What is personality and how is it constituted?

The word personality comes from the Latin “person”, which refers to a theatrical mask. We could say that personality is the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors that make a person unique.

While there are many definitions of personality, most focus on the behaviors and characteristics that can explain a person’s behavior.

Personality is shaped by a variety of influences, ranging from genetics to each individual’s environment, culture, childhood, and experience.

In the following article we will give you to know in a precise way, some important aspects in relation to the personality, its elements, levels and disorders.

What is personality?

Personality is a complex set of characteristic patterns of thought and behavior of each individual.

The study of personality focuses on two broad areas: individual differences and how the various parts of a person come together into a whole.

According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, personality develops through a series of stages.

According to Freud, personality develops from what he proposed as the three fundamental structures of the mind: the it, the self and thesuperego.

The id represents the most primitive of the three structures and deals with the instant gratification of basic physical needs and drives.

Today, thanks to the discoveries of neuroscience, we know that there is a part of the brain, which is commonly called “the reptilian brain”, which is the oldest part of the brain and controls vital functions.

The reptilian brain includes the main structures of the brain: the brain stem and the cerebellum. The reptilian brain is compulsive and represents impulses.

Another part that forms the personality, according to Freud, is the superego, which represents the conscience that respects social rules and morality, similar to what many people call their “conscience.”

According to neuroscience, we could say that the superego is the limbic brain that arose in the first mammals and is responsible for recording memories of behaviors and emotions.

The limbic brain is responsible for unconscious value judgments and empathy, which influence our behavior.

And finally, the ego, according to Freud represents morality and rationality. According to neuroscience, we could say that the ego is the neocortex, which is responsible for the development of language, abstract thought, imagination and consciousness. This part of the brain is what has allowed the development of culture.

elements of personality

There are several elements that, together, make up our personality, such as temperament, character and intelligence. We will see them in detail below.

Temperament

Temperament refers to personality traits that determine how someone reacts to the world.

Temperament traits are mostly inborn, although they may be influenced by family, culture, or experiences.

Temperament plays a role in how we behave and interact with other people and they are basically divided into four:

• Sanguineous: describes people with a variable and unstable mood.
• Melancholic: describes sad and dreamy people.
• Choleric: Describes people with strong wills and impulsive feelings.
• Phlegmatic: describes people who are calm, apathetic, and cold-blooded.

Character

According to the dictionary of the Rae , the character is the set of qualities or circumstances of a thing, a person or a community, which distinguishes them, by their way of being or acting, from others.

Like temperament, character is a set of beliefs or attitudes that define what kind of person you are.

Determine if you will achieve your goals effectively, how you treat others, and if you obey the laws and rules.

Intelligence

Intelligence defines a person’s general cognitive problem-solving abilities.

Intelligence encompasses the mental ability involved in reasoning, perception of relationships, calculations, and the ability to learn quickly, among others.

There are different types of intelligence, for example, musical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence, and emotional intelligence.

Intelligence forms a large part of our personality.

personality levels

There are several levels that mark the personality, such as the conscious, preconscious and unconscious part.

Both Freud and Buddhism spoke about the different levels of personality, which we will see in detail below.

Conscious

The first level of awareness is known as the conscious state, and this refers to our immediate awareness of what is being experienced.

We make use of our conscious mind when we receive information from our senses, analyze the information, and then make decisions based on this information.

For example, right now you are aware that you are reading this.

All the thoughts that pass through your mind, the sensations and perceptions of the outside world, and the memories that you bring to your awareness are part of the conscious experience.

Unconscious

The unconscious, also called the subconscious, contains information below the surface of consciousness. We generally refer to them as souvenirs.

Memories of past experiences live in what Freud called the subconscious. The unconscious is made up of primitive or instinctual thoughts, memories, and desires deep within our minds.

Preconscious

The notion of the preconscious was coined by Sigmund Freud, in his attempt to discover how the psyche works.

Although the preconscious is not conscious, it is not unconscious either. Although this is only a theory of psychoanalysis, neuroscience has not yet found an alternative to the preconscious over time.

Censorship

In psychoanalysis, the function that prevents access to consciousness of unconscious contents, especially desires, is called censorship.

