Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Explain the Determinants of Personality

Good Essays
598 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Explain the Determinants of Personality
Ans. Personality is the outcome of a continuous personal quality development process. The role of personality becomes clear in a particular situation. Personality is recognised in a situation. It is the result of personal quality interaction in a particular condition. The major determinants of personality of an individual are given below:
Biological Factors
Heredity: Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception. Physical stature, facial attractiveness, sex, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms are characteristics that are generally considered to be either completely or substantially influenced by who your parents were; that is, by their biological, physiological, and inherent psychological makeup. The contribution of heredity to personality development is vividly clear for developing external appearance, behaviour, social stimuli, self inner awareness, organising traits, etc.
Brain: Brain has a great impact on personality. The psychologists are unable to prove empirically the contribution of human brain in influencing personality. Father and children generally adopt the same type of brain stimulation. The differences are caused by environment. Electrical stimulation of brain (ESB) and split brain psychology (SBP)are the outcome of genetic transmision. The are helpful in moulding employee's behaviour. ESB is used for motivating employees towards better performances. Managers are trained to use SBP for mobilising employees for proper behaviour.
Physical Features: Perhaps the most outstanding factor that contributes to personality is the physical stature of an individual. An individual's external appearance is proved to be having a tremendous effect on personality. For example, the fact that a person is short or tall, fat or thin, handsome or ugly, black or whitish will undoubtedly influence the person's effect on others and in turn will affect the self-concept. A person's physical characteristics may be related to his approach to the social environment, to the expectancies of others, and to their reactions, to him. These in turn may have impact on personality development.
Environment
Cultural Factors: The accepted norms of social behaviour are known as culture. Culture was traditionally considered as the major determinant of an individual's personality. The way in which people behave with others and the driving force of such functions are considered significant components of culture. The ideology of the culture is imitated by the following generations. The personality attributes of independence, aggression, competition and cooperation are the outcomes of cultural interaction.
Religion: Religion plays a significant role in shaping one's personality. Hindus have different personalities from those of Sikhs and Muslims.Children in Hindu societies learn from the very beginning about hard work and god-fearing attitudes. Christians are open, independent, and cooperative.
Family: Children learn from their parents, sisters and brothers. family is the first factor affecting personality development, after hereditary characteristics are endowed. Rich people have different personalities from those of poor. Children nurtured under a warm, loving environment are positive and active as compared to children neglected by their parents.
Parental Influences: The positive and negative personalities of children are dependent on their parents characteristics and mutual behaviour. Children develop negative personalities if their parents don't have good relationship. Proper parental guidance to children makes them active and efficient.
Situation
Situation further influences the effects of heredity and environment on personality. A individual's personality, while generally stable and consistent, does change in different situations. Different demands in different situations call forth different aspects of one's personality.
It has been observed that many arrogant and indisciplined employees become humble and disciplined in a particular situation. Those having a criminal background may become powerful and strong administrators, dominant politicians, etc.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Personality is the sum of a person’s individual characteristics that make him/her unique. (Adams et al, 2010) A person’s personality determines how they react in certain situations, their general mood and the consistency of it and their emotions. Personality can affect many aspects of sport right from the selection process because as well as raw talent, coaches need performers to have good mentality to be able to reach their required potential.…

