Personality Concept
An individual's personality is evaluated by observing his or her normal ways of adjusting to the situations that life presents. Individual differences highlight the study of personality, but important in the concept of personality is consistency of behavior. We see personality as external appearance and behavior, as inner awareness of self; and as unique patterns of measurable, fairly permanent traits. The characteristics that make up the whole person include physique, intellectual and other abilities, interests, attitudes, beliefs, values, and expressive life-styles.
Genetic differences playa large role in individuality and give us potential. Through the process of socialization we learn what to do and what not to do. Agencies of socialization change as the individual matures. Reevaluations of our self concept change as we respond to different rates of socialization; as opportunities differ for each of us; as we learn from experience; and as we are influenced by the structures of impersonal systems. Our body image remains an important component of our self concept throughout life.
Much of personality is revealed through our temperament, measured along the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Scale of nine dimensions. We have general activity ranging illong a scale from slow to energetic. The dimension of restraint is measured on a scale'of "impulsive to restrained." Self-sufficiency is measured on the ascendance scale; a low score relates to being timid and a high score to confidence in personal contacts. Sociability scales out from sociable to solitary. Emotional stability ranges from easily upset to emotionally unstable. Sensitivity is measured along a scale of oversensitivity to objectivity along the dimension called objectivity. Other scales include friendliness, thoughtfulness, and personal relations.
Emotional control involves the recognition of reality. We learn to view it from the standpoint of our daily habits and to expect emotional responses under certain conditions. We learn control by becoming adjusted to the stimulus that produces it. How well we do these things reflects our personality. Some people like to release their emotions in public; others do not. Advocates of sensitivity training believe that it is valuable to know how others see you; critics believe it is harmful to expose oneself openly. Emotional suppression has both positive and negative aspects.
In many ways we reveal our individuality by the roles we play; and the learning of roles"begins early and continues throughout life. Role conflicts appear for all of us. Some people find it d.illicult to shift from one role to another; others enjoy varying their roles and their behaviors. The personality of the creative individual illustrates the point that people can have certain characteristics that may lead to success or to conflicts and disenchantment.
Psychoanalytic theory attempts to explain mental phenomena as interaction between urging forces within the individuc;J and counterforces set up by the environment. Type theories attempt to classify people a~ if they came out of a mold: the "endomorph," "mesomorph," "ectomorph"; the erotic, obsessional, and narcissi"'tic types. Trait theo17 emphasizes typical ways of behaving.
