Understanding Personality Traits

• Personality is the sum of an individual's traits, influencing behavior and interactions with their environment.
• Personality is defined as inner psychological characteristics determining responses to the environment (Schiffman & Kanuk).
• Personality includes characteristic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish people over time.
• Personality is biologically based, learned behavior forming unique responses to environmental stimuli.

Characteristics of Personality

• Personality is dynamic and changes throughout life.
• Personality reflects individual differences.
• Every individual's personality is unique.
• Personality of an individual is consistent and enduring.
• Personality of an individual is psychological.

Personality Traits

• Traits are distinguishing qualities making individuals different.

• Traits are personality descriptors used to describe individuals.

• "The Big Five" or "Five-Factor Model" is a system for understanding personality traits.

• OCEAN is an acronym: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

• Openness is the tendency to appreciate new ideas, art, values, feelings, and behaviors.

• Conscientiousness is the tendency to be careful, on time, to follow rules and be hardworking.

• Extraversion is the tendency to be talkative, sociable, and enjoy others, having a dominant style.

• Agreeableness is the tendency to agree and go along with others rather than assert opinions and choices.

• Neuroticism is the tendency to experience negative emotions like anger, worry, and sadness, being interpersonally sensitive.

High vs. Low Scorers on Big Five

• Openness (High): Enjoys seeing people with alternative morals, new haircuts/body piercings, is curious, imaginative, and untraditional.
• Openness (Low): Prefers no exposure to alternative moral systems, has narrow interests, is inartistic, not analytical, and down-to-earth.
• Conscientiousness (High): Never late, organized, hardworking, neat, persevering, punctual, self-disciplined.
• Conscientiousness (Low): Prefers spur-of-the-moment action, is unreliable, careless, and tax-headonistic.
• Extraversion (High): Is the life of the party, active, optimistic, fun-loving, and affectionate.
• Extraversion (Low): Prefers quiet evenings, reading, is aloof, sober, and unenthusiastic.
• Agreeableness (High): Agrees with others, accepts good-natured political opinions, is forgiving, helpful, and gullible.
• Agreeableness (Low): Quickly/confidently asserts own rights, is irritable, manipulative, rude, and uncooperative.
• Neuroticism (High): Constantly worrying about little things, insecure, feels inadequate, and is hypochondriacal.
• Neuroticism (Low): Not irritated by small annoyances, clam secure, self-satisfied, hardy, and unemotional.

Theories of Personality

• Personality theories address what makes up an individual's personality.
• Personality is how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, influencing their environment interactions.
• Personality is generally stable but influenced by environmental factors.
• Personality theories help understand personality development and personality disorders.
• Personality theories address whether personality is biological or developed through environmental interaction.
• Four main personality theories are: Psychoanalytic, Humanistic, Trait perspective, Behaviorist theory.

Psychoanalytic Personality Theory

• Developed by Sigmund Freud, considered the foundation of modern psychology.
• Personality is the summation of innate instincts and parental influences.
• Personality is made up of instincts and unconscious processes.
• Childhood events, particularly parental influence, shape personality.
• Events of the first five years of life develop the personality of adults.
• Personality is defined by three components: Id, Ego, and Superego.
• Id is the basic part of the personality we are born with, based on the "pleasure principle".
• Id consists of primary/impulsive needs desiring immediate satisfaction, like hunger/thirst.
• Ego is based on the reality principle, controlling and balancing the id and superego urges.
• Ego recognizes what is real and understands the effect of behavior.
• Superego represents moral and ethical elements, our value system from parents and environment.
• Superego shows individual behavioral expectations and societal code of behavior.
• Interaction of id, ego, and superego in lives shapes our personality.

Humanistic Personality Theory

• The humanistic personality theory was developed by Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers.
• Focuses on the importance of self-growth to develop healthy personality traits.
• The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a questionnaire created in 1943.
• It helps people understand personality type used in clinical/research settings, translated into 30 languages.
• Test results split people into 16 personality groups.
• The goal is to place people in careers where they are happiest.
• Myer-Briggs Type Indicator helps individuals identify preferences in four areas of personality.
• Introversion or Extraversion refers to how a person receives gratification or energy.
• Sensing or Intuition is how an individual takes in information.
• Thinking or Feeling is how individuals come to conclusions.
• Judging or Perceiving measures preference for structure or adaptability.

Trait Personality Theory

• Emphasizes personality characteristics and descriptive terms to detail an individual.
• Descriptive terms like happy, outgoing, and angry make up a personality.
• Focuses on differences between individuals formulating personalities.
• Combination of traits/descriptive terms create the entire personality.
• A five-factor model represents five core traits that interact.
• The character traits of this theory are called the Big Five Personality Dimensions.
• Openness measures adaptability, abstract thinking, and creativity.
• Conscientiousness focuses on the ability to meet goals, attention to detail, and preparation.
• Extraversion measures sociability, assertiveness, and conversational ability.
• Agreeableness measures trust, empathy, affection, and kindness.
• Neuroticism focuses on moodiness, stress, sadness, depression, or dramatic tendencies.

