Unit 5 Personality

 Meaning, Definition Of Personality

 Classification Of Personality
 Measurements And Evaluation Of
Personality – Introduction
 Alteration In Personality
 Role Of Nurse In Identification Of
Individual And Improvement In Altered
Personality
Meaning of Personality1: At its most basic, personality is the
characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that make a
person unique. It is believed that personality arises from within the individual
and remains fairly consistent throughout life. Examples of personality can be
found in how we describe other people's traits. For instance, "She is generous,
caring, and a bit of a perfectionist," or "They are loyal and protective of their
friends. "The word "personality" stems from the Latin word persona, which
refers to a theatrical mask worn by performers in order to either project
different roles or disguise their identities. While there are many different
definitions of personality, most focus on the pattern of behaviours and
characteristics that can help predict and explain a person's behaviour.
Explanations for personality can focus on a variety of influences, ranging from
genetic effects to the role of the environment and experience in shaping an
individual's personality.

Definition Of Personality2: Personality refers to individual

differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. The
study of personality focuses on two broad areas: One understands individual
differences in particular personality characteristics, such as sociability or
irritability. The other understands how the various parts of a person come
together as a whole --- Adapted from the Encyclopaedia of Psychology.

Personality Characteristics3: What exactly makes up a

personality? Traits and patterns of thought and emotion play important roles,
and so do these fundamental characteristics of personality:
 Consistency: There is generally a recognizable order and regularity to
behaviours. Essentially, people act in the same way or in similar ways in
a variety of situations.
 Both Psychological And Physiological: Personality is a psychological
construct, but research suggests that it is also influenced by biological
processes and needs.
 Affects Behaviours And Actions: Personality not only influences how we
move and respond in our environment, but it also causes us to act in
certain ways.
 Multiple Expressions: Personality is displayed in more than just
behaviour. It can also be seen in our thoughts, feelings, close
relationships, and other social interactions.
Classification of Personality4:

How Personality Develops1: There are a number of theories about

personality, and different schools of thought in psychology influence many of
these theories. Some theories describe how personalities are expressed, and
others focus more on how personality develops.

Personality Types1: Type theories suggest that there are a limited number of
personality types that are related to biological influences. One theory suggests
there are four types of personality. They are:
Type A: Perfectionist, impatient, competitive, work-obsessed, achievement-
oriented, aggressive, stressed.
Type B: Low stress, even-tempered, flexible, creative, adaptable to change,
patient, tendency to procrastinate.
Type C: Highly conscientious, perfectionist struggles to reveal emotions
(positive and negative).
Type D: Worrying, sad, irritable, and pessimistic, negative self-talk, avoidance
of social situations, lack of self-confidence, and fear of rejection, and appears
gloomy, hopeless.

There are other popular theories of personality types such as the Myers-Briggs
theory. The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator identifies a personality
based on where someone is on four continuums: introversion-extraversion,
sensing-intuition, thinking-feeling, and judging-perceiving. After taking a
Myers-Briggs personality test, you are assigned one of 16 personality types.
Examples of these personality types are:

ISTJ: Introverted, sensing, thinking, and judging. People with this personality
type are logical and organized; they also tend to be judgmental.
INFP: Introverted, intuitive, feeling, and perceiving. They tend to be idealists
and sensitive to their feelings.
ESTJ: Extroverted, sensing, thinking, and judging. They tend to be assertive and
concerned with following the rules.
ENFJ: Extroverted, intuitive, feeling, and judging. They are known as "givers"
for being warm and loyal; they may also be overprotective.

Personality Traits1: Trait theories tend to view personality as the result of

internal characteristics that are genetically based and include:

Agreeable: Cares about others, feels empathy, enjoys helping others.

Conscientiousness: High levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse control, goal-
directed behaviours.
Eager-to-please: Accommodating, passive, and conforming.
Extraversion: Excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high
amounts of emotional expressiveness.
Introversion: Quiet, reserved.
Neuroticism: Experiences stress and dramatic shifts in mood, feels anxious,
worries about different things, gets upset easily, and struggles to bounce back
after stressful events.
Openness: Very creative, open to trying new things, focuses on tackling new
challenges.
Measurements and evaluation of Personality-
Introduction5: There are basically four types of methods are being used
to evaluate one’s personality. 1) Subjective Method, 2) Objective Method, 3)
Projective Method, 4) Psycho-Analytic Method.

