This research paper presents an understanding and characterization of personality and development. Factors that continue to shape it over the course of a lifetime are also discussed.
The term personality for some refers to one's social value.
Popular beliefs are that an individual has personality if they behave in likeable ways. If a person is charming, generous, and popular, gets along with others, and behaves in a socially desirable manner, he has personality (Feist, 1985, p. 8). Psychology defines the personality as a unique style of behavior or thought, a kind of self or inner agent. Psychologists differ in their views of the personality, they use different terms to refer to the concept, such as types, traits, and social learning. Each of the terms is associated with a different theory of personality; each theory offers its own definition of personality and human behavior. Although theorists differ in terminology and details, most agree that personality is an internal, mental, and emotional pattern of responses to the environment (Gatchel & Mears, 1982, p. 4; & Kolb & Brodie, 1982, p. 2).
Personality is a characteristically recurring pattern of thought, feeling, and behavior which affects each aspect of a person's life. It is the quality that makes one person stand out from another; it makes a person unique. Main personality theories agree that personality is a reflection of individual uniqueness, that it is enduring and stable and changes little over time, and that it is determined by certain forces or events which may be internal or external (Gatchel & Mears, p. 4).
The person-situation debate regarding personality psychology still exists. Most current psychologists agree that aspects of both the person and the situation influence behavior, however, the ways that personality characteristics and situations interact are not fully understood. For some there is a problem with the notion and a lack of concept...