Psychologists have long been puzzled by personality, which is the set of characteristics and behaviors that make people tick. But how do we measure them and is there a proper method to predict behavior? We’ll discuss the different types of personality, their Disorders, and measures of personality. And learn how to use the tools available in psychological tests to determine a person’s personality type. Let’s start with a look at some of the most common personality traits.
Explanations for personality
There are a number of explanations for personality, including biological, environmental, and genetic factors. Psychodynamic theories are untestable, as they generalize from only a few patients to the entire population. Behaviorist explanations focus on learning, reasoning, and environment interaction. Psychodynamic theories are more likely to be wrong than right. The most widely accepted theories of personality are the most popular. However, the debate over which explanation is more accurate has been a long-running one.
One of the defining aspects of personality is the consistency of behavioural variation. Individuals may display a range of traits in a few hours, days, or even lifetimes. Long-term consistency might be genetically encoded or a result of early permanent environmental influences. Short-term consistency, however, is far less consistent. Short-term consistency has evolutionary and ecological implications that are very different. Some models emphasize short-term consistency.
Characteristics of personality
Psychologists and sociologists have studied the relationships between personality characteristics and attitudes and behaviors. The relationship is generally plausible, though many psychological studies only look at a narrow spectrum of social characteristics. Polling methods are often short, and they don’t survey all the dimensions of personality. However, recent efforts have been made to validate short inventories of personality traits. Let’s explore some of the factors that influence how people feel, act, and think.
A person’s feelings, attitudes, and behaviors are controlled by their personality traits. Psychologists use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to analyze a person’s personality traits. The results provide insight into the strengths and weaknesses of different personality types. For example, people high in Steadiness are generally stable, which leads to a well-balanced personality. However, people high in Influence may have trouble making decisions without being influenced by their emotions and act in unprincipled ways.
Disorders related to personality
The prevalence of Axis II and personality disorders has varied significantly across different surveys and countries, presumably reflecting methodological differences, different community populations, or differences in the way clinicians and researchers assess these disorders. Some have increased in prevalence over the past 20 years, while others have declined over this same time period. Despite these differences, these disorders appear to be common across different cultures. However, the prevalence rate of Axis II disorders is lower than that of Axis I disorders, which are the most common.
Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by disrespect for others and often criminal behavior. Borderline personality is marked by unstable relationships and difficulty controlling impulsivity. It may cause a feeling of emptiness. People with narcissistic personality disorder have grandiose ideas and lack empathy for others. Narcissistic personality disorder may cause a person to react with rage when others fail to understand him or her. Those with histrionic personality disorder seek the spotlight constantly and can be sexually inappropriate.
Measures of personality
Psychologists use various measures of personality to make a more accurate assessment of a person’s characteristics. These tests vary in their objectivity. Subjective tests, for example, use a self-report inventory to measure personality characteristics. However, they are also prone to motivational distortions, as they involve asking respondents to rate different items based on a Likert scale. For example, a personality questionnaire might ask a respondent to rate a particular statement on a scale of one to five.
Psychological tests score a person using a variety of approaches. A dimensional approach describes personality in terms of continuous dimensions, whereas a typological approach describes personality in terms of opposing categories of functioning. In the case of the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator, dimensional responses are graphed in the form of a bell curve, implying that some aspects of personality are more positive than others. Bimodal responses are presented by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.