There are four major determinants of personality:
Biological/Physical Determinants: Hereditary and physical features
Social Determinants: Sociological aspects related to the community and his/her
role in the community
Psychological Determinants: Behaviour, emotions, sentiments, thought patterns
and complexes of an individual
Intellectual Determinants: Values, Humour, Morality, etc.
MORE EXPLANATION:
Biological Determinants of Personality
Biological traits are the foremost parameter which reflects various factors of one’s
personality. Being the essential determinant of personality, it incorporates a majority of
other factors as well which bring out the various insights about an individual. Some
important constituents under the physical determinants of personality are:
Hereditary: The features that can be determined from the time of conception are
generally put under hereditary. Sex, physical stature, temperament, muscle
composition, facial features, height etc are the characteristics that one usually
inherits from parents. Thus, through the hereditary approach, it is evident that the
genes located in chromosomes are the ultimate explanation of personality.
Physical Features: Physical appearance is also amongst the integral determinants
of personality. How one appears physically actually plays an important role in how
they are perceived by others. Whether one is short, tall, slim, fat, black or white
will obviously have an impression on others and this will have an influence on the
self-conception of the individual.
Social Determinants of Personality
The social determinants analyse a personality as per the status of the individual in their
social group or community and consider the individual’s conception of their role in the
group is like. The key factor that this approach weighs in is what others perceive us as
plays a greater role in the formation of our personality.
The era has seen the widespread emergence of communication tools, especially through
social media. Social media influencers hold an authoritative power to influence masses
around the globe. Hence, anyone’s personality is majorly persuaded by the social lives
they lead and are a part of. Through socializing, be it virtual or real, one encounters a
plethora of other individuals which some way or the other leave a mark on our
personalities. The process starts as soon as we step into the real world from the
playschool we go to peers and friends, amongst others. Our social life is one of the
essential determinants of personality and that’s why we are always advised to choose
our social circle wisely.
Psychological Determinants of Personality
Considering a personality as a particular style pertaining to each individual, the
psychological approach is amongst the major determinants of personality. This specific
style which is different for each individual actually gets determined through the
accumulative characteristics of mental trends, emotions, sentiments, thought patterns
and complexes. Further, it also studies an individual’s mental conflicts, wishes,
aspirations, feelings of repression, sublimation and emotional well-being.
Intellectual Determinants of Personality
Intelligence is another essential factor that can play an important role in the
development of our personality. Our intellect can influence various aspects and areas of
our behaviour which in turn, can determine our personality. Here are the intellectual
determinants of Personality:
Humour: Humour is one of the integral intellectual determinants of personality as
it helps us get a realistic view of things, facilitates social acceptance and further
also ironically brings forward a lighter perspective of life.
Morality: Our intellect and worldview plays a crucial role in the development of
our morality and how we see certain things as moral or immoral. Thus, morality is
another factor that determines our intellect and thus overall personality as well.
Values: An individual learns about values from his/her upbringing as well as from
the society they are brought up in. These values and beliefs also form our
intellectual behaviour and thus are an important determinant of our personality.
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Types of Personality
There are different types of personality as per several theories. The most popular theory
of the types of personality is by Greeks which says there are four types of
temperaments. Thus, the four types of personality are:
Sanguine: Highly talkative, social, extroverted and enthusiastic
Phlegmatic: Quiet, easy-going, and reserved
Melancholic: Deep thinkers and analytical minds
Choleric: More extroverted and ambitious
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There are three criteria that are characterize personality traits: (1) consistency, (2)
stability, and (3) individual differences.
1. To have a personality trait, individuals must be somewhat consistent across
situations in their behaviours related to the trait. For example, if they are
talkative at home, they tend also to be talkative at work.
2. Individuals with a trait are also somewhat stable over time in behaviours related
to the trait. If they are talkative, for example, at age 30, they will also tend to be
talkative at age 40.
3. People differ from one another on behaviours related to the trait. Using speech
is not a personality trait and neither is walking on two feet—virtually all
individuals do these activities, and there are almost no individual differences.
But people differ on how frequently they talk and how active they are, and thus
personality traits such as Talkativeness and Activity Level do exist.
