17 PERSONALITY: ITS NATURE

17.1 IDtroducticm.

What do we mean when we say "someone has a very good penonaIity or why do we get attracted to a. personality like Swami Vivdtanand ? While using the term personality we usually refer only to the outward characteristics of the person like if a person ia tall. muscular. well dressed he or she is regarded as an individual with an impreaaiye

. personality. Now that you have studied the basiC concepts in paychology-do You think that psychologists. too, classify individuals on the basis of external features ? Of course not.

. When psychologists talk about personality-they refer to important behavioural or dispositional characteristics which distinguish one individual from another. In this lesson we are going to study about personality. its meaning. nature and some of the views on personality.

17.2 O'bJectlvea

Mter reading this lesson, you should be able to :

• define personality;

• explain the psycho-analytic theories of personality;

• explain the factors which shape personality development.

17.3 PenoDallty

Have you ever seen a new born child ? Although all new borna look alike I when they grow up they become different from each other in terms of temperament and the way they respond to the people and

2 Psychology

events in the environment. There is considerable consistency in their behaviours across situations. These differences indicate that every person has a different personality. We all use the word personality very often by saying that Sita has a very shy personality or I am drawn by her personality. So what does this word 'personality' mean ?

Personality is derived from the Latin word 'Persona' which means, mask. Thus 'personality' stands for the way wt! present ourselves to others or the way others view us. Various psychologists have attempted to give a definition of personality .. As you can imagine, personality-has very complex aspects. It is generally considered as a dynamic system of all the attitudes, habits and motives of a person which helps in adjusting to the environment. It is the total behaviour of the individual and is relatively consistent over time and across situations. So it tan be defined as an individ~als relatively stable and en4wing ~~ of~!Jts, feeliTJ,gs and actions. In' simple words our personality defines us 'as a person, how we are different from. others, or what behaviour patterns are typical-of a person. For instance, a person may be called an extrovert if he likes meeting people and is outgoing most of the time.

* Personality is an individual's relatively stable and enduring pattern of thoughts, feeling and actions.

Tl'y it younelf : Can you identify some individuals with different types of personalities to whom you feel attracted and list the reasons. Personality has been approached by psychologists from different perspectives. Some of these perspectives have been given in the first chapter of Book 1. Various psychologists have analysed personality in different ways. In this lesson we will limit our study to the psychoanalytic theory and the types and traits approach to personality, To start with lets study the psychoanalytic theory of personality. You will study about the trait and type approaches in the second lesson

17.4 Psychoanalytic theory of PeraonRUty

The psychoanalytic theory was founded by Sigmund Freud, He attempted to explain individual differences by examining how our unconscious, mental forces affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. While reading about this theory, we will focus on some core concepts like levels of consciousness, personality structure, defense mechanisms, and psychosexual ,$tage~ of development. So, come lets study about these.

Level. ot Con.clou.n ••• : Sometimes it happens with us that we, remember part of the information but forget the rest. Why does it happen ? According to Freud the mind is organised into three levels i.e: the conscious, preconscioUS and unccneclcus. The conscious part of

~:1"_::3

our mind consists of the thoughts or information one is currently aware of. Preconscious includes those mental activities which are not a part of our current thought but can be remembered if needed. The third level, which is the unconscious, stores our memories and emotioD. which are not allowed into the conscious or preconscious mind.

Personality structure

Freud analyzed presonality with the help of three concept namely Id, Ego and Super ego. These are mental concepts refering to certain processes or activities. According to Freud the Id is like a chil~ which works on the pleasure. principle which involves the immediate and uninterrupted seeking of pleasure and avoidance of discomfort. Con· trary to id the ego is the rational part of the mind which deals with defective reality. The third part is the super ego which is related . ....w, the morals, norms andrules as given by parents and society. FTeu4 has tried to analyze our behaviours and its problems in terms of the dynamic intera.ction of these; three structures.

The concept of id, ego and super ego can be understood with the help of an example of a child. For example an infant is only concerned with his need gratification like having milk when hungry. He has only an id as his every impulse should be satisfied immediately, without think ing about its adequacy or possibility. As the child grows old he realises that certain things are not possible. We have to make compromises in order to live in given conditions. This awareness of reality indicates the functions of learned ego. Gradually the child also learns to follow the rules, principles or duties given to him by his parents and society This part of personality is known as super ego.

Id Ego

Super ego

I like it therefore I must have it.

I like it and it is pcseible therefore I must have it. I like it, it is possible, and it is also reasonable according to the rules and norms of society.

Deren" mechanieme

While dealing with reality we often find that. every thing i. not possible in this world. We cannot get whatever we want. Such ·situatioDs are threatening for our ego and therefore, we use a number of Itratesie. or mechanisms to protect our ego. All of us remember the story of the sour grapes. Psychoanalytic theories have identified several such defense mechanisms. Some of them are described below.

4 .. ~'WhJ&y

DeCeaM lIechant •••

Ezam.p1e

Proces.

BaDie of Mechau.lam.

1. Bursting into tears

Regression

Reverting to earlier stage

2. ItI don't take alchohol" Protecting oneself Denial

from unpleasant reality

* Dealal Protecting oneself from unpleasant reality by refusing to accept it. E.g. alcholics refusing to admit their addictions

* RatloD..u-tioa Giving. socially acceptable reasons for unwanted actions. For e.g. justifyingl: cheating by saying that it is done by- every-

body. \

* . Rel" •• lo. Reverting to an earlier stage of life like bursting into tears at moments of crisis.

* "actio. J'ol1llatioD. Refusing to accept unacceptable thoughts or feelings, for example, by being loud and boastful or talkative when feeling nervous or inferior

* Repnlllloa When a past event is too painful that its memory becomes buried.

