PERSONALITY
There may have been occasions where we communicated with
someone and then said to yourself that the other person has no personality. You
might have said to yourself, “He or she is a piece of work and a dull person
with whom to try and have a conversation.” First of all, you might like to know that to
define personality has been a perennial puzzle for centuries.
There is no generally agreed definition of
personality. There have been many
theories in the field of psychology that have offered a variety of explanations
to understand it. The early Greek
philosophers made attempts all the way from Plato and Aristotle and continuing
with eminent theories of Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Gordon Allport, Abraham
Maslow, Carl Rogers and Raymond Cattell. Their theories for personality
included biological, cognitive, learning, trait, as well as humanistic and
psychodynamic approaches. Nevertheless,
their efforts were noble but there is still no concise definition of
personality. However, one thing that
seems to prevail is that one’s personality develops from the influence of both
one’s heredity and environment. Also,
that it becomes stable and enduring.
Many professionals
in the field of Personality Psychology have developed tests to identify or
measure attributes of personality. Much
of the data acquired has been derived by recruiting samples of college students
or others who responded to tests such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory
(MMPI), Rorschach Ink Blot Test, Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor Test, or the
Neurotic Personality Questionnaire. However, researchers at Northwestern
University have recently, with the advent of the technology age, acquired very
large samples on line that has allowed them to derive four personality types: average, reserved, self-centered or role
model. Although their data is massive
compared to the famous tests listed above, their research doesn’t define
personality. But, it does provide the potential
for hiring managers and mental healthcare personnel.
Furthermore, the
question arises as to whether personality can be modified or changed. There is
some evidence to indicate that there are essentially three ways personality can
change. They are by experiencing trauma, peak experiences, or just
learning. Trauma occurs as in such cases
of tragedy (loss of a loved one, wounds of war). A peak experience happens when (one marries,
graduation from college). Learning is,
for example, when one accomplishes success from playing a musical instrument that
opens one to a new career.
It appears that learning is the most reasonable and
rewarding way personality can change.
However, there are significant factors that enter into this type of
change. First of all, one has to be motivated to want to learn. Secondly, one must have the biological tools
to utilize. That latter observation leads me to say that is why it’s quite a
challenge and most difficult for those of us in our senior or twilight years to
change much of our personality. An
example of what I mean is to recognize that it’s probably true that any one of
us, 55 or older, could learn to play the piano, even highly motivated but, we
wouldn’t accomplish playing as soon and maybe not as well well as a youngster
in adolescence or younger. So, what does all I wrote lead me to conclude? Yes,
we can change our personality but it takes motivation and patience to succeed
in such an effort.
