Define personality

Overview Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism. A narcissistic personality disorder causes problems in many areas of life, such as relationships, work, school or financial matters. People with narcissistic personality disorder may be generally unhappy and disappointed when they're not given the special favors or admiration that they believe they deserve. They may find their relationships troubled and unfulfilling, and other people may not enjoy being around them. Treatment for narcissistic personality disorder centers around talk therapy, also called psychotherapy. Narcissistic personality disorder affects more males than females, and it often begins in the teens or early adulthood. Some children may show traits of narcissism, but this is often typical for their age and doesn't mean they'll go on to develop narcissistic personality disorder. Symptoms Symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder and how severe they are can vary. People with the disorder can: • Have an unreasonably high sense of self-importance and require constant, excessive admiration. • Feel that they deserve privi...

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: • Define personality • Describe early theories about personality development Personality refers to the long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways. The unique constellation of the ways we approach the world, interpret events, and act consistently across situations is our personality. Each person has an idiosyncratic pattern of enduring, long-term characteristics and a manner in which he or she interacts with other individuals and the world around them. Our personalities are thought to be long term, stable, and not easily changed. Given the breadth of human experience and the diversity of things that make each of us unique it is unsurprising that many different perspectives for empirically studying personality have been proposed. Each perspective does well in explaining aspects of what makes each of us unique, but also is limited by the assumptions underlying the approach. Only by sampling each perspective can we truly understand what personality really means. The word personality comes from the Latin word persona. In the ancient world, a persona was a mask worn by an actor. While we tend to think of a mask as being worn to conceal one’s identity, the theatrical mask was originally used to either represent or project a specific personality trait of a character (figure below). Happy, sad, impatient, shy, fearful, curious, helpful. What c...

A personality disorder is a long-term set of tendencies in one’s thinking and behavior that impair the person’s functioning in the world. While personality disorders are commonly described in terms of distinct categories, research suggests that, for the most part, they reflect various combinations of multiple underlying personality traits, including extreme levels of traits that all people have. June 5, 2023 in Have you ever wondered whether a couple in which both people have personality disorders could work long-term? Here are the worst and best romantic matches. Have you ever wondered whether a couple in which both people have personality disorders could work long-term? Here are the worst and best romantic matches. May 26, 2023 in People who fake serious illness to build a social media following and receive donations are no longer a rarity. This is both a psychological disorder and a con game. People who fake serious illness to build a social media following and receive donations are no longer a rarity. This is both a psychological disorder and a con game. May 22, 2023 in Despite headline-grabbing research claims about the preferences and behaviors of psychopaths, the construct of psychopathy is not that simple. Despite headline-grabbing research claims about the preferences and behaviors of psychopaths, the construct of psychopathy is not that simple. May 22, 2023 in Parental alienation and realistic estrangement look the same when a child resists a parent. Any analysis...

The phrase "Type A" refers to a pattern of behavior and personality associated with high achievement, competitiveness, and impatience, among other characteristics. In particular, the positive traits of a Type A personality include: • Self-control • Motivation to achieve results • Competitiveness • Multi-tasking skills Meanwhile, the more difficult traits that come with a Type A personality definition include: • Chronic competitiveness • Impatience • Aggression • Hostility Are Type A Personalities Stressed Out? Yes. Because of tendencies to engage in urgent and achievement-oriented behavior, people with a Type A personality may feel more stressed or develop stress-related disorders. Other characteristics that make people with a Type A personality likely to experience stress include: • Impatience: People with a Type A personality often feel like they're constantly racing against the clock. • Competitiveness: People with a Type A personality are highly competitive and so might criticize themselves a lot when they fail to "win." • Hostility: People with a Type A personality are easily angered and might see the worst in others, sometimes lacking a compassionate outlook. • Achievement-oriented: People with a Type A personality tend to base their self-worth on external achievement and may have a poor work-life balance because of their constant need to prove themselves. Is it Bad for Your Health to Be a Type A Personality? There is some evidence that the Type A personality trait o...

Your character and personality make you a unique individual, but they aren’t necessarily one and the same aspect of the Self. Your personality represents who you are. It’s the overarching whole of your inherited traits, natural inclinations, and beliefs that make you you. When someone uses the word “character,” you might assume they mean personality, but that’s not always the case. So, what makes character different from personality, and which one has more impact on your overall well-being? In the world of psychology, when you think about the Self, your personality is everything. It’s “you” from top to bottom: all the behaviors, interests, thoughts, beliefs, experiences, and traits that make you unique in the world. Most In other words, you’re not born with a set personality. This changes and adapts constantly, particularly during the first 2 decades of life. After that, change is less likely or not as significant. But if you’re not born with your personality, how do your behaviors and reactions as an infant develop? Modern personality theory suggests personality begins with inborn temperament. Over time, you develop your character as you engage in everyday experiences, and that’s how your personality evolves. Character and temperament blend and contribute to your personality traits, but they’re not all of it. Here’s a closer look at these concepts: Temperament Considered the primary foundation of personality, your temperament is thought to be present at birth. It’s those ...

Several researchers support the belief that there are five core personality traits. Evidence of this theory has been growing for many years in psychology, beginning with the research of D. W. Fiske (1949), and later expanded upon by others, including Norman (1967), Smith (1967), Goldberg (1981), and McCrae & Costa (1987). Openness Openness (also referred to as openness to experience) emphasizes imagination and insight the most out of all five personality traits. People who are high in openness tend to have a broad range of interests. They are curious about the world and other people and are eager to learn new things and enjoy new experiences. How to Use the Big 5 Personality Traits Where you fall on the continuum for each of these five primary traits can be used to help identify whether you are more or less likely to have other more secondary personality traits. These other traits are often split into two categories: positive personality traits and negative personality traits. Negative Personality Traits Negative personality traits are those that may be more harmful than helpful. These are traits that may hold you back in your life or hurt your relationships with others. (They're also good traits to focus on for personal growth.) Personality traits that fall in the negative category include: For example, if you score high in openness, you are more likely to have the positive personality trait of creativity. If you score low in openness, you may be more likely to have the n...