Personality - Week 7

Personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that make a person unique. In addition to this personality arises from within an individual and remains fairly consistant throughout life.

There has been much debate on whether personality is inherited (nature debate) or developed because of environmental conditions (nurture debate). Some scientists believe that people behave according to their genetic make-up or even animal instincts. This is known as the "nature" theory of human behaviour. Other scientists believe that people think and behave in certain ways because they are taught to do so. This is known as the "nuture" theory of human behaviour.

The differences between nature vs nuture are that nature gives us in born abilities and nuture takes these genetic tendencies and molds them as we learn and grow. Nature theorists believe that an individuals DNA includes traits such as eye colour and hair colour as well as abstract traits like intelligence, aggression etc. However nurture theorists, while not discounting genetic tendencies like eye colour etc, believe they do not ultimately matter because our behavioural aspects are learned from environmental factors of our up bringing.

The "nomothetic" and "idiographic" approaches to the study of personality are as follows:

Nomothetic approach - involves psychologists being mainly concerned with studying what we share with others. Two examples of this approach are(Raymond Cattell's 16PF trait theory 1940s) & (Hans Eyesenck's type theory 1950s). This psychometric approach compares an individual's personality in terms of traits or dimensions common to everyone.

Idiographic approach - involves psychologists being interested in the aspect of experience to discover what makes each one of us unique. Psychologists such as (George Kelly 1995) who developed the repertory grid technique and (Carl Rodgers 1951) who made great use of a procedure called the Q-sort believed that there are as many different personalities as there are people.

The differences between "nomothetic" and "idiographic" approaches is not just about what the psychologist wants to discover but also about the methods used. Experiments, psychometric testing and other quantitative methods are favoured from a nomothethic point of view whereas case studies, informal interviews and unstructured observations are methods favoured by the idiographic view. Behavioural, cognitive and biological theorists focus on discovering laws or establishing generalisation (nomothethic approach), and humanistic theorists focus on an individual and what makes each one of us unique (idiographic approach).

Summary of my views on whether Nature or Nuture is the dominant influence

In my view it is difficult to see whether nature or nurture is the dominant influence in how someone behaves. It is probably a combination of both these influences as these theories suggest. This is because whilst someone may inherit certain features which can be linked to their DNA e.g. colour of hair and eyes, other factors such as their up bringing and experience must also have some impact on their personality. Although we are born with characteristics inherited from our parents our personality is also made up from our experiences as we grow.

Summary of findings about my own personality


Mindframes personality test - this showed the mindframes in my comfort zone to be: order, sociability, proactivity and insight. As I tend to use a mind frames in my comfort zone more this strongly influences my behaviour. When I use the mindframes in my comfort zone anything I do will be done well. To build on this I need to be aware when I am operating in my comfort zone. I also need to push myself to a higher level of performance when I work in one of my comfortable mindframes. This test also showed that I am less likely to logic, control, charisma and sensitivity. To help myself I need to "stretch" myself on tasks that take me out of my comfort zone. To do this I can make an effort to get along with people who favour mindframes that I dont.

The Big Personality Test - In this test personality is measured by key traits:

Openess - This trait is known as "openess to experience". I scored 3.4 out of 5 which is low. This indicates I have a less broad range of interests and generating ideas is not my biggest strength.

Conscientiousness - This trait is describes how organised and hardworking a person is likely to be. I scored 3.7 out of 5 which is medium. This indicated that I enjoy planning aspects of my life but I am unlikely to behave spontaneously.

Extroversion - This trait relates to risk taking activities. I scored 3.6 out of 5 which is high. This high score indicates I am quick to form new friendships and have the capacity for leadership.

Agreeableness - This trait measures how considerate a person is likely to be. I scored 3.4 out of 5 which is medium. This indicates I am inclined to help others but will also speak my mind.

Neuroticism - This trait relates to a person's response to stresful situations. I scored 3.1 out of 5 which is high. This indicates that I may feel anxious and experience changing moods.

Comparsion of both personality tests

Both tests I took part in showed some aspects of my personality. The Mindframes test did not go into too much depth to explain my personality, although it indicated that I am at my best when I am in my comfort zone. This is some what true because I prefer order, am proactive and am a sociable person. The Big Personality test was better because the results were explained fully and the scores I obtained were good indicators of my personality, although some of the questions were a bit personal. I would agree with the findings of both these tests because they are fairly accurate and describe my personality well.

I would not be happy with such tests being used as a selection tool. This is because someone can respond to the questions being asked, not honestly, but how they think the business would want them answered in a positive way. If this happens the results may not be a good indication of that person's personality although the business may think that person is good for the job.

Conclusion

In conclusion there are many aspects to personality and it is a complex matter. An individual can inherit some characteristics from their DNA and parents, but how they are brought up and their experiences also have some effect on their personality. A lot of companies now use personality tests when they recruit new staff and while these are good indicators of a person's personality they do not give a full picture of that person.

Reference list:

Psychological Debate [online]. Available from: http://www.simplypsychology.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/nomothetic-idiographic.html [Accessed on 06 April 2010].

Nature Vs Nuture [online]. Available from: http://genealogy.about.com/cs/geneticgenealogy/a/nature_nurture_2.htm [Accessed on 06April 2010].

What is personality? [online]. Available from: http://psychology.about.com/od/overviewofpersonality/a/persondef.htm [Accessed on 06 April 2010].

Raymond Cattell's 16 personality factors [online]. Available from: http://en.allexperts.com/e/0/16_personality_factors.htm [Accessed on 06 April 2010].

Mindframes personality test [online]. Available from: http://www.initforlife.com/home/tm.asp [Accessed on 07 April 2010].

The Big Personality Test [online]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/labuk/experiments/personality [Accessed 07 April 2010].