A SYNOPSIS ON

Personality

Submitted By: ALKA PAREEK

Submitted To:

Biyani Girls College Jaipur, Rajasthan In partial fulfillment of the requirements for BBA 3rd Semester
Date: August 2012

Table of Content
1. 2.

Introduction.3 Determinants of Personality.....3 Theories of Personality..5

3.

4. Conclusion8 5. References

INTRODUCTION
Personality is a dynamic organisation, inside the person, of psychophysical systems that create the persons characteristic patterns of behaviour, thoughts and feelings.

DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY
1.

Biological Factors

Heredity:
It refers to physical stature, facial attractiveness, sex, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms are characteristics that are considered to be inherent. It plays an important part in determining an individual's personality. Heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual's personality is the molecular structures of the genes, which are located in the chromosomes. Recent research studies shows that young children lend strong support to the power of heredity and finding shows that some personality traits may be built into the same genetic code that affects factors like height and hair color.

Brain:
Brain is the second biological approach to determine personality. It plays an important role in determining personality. Electrical Stimulation of the Brain (ESB) and Split brain psychology results indicates that a better understanding of human personality and behavior might come from a closer study of the brain. The definite areas of the human brain are associated with pain and pleasure. Research study shows that these things are true.

Biofeedback:
It is third biological approach to determine personality. Physiologists and psychologists felt that biological functions like brainwave patterns, gastric and hormonal secretions, and fluctuations in blood pressure and skin temperature were beyond conscious control. Recent research shows that these functions can be consciously controlled through biofeedback techniques. For this purpose, individual can learns the internal rhythms of a particular body process through electronic signals that are feedback from equipment which is wired to body. In this process, the person can learn to control the body process through questions. It is one of the interesting topics to do future research work in personality.

Physical Features:
It is third biological approach to determine personality. It is vital ingredient of the personality, it focus an individual person's external appearance which also determined the personality. Physical features like tall or short, fat or skinny, black or white. These physical features will be influenced the personal effect on others and also affect self concept of individual. Recent research studies shows that definitely this features influence to individual personality in an organization. In totally, heredity would be fixed at birth and no amount of experience can be altering them through creation of suitable environment. Apart from this, personality characteristics are not completely dictated by heredity. There are other factors also influenced to determining personality.
2.

Cultural Factors

Each culture expects, and trains, its members to behave in ways that are acceptable to the group. To a marked degree, the child's cultural group defines the range of experiences and situations he is likely to encounter and the values and personality characteristics that will reinforced and hence learned. Cultural factors are also major factors which influence to determine individual personality. It refers to traditional practice, customs, procedure, norms and rules and regulation followed by the society. It significantly influence to individual behavior compare to biological factors. Cultural factors determine attitudes towards independence, aggression, competition, cooperation, positive thinking, team spirit, and a host of the human being and discharge his/her duties towards valuable responsibilities to society. Western culture influence to Indian society. It is best example of the cultural factors also determine the personality.
3.

Family Factors

Family factors are also major factors which influence to determine individual personality. Family consists of husband and wife and their children's. Family role is very important for nurturing and personality development of their children. Family will be guided, supervised, take care of all family members, cooperation, coordination and cooperation in work and also explained the role and responsibilities towards the family, society and real life. Family either directly or indirectly influence to person for development of individual personality.

4.

Social Factors

Social factors are also major factors which influence to determine individual personality. It involves the reorganization of individual's in an organization or society. It refers to acquiring of wide range of personality by acquiring and absorbed by themselves in the society or an organization. Socialization process is starting from home and extending to work environment in an organization or society. It focuses on good relationships, cooperation, coordination and interaction among the members in the society or an organization or a family. In totally, environment factors consist of cultural factors, family factors, and social factors.
5.

Situational Factors

Situational factors also influence to determine of personality. Situational factors are very important to change the individual behavior in a different circumstance at different situations, it also influence to personality of individual person. In general term, personality is stable and consistent and it does change in different situations. The Interaction of Personality and Situational Factors are outlined: Strong situational pressures Personality may not predict behavior Example: enforcement of rules Weak Situational pressures Personality may predict behavior Example: Customer sales representative A strong situation can overwhelm the effects of individual personalities by providing strong cues for appropriate behavior.

THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
1.Trait Theories:
Attempt to learn what traits make up personality and how they relate to actual behavior.

Jungs Theory of Two Types Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist who was a Freudian disciple, believed that we are one of two personality types:

Introvert: Shy, self-centered person whose attention is focused inward

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Extrovert: Bold, outgoing person whose attention is directed outward

FIVE FACTORS OF PERSONALITY

2.Psychodynamic Theories:

Focus on the inner workings of personality,

especially internal conflicts and struggles. Sigmund Freud, M.D., a Viennese physician who thought his patients problems were more emotional than physical. He began his work by using hypnosis and eventually switched to psychoanalysis. He attempts to explain personality on the basis of unconscious mental forces Levels of consciousness: We are unaware of some aspects of our mental states Freud argued that personality is made up of multiple structures, some of which are
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unconscious Freud argued that as we have impulses that cause us anxiety; our personality develops defense mechanisms to protect against anxiety

3.Humanistic Theories: Humanistic, or phenomenological, theories of personality

present a positive and optimistic. It focuses on private, subjective experience and personal growth. Maslows Theory: Abraham Maslow is considered father of the humanistic movement. He observed the lives of (purportedly) healthy and creative people to develop is theory. Hierarchy of needs: the motivational component of Maslows theory, in which our innate needs, which motivate our actions, are hierarchically arranged. Self-actualization: the fullest realization of a persons potential

4.Social-Cognitive Theories: Attribute difference in personality to socialization,

expectations, and mental processes. It tend to be overly-mechanical. Overemphasizes
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environmental influences; gives little or no consideration to the possibility of innate personality differences or the effects of genetics. It does not recognize internal human qualities such as hope, aspiration, love, self-sacrifice.
Albert Banduras social-cognitive approach focuses on self-efficacy and reciprocal

determinism. Julian Rotters locus of control theory emphasizes a persons internal or external focus as a major determinant of personality.

CONCLUSION
This chapter offers only an overview of the world of personality. It has examined different theoretical explanations of why we show consistency in our behaviour, thoughts and actions and why these consistencies make us different from each other. Psychoanalytic theorists focus on unconscious processes and the impact of early childhood experience; in contrast, humanistic theorists emphasize human experience and positive aspects of behaviour. Trait theorists have been concerned with the labeling and measurement of personality dimensions, based on assumptions of stable genetic and biological explanations for personality. The complex way in which genes and environment determine personality has presented an important puzzle for personality theory. Socialcognitive theories provide an explanation for differences in personality in terms of the ways we process information and perceive our social world. Within psychology the complexities of how our personality develops and determines our behaviour have resulted in a number of differing theoretical perspectives and debates. These debates about interactions between genes and environment, biology and experience, the person and the situation will continue to engage psychologists in the twenty-rst century.

REFERENCES
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Self Knowledge www.google.com www.askjeeves. com Books Help from seniors