Personality: traits, factors, roles, personality theories (2023)

Personality is a patterned body of an individual's habits, traits, attitudes, and ideas, as these are externally organized into roles and statues and internally related to motivation, goals, and various aspects of selfhood.

The term personality derives from the Latin word "persona", which means "to speak through".

This Latin term was used to denote the mask worn by actors in ancient Rome and Greece. An individual's personality is the combination of traits and patterns that influence their behavior, thinking, motivation, and emotions.

It drives people to consistently think, feel, and behave in certain ways; In essence, it is what makes each individual unique.

Over time, these patterns strongly influence personal expectations, perceptions, values, and attitudes. Furthermore, personality arises from within the individual and remains fairly constant throughout life. It is a pattern of stable states and characteristics of a person that influence their goal-attainment behavior. Each person has unique ways of projecting these states.

The study of personality focuses on two broad areas;

One is understanding individual differences in certain personality traits, such as sociability or irritability.
The other is understanding how the different parts of a person come together as a whole.

What is personality?

According to Gordon Allport, "Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adaptations to his environment."

Feist and Feist said, "Personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique traits that bring both consistency and individuality to a person's behavior."

Ogburn understands personality as "the integration of the socio-psychological behavior of the human being, represented by habits of action and feelings, attitudes and opinions".

According to Lundberg and others, "The term personality refers to habits, attitudes, and other social traits characteristic of a particular person's behavior."

Lawrence A. Pewin said, "Personality represents those structural and dynamic qualities of an individual or individuals as reflected in characteristic responses to situations."

Therefore, personality is the totality of how an individual responds to and interacts with others. There are individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behavior. It is the supreme realization of a living being's innate habit.

It is an act of courage, the absolute affirmation of what makes the individual, the most successful adaptation to the universal conditions of existence, coupled with the greatest possible freedom of self-determination.

For example, he has a very pleasant personality or he was an influential figure in genetic engineering.

characteristics of personality

The term personality is used in different meanings.

In general, it is used to indicate a person's external attitude. In philosophy it means inner quality.

But in social psychology the term personality does not denote external or external pattern, nor internal quality. It means an integrated whole. In the modern world and psychology, it denotes the totality of characteristics and qualities of an individual.

Different thinkers, social psychologists, and others have defined personality in different ways. It is an integrated sum of physical, mental and social qualities.

Personality is thus the sum of a person's ideas, attitudes and values that determine their role in society and form an integral part of their character. The individual acquires personality through his participation in group life. It refers to something far more essential and enduring about a person.

Aside from this basic point of agreement, personality shares other qualities or traits.

Personality is something that is unique to every human being

Personality refers to both inner and outer qualities, some of which are fairly general. But it is individual for everyone. It is not possible for a person to reproduce or imitate the characteristics of another person's personality.

Personality specifically refers to enduring characteristics of an individual

Each individual has a specific feeling as well as other enduring traits and characteristics.

Personality is primarily composed of the persistent or enduring traits that manifest themselves in the form of social behavior and attempting to coordinate with the environment.

Personality represents a dynamic orientation of an organism to the environment

Personality represents the process of learning. It takes place in relation to the environment. We don't acquire all personality traits at once.

Personality is strongly influenced by social interactions

Personality is not an individual trait. It is a result of social interaction.

In other words, when we come into contact with other members of society, we acquire certain qualities while exhibiting certain others. All this forms the personality.

The personality represents a unique organization of sustained dynamic and social disposition

In personality, different qualities are not put together.

They are actually integrated into one. This integration is nothing but a result of an organization that can vary from person to person. A person's behavior towards a specific person may differ from the behavior of another person.

Because of this; We set the condition of a suitable environment. This suitability relates to individual specificity.

consistency

Behaviors generally show a discernible order and regularity. In essence, people act in the same or similar ways in a variety of situations.

Mentally and physiologically

Personality is a psychological construct, but research suggests that it is also influenced by biological processes and needs.

It affects behavior and actions

Personality not only affects how we move and respond to our surroundings; it also causes us to act in certain ways.

Multiple expressions

Personality is not only reflected in behavior. It can also be seen in our thoughts, feelings, close relationships, and other social interactions.

In fact, personality is the unique combination of patterns that influence behavior, thinking, motivation, and emotions in an individual. There are many approaches to the modern psychological study of personality, including psychodynamic, learning, humanistic, biological, characteristic, and cultural perspectives.

It can be described as how a person affects others, how they understand and see themselves, and what their pattern of internal and external measurable attributes is. It encompasses a person's relatively stable feelings, thoughts, and behavioral patterns.

In fact, our personalities change over long periods of time.

factors of personality

In the field of organizational behavior, personality is the totality of a person's feelings, thinking, behavior, and reactions to different situations and people.

Our personality sets us apart from other people, and understanding a person's personality gives us clues as to how that person is likely to act and feel in a variety of situations. In order to effectively manage the behavior of the organization, an understanding of the personalities of different employees is helpful.

This knowledge is also useful for placing people in jobs and organizations. A strong personality is the key to success. This is also an important factor in good leadership.

A person with a positive attitude can direct their thoughts, control their emotions, and regulate their attitude. Everyone has a different personality and there are many factors that contribute to that personality. We call them the "personality determinants" or the "personality factors."

environmental factors.
physical factors.
situational factors.
Hereditary.
family and social factors.
identification process.
cultural factors.
Intelligence.
gender differences.
psychological factors.

environmental factors

Factors that put pressure on our personality formation include the culture in which we grew up; our early conditioning; the norms of our family, friends and social groups; and other influences we experience.