1. Subjective Methods5:
(a) Observation: Observation of behaviour of a person over a long period is
one of the techniques of assessing personality traits.

(b) Case Study Method: In this method the case history has to be re-organized
and re-written from infancy up to adulthood. Really speaking, on the basis of
this method, the reality of the personality is found out.

(c) Interview: It is a process of communication or interaction in which the

interviewee gives the needed information verbally to the interviewer in a face-
to-face situation or one-to-one situation.

(d) Autobiography: Autobiography method is also used to assess personality.

The child is asked to write his own autobiography and certain personality
characteristics can be studied from them.

(e) Cumulative Record Card: The cumulative record is a useful and permanent
record which includes various information about the child.

2. Objective Methods5: Following are some objective methods of personality

measurement that eliminate the subjectivity of interpretation:

(a) Rating Scales: Rating scales are used to rate the various personality traits,
adjustment, emotions, interests, attitudes performance on a task.
(b) Check lists: Carefully prepared check list can be employed to collect data
about a person.
(c) Controlled Observation: Controlled observation under laboratory
conditions or under controlled conditions can be used to study certain aspects
of the personality of an individual.
(d) Sociogram: With the help of this method, the sociability of the subject is
measured. With the help of this method relationship of the students is judged.
(e) Personality Inventories: Ari individual’s written account of the past
behaviour, feelings and wishes can be a good source of information about his
personality. Self-ratings can be done through personality inventories and paper
and pencil test. Some popular personality inventories are:

1. California Tests of Personality.

2. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).
3. Bell’s Adjustment Inventory.
4. Woodworth Personal Data Sheet.
5. Edward Personal Preference Schedule.
6. Cornell Index.
7. Boyd’s Personality Questionnaire.
8. Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey.
9. Minnesota Counselling Inventory.
10. Thurstone Temperament Schedule.
11. Eysenck’s Personality Inventory.
12.The Shipley Personal Inventory.
13. I.P.P. Personality Inventory Test.
14. Comrey Personality Scales.
15. Saxena’s Personality Inventory.
16. Mittal’s Adjustment Inventory.

3. Projective Methods5: These techniques enable a subject to project his

internal feelings, attitudes, needs, values or wishes to an external object. In the
projective test situation, the individual responds freely to relatively
unstructured yet standard situation to which he is asked to respond.
Some of the major projective techniques are:

(a) Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): The TAT was developed by Morgan and
Murray in 1935. It requires the subject to look at the picture and to interpret it
by telling a story. He is invited to say what led up to the scene in the picture.
Why such events occurred, and what the consequences will be?

(b) Children’s Apperception Test (CAT): It was developed by Leopold Bellak.

The test consists of ten pictures meant for children of the age group 3 to 10.
Pictures are shown one after another and reactions (responses) are noted and
interpreted.
(c) Rorschach’s Ink-Blot Test: This test was developed by Hermann Rorschach
in 1921. It uses ten irregular-ink-blots standing against a white background.
Each inkblot is shown in a fixed number of ways and the testee is asked to
report what he sees.

(d) Projective Questionnaires: In this technique the subject is given a series of

questions to answer in his own way. Through such questionnaires it is possible
to obtain information regarding the subject’s emotional life, his values, his
attitudes and sentiments.

(e) Sentence Completion Test: These tests present a series of incomplete

sentences to be completed by the testee in one or more words.

Some sample items are given below:

 I am worried over………….
 I feel proud when………….
 My hope is…………….
 I am afraid of………………

(f) Psychodrama: It requires the subject to play spontaneously a role assigned

to him in a specific situation. Psychodrama deals with interpersonal
relationships and maladjustment problem within the individual.

(g) Drawing, Painting and Sculpture: Artistic productions can also be used as
projective techniques.

4. Psycho-Analytic Methods5:
(a) Word Association Test: In such test the subject is presented a list of words,
one at a time and is asked to give the first word that comes to his mind. The
responses given by the subject and the time taken by him are recorded by the
tester for interpretation.

(b) Free Association Test: In this test the subject is allowed to talk for hours
together and from it certain traits and behavioural problems are noted.