    • 2794 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Biology 1500

    • 429 Words
    • 3 Pages

    2. What is heredity? Heredity is the tendency for traits to be passed from parent to offspring.…

    • 429 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Personality is what defines and makes an individual different from those around them. Personalities may vary from situation to situation, behaviors depend on the environment, and also what one finds acceptable socially in those specific situation. Many theorists would agree that personalities can be predictable, while other may think otherwise. However, one thing everyone seems to agree on is that personality is unique to the individual and is what makes each person interesting.…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Personality is difficult to describe, but nearly impossible to define in a universally acceptable way. Throughout history many definitions of personality have been proposed but none universally accepted. This is because of the reality that each individual’s definition comes with a unique spin placed upon it by that individual’s life experience, surroundings, and personal viewpoint. Personality can be described as the regular presentation of certain traits and attributes that lend cohesion and uniqueness to behavior and thought (Feist & Feist, 2009). Although there is not a single, universally accepted definition of personality,…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Personality: A distinctive and relatively stable pattern of behavior, thoughts, motives, and emotions that characterizes an individual.(Page 44 Chapter…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Personality is the set of emotional qualities and ways of behaving that makes a person different from other people, (Merriam-Webster, 2014). My personality is something that I have had since birth. It defines who I am and how others view me. Some people have outgoing personalities while others prefer to stay home or in other quiet places. I have always been a person that enjoys seclusion. After taking the Jung Typology Test, I now understand my personality. This test has helped me to define my strengths as well as my weaknesses which will help me in my academic career.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The word personality is one of ancient roots. Based out of the Latin word, persona, this word was named after a mask or disguise that an actor would wear for a production (Feist & Feist, 2009). Such a persona would be worn by an actor in order to portray an appearance for a production that was not their own. In the current world around us, the word personality has taken on a new meaning. Rather than display the fictitious appearance of an actor, it is used to describe the actions and behaviors of an individual based on their character traits. Personality traits are a complicated web of factors that make up what we observe as the persona of an individual. When these traits come together patterns begin to emerge that take shape in the form of regular individual characteristics (Feist & Feist, 2009).…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Biological: Focuses on the biological underpinnings of behavior and the effects of evolution and genetics” (Dummies, 2016 Para. 3). Biological theory can suggest that a person key component is inherited from genes, parents to offspring, which can lead to one's traits, and to one's personality. For example; the eye color trait, baldness, diseases and the psychological disorders of a person can be hereditary. While some genes are heredity which can influences personality and identity, genes by itself does not form an individual's personality, environment also plays a factor in a person's personality makeup.…

    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Personality represents an individual difference. Personality is likely to be product of both nature and nurture interacting.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Biological Psychologists apply the principles of biology to the study of mental processes and behaviour. They believe that the mind and the brain are the same and that thought processes and behaviour cannot occur without the operation of the central nervous system (CNS). This psychological theory says that an imbalance of chemicals in the brain can cause mental disorders such as bipolar disorder. Thought process and human behaviour have a biological basis and are influenced by both our genetic inheritance and makeup. These psychologists are of the opinion that human characteristics such as intelligence are due to our DNA and are innate; they also believe that our genes have evolved to help us adopt our behaviour to the environment. The brain and the CNS are the key parts of the biological approach. The CNS consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The brain has three main parts; the brain stem, the cerebellum and the cerebral hemispheres. The right cerebral hemisphere controls left side motor co-ordination and the left side controls right side motor co-ordination.…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Personality Paper

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages

    According to Guralnik (1987), personality is defined as, the quality or fact of being a person or a particular person. Guralnik (1987) also defines personality as, distinctive individual qualities of a person, considered collectively. Personality is a definition that is hard to put one definition. Individuals each have their own definition. Even psychologists only agree on a vague term of personality. Instead of agreeing on one specific definition, psychologists have instead chosen to develop theories that describe the origins of an individual’s personality.…

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Personality Paper

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Personality is defined as an individual’s unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. (Aronson, 2012). Personality is also defined as the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character or qualities that make someone interesting or popular. Personality is all about our different ways of being human. According to (Barry, 2009), personality can be defined as consistency in a person’s way of operating. For instance, some people tend to operate in the same way day after day and year after year. These are not just specific behaviors being repeated over and over, but overall patterns, tendencies, and inclinations. Someone who has been quiet and reserved in the past will probably continue to be quiet and reserved in the future. (Barry, 2009).…

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Personality Paper

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The term personality has been heard throughout history. Each individual can give a description of their personality as well as her friends. What people fail to understand is personality is the most theorized and researched aspect of psychology. Throughout the report the reader will be able to define personality, explain the theoretical approach to studying personality, and be able to analyze factors that may influence an individual’s personality development.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    People are born with their own special traits and personality. This has been a keen interest for many scientists who have always wondered what really is the factor that makes up individual personality traits. The debate on whether human personality is influenced by nature or nurture took place ever since the time of Plato and Aristotle and is still in progress today with many supporting evidence for both sides. Humans may be destined to be bald, fear the dark and laugh out loud, whereas they can also learn to love tea, hate math and tell lies. Most physical characteristics of humans are hereditary, but the genetic waters get a bit more obscure when it comes to an individual's behavior, intelligence and personality. Genetics and environment affect individual personality traits.…

    • 1385 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Personality is an individual difference that lends consistency to a person’s behavior. Personality is defined as a relatively stable set of characteristics that influence an individual behavior.…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics