What
Is Personality?
The following
is adapted from Linda V. Berens and Dario
Nardi, The
16 Personality Types: Descriptions for
Self-Discovery (Telos Publications,
1999) *Used with permission.
Search & Apply to New Jobs   Over
the years, philosophers and behavioral
scientists have been trying to find ways
to understand what they call personality.
Personality has many meanings. We like
the definition given by Salvatore Maddi:
Personality is a
stable set of characteristics and tendencies
that determine those commonalities and
differences in the psychological behavior
(thoughts, feeling, and actions) of
people that have continuity in time
and that may not be easily understood
as the sole result of the social and
biological pressures of the moment.*
Personality
typing is popular. Most widely used models
ultimately describe sixteen discrete patterns.
This booklet provides descriptions that
represent the best of all these models.
These sixteen type descriptions are not
derived from a single framework such as
social styles, temperament theory,
or psychological type. They
are descriptive of sixteen universal themes
that exist in and of themselves, yet reflect
all of the above frameworks.
Historically,
professionals have alternated between
the idea that personality is inborn and
the seemingly opposite view that it results
from our experiences. The most current
thinking is that personality is both inborn
and conditioned by the environment.
The
Contextual Self
The contextual self is who we are in any
given environment. It is how we behave
depending on what the situation requires.
The idea of a personality “type”
doesn’t leave out freedom of action
in the moment.
The
Developed Self
When the contextual self becomes habitual
and ongoing, it becomes a part of the
developed self. Personality development
is influenced by our choices and decisions
(free will) as well as by interactions
and roles (social field theory).
The
Core Self
An aspect of our personality exists from
the beginning of our lives. This aspect
of ourselves is in our genes, our DNA.
We are born with a tendency to behave
in certain ways, which influences how
we adapt, grow and develop.
When
looking at personality types, all three
of these aspects must be considered. Current
behavior and adaptations may or may not
be consistent with the true self. All
are interrelated.
What
Is Personality "Type"?.
Search & Apply to New Jobs The
following is adapted
from Linda V. Berens and Dario Nardi,
The
16 Personality Types: Descriptions for
Self-Discovery (Telos Publications,
1999) *Used with permission.
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