(c) Dream Analysis: In this technique the dream of the subject is analysed and
unconscious behaviour is interpreted. Since ‘Dream is the royal road to
unconscious’, the dream analysis is an effective psychoanalytic method to
locate unconscious behaviour of the individual.
Alteration In Personality6,7: Personality is the dynamic
organisation of various physical, psychological, and temperamental qualities of
a person. Normal functioning of these processes will lead to a normal
personality. On the other hand, any abnormality will lead to some changes or
alterations in personality.

Grief, bad news, and disappointment can cause a normally happy person to
become downtrodden. Sometimes, a person’s mood can be altered for weeks
or months after hearing devastating news. However, mood changes aren’t the
same as personality changes. However, some people experience unusual or
strange behaviour for years, which may occur due to an illness or injury. A
person may experience a change in their demeanor after experiencing a
traumatic situation or witnesses an unpleasant event. These behavioural
changes may be caused by a mental health condition, such as:

Anxiety: Anxiety occurs when a person feels nervous or uneasy about a

situation. It’s normal to experience some anxiety, but when it occurs on a
regular basis without provocation, it may be a sign of generalized anxiety
disorder.

Panic Attacks: Panic attacks are periods of extreme fear. Sometimes, the
fear seems to be irrational. Such situations include a person having a panic
attack when seeing an elevator or speaking in public.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Also called PTSD, this is a mental health

condition marked by extreme fear, flashbacks, and in some cases,
hallucinations. PTSD is triggered by memories of trauma, such as a terrorist
attack or car accident.

Bipolar Disorder: Bipolar disorder causes a person to have extreme

fluctuations in mood. Mood changes can include euphoria and extreme
depression and may alter the way a person responds to certain interactions or
situations, depending on their mood state.

Schizophrenia: Schizophrenia makes it difficult to think clearly, to effectively

comprehend situations, to behave as normally in social situations, and to
distinguish between what is and isn’t real.
Medical conditions that cause a fluctuation in hormone levels can also cause
strange or unusual behaviour. These conditions include:
 Menopause
 Premenstrual Syndrome (Pms)
 Andropause (Male Menopause)
 Hyperthyroidism Or Hypothyroidism (An Overactive Or Underactive
Thyroid Gland, Respectively)

Medical emergencies can also cause strange or unusual behavior. These

situations include:
 Heart Attack
 Stroke
 Dehydration
 Malnutrition

Other medical conditions or circumstances that may cause personality changes

include:

 Frontal lobe damage personality changes

 An injury to the frontal lobe of the brain, located underneath the
forehead, may lead to symptoms including a personality change.

The frontal lobe is the “control panel” for our personality. It’s also responsible
for our:
 Speech
 Emotional Expression
 Cognitive Skills
The most common brain injury is damage to the frontal lobe. Among the
possible causes are:
 Blows To The Head
 Falls
 Car Accidents

Find out more about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of brain damage.

Personality Change After Stroke: After you experience a stroke, during which a
blood vessel in your brain ruptures or the oxygen supply to your brain is
interrupted, you may have symptoms including a personality change.
Some stroke survivors experience apathy. They don’t seem to care about
anything.
Others, especially survivors of strokes that occur in the brain’s right
hemisphere, may neglect one side of their body or objects. For example, they
may ignore one side of their body or food on one side of a plate.

Following a frontal lobe or right hemisphere stroke, some people may

experience impulsive behaviour. This may include being unable to think ahead
or understand the consequences of their actions.

Get A Better Understanding Of The Symptoms Of A Stroke.

 Brain Tumour Personality Changes
 A Brain Tumour In The Frontal Lobe, Temporal Lobe, Or Parts Of The
Cerebrum Can Cause Personality Changes.
 For Example, Someone Who Was Easy To Get Along With Could Become
Irritable. An Active Person Could Become More Passive.
 Mood Swings, Such As Quickly Becoming Angry After Feeling Happy, May
Also Occur.

Role Of Nurse In Identification Of Individual

Personality And Improvement In Altered Personality:
References:
1. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-
personality-2795416
2. https://www.apa.org/topics/personality
3. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-
personality-2795416
4. https://nurseinfo.in/product/applied-
psychology-notes-book-pdf/#page/132
5. https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/statistics-
2/measurement-of-personality-4-methods-
statistics/92641
6. https://nurseinfo.in/product/applied-
psychology-notes-book-pdf/#page/137
7. https://www.healthline.com/health/behavior-
unusual-or-strange#causes