Behaviorist Theory

• Emphasizes how people interact with their environment.
• Interactions (stimuli) form particular behaviors (conditioning).
• Behaviorists are concerned with understanding responses to environmental stimuli.
• Radical behaviorists exclude innate psychological phenomena outside stimulus and response.
• Everything that makes up a person is a result of interaction with their environment since birth.
• John Watson is considered as the founder of Behaviorism.
• The theory helps to understand people better and builds stronger relationships.

Importance of Personality Development

• Helps psychologists understand why individuals vary in behavior, attitudes, and emotional responses.
• Helps predict how individuals are likely to behave in different situations.
• Allows individuals to gain insights into their behavior and thought patterns.
• Can be beneficial for personal growth, improving relationships, and making informed life choices.
• Critical for diagnosing and treating mental health disorders in clinical psychology.
• Assists in choosing careers aligning with strengths and interests, leading to job satisfaction and success.
• Can improve interpersonal relationships through understanding and respecting individual differences.
• Influences how individuals perceive and cope with stress.
• Can inform teaching methods and help educators adapt their approaches to better suit learning styles.
• Central to the diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders.
• Focuses on cultivating positive traits and strengths, promoting well-being, resilience, and happiness.
• Helps individuals navigate major life transitions, providing psychological insights.

Dimensions of Theory

• Personality development provides a framework for understanding human behavior.
• Important in various fields like psychology, organizational behavior, and consumer behavior.
• Improves self-awareness, facilitating personal growth, and enhancing various aspects of life.
• Applications across psychology's diverse subdisciplines, making it a central area of study.
• Psychologists have developed theories describing personality, its emergence, influences, changes, and health.
• Important Personality Theories: Psychoanalytic, Behaviorism, and Humanism.

Freud Theory

• Personality contains three structures: id, ego, and superego.

• The mind is like an iceberg, the unconscious making up 90% while the conscious makes only 10%.

• Behaviors are caused by conscious awareness. Mostly produced by unconscious factors.

• Normally, the unconscious guides us.

• Mind is divided into abstract categories: id, ego, and superego.

• Latin for the term "it," includes basic instincts, inborn dispositions, and animalistic urges (unconscious).

• Operates according to the pleasure principle, aiming for pleasurable things and away from painful things, seeking to satisfy urges, and includes feelings of hunger.

• Greek and Latin for "I," this personality structure begins developing in childhood and can be interpreted as the "self."

• Partly conscious and partly unconscious, it operates according to the reality principle.

• Attempts to help the id get what it wants by judging the difference between real and imaginary.

• The superego term means "above the ego" and includes moral ideas learned within the family and society.

• Gives people feelings of pride doing something correct (ego ideal), and guilt doing wrong (conscience).

• The superego is a child's moral barometer based on moral principles, creating pride and guilt.

Conclusion on Freud

• Freud coined terms and proposed division of the mind as abstract ideas to understand personality.
• Healthy personality requires a balance between id and superego which are naturally in conflict.
• The id attempts to satisfy, while the superego preaches patience.
• The struggle between these two shows intrapsychic conflict.
• Defense mechanisms are automatic reactions to fear that the id's desires will overwhelm the ego.
• Healthy personality demands are met and the superego is satisfied in making the person feel proud, not guilty.
• If the id is strong, the person will be rude and selfish.
• If the superego is too strong, the person is nervous and full of guilt.
• If the id is too strong, one is a psychopath.
• If the superego is too strong, one is a worrier.

Erikson Theory

• Erikson converted Freud's emphasis to a focus on social relationships in eight psychosocial stages.

• Each of Erikson's stages was defined as a time of crisis when the personality would go one way or the other.

• Babies whose needs are met feel trust, if they have frustration they learn mistrust.

• Toddlers learn to act independently but also doubt themselves or they learn confidence.

• Preschoolers are ready to take action and gain self-esteem. If not, they may feel guilt.

• School-aged children should learn many skills. Failures result in a sense of being no good/inferior.

• Adolescents begin identity exploration. This must be answered to develop a sense of self-identity.

• Young adults develop emotional relationships. The opposite is isolation.

• Middle-aged adults feel urgency to make a mark on the world. Otherwise, they may be selfish.

• In old age, it is common to reflect on one's life accomplishments to feel either despair or integrity.

