Floyd L. Ruch, “Personality includes external appearance and behaviour, inner awareness of self as a permanent organising force and the particular or organisation of measurable traits, both inner and outer.”
According to Gordon Airport, “Personality is the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to
his environment.
According to Fred Luthans, “Personality means how a person affects others and how he understands and views himself as well as the pattern of inner and outer measurable traits and the person-situation interaction.”
Characteristics of Personality
On the basis of above definitions it becomes very clear that the term Personality has got certain importance characteristics, They are:
(1) Personality is always dynamic.
(2) Personality determines our thinking, reasoning and actions.
(3)Personality is both physical and psychological (outer and inner.)
(4)Personality has organized and integrated system.
(5)Personality develops through social interaction.
(6)Every personality has some uniqueness.
(7)Personality refers to the process of adjustment to our environment.
(8)Personality is self-conscious.
Determinants of Personality
Now that we have understood the meaning of personality, the next question is what determinants go into the development of personality? Was the individual born with that personality or was it developed afterwards as a result of his interaction with his environment? Generally the consensus is that heredity and environment jointly affect the individual’s personality development. The factors affecting personality development are illustrated as follows:
(A) Heredity: The concept that heredity is a determinant of personality is embedded in our minds. In our day to day life, so many times. We use the term “Like father like son” as “Like mother like daughter.” When We use these terms We generally refer to the traits like physique, eye colour, hair colour, height, temperament, energy level, intelligence, reflexes etc. However, the importance of heredity varies from one personality trait to another. For example, heredity is generally more important in determining a person’s temperament than his values and ideals.
According to S.P. Robbins, the heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s per-
sonality is the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes. Three different streams of research lend some credibility to the argument that heredity plays an important part in determining an individual’s personality. The first looks at the genetic underpinnings of human behaviour and temperament among young children. The second addresses the study of twins who were separated at birth and the third examines the consistency in job satisfaction over time and across situations.
(B) Environment: If all personality traits are determined by heredity, they would be fixed at birth and would not be changed throughout the life. But mis is not so. The personality traits are not completely dictated by heredity,environment also plays a very important role in the development of personality of a person, Environment comprises of culture, family, social and situational factors:
1. Culture – According to Hoebel, Culture is the sum total of learned behaviour traits which are manifested and shared by the members of the society.
Culture establishes norms, attitudes and values that are passed along from, generation to generation and create
consistencies over time. Every culture expects and trains its members to behave in the ways that are acceptable to the group. Persons belonging different cultural groups generally have different attitudes towards independence, aggression, competition, cooperation artistic talent etc. While growing, the child learns to behave in ways expected by the culture of the family in which he was born. Most cultures expect different roles from males than from females. Similarly, every culture has its own sub cultures with different views about such qualities as moral values, style of press,
etc.
Although culture has significant influence on personality development, a linear relationship cannot be established between culture and personality due to the following
reasons:
1.Individuals within the same culture can differ in their behaviour and personality formats because of the existence of several sub system’s within the same culture.
2. The workers are not influenced by the same culture as managers are. Moreover, skilled workers have different behaviour patterns than unskilled workers.
Management must recognise and understand these differences while dealing with the people in the organisation.
2. Family – One of the very important determinants of the personality of a person is his immediate family. Families influence the behaviour of a person especially in die early
stages. The nature of such influence will depend upon the following factors:
(i) Socio-Economic level of the family
(ii) Family size
(iii) Birth order
(iv) Race
(V) Religion
(vi) Parent’s educational level
(vii) Geographic location.
To elaborate, a person brought up in a rich and prestigious family has a different personality as compared to the people who belong to a poor family. The family size will also affect the behaviour of a child. The personality of a single child is different from the personality of a person who is
brought up in a family of more than two siblings. Similarly, the personality of a person brought up in a nuclear family will be different from that of a person brought up in a joint
family. Studies have also shown that first born children are more responsible, rational, independent, ambitious and more
sensitive to social acceptance. Empirical evidence also suggests that the home and family environment, created by the mother and the father as well as their own behaviour is highly influential on personality development of the child.
Every child tries to identify himself with some person whom he feels ideal in the family. Generally a child, in the family tries to behave like his father or mother. This process can be examined from three different perspectives:
1.Firstly, identification can be viewed as the similarity of behaviour (including feelings and attitudes) between child and model.
2.Secondly, identification can be looked upon as the child’s motives or desires to be like the model,Lastly, Identification can be viewed as the process through which the child actually takes on the attributes of the model This identification process is fundamental to the understanding of personality development.
3. Socialization Socialization is a process by which an infant acquires from the enormously wide range of behavioural potentialities that are open to him at birth, those behaviour patterns that are customary and acceptable to the family and social groups. Initially socialization starts
with the contact of the infant with the mother when he grows up Contacts with the other members of the family and social groups intuence his socialization process. These social groups include school mates, friends, then friends or colleagues at work place, groups to which an individual be-
longs. Because “A man is known by the company he keeps,”all these social groups influence the behaviour of the individuals. A lot of evidence has been accumulated which suggests that socialization may be one of the best explanations of why employees behave the way they do in today’s organizations. There are some norms and laws of every society in which the individual exists. Much of the behaviour arises out of the respect for these norms and laws. Thus, we can say that social life has a considerable impact on the individual’s behaviour.
(C) Situation : Apart from heredity and environment,the situation in which an individual is can also influence his
personality. An individual’s personality may not change entirely with a particular situation. However, different situations bring out different aspects of an individual’s personal ity. Hence, a person’s personality cannot be judged by observing his behavior in anyone particular situation
Research methods have not progressed to the extent that situations can be classified and studied. However, it is clear that certain situations are more significant than others in opening personality. For instance, certain situations impose more constraints on behavior than others do. For example, a person will attempt to control his behavior in a meeting with his boss or during a prayer meeting in a religious place, but during a picnic with family members or friends he will be relaxed and make minimum efforts to con-
trol his behavior.
Types of Personality
Following are the main types of personalities:
1. Introvert and Extrovert Personalities
2 Type A and Type B Personalities.
3.Judging and Perceptive Personalities.
Let us discuss what each of these types means.
(1) Introvert Personalities – Introvert is one of the two basic orientations of people have. Persons with introvert orientation are primarily oriented to the subjective world.
Such people look inward and experience and process their thoughts and ideas within themselves. They also avoid social contacts and initiating interaction with other group mates,withdrawn, quiet and enjoy solitude. People with introvert personality are found more inclined to excel at tasks that require thought and analytical skill.
(2) Extrovert Personalities – Simply speaking, extroverts are just contrary to introverts. Extroverts are friendly,sociable, lively, gregarious; aggressive and expressing their
feelings and ideas openly. Accordingly, they are more suitable and successful for the positions that require considerable interaction with others. Sales activities, publicity departments, personal relations unit, etc. are the examples of activities suitable for extroverts.
(3) Type A Personality – Type A people are characterized by hard-working, highly achievement oriented, impatient, have Such people tend to be very productive and
work very hard. In fact, they are workaholic. Being impatient and aggressive, such people are more prone to heart attack.
(4) Type B Personalities – Easy-going, sociable, free from urgency of time, laid-back and non-competitive are the characteristics of Type B personalities. Such people do better on tasks involving judgements, accuracy rather than speed and team work.
(5) Judging Personalities – People with judging personality types like to follow a plan, make decisions and need only that what is essential for their work.
(6) Perceptive Personalities – These are the people who adapt well to change, want to know all about a job and at times may get over committed.