Ob Book 3

DETERMINANTS OF PERSONANLITY
Enviro
nment
Heredi
Family
ty Determinants
of
personality
Situati
Social
onal
1. Heredity:
 The role of heredity in the development of personality is ab old argument of personality theory.
 Heredity refers to those factor that were determined at conception.
 This factor is inherited by individuals from their biological parents. The heredity factors, also
known as biological factors, determine the nature and characteristics of a person.
 EXAMPLE:
Physical stature, height, sex, attractiveness, temperament, energy level and muscle
composition of a person.
 It is said that at conception, each parent normally contributes 23 chromosomes.

 The role of heredity on personality development is still an unsettled area of understanding.
2. Environment:
 If all personality characteristics were completely dictated by heredity, they would be fixed at
birth and no amount of experience could alter them.
 Environment is a broad term and include such factor as culture which influences norms,
attitude and values that are passed along from one generation to the next.
 Ever Cultural has its own sub-culture each with its own view about such qualities as moral value
and standards, cleanliness, style of dress and definition of success.
 Example;
All boys are expected to show certain personality trait (as compared with girls), but poor boy
raised in an urban slum is expected to behave differently in some respect from a well – to- do
raised in a middle-class suburb.
 Cultural factors affect the behaviour of an individual to a great extent.
 For example:
An individual interested in any form of art behaves in a more elegant way as compared to those
who do not have any interest in art.
3. Family:
 The most significant out of the different determinants of personality is that of familial.
 The environment at home blended with the direct influence of the parents is the major
contributors to the traits that build our personality.
 A critical impact is driven by the family especially in the early and naive age.
 For example,
A child brought up in a violent household will be quite different and emotionally and socially
timid and cold as compared to a child reared in a warm, adjusting and healthy environment.
 It contributes to one’s ethics and moral values.
 The principles and ideologies of family members are influenced by the family to a great extent.
4. Social (Socialisation Process):
 Beside heredity, environmental and family influences on personality, there is greater

realization that other relevant person, group and organisation exercise their due role in
personality development. This is commonly called Socialisation process.
 This includes the religious and social associations of an individual.
 Naturally, society influences the personality of an individual.
 For example,
An individual`s personality gets affected by peer group he/she belongs to.
5. Situational Consideration:
 The behavioural pattern of an individual depends on the situation he/she is in at a particular

point of time.
 In addition, the behaviour of a person in a particular situation also influences his/her behaviour
in similar situations in the future.
 For example,
If a person successfully handles a stressful situation, he/she is in a better position to handle
similar situations in the future.
 Environment, age, heredity and family no doubt have impact on personality. But it is the
situation that cannot be ignored.
PERSONALITY STRUCTURE:
Attached
Myers-Briggs Indicator
During the 1920s, the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung proposed a personality theory that, as stated
earlier, identifies the way people prefer to perceive their environment. 20 Years later, the mother
and daughter team of Katherine Briggs and Isable Briggs-Myers developed Myers-Briggs type
Indicator (MBTI), a personality test that measures each of the traits of Jung’s mode.
Mainly used in employee hiring process. MBIT measures
how people prefer to focus their attention (extroversion vs introversion),
Collect information (sensing vs intuition)
Process and evaluate information (thinking vs feeling), and
Orient themselves to the other world (judging vs perceiving).
Other Dimension:
Extroversion/Introversion:
 The extraversion-introversion dichotomy was first explored by Jung in his theory of
personality types as a way to describe how people respond and interact with the world
around them.
 Extraverts (also often spelled extroverts) are "outward-turning" and tend to be
action-oriented, enjoy more frequent social interaction, and feel energized after
spending time with other people.
 Introverts are "inward-turning" and tend to be thought-oriented, enjoy deep and
meaningful social interactions, and feel recharged after spending time alone
Sensitivity/Intuitions:
 This scale involves looking at how people gather information from the world around them.
 People who prefer sensing tend to pay a great deal of attention to reality, particularly to
what they can learn from their own senses. They tend to focus on facts and details and
enjoy getting hands-on experience.
 Those who prefer intuition pay more attention to things like patterns and impressions. They
enjoy thinking about possibilities, imagining the future, and abstract theories
Thinking/Feeling:
 This scale focuses on how people make decisions based on the information that they
gathered from their sensing or intuition functions.
 People who prefer thinking place a greater emphasis on facts and objective data. They tend
to be consistent, logical, and impersonal when weighing a decision.
 Those who prefer feeling are more likely to consider people and emotions when arriving at
a conclusion.

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DETERMINANTS OF PERSONANLITY

 It is said that at conception, each parent normally contributes 23 chromosomes.

4. Social (Socialisation Process):

 Beside heredity, environmental and family influences on personality, there is greater

 The behavioural pattern of an individual depends on the situation he/she is in at a particular

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