UNIT 12 CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY

 Introduction to Character and Personality

• Common Usage:

  • Terms "character" and "personality" are often used vaguely.
  • Personality: Often judged by physical appearance and influence (e.g., well-built body, forceful voice).
  • Character: Often associated with sexual behavior or honesty.

• Definitions and Distinctions:

  • Character:
    • Refers to socially relevant behavior trends with moral and ethical implications.
    • Includes traits like honesty, keeping promises, avoiding lying, cheating, stealing.
  • Personality:
    • Includes traits like introversion-extraversion, neuroticism, intelligence, perseverance, self-esteem, friendliness, hostility, judgement.
    • Involves pure understanding, independent of another person.
    • Requires warmth, expansiveness, dynamism, endurance, and perseverance.

• Relationship Between Character and Personality:

  • Personality must include capacities of character.
  • Character: Understanding, strength of will, perseverance, energy.
  • Personality: Pure intelligence, warmth, expansiveness, dynamism, endurance, perseverance.
  • A person with personality adapts and changes habits as necessary.

Objectives of the Unit

1. Early Attempts at Classification:

   • Understand how personality has been classified in terms of physique and character.

2. Trait-Cluster Theories of Personality:

   • Discuss theories that group personality traits into clusters.

3. Factors Determining Character:

   • Examine various factors or vectors influencing character.

4. Classifying Character-Personality Patterns:

   • Identify patterns based on dominant character factors.

5. Examples of Character-Personality Patterns:

   • Provide examples to explain different patterns.

6. Moral and Ethical Implications:

   • Understand the moral and ethical implications of different character-personality patterns.

Summary of Important Points

• Character:

  • Socially relevant behavior trends.
  • Moral and ethical implications.
  • Traits: honesty, keeping promises, avoiding lying, cheating, stealing.
  • Requires: understanding, strength of will, perseverance, energy.

• Personality:

• Physical and behavioral traits.
• Independent understanding.
• Traits: introversion-extraversion, neuroticism, intelligence, perseverance, self-esteem, friendliness, hostility, judgement.
• Requires: pure intelligence, warmth, expansiveness, dynamism, endurance, perseverance.
• Adaptability and flexibility in opinions and habits.

Personality versus Character

• Definitions:

  • Personality:
    • Defined by Webster as ‘the quality or state of being a person.’
    • Implies the inherent state of existing and consciousness.
    • Includes characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
    • Fairly consistent throughout life.
  • Character:
    • Defined by Webster as ‘the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person.’
    • Indicates the manifestation of personality traits.
    • Can influence personality but is distinct from it.

• Differences:

  • Personality is inherent and unchanging.
  • Character is the manifestation of traits and can influence personality.
  • Personality is recognized through thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, while character is understood through ethical and mental traits.

Components of Personality

1. Consistency:

   • Recognizable order and regularity in behaviors.
   • People act in similar ways across different situations.

2. Psychological and Physiological:

   • Personality is a psychological construct.
   • Influenced by biological processes and needs.

3. Impact on Behaviors and Actions:

   • Personality influences how we respond to the environment.
   • Causes specific behaviors and actions.

4. Multiple Expressions:

• Displayed in behavior, thoughts, feelings, close relationships, and social interactions.

Early Attempts at Classification of Personality

1. Classification Based on Physique:

   • William Herbert Sheldon (1898-1977) classified personality based on body type:
     • Endomorphic: Prominent abdomen, fatty tissues; likely to be comfort-loving, relaxed (viscerotonic).
     • Mesomorphic: Muscular build, strong bones; adventurous, aggressive (somatotonic).
     • Ectomorphic: Delicate, thin body; fast reactions, chronic fatigue, tense (cerebrotomic).

2. Somato-types:

   • Endomorphic: Obese, comfort-loving, less reactive.
   • Mesomorphic: Square, muscular, loves physical adventure.
   • Ectomorphic: Tall, thin, fast reactions, suppressed social responsiveness.

3. Biochemical and Glandular Characteristics:

   • In ancient Greece, personality described in terms of chemique:
     • Sanguine (extrovert): Excess of blood.
     • Choleric (energetic): Excess of bile.
     • Phlegmatic (calm): Excess of mucus.
     • Melancholic (thoughtful): Excess of spleen.