Although this is only a theory of psychoanalysis, modern neuroscience has not yet found an alternative to detailed censorship by psychoanalysis.

Personality types

There are several slightly more detailed and more descriptive personality types, such as the 16 personalities that Myers and Briggs developed .

Fascinated by Jung’s theory of psychological types, during World War II they began to research and develop an indicator that could be used to help understand individual differences.

Next we will see some types of personalities.

Extroverted

Extroverts are people who tend to be action oriented and enjoy social interaction.

They also feel energized when they spend time with other people.

introvert

Unlike extroverts, introverts tend to be thought-oriented, enjoy deep and meaningful social interactions, and prefer to spend time alone.

Judicious

Judicious people prefer structure and firm decisions.

People with strong judgment preferences may have difficulty accepting people with strong perception preferences, and vice versa.

Obsessive

Do not confuse an obsessive personality type with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

According to the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Foundation, when you have continuously recurring thoughts, they can cause anxiety and interfere with your ability to function.

While OCD affects more than 1 in 100 people, the obsessive personality is simply the tendency towards perfectionism and it is very detailed.

compulsive

The compulsive personality is very common among people with a sanguine temperament.

A compulsive personality is difficult to deal with since they don’t usually think before they act or speak, so they can get into a lot of trouble.

perceptive

People with perceptive personalities are particularly good at understanding or figuring things out.

Perceptive people are insightful, intelligent, and able to see what others cannot.

Analytic

The analytical personality type is very deep and reflective. They are serious and determined people.

They set very high expectations, so they have very high standards of personal and professional performance.

Analytics are neat and organized. They also tend to have that really dry sense of humor, however, it’s quite witty.

Dominant

The dominant personality tends to exhibit arrogance, superiority, and conceit. They have above average levels of aggressive and manipulative personality traits.

Dominant people also score high on traits known as the ‘dark triad’: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy.

submissive

The submissive personality is distinctive of those who submit to the authority of another person.

They have a service-oriented mindset and find peace in receiving instruction from those they admire.

Curious

An inquisitive personality is associated with a wide range of adaptive behaviors, including tolerance for anxiety and uncertainty, positive emotional expressiveness, humor and playfulness, unconventional thinking, and a non-defensive and non-judgmental attitude.

Creative

Creative people are remarkable for their ability to adapt to almost any situation and make do with whatever is at hand to achieve their goals.

Perfectionist

In psychology, perfectionism is a personality trait characterized by a person’s striving for perfection and setting excessively high performance standards, accompanied by critical self-evaluations and concerns regarding the evaluations of others.

empathic

Empaths are very sensitive people, who have a great capacity to feel what other people think and feel.

Psychologists may use the term empathy to describe a person who experiences a lot of empathy, often to the point of taking on the pain of others.

Personality disorders

Just as there are personality types, there are also disorders. In fact, personality psychology has studied, both in theory and research, personality disorders. Here you will see some of them.

Paranoid Disorder

According to the medical journal Web MD , paranoid disorder is a personality disorder that involves bizarre ways of thinking.

People with paranoid disorder suffer from paranoia and mistrust of others, even when there is no reason to suspect.

Bipolar disorder

According to the Mayo Clinic , bipolar disorder is a mental condition that causes extreme mood swings including emotional ups and downs and depression.

Multiple personality disorder

This disorder produces a lack of connection between thoughts, memories, feelings, actions and the sense of identity.

schizoid disorder

borderline disorder

disorder affects the

It includes self-image problems, difficulty managing emotions and behavior.

Histrionic Disorder

Histrionic personality disorder is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive attention-seeking behaviors, usually beginning in childhood, including inappropriate seduction and an excessive need for approval.

Narcissistic disorder

A disorder in which a person has an inflated sense of self-importance. Narcissistic personality disorder likely involves a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Symptoms include an excessive need for admiration, contempt for the feelings of others, an inability to handle criticism, and a sense of entitlement.

Antisocial disorder

People with this disorder tend to antagonize, manipulate, or treat others harshly or indifferently. They show no guilt or remorse for their behavior.

People with antisocial personality disorder often break the law and become criminals.