* Projection Unacceptable motives transferred to others, like saying you are feeling hungry when the persons himself feels the hunger pangs.

P8ycllo Sexual stage. of developmeat.

Freud considered that the experiences of childhood affect and determine the later personality during adulthood. While growing. we all pass through the same stages of development. These are known as Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latenyand genital. You must have read about this in chapter 13 Stages of Development:

I.text Questions 17.1

Fill in the bl~s with appropriate words.

1. The psychoanalytic theory was propounded by ,

2. The three levels of consciousness are-, __ ---

~: Its Nature ,:: 5

3. The id is like a ------

4. The ~.,.._----- and are . the

three components of personality .

.. 5. Defense mechanisms are _"'-- of resolving _

6. Freud gave stages which are lmown as _

stages of development.

The ideas of Freud have been revised by other psychologists. Some of the psychoanalysts (Neo-Freudians) like Alfred Adler. Carl Jung and Karen Homey have proposed theories of their own. They disagreed with Freud that personality is fully formed during the first five years and also claimed that he did not give much importance to social and cultural forces. Let us consider the views of these psychoanalysts.

Adler's :. His theory is known as 'Individual Psychology'. Adler believed that our behaviour is purposeful and goal directed. These goals provide the source of motivation. Failure in achieving these goals results ill inferiority complex. This strong sense of inferiority results in compensatory behaviour which causes a person to develop an attitude of superiority over others. This type of behaviour in many instances helps the person to make adjustments in daily life ..

Homey: She disagreed with Freud on his extreme emphasis on biological determinants of personality. Homey also gave the concept of anxiety as a basic factor in understanding about personality. According to her, people develop feelings of helplessness and insecurity (basic anxiety) as children they felt alone and isolated in a hostile environment and thereby developed coping mechanisms to deal with life. These, then influence the development of one's personality.

Junl's : Jung termed his approach as 'Analytical Psychology'. His theory also includes many concepts similar to Freud's but he extended the concept of unconscious and proposed 'collective unconscious' and 'Archetype'. He believed that the collective unconscious is identical in the people of a given community and is inherited. The images or the pattern of thoughts and behaviour which reside in our unconscious are known as 'Archetypes'.

Intext Questions 17.2

. Fill in the blanks : 1.

_____ are known as Neo Freud-

ians.

2. Adler's theory is known as Psychology.

3. Homey gave the concept of _

4. Jung's theory is known as Psychology.

6 .. Psychology

17.5 Factors affecting Personality Development

,

Uptil now we have seen that every person has a different personality ? So many questions may arise in your mind as to what are the factors which influence personality? As we all know that a person cannot grow up in isolation, so also an individual's personality, too, cannot remain untouched. Several factors like the individual's genetic make up. family, education, culture etc. influence the personality a lot. Let's take up these factors one by one.

(1) Genetic and biological (actors : Personality is a product of both heredity and environment. It has been found that twins who are genetically similar also showed a certain degree of similarity in psychological characteristics. The effects of the functioning of endocrine glands has also been documented.

(U) Culture: Individual's personality also depends upon the circumstances. Each culture has its own distinctive way of conduct and it largely affects the shaping of the personality. For instance Americans are found high in independence and individualism while Indians are found to be interdependent and collectivist,

(W) .. amny : A person spends most of his time with his family-among the family members. The early years of life affect the development of the personality. The rearing of children (e.g. protection, guidance, indulgence, restrictions) affect the development of various traits in children. Socialization and social learning shape the pattern of per-

sonality. .

(Iv, Environmental facton : The physical and social environment with which we are surrounded affect our personality development. Factors like pollution. noise sometimes negatively' affect: the well being of the person. Sensory deprivation and enrichment have also been found to be important factors in personality development. .

Thus we can see that our personality is not fixed or predetermined, Personality development is shaped by many factors.

17.6 Mature Personality

Uptil now we have studied about personality and its nature. Also we have read about the psychoanalytic approach to personality. Have you ever thought that who can be considered as a mature personality or what can be the characteristics of mature personality. Lets study about them in brief :

A mature personality:

* can cope up' with the s tre ssful events i. e. can manage the stress adequately.

* does not break down emotionally that is the person knows how to handle the emotions well. The person is neither over emotional nor an-emotion less person.

Personality: Its nature :: 7

* adjust to the surroundings adequately, have good social contacts and can move in the society.

* has good" mental health that is the person does not suffer from any mental disease.

What you have learnt

* Personality is an individual's relatively stable and enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings and actions

* Various theories have been given by psychologists to analyse personality.

* The psychoanalytic theory was founded by Sigmund Freud.

* Freud has divided the mind into three levels-the conscious, preconscious and unconscious

* The personality structure has three components-the id, ego, and superego.

* Defense mechanisms are strategies used to avoid anxiety and ~_solve

conflict. .

* Alfred Adler, Karen Homey and Carl Jung are Neo-Freudians whose theories differed from the theory of Freud.

* 'Personality development of an individual is affected by many factors

like Heredity. Culture, Family, Emotional and Environmental factors.

Terminal Exercises

1. What is personality ?

2. Write briefly on the psycho-analytic theory ?

3. What are defense mechanisms? Discuss a few of them.

4. Name the Neo-Freudians. How did they differ from Freud.

Key to I_text Qu_tlou 17.1

1. Freud

2. Conscious, Preconscious and Unconscious.

3. Child

4. id, ego and superego.

5. strategies, conflict

6. Five, psychosexual 17.~

1. Adler. Homey and Jung.

2. Individual.

3. Anxiety

4. Analytical

Hint to Term1Da1 Exercises

1. Consider section 17.3

2. Consult section 17.4

3. Consult section 17.4

4. Consult section 17.5