Etymologically, the word ‘personality’ is derived from Latin word ‘Persona’ which means the mask or dress which the actors used to wear in Greek drama. But it is a narrow concept of personality because ‘persona’ is something external in nature and it does not include inner traits.
Psychologically speaking personality is all that a person is. It is the totality of one’s behaviour towards oneself and others as well. It includes everything about the person, physical, emotional, social, mental and spiritual make-up. The term personality signifies something deeper than mere appearance or outward behavior. It has been defined by so many psychologists in so many ways according to their own points of view. Some of these well known attempts at defining personality are presented below:
- Watson. “Personality is the sum of activities that can be discovered by actual observations over a long enough period of time to give reliable information.”
In this manner Watson gives emphasis upon the behaviour of an individual and says that personality is nothing but the useful effect one makes upon the person coming into his close contact.
- Morton Prince, accepting the role of both heredity and environment, defines it as-
“Personality is the sum total of all the biological innate disposition, impulses, tendencies, appetites and instincts of the individual and the dispositions and tendencies acquired by experience”.
- Allport. After evaluating 49 definitions of personality, Allport summarizes his own concept in the following words:
“Personality is a dynamic organization within the individual of those Psycho-physical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment.”
- Freud is of the view that there are three major constituents of personality:-
a) Id: Id is immoral, illogical and unconscious. It is the sum total of natural and general tendencies that cannot be satisfied in the society.
b) Ego: Ego is the social self. It is sum total of consciousness, will power, and intelligence and reasoning. It has relationship with id as well as with super ego.
c) Super ego: It is known as moral self. It is higher and ideal part of personality. Its function is to warn about its defects and wrong actions.
Freud further says that if there is a balance between id and super ego there will be well adjusted personality and if there is no proper balance between id and super ego there will be maladjusted personality.
- R.B.Cattell. “Personality is that which permits a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation.”
- Eysenck. “Personality is the more or less stable and enduring organization of a person’s character, temperament, intellect, and physique, which determine his unique adjustment to the environment.”
In this way, for understanding the concept of personality, the evolution of an ideal definition still needs further research. Infact, the concepts like personality are difficult to be explained as they have the identity like sound, electricity etc., the impact of which can be felt but the real nature of them is always a matter of secrecy. Something about them can be known by their utility or describing some of their characteristics and distinguishing features.
Distinguishing Features and Characteristics of personality
The results of various experimental studies and observations have led to the identification of the following characteristics of personality:
1. Personality is something unique and specific. Every one of us is a unique person in oneself. However, the uniqueness of an individual’s personality does not mean that he has nothing to share with others in terms of traits and characteristics of personality. He may have certain characteristics which he may share with others and at the same time many others which are unique to him.
2. Personality exhibits self consciousness as one of its main characteristics. Man is described as a person or as having a personality when the idea of “self” enters into consciousness. In this connection Bhatia (1968) writes: We do not attribute personality to a dog and even a child because it has only a vague sense of personal identity.
3. “Personality”, as stated by Allport (1948): It is not only the assumed, the external and non-essential but also the vital, the internal and the essential. It includes everything about a person. It is all what a person has about him. Therefore, it includes all the behaviour patterns, i.e. cognitive, conative and affective and covers not only the conscious activities but goes deeper to the semi-conscious and unconscious also.
4. Personality is not just a collection of so many traits or characteristics. For instance, by only counting the bricks, how can we describe the wall of a house? Actually personality is more than this: it is an organization of psychophysical systems or some behaviour characteristics and functions as a unified whole. Just as an elephant cannot be described as pillar only by examining its legs, an individual’s personality cannot be judged by only looking at his physical appearance or sociability. The personality of an individual can be assessed only by going into all the aspects that comprise his totality.
5. Although the personality of an individual remains stable to a large extent, it cannot be static, it is dynamic and continuously in the process of change and modification. As we have said earlier, personality is “everything” that person has about him. It has all that is needed for his unique adjustment to his environment. Personality is sometimes subjected to disorganization and disintegration, leading to severe personality disorders on account of factors and conditions like severe anxiety, stress, traumatic experiences, prolonged illness, infections, and damage to the brain and nervous systems.
6. Every personality is the product of heredity and environment. Both these contribute significantly towards the child’s personality. A child is not born with personality but develops with continuous interactions with his environment. Therefore, not only heredity but also factors like constitutional make-up, social and cultural influences as well as experience and training etc. all affect one’s personality.
7. Learning and acquisition of experiences contribute towards growth and development of personality. Every personality is the end product of this process of learning and acquisition.
8. The personality of an individual can be described as well as measured.
9. Personality should not be taken as synonymous with one’s character. Character is an ethical concept. It represents a moral estimate of the individual, while personality as a psychological concept is a more comprehensive term which includes character as one of its constituents.
10. Personality may be further distinguished from temperament which can be termed as a system of emotional disposition. This system of emotional disposition represents only the affective side of one’s personality and so personality must be taken as being much beyond one’s temperament.
11. Personality should also be viewed differently from the ego or the individual self. The word ego is generally used for that unified part of one’s personality which in ordinary language we call “I”. However, as the psychoanalytic view of personality advocated by Freud explains, it is only a small aspect of one’s total personality. Personality, therefore, stands for more than what the ego carries.
12. Every person’s personality has one more distinguishing feature that is, aiming to an end or towards some specific goals. Adler clearly asserts this view and is of the opinion that a man’s personality can be judged through a study and interpretation of the goals which he has set for himself and the approaches he makes to the problems he faces in his life.
Thus personality is a complex blend of a constantly evolving and changing pattern of one’s unique behaviour, emerged as a result of one’s interactions with one’s environment and directed towards some specific ends.
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