Definition of Success

• Success can mean wealth, recognition, good health, family, happiness, satisfaction, and peace of mind.
• Success is subjective and can mean different things to different people.
• Success is defined as "the progressive realization of a worthy goal."
• "Progressive" means it is a journey, not a destination (never arriving).
• "Realization" means it is an experience that comes from feeling it internally.
• "Worthy" is a value system determining the quality of the journey, giving meaning and fulfillment.
• "Goals" are important because they give direction.
• Harvard MBA study: 3% grads wrote goals, 13% had goals, 84% had no goals.
• 10 years later, 13% w/ goals earned up to 84% compared to the others.
• Those who wrote goals earned ten times as much as the other 97%.
• Goals must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Realistic, Time-bound.
• Failures are stepping stones to success (fear of failure).
• Goals should be expressed positively, stating the achievement has occurred ("I am a nonsmoker").

Hurdles in Achieving Success

• Lack of information
• Lack of skill
• Limiting beliefs
• Well-being
• Other people
• Own motivation
• Time
• Money
• Fear
• Too much information is overwhelming and too little is ineffective.
• Acquiring skills is necessary, which may involve studying.
• Limiting beliefs affect the ability to achieve goals like procrastination.
• Sudden illness can set you back, so you may need to reassess.
• Those closest to us may fear our achievements, which shows they need to change.
• Review the goals to see if they bring you happiness.

Problems with Time

• There is not enough time, manage time.

Problems with Goals and Money

• Lack of money is a common reason for not pursuing goals.

Failure

• Fear is the hesitation to something that removes you from your comfort zone.
• “Failure is defined as a lack of success or the inability to meet an expectation.”
• “A shortfall of duty or performance in directing and controlling an organization, function or team"
• Failure is the state of not achieving an objective, the opposite of success, a state of mind.
• We all fail in life, it is easy to be negative. Here are some examples.
• Albert Einstein's Ph.D. Dissertation was rejected.
• Thomas Alva Edison failed 10,000 times before succeeding.
• Successful people saw attempts as steps to success.
• People only see successes.
• Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparation for their victories.”
• Successful people change, reassess, and adjust directions.

The Idea of Failure

• Failure is a term that generally refers to a lack of success, subjectively interpreted.
• Something did not go right or not meet expectations.
• Varies between people and situations.
• Can be growth for people/organizations.
• The fear of failure can be a barrier.
• Influenced by cultural norms.
• Important for resilience.
• Significance can depend on context and is natural.

SWOT Analysis

• SWOT stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat.
• Guides you to identify your strengths and weaknesses (S-W).
• Broaden opportunities and threats (O-T).
• Offers helpful perspectives at any stage of an effort.
• Explore possibilities for new efforts and solutions.
• SWOT can help clarify directions and choices.
• Can help determine where change is possible, inventory your strengths, and refine plans.
• SWOT also offers a simple way of information gathering.

Who SWOT Can help

• Students
• Managers and Owners
• Professionals, Executives
• Career Starters
• Practitioners and HR
• Doctors and Engineers
• Employees
• Husband and Wife
• Parents

Advantages of SWOT

• Promotes strengths, reduces weaknesses, exploits opportunities, minimizes threats.
• Helps to attain goals.
• Boosts career, life, personality.
• Helps to better understand who you really are as a person.
• Maximizes strengths and diminishes weaknesses
• Enhances soft and hard skills.
• Helps you understand preferences and personality traits.
• Focuses on altitudes, abilities, skills,

SWOT Analysis Tools

• Strengths: Traits that set you apart from others.
• Weaknesses: Areas to improve.
• Opportunities: External factors to pursue.
• Threats: External factors that could hurt goals.

Self-Awareness

• Self-awareness is the conscious perception and one's thoughts, emotions, behaviors, strengths, weaknesses.
• Benefits of self-awareness:
• Improves emotional intelligence.
• Enhances decision-making.
• Leads to more effective communication.
• Allows individuals to recognize strengths.
• Enables better stress management.

Development of Self-Awareness

• Includes reflection, feedback, mindfulness, and personality assessments.

Conclusion

• These are steps on our continuing journey of exploring the nuances of life.
• Understand at deeper levels. Make choices for a better life.

Sarah Case Study

• A 30 year-old professional with a challenging journey filled with failures.
• Early in her career, Sarah had many challenges. As you know, a tech company has challenges in their early stages.
• Failures, weaknesses and setbacks led to depression.
• Sarah becomes better, and her career finds an upswing again.
• Resilience is key, and failure is part of learning.

John Case Study

• 2 year-old professional who has experienced a dynamic career with failures.
• First job was to gain success.
• John understood and was in tune with himself and understood his own personality and drive.
• John experienced 2 failures and still pivoted.
• SWOT and self-reflection are the keys to success.