- What is personality?
- Characteristics of the personality
- Components of personality
- Personality factors
- Personality types
- Personality disorders
- Personality tests
We explain what personality is, its components, factors, types and other characteristics. Also, personality tests.
What is personality?
By personality is meant the set of psychic dynamics that are characteristics of the same person, that is, to his inner mental organization, which determines the way in which that person will respond to a given situation.
In other words, personality is a pattern of attitudes, thoughts and recurring feelings, which are more or less stable throughout the life of an individual and that allow a certain degree of predictability regarding their way of being.
This term, taken from the psychology, is in common use in the language but its origin is found in the Latin term «person», which was the mask used by the actors of the theater of the antiquity, when representing characters recognizable.
Thus, initially this word had to do with the roles played by the actors, and somehow later it was transferred to other areas of life, becoming "people" only the ones. citizens full-fledged (and not, for example, slaves). Eventually the term spawned the adjective "personal" and from there came personality.
Today we understand that personality is a series of mental traits that allow it to be distinguished from others, and that they are more or less true to themselves over time. However, the personality can change, gradually modify from the weather and of the experiences lived.
Characteristics of the personality
Personality is a functional pattern consistent with itself (although not without contradictions), generally consolidated and resistant to change. However, it is capable of operating differently in different situations, since it is internalized psychic forms, which do not depend so much on the outside.
On the other hand, the elements of the personality have to do not only with the responses to certain stimuli and situations, but also with the lifestyle, the beliefs Y motivations, and even the conceptions of the world.
Components of personality
According to the school and the model of thought of psychoanalysis, especially the studies of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the personality of individuals is made up of three important factors that operate together and separately:
- The I. Also known as the conscious or consciousness, it is the component of our mind of which we have the most perception, since it is constantly telling us where we are and doing what, or how we are. This implies both perception of the external world, such as thoughts and the inner world. Its function is to provide us with a Principle of reality regarding existence.
- The Super Me. Understood as the set of internalizations that define the "should be" about ourselves, that is, it is the instance where the existential, social, cultural laws, etc., that come from the outside, and that serve to provide us, are recorded. a Principle of refinement about ourselves.
- The It. Identified as Freud's unconscious (although they are not synonymous), it refers to the blocked or repressed content of our mind, which is linked to our primary and biological needs, such as feeding, the reproduction, etc. He is in charge of providing us with the Pleasure principle.
Personality factors
Following the Big Five model (Big five, in English), all personalities are determined by a series of factors that occur in different proportions in each individual. These five factors are:
- Factor O (of Openness or opening). It refers to the degree of openness that an individual presents with respect to new experiences, change and variety, and even curiosity. Individuals gifted with great openness are restless, imaginative, original, and eager to values not conventional. Its opposite pole is constituted by more conservative subjects in the social and in life, who prefer the family environment and more controlled experiences.
- Factor E (from Extraversion or extroversion). Extraversion refers to a high degree of sociability and interest by social situations, by the company of others and the tendency to avoid loneliness. Extraverted individuals require constant social stimulation and are highly focused on the external world, unlike their opposites, introverts, who shy away from social situations, feel comfortable in their inner world and tend to value loneliness.
- Factor C (from Conscientiousness or responsibility). It alludes to self-control, planning and the commitment, both in the organization and the execution of tasks. It is also known as the “will to achieve” and the individuals who possess it in high doses are usually called workaholics or workaholics, who show very high degrees of commitment to the tasks undertaken. On the contrary, their opposites are unreliable and uncommitted people, informal or lax with their principles. moral.
- Factor A (of Agreeableness or kindness). It refers to interpersonal tendencies, specifically to the empathy and the ability to bond with the other. People with a high level of kindness tend to be considerate, altruistic, trusting, and solidarity, while people with low friendliness tend to relate in more hostile ways.
- Factor N (from Neuroticism or neuroticity). This last trait has to do with the emotional instability resulting from anxiety, worry and catastrophic perceptions of things, which are a consequence of the impossibility of the mind to foresee and control everything. People with a high level of neuroticity tend to be anxious, stressed, not very sociable, and can often incur depression, irritability or vulnerability. On the contrary, low levels of this trait tend to more stable personalities, less concerned with control and more relaxed.
Personality types
There are many and very diverse forms of personality classification, depending on the psychological or psychoanalytic approach and the specific method used to understand it. To cite an example, the psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) proposed a classification of 8 personality types, which are:
- Thinking-introvert. Those personalities who are more interested in ideas than facts, that is, their inner reality than others. They are prone to reflections, abstract thoughts, or theoretical challenges.
- Sentimental-introvert. Personalities contained in their own emotional world, unlikely to deal with the outside world, but able to do so from the emotional, instead of the reflective of the previous case. They are prone to attachment, but in an intimate and closed circle.
- Introvert-feeling. Typical of artists and creators, this is the personality most concerned with the subjective experience of being, which can lead them to live in an unreal world, built to their own measure.
- Intuition-introvert. The typical personality of dreamers, that is, of those who are more aware of what will happen, what could happen or what they would like to happen, than with the real present. They are, in their own way, in touch with their unconscious content and can be talented creators.
- Thinking-extrovert. Those personalities more interested in the facts and the outside, than their internal world, especially as a source of theories and reflections, since it is rationally linked to the world. Their emotions and sensations are, therefore, repressed, and they tend to neglect their social-affective bonds.
- Feeling-extroverted. It is the profile of the most empathetic, social and adjusted to the community environment, typical of those who like to take care of others or who feel good about protecting third parties. Their intellectual activity is necessarily framed by what they feel.
- Feeling-extroverted. It is linked to the real from the sensations it evokes, that is, paying a lot of interest to what the real environment and others make it feel. It is the typical personality of those who live in search of pleasure, and therefore they tend to constantly seek new stimuli.
- Intuition-extrovert. The personality of the adventurer, whose perspective changes once he achieves the objective desired, but never stops moving. They tend to be charismatic and enthuse others with their ideas, being true to their intuition more than their feelings and their reasonings.
Personality disorders
Personality disorders are personality traits that are inflexible, maladaptive, rather than contributing to adaptation and vital performance. They sabotage the social or emotional performance of individuals, and often lead to more serious complications.
They do not usually have an easy cure or treatment, since they are part of the personality of the subject, that is, they are part of him.
Personality disorders can be very different from each other and always obey highly particular conditions of the patient, but they can be broadly summarized into three groups: 0
- Eccentric and rare personalities, such as Paranoid Personality Disorder, Schizoid Personality Disorder, or Schizotypal Personality Disorder.
- Erratic, emotional and theatrical personalities, such as Histrionic Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder.
- Personalities with marked anxiety, such as Dependent Personality Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, Avoidant Personality Disorder.
Personality tests
There are numerous personality tests, which promise to guide us around which of the possible classifications is the most suitable for our way of being. There are professional versions, applied by psychologists and scholars of the human mind, whose results are scientists.
There are also some of an informative nature, the results of which are not very reliable but can perhaps serve as guidance on the matter. Some of the latter can be consulted here and here.