PERSONALITY

Personality is the unique patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish a person
from others. A product of both biology and environment, it remains fairly consistent throughout
life.

The word "personality" stems from the Latin word persona, which refers to a theatrical mask worn
by performers in order to either project different roles or disguise their identities.

Personality Characteristics

What exactly makes up a personality? Traits and patterns of thought and emotion play important
roles, and so do these fundamental characteristics of personality:

 Consistency: There is generally a recognizable order and regularity to behaviors.

Essentially, people act in the same way or in similar ways in a variety of situations.
 Both psychological and physiological: Personality is a psychological construct, but
research suggests that it is also influenced by biological processes and needs.
 Affects behaviors and actions: Personality not only influences how we move and respond
in our environment, but it also causes us to act in certain ways.
 Multiple expressions: Personality is displayed in more than just behavior. It can also be
seen in our thoughts, feelings, close relationships, and other social interactions.

What Are the Big 5 Personality Traits?

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism

An Easy Way to Remember the Big 5

Some use the acronym OCEAN (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and
neuroticism) to remember the Big 5 personality traits.

Openness
This personality trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight.1 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.

People who are high in this personality trait also tend to be more adventurous and creative.
Conversely, people low in this personality trait are often much more traditional and may struggle
with abstract thinking.

High
 Very creative
 Open to trying new things
 Focused on tackling new challenges
 Happy to think about abstract concepts
Low
 Dislikes change
 Does not enjoy new things
 Resists new ideas
 Not very imaginative
 Dislikes abstract or theoretical conce

Conscientiousness
Standard features of this personality trait include high levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse
control, and goal-directed behaviors.1 Highly conscientious people tend to be organized and
mindful of details. They plan ahead, think about how their behavior affects others, and are mindful
of deadlines.

Someone scoring lower in this primary personality trait is less structured and less organized. They
may procrastinate to get things done, sometimes missing deadlines completely.

High
 Spends time preparing
 Finishes important tasks right away
 Pays attention to detail
 Enjoys having a set schedule
Low
 Dislikes structure and schedules
 Makes messes and doesn't take care of things
 Fails to return things or put them back where they belong
 Procrastinates important tasks
 Fails to complete necessary or assigned tasks

Extraversion
Extraversion (or extroversion) is a personality trait characterized by excitability, sociability,
talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness.1 People high in
extraversion are outgoing and tend to gain energy in social situations. Being around others helps
them feel energized and excited.

People who are low in this personality trait or introverted tend to be more reserved. They have less
energy to expend in social settings and social events can feel draining. Introverts often require a
period of solitude and quiet in order to "recharge."

High
 Enjoys being the center of attention
 Likes to start conversations
 Enjoys meeting new people
 Has a wide social circle of friends and acquaintances
 Finds it easy to make new friends
 Feels energized when around other people
 Say things before thinking about them
Low
 Prefers solitude
 Feels exhausted when having to socialize a lot
 Finds it difficult to start conversations
 Dislikes making small talk
 Carefully thinks things through before speaking
 Dislikes being the center of attention

Agreeableness
This personality trait includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and
other prosocial behaviors.1 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.

High
 Has a great deal of interest in other people
 Cares about others
 Feels empathy and concern for other people
 Enjoys helping and contributing to the happiness of other people
 Assists others who are in need of help
Low

 Takes little interest in others

 Doesn't care about how other people feel
 Has little interest in other people's problems
 Insults and belittles others
 Manipulates others to get what they want

Neuroticism
Neuroticism is a personality trait characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional
instability.1 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.
High
 Experiences a lot of stress
 Worries about many different things
 Gets upset easily
 Experiences dramatic shifts in mood
 Feels anxious
 Struggles to bounce back after stressful events
Low
 Emotionally stable
 Deals well with stress
 Rarely feels sad or depressed
 Doesn't worry much
  Is very relaxed

Positive Personality Traits

Positive personality traits are traits that can be beneficial to have. These traits may help you be a
better person or make it easier to cope with challenges you may face in life. Personality traits that
are considered positive include:

 Adaptable
 Ambitious
 Considerate
 Cooperative
 Friendly
 Gracious
 Humble
 Insightful
 Objective
 Optimistic
 Respectful
 Steady
 Thorough
 Well-rounded

