Personality

Personality &
& Skill
Skill
Development
Development
Prof. M.Balaji
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 • Action
• Style • Dressing
• Speech • Outer Appearance
 Features of Inner
Personality
• Nature • Selection
• Way of Thinking
• Inner Purity
 Difference Between
Outer Personality Inner Personality
• Related to Physic. • Related with Mind &
• Easy to change. Soul.
• Diminish with time. • Difficult to change.
• Reflects in Behavior. • Enlightens with time.
eg. Amitabh Bacchan • 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.