These environmental factors play an essential role in shaping our personality.

It represents thesettings,Values, norms and perceptions of an individual. Because of cultures and traditions, people develop different senses of right and wrong.

These environmental factors also include the neighborhood in which a person lives, their school, college, university, workplace, friends, parents; Each plays a role as determinants of one's personality.

physical factors

There are many physical factors that determine a person's personality. These physical factors include the entire physical structure of a person: their height, weight, skin color, gender, beauty, body language, etc.

Physical factors are one of the main reasons for this. Most bodily structures change from time to time, as does personality. Through exercises, cosmetics, operations, etc., many physical characteristics are changed and thus the personality of the individual is further developed.

situational factors

The situational factors can often be observed when a person behaves in opposite ways and has different traits and characteristics. In this way, situational factors influence a personality to a significant degree.

They often bring out qualities in a person that are not normally seen. An individual's personality changes in different situations, although it is generally stable and consistent.

The different demands of different situations evoke different aspects of one's personality. So we should not look at personality patterns in isolation (Canon, & Porter, 19&). This aspect is very important for organizational behavior since the manager has control over the organizational situation.

Hereditary

Heredity refers to those factors determined at conception. Physical structure, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle build and reflexes, energy levels, and biological rhythms are traits that are generally either completely or significantly influenced by parents.

Hereditary predisposes to certain mental, physical, and emotional states. It has been established through research that these psychological traits can be inherited. However, such conclusive evidence is not available for humans.

family and social factors

Family and social groups have the greatest influence on personality development. Parents and other family members have a strong influence on the child's personality development. Parents have a greater influence on personality development compared to other family members.

Besides a person's home environment and family members, there are other influences that come from social factors like friends, neighbors, relatives, etc. These groups have their influence through socialization and identification processes.

identification process

The identification process occurs when a person attempts to identify with a person they feel ideal for in the family.

The first identification can be viewed as a behavioral similarity between the child and the model.

The second identification can be viewed as childlike motives or desires to be like the role model.

Third, it can be viewed as the process by which the child actually takes on the attributes of the model.

cultural factors

Culture is the underlying determinant of human decision-making. It generally determines attitudes toward independence, aggressive competition, and cooperation. Every culture expects and trains its members to behave in a way that is acceptable to the group

intelligence

There is definitely a relationship between intelligence and personality. Intelligence is mainly hereditary. Highly intelligent people are better able to adjust in family, school and society than less intelligent people.

gender differences

Boys are generally more assertive, stubborn, and energetic. They have a higher need for success in terms of interests and skills. Boys show an interest in machines and outdoor activities. They prefer adventure.

But girls are less energetic games. They are calmer and interested in personal appearance. They are more hurt by personal, emotional, and social problems.

Thus, gender differences play a crucial role in the development of an individual's personality.

psychological factors

Psychological factors play a major role in the functioning of human behavior and the development of one's personality. Some of the psychological factors are motives, acquired interests, attitudes, character, intellectual abilities, etc.

Beyond the combined influence of these factors, however, the relative contribution of each factor to personality varies with the character or personality process involved, and perhaps with the individual involved.

Roles of personality in organizational behavior

Personality plays a key role in organizational behaviorbecause of the way people think, feel and behave, it impacts many aspects of the workplace. People's personalities influence their behavior in groups, their attitudes and the way they make decisions.

In the workplace, personality influences things like motivation, leadership, performance and moreConflict. The more management understands how personality works in organizational behavior, the better equipped they are to be effective and achieve their goals.

One factor that determines the importance of personality in midwifery is the setting in which a person's personality is studied; Finally, the influence of personality on an organization is relative and depends on how the organization has been structured.

Weakly structured organizations with loosely defined roles tend to have the greatest impact compared to highly structured organizations with more clearly defined roles. People have many different worldviews that affect their personality.

When a situation arises, a person will deal with it based on their personal values, beliefs, and personality traits. These traits develop over the course of a person's life and cannot easily be changed, so it is more helpful for managers to try to understand than to fight against them.

There are two types of values that govern our behavior in an organization; personal values and the common values of an organization.

We tend to act in accordance with these values, which in turn define what is ethical and what is not.

Beliefs and values remain relatively stable no matter what situation we find ourselves in. Our feelings and behaviors, on the other hand, are easily influenced by the environment in which we move. Traits such as openness, emotional stability, and agreeableness all predict that a person will have fewer conflicts, work better in a team, and have a positive attitude towards their work.

People with this type of personality should be placed in situations where they would work with or lead others. Positive interpersonal skills are a personality trait that have a strong impact on the workplace.

Individuals who display this trait generally enjoy working with other people and have the empathy and sensitivity that allow them to get along well with others.

Decision-making and independence are strongly influenced by personality.

Personality traits such as self-efficacy, conscientiousness, and proactivity contribute to good decision-making under pressure and independence, while traits such as neuroticism and lack of openness do not.

Given these considerations, our personal values and personalities drive our actions and behavior, and since organizational behavior is built on our personal values, understanding employee personalities is paramount in order to make meaningful use of organizational behavior.

One of the fundamental questions in understanding human behavior is how we understand the person in an organizational setting. Jackson and Carter (2000) pointed out that in work organizations; We often only have a limited perception of the person and focus more on the degree of willingness to pursue company goals.

The work-related behavior of people in an organization results from both environmental and individual factors. Interpersonal, group and societal influences and individual factors extend from the environmental approach via cognitive abilities, acquired specialist knowledge, personality styles, motivation and physical characteristics.

A common aspect of personality is the way we think about its effect on behavior. We tend to think of a person with certain characteristics.