CHAPTER XV

PERSONALIT
Y
A. Meaning of Personality

-The term ‘’personality’’ comes from the Latin word

persona, a mask that was worn by an actor while
speaking or performing on the stage. The wearer of the
mask revealed himself through his speech and his
actions.
1. What a person is, how he thinks and feels, and what is
included in his whole psychological make-up are, to a great
extent, revealed through his behavior and his speech.

2. Personality is the quality of the individuals total behavior

(Woodworth, 1947).

3. An individual’s personality is ‘’total picture of his

organized behavior, especially as it can be characterized by
his fellowmen in consistent way.’’ (Dashiell, 1949)
B. Personality Pattern

1. Two Components of Personality:

a. Objective- observable and measurable:
1.) body size and physique and factors in the
mechanics and chemistry of his body which influence the
speed and strength of his movement;
2.) Aptitudes and Talents, both physical and
intellectual;
3.) And traits, habits, behavior patterns, and modes of
action.
b. Subjective- less easily subjected and measured:
1.) Motives
2.) Aspirations
3.) Feelings
4.) Ideas
5.) Activities regarding self
6.) Convictions
7.) Commitments
8.) Purpose that give direction to the individual’s way
of thinking, feeling and acting.
2. The Person’s Image of himself as a Self Contains:
a. Physical Self-Image
Contains the individual’s concept of his physical
appearance and the importance of all parts of his body to
his behavior and to the prestige they give him in the eyes of
the others.
b. Psychological Self-Image
This is composed of traits that play a role of
importance in his adjustments to life, such as honesty,
independence, and helpless (Anderson, 1952).
3. Concept of Self is Acquired in:
a. Family-group environment or the primary concept.
b. Group environment outside the home or secondary
concepts.
4. Stable Self-Concept- which is dependent upon consistency of
treatment and the home and continuity between the home
environment and the environments outside the home (Dai,
1952), leads to far better adjustments than an unstable concept of
self.
5. Concept of an Idealized Self- self concepts which as individuals
they would like idealy to be characteristic of them (Pearl, 1950).
 Admired Personality Traits
A. Adult Standard
As Thorpe (1946), has emphasized, the desirable personality is
characterized by ‘’emotional stability, social maturity, and a disposition to
attack problems with confidence.’’ This is the standard set by adults for
children to attain.
B. Children’s Standards
Children have a definite standards of what they like or dislike in
other children. Among very popular children are some extremely
unfavourable personality traits, such as being dominating or bossy; being
a show-off and striving for attention; being effeminate in the case of a
boy; being babyish, fighting, pouting and dishonesty.
As they grow older, their ideals change.
C. Sex Differences in Admired Traits

The typical girl is judged to be quiet, popular full of fan,

not quarrelsome, a good sport, a “little lady”, tidy, feminine,
and not a show off. The typical boy is wiggly, quarrelsome,
bossy, and a show off. These are concept for boys and girls by
the time they enter school.
 Individuality
A. Four Different Personality “Types” According to Hippocrates Are:
1. Sanguine- quick and active person
2. Choleric- strong and easily aroused person
3. Phlegmatic- slow and stolid type
4. Melancholic- said and pessimistic individuals
B. Heredity vs. Environment
It is now generally believed that the foundation of personality comes
from the maturation of hereditary traits, but the are influenced, partly
through learning in connection with direct, social contacts and partly
through conditioning.
C. Beginnings of individuality

During the first ten days of life, differences in

behavior are apparent in different babies. These
differences more of the beginnings of personality
differences.
 Persistence and Change in Personality
A. Meaning of Persistence of Personality Traits
Persistence of personality traits is a tendency for
certain traits to remain in an unchanged or relatively
unchanged, form even in instances where training and
social pressure have been operative.
A child who, as an infant, showed irritability would
show the same trait as he grow older, even though his
irritability were somewhat modified and toned down as
a result of environmental pressures.
B. Critical Period

1. Although a child remembers little of what happened in the first

five years of his life, these years are nevertheless, “critical” years
in the development of his personality because it is at this time
that the basic pattern of his personality is laid ( Hay-Shaw,
1949).
2. The traits that have been found to be most persistent are those
associated with intelligence, physical and temperament; those
that show the least persistence are those related to social
situations, such as introversion-extroversion attitudes, and
values (Munn, 1955).
C. Changes in Personality

1. There are changes in personality because of the influence of the

environment. There are more changes of personality traits in
younger than older children. The changes are for the better.
2. Types of changes:
A. Quantitative- there is a weakening or strengthening of a trait
already present.
B. Qualitative- the socially undesirable trait is eliminated and
replaced by a socially more desirable trait.
D. Causes of Personality Changes
1. These causes of changes according to Fenton (1943) are:
a. Bodily or organic factors, as food, drugs, infections,
organic disorders, physical maturation and decline.
b. Factors of the social and cultural environment, as
education, recreation, social participation, etc.
c. Factors within the individual himself, as emotional
pressures, identification with people or causes and imitation
E. Cautions in Personality Changes
To change one or two personality traits of a
child that would be a social handicap to him is
all right if done properly. To revamp the entire
personality pattern of a child is a different story.
 Factors in Personality
A. Physique
When the child’s appearance is not approved by the growth, his personality
is very much affected. He feels inadequate and thus, develops an unhealthy
personality.

