Personality Development

Personality & Skill Personality & Skill DevelopmentDevelopment

Prof. M.BalajiProf. M.BalajiVSB Engineering college,karur.VSB Engineering college,karur.

Definition of Personality

• The pattern of collective character, behavioral, temperamental, emotional, and mental traits of a person

Other Definitions • To social scientists, personality is the

sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and values that are characteristic of an individual.

• Our personality traits determine how we adjust to our environment and how we react in specific situations.

Other Definitions • No two individuals have the same

personalities. Each individual has his or her own way of interacting with other people and with his or her social environment.

Types of Personalities• Outer

Personality• Inner Personality

Features of Outer Personality

• Behavior• Style• Speech

• Action• Dressing• Outer Appearance

Features of Inner Personality

• Nature• Way of Thinking• Inner Purity

• Selection

Difference Between Outer Personality

• Related to Physic. • Easy to change.• Diminish with time.• Reflects in Behavior.eg. Amitabh Bacchan

Inner Personality• Related with Mind &

Soul.• Difficult to change.• Enlightens with time.• Reflects in Nature.eg. Mahatma Gandhi.

Personality Development

• People’s personalities continue to develop throughout their lifetimes. Specific traits change at different rates and to different degrees.

• Some personality traits seem to remain constant throughout a person’s life, while others undergo dramatic changes.

Personality Development

• Personality development is more obvious during childhood, when people are experiencing rapid physical, emotional, and intellectual growth.

• At adulthood, personality traits change at a slower rate. However personality development varies form individual to individual.

Nature vs. Nurture• Sociologists debate what determines

personality and social behavior.

• Some argue that it is heredity – the transmission of genetic characteristics from parents to children.

Nature vs. Nurture• Others suggest that the social

environment – contact with other people – determines personality.

• This debate is usually referred to in terms of nature versus nurture, or inherited genes versus environment and social learning.

The Nature Viewpoint• Since the 1800s this viewpoint states

that much of human behavior is instinctual in origin.

• An instinct is an unchanging behavior pattern. Instinct is most often applied to animal behavior. (Ex. Birds building nests)

The Nature Viewpoint• Supporters of this viewpoint claim

biology as the basis for human behavior. They claim that instinctual drives are responsible for practically everything – laughing, motherhood, religion, even the creation of society.

The Nurture Viewpoint• From this viewpoint a person’s behavior

and personality are the result of his or her social environment and learning.

• The work of Ivan Pavlov helped this viewpoint gain acceptance. He found that supposedly instinctual behaviors could be taught. (Ex. Dog Experiment)

The Nurture Viewpoint• Sociologist John B. Watson suggested

that what applied to dogs could apply to humans. He claimed that he could take a dozen healthy infants and train them to become anything he wanted – doctors, lawyers, artists, beggars, or thieves.

Sociobiology• The emergence of sociobiology – the

systematic study of the biological basis of all social behavior – emphasized the nature viewpoint.

• Sociobiologists argue that such varied cultural characteristics and behavioral traits as religion, cooperation, competition, slavery, envy, etc. are rooted in the genetic make-up of humans.

Sociobiology• In general sociobioligists argue that

most of human social life is determined by biological factors.

Blending of factors…• Most social scientists assume that

personality and social behavior result from a blending of heredity and social environmental influences.

• They believe that environmental factors have the greatest influence.

Blending of factors…• Heredity, birth order, parents

and cultural environment are among the principal factors that social scientists see influencing personality and behavior.

Heredity• Everyone has certain characteristics that

are present at birth. (body build, hair type, eye color, and skin)

• Heredity characteristics also include certain aptitudes. An aptitude is a capacity to learn a particular skill or acquire a particular body of knowledge.

Heredity• Example: a natural talent for music and art

would be considered an aptitude.• However, some aptitudes can be learned

and developed because of environmental factors.

• Example: Parents encouragement• Heredity provides you with certain

biological needs, but culture determines how you meet those needs.

Birth Order• Our personalities are influenced by

whether we have brothers, sisters, both, or neither.

• Children with siblings have a different view of the world than children who don’t have siblings.

• The order in which we are born into our families also influences our personalities.

Birth Order• People born first or last in a family have a

different perspective than do people in the middle.

• Example: first born are likely to be achievement oriented and responsible. Later born are more likely to be better in social relationships, affectionate, friendly, or rebels and risk-takers.

Cultural Environment• Culture has a strong influence on

personality development. The cultural environment determines the basic types of personalities that will be found in a society.

• Each culture gives rise to a series of personality traits – model personalities – that are typical of members of that society.