4. Parallel with Ancient Indian Classifications (Ayurveda):

   • Rakta Pradhan: Sanguine.
   • Pitta Pradhan: Choleric.
   • Kaffa Pradhan: Phlegmatic.
   • Vayu Pradhan: Melancholic.

5. Modern Perspective:

• Historical importance only.
• Over-simplification of human personality.
• People have characteristics of various groups in varying degrees.
• Position on a continuum from extremely high to extremely low on each trait.

Trait Cluster or Dominant Component Concept of Personality

1. Quantitative Approach to Personality:

   • Measurements: Large number of behavior traits are measured in many individuals.
   • Inter-correlations: Correlations among these variables are computed.
   • Trait Clusters: Identified clusters of traits and symptoms that correlate highly within themselves but low with other clusters.
   • Personality Factors: These clusters are considered as personality “factors” or character factors.

2. Eysenck’s Personality Dimensions (1960):

   • Extroversion-Introversion:
     • Extrovert: Sociable, happy-go-lucky, makes friends easily, talkative.
     • Introvert: Low on sociability, reserved, less talkative.
   • Neuroticism:
     • High Neuroticism: Emotionally unstable.
     • Low Neuroticism: Emotionally stable.
   • Psychoticism:
     • High Psychoticism: Tough-minded, aggressive.
     • Low Psychoticism: Tender-minded, empathetic.

3. Personality Theories:

• Different psychologists have evolved various theories of personality based on trait clusters.
• Focus here is on personality types with ethical or moral dimensions.

Personality Disorders: Key Concepts

General Characteristics of Personality Disorders

• Enduring Symptoms: Symptoms are persistent and affect most aspects of life.
• Inflexibility: Symptoms are inflexible and pervasive.
• Exclusion of Other Causes: Symptoms are not due to substance use or another psychiatric disorder.
• Historical Onset: Symptoms trace back to adolescence or early adulthood.
• Significant Distress: Symptoms cause significant distress or negative consequences in various areas of life.
• Affected Areas:
  • Thoughts: Patterns of thinking about self, others, and interactions.
  • Emotions: Emotional appropriateness, intensity, and range.
  • Interpersonal Functioning: Relationships and interpersonal skills.

Types of Personality Disorders

1. Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

   • Previous Names: Psychopathic and Sociopathic Personality Disorder.
   • Characteristics:
     • Disregard for the rights of others.
     • Failure to conform to societal norms; often results in legal issues.
     • History of deceitfulness, irresponsibility, and lack of remorse.
     • Reduced ability to feel empathy.
   • Treatment:
     • Rarely sought due to lack of insight and tendency to blame society.
     • Long-term insight-oriented therapy may be effective but is difficult to commit to.

2. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

   • Characteristics:
     • Unstable relationships and self-image.
     • Intense fear of abandonment leading to clinginess and impulsive behavior.
     • Self-harming behaviors such as cutting or suicide attempts.
     • Intense and sudden anger, difficulty controlling destructive behaviors.
   • Treatment:
     • Long-term, often requiring both insight-oriented and cognitive-behavioral approaches.
     • Gradual improvement is possible with intensive effort.

3. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)

• Characteristics:
  • Pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and entitlement.
  • Exaggerated achievements, fantasies of unlimited success, and a belief in being understood only by superior individuals.
  • Sense of entitlement and underlying feelings of inferiority.
  • Envy and anger towards others who have more or receive more attention.
• Treatment:
• Rarely sought due to lack of insight and blaming society for negative consequences.
• Long-term insight-oriented therapy may be effective, but commitment to treatment is a major obstacle.

Character and Its Factors/Vectors

Major Components of Character

1. Moral Stability

   • Definition: Tendency to follow moral codes willingly and with satisfaction.
   • Impact: Positively correlated with overall maturity of character.

2. Ego-Strength

   • Definition: Includes perceptual accuracy, rational judgment, and appropriate action.
   • Impact: Positively correlated with overall maturity of character.

3. Super-Ego Strength

   • Definition: Degree of inner control over behavior or conscience.
   • Impact: Positively correlated with overall maturity of character.