B. Physical Condition
Good health is associated with a favorable personality. A sickly child
withdraws from the group and these makes the child maladjusted.
How markedly physical defects influence the child’s personality will defend
on how much he realizes that he is different.

C. Clothes
the style that is accepted by the group to which he belongs would help him
have a feeling of belongingness to the group.
D. The Child’s Name

1. Names which lend themselves to distortions, names which are

difficult to pronounce and are, therefore, frequent mispronounced,
names that other children criticize or make fun of, names that
confused the sexes, or names which combined with others make
queer initials (Charles Oliver Watson-”COW”) or meanings (Ima
Virginia Bird) are bound to lead to uncomfortable feeling on the part
of the unfortunate who bears such a name (Mencken, 1936; Walton,
1937; Allen et. al.,1941; Eagelson, 1946; Broom et. al.,1955).
2. Children give nicknames to others, nicknames which are appropriate
to the persons. The kind of nicknames given to him would show how
others feel about him.
E. Intelligence
Too bright and too dull children feel like outsiders with
the group. They, then, develop an unfavorable personality.

F. Early Experiences
A child whose early experiences are favorable would have
a pleasant personality when he grows older. A child who was
happy in his childhood, would likely be happy in his
adulthood.
 Family Influence
A. Family Life Pattern
Parents who feel insecure in the role of parenthood, because of
inexperienced (Kanner, 1951), who are emotionally unstable (Scott, 1945), who
are unfavorable attitudes toward their children (Wallin and Riley, 1950), or who
disagree about methods of child training (Koshuk, 1947), to produce far less
desirable home-life patterns than do more secure and more stable parents.
B. Home Setting
In general, rural children are more self-reliant, have a greater sense of
personal worth, of belonging, and greater freedom from nervous symptoms and
withdrawing the tendencies than do children from the cities.
C. Membership in Minority Groups
Membership in Minority Group has an unfavorable influence on the
personality of the child.
D. Influence of Parents
it has been pointed out that the child’s personality is the result of the impact
on him of all the conscious and unconscious expressions of the parents’
personalities as well as their conscious attitudes toward children and their bringing
up (Lerner and Murphy, 1941).
Children who perceives themselves as accepted have been found to show
greater ego aspirations, tenacity, and independence from parents than do children
who perceive themselves as rejected by their parents.

E. Sibling Influences
1. The relationships among siblings have the same influence and the
child’s personality development as thus his relationship with his parents.

2. The personality pattern in the small family is better in the large family.
 3. In a large family, there are eight types of children
produced. These are:
a. responsible
b. popular
c. socially ambitious
d. studious
e. self-centered isolate
f. irresponsible
g. sickly
h. spoiled
 School influences
The influence of the school in the personality development
of the child is very great because the school becomes a substitute
for the home and the teacher, a substitute for the mother .

Playmates and Friends

When the child id socially accepted by the group he would
have better concept of self and his pattern of persoonality
development would be more favorable than that of those
children who are rejected by the group.
 Cultural Influences
A. To be well adjusted in any cultural group the individual must
accept the approved cultural norm as his own standard.
B. Basic Personality
Basic personality is the organization of the drives and of the
emotions of the individual, the deeper-lying parts of metal
behaviour as compared with the more overt and visible aspects
of mental behaviour. This includes inner feelings toward parents,
members of the same or opposite sex, guilt, emotional reactivity
and hostility.
 Level of Adjustment
A. Meaning of Adjustment
Adjustment means the extent to which an individual’s personality functions
efficiently in a world of other people.
If during the process of adjustment, the child suffers from undue distress or
experiences difficulties this will lead to mental illness to adulthood. Good
environment and better guidance from the parents are responsible for better
adjustments.

B. Personality Maladjustments
1. Two types of Personality Maladjustments:
a. Behaviour which is satisfying to the child but socially unacceptable;
b. Behaviour which is socially acceptable but is a source of continuous,
excessive, and disturbing conflict to the child (Strang, 1938).
2. Causes of Personality Maladjustment:
a. Thwarting of impulses and desires which lead to a
feeling of inferiority, such as feeling of guilt because of sex
delinquencies or failures in school.
b. undue emotional stimulation, such as some terrible
emotional shock or continued over excitement during of
long period of time.
c. Bad home conditions caused by per-natal
disagreements, parental separation, or the child’s inability
to rise to the level of the families aspirations (Jordan,
1942).
C. Well-adjusted Personalities

1. The Well-adjusted child is one whose concept of self is realistic in that

what he thinks of himself agrees closely with what others thinks of his
achievements (Meray and Merry, 1950; Lawton, 1951).

2. Children who are well-adjusted come from homes that are happy
places, where discipline is used for more far-reaching purposes than
merely deterring wrong-doing, where responsibility is a part of a routine
of life, where there is religion, where the family enjoys recreation
together, and where the family relationships and attitudes toward the
children are wholesome (Stout and Langdon, 1951).
 Happiness in Childhood

Success in school work and popularity with his

peers are factors that determine how happy or
unhappy the child when he grows older.
The child needs to conform with the norm of the
group to be happy and adjusted when with them.
 BSEd 2-4 (Physical Sciences)

* Elamparo, Nikka Danichelle

* Domingo, Adlhen Rhose
* Jardinez, Mayonel
* Lustre, Maureen
* Santos Kristine Joy