Negative Personality Traits

Negative personality traits are those that may be more harmful than helpful. These are traits that
may hold you back in your life or hurt your relationships with others. (They're also good traits to
focus on for personal growth.) Personality traits that fall in the negative category include:

 Aggressive
 Arrogant
 Cold
 Deceptive
 Egotistical
 Guarded
 Intolerant
 Judgmental
 Moody
 Neglectful
 Pompous
 Selfish
 Unreliable
 Withdrawn

For example, if you score high in openness, you are more likely to have the positive personality trait
of creativity. If you score low in openness, you may be more likely to have the negative personality
trait of being unimaginative.
Determinants of Personality
The determinants of personality can be grouped in five broad categories:
1. Biological Factors
2. Cultural Factors
3. Family Factors
4. Social Factors
5. Situational Factors

Biological Factors
The study of the biological contributions to personality may be studied under three heads:

Heredity
Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception. Physical stature, facial
attractiveness, sex, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level, and biological
rhythms are characteristics that are considered to be inherent from one’s parents.
The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s personality is the
molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes.

Brain
The second biological approach is to concentrate on the role that the brain plays in personality. The
psychologists are unable to prove empirically the contribution of the human brain in influencing
personality.

Preliminary results from the electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) research give an indication
that a better understanding of human personality and behaviour might come from the study of
the brain.

Biofeedback
Until recently, physiologists and psychologists felt that certain biological functions such as
brainwave patterns, gastric and hormonal secretions, and fluctuations in blood pressure and skin
temperature were beyond conscious control.

Now some scientists believe that these involuntary functions can be consciously controlled
through biofeedback techniques. In BFT, the individual learns the internal rhythms of a
particular body process through electronic signals that are feedback from equipment that is wired
to the body.

Physical Features
A vital ingredient of the personality, an individual’s external appearance, is biologically determined.
The fact that a person is tall or short, fat or skinny, black or white will influence the person’s
effect on others and this in turn, will affect the self-concept.
Cultural Factors
Among the factors that influence personality formation is the culture in which we are raised, early
conditioning, norms prevailing within the family, friends and social groups and other
miscellaneous experiences that impact us.
The culture largely determines attitudes towards independence, aggression, competition,
cooperation and a host of other human responses.
According to Paul H Mussen, “each culture expects, and trains, its members to behave in ways that
are acceptable to the group. To a marked degree, the child’s cultural group defines the range of
experiences and situations he is likely to encounter and the values and personality characteristics
that will be reinforced and hence learned.”

Family Factors
Whereas the culture generally prescribes and limits what a person can be taught, it is the family,
and later the social group, which selects, interprets and dispenses the culture. Thus, the family
probably has the most significant impact on early personality development.

A substantial amount of empirical evidence indicates that the overall home environment created
by the parents, in addition to their direct influence, is critical to personality development.
The parents play an especially important part in the identification process, which is important to
the person’s early development. The home environment also influences the personality of an
individual. Siblings (brothers and sisters) also contribute to personality.

Social Factors
There is increasing recognition given to the role of other relevant persons, groups and especially
organisations, which greatly influence an individual’s personality. This is commonly called the
socialization process.

Socialization involves the process by which a person acquires, from the enormously wide
range of behavioural potentialities that are open to him or her, those that are ultimately
synthesized and absorbed.
Socialization starts with the initial contact between a mother and her new infant. After infancy,
other members of the immediate family – father, brothers, sisters and close relatives or friends,
then the social group: peers, school friends and members of the work group – play influential roles.
Socialization process is especially relevant to organisational behaviour because the process is not
confined to early childhood, taking place rather throughout one’s life. In particular, the evidence is
accumulating that socialization may be one of the best explanations for why employees
behave the way they do in today’s organisations.

Situational Factors

The personality formation of an individual also depends on situational factors. Situational factors are
dynamic and change with the social conditions. People come across various situations that change
their perspective toward things.
For example, a strict teacher might not be strict towards his family members. The behaviour of an
officer might be different towards his subordinates than compared to his family. It is not a single
factor that shapes personality but a collection of different factors. A person displays his attitude
when he comes in contact with the environment, culture, society, parents, friends and others.

A particular situation might have a huge impact on a person. It might be restrictive or motivational.
The person might not behave as per his nature, but as per the situation he is facing.

For example, a person with dominating personality might get irritated in a bureaucratised work
condition and behave violently and lethargically.