4. Spontaneity

   • Definition: Direct expression of feelings and wishes.
   • Impact:
     • Curious Relationship: High spontaneity at both extreme ends of maturity scales (highly mature or highly immature).
     • Intermediate Maturity: Lower spontaneity.

5. Friendliness

   • Definition: Generalized warmth of feeling for others.
   • Impact: Positively correlated with overall maturity of character.

6. Hostility-Guilt Complex

• Definition: Strong feelings of hostility and guilt.
• Impact: Negatively correlated with character development.

Character-Personality Patterns

Based on the relative strength of the six character factors, five distinct character-personality patterns have been identified:

1. The Amoral Type

• Characteristics:
  • High in hostility and guilt.
  • Low in moral stability, super-ego strength, and friendliness.
• Description: Individuals in this type may show a disregard for moral standards and struggle with strong feelings of hostility and guilt. Their relationships and behaviors are often marked by conflict and inconsistency.

The Amoral Individual

Characteristics

• Infantile Stage:

  • Neither moral nor immoral.
  • Displays inaccurate perception, highly unstable emotions, and lack of self-control.
  • Behavior is impulsive and spontaneous.
  • Actions are driven by physical rewards and punishments.

• Adult Amoral Type:

  • Represents an arrest at the infantile stage of development.
  • May exhibit extreme traits seen in adult psychopaths.

Example Case Study

• Subject: A 20-year-old male referred by the district court.
• Behavior:
  • Defiant towards authority.
  • Exhibits violent temper leading to impulsive and irresponsible actions.
  • Shows lack of concern for consequences.
  • Chronic liar with incidents of truancy and running away from home.
  • Forged father’s signature on cheques, leading to arrest.
• Psychological Profile:
  • Can fabricate stories easily.
  • Possesses high general intelligence.
  • Able to rationalize behavior effectively.

1. The Expedient Type

• Characteristics:
  • Below average in ego-strength, super-ego strength, moral stability, and friendliness.
  • High in spontaneity and hostility-guilt.
• Description: This type is characterized by a lack of consistency and reliability. They may act impulsively, showing high levels of hostility and guilt, and struggle with maintaining moral and social standards.

The Expedient Individual

Characteristics

• Social Awareness:

  • Learned Behavior: Understands social rewards and punishments within their culture.
  • Control by Immediate Consequences: Behavior is guided by the immediate outcomes of actions.

• Self-Centered Behavior:

  • Situational Honesty/Dishonesty: Honesty or dishonesty is based on situational advantages.
  • Example (Children's Experiment): Children under nine expressed regret for lies that fail but not for those that are undetected.

• Adult Expedient Behavior:

  • Reputation Management: Might act honestly to maintain a good reputation or gain confidence, but can be dishonest when the reward is significant or detection seems unlikely.
  • Situational Ethics: Lies are told if advantageous, but honesty is maintained if detection is probable.
  • Conformity: Adheres to social expectations for personal gain.
  • Lack of Internalized Ideals: No personal conscience or super-ego guiding behavior.

1. The Conforming Type

• Characteristics:
  • Moderate levels of ego-strength, super-ego strength, and friendliness.
• Description: Individuals of this type tend to follow social norms and expectations with balanced ego and moral considerations. They maintain stable relationships and moderate levels of friendliness and self-control.

The Conformer

Characteristics

• Behavioral Patterns:

  • Internalized Principles: Adheres to the principle of "doing what one should" and avoids actions deemed wrong according to social rules.
  • Adherence to Social Norms: Rigidly follows social norms to avoid shame and social disapproval.

• Comparison with the Expedient:

  • Expedient Individual: Conforms to social norms strategically to gain sympathy and confidence. The adherence is situational and opportunistic.
  • Conformer: Follows social norms sincerely from the heart, based on genuine belief in these rules.

• Emotional Response:

  • Shame and Guilt: Experiences shame when deviating from social norms. Adheres to rules even if they are inconvenient or harmful to general welfare.

• Behavior Under Pressure:

  • Consistency: Sticks to established rules under all circumstances. E.g., unwilling to lie even for a good cause.

