personality

Examples of personality in the following topics:

• Genetics, the Brain, and Personality

  • The biological perspective on personality emphasizes the influence of the brain and genetic factors on personality.
  • The biological perspective on personality emphasizes the internal physiological and genetic factors that influence personality.
  • It focuses on why or how personality traits manifest through biology and investigates the links between personality, DNA, and processes in the brain.
  • While identical twins may have some similar personality traits, however, they still have distinct personalities, suggesting that genetics are not the only factor in determining personality.
  • Many personality studies today investigate the activation and expression of genes and how they relate to personality.

• Defining Personality

  • Personality psychology is the study of human personality and how it varies among individuals and populations.
  • A great deal of modern personality psychology is influenced by, and attempts to answer, the following five philosophical questions about what really determines personality:
  • In this view, such personality traits are different from person to person but within an individual are stable over time and place.
  • Western ideas about personality are not necessarily applicable to other cultures, and there is evidence that the strength of personality traits varies across cultures.
  • Sigmund Freud advanced a psychodynamic view of human personality that implicated the id, ego, and superego as the main determinants of individual differences in personality.

• Introduction to Personality Disorders

  • The 10 personality disorders mentioned in the DSM-5 involve pervasive and enduring personality styles that differ from cultural expectations and cause distress and/or conflict with others.
  • According to the DSM-5, "personality disorder" refers to when an individual displays a personality style (i.e., patterns of cognition, behavior, and emotion) that:
  • The patterns found in personality disorders develop early and are inflexible.
  • They comply with social obligations only when they see personal benefit.
  • In addition, individuals with personality disorders may not even be able to recognize that their personality is causing distress or issues with other people.

• Cluster A: Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal Personality Disorders

  • Cluster A personality disorders have a likely genetic component and are characterized by personality styles that are odd or eccentric.
  • Cluster A disorders include paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder.
  • These 7 criteria include that the person:
  • Socialization groups may also help some people with schizoid personality disorder.
  • According to personality psychologist Theodore Millon, schizotypal personality disorder is one of the easiest to identify but one of the most difficult to treat with psychotherapy.

• Personality Psychology

  • Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and its variation among individuals.
  • Our personality is what makes us unique individuals.
  • Our personalities are thought to be long-term, stable, and not easily changed.
  • These theorists have identified many important dimensions of personality.
  • Western ideas about personality are not necessarily applicable to other cultures, and there is evidence that the strength of personality traits varies across cultures.

• Self-Knowledge and Evaluating the Personality Perspective

  • Many researchers currently define personality as one's personal identity, both self-perceived and as perceived by others.
  • The person-situation debate in personality research seeks to understand which of these two factors is more dominant in predicting a person's behavior over time.
  • Questions like "What is my personal identity?
  • " are important in personality research.
  • It reflects their belief of who they are as a person.

• Influences of Culture and Gender on Personality

  • Both culture and gender are important factors that influence the development of personality.
  • A person's culture is one of the most important environmental factors shaping their personality (Triandis & Suh, 2002).
  • Personality psychologists are interested in understanding the role that culture plays in the development of personality.
  • These values influence personality in different but substantial ways; for example, Yang (2006) found that people in individualist cultures displayed more personally-oriented personality traits, whereas people in collectivist cultures displayed more socially-oriented personality traits.
  • Because Western-based personality assessments cannot fully capture the personality constructs of other cultures, the indigenous model has led to the development of personality assessment instruments that are based on constructs relevant to the culture being studied (Cheung et al., 2011).

• The Brain and Personality

  • The biological basis of personality focuses on how personality traits manifest through biology, like genetics and the brain.
  • The biological perspective of personality investigates the link between personality and processes in the brain.
  • A number of theories on personality have been based off of this biological research on personality, including those of Hans Eysenck, Gordon Allport, and Raymond Cattell.
  • The biological basis of personality focuses on why or how personality traits manifest through biology and the identification of personality traits.
  • The changes marked in Gage's personality after the brain injury spurred interest in the biological factors involved in personality and implicated the frontal lobe as an important area associated with higher-order personality functions.

• Evaluating the Biological Perspective on Personality

  • The biological perspective on personality emphasizes the internal physiological and genetic factors that influence personality.
  • The personality measures, such as Cattell's 16 factor model of personality, are standardized across measurements.
  • These measures of personality are very compatible with statistical analyses and provide an easily administered and measurable definition of personality.
  • The biological perspective focuses on how biological factors determine personality.
  • Identify the strengths and limitations of the biological perspective on personality.

• Cluster C: Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders

  • Cluster C personality disorders are characterized by personality styles that are nervous and fearful.
  • The DSM-5 recognizes 10 personality disorders, organized into 3 different clusters.
  • Cluster C disorders include avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (which is not the same thing as obsessive-compulsive disorder).
  • Avoidant personality disorder is usually first noticed in early adulthood.
  • Views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others;