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.