Example Case: Veena

• Background:

  • Family: Lower middle class with strict, religious parents. The environment was rigid and fostered conformity.
  • Parental Influence: Parents emphasized adherence to rules and rituals, discouraging spontaneity and self-expression.

• Behavior at Age 10:

  • Reputation: Rated as a superior individual by family, teachers, and peers.
  • Traits: Responsible, timely, polite, honest, controlled.
  • Definition of 'Good': Respecting authority, cleanliness, and politeness.

• Behavior at Age 15:

  • Change in Popularity: Declined significantly. Associated only with similar individuals.
  • Anxiety and Rigidity: Over-anxious to avoid mistakes, rigid behavior patterns, and social anxiety.
  • Perception by Others: Seen as immature and developmentally arrested by elders.
  • Social Interaction: Unable to display genuine depth of feeling towards peers despite appearance of conformity.

1. The Irrational-Conscientious Type

• Characteristics:
  • Weak to moderate in ego-strength.
  • Low in friendliness.
  • High in hostility-guilt, super-ego strength, and moral stability.
• Description: People in this category show strong adherence to moral standards and conscience but may struggle with interpersonal warmth. They often experience high levels of guilt and hostility while maintaining a rigid moral framework.

The Irrational-Conscientious Personality

Key Characteristics

• Internalized Behavior Code:

  • Strong belief in a personal code of conduct.
  • Behavior is guided strictly by this internalized code.

• Behavioral Rigidity:

  • Acts according to personal ideals regardless of external approval or consequences.
  • Experiences guilt when actions conflict with personal code, even if actions are technically correct or moral.

• Irrational Component:

  • Develops a rigid, self-contained system of rules.
  • Does not consider social consequences or the origin of the rules.
  • Sees actions as absolutely right or wrong based on personal conscience or perceived self-evidence.

• Lack of Social Awareness:

  • Fails to recognize that rules are man-made and intended to serve humane or altruistic purposes.
  • Adheres to principles in an absolute manner, often disregarding their broader social implications.

Example Case (Hypothetical)

• Background:

  • An individual may adhere strictly to a set of personal principles about honesty and integrity.
  • Regardless of the practical impact or acceptance by others, the person will act according to their internal code.

• Behavior:

  • Will perform acts perceived as honest even if it causes practical problems or is disapproved by others.
  • Experiences guilt and conflict when actions do not align with their internal code.

• Developmental Aspect:

  • The internalization of ideals is a normal stage in personal development and maturity.
  • However, in the irrational-conscientious personality, this internalization becomes rigid and disconnected from social context.

1. The Rationalistic-Altruistic Type

• Characteristics:
  • High in ego-strength, super-ego strength, moral stability, spontaneity, and friendliness.
  • Low in hostility-guilt.
• Description: This type represents a balanced and mature personality. Individuals are rational, altruistic, and maintain strong moral and ethical standards while displaying friendliness and spontaneity.

The Rational-Altruistic Personality

Key Characteristics

• Open Moral System:

  • Possesses internalized moral principles that are flexible and subject to change based on circumstances.
  • Principles are not rigid or closed but adaptable.

• Balanced Behavior:

  • Behavior is guided by both personal conscience and the impact on others.
  • Acts honestly and loyally to contribute to the well-being of others as well as oneself.

• Rational Evaluation:

  • Evaluates conduct realistically, considering probable consequences.
  • Avoids impulsive or compulsive actions, aiming for thoughtful decision-making.

• Altruistic Outlook:

  • Considers the ultimate welfare of others in addition to personal welfare.
  • Does not follow internalized rules blindly but considers their social effects.

• Guided by “Spirit”:

  • Adheres to the spirit rather than the letter of the law.
  • Maintains consistency and firmness in principles but is flexible in behavior.

Example Case (Hypothetical)

• Background:

  • An individual has a set of internalized moral principles but can adapt these principles based on changing circumstances and the needs of others.

• Behavior:

  • Acts honestly and loyally, considering both personal and others' well-being.
  • Evaluates actions based on realistic outcomes rather than strict adherence to rules.

• Developmental Aspect:

  • Represents a high level of character development, balancing personal values with social responsibilities.
  • Demonstrates flexibility in applying moral principles to real-world situations.