Personality

2. How do psychologists define and use
the concept of personality?
 Personality refers to the relatively
enduring characteristics that
1. Differentiate one person from anther
2. Lead them to act in a consistent and
predictable manner.
3. Both in different situations and over
extended periods of time.

3. Allport
 Personality is…
 The dynamic organization within the individual of
those psychophysical systems that determine his
characteristic behavior and thought and his unique
adjustment to the environment

4. Characteristics of personality
 Unique
 Organisation
 Consistency and stabilty
 Dynamic
 Self-consciousness
 Psychophysical system
 social

5. Determinants of personality
Biological factors
Family &
Social factors
Cultural factors Situational factors
1. Heredity
2. Brain
3. Physical features
1.Socialisation process
(Behaviour from family &
social group)
2. Identification process
( Selecting ideal person)
3. Home environment
(Brought up)
4.Social Group.
1. Independence- Australia
2. Aggression- North Korea
3. Competition- India
4. Co-operation- Japan
1.Positive behaviour
2.Negative behaviour

6. Biological factors
 Heredity: Heredity is transmitted through genes that
determine hormone balance leads to physique
formation which shapes personality.
 acquiring from parents certain biological, physical
and psychological commonalities, which are further
reflected in
physical stature, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle
composition, reflects and energy level.

7. Family and social factors
 Family: influence in the early stages. Nature of such
influence depends on the following
socio-economic level of the family, family size, birth
order, race, religion, parent’s educational level,
geographic location

8. Family and social factors
 Socialisation process :Process where in the infant acquires wide
behavioural potentialities that are open to him
 Starts from the mother moves to other members of the family, friends,
school mates, colleagues, the outside world and so on.
 Identification process: considering someone in the family as role model
 Home environment: Home environment: Every individual is born and
brought up in a particular environment. . Environment leaves an
imprint on the personality of an individual.
 Social group

9. Cultural factors
 Culture: sum total of learned behaviour traits which
are manifested and shared by the members of the
society
 Establishes norms, attitudes and values passed on
thro’ generations and create consistencies over time.
 Expect the members to behave in the ways acceptable
by the group.
 Similarly there are sub cultures with different views
about moral values, style of dress etc

10. Situational factors
 Every individual goes thro’ different experience and
events in life
 They serve as important determinants of his/her life
personality
 Situation exerts important press on the individual to